33. Reversing the Natural Order

Qi Ming flatly refused Dan Moroboshi’s request. He believed that this was a moment to set aside the urge to intervene and instead respect the course of another person’s fate.

"He still has parents, and surely the school administrators and his actual teachers have already tried to reach out to him. If they couldn't succeed, why should I be the one to worry about it?"

It is said that in the past, some teachers in China would go to internet cafes to drag students back to class, but that was certainly not Qi Ming’s style. He would do his duty to the best of his ability, but beyond his professional responsibilities, he followed the principle that doing less meant making fewer mistakes, and doing nothing meant making no mistakes at all. If the student wanted to learn, he was welcome to; if not, Qi Ming would not force him. Ultimately, everyone had their own dreams to pursue and their own paths to walk.

Dan Moroboshi felt that Qi Ming was merely being perfunctory and negligent, a stance that could potentially ruin a child’s bright future. Believing that Qi Ming was simply greedy for comfort and lazy, Dan decided to step in and help himself. After obtaining the student’s home address from the dean, he grabbed his cane and went to find the boy.

"I’m truly sorry for the trouble," Akio’s mother said when she opened the door and saw Dan Moroboshi. Like the dean, she felt it was an overreaction for the captain of the Ultra Guard to be bothered with such a trivial matter.

Dan replied, "This was originally the duty of one of my subordinates, but he is a bit occupied today, so I am filling in for him."

When Akio, who had been locking himself in his room, saw the captain of the Ultra Guard—someone he usually only saw on television—he became instantly agitated. The thirteen-year-old boy exclaimed excitedly, "Captain! Since you are the captain of the Ultra Guard, you must know which planet I came from!"

Dan observed him carefully for a moment, confirming that he was just an ordinary Earth boy. "Child, you are a human from Earth, and you should be proud of that."

Akio refused to believe it. "No, that’s not true. I came from a planet outside of Earth. Please tell me the truth; otherwise, I will be miserable."

The boy’s firm tone and gaze made even Dan doubt himself for a second. *Could I have misjudged him?* He looked at the boy again with great seriousness, but it was clear he was a genuine Earthling.

His words left Akio feeling dejected. "Captain Moroboshi doesn't understand my heart at all, because you are an Earthling, and I am an alien."

Hearing this, the expression on Dan’s face became incredibly complex for a brief moment.

Akio continued, "One day, I will return to my home planet. My happiness does not exist on this Earth."

Dan could only offer an awkward but polite smile. Since the boy wasn't his own subordinate, he couldn't exactly slap him into sobriety, and his own eloquence seemed to be failing him in this situation. It appeared he would have to let the glib Qi Ming handle it if he wanted the boy to face reality.

***

Elsewhere, Qi Ming had finished two classes and was waving goodbye to his reluctant students.

"Teacher, can we take a group photo with you?" the bespectacled "Doctor" student stood up and asked.

Qi Ming replied, "Of course, but there’s really no need to 'take photos for memory' just yet. The content for this lesson isn't finished, and since your math teacher is away visiting family, I’m filling in. Unless a monster comes out to tear up the city tomorrow or there’s an alien invasion, I’ll be back for two more lessons."

Since the lesson plans were already prepared, he might as well finish them. As he finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted, and the female students were as excited as if it were Christmas.

Qi Ming walked out of the classroom to find a group of female teachers waiting around the corner, not daring to meet his eyes and only daring to sneak glances at him.

"Go on, Kyoko-sensei, you’re the only one who might be able to handle him!"
"Go win him over!"

Under the prodding of her colleagues, Kyoko Aihara covered her face and walked up to Qi Ming. She said she had two tickets to a Chris Maya concert and asked if he would like to go with her.

*Chris Maya... the singer from episode twenty-nine of Ultraman Tiga, "The Memory of the Blue Night"?*

Qi Ming said, "I’m sorry... the singer I like is Hatsune Miku."

He didn't want to be too blunt, so he found an excuse, leaving the teachers stunned. "Oh my god, this new teacher is an otaku!"

Under the amazed gazes of the teachers, Qi Ming strolled away. After returning to the TPC maritime base, he flopped onto his bed and started scrolling through the news.

"It’s better here," Qi Ming mused. Since he turned fourteen, he hadn't had much peace. Back home, his father’s colleagues and superiors would always bring their daughters or granddaughters over for visits, insisting that "the adults will talk in the living room, while the kids go play in the bedroom." *Play together? As if you know how to play 'Dream Westward Journey 3,' right?* At school, it was even more exaggerated; the windows would be crowded with onlookers during breaks, and he couldn't even go to the restroom in peace. For Qi Ming, the only time he enjoyed true tranquility was when he joined the old professor, Sima Hui, on archaeological digs, or visited the nursing home where the old British baronet lived.

***

Now, he had found another place far from the noise: his room at the base. Although there were two female members in the Ultra Guard, Nagi Saijo was like a stone, and Officer Megumi was a very self-disciplined person. TPC was a quasi-military organization, so even if some female staff were interested in him, they wouldn't chase him to the dormitory.

"This place does have its merits," Qi Ming said to himself while scrolling through the news on his phone, noticing that there had been a few too many missing persons cases lately. *Is it starting again?*

Soon after, Dan Moroboshi returned to the base and found Qi Ming to tell him about the boy named Akio. As soon as Dan mentioned it, Qi Ming recalled the case; the boy seemed to be from the sixth episode of *Ultraman 80*, "The Boy from the Planet."

Qi Ming said, "It’s just 'middle-school syndrome' a year early, don't worry about it."

In his memory, the boy was exactly as the dean had described: he was simply fantasizing about being an alien to escape reality. However, he eventually believed his own lies and became obsessed. When the monster released by the alien spacecraft fired lasers at him with intent to kill, he still blocked Takeshi Yamato from interfering, shouting, "It’s me! I’m Akio, I’m your partner! Let me board your UFO and take me to your planet!"

He was courting death and causing chaos for Takeshi Yamato. In the original series, Takeshi Yamato went to great lengths to try and change the boy's mind. But Takeshi Yamato had come to Earth with the passion to save it, while Qi Ming had come to this world passively.

Dan said earnestly, "This child needs help."

Qi Ming replied, "There are plenty of people in the world who need help. Smoking is harmful to your health, for instance, and drugs have been legalized in the United States. Captain, why don't you go and persuade them to quit for the sake of their health?"

Dan was rendered speechless for a moment before finally squeezing out, "You can't just ignore the person right in front of you. Yes, Qi Ming, you must have the ability to persuade him."

Qi Ming was left speechless. *So much for Ultraman not interfering with human choices—why are you so persistent, Seven?*

"Fine, I'll go have a chat with that student after my class tomorrow." To keep his peace and quiet, Qi Ming agreed, preparing to let the boy experience the same tactics his own homeroom teachers used to use.

However, that very night, something "miraculous" happened.