They traveled through time at the same time, but the villainous scientist

Chapter 274 Daigo's Ancient Shura Field

After the dust settled, the escape pod naturally became TPC's spoils of war.

After being transported back to the base, Masaki Keigo personally led the research team to begin disassembling it.

After all, this was their first time encountering a spaceship capable of interstellar travel...

Meanwhile, in the command center of TPC Far East headquarters, the atmosphere was much more relaxed.

After the intelligence about Raichu Wenren was handed over, launching an attack at that time was undoubtedly the most correct choice.

Unexpectedly, the next day, an unsuspecting person appeared in the Victory Team's command room.

"Commander Nanase!"

Daigo saw the person who had arrived and exclaimed in surprise.

The newcomer was none other than Nanase, the commander of the Delta Space Station.

He had just finished an urgent performance review, looking travel-worn with a hint of fatigue on his face.

His gaze swept around the command room before finally settling on Lina, his sharp eyes softening instantly.

However, the slight smile that had just appeared on Lina's face froze the moment she saw him.

Her eyes became complicated, showing surprise, estrangement, and even a hint of unspeakable grievance.

She turned around almost instinctively, avoiding her father's gaze, and walked quickly out of the command room without saying a word.

Only Daigo and Nanase remained in the command room...

"Forehead……"

Daigo scratched his head, looking at Rena's resolute departing figure, and then at Commander Nanase, who was frozen in place, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"Sorry for disturbing you."

Commander Nanase looked somewhat disappointed, but quickly regained his composure as a commander, as if his earlier lapse in composure had never occurred.

He turned to Daigo, forcing a slightly stiff smile.

"Team member Daigo, can I ask you for a favor?"

He pulled a lipstick from his pocket, something he had never been able to give away.

"Please pass this on to Lina for me."

She's grown up, and perhaps... she no longer needs me, her father, as a gift.

But this is just a small token of my appreciation.

After saying that, he didn't linger and turned to leave.

His back was ramrod straight, just like the dignity of his position as the space station commander, but Daigo could see a hint of desolation and loneliness in it.

Daigo looked at the lipstick in his hand and felt its weight.

……

Daigo found Rena in the GUTS lounge.

She sat alone by the window, holding a cup of hot cocoa in her hand, but didn't drink it. She just stared blankly at the people coming and going outside, lost in thought.

Daigo walked over quietly and placed the lipstick on the table in front of her.

"This is what Commander Nanase asked me to give to you."

Lina turned her gaze from the window to the lipstick on the table. Her eyes flickered, but she didn't reach out to take it.

"I do not need."

Her voice sounded muffled.

"He came here specifically to personally hand this to you."

He also said that perhaps you have grown up and do not need these things anymore, but this is a small token of his appreciation.

Daigo said softly, pulling out the chair opposite him and sitting down.

Daigo was merely repeating Commander Nanase's words, but the way he spoke them seemed to carry an added layer of gentle reassurance.

Lina remained silent for a long time before finally reaching out and taking it.

"He's always like this, thinking that buying these things that girls like will make up for everything..."

She spoke softly, as if talking to herself.

Daigo didn't speak, he just listened quietly.

“When I was little, he was always out in space. He never attended parent-teacher meetings, and he was never there when I was sick.”

Every time he comes back, he brings me gifts: dolls, new dresses, and these... cosmetics.

Lina's voice was choked with sobs.
"But he has no idea that these are not the things I want. I just want him to spend more time with me, even if it's just for an afternoon."

"He is a great hero, protecting the Earth and all of humanity. But I am also a human being, so why can't I be protected by him and accompanied by him?"

She looked up at Daigo, feeling somewhat wronged.

"I can understand."

“My parents… died in an accident when I was very young. After that, I was adopted by my current parents.”

Lina looked at him with some surprise; this was the first time she had heard Daigo talk about his background.

“Although my adoptive parents treated me very well, for a long time I felt like an outsider, someone who didn’t belong there.”

