1. The Morning Star Belongs to You
Question: In a fire, you can only save one—a dog you've raised for six years or a stranger child. Who do you choose?
The phone on the table vibrated, delivering this question from Zhihu.
“I choose to save the fire,” Qi Ming replied, then continued yawning under the desk lamp as he flipped through his roommate’s notes.
It was already 2:30 a.m.
This semester, he had been immersed in side jobs, living a life of “skipping all required classes and dodging electives whenever possible.”
With finals approaching, Qi Ming decided to burn the midnight oil to salvage his grades.
*Ding.*
His phone vibrated again, this time QQ News pushing a headline.
Half-asleep, Qi Ming glanced at the screen—a blue glowing object had descended onto the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force went to investigate, but a deep-sea work submersible lost contact...
At this point, fatigue overwhelmed him. Eyes closed, he slipped into unconsciousness.
...
When Qi Ming woke, the first thing he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.
The peeling paint and the blue ceiling fan were not part of his dormitory.
Where was he?
A bookstore?
He should have been in the dorm. How did he end up here?
And this oddly shaped wristwatch—when did it get strapped to his wrist?
Sitting up, Qi Ming surveyed the strange surroundings with astonishment.
The warm yellow lighting created a cozy atmosphere, and the air was tinged with the faint scent of ink. The wooden display cases held mostly books with Japanese covers.
Out of curiosity, Qi Ming had once been a “hero” in a fan translation group and could read Japanese.
He grabbed a book nearby with an eye-catching title: *Salute to GUTS, the Guardians of Peace.*
GUTS? Could it be the Victory Team from *Ultraman Tiga*?
He opened the first page—it was an introduction to the captain, Dan Moroboshi.
“Dan Moroboshi,” “Captain”—those words together sent a chill down his spine.
His eyes moved down to the accompanying photo. It really was him!
The same cane-wielding tyrant who had dealt with Feng Yuan by “cane strikes and slaps,” and verbally with “idiot” and “shut up.”
...
The man who, despite Feng Yuan’s repeated sacrifices to protect Earth, had said, “Earthlings are struggling to protect their home, but as an alien, what efforts have you made?”
Wasn’t he supposed to be a MAC captain, not a GUTS member? How did he become the Victory Team’s captain?
Qi Ming flipped to the next page—Nagi Saijo, the vice-captain.
She, too, was a source of memorable quotes.
After seeing Nexus rescue humans from the mutant beasts and deliver them to safety, she remarked, “Those two mutant beasts are just fighting over food.”
After being saved from the mutant beast’s encirclement by Jun Himeya, she ground her teeth and vowed, “I will kill him with my own hands!”
Qi Ming turned the page again—Kishida, a team member.
From the photo, his stern face was identical to the Kishida from the MAT team in *Ultraman Jack.*
This guy was a pressure freak. In the episode where the Gudon and Doala monsters attacked Tokyo, he found a suspicious stone that looked like a monster egg and fired two shots, declaring it safe.
When Hideki Hongo wanted to double-check and ignored his senior’s opinion, Kishida lost his temper.
Later, when the monster egg hatched and trapped five people underground, he supported his uncle, Commander Kishida’s plan, and was willing to sacrifice those five lives underground by using a bomb.
Next page—Yamanaka, another team member.
This one was even more formidable.
In *Ultraman Ace,* he seemed to have a split personality, constantly finding reasons to argue with Hokuto at the start of each episode, then switching to the opposite reason to argue again.
During the episode of the Hippolyte alien invasion, he even advocated handing over Ultraman Ace to the invaders.
Captain Dan Moroboshi, Vice-Captain Nagi Saijo, team members Yamanaka and Kishida... what kind of “ultimate team” was this?
Qi Ming was curious how they got along... but, never mind, as long as they didn’t fall into his hands, it was fine.
The last page—Emi, a team member.
Emi from *Ultraman Blazer*?
Though once a problematic girl who had hacked into national systems, compared to the others, she seemed relatively normal.
So, what was going on with Dan Moroboshi from *Ultraman Leo*, Nagi Saijo from *Nexus*, Kishida from *Jack*, Yamanaka from *Ace*, and Emi from *Blazer* all gathering in the Victory Team in *Ultraman Tiga*?
Was this a dream? Was he even lucid?
Qi Ming pinched his face. The pain he felt forced him to accept the terrifying truth.
He had transmigrated—crossed over into an Ultraman world that gathered the best of the best, a “great assembly of heroes.”
...
According to his kindergarten teacher, when he was little, other kids wet their beds randomly, but he would wet glowing sticks today, a blue gem-shaped cone tomorrow. Others were said to be blessed by Buddha; he was destined for Ultraman.
Now, it seemed to be a cursed fate!
After a moment of panic, Qi Ming sat on the walnut floor, forcing himself to calm down and analyze.
“Since I’ve transmigrated, nothing that happens next should surprise me.”
His gaze soon fixed on his right hand.
This mysterious transmigration was likely connected to the strange wristwatch that had appeared. If it brought him here, it should be able to send him back.
The watch consisted of a soft wristband-like base and a mechanism. The dial on top could rotate, with four glowing buttons arranged in a square.
But no matter how much Qi Ming fiddled with it, the watch showed no signs of life.
The screen displayed nothing—not even the time. It looked like it was powered off.
He tried to remove the watch to inspect the back but couldn’t get it off.
Was it bound to him?
Qi Ming didn’t force it. Instead, he turned on the TV behind the bookstore counter, hoping to catch the latest news about this world and avoid being completely in the dark.
An emergency bulletin was playing: Three monsters were converging on a place called “Tiga’s Land.” The Victory Team had been dispatched to intercept them.
No wonder the bookstore was empty—both customers and staff had likely evacuated.
Qi Ming instantly recognized the three monsters: Golza and Melba from the first episode of *Ultraman Tiga,* and Garura from episode thirty-nine—all ancient creatures.
What troubled him more was this combination. Golza and Melba had acted together to dismantle the pyramid’s statue in *Tiga’s* first episode.
But now, with Garura added, Dan Moroboshi was likely facing three enemies at once... a troubling prospect.
What should he do? The monsters were almost here—should he retreat to safety or...
Qi Ming’s father had been a narcotics officer who never left the front lines even after being shot. Influenced by him, Qi Ming was never one to hesitate or shy away.
Indecision and waiting to die was no solution. He wanted to see the frontline for himself, to understand what kind of world this was.
With that thought, Qi Ming opened the bookstore door and stepped into the blazing sunlight outside.