Ultraman Any Key: Qiming

Chapter 543, Section 539: The Mystery of the Beta Wand, "Friends" Under the Heatwave (Two Chapters Combined)

"Beta Magic Wand?"

Akane Shinjo shuddered: "You bastard, wasn't it enough that you messed up yourself last time? Are you trying to mess up Qi Ming this time?"

炸？
Qi Ming remembered these words.

At the beginning of the original Ultraman X movie, "Here Comes Our Ultraman," Dr. Gehrman tells two researchers the legend of the Origin Giant Ultraman while taking out a Beta Wand that he made himself.

He confidently declared, "I've already finished making the Beta Transformation Device that can summon the Origin Giant Ultraman. That's how the Giant of Light I saw transformed when I was a child," and then he vigorously swung the Beta Magic Wand...

Then he blew up his own lab.

So, has Dr. Gehrman come up with yet another one?

When Dr. Gehrman heard Akane Shinjo bringing up her embarrassing past, he quickly waved his hand and said, "I've improved it. Even if it doesn't succeed, it won't explode."

Qi Ming thought for a moment, then took the Beta wand and waved it upwards.

"Wait, don't do it in my room, please!" Shinjo Akane cried out in terror, quickly burrowing under the covers to defend herself.

After a while, nothing happened.

Akane Shinjo peeked out from under the covers: "Hey, it didn't explode?"

Dr. Gehrman: "Can't you have a little faith in me?!"

Akane Shinjo looked at Qi Ming, only to see that the Beta Wand he was waving was emitting specks of light, which quickly disappeared.

It didn't explode, but it also failed to transform.

“I did feel a warm light just now, the kind of feeling you get in the instant before you transform, but it stopped abruptly.” Qi Ming said thoughtfully, “It seems like something is missing.”

Dr. Gehrman: "Are the conditions lacking?"

He said he would leave the Beta Magic Wand he had developed with Qi Ming, and asked him to keep an eye out for it and try to find a way to use it.

Over the next two days, Dr. Gehrman studied the Ultraman random key carefully, racking his brains but still finding no clue.

"The part of Star Convergence that I'm in charge of does indeed copy consciousness along with the data, so how could this happen..."

He believed that the problem lay elsewhere.

Akane Shinjo had already packed her bags: "I'll have to ask other developers of AnyKey, and maybe catch that 'most troublesome thing' along the way."

Qi Ming: "The most troublesome guy?"

Akane Shinjo: "The red ball from the Gaia movie."

In her opinion, the upper limit of the red ball that appears in the Gaia theatrical version "Time War" and "Arc" is incredibly high.

If the one making a wish while holding the red ball were replaced by Shinji Yuuki, or someone with an even more evil heart, then a disaster might occur that would require the level of the "Mysterious Four" to fight.

Dr. Gehrman said his search for it was intermittent, as the thing was consciously avoiding him.

Akane Shinjo said, "But we can't just leave it unattended. If a super villain like Tregear gets his hands on it, we'll be in big trouble."

Dr. Gehrman once again brings out his "Anywhere Door," and the two will embark together on a journey to find the other development team members of the Little Broken Watch and pursue the Red Ball.

Before leaving, Shinjo Akane patted Qi Ming on the shoulder reluctantly: "Take good care of yourself while I'm gone."

Qi Ming thought for a moment: "You've already gotten the fragments of the Eternal Core for me, and you've kept the blueprints for Dyna Zeon. It doesn't seem to make much difference whether you're here or not now."

Akane Shinjo: "How heartless!"

The portal opened, and the two stepped inside.

"Let's go find that guy who claims to have 'divine talent' first. Doctor, have you been in contact with him recently?"

"He seems to be in another timeline of Japan, in a place called 'Hebi-hachi', looking for inspiration to make games, and incidentally playing tricks on everyone..."

Qi Ming watched them leave. After they were gone, he stood there for a long time, calming himself down before slowly saying:
"Have a safe journey and come back soon."

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

On the night Akane Shinjo left, three "visitors" arrived on Earth in the form of two purple spheres and one red sphere.

Nighttime, in the dense forest of the oilfield mountains.

As the red ball descended, a man with what appeared to be eyeshadow on his face and wearing a uniform stepped out.

If Qi Ming were here, he would definitely recognize at a glance that this is the Alien Dais from the "Friends in the Box" episode 7 of "Ultraman Dyna".

He was holding a gun, seemingly searching for something.

