Ultraman Legend of the Light Chaser

If it's the latter, then we're in trouble! With the financial resources to build this kind of underground research lab, why can't they also build a hidden facility in other key locations? He didn't know how long this place had been in operation, but just by looking at the wear and tear inside the passageway door, he knew it had been there for quite some time!

If Ryosuke Sanada is indeed the same person Horii described, how could he betray his research for other institutions?

"Look here!" Daigo walked around the central room and found a small door on the side, which was probably the living area.

There were tables, chairs, benches, water cups and kettles, an iron-framed bed, and even scattered books and papers. Two white lab coats were crumpled up, and a pile of white cloth was in the corner. When Daigo got closer, he realized that it was a protective suit that had been torn to pieces and was almost unrecognizable. It had many grayish-brown holes, as if it had been splashed with corrosive liquid from outside.

One can easily imagine the person wearing this protective suit being drenched in corrosive liquid, rushing to the shower to wash off while tearing the protective suit off.

Tear it off?

Daigo checked the material of the protective suit through his gloves. It felt extremely solid to the touch; it would take considerable effort to tear it by hand, or even torn it with scissors. Yet this protective suit had clearly been ripped into shreds!

He looked at Horii, who had been wearing a sullen face ever since he came in.

Zongfang opened the bathroom door, which was covered with wild animal-like scratches. It seemed that the person living inside was not a human, but a ferocious beast that would easily become enraged. The scratches had scraped off the putty on the walls and cut deep into the cement walls, with some debris visible in the grooves between the bricks.

Munakata stood silently in front of the bathroom, then turned around and found Horii.

“I…I’m going to collect samples of the corrosive liquid outside,” Horii said. “Hopefully it’s not what I’m thinking.”

……

Kagoshima, Asaba-sai.

How do you know about Ebloon?

Sanada Ryosuke already felt that the inexplicable invitation was ill-intentioned. He was confident that he could escape unscathed even if he faced a fully armed squad, so he accepted Tsukishiro Ayasa's invitation out of curiosity.

Ai

The Brom Cell Project is a secret of the TPC. How could this dancer, who has absolutely no connection to the institute, know about it?

“I sent you the invitation a month ago, so of course I found out about it then,” Tsui Tsukishiro replied, seemingly changing the subject. “Aibron is a classified project, but it’s not entirely unknown in the industry.”

"You're an 'insider'?" Sanada Ryosuke wondered when a dancer could refer to a research project as an "insider."

Tiao Yuexuan smiled gently, the dim light reflecting in her eyes like flickering candlelight: "No matter what you research, you need funding. To be honest, I know many researchers, famous and unknown, old and young... They are talented, and I have money."

“Some things can’t be bought with money.” Sanada Ryosuke remained noncommittal.

“Of course,” the dancer replied, “I have a lot of contraband. I not only have money, but also connections.”

"You've started an illegal company?" Sanada Ryosuke was already preparing to leave when he stood up, looking down at him condescendingly: "You want me to sell this knowledge to you? You've come to the wrong person."

Tsukishiro wasn't angry at his abrupt departure. She stood up slightly, lifting her skirt to reveal half of her calf: "What if you see this?"

The dancer's legs, due to years of practice, are jade-white and smooth when not exerting force, and the direction of the muscles can be clearly seen when she exerts force.

Tsukishiro Ayase's legendary status among dancers was certainly not due to the frailty of her legs. She could support her body on one leg and complete seven consecutive whippings, even on an unattended stage, whether it was a slippery wooden board or a bumpy grassy field, she never made a mistake, and no other dancer could ever imitate her.

Her legs were a bluish-gray color, the veins throbbing as if they were about to burst, and her skin had become rough and hard, visibly and rapidly covered with a layer of iron-like keratin. She wasn't wearing white socks; her feet in the wooden clogs had turned into claws, the sharp tips bending towards the ground, making a crisp metallic sound as they struck the wooden planks.

Ryosuke Sanada was all too familiar with this situation. He took a sudden half-step back, but Ayaka Tsukishiro called out to him.

“I do have an ‘illegal’ organization, but not for money or to satisfy the curiosity of crazy researchers,” she said sincerely. “We are victims of the Kirieloid experiments, and we are united to fight for dignity.”

“Victim?” Sanada Ryosuke paused, then sneered, “You speak so righteously, but were you actually a victim, or did you agree to the deal and only then discover you were a victim?”

"Please don't judge others by your own standards, Mr. Sanada." Tsukishiro Ayaka lowered her skirt, the delicately embroidered plum blossoms and butterflies trailing to the ground, and she once again became a stunningly beautiful dancer.

“Since you are also a ‘victim,’ you must be facing difficulties in maintaining a stable situation,” she said. “Are you really completely without problems?”

