Chapter 90: 87 Atomic Bomb Falls on Japan Again

After finishing daily training, Qi Ming went as usual to the command room and found everyone with grim expressions.

Could it be that what you fear most is exactly what happens… Murphy’s Law kicking in?

Zhu Xingtuan explained the situation: “To develop the Moon, the Defense Force launched a supply rocket into space yesterday, carrying six atomic bombs.”

“But after launching according to plan, the rocket was disrupted by a powerful typhoon and crashed into the Pacific Ocean.”

“One of the atomic bombs detonated five kilometers deep in the Japan Trench, triggering a significant underwater earthquake.”

Qi Ming was stunned: “Has the Defense Force become so reckless they don’t even check the weather forecast before launching rockets?”

Emi: “It’s said this typhoon formed suddenly, catching them completely off guard.”

A typhoon that appeared out of nowhere?

Kishida continued: “Four of the remaining five bombs have been located; one is still missing.”

“The safety mechanisms on the four found bombs have already been deactivated—likely the same for the last one.”

“Any impact will activate it, and it will explode exactly twenty seconds later.”

“This bomb’s yield is over a thousand times greater than the one the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima, so everyone is racing to find it.”

With monsters appearing frequently, all factions are urgently upgrading their weapons and enhancing their counterattack capabilities.

Kishida went on at length about the bomb’s destructive power—how its explosion could reduce half the Tokyo metropolitan area to ashes—his tone enthusiastic and unreserved.

Qi Ming thought about it and found it reasonable; after all, in the original Ultraman Jack series, Kishida had agreed to nuke Tokyo to eliminate a monster.

What troubled him more was the sequence of events.

Aside from the “suddenly appearing strange typhoon,” the rest of the details closely resembled Episode 4 of the original Ultraman, “Five Seconds Before the Explosion.”

In that episode, radiation from an atomic explosion caused the deep-sea ape, Lagun, to grow enormous and become violently aggressive.

It immediately attacked a cruise ship, then carried the last remaining atomic bomb onto land, terrifying everyone.

Yamada: “By the way, our base is also built on the sea—thankfully the bomb didn’t land near us.”

Zhu Xingtuan said the Cabinet had also requested TPC’s help; radar equipped with the Tangdao rectifier was scanning the sea, and top scientists from the Science Bureau were designing new algorithms for more precise location tracking.

Nishijo Nagi, knowing she could offer no assistance in this matter, requested leave from Zhu Xingtuan to visit the Umeda siblings, Mei Tian Tong and Mei Tian Xiang.

She still felt she bore undeniable responsibility for the siblings becoming orphans.

Qi Ming raised his hand: “I’ll go with you.”

Nishijo Nagi was surprised: “You care about those two children too?”

Qi Ming: “A little, mostly because I need a break—I can still scroll through my phone and check news on the way.”

Yamada grumbled: “Break? You’re the laziest one here—you don’t even write mission reports.”

Qi Ming: “This time, round it off and consider it written.”

After returning to base yesterday, Qi Ming personally handed Xiao Quan’s research notes to Quan Teng, the Chief of Staff.

He warned Quan Teng: “Infinite invaders are descending on Earth from space—don’t let chaos erupt within Earth itself.”

To someone as pragmatic as Quan Teng, saying “Humans and monsters are both Earth-born creatures with equal right to live” would earn only disdain—he’d call it sentimental nonsense.

But after Qi Ming laid out the strategic pros and cons, Quan Teng fully agreed—he too believed they couldn’t fight both sides at once.

That was enough. With someone of his weight backing Qi Ming’s view, similar incidents would be unlikely to recur anytime soon.

By the way, after the incident, the hawkish advisor Inagaki personally went to apologize to Director Tachibana.

But Director Tachibana, after achieving inner clarity, said he wouldn’t pursue it further, adding that for some reason, he found Qi Ming an intriguing young man.

This left Advisor Inagaki deeply unsettled—he temporarily lost any grounds to hold Qi Ming accountable.

Moreover, He Zhi, upon returning, said that although Qi Ming was somewhat arrogant, he was a man whose abilities matched his personality, and should be recruited.

So despite Qi Ming’s numerous violations during this operation, with all three parties choosing to overlook it, the matter was quietly buried.

This took Qi Ming by surprise—he’d actually planned to deliver a crushing counterblow when Advisor Inagaki came looking for trouble.

…………………………

Since they were visiting the orphans under the guise of “Victory Team Weiwenguer ,” the two drove the Drumm car toward the orphanage.

“In Ultraman Dyna, there was an episode where a Victory Team member visited orphans who lost their families to monster attacks.”

“I remember—it was called ‘Friend in the Box.’ Fei Niao and Ryo went together, if I recall.”

When they arrived, Qi Ming fell silent.

This orphanage… was indeed the one from the episode “Friend in the Box”!

As they walked inside, Nishijo Nagi explained to Qi Ming that this was a TPC-affiliated welfare facility under the jurisdiction of Tongshan, the Chief of Staff.

Qi Ming nodded: “Then they’re our people.”

The children at the orphanage showed great enthusiasm at the arrival of the two Victory Team members.

These children, orphaned by monster disasters, believed the Victory Team had avenged their families, and they deeply admired the profession, seeing them as heroes.

But among them were neither Mei Tian Tong nor Mei Tian Xiang.

Nishijo Nagi, surrounded by the children, smiled forcedly—she was excellent at fighting monsters, but interacting with kids was far beyond her expertise.

Fortunately, most children were drawn to the handsome Qi Ming; Nishijo Nagi secretly glanced at him in gratitude, only to find him equally strained.

After playing with the children for about half an hour, Qi Ming and Nishijo Nagi seized an opportunity to escape, both breathing heavily.

Nishijo Nagi: “You’re not…?”

Qi Ming: “If these kids were as intelligent as Kawashiri Hayato from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, I might actually be able to talk to them.”

Nishijo Nagi was dull—she didn’t read manga and had no idea what Qi Ming meant.

“Where are Mei Tian Tong and Mei Tian Xiang? We came to see them,” Qi Ming asked the orphanage director.

Director: “They should be over here.”

Soon, the director led them to the Umeda siblings, who weren’t playing with the other children—they were crouching under a tree’s shade.

The director said: “They’re still not adjusted. They need more time to recover from their grief.”

Hearing this, Nishijo Nagi felt deep guilt.

But Qi Ming watched from afar and sensed something was off.

The younger sister, Mei Tian Xiang, held a vividly colored flower in her hand.

That flower looked like… remembering her “past record” in the original Ultraman Leo, Qi Ming immediately activated his “See Through” ability to examine it.

The scan confirmed it—this was not a species native to Earth.

(End of Chapter)