Ultraman: Invincible from Saving Tiga.

Chapter 350 Inviting Tsuchibashi Yu to His Death
"Twenty-four years ago, the GGF Space Anti-Aircraft Artillery Unit destroyed an unidentified spaceship that was approaching Earth without warning or communication."

Aoibe Emi calmly recounted the facts she had uncovered, each word like a knife stabbing into Tsuchihashi Yu's nerves. "Afterwards, the person in charge classified the incident as a successful defense on the grounds of 'eliminating potential threats,' and classified all the information as top secret."

"you……"

Tsuchihashi Yu's voice was hoarse, but his eyes remained calm. "How did you know?"

"You don't need to know how I know."

Aobe Emi leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, her silhouette accentuated, and looked at him with a leisurely air. "I just want to know, why? Why hide the truth? Do you know that because of one decision you made back then, we almost went to war with an entire alien civilization?"

"I do not know."

Yuu Tsuchihashi, as if a cat had its tail stepped on, suddenly raised his voice, "I don't know anything. I was protecting the Earth. That spaceship was of unknown origin and behaved strangely. Who knows if they were the vanguard of the invaders? My judgment was correct. I am a hero. I did it for humanity!"

He argued vehemently, trying to use righteousness to cover up his guilty conscience.

Aobe Emi listened quietly without interrupting him.

He roared until he was out of breath before Huimei nodded, a look of sudden realization on her face.

"Oh, I see."

She said softly, "So you did it for humanity. Your judgment was correct, and your conscience is at peace."

Upon hearing this, Tsuchihashi Yu subconsciously puffed out his chest, as if he had regained a bit of confidence.

"In that case..."

Hui Mei's smile became meaningful.

"Then why are you running?"

A few words, light as a feather, yet like a mountain, crashed down on Tuqiao You's spine.

His chest, which had just straightened up, collapsed instantly.

The face that had been flushed from his sophistry had now lost all color and turned as pale as his white hair.

run?
Yes, if he has a clear conscience, if everything he did was for the sake of humanity, then why did he run away?
Tsuchihashi Yu opened his mouth, making a "hoarse" sound in his throat, but couldn't utter a single word.

Cold sweat trickled down the wrinkles on his forehead, soaking his collar.

"It seems you can't answer that."

Aobe Megumi's smile remained unchanged, but a cold ripple appeared in her clear eyes. "Then, let me help you recall."

She lowered the back of her chair slightly, shifting to a more comfortable position, as if she were chatting with a friend rather than interrogating a former high-ranking official.

"Three years ago, a serious explosion occurred at Experiment Facility No. 66 of the Space Equipment Research Institute."

Yuu Tsuchihashi's pupils suddenly contracted.

Hui Mei seemed oblivious to his reaction and continued, "The official investigation report states that the accident was caused by the failure of a new wormhole engine experiment. A chief researcher named 'Aoibe Itsuki' went missing in the accident and his whereabouts are unknown."

When she mentioned the name "Cangbian Tree," her voice paused slightly, and a barely perceptible sadness flashed in her eyes.

“It’s a very ordinary accident report, right? Nobody cares except for the family members of the parties involved.”

Hui Mei chuckled softly, but her laughter carried a chilling undertone. "But I'm very curious, why would an accident report about a wormhole experiment be classified as top secret, on par with the 'V99 Incident'?"

Yuu Tsuchihashi's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"What I'm more curious about is,"

Hui Mei's voice suddenly turned cold. She leaned forward and stared intently at Tsuchihashi Yu, enunciating each word clearly, "Why was it only after that accident that V99's home planet first showed clear hostility towards Earth?"

"What...what exactly are you trying to say?" Tsuchihashi Yu's voice was hoarse, like a broken bellows.

"I want to say."

A flame ignited in Huimei's eyes, "Aobe Itsuki is my father."

boom!
These words struck Tsuchihashi Yu like a thunderclap.

He stared incredulously at the young face before him, trying to find a trace of that man's features.

"For the past three years, I have been investigating the truth behind my father's disappearance."

Huimei's voice was filled with three years of suppressed pain and longing. "I consulted all the information I could get my hands on, and I discovered that the so-called explosion was a complete lie! It was a successful experiment. My father successfully stabilized the wormhole and established preliminary contact with the V99 civilization on the other side of the wormhole."

"And you, former Minister Tsuchihashi Yu."

Huimei suddenly raised her voice, pointing her finger at his nose, "Your and my father's research reports clearly state that the exploration ship was unarmed; they were peaceful visitors. But to cover up the heinous mistake you made, and to protect your reputation and position, you concealed all of this!"

"You even used the connections established by my father to seize V99's technology for your own use, vigorously developing your military and binding the entire Earth Defense Force to your chariot of 'self-preservation,' which is in reality 'arrogance.'"