Tsuneyuki's smile is certainly beautiful, and in fact, many people are infatuated with it. However, they don't know how they would react if they knew that the dance skills praised by everyone were based on a mutated body, and that beneath the dance costume, which is as dazzling as its name, there are ferocious legs and claws.

Panic? Or fleeing in haste, shouting "Monster!"

"I'll settle accounts with the Kirieloids myself." Tsukishiro Ayase was beautiful, but Sanada Ryosuke knew that it was just a pretty face. Anyone who had made a deal with the Kirieloids was definitely not a good person underneath.

For example, himself.

Therefore, Sanada Ryosuke remained unmoved.

“We all want to settle scores with the Kirieloids. Do you want to die as a monster or sacrifice yourself as a human?” Tsukishiro Ayaka said, “You have nowhere to go now, and you need to continue your research... But I have money, connections, and stable members, such as me. Your safety is not a concern.”

Her crimson fingernails twirled a piece of paper, which smelled of white plum blossoms. The paper had subtle, elegant patterns and was blank except for a circle of a moon that waxed and waned.

“If you’ve made up your mind, come to Kumamoto City,” she said. “No need to look for it; as soon as you step into the city, someone will come to pick you up.”

Tsukishiro Ayase was quite eloquent; she talked a lot of nonsense but failed to move him. However, her single sentence, "To die as a monster," truly struck a chord with Sanada Ryosuke, capturing the deepest fear in his heart that had kept him up at night for months.

He hesitated before taking the letter.

This time, Tsukishiro Ayaka's smile was no longer businesslike; she seemed much more sincere: "I hope you arrive safely. We cannot reveal ourselves yet, so please be careful on your journey."

Chapter 82 A Study of Failure

Ryosuke Sanada has been placed on TPC's wanted list.

The charge is illegally stealing Ebron cell samples, which led to the premature termination of a crucial research project.

The viscous, corrosive liquid extracted by Horii from the underground research laboratory of the observation station in the new development zone was confirmed to be the blood of some kind of organism after testing.

One part of it is a gene fragment from an Ebloon cell; the other parts have not been fully resolved, and it can only be determined that they are not from organisms in the TPC database.

It's hard to imagine a creature whose blood alone possesses the corrosive power to burn craters into concrete. What must its blood vessels and internal organs be like? Is magma rolling beneath its skin?

“I’m not sure if it’s Ryosuke. I understand it’s very likely to be him, but I can’t understand why he would do this. Does being the head of a project team under Dr. Tsukishiro mean he’s ‘subordinate’ to someone else? I remember he was clearly happy for a month when he was in charge of a project on his own under his mentor!”

"

Horii was frowning. Anyone would feel sorry to see a promising friend fall into obscurity. Although Sanada Ryosuke was arrogant and always pushed himself to be "number one", Horii knew that he was actually competing with himself. Everyone thought he was the rightful number one, but he himself did not think so. He wanted to be more perfect. Standing out from the crowd was not enough. He wanted to achieve something that others could not even dream of.

However, the students in the class are all selected from the best in the industry. Not to mention being far ahead of others, it is extremely rare for someone like him to maintain a slight advantage over the long term.

What Horii didn't know was that, to Sanada Ryosuke, Horii's repeated visits were nothing short of an act of stomping on his pride.

An unremarkable classmate joined the GUTS team and, under Dr. Mizuno's guidance, achieved accomplishments destined to be recorded in human history. Meanwhile, the most outstanding student, the so-called number one, lived in fear and anxiety day and night in the underground research institute.

Often, halfway through an experiment, the craving for "food" would erupt from his very bones, and his hands, gripping the test tubes, would turn into green claws, easily crushing the fragile quartz glass and splashing the mixed solution all over him. He didn't even have the heart to regret having to go through the process again; he only hated himself for being blinded by greed and accepting the "gift" from the Kirieloids under the strong temptation of "advantages" and "the unknown."

He no longer needed to risk transplanting Ebron cells into himself, because something far more sinister was eroding his flesh and will within him.

With nowhere to go and needing the experimental site and funding provided by the Kirieloids, he pretended to be greedy and wanted to transplant Ebron cells, but in reality he was focused on stabilizing his body and researching the monster serum implanted in him by the Kirieloids.

The "bowling ball" that provided him with funds, Kamimura Osamu, was fortunately a businessman who didn't understand scientific research. He could make money as if his house was full of money trees, but he couldn't understand what Sanada Ryosuke was doing every day. He only knew that he would call Sanada Ryosuke like a ghost to urge him to do something, putting pressure on this "dead man".

Can the first place winner fail?

Ryosuke Sanada failed twice.

The first time, he was defeated by his own will and reached an agreement with the Kirieloids.

