Chapter 36: Ah! This World-shaking Power!
Those underground natural gas pipelines would instantly be triggered into explosions by the extreme heat, and the vastness of the area meant a chain reaction would ensue! The civilians who had been evacuated earlier were all now in underground shelters, and there was a high probability they would be buried alive by the earthquakes caused by the chain explosions.
Just as the members of XIG were filled with worry—
Bang—
A chain suddenly snapped. The energy gauge of the Yan Mountain Machine reached the second bar, and the temperature soared once more. Immediately, the other chains could no longer withstand the strain!
At that moment, one chain after another broke apart!
This scene made everyone’s hearts tighten, their faces filled with terror!
The same thought flashed through every mind: It’s over, there isn’t enough time!
The Yan Mountain Machine, radiating intense heat, plummeted straight towards the Oilfield Town!
Snap. Qiao Zhe closed his communicator and, as the blue Ultraman transformation device appeared on his wrist, the Y-shaped energy core began to glow.
Ding—
A silvery white light erupted!
A towering, silver giant appeared, moving with the speed of a meteor streaking across the sky!
He flashed behind the Yan Mountain Machine, stretched out both hands to push up its body, and held it aloft at a rising angle, ascending at tremendous speed!
In the blink of an eye, he had reached high altitude and lifted the Yan Mountain Machine above his head!
Because JOJO was so fast, all of this happened in a mere instant.
To the XIG members, all they saw was a flash of silvery light, a meteor-like figure, and then the Yan Mountain Machine vanished from sight.
Fortunately, XIG’s detection devices quickly captured JOJO’s figure high in the sky.
In the command room of the Sky Base, Atsuko switched the image to the big screen. “Commander, it’s Ultraman JOJO!”
On the screen, JOJO hovered high in the air, hands raised as he held the Yan Mountain Machine aloft.
“So that flash of light was JOJO!” Staff Officer Chiba’s eyes widened in disbelief, wondering if his eyesight was failing. He hadn’t seen what happened at all—one moment the Yan Mountain Machine was falling toward the Oilfield Town, and the next, it had simply disappeared.
Ishimuro gazed thoughtfully at JOJO on the screen, but chose to remain silent, pretending not to understand. With a sigh of relief, he said, “That was just in time, JOJO.”
“Ultraman JOJO,” Teisei on the Peace raised his head to look into the sky, and suddenly thought of something, exclaiming in surprise, “With the Yan Mountain Machine’s temperature, doesn’t JOJO feel the heat?”
JOJO didn’t feel hot at all.
On the contrary, now that he had transformed, he had an instinctive sense that he could absorb the heat energy from the Yan Mountain Machine.
This was feedback brought by the Light of the Sky.
As the guardian of Earth’s sky, the sky naturally included the magnetic field, constantly deflecting or absorbing most of the cosmic rays from space.
No matter how high the Yan Mountain Machine’s temperature, it couldn’t surpass the heat of a solar storm.
To a certain extent, JOJO was immune to flame energy—there was no risk of turning into a “flame head.”
Not only that, sensing he could absorb heat, he immediately began to act on the Yan Mountain Machine!
Heat energy? I’ll take it!
The red energy on the Yan Mountain’s surface instantly flowed through JOJO’s hands, transferring into his body. Even his silvery form was soon tinged with a red glow.
“This sensation! This power! I’ve never felt so exhilarated!”
The surging heat was absorbed into him, awakening the new form of the Light of the Sky. JOJO felt a rush of pleasure from head to toe.
This wasn’t the Yan Mountain Machine—it was the key to unlocking a new form!
Thank you, mysterious benefactor from the future, for this “super experience pack”!
Whether or not the future dweller was pleased, JOJO was certainly getting high off the energy.
That sensation was intoxicating!
While he was enjoying himself, the Yan Mountain Machine began to tremble violently.
The energy it had painstakingly gathered now poured out as if a dam had burst.
Its energy gauge, which had just reached the second bar, soon dwindled to one, and was rapidly being drained away.
Before it could transform into a monster, the only thing that could move was the rolling mechanism at its base, but JOJO was holding it high in the sky.
Transformation required energy, but that energy was being absorbed.
It was truly a deadlock.
The situation with JOJO drew the attention of Ishimuro and the others.
“Why is he just holding it there?” Staff Officer Chiba asked in confusion.
Ishimuro observed the red glow on JOJO’s body, so similar to the Yan Mountain Machine’s, and speculated, “Perhaps he’s doing something important.”
“Commander, the heat from the Yan Mountain Machine is dropping rapidly!” Atsuko reported.
Teisei on the Peace suddenly realized, “So JOJO is absorbing its heat energy!”
High above, the Yan Mountain Machine’s last bar of energy, along with the core that generated its heat, was completely absorbed by JOJO.
The entire machine stopped trembling. The red glow on its surface faded—clearly, it was finished.
By contrast, JOJO’s entire body radiated a fiery red light. As the crystal on his forehead flashed, all the energy was instantly retracted, and his body returned to its silvery sheen.
The energy hadn’t disappeared; it was now stored within his body. Whenever JOJO wished, he could activate a new form.
Much like Tiga.
However, JOJO’s transformation was into a red, violently blazing power form, greatly enhancing his strength and defense without sacrificing speed.
In this form, his attacks and abilities would all be amplified.
But with no stronger enemies present, there was no need to activate his new form.
Savoring the changes in his body, JOJO began to look forward to the Celestial Machine.
That future dweller’s natural-control machine had arrived at just the right time!
He turned his gaze toward the coastline below.
Gaia and Agul were still locked in combat, both their warning lights flashing.
Bokuragu stood not far from them, looking both shocked and confused.
“Hey—Bokuragu!” JOJO called out, flying above, holding the Yan Mountain Machine. “Catch!”
At the sound of his voice, Bokuragu looked up and saw a massive object falling toward him. He had no time to react before everything went dark.
Bang—
A sound rang out as the Yan Mountain Machine landed on Bokuragu’s head, pressing his entire fish-like face onto his chest.
“Roar!!!”
You reckless fool, you’d better have a good reason for this!
With a furious roar, Bokuragu felt the world spin, his head buzzing as he crashed to the ground.
JOJO landed, observed the scene, and fell silent, pretending nothing had happened.
He’d thought Bokuragu would catch it with his claws, but the other hadn’t reacted in time.
Come to think of it, monster movements were indeed slower and less agile than Ultraman’s.
The Yan Mountain Machine rolled onto the ground as well, but it was now completely drained of power.
The commotion drew Gaia and Agul’s attention, and they stopped fighting to look over.
“JOJO!” Gaia called out with delight.
Agul, however, felt his heart sink, his gaze wary and fixed on JOJO. “It’s that guy! Damn it!”