Ultraman Legend of the Light Chaser

To outsiders, Tiga seemed to get along very well with the monsters.

Next came some speculation. "Maybe it's a good monster," which is relatively normal; "Giants are also some kind of creature, who knows what they're thinking. Maybe they're not actually protecting us, but treating Earth as their territory, killing those who cause conflict. Since that monster didn't cause any conflict, of course the giants wouldn't bother with it," this is a representative viewpoint among conspiracy theories.

The newspaper that Shinjou Kneaded into Pickles isn't some obscure tabloid; it's a legitimate Tokyo city newspaper, officially authorized, with its front page headlines reviewed. The content actually lists and organizes current public opinion, but the reporter cleverly puts the most sensational information into the headline.

If you look closely, you'll find that the debate between the two sides is actually neither at a stalemate, but as we all know, many people only look at the headline and not the content.

If you go to the newspaper with the charge of "inciting conflict," the newspaper will firmly say, "My report objectively and thoroughly presents various viewpoints without bias." If you point out that the headline is inappropriate, the newspaper will humbly accept it: "You are right, but this issue has already been printed. We will definitely make a serious correction and pay attention next time."

What can the Victory Team do? An elite squad investigating unusual events, interfering in newspaper affairs? Can they manage one newspaper and a hundred others?

So Xincheng can only vent his anger within the team.

Those who shared his grievances were probably the logistics team in the equipment repair room. The Flying Swallow No. 1 was tossed around like a discus by the monster, but miraculously only suffered minor paint damage; the wings could be repaired and it was ready for action again. It was thought that...

The logistics team that replaced the plane wept bitterly, filled with the joy of surviving a catastrophe.

The logistics team unanimously agreed that they didn't care whether Tiga was fighting for territory or not, as long as Tiga protected the Flying Swallow, he would always be their best friend!

If he would do us the honor of a visit, the logistics team would guarantee to use all their skills to give him a full-body scrub and a thorough cleaning! Then the guys in the repair room started arguing about whether to use glass cleaner or gem-grade cleaner for Tiga's eyes, until a nurse passing by in the infirmary said, "Shouldn't we use eye drops?" which settled the matter perfectly.

Delta Force Station says you're still far behind. Tiga gave us a thumbs up and nodded back then, and it was regarded as the highest courtesy of our space station. You should at least be guests at Delta Force Station first!

Rumors were flying everywhere outside, but the headquarters base was unusually harmonious, which was a kind of comfort. Although Daigo was a little unhappy, he quickly put it out of his mind.

What he was more worried about was Aiba Yu's thoughts. Anyone would be upset if they were called a "monster with ulterior motives."

But all his worries vanished when he knocked on the door of the air force office.

"Newspapers?" Aiba Yu held the carving knife, looking bewildered. "The information in TPC's internal database is very detailed. If you need more inside information, you can go to Sato in the interrogation room. Apart from needing to find video materials online to study the battle process..."

"Reading the newspaper isn't for..." Da Gu swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue. In a sense, this approach could be considered "unperturbed by honor or disgrace" in a physical sense.

Aiba Yu remembered something after being reminded by him: "Oh right, I compiled your combat video data a while ago."

"what?"

Two hours later.

The Victory Team gained a reclusive member, Daigo.

"What's wrong? You went out looking worried and came back looking dejected," Lina said, half-lying on the table and moving her head closer to him. "Did you spend all your salary and max out your credit card?"

Daigo thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "I ran into an... old classmate. He told me a lot of embarrassing stories about me when I was a kid."

Then they compiled a reflection manual, filling the Pacific Ocean with shortcomings while the strengths cowered in a corner. That's not all; the real problem is that most of these videos were found online!

Good heavens… Just thinking about billions of eyes staring at him makes Daigo's scalp tingle. He's so embarrassed he could immediately drill a hole through the base's floor and make a three-bedroom, two-living-room structure. What if he accidentally twists his ankle during a battle, or accidentally damages a building, or falls headfirst from the sky? He'd be too ashamed to show his face!

As soon as he spoke, Daigo suddenly realized something was wrong. He looked at Horii, who was extremely sensitive to the words "old classmate".

