Ultraman Legend of the Light Chaser

The Victory team had just cleared out the excess dormitories and converted them into training grounds and reading rooms. The materials scattered everywhere were originally intended to be sorted out slowly, but after this cleanup, they dared not slack off and the whole team mobilized to organize a major cleaning and beautification activity for their residence.

Horii ran from one end of the room to the other, meticulously labeling and filing his haphazardly stacked papers in a way that would make his inspection extremely satisfying; Lina stayed in her dorm room for half a day, reportedly agonizing over which ones to throw away and which to keep at the bottom of the drawer; even Captain Megumi was diligently sorting and categorizing her cosmetics—Munekata had secretly said that the captain had so many lipstick shades that it was hard to tell them apart, even though she usually only used one or two.

Daigo sorted and categorized the books he had recently taken from Aiba Yu and the things he had borrowed from the library. Shinjo looked at the covers of those big books with a curious gaze, thinking that the team was probably going to produce another Horii. His eyes fell on "An Introduction to Human Mechanics" and he exclaimed "Whoa!"

Zong Fang's attention was drawn to this, and he praised loudly, "This is called knowing how to learn scientifically. Practicing combat is not just about getting familiar with muscle memory... I didn't have this kind of brain when I was young. How did you come up with this? You didn't graduate with a degree in biology either."

The old man answered honestly, "I got it from the air force."

The others didn't seem to notice anything, but Zongfang, as the commander, keenly sensed the problem: "Tsk, how come our training doesn't seem professional enough?" His and Xincheng's combat classes usually involved calling people over to learn the routines and then beating up the students, alternating between singles and mixed doubles, and after that, sending them to practice shooting. It was effective and led to rapid progress.

Daigu's hands used to shake like he had Parkinson's during subsequent shooting lessons, but now he can hold the gun steadily. The next step is the advanced service of arranging spent bullet casings on the muzzle and hanging bricks from it. After that, Lina will be put in the simulator for a few spins to relax. This set of superb skills will guarantee a qualitative leap for newcomers.

Lina's focus was completely different. She knew how much Daigo had been taken care of during this time, and reminded him, "Have you thought about giving him something in return? Don't let people think that the GUTS team is arrogant."

“I’m also worried about this,” Daigo said, his head throbbing at the mention of the matter. “He doesn’t need my notes, and his salary is higher than mine. He might not even like the things I buy. What do you usually give as gifts to senior colleagues who take good care of you?”

Lina clapped her fingers together, mimicking a gliding motion: "It's a model airplane that they gave me. It was for my former instructor. It's a commemorative edition from shortly after the TPC-α rolled off the production line. You had to buy it through a limited number of slots—you can't buy it now even if you have the money."

Daigo was momentarily speechless, then turned his head to Nozue, whose thinking was always quick and agile.

“I remember giving my mentor something like… I didn’t go home for the holidays and helped him complete the software development for the project,” Ye Rui smiled sheepishly, “but it doesn’t feel very relevant.”

The pleading look shifted to Horii. The latter clicked his tongue: "The specimens I sent to Dr. Mizuno were collected during my first independent research project."

“I can’t exactly hand over the first alien he captures to him,” Daigo said, burying his face in his hands.

“Let me tell you,” Xincheng leaned closer, “just cater to his interests. You may not know his hobbies, but surely his subordinates do.”

That evening, Fujisawa Sousuke, who was quietly practicing extra, received an unexpected phone call.

Exchanging numbers with that annoying Victory team was just a formality! I didn't expect them to actually call me?

His finger hesitated for a moment on the hang-up button, but he finally pressed the answer button. After hearing the other party's purpose, he first let out a look of astonishment, as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight: "Huh?! What does the captain like?"

"Oh my, you're quite perceptive. I thought you only knew how to brag to me about how many of his handwritten notes you ate!"

"How would I know what he likes?" Ralph, having finished lifting weights, strolled over, wiping his sweat, and saw Fujisawa Sousuke lounging with his legs crossed. "After training, he either goes to meetings or talks about his feelings with people in the staff, or he's looking for you in the library or squatting in the office looking for ways to torment us. You've asked the wrong person, you idiot Victory Team!"