Soon, he found his target.

Inside a pit, in a transparent box, was a small animal with blue-purple fur that looked harmless.

It is the ferocious monster [Gabishu].

"Whoosh!" The next moment, the Dais alien fired a shot, destroying the box along with Gabishu inside.

"There's one more..." After finishing off the target, the Dayisian muttered to himself, feeling quite troubled.

Besides this one, there is also a Gabishu.

The two Gabishu once wreaked havoc on the planet Days, committing heinous crimes, and even his daughter died in that disaster.

After paying a huge price, all the people of Dayis captured them and imprisoned them in special cosmic cages, compressing them from seventy meters to their current eight centimeters.

He was originally in a spaceship, intending to banish the two Gabishes into a black hole.

Unexpectedly, after exhausting their last bit of strength, they managed to escape from the spaceship and land on this planet.

This is troublesome.

Having completely exhausted his strength, Gabishu is now extremely weak, and his laser gun could destroy him.

However, if another Gabishu cannot be found quickly, the cage material sealing it will lose its effectiveness as it mixes with the planet's atmosphere.

Commonly known as "oxidation".

By then, Gabishu, now completely free, will soon regain its ferocious 70-meter form.

If things develop to that point, the planet will face a terrible catastrophe.

We must find another Gabishu before that happens and destroy it!
"Boom!" At that moment, the rocks in the nearby mountains suddenly collapsed, and a red, glowing object emerged from the mountain.

"Is it a mechanical creation of this planet?" Seeing that the thing did not intend to hinder them for the time being, the Dayis alien did not make any rash moves.

The most urgent task now is to find Gabihu.

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

Early the next morning.

Xiao Wu rode his bicycle, preparing to represent the "Ultraman Cult" to "donate love" at the oilfield mountain.

The two sides had already communicated a while ago, and today a teacher from an orphanage under TPC will bring the children from there on a spring outing to the oilfield mountain area.

He would bring a big bag full of Ultraman toys to surprise the children.

only……

Is it really spring now? Why is it so hot?
I had only been riding for a short while when a wave of heat hit me.

The sunlight was blindingly white, and the wind blowing in our faces carried a scorching heat, clinging stickily to our bodies.

The leaves on the roadside trees were wilted and curled up by the sun, and every pedal stroke felt like struggling to move forward in a steamer.

"It's only spring now, it shouldn't be that hot, it's probably just my imagination."

With that thought in mind, Xiao Wu, panting heavily and covered in sweat, pedaled his tricycle for half an hour—and then collapsed from heatstroke.

Seeing the overturned bicycle and the unconscious Xiao Wu, Mefulas, who had been secretly following, was speechless.

Oh, Gosho, even Ultraman, who shines as brightly as the sun, cannot illuminate every corner.

The Ultraman you believe in won't know you've collapsed in this desolate wilderness, nor can he help you, and he certainly won't take you to some Ultraman Planet because you did a good deed.

In the end, only I, your old friend, can help you.

He was about to step forward to help when he suddenly heard the sound of a car engine in the distance. "Is anyone else there? I'll observe a bit more."

Mefras once again remained inactive.

A minivan arrived.

KCB TV's "Tian Rui" got out of the car and shook Xiao Wu's shoulder: "Hey, are you alright? Wake up!"

"Come on, let me help you up." He dragged Xiao Wu and his large bag into the air-conditioned car and fanned him.

He was conducting interviews in the vicinity when he suddenly noticed the unusually high temperatures in the area and immediately realized that this could be an exclusive news story.

So they drove over and saw Xiao Wu lying on the ground.

"Thank goodness you're alright. What's this?" Tian Rui asked, pointing to a large bag of Ultraman toys in Xiao Wu's bag after he woke up.

Xiao Wu: "These are toys my church friends bought and asked me to take them to the children in the orphanage."

"Fellow believers?" Tian Rui immediately became alert, thinking to himself that giving gifts to children under the guise of proselytizing sounded like a very serious problem.

"Ultraman Cult!" Xiao Wu said, "We are all people who genuinely identify with Ultraman."

Tian Rui became even more vigilant.

As far as he knows, the United Nations strictly monitors sects that "use Ultraman as a pretext for proselytizing."

Take Japan for example. Some time ago, the TPC's security department cracked down on several cults that used Ultraman as a front to profit from their leaders, and the perpetrators were sentenced to death.