Fortunately, the latter was far away and didn't hear their conversation. He was only focused on tinkering with the crow people's shrinking ray gun—that's right, it's still early, and Horii hasn't yet mastered the technology to reverse-engineer the shrinking ray gun.

He often muttered, "If only Ryosuke were here." If it were Ryosuke Sanada's brain, this serious new research project might not only be about reverse engineering, but he could even apply this technology to TPC's new equipment.

Even the largest monsters can be shrunk into harmless thumb-sized dolls under the shrinking light, so things like Gakuma will never happen again.

But there are no "what ifs" in many things. Sanada Ryosuke's escape and disappearance, and his being listed as a wanted person, are already established facts. Research fields are now divided into extremely detailed categories. Just as Dr. Mizuno studies the habits of lightning people, but he is unable to get involved in things like developing gene drugs, Horii is also unable to get involved in the application of weapons that shrink light beams.

This made him even more regretful that he hadn't been more thorough in his investigation of the new development zone and hadn't noticed his old classmate Ryosuke Sanada's unusual behavior earlier, so as to persuade him to stop before it was too late.

Meanwhile, in a dry cleaning shop on a commercial street near the headquarters, two people were also talking about the missing worker.

"The stuff we took from his lab has all been moved. We need to find a new buyer quickly," said Kamimura, the bowling ball-shaped dry cleaner owner, his face grim. "Which researcher have you set your sights on? I'll go and trick them into coming here."

The Kirieloid, still dressed as a child, chewed gum and mumbled, "The next target is the Lionnose Base. There's no need to look for another candidate. We've avoided the limelight by shrinking our underground research facility. It would have been a mistake to let an amateur supervise a cunning researcher."

"You've all withdrawn your personnel back to Lion's Nose Base?" Kamimura grinned. "Maybe I can finally find a coffin to lie in and take a vacation."

“No,” the short man blew a bubble, “you need to make money.”

Kamimura, enraged, retorted, "Stop eating and drinking here for free! I can save up a lot!"

“This is the necessary funding for the operation,” the short man said. “I’m taking the fall for you because you’ve worked for us for so many years.”

Kamimura snorted, "Dead men aren't afraid of lightning. It's good that it struck me. I want to die a long, long death. You'll never be able to dig me out of my coffin again!"

“You were the one who begged me to extend your life, and you don’t want to die. You want to live forever more than anyone else. Otherwise, I suggest you find a steel furnace and jump in. Even Kirieloid God couldn’t save you.” The short man was used to Kamimura’s ability to change his attitude as easily as flipping through a book.

"Isn't your god all-powerful? He can't even create a stone he can't lift, yet he can bring the dead back to life and heal bones?"

The short man's face darkened. He spat out his chewing gum and snapped, "Stop playing word games with our gods! What I mean is, even gods can't save idiots! You've been tricked by Sanada Ryosuke, don't you understand yet?!"

"What does it have to do with me that he ran away?"

Seeing the chewing gum firmly stuck to the floor with a "smack," Kamimura Zao's evil intentions grew: "The Victory Team goes to his place every few days. He's too cowardly and runs away from his crimes. Are you blaming me for not promising him enough?"

"Fleeing from justice my ass!" The short man stomped his foot in anger and came up to kick Kamimura Zao's legs, but the child was too small and weak to exert any force. Kamimura Zao didn't budge. The short man then unleashed a series of weak punches on his bulging belly: "I handed over everything I could take to the Lion's Nose Base. The analysis showed that he wasn't researching Ebloon cells at all! He ate your food, wore your clothes, and used your things, all he did was research how to stabilize his body! Ebloon cells were just a cover; he's been developing a special drug to stabilize monster serum!"

"Wait a minute, didn't we get his Ebloon cell sample during the recovery? I saw that guy used most of it." Kamimura let him hit him, anyway, the Kirieloids wouldn't dare to make too much noise here, the TPC base was right next door.

"Use it my foot! He clearly destroyed most of it! Only the Ebron cells are tough enough, otherwise we wouldn't even have the last bit of samples left!" The short man was furious at the sight he saw when he went to clean up the underground research lab in the new development zone.

