Am I the only one in this team who is not Ultraman?

"It just feels a bit familiar to me that this kind of system involves having an initial monster and then recruiting defeated monsters as your allies."

"Familiar?" Several question marks popped up above Jaden's head.

"I'll tell you about it later; it's a game I played a long time ago."

At that time, Leo had just been found by Asami Agatha, the Earth had not yet experienced the monster disaster, the old Earth Defense Force had just disbanded, TPC had just been established, and the world was still peaceful.

But then everything changed. Huge monsters appeared, and the world was thrown into chaos. It wasn't until several years later that things finally calmed down and the world is now in its current state.

As Leo drove away from the base, he was lost in thought. While waiting at a red light at a street intersection, he subconsciously glanced out the window and saw a little boy with a backpack, probably just out of school, also waiting for the light. He was holding something that looked a bit like a red garlic clove.

Leo didn't know why he subconsciously looked at that thing. He just felt that something was wrong, but when the light turned green, he couldn't linger and had to leave.

Chapter 9 Earth is about to enter an era of chaos and devastation.

"Sister, I'm home~" The boy unlocked the door, threw his schoolbag on the sofa in the living room, and headed straight for the house's tool shed.

"What are you doing?" A girl with light blonde hair, who also looked like a primary school student, poked her head out of the kitchen and watched her younger brother run to the tool shed and find a small shovel.

Her younger brother always has some strange ideas, and Ida Mari is pretty much used to it. For example, when she is curious whether ants can really carry something that is forty times their own weight, she will catch ants to weigh them and give them cookies that are exactly forty times their own weight.

Occasionally, the younger brother, Kazuya Ida, will have some dangerous ideas, such as trying to make some explosive devices himself. In these situations, the older sister needs to stop him.

"Today, the teacher gave us an assignment. She gave each of us a seed and told us to go home and plant it. She also said that if the seed grows, it will be big and beautiful."

"seed?"

“Yes, this is it.” Kazuya Ida took out the flower seed from his pocket. It looked a bit like a red garlic clove. “My teacher said that this flower only blooms once every hundred years and can grant people’s wishes. I want to give it to my parents when it blooms.”

"I see. Why not plant it in a flowerpot?" Because her father, Kenji Ida, loved gardening, so they had many flowerpots at home.

"Because the teacher said that this kind of flower blooms in a large patch, and the flowerpots can't hold it all, I want to plant it in our backyard."

Looking at the red seed, Mari Ida pondered for a while, feeling that something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"By the way, sister, are Mom and Dad coming back today?"

"No, Dad is working overtime at the company tonight, and Mom is on a business trip and will be gone in a couple of days."

"Oh..." Kazuya Ida took the shovel and went to his backyard, digging a small hole and planting the seed. Then he clasped his hands together and said, "I hope... um, I hope that Mom and Dad's work goes well and that they are healthy. I hope that Mom and Dad will always be well and can spend more time with me and my sister."

The seed was planted, took root and sprouted. It was unknown whether the child's wish had been heard, but at the Dragon God Shrine, Ren, who was drinking tea, suddenly frowned and looked outside the shrine.

“An evil aura…”

"I'm back." Leo appeared at the shrine entrance at just the right moment, carrying the groceries he had bought from Grandpa Kotaro's house on his way here. He looked at Ren with a serious expression. "What's wrong, Miss Ren?"

"It's nothing, I just had a bad feeling just now." Ren calmly lowered his head to drink his tea, carefully sensing the surroundings, but found that he couldn't find a precise location.

Although the evil aura was rapidly growing stronger, her current condition was not good enough to conduct further investigations; otherwise, such a thing wouldn't have happened a month ago.

"A bad feeling?" Leo casually put down what he was holding.

"Don't worry about it. How was work today?" Ren put down his teacup, got up and helped Leo take off his coat and helmet, hanging them on the coat rack by the door.

This had never happened before, and Leo was still a little unaccustomed to it. "It's alright, everything was peaceful today. I'm just not very familiar with the documentation and stuff, but my teammates are all very nice. I can just ask them if I don't understand something."

"Hmm...when did you start using perfume?" This time, as Ren put Leo's coat down, she leaned closer and could smell that the light fragrance was coming from him.

"No, you know perfectly well whether I use perfume or not." Leo waved his hand with a smile. Not only does he not use perfume, but the Defense Force regulations also clearly state that such cosmetics should not be used.