Xiao Wu continued, "Giving toys to children is to help them deepen their feelings for Ultraman."

"I hope that when they watch the Ultra Heroes grow up, they can also become good people who are useful to society, just like the heroes they admired when they were young."

Tian Rui: "..."

The reason sounded very positive, but he was still a little uneasy.

"Then I'll take you there," Tian Rui said.

"Thank you so much!" Xiao Wu said quickly.

Soon, the two got off at the camp where the TPC orphanage was located, where the air was still so hot it felt distorted.

The orphanage director and teachers were too hot to move, while the children ran around freely as if they didn't feel the heat at all.

In the distance, Lucia and Zara, the siblings whom Qi Ming had once saved, were studying the orphanage's bus.

Due to the high temperature, the engine overheated and the car's tires burst...

So even though they realized the temperature was abnormal nearby, they couldn't leave with the dozens of children in time.

Tian Rui wiped his sweat: "We can't let the child stay here for too long. Let's ask TPC for help."

Dean: "We have already asked for help, and the rescue personnel mentioned by TPC are on their way here."

Tian Rui nodded, wondering if he would see Qi Ming again.

Next, the dean thanked Xiao Wu for bringing the gift and then called the children over.

The children were overjoyed to see that they could get Ultraman toys for free.

"Thank you, brother."

"Thank you brother!"

"Thank you uncle!"

Xiao Wu's face darkened: "I'm only twenty-eight years old."

Tian Rui watched from the side and, seeing that Xiao Wu was only giving gifts and encouraging the children and had no intention of proselytizing, felt relieved.

He seems to be a kind person.

"I like Leo, can I have this Leo?" Umeda Dori came up to Satoru.

“No problem.” Xiao Wu handed him a Leo plush toy.

A child holding a Tiga doll nearby said, "Tong, why do you like Leo? He's not that handsome, and he's not that strong either."

Most people prefer to get toys of Tiga and Seven, and it's rare to see someone wanting a Leo doll.

"You're not allowed to say that about Leo. I just like him." Umeda said.

Xiao Wu pulled the children apart, who were about to start fighting: "That's right, no matter what kind of Ultraman it is, they have all fought hard for the future of humanity, and they are all heroes worthy of praise!"

Holding the Leo doll, Doru Umeda went to find his younger sister, Kaori Umeda, and asked her to get one too.

Kaori Umeda: "No need, I already have new friends."

Dori Umeda: "A new friend?"

Kaori Umeda held up a transparent box for her brother to see—it was another escaped Gabishu!
This cunning monster is very weak, so it pretends to be harmless in order to gain human sympathy and protection.

Seeing this, Mefras, who was observing from the side in stealth mode, became even more convinced of his own opinion.

Children with monsters are indeed everywhere these days.

Umeda Dori was taken aback: "What kind of animal is this? I've never seen it before... Where did you find it?"

Kaori Umeda pointed to the large pit next to her: "It was found there."

Looking at the huge crater that had been smashed open, Umeda Dori had a bad feeling: "This can't be... this can't be a monster that fell from space, can it?"

"Take this to the teacher and let her see it," Umeda Dori said.

"No!" Umeda Kaori shook off her brother's outstretched hand and ran away into the distance.

Umeda Michiru became increasingly uneasy and went to explain the situation to his teacher.

Mefras was even more surprised.

What? There are actually children in this world who, after observing something unusual, will go and tell their teachers?

What a normal child!

"It might be an alien creature? Let's go take a look," Lucia and Zara said. Xiao Wu, who had just finished handing out gifts, also took Tian Rui and followed.

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

At this moment, Kaori Umeda led the monster to the lakeside.

She crouched down and spoke to Gabishu inside the box.

"My dad and mom, each of them went to a very far place."

"Now, I'm all alone."

"But I know you'll be there for me and be my good friend."

Gabishu squeaked twice.

It seems to be a response to Umeda Kaori's wish to stay with him, but in reality it's saying, "I'll send you down to be with them when I come out of the box."

At the same time, a figure appeared behind her.

It's that alien from the planet Darius.

His gaze sharpened as he looked at the box containing Gabishu held by Umeda Kaori.

I've finally found you!

----------------

This incident combines elements from "Dyna" ("Friends in the Box") and "Gaia" (episode 28, "Heat Wave").

These are two classic episodes; everyone should have seen them, right?

We've had so much exciting combat for so long, let's change things up. I'll finish writing tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)