Ryosuke Sanada has vanished without a trace and remains at large. The experimental equipment is shattered on the ground, clearly broken in his haste before his escape. Only one tube of Ebron cells remains, soaking in a corrosive liquid and not yet completely destroyed.

The short guy went up to salvage the sample, but the liquid splattered out and almost burned his body into a one-armed man. In the end, he had to suppress his urge to go out and fight to clean up the mess!

"I'm always the one burning others, but someone, especially an Earthling, actually managed to hurt me with just a tube of solution!" The short man raised his arm, which had a long burn scar, and pointed it at Kamimura's nose: "You! I'll give you two days to reflect, and then get all those white-glove, red-glove, and green-glove companies up and running. Lion Nose Base doesn't need researchers, but it does need experimental subjects with excellent physical condition!"

……

Meanwhile, the Sanada Ryosuke they mentioned had already stayed at a secret location in Kumamoto City for a few days.

Apart from Aya Tsune, Yuuji Tango, and some support staff who managed their lives, he finally met the other core personnel in room A-117 on the eleventh basement floor.

Besides a woman who called herself a "messenger," there was an old man whose black-and-white photo was printed in the textbook. His facial features were exactly the same as in the book. He should have died 80 years ago, but now he was standing here alive and well, around sixty years old, with a refined and talkative demeanor.

The "messenger" said a few words like "cherish the opportunity" and left, keeping himself tucked into his robe the whole time. The old professor told him, "There are two messengers. The one you met is called 'Iwu,' and the other one, who doesn't appear often, is called 'Adam.' They are both subordinates of the Naga. We also have other secret collaborators, which you will find out later."

"I remember Miss Ayaka told me about the 'New Human' project. What about the Naga?" Facing this figure who could be considered a founder, Sanada Ryosuke restrained his temper somewhat.

"You study life sciences, mainly in the field of genetics?" The old professor replied irrelevantly, "You're a cautious child. You accurately bypassed the trap clues I set and deciphered the correct room number, A-117."

Sanada Ryosuke paused, a chill rising from his back.

Upon arriving here, Tsune Ayase smiled and gave him a cell sample and a nonsensical note, saying, "This is a little test for joining us." When Sanada Ryosuke analyzed it, he discovered that it was actually a synthetic mycoplasma. Combining this with the note, he played a puzzle game.

“The wrong answer is A-109, which was also the first answer I got. The second trap answer is B-717,” Sanada Ryosuke asked, “What if I went to the wrong room…”

“Only the eleventh underground level truly belongs to us. The Naga people support us, and in return, our actions are exposed to their scrutiny. Those two ‘messengers’ are the supervisors,” the old professor replied. “We don’t need members who aren’t intelligent and cautious enough. If you go to the wrong room, you’ll never access the real secrets.”

Ryosuke Sanada exclaimed in realization, "So... I just escaped from the Kirieloids, and now I'm being watched by the Naga?!"

“No,” Tango Yuji pushed open the door and entered. In their own territory, they were indeed much more unrestrained than in other areas: “It’s probably that the Naga think they are monitoring us under the guise of cooperation, but we have already discovered their little tricks. The entire eleventh underground floor is a safe zone… You need to learn a few things next.”

The old professor chuckled and replied, "First, falsifying accounts; second, fabricating academic papers."

Ryosuke Sanada swallowed hard. His pride would never allow him to resort to such underhanded tactics to gain honor, especially since the research, if unreproducible, would only lead to his utter disgrace!

“Then there’s a third thing,” the old professor held up three fingers: “Once the monster serum has stabilized in your body, I’ll give you a month to go out and see the world, to truly ‘get to know the world’.”

"Why? There's no time to waste now."

“No, this is very important,” the old professor pointed to his face. “You recognize me, don’t you? The old man who was active in the early 20th century. In terms of seniority, Mizuno, who is now researching Lightning Man, is my great-great ...

Sanada Ryosuke certainly knew the cause of his death, regarding him and those who went overseas together to seek...