"My father's disappearance is also related to you, isn't it? Answer me!"

The final question echoed in the cramped carriage.

Tsuchihashi Yu slumped in his chair, his eyes vacant, his lips trembling, unable to utter another word. He knew he was finished.

As Huimei watched his distraught state, the flame in her eyes gradually died down, replaced by a cold calm.

She restarted the car, turned the steering wheel, and the vehicle smoothly made a U-turn.

“Let’s go, former Minister Tsuchibashi.”

She said softly, "I think Commander Genkawa and the others would also like to hear you explain all of this in person."

The car circled around and drove back to the brightly lit temporary command post.

When the car door opened and Aoibe Megumi dragged the distraught Tsuchihashi Yu out, everyone's eyes were drawn to them.

Commander Minoru Genkawa looked at the disheveled former minister, then at the calm-faced Emi, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

Chief of Staff Retsu Haruno, who was standing next to him, gave a subtle nod to Emi.

This girl was even more capable than he had imagined.

With just a small amount of investigative authority, she managed to connect all the clues in such a short time and even brought the person in charge back.

"Bring him here."

Minoru Genkawa's voice was devoid of any emotion.

Tsuchihashi Yu was carried by two soldiers to the command screen.

Looking at the massive V99 fleet on the screen, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground again.

Just then, a chilling noise, like a mixture of countless cicada chirps and electric current, suddenly blasted from the loudspeakers in the command center.

"Sizzle—buzzing—hiss—"

"It's their communication!" a communications officer shouted.

As if grasping at a last straw, Tsuchihashi Yu suddenly raised his head, pointed at the screen, and roared with all his might: "Did you hear that? Did you all hear that? It's this! Twenty-four years ago, they sent this same strange signal!"

He seemed to have transformed back into that decisive and ruthless commander, his face displaying a morbid excitement: "This isn't communication at all, it's some kind of psychological attack! It's a weapon! That's what I realized, which is why I ordered the attack. Strike first, I wasn't wrong!"

He hysterically argued, trying to defend his last shred of dignity.

Inside the command center, some people who were unaware of the truth showed expressions of doubt and disbelief.

The sound was indeed unpleasant, and combined with the strange shape of the spaceship, it gave off an aura of being a hostile person.

However, after lasting for about ten seconds, the annoying radio noise began to change in a strange way. Its frequency adjusted and its pitch changed, and gradually, the chaotic noise began to combine into regular syllables.

Finally, a clear, steady, metallic-sounding universal language came from the speaker.

"...Frequency calibration complete. Greetings, Earth civilization. We are the V99 Interstellar Travel Group. We mean no harm."

In that instant, the entire command center was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The expression on Tsuchihashi Yu's face froze completely.

From flushed excitement to astonished paleness, and then to utter despair, it all happened in a mere second.

Hui Mei narrowed her eyes, a cold smile curving her lips.

"So... what they sent at the beginning was just a probing signal, adjusting the communication frequency to ensure the conversation could proceed smoothly?"

what is this?
Someone was driving an unarmed space sightseeing bus, politely knocking on the door while still adjusting the doorbell, trying to ask for directions. Without saying a word, I just blasted them into the sky with an anti-tank rocket launcher.
Not only did they bomb it into the sky, but they also did something even more despicable.

That is, in the subsequent analysis of the wreckage, together with Aobe Itsuki, they confirmed that the other party was indeed an unarmed civilian. In order to avoid ruining his reputation, he chose to conceal the truth, burying all the truth, along with the only scientist who knew it.

Aobe Itsuki's "disappearance" became his perfect shield.

From then on, he stood on the high ground of being a "hero," vigorously promoting the threat theory and turning the GGF into a war machine. He even once thought that he would really become a great man who would protect the earth.

But he never expected that, twenty-four years later, these V99 family members would actually come to his door in a fleet to settle accounts!
"We need an explanation for Earth's civilization."

The voice of the V99 Commander-in-Chief rang out again, cold and authoritative, "Twenty-four years ago, why was our exploration ship 'Cicada's Cry' subjected to a devastating attack by you without any warning?"

"And, three years ago, why did our home planet receive a wormhole signal from you that contained the technological characteristics of our race? That signal directly led to a misjudgment by our home planet's defense system, triggered a strong national outcry, and ultimately led to the decision to launch a self-defense counterattack."

The two questions, like two heavy hammers, struck the hearts of everyone in the command center.

Commander Minoru Genkawa's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He never imagined that the truth of the matter would be so absurd and ugly.

Were they even keeping this from me?
All the senior executives' eyes, as if by unspoken agreement, focused on Tsuchihashi Yuu, like searchlights.

Now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to sacrifice a pawn to save the king.

Everyone frowned, retreated behind Tsuchibashi Yu, and shielded him in front of them.

Please, my lord, go to your death.

(End of this chapter)