Chapter 29: A World Where Only Giroux Is Hurt

After a brief exchange, the two quickly divided their tasks. Qiao Zhe immediately headed into the mountains to search for the approximate location of the Flame Mountain machine, using his transformation device, which was equipped with a scanning function.

This device, after all, was created by humans of the future as a tool meant to reset the Earth. Yet, it was equally possible that future humans were deceived by the Inviting Destruction entity, just as present-day Inviting Destruction is secretly guiding Fujimiya. The matter involves complex theories—Qiao Zhe was no scientist and could not explain the intricacies of quantum mechanics, merely hazarding guesses.

Perhaps, in some timeline of the future, Earth had been overtaken by the Inviting Destruction entity. The humans of that era, despairing at their fate and the ruined environment, could no longer survive. Thus, they created the three great Nature Machines and transmitted them back to present-day Earth. The Heavenly Realm purifies the air, Flame Mountain prevents the onset of an ice age, and Deep Green sows new seeds. Through these steps, Earth’s environment would surely be restored.

Yet, is this not exactly what Inviting Destruction desires? The planet would become pristine, but humanity would be nearly wiped out in the process. It fits perfectly with Inviting Destruction's plan, echoing the manipulation of Fujimiya. Such a scenario might even create a closed loop in time, sealing Earth’s fate.

The modified communicator had just been handed to Qiao Zhe by Wo Meng. He still harbored many doubts. For example, how did Qiao Zhe know that Bokuragu was an Earth monster, and what exactly was the Flame Mountain machine?

“Could it be that Earth has monsters too, ones that come forth to confront invading enemies?” Wo Meng mused, recalling the time he had destroyed Giru. That creature lived underground, its structure adapted to Earth’s gravity and atmosphere—clearly a gigantic lifeform unknown to humans.

Thinking further, Giru was a native monster awakened specifically to deal with Gobu, though it had emerged a day late. Wo Meng felt a pang of guilt—had he known more at the time, perhaps he could have acted better.

“Bokuragu now emerges early to confront the Flame Mountain machine…” He did not wish to repeat past mistakes. Though he had only recently met Qiao Zhe, Wo Meng chose to trust his words.

After Qiao Zhe’s previous revelations, Wo Meng had investigated. Crisis had shown no immediate issues, but Fujimiya had vanished, and even Daniel, Speaker of the Alchemical Star, had no idea where he’d gone.

Years ago, Crisis predicted that the root cause of destruction for Earth and humanity would soon arrive. The solution—or rather, the answer—never appeared. After Fujimiya deleted the “human” option, Crisis’s prediction changed, but still without resolution. Wo Meng learned this after querying Daniel about those events.

Based on Fujimiya’s choice, it was highly likely, as Qiao Zhe had said, that most of humanity would be eradicated to save the planet.

As for the traitor within Alchemical Star, Wo Meng had his suspicions. Klaus Eckhart, developer of Crisis’s integrated circuits, had suddenly withdrawn from Alchemical Star during the installation. Wo Meng had not yet found issues with Crisis, but remained wary and had not had time to confront Klaus.

All this matched what Qiao Zhe had told him. Trust was forming between them, so Wo Meng believed him without hesitation.

He hurried home to warn his parents to take shelter, opening the communicator strapped to his wrist, “Calling Air Base!”

“This is the command room.” This time, it was Atsuko who answered the video call. “Wo Meng, what’s the matter now?”

“Atsuko, please check the situation in Chiba’s coastal waters again, and near the Oilfield Town—see if there are any giant machines hidden in the mountains!”

Atsuko rolled her eyes, exasperated, “Wo Meng, don’t try to trick me like Joji did.” Last time, not only had the situation gone unexplained, but Joji had been paid for information, leaving Atsuko a little annoyed.

Beside her, Joji grinned and leaned into the camera. “Wo Meng, why are you running so fast while talking?”

“It’s real!” Wo Meng had no time for banter, his face urgent. “The situation is critical—please, I beg you!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll check.” Atsuko enlarged the scanning display, focusing on Chiba’s waters, Oilfield Town, and nearby areas, but found nothing.

Buried deep in the mountains, Flame Mountain was coated with an insulating material, making it impossible to detect by radar. That was why, in the TV series, XIG could not locate any heat source. Ignorant of this fact, Atsuko thought Wo Meng was trying to trick her again. “Still nothing. Wo Meng, stop trying to deceive me.”

“I’m not lying! How can this be?” Wo Meng frowned, his face thoughtful. “Could the monster have some means of evading radar?”

He didn’t argue further. Pausing at his doorstep, he pondered how to solve the problem.

In XIG’s air base, Atsuko’s conversation was noticed by Ishimuro. He was holding a cup of coffee, intending to return to his office, but changed his mind and approached.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Atsuko reported, “Wo Meng says a monster has appeared in Chiba’s waters, and a giant machine is hidden in the mountains near Oilfield Town.”

“Commander, the enemy may have means to shield from radar!” Wo Meng quickly explained.

“Turn the screen here,” Ishimuro set his coffee aside and looked at Atsuko and Joji. “Check again—we can't overlook any detail.”

He took Wo Meng’s suggestion seriously; after all, he was a professional. Tosei, noticing the commotion, also came over, followed by Chiba, who asked in confusion, “What happened?”

Atsuko and Joji, following Ishimuro’s instructions, ran another radar scan.

“No anomalies detected.”

“Same here.”

Ishimuro stepped up to examine the monitors—indeed, nothing out of the ordinary. Considering Wo Meng’s words about radar evasion, he turned to the communicator video. “Wo Meng, did you see the monster appear with your own eyes?”