The fate of a group of students is still a topic of gossip that many researchers enjoy discussing after meals.

But the person in question is right across from you, and no matter how low their emotional intelligence is, they wouldn't say those gossips to his face!

Finally, the old professor spoke up: "Because of jealousy of a classmate who had no talent but soared to great heights, he felt that he could never be as good as him, so he got stuck in a rut and eventually committed suicide by jumping into the sea, right?"

Ryosuke Sanada nodded hesitantly.

"The Kirieloids recognized my abilities and saved my life," the old professor smiled with relief. "Most researchers these days bury themselves in the lab and gradually become more and more detached from the outside world, unable to understand many simple things—I was given a second life and suddenly realized, what do other people's achievements have to do with me?"

He looked at Sanada Ryosuke, who clenched his fingers. He knew that this figure, who could be considered his grandmaster, was advising him with his own experience.

"Back then, I was determined to find a way to end the world war. Now we are at peace, but the aliens don't want peace. They want living samples of Earthlings, ancient relics and 'treasures.' They don't care about the coming of darkness; they just want to snatch chestnuts from the fire." The old professor sat relaxed in his chair. His figure and voice were not loud, but they were deafening to Ryosuke Sanada's ears.

“I think since this modified body is still useful, we should do something. You should too. It’s a shame that you couldn’t resist the temptation of the Kirieloids, but we still managed to escape alive. You deceived them, didn’t you? You are smart and cautious, and most importantly, you can be ruthless to yourself.”

Sanada Ryosuke hesitated for a moment, unable to utter a single word.

Yuji Tango held a box in his arms and carefully observed Ryosuke Sanada's reaction. Only when the old professor nodded to him did Yuji Tango step forward and open the white box.

Inside were some neatly stacked metal boxes, each printed with a code. Inside each box was a vacuum-packed bag of stone powder.

The old professor said, "These are some giant stone statue samples that the intelligence department obtained from the North American branch of TPC. From now on, you are the head of the second research group of 'Ultra-Ancient Genes'. I'm asking you to join the first group as my deputy. You certainly won't agree to that, will you?"

Ryosuke Sanada answered with a direct, unwavering gaze.

He could barely control his wildly beating heart; any researcher would feel the same way knowing they were facing a sample of a giant stone statue. If the old professor said he wanted to take it back, Sanada Ryosuke would pounce on him, demanding, "What conditions do you want for me?"

"There are two directions in the research on new humans. One is just like our current physical condition, which is also the direction that the Kirieloids and Naga are dedicated to. It involves the fusion and modification of the genes of monsters and even some aliens with those of Earthlings, so that Earthlings can gain relatively strong abilities. You have personally experienced the side effects."

He said, "The Kirieloids used sweet talk to get unsuspecting researchers to turn themselves into monsters that are somewhere between humans and monsters. Then they used everyone's survival instinct to kidnap us and make us do research for them. I'm glad you at least resisted the temptation of the Ebloon cells and didn't make things worse for your body. Otherwise, what would be on the newspapers now would not be your wanted poster, but a 'good news' article about the Titans defeating the monsters."

"The second is the direction we are currently secretly working on... The ancient humans once used the bodies of giants to fight against the subordinates of the Dark Ruler. What we need to do is to restore the appearance of that time as much as possible from the extremely thin ancient bloodline in modern humans, so that at least when darkness falls, we can buy time for the humans on this planet to evacuate. To distinguish it from monster modification, we call it 'evolution'. After evolution, the human's physique will be greatly improved, which is 'new humans'."

"In fact, the two lead to the same goal. Our research over the years has shown that both 'modification' and 'evolution' are closely related to the ancient genes in humans. And you, and me... we survivors who survived the modification experiments of the Kirieloids, actually possess the qualities of 'evolution'."

The old professor spoke eloquently, leaving Sanada Ryosuke completely dumbfounded. Anyone who knows they hold something that concerns the fate of all mankind would be momentarily stunned, before their thoughts began to wander.

Amidst the shock, he heard his "grandmaster" laugh and say, "How about it? Still want to compete with your classmates?"

Chapter Ninety-One: The Joy of Slacking Off