Ultraman Any Key: Qiming

Chapter 384, page 380: Damn it, is the Defense Force the headquarters of aliens?!

At the Defense Forces Headquarters, Military Attaché Saijo, the number two figure, listened to his subordinate's report and revealed a meaningful smile.

"They probably think we're only offering information because we were scared out of our wits by the previous mechanical white dragon incident."

After Galactron swept through the entire military factory in an instant last time, more than a dozen officers and outstanding researchers died as a result. Commander Sahara's heart bled when he found out.

Military attaché Saijo also believes that with the loss of these talents, the completion time of the various classified projects that the Defense Forces are using to catch up with TPC will be greatly delayed.

Just when he was getting anxious, things took an unexpected turn for the better.

A doctor named "Kisaragi Namida" approached him with an entire research team, hoping to serve the defense force and develop a warship called "Prometheus" that was even stronger than the "Batedis".

At first, Military Advisor Saijo was skeptical. Did these unknown guys have the ability to make such demands and ask for so much research funding?

However, their demonstration quickly won over the group of veteran researchers from the defense force, and Military Attaché Saijo generously agreed to all the conditions proposed by Dr. Kisaragi Rui.

“Prometheus, what a fine name,” said Military Officer Saijo.

"Commander Saijo, we succeeded!" At that moment, one of his secretaries rushed in, his face beaming with barely suppressed elation.

Military officer Saijo sat up straight: "What's wrong?"

The secretary lowered her voice:
"Success! The newly developed unmanned drilling machine has collected 'Victory Crystals' from underground!"

"After testing, it really does contain a huge amount of energy. If we use it to power Mechanical Seven, we'll be invincible!"

Military officer Saijo was overjoyed. He immediately got up to go to the scene to check the situation.

Inside the corridor, "Aihara Ryu" peeked out from the corner of the wall in a dark light, looking at the jubilant Saijo military officer, a flash of scarlet light in his eyes.

....................................

Meanwhile, aboard the Atlas, heading towards Antarctica.

Qi Ming glanced at the recent disappearances of ships in the Antarctic waters and frowned: "Something's not right."

In the original Ultraman 80 series, the core part of the Barak ship, the Queen, initially sank after hitting an iceberg, but the computer system controlling it was not damaged; it was just disrupted by the impact.

After completing its self-repair, it headed towards its final destination, Tokyo Bay, following the original planned route.

Therefore, in the original drama, the location of the ship disappearance accident is getting closer and closer to Japan.

But in this world, the Barak ship has been lingering in the Antarctic Circle, seemingly deliberately targeting lone warships and ships.

It feels like something is manipulating it from behind the scenes to attack humans.

With these doubts in mind, the Atlas has already flown over Antarctica and arrived at the outer perimeter of the "Aurora Australis" protective shield.

"This is the best we can do." Looking at the aurora borealis not far away, the aurora dancing in the sky like ribbons, Kishida said.

Agamus, who had been pulled over by Qi Ming, looked at the analysis results on the screen and said, "The protective shield made of pure energy only covers the area on the surface of the sea, so it is possible to walk underwater."

Qi Ming: "Then let's set off on the Dolphin."

Kishida nodded and told everyone that as long as they entered the Ice City underwater base and turned off the button, they could cancel the Aurora Australis shield, and then the Atlas could sail in.

Qi Ming, Jugglus, Hui Mei, and Agamus entered the Dolphin's cockpit one by one.

The Dolphin was released from the Artdis and dropped into the Antarctic Ocean.

"It's a bit crowded." There are only two pilot seats on the Dolphin, and now four people have squeezed in. Fortunately, Qi Ming and Jugglus are physically fit, so it's not a problem for them to stand at the back.

Soon, the Dolphin entered the area protected by the Aurora Borealis. "Hmm, what's this..." After arriving in the area isolated by the Aurora Borealis, Agamus's expression changed, and he began to analyze: "Something's not right."

The inside and outside of the Southern Lights are completely two different worlds.

Qi Ming: "Have you found the Barak ship that uses magnetism to attract other ships? I remember that thing can dive."

Agamus typed on the keyboard: "No, there are traces of a huge thermal combustion body moving below us. Look at the image."

Upon seeing this, Qi Ming immediately said, "It's very likely the cosmic sea beast [Reichubas]. Be prepared."

Jugglus Juggler: "Reichus?"

Qi Ming nodded: "This is a monster created by the aquatic life form [Shum], and it is extremely powerful."

This is the first monster to defeat Ultraman Dyna. It can freely switch between fire and ice attributes, and the cold air it releases instantly freezes Dyna, leaving him lying dead for an entire episode.

We must be cautious.

Qi Ming then emphasized the situation of [Shum], a terrifying cosmic creature capable of seizing control of the main computer system of military facilities by physically contacting network cables.

It is likely that the city's communication with the outside world has been cut off, and the underwater base is probably already under its control.

Agamus readily accepted good advice:

"The temperature in the vicinity is rising rapidly. It seems that the other side wants to use the heat released by this monster to melt the icebergs in Antarctica and drown human civilization."

"Wait, wait a minute, we also detected a weak σ wave."

σ wave? Qi Ming's heart skipped a beat, and he unconsciously exchanged a glance with Hui Mei, thinking of a monster incident from the past.

Is that it? Is it here too?
Jugglus: "Let's go to that underwater base first, turn off the aurora shield, and let the Atlas come in to destroy the monsters."

Qi Ming nodded: "Even if the other side occupies that place, we still have to go in. We need to find out what this underwater base is hiding."

Agamus: "But how do we get in? The underwater base has already become the territory of aliens invading Earth."

Qi Ming: "Let them invite us in."

Huimei understood and began calling the underwater base, speaking in a stern tone:
"Calling for underwater base, calling for underwater base, this is the Dolphin of the Victory Team, now arriving near your base."

"What's going on with you? Not only have you cut off the staff's interrogation communications, but you've also activated the protective shield. Are you trying to rebel?"

Soon, the underwater base replied: "We are very sorry, we absolutely did not mean that. There was a program malfunction that prevented us from closing the protective shield. You are welcome to come and inspect."

This is Schum's answer: it can glean speech data from a computer's memory and simulate human voices.

Agamus understood.

Humans want to regain control of the underwater base, while the aliens want to trap them like turtles in a jar, luring these uninvited guests into the underwater base they control and killing them. There must be an ambush inside now.

Now it all comes down to who has the better skills.

"Whoosh." The Dolphin passed through the opened gate and entered the interior of the underwater base.

The next moment, the gate slammed shut, completely blocking their escape route, as if to turn this underwater base into an iron coffin that would bury them.

"Wow, are we stopping already? That's too hasty." Qi Ming opened the hatch first and jumped from the Dolphin onto the base's internal deck.

The next moment, countless green "mermaids" surged forward and attacked them—these were small monsters controlled by Schuum, half-fish soldier [Dagon]!
"Wow, they even put on a grand welcoming ceremony!" Qi Ming went up to greet them without any fear.

(End of this chapter)