Chapter 112: Maki: You Better Have a Good Reason!

Meeting Qiao Zhe’s gaze felt like a heavy blow to Gou Lumu’s heart.

Could he really do it?

When it came to unwavering willpower, that was something he could confidently claim. But courage?

He had joined the night raid team precisely because he feared that one day he might be killed by the aberrant beasts; he had taken the initiative to eliminate them.

Could that be called courage?

As for the desire to eradicate evil, that was even further from the truth.

From the very beginning, his drive to become stronger had been for himself alone.

Gou Lumu felt a surge of resentment at these thoughts. Was it really impossible for him to possess such power?

“Does it have to be like this?”

His face bore the expression of someone unwilling to give up.

The power seemed within reach, yet also so far away.

Sensing someone approaching, Qiao Zhe turned his gaze in that direction and said, “If you have something you want to protect, then you can have the same.”

“Gou Lumu, you must have someone you want to guard, right? I look forward to your performance.”

Those words involuntarily brought Saijo Nagi to Gou Lumu’s mind.

“What exactly should I do?” Gou Lumu asked aloud, only to suddenly find that the figure before him had vanished. He was momentarily stunned before reacting, “Hey, explain yourself!”

He turned his head, scanning the surroundings, but there was no sign of Qiao Zhe; clearly, he had already left.

“Damn it! Won’t say exactly what to do!”

If it came to protecting someone, then Gou Lumu truly had the thought of protecting Saijo Nagi in his heart.

But when he tried to think about it, no response came.

It wasn’t that Qiao Zhe was being cryptic on purpose; rather, explaining it in detail would diminish its effect.

Saijo Nagi, holding a DeWitt spear, cautiously approached, and upon seeing Gou Lumu, hurried forward.

While surveying their surroundings, she asked, “How’s the situation? What about that aberrant beast?”

Gou Lumu was lost in thought and didn’t respond.

Muttering the words “protect” under his breath, his eyes remained fixed on Saijo Nagi.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing him dazed, Saijo Nagi immediately reached out and nudged him. “What are you thinking about? Did you hear what I said?”

“Huh?”

Gou Lumu snapped back to reality and, looking at Saijo Nagi before him, instinctively replied, “I’m thinking about how to protect you in the future.”

Saijo Nagi was taken aback.

Hearing words resembling a confession, she paused, then felt a flush of embarrassment and irritation. “Gou Lumu, go to hell!”

She suddenly stomped on the top of his foot, then turned away to join Wakura and the others. Since she was in the mood to say such things, the aberrant beast must have already been dealt with.

“Hey, Nagi,” Gou Lumu rubbed his aching foot and caught up to her. “I wasn’t joking about what I said earlier. I meant it.”

Hearing this, Saijo Nagi’s steps faltered slightly, then quickened a bit.

“You don’t need to worry about it!”

Though she spoke in a tsundere manner, deep down she felt a small joy.

The two of them continued on to join Wakura and the rest.

Mitsuhiko Ishibori looked at Gou Lumu, noticing that he had not been controlled by Mephistopheles, a shadow of sharpness flickering in his eyes.

‘What is Mephistopheles doing? Such a good opportunity—why not control Gou Lumu?'

‘Could it have been defeated?’

‘That shouldn’t be. Mephistopheles was created as the opposite of light; with its power, it shouldn’t be so easily escaped.’

Ishibori overlooked an important fact.

Although Dark Mephistopheles was on par with Nexus Red, it lacked battle memories when it failed to possess Gou Lumu, making its operations clumsy.

When Zaki created Mephistopheles, he didn’t implant any combat memories.

Zaki’s own battle experience was limited to being created to fight aberrant beasts before turning dark and rampaging against the visitors.

Beyond that, Zaki had no other combat memories; he was more of a brute force type.

Zaki’s very creation was modeled after Noah, and the Ultraman he produced possessed power beyond the Ultimate level.

The visitors’ ability to create such powerful figures was unmatched, and they were still progressing.