“How could you talk to the other departments like that?” Ralph ruffled his hair with a bear paw and leaned close to the microphone, saying, “He’s lying to you. We all know the captain often brings stones he’s picked up to his office, and he even has a bag specifically for carrying carving knives.”

Director Sawai has a paperweight that he carved. I suggest you buy a book on 'the art of carving' or a 'masterpiece catalog,' or... well, you guys do a lot of field research, so just pick up a nice-looking piece wherever you happen to be."

Sculptural art? Daigo thanked him repeatedly and exchanged a few more pleasantries before hanging up. He thought for a moment and said to Horii, "Are you guys going to be doing a lot of research on Lightning Man lately? Can you take me with you? Um... I'm physically strong and can move equipment."

……

a few days later.

Big Guy, who had won the title of "Lucky Newcomer," walked happily down the corridor of TPC Far East headquarters, carrying a flower stone he had picked up from an island in the southern Indian Ocean.

In Horii's words, "When the Lightning Man's clouds came this way, I thought something bad was going to happen, but you yelled and they ran away. You're our lucky star! We'll take you with us on the next survey!"

Dr. Mizuno, however, thought differently. He was preoccupied with the thought, "The Lightning Man's cloud is approaching, I need to go in and take a look." But somehow, the cloud came and went even faster, and they didn't even have time to launch their drones!

Of course, he wouldn't take his anger out on the people who came to help; he just thought it was bad luck—he decided to ask the equipment development center for a faster drone.

Daigo, feeling apologetic, agreed to continue helping with the investigation as a friend. As soon as he got off the plane, he carried the stones he had carefully selected from the island to the air force office.

"I hope Shinjo's suggestion of 'catering to their preferences' will be useful," Daigo thought. After all, it was a stone he picked up for free, and he still felt a bit cheated.

Chapter Twenty-Five Trial Regulations

When Daigo came to find him, it was right at the end of the lunch break, just before the start of the workday. Most people had already gotten up with half-asleep eyes, ready to start their afternoon work.

Before the inspection team ordered a self-inspection, some offices would secretly sleep an extra half hour, then work overtime after dinner to make up for it, since getting up in the cold weather is really not easy. After the news of the inspection team's unscheduled inspections came out, everyone opened their doors before work hours to show their seriousness, rigor, and proactive efforts.

Daigo heard a "Come in" and opened the door to see Aiba Yu sitting on the bay window, basking in the sun.

He had taken off his air force uniform jacket and was wearing a T-shirt with a shiny object hanging in front of him—half shiny, half charred black, with faintly visible characters and patterns. It was tied with a black ribbon, through which dark green patterns were vaguely discernible.

He was holding a stone and a carving knife in his hand.

When Aiba Yu saw the flower stone in Daigo's hand, he was stunned. Daigo explained, "I don't know much about the materials of stones needed for carving. I picked it up because I thought it wasn't too rough or too ugly. I found it on Kelgueron Island in the southern Indian Ocean. We were investigating the whereabouts of the Lightning Man, and I picked up some during my break."

“It’s alright, I’m not picky about the material,” Aiba Yu put his carving aside, took the gift and examined it: “Igneous rock, it’s not easy to find something so smooth.”

Daigo's gaze fell on the stone he had carved. The intricate patterns suggested it was some kind of clump of plants: "What... is this carved? A flower?"

Aiba Yu looked down at his unconsciously sculpted mess. He'd been enjoying the sun so much that he'd grabbed a stone and started carving haphazardly. He didn't really care whether it was figures or flowers and birds, whether it looked good or bad, as long as the energy flow was steady and the stone didn't break. But what he'd ended up carving was…

“Lapland Golden Thread Palm,” Aiba Yu said, “is native to Finland.”

"Ah, you also like plants?" Daigo's tone became a little louder.

Aiba Yu was stunned for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.

“You might not believe it, but I’ve thought about finding a quiet place to grow flowers and retire,” Daigo continued. “But I happen to be allergic to pollen, so I can only focus on plants that don’t bloom as much… like ferns and mosses. But where in Finland does the Lapland Golden Thread Palm come from?”