"I always feel that I shouldn't ask for too much; I just need to live a peaceful life."

Therefore, I rarely express my thoughts proactively, for fear of causing them trouble.

Daigo paused for a moment, then refocused his gaze on Lina, his eyes filled with utmost seriousness:
"But Lina, your father loves you."

He just... didn't know how to express it.

"Thank you, Daigo."

"You're right, perhaps... I should try to understand him."

Lina sniffed, looked at the lipstick in her hand, and a relieved smile appeared on her face.

She carefully put the lipstick away...

"When he comes back next time, I want to... I want to have a good talk with him."

By the way, I'm thinking of going to pick out a return gift for him in a few days.

"Could you... come with me?"

Lina asked Daigo.

"Um... does this count as a date?"

Daigo was taken aback and asked instinctively.

"Haha, what kind of date is it where the girl has to ask you out first?"

Seeing Daigo's dumbfounded expression, Lina covered her mouth and laughed.

Seeing the smile return to Lina's face, Daigo felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

Unconsciously, he recalled the boy he had seen in his memories of the ancient past, who might have been their son...

……

in a few days

There have been no recent reports of monster sightings or signs of alien invasion.

Daigo and Rena's leave applications were approved very easily.

Thus, Daigo's mission to accompany Rena in "choosing a gift for Commander Nanase" began.

However, the first stop on this trip was neither a high-end department store nor a quaint gift shop, but... a bustling amusement park.

"Wow! Look at that roller coaster! Let's go ride that one!"

Like a bird freed from its cage, Lina pointed at the towering steel dragon in the distance, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Weren't we... here to buy a gift for your father?"

Daigo looked at her excited expression and couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh dear, buying gifts depends on your mood! Relax first, and you'll have better inspiration!"

Without a word, Lina grabbed Daigo's wrist and ran towards the roller coaster.

"Let's go, let's go!" The warm touch on his wrist made Daigo's heart skip a beat.

He looked at Lina's hair fluttering in the sunlight and her bright smile, and in the end, he could only smile helplessly and indulgently, letting her pull him into the joyful crowd.

On the roller coaster, Lina screamed excitedly, enjoying the thrill of weightlessness, while Daigo tried his best to maintain his "calm and reliable" image, even though his stomach was already churning.

After getting off the roller coaster, they went to play shooting games.

As GUTS's ace pilot, Lina displayed amazing marksmanship, taking all the prizes in just a few shots, drawing gasps of amazement from those around her.

She proudly shoved the biggest plush bear into Daigo's arms, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Daigo, your shooting skills still need improvement!"

Daigo, holding a bear that was taller than himself, was both amused and exasperated, and could only nod repeatedly.

Next stop, a tranquil and dreamlike aquarium.

Unlike the hustle and bustle of the amusement park, everything here seemed so peaceful.

They stood side by side in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, watching a giant manta ray spread its wings and glide gracefully over their heads.

"It's so beautiful..."

Lina sighed softly, her profile appearing exceptionally gentle in the shimmering blue water.

"Yes."

Daigo looked at her and responded softly.

But he wasn't looking at the fish; he was looking at her.

If only time could stand still at this moment...

……

Evening
Daigo and Rena found a cafe on the street and chose a seat by the window.

They were indeed quite tired after walking around all day.

"So, when exactly should we buy the gift?"

Daigo took a sip of coffee and joked with a smile.

"Tomorrow! I'll definitely go tomorrow!"

Lina stuck out her tongue and said playfully,
"Work-life balance is key! Let's treat today as... a day off~"

Seeing her self-righteous attitude, Daigo shook his head helplessly.

……

While they were enjoying this rare moment of leisure, dozens of kilometers away, in a secret laboratory located underground at TPC headquarters...

Masaki Keigo took out the PDI, and a red light suddenly flashed on the screen.

[Warning! Unknown high-energy reaction detected! Energy waveform analysis in progress...]