Fangchuan absorbed people’s negative memories while also condensing a tremendous amount of dark energy.

Zaki’s plan to possess Ishibori and plot within the night raid team was aimed at entering Fangchuan to absorb that dark power and recover.

The more dark energy absorbed, the closer he could return to his former peak.

Creating Dark Mephistopheles was also meant to corrupt Gou Lumu, the suitable candidate, and control him to continue causing havoc.

The more people who saw aberrant beasts, the more dark energy Fangchuan could gather.

But now the plan had faltered, and Ishibori cast a veiled glance at Gou Lumu.

This man had not fallen into darkness and remained a problem.

TLT knew everything, and Ishibori knew all as well—who the Nexus candidates were, and who might become one.

It even knew where Fangchuan was, though it couldn’t enter yet.

Gou Lumu and Saijo Nagi were summoned for interrogation upon returning to the night raid team.

Regarding the fact that the Ultraman was once human, Gou Lumu concealed the truth.

He only said that a dark giant was manipulating humans in the factory warehouse, and when he went to investigate, he faced danger until a light giant suddenly appeared and saved him.

Gou Lumu thought that was not a lie—the person did indeed appear suddenly.

What he didn’t know was that the higher-ups were aware that the Ultraman was a human transformed.

In a secret room somewhere, Yuu Kirasawa listened to the interrogation, hands braced on the table.

“The one who was once a demon is still a member of the night raid team.”

“Ren, you were right; the future can indeed be changed.”

Thinking of an old friend, Yuu Kirasawa took out a shell from his pocket.

It was a shell Chigi Ren had brought back from the seaside to prove that the future could be altered.

He wondered how Chigi Ren was faring now.

The next morning, at the civil airport.

Shunichi Maki arrived for work as usual. Since leaving the Air Force, his life had returned to calm.

He spent more time with his wife and child, growing accustomed to this way of life over the years.

“Maki, you’re here,” the company president, Maki Wanjou, greeted him. “There’s an urgent flight reservation. The client has been waiting a long time.”

This caught Maki by surprise. Setting down his briefcase, he asked in confusion, “Is it that urgent? Then why didn’t they just depart immediately?”

“That client seems very cautious,” Wanjou said helplessly, gesturing toward the plane outside. “They said your skills here are the only ones they trust.”

“All right then,” Maki agreed.

On the civil plane, Qiao Zhe altered his facial muscles using ripples and changed into a white coat.

Seeing Maki approach, he pressed down the hat on his head.

Maki noticed nothing amiss as he entered the cockpit and equipped himself. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m Shunichi Maki from Hoshikawa Airlines.”

The man behind him said nothing. Maki glanced at Qiao Zhe but didn’t recognize him as the person from years ago.

He didn’t think much of it—perhaps the client was still drowsy.

Under Maki’s command, the plane quickly took off, leaving the civil airport behind.

Trying to keep the conversation going, Maki smiled and said, “I heard the area’s great for soaking in hot springs—”

“The hot springs are none of my concern,” Qiao Zhe interrupted, pulling a pistol from his pocket. “What matters to me is you, Second Lieutenant Maki.”

“Just find a deserted open space to land. As a former fighter pilot, I believe you can do it.”

The familiar words and setting brought Maki back to that day when he was kidnapped by Sara Mizuhara.

His smile vanished as he turned sharply in astonishment.

“Hey, are you joking? Planes need a runway to land!”

“Is that so?” Qiao Zhe considered this and seemed to agree. He put away the fake pistol. “Looks like I don’t have Sara Mizuhara’s privileges. That’s inconvenient.”

This startled Maki, who studied Qiao Zhe’s face closely, though he still didn’t recognize him.

“Who exactly are you?”

Under Maki’s watchful gaze, Qiao Zhe removed his hat and relaxed the muscles on his face.

The familiar visage appeared before him. Even though they had met only once years ago, Maki still remembered this person clearly.

(End of chapter)