"It... is very particular about its living environment, and its survival rate after transplantation is very low. Wild plants have only been found in its native Finland," Aiba Yu said, then suddenly changed the subject: "If you are interested, you will have the opportunity to see it in the future."

“Since you’re here, don’t leave empty-handed,” Aiba Yu said, pointing to a stack of documents on the table before Daigo could ask any further questions. “Those things are yours.”

Daigo thought it was just some kind of notebook, but when he went over to take a closer look, he realized it was a densely packed set of regulations: "Special Life Form Management Regulations (Draft)?"

"The draft will be ready tomorrow. The General Staff will work overtime tonight to proofread for typos and then print it. The Director General's order is to deliver it to the heads of each department the day after tomorrow morning," Aiba Yu said. "This draft has my annotations on some of the purposes and reasons for the rules. They should be helpful in your understanding of the appropriate level of implementation."

……

That evening, Shinjo discovered that Daigo, who was suspected of becoming Horii No. 2, was engrossed in a new, thick "book".

It is called a "book" because it is held together by a clip, without a proper cover or binding, and looks just like a stack of draft papers.

He had been following Daigo's progress; it took him an average of twelve minutes to turn to the next page, accompanied by occasional muttering to himself. Apparently, when he came across something interesting, he would jot down the page number on a blank sheet of paper.

"Chapter Five, Management and Risk Control of Pathogen-Carrying Species..." Daigo's eyes were glued to it, almost unable to leave his gaze: "That's right, we can't rule out the possibility of mutated species causing disease. Infecting humans is just one small category; we consider the impact on other species more..."

"The source tracing issue has been assigned to the Information Department to take the lead? Ah... only him."

They can simultaneously mobilize the investigation teams of the Life Science Research Center and the Police Department. Furthermore, issues involving electromagnetic waves causing mutations, such as those involving lightning-like beings, also require the assistance of the Information Department itself. In other words, the Information Department has become a major research force here—not all issues involving species are solely the responsibility of the Life Science Research Center.

Xincheng tiptoed over and overheard snippets of conversation, either praising "I never thought of this place" or saying "It should definitely be done this way."

Megumi didn't react to her teammate's unusual behavior, but instead smiled without saying a word after hearing Daigo's mutterings. Shinjo couldn't help but ask, "What are you looking at? You should be practicing at the training ground at this time."

Daigo was startled by the furry head that suddenly leaned in: "Ah! This... this is the management regulations for special life forms. The official version will be released the day after tomorrow. Captain Aiba showed it to us first."

Shinjo felt a chill run down his spine at the mere mention of regulations and rules; he feared they might be another set of restrictions that would handcuff the GUTS team. Regulations like the one signed by TPC years ago, which stated that "Peace Organizations' Anomalous Events Investigation Teams do not need weapons," were politically correct but ultimately focused on practical needs. This forced them to accelerate their training with new weapons at the very moment monsters appeared—it was practically playing with lives.

Daigo thoughtfully flipped back to the first page. Shinjo saw the table of contents and realized that this was a set of regulations for managing special life forms that appeared on Earth, such as the Lightning Man and other native species.

The first sentence reads: "This regulation is formulated in order to maintain peace on Earth, safeguard the lives and property of the people, protect ecological and environmental resources, ensure the healthy development of life on Earth, promote the construction of a global community of life on Earth, and achieve harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature."

"Special life forms, as referred to in these Regulations, are species whose origins cannot be traced to outside of the current biological evolutionary branches, or whose evolutionary processes involve areas beyond the scope of current technological explanations."

“It’s like the Lightning Man, an Earth life form that exists but whose evolution is unclear,” Daigo explained in a low voice. “Dr. Mizuno’s report suggested that the Lightning Man’s mutation most likely came from electromagnetic waves used by humans, but his report did not explain the mutation process or the effects of electromagnetic waves on the Lightning Man’s body. This is the ‘area outside of technical explanation’.”

Shinjo isn't good at wordplay, but he's good at understanding things in a simple way: "You mean something that exists but can't be explained by current science?"