This is because there was a precedent where a member of the defense team sprayed perfume before a mission in preparation for a date, causing a capture operation against aliens to fail.

It seems that with the awakening of racial abilities, will there still be special characteristics in this regard? Ren subconsciously thought of this point, and then stopped exploring the question further.

"Then I'll go cook first." Leo pointed to the kitchen, but Ren shook his head. "No need, it's already done."

So Ren could cook? Leo was a little shocked for a moment. He twitched his nose and smelled the aroma coming from the kitchen. Then he couldn't help but think of another question: Why did he always cook all the meals at home before?

"Let's eat first." Ren's tone was as calm as ever, but Leo keenly sensed that she seemed somewhat smug.

As Ren entered the kitchen, she took out her phone to send a text message to a certain number. She had originally planned to wait until Leo finished his meal before sending the message, but she couldn't let her selfish desires delay important matters.

So, just as Leo sat down at the dinner table, ESCG received a new message. I frowned as I looked at the message that popped up on my computer screen.

"Captain Xianren, based on the clues provided by the unknown civilians, there seems to be something unusual happening in area K. It looks like there's something underground."

"Just an anomaly?" Captain Stringman put down his coffee cup.

"Hmm, should we hand it over to the GUTS team?" The ESCG has now become a defense force mainly responsible for dealing with monster and alien disasters. The GUTS team, to which Daigo originally belonged, is now mainly responsible for patrolling and investigating anomalous phenomena.

Of course, if they encounter monsters or alien invasions, both the GUTS team and ESCG will participate in the battle.

"Notify the Victory Team and tell them to prepare to assist in the investigation. Also, send Daigo, Komon, Fujiwara, and Fujimiya to investigate. Vice-Captain Leo probably just got home, so let him rest for a while. We'll call him back in half an hour."

Anyway, it's just an investigation, it's not that urgent. Leo has been busy for so long today, he needs to rest.

"clear."

..............................................................................

"Mmm, delicious! Miss Ren, your cooking is so good!" Leo could speak clearly while picking at the food, which is quite a skill.

But he wasn't deliberately flattering Ren. Ren's cooking skills were indeed much better than he had imagined. Now he didn't have to worry about Ren going hungry if he worked overtime at night. So why had Ren never been in the kitchen before?

Seemingly noticing Leo's confusion, Ren calmly replied, "With you around, I don't need to cook."

So, my usual status at home is that of the head chef, right? Leo rolled his eyes inwardly, but upon closer reflection, it seemed to be true. The shrine was never short of money; Asami-pa-granny was even considered wealthy. Leo only occasionally went out to do volunteer work.

So the cooking and housework in the house fell to Leo. Grandma respected Ren very much, so Leo naturally couldn't ask Ren to do anything, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

"One more thing."

"Hmm?" Leo looked up, rice grains still stuck to the corner of his mouth. Ren pointed to himself, "From now on, you can just call me Ren."

Actually, Ren had been somewhat dissatisfied with Leo always calling her "Miss Ren" for a long time, but this was the first time she had found an opportunity to speak up about it.

"...I feel like I'll have to get used to it a little." Leo lowered his head and continued eating.

"You'll get used to it after a few times," Ren replied calmly as always.

So this is the Dragon God's personality all along? Leo pondered as he ate. In fact, he had long suspected Ren's identity, but had never been able to confirm it.

But since he was able to summon Zetton, Leo has also developed a more acute intuition about the existence of extraordinary people. He can now be roughly certain of the identity of this Miss Ren; she might very well be the dragon god enshrined in the shrine.

Asami once told Leo that the Dragon God was named Renlong, an ancient being who controlled the veins of the earth, but Miss Ren and Renlong... well, if Leo hadn't seen that Zetton could also transform into human form, he really wouldn't have been able to make the connection.

A silence fell over the room. Leo and Ren both ate their dinner with their heads down, but Ren's eating was much more elegant and unhurried than Leo's.

After dinner, Ren returned to his room, not knowing what to do. Leo was responsible for washing the dishes and tidying up, but his mind wasn't on Ren; instead, he was thinking about the old files he had looked through that day.

Ten years of monster disasters have left TPC's database with a wealth of past data, things that are difficult for ordinary people to access. After reading it, Leo finally gained a general understanding of all the changes that have occurred in the past ten years.

