Chapter 50: I Don’t Want This Kind of Embarrassing Past

Just as I was in the command room, the moment I heard what Qiao Zhe said, I immediately stepped forward and squeezed Atsuko aside.

"Hey, what's with you?" Atsuko, who was nearly lifted off her seat, turned her head and glared at me in clear annoyance. "Can't you respect personal boundaries? I'm a girl, you know!"

Right now, Atsuko was secretly harboring feelings for Kaji from the Lightning Team. Since she didn't like me, she naturally resisted such sudden closeness.

Joji watched from the side, thoroughly amused. She thought that I and Atsuko always seemed to share a certain unspoken understanding from time to time.

After Atsuko's words, I finally realized how close we were, a bit embarrassed by the situation. Indeed, we were standing almost shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Uh... sorry," I muttered awkwardly, then transferred the communications feed to the main screen.

"What happened?" Commander Ishimuro walked into the command room at that moment and stepped forward with a question. Tagoshi and Chiba were right behind him.

It was dusk; they had just finished arranging aid for Makuta City.

When I saw Ishimuro and the others arrive, I relayed what Qiao Zhe had just said: "Qiao Zhe-san says Gahn Q hasn't been completely destroyed."

"Wasn't it already destroyed?" Tagoshi looked puzzled, his tone full of confusion. "I saw Gaia emerge from Gahn Q's head with my own eyes."

"Yeah, I remember clearly—Gahn Q exploded and even accidentally hit the Blue Ultraman. We still have combat footage of that."

My face went stiff at those words; I suddenly felt unsettled.

Why is there footage of that incident?!

Through the video feed, Qiao Zhe glanced at me—goodness, Fujimiya must have found today's events unforgettable.

Perhaps he would never forget them for the rest of his life.

Turning to face the perplexed Tagoshi, Qiao Zhe spoke plainly, not bothering with euphemisms: "According to my investigation, Gahn Q is a product of sorcery."

"You must have noticed—this monster shows no signs of life."

"So what exactly is it?" I pressed for answers.

Gahn Q had tormented me enough; now that there was a clue, I was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Let me finish," Qiao Zhe continued, recalling what he knew. "Back in the Warring States period, there was a man named Demon Ghost Juuro who attempted to use sorcery to control the world."

"But he failed, and as he died, he called upon the power of a harbinger of ruin to unleash his final curse—Gahn Q."

"Now, this man has become a vengeful spirit. As long as Demon Ghost Juuro remains, Gahn Q can be revived by him again and again."

"Then how do we find him?" Advisor Chiba asked.

Qiao Zhe described, "Find a boy with psychic abilities—he wears glasses and is a descendant of Demon Ghost Juuro."

"His childhood friend is a girl whose mother runs a sundae ice cream shop."

"The search area is within Tokyo, and the shop has an excellent reputation."

"Demon Ghost Juuro is likely haunting this boy as a spirit, trying to draw strength from his descendant. Find the boy, and you'll find Demon Ghost Juuro."

As he spoke, Qiao Zhe glanced at me, Joji, and Atsuko.

He remembered from watching Gaia Ultraman as a child—wasn't there an episode where I seemed to have dated both these women separately?

Come to think of it, I had decent luck with women, just never knew how to seize the opportunity.

"Haunted by a vengeful spirit..." Atsuko shuddered, clutching Joji's arm. "That sounds terrifying."

After hearing Qiao Zhe's information, Ishimuro and the others began to ponder.

Chiba looked troubled. "There are so many sundae shops in Tokyo. How can we possibly find the right one?"

"I can do it! I'll find it right away!" Joji, suddenly inspired, declared with confidence.

Chiba looked at her in surprise, as did Ishimuro and Tagoshi.

Joji began searching as she spoke. "There's a really good ice cream shop, and the owner has a daughter!"

"I'll put it up on the main screen."

With her actions, the personnel data for a certain sundae shop appeared for all to see.

"The owner's daughter is named Yomi. She has a childhood friend named Shusaku—a boy who wears glasses!"

With the data collected by XIG and the info provided by Qiao Zhe, finding them was not difficult.

"Send me a photo," Qiao Zhe's voice came through the communications channel.

Before Atsuko could react, Joji had already sent the information. "It's sent, Qiao Zhe-kun."

Her gentle tone made Atsuko shoot a surprised look at Joji.

A woman's intuition instantly told her something was off—very off!

The real reason was simple: women appreciate a handsome face, too.

"Thank you," Qiao Zhe replied casually, his attention already on the photo.

Once he saw the boy's face, he was certain and immediately said, "It should be him. Commander Ishimuro, let me borrow I for a while."

Qiao Zhe didn’t request a full XIG deployment—after all, the boy was a victim as well.

"Commander, let me go!" I stepped forward, thinking quickly. "Qiao Zhe-san and I will handle this."

If XIG deployed, the boy, Shusaku, might react badly. I hoped to resolve things in a gentler way.

Ishimuro looked at me, then at Qiao Zhe on the screen, and agreed. "Alright, I’ll help evacuate the area."

"Thank you, Commander!" I could not hide my delight.

After getting permission and requesting the boy’s address from Joji, I immediately set out piloting the EX.

Qiao Zhe ended the call; his Lapis Ring appeared on his wrist as he focused on sensing my location.

Back in the command room, Advisor Chiba turned to Ishimuro. "Commander, shouldn’t we be involved in something this important?"

"Let’s leave it to them for now," Ishimuro replied, then instructed Atsuko, "Issue an evacuation order for the area where Shusaku is located."

The EX was swift. Before long, I arrived near the target location.

I parked in an open area and followed the address to a villa.

"This must be the place!"

I was just about to contact Qiao Zhe to check if he’d arrived when a curtain of light suddenly appeared beside me.

"..."

Staring at the familiar teleportation glow, I recalled how Fujimiya had appeared earlier today. My expression froze.

Wait, did you two put a tracker on me?

As the white light faded, Qiao Zhe materialized before me. "What’s wrong? You look so unhappy."

I said nothing, my face sullen, eyes fixed on the transformation device on Qiao Zhe’s wrist, feeling as if my heart had been squeezed with envy.

Why? All three of us draw power from the Earth—so why am I the only one without any supernatural abilities?