Daigo nodded. Horii was also drawn in, fiddling with the long catalog and flipping through the pages. After a while, he was convinced: "This kind of thing can't be completed in a short time. With it, we have a legal basis to attack, detain, or even submit to the laboratory any 'special life forms.' Such a large project will take at least several years... Dr. Mizuno's Lightning Man hypothesis is only a recent development. Is this the work of the General Staff? How long have they been preparing for it?"

Kijima put down her water glass, coughed lightly, and said to her team members, "The idea was proposed 7 years ago, and the formal preparation and writing began 6 years ago. Now we are finally ready to try it out."

"Huh? Captain, you've been keeping this from us all along?!" The three team members huddled together, turning to her in unison, their expressions revealing that they had seen the old fox.

With her chin resting on her hand, Izahiro smiled kindly: "The confidentiality will only be lifted after the final draft is completed at today's meeting; otherwise, I would have taken Captain Aiba to the inspection team right now."

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Petrified Man and the Runaway Man

The "Regulations on the Management of Special Life Forms (Trial)" provides a legal basis for TPC to handle dangerous special life forms. When Horii reported the good news to Dr. Mizuno, he found that the other party already knew about it.

"I have put forward some suggestions on how to provide living space for the potentially mild-mannered species," Dr. Mizuno said with a smile, clearly pleased with the introduction of the ordinance. "It seems that some of the draft has been adopted, though not all of them, but it is enough."

Ye Rui sat behind his workstation watching him pace back and forth, making phone calls. The wrinkles on his face deepened, and he sighed, "This is the brains of the General Staff! It's one thing for the captain to keep it from us, but why did you keep it from me, a student?"

“Everyone signed a confidentiality agreement. If you violate it, you’ll have to call me through the iron bars,” Dr. Mizuno said. “The General Staff consulted and integrated the opinions of many experts and scholars. It took me a lot of effort to stop my students from secretly researching Lightning Man… If we can carry out our work openly and honestly, why not wait for the draft to be tested? Why make it an underground research project?”

Horii hung up the phone and wanted to share the good news with his friends in the industry, but after calming down for a while, he figured those people had probably either attended a meeting or had their mentors leak the news. With this in mind, he looked at his captain, who had kept the matter a secret, and his expression became even more "indignant".

The intermediary team leader worked in the extraterrestrial life negotiation team; she must have attended quite a few meetings! Yet, not a single word has leaked out!

“Don’t look at me like that,” Megumi said, maintaining her composure as usual. She pointed to the draft document in Daigo’s hand, which was filled with dense annotations. “If we’re talking about something... this is the person who initiated the draft. Only he himself could make such a detailed interpretation. I’m sure his team members haven’t seen this document either—keeping a tight rein is part of our professional ethics.”

"I think you guys are just having fun messing with the team members..." At the air force base, the team members who had received the notification whispered among themselves, while Fujisawa Sousuke muttered with a green face, "Captain..."

"Just tell me straight, when are you going to abandon us and jump ship to the General Staff to work with those bald guys? I'll send you my blessings when you go bald too."

Ralph slapped him on the back and whispered, "If you want to have your head shaved first, I can help you."

Aiba Yu ignored Fujisawa Sousuke's daily slurs. Perhaps it was just a habit, but if the other person suddenly became more cautious in his words, he would suspect that he had been possessed by an alien.

The phone in my pocket suddenly vibrated, the screen flickered, it was a message from the Ministry of Information.

At this time, a phone call usually means there's a mission, and a mission means there's definitely a chance to fly a plane. Fujisawa Sousuke craned his neck expectantly.

"The director is going to Kurara Island? I understand." After a brief conversation, Aiba Yu said to his team members, "TPC1 has a mission. Sosuke, come with me. The rest of you continue training."

Fujisawa Sousuke jumped high, and Watanabe Yota teased him: "You should learn from this. I bet you can go solo on the betting odds set by the logistics department."

"Then I'll definitely make you lose money by flying badly during my qualification test," Fujisawa Sousuke replied with a face.

……

The air force received the notification relatively late; the Victory Team had already arrived at the mine where the monster had been reported.

"Who are you?" Zong Fang noticed that the person in charge who came to greet him looked completely different from the photo provided in the report.

“I’m the foreman, the farm owner…” He looked troubled: “The farm owner has a meeting to attend and isn’t on the island.”