In the early stages of the monster disaster, the entire human civilization was plunged into unprecedented tension and anxiety. The first monster, Golza, swaggered into a city in the far east, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties in just a few hours.

Although TPC claimed that it paid a heavy price to defeat Golza, according to internal files, this was just a statement used to stabilize the situation at the time. In reality, another monster appeared and fought against Golza, which is why Golza chose to escape.

Later, TPC was established, the Earth Defense Force was formed, and human society finally stabilized after the second monster, codenamed Melba, was defeated, giving people hope to continue living.

"Hmm?" The sudden sound of the communicator made Leo stop what he was doing, casually wipe his hands on his apron, and connect to the communication from headquarters.

My Dream's voice came from the other end of the phone, "Vice Captain, temporary mission. We received a report from the public that there seems to be some unusual activity underground in the city. Although the description is vague, it should be reliable. We have already set off and will arrive at Central Park in about ten minutes."

"I understand, I'll be there soon. Do you know the approximate area?"

"do not know."

"Okay." It seems that tonight's reconnaissance mission will take quite a while. Leo hung up the communication, quickly washed the dishes, wiped his hands and walked out of the kitchen. He called out to Ren's room, "Miss Ren, I have to go out for a temporary mission and may not be back tonight."

There was no reply, as if Ren hadn't heard him at all. Leo wondered if it was time to sleep yet, when Zetton gave him a telepathic hint that made him realize something immediately.

"Ren, I've gone out on a mission and probably won't be back tonight."

"I understand." A calm voice came from inside the room. Leo's lips twitched involuntarily. No, it really was because of the way he addressed her.

It seems that this Dragon God is more genuine than I expected.

After putting on his jacket and helmet, Leo hurriedly ran out the door to meet up with the others, only to bump into Hokuto Seiji, who was about to close the door. "Hey, Leo, what are you rushing off to do again?"

"Mr. Beidou, are you about to close up shop? I have an urgent mission to take me out."

"If you're not in a hurry, wait two minutes. There are plenty of bread and pastries in the shop today. Take them to your colleagues. You're new to the defense force, so you need to get along well with everyone."

As he spoke, Grandpa Beidou ran back into the cake shop and quickly came out with a box of pastries, handing it to Leo. It seemed as if he had prepared this in advance.

"Go on, and keep up the good work."

"I will, Mr. Hokuto, goodbye." After saying goodbye to Grandpa Hokuto and putting the cake in the car, Leo glanced at the meeting point, started the car, and took out the combat device and put it in the car.

Zetton automatically popped up on the battle device's screen, but the way it looked at Leo was somewhat strange.

"Zetton, how do you know she's ignoring me because of how I address her?" Noticing that Zetton's gaze kept drifting towards the back seat, Leo reached into a box, took out a small cake, and handed it to the combat device. The cake automatically transformed into a beam of light and entered the device, appearing in Zetton's hand on the screen.

Oh, now Leo knows who stole the snacks he left by his bedside.

“Intuition.” Zetton ate her cake expressionlessly. Leo felt that she and Ren must have a lot in common, since they were both emotionless. But why did Zetton seem a little unhappy?

Come to think of it, when Leo called Zetton "Miss Zetton," she didn't seem too happy. But now Leo can be sure that Ren's identity is Renlong, the guardian deity of the ley lines.

But back then... never mind, it was my fault for not being able to protect Grandma Asami.

Perhaps considering that Leo had just returned home, the meeting place was chosen at the intersection of Xingxiu Street. He parked the car there, closed his eyes and rested for a while, his mind flashing back to his first meeting with his grandmother a long time ago.

Drip, drip, Leo opened his eyes and looked at the raindrops pattering against the car window. "It's raining?"

It's raining. No wonder it was so hot when we arrived. Rainy days are Leo's favorite kind of weather. Raindrops pattered against the car window. He closed his eyes and pondered. He didn't know why, but he always felt that the atmosphere within ESCG was a bit off. Everyone seemed to have some secrets.

Shaking his head to put this unimportant question aside, Leo began to think about the two Ultramen again. He wasn't sure if the two Ultramen were really on the side of humanity, but the public and TPC obviously believed them more than Zetton.

As for Leo himself... as he said, he doesn't believe those two Ultramen are as noble and sacred as they are in the TV series, but he also doesn't consider them enemies. He just needs to be wary of that possibility in the future.