The second time, he was defeated by his own mutated body; he couldn't control his gigantic growth and became unrecognizable.

Thus, a rumor about a "monster's shadow" spread in the newly developed area. He couldn't consistently complete a whole set of experiments. After a week of continuous sampling and analysis, he would often end up crushing test tubes and having to lock himself in the shower and roar to finish—his fingernails became extremely hard, making cement walls as fragile as tofu under them.

In his final outburst, he could barely control his urge to eat, so he fled into the sea that very night. His mutated body could hold its breath for several tens of minutes without needing to breathe. Listening to the endless tides, he submerged himself in the icy water and finally felt a moment of peace.

Should he go back? When he awoke, it was already broad daylight. The observatory stood bathed in the glow of dawn, and the town across the reefs and white sand beaches was gradually awakening. Sanada Ryosuke gazed at the all-too-familiar scenery, yet he was trapped in a vortex of confusion.

He recalled his student days when he aspired to scientific research, up to the eve of receiving the serum injection. He recounted his experiences of receiving praise from his mentor for the first time, winning the best award of the year for the first time, and serving as the project leader for the first time, as well as the chaotic days of struggling day and night with a terrifying appetite and tearing the shower room to shreds.

He eventually gave up the idea of ​​going back.

The scientific research I rely on for survival couldn't keep up with the speed at which I've mutated into a monster. I guess the next time I lose control, I'll be charging into the town. The next time I meet Horii, it might be when he, as part of the GUTS team, comes to destroy this monster.

“Things don’t happen more than three times,” Sanada Ryosuke thought. “Maybe this is a case of ‘when all hope is lost, all hope is lost’?” He clutched the business card, hid in an abandoned prefab house for half a day, and finally boarded the train to Kumamoto City.

What exactly is Tsukishiro Ayase, and the organization she claims to be "taking revenge on the Kirieloids"?

He knew that the Kirieloids must have been operating on Earth for quite some time. Kamimura always claimed to be a "dead man," and Sanada Ryosuke had indeed secretly investigated him, but apart from seeing his name on the registration information of a dry cleaner, there were no other records of him, including the academic records that everyone has from elementary school onwards.

Did Kamimura provide Sanada Ryosuke with a huge amount of funds and equipment just fall from the sky and happen to land in that dry cleaning shop?

Ryosuke Sanada speculated that the Kirieloids must have recruited other members to work for him, or that they themselves disguised themselves as Earthlings. With their superior physical abilities and intelligence capabilities, he believed they could become top-tier in anything they wanted to do.

They seize Earth's resources, from minerals, money, and manpower to various contraband, luring talented researchers onto their treacherous path and using Earthlings' bodies for experiments. What is their purpose?

Ryosuke Sanada recalled the monster serum raging in his veins, produced by the Kirieloids. The price given to him was that Ryosuke Sanada had to conduct research on a specific project, and the results had to be provided exclusively to the Kirieloids.

After much hesitation, Sanada Ryosuke finally couldn't overcome himself. He risked injecting the serum and indeed felt a power beyond that of ordinary people that very day, as if he could become a god—he distorted a space, twisting the table into the shape of an old tree bark stripped from its trunk after a typhoon.

Before his excitement had even subsided, he watched helplessly as bone horns grew from his body.

The hard outer shell shattered the white coat he'd worn for days. At the same time, his defenses crumbled, along with his insatiable craving for "food." He was consumed by thoughts of getting out of that door; outside were many colleagues, all of whom could be...food!

Fortunately, this longing only lasted a few seconds before Sanada Ryosuke felt like he'd been pulled out of water. He knew he couldn't refuse his promise to the Kirieloids; even if he didn't study the Ebloon cells, he needed to find a safe and secluded place to resolve his problem.

Now that I think about it, could this serum... be the product of some "former researcher," just like the project where he was semi-forced to study the symbiosis between Ebloon cells and the human body?

What was his outcome?

Ryosuke Sanada shuddered.

Tsukishiro Ayaka's words echoed in my ears again: "You want to die as a monster?"

Of course not! Sanada Ryosuke no longer hesitated. After confirming that there was no one to transfer in the bus to Kumamoto City, the bus, fully loaded with passengers, headed north.

Chapter 83 The Sea of ​​Loneliness

South Pacific Ocean, 48°S, 123°W.

As night deepened, a deep-sea fishing vessel tossed about in a storm.

This area is close to Point Nemo, and few ships plan their routes to this "world's loneliest sea." Below it lies virtually no marine life, considered a "desert in the sea," and the nearest islands stretch out over 2600 kilometers away.

Far from land, far from shipping lanes, and even ignored by ocean currents, only the westerly winds that sweep across the South Pacific are willing to treat this area equally, preventing it from falling into complete stillness—thus creating tonight's storm.