Countless data streams rolled rapidly, and finally, a waveform completely different from the previous ones was extracted separately. It was a distorted, chaotic, and ominous dark purple waveform, like a black hole ready to devour its prey.

[Waveform comparison complete. The energy waveform is completely inversely related to the target 'light'.]

"This is……"

Masaki Keigo was taken aback. This waveform came from his underground research lab in Kumamoto City, and it was the energy that turned him into light.

If it's the exact opposite, that is, darkness...

……

Inside the cafe.

"Speaking of which, Daigo, why did you want to join GUTS? I remember you used to be in the transportation department, right?"

Lina stirred her coffee and asked curiously.

"because……"

Just as Daigo was about to answer, everything in front of him suddenly began to distort and blur.

The warm lights of the café, the dazzling night view outside the window, Lina's concerned face... everything was like paint thrown into water, quickly dissolving and fading, and finally being swallowed by endless darkness.

The next second, he found himself standing on a pile of ruins.

The sky was an eerie dark red, and the air was filled with the smell of burning and blood.

The city was burning, and in the distance came piercing screams and the roar of collapsing buildings.

"Roar--!"

A terrifying roar, unlike anything from Earth, echoed through the sky. Daigo looked up abruptly and saw a ferocious monster, like a giant flying bird, circling above the city. Each flap of its wings unleashed a devastating storm.

That's... the ancient elite monster Zoga!
This is... just like it was 30 million years ago...

Protect them! We must protect everyone!
A thought surged into my mind like an instinct.

He instinctively took out his magic light stick.

"Diga!"

However, the light that shot into the sky was not the warm glow he was familiar with, but rather... a deep, cold, and chilling pure darkness!
A giant, entirely black, rose from the ground, his body wreathed in ominous black lightning, emanating a terrifying aura capable of freezing the soul.

Dark Tiga!

"Daigo! Daigo! What's wrong?"

Just as he was being consumed by this dark power and about to descend into madness, a familiar and anxious voice, like a ray of light piercing the darkness, forcibly pulled his consciousness back from that abyss of despairing memories.

The scene before me refocused, and the burning ruins transformed back into a cozy café.

Daigo was breathing heavily, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

He looked at Lina, who had a worried expression on her face, and felt a wave of fear wash over him.

The hallucination he just experienced was too real, even more real than when he experienced the memories of the ancient past...

"I...I'm fine, I'm just a little tired."

He forced a smile, preparing to respond to Lina's concern.

Just then, his pupils suddenly contracted.

He saw a figure weaving through the crowd in the café and walking straight toward him.

It was a woman, a woman wearing a long black dress.

Her skin was so white it was almost translucent, and her long, jet-black hair cascaded down like a waterfall.

Her beauty carried a breathtaking sense of danger, especially her eyes, which were so deep they seemed to suck one's soul in.

"Ok?"

Lina noticed Daigo's unusual behavior and followed his gaze.

When she saw the woman in the black dress, she couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, a hint of amazement flashing in her eyes.

So beautiful!

The woman in the black dress ignored all the gazes around her; it seemed as if Daigo was the only person in her world.

She stopped a step away from the table and said to Daigo,

"Long time no see, Daigo~"

The call, like a whisper between lovers, instantly froze the air in the café.

Lina's expression instantly turned to shock.

She suddenly looked at Daigo, then at the woman.

This attitude, this look in your eyes... this is definitely not something an ordinary friend would have!

When did Daigo, this honest and simple guy, get to know such a charming and ambiguous female friend?
A strange sense of bitterness and crisis instantly welled up in Lina's heart.

However, Daigo had no time to pay attention to Rena's impending explosion of inner power.

His body was completely stiff, and his blood seemed to freeze instantly.

He knew this woman.

No, to be precise, he had seen her countless times in the memories of his ancestors.

That was his former lover, who, along with his ancestors, dragged the world into darkness thirty million years ago, and was ultimately sealed away by his own hands...

Camilla, the leader of the ancient dark giants.

How did she end up here?!
(End of this chapter)