But the Earth is already chaotic enough; in the future... it's likely to descend into chaos.

Chapter 10 Leo's Choice

The rain stopped quickly, and the time for assembly arrived soon. Except for Captain Gentoo and Kai, who were still injured and could only provide support from the command room, almost everyone else arrived at the scene. Of course, the command work on site was still left to Leo. However, when Leo arrived at the assembly point, he found that everyone except him was wearing civilian clothes.

"Since the accuracy of the intelligence cannot be confirmed yet, it would be better to travel in plain clothes to avoid causing unnecessary panic among the public."

A helpless voice came through the earpiece: "Where there are defense forces, there are not necessarily monsters and aliens, but where there are aliens and monsters, there are definitely defense forces." This is a famous saying that was summarized online a few years ago.

Because the intelligence obtained is not accurate enough, the investigation will definitely take a long time. For many people, if they see the defense force conducting an investigation outside of patrol hours, their first reaction will be to immediately take their most important belongings and run away.

This can be considered a lesson learned. Nobody knows if their home will become a battlefield for the defense team to fight monsters or aliens in the next second. It's never a bad thing to run far away in advance.

"Vice Captain, here, this is an outfit I bought for you on the way here." Daigo thoughtfully took out a new outfit and handed it to Leo. He and Leo were about the same height and weight, so the outfit he bought based on his own height would fit Leo well.

"Thank you so much, Daigo." Leo took the snacks that Old Master Hokuto had given him from the car. "Everyone has worked hard. It looks like we'll be busy for a long time tonight. Let's have some snacks and then get ready to start the investigation."

While everyone went to have some snacks, Leo returned to the car to change his clothes. These clothes were a private purchase and couldn't be reimbursed from the company accounts. Fortunately, Daigo knew Leo's character, so he left the receipt in his bag. He would have to return the money to Daigo later.

It has to be said that compared to Leo, who always wears either black or white outfits, Daigo's fashion sense is quite good. He chose a stylish and casual outfit for Leo, who is about the same age as my dream, so wearing this outfit will not arouse any suspicion.

"Looks like I can ask Daigo for advice on clothing combinations in the future."

After changing his clothes, Leo got out of the car and glanced around. He saw everyone chatting and laughing while eating snowflake pastries made by Grandpa Hokuto. When they saw Leo, they were stunned for a moment because, unlike the seriousness they had when wearing uniforms, the casual clothes that Daigo had chosen looked strangely sinister on Leo.

Leo's eyes were cold and expressionless, and his whole demeanor gave off an aura that was not to be trifled with. I even subconsciously swallowed, wondering if I had upset Leo by finishing all the food.

"It seems everyone likes it very much, that's good. Mr. Hokuto's pastry-making skills are excellent." Leo smiled amiably, which put everyone at ease.

"Alright, let's assign tasks. Daigo and I will be responsible for investigating this area. You guys will investigate Area A, Fujiwara and Komon will investigate Area B. Spread out from here and report any abnormalities immediately. Don't act alone."

"Roger that!"

It seems that Leo adapted to the role of vice-captain and frontline commander much faster than he had expected. Gento was pleased but not surprised. He remembered that during the assessment, there was a Q&A session where, when the questioner asked Leo why he joined ESCG, he said it was to protect the Earth.

At that time, the Stringman behind the one-way glass was observing Leo's eyes. It was not surprising that the lie detector did not react. Those who made the choice to join the defense team were basically determined.

But Gento saw the look in Leo's eyes, a look that contained a strong desire that confirmed his determination. At that moment, Gento was convinced that Leo would be able to shoulder this responsibility.

After the mission assignments were completed, everyone began their investigations. Leo glanced at the so-called clues and realized that something was wrong. The Earth Defense Force would not let go of any suspicious clues, but they would not believe every piece of information.

Otherwise, every piece of information would require the deployment of the defense force to investigate, which could lead to unnecessary waste of manpower and resources.

However, this so-called "unusual activity underground" clue is too vague, so vague that it would normally never have reached the hands of the ESCG. In other words, the provider should not be an ordinary citizen, which is very interesting.

However, Leo didn't think about it too much. It wasn't something he needed to consider in his job. Of course, it would be best if nothing happened, but if something did happen, they could prepare in advance.

"Let's get ready to go, Daigo, let's go."