45. Captain Universe 3: Civil War

"Huh? This is..."

At that moment, through a half-shattered window of the factory, Qi Ming caught sight of a familiar figure.

It was a Baltan Seijin!

Simultaneously, Lucia's body trembled involuntarily. She could sense that a Mujin Seijin was just ahead.

"Why are these guys here? Surely they aren't visiting relatives." Then, Qi Ming spotted the blue Alien Abbess.

How did this group of aliens end up together, and without attacking one another?

Have they formed an alliance?

Qi Ming observed for a long while through infrared night-vision goggles, confirming his deduction.

This was going to be tricky...

In his original plan, the entire Guts Team would storm the Crow Man's nest. With thorough preparations, he could annihilate them all even without transforming.

However, reality outpaced anticipation. All the aliens had united, making it difficult to defeat them even with the full force of the Guts Team... No.

Right then, Qi Ming made a new discovery.

He noticed that whether they were Crow Men or Mujin Seijins, everyone wore a deeply vigilant expression.

Could it be that they knew their location had been exposed and were guarding against an external attack at any moment?

No, judging by their formations and subtle body language, they were wary of each other—wary of these "allies."

Seeing this, an idea sparked in Qi Ming's mind.

"Calling Command Room, calling Command Room, the situation has changed..."

With that thought, he immediately reached for his PDI communicator.

Back in the Command Room, everyone wore blank expressions of utter disillusionment.

Earlier, when Qi Ming claimed he would use divination to track down the Crow Men, they—having grown up in an era of advanced science—simply did not believe it.

Had Qi Ming not possessed such formidable achievements in the past, they would have seriously suggested that Dan Moroboshi strip away his Guts Team uniform and cart this whimsical fellow off to a psychiatric hospital.

As it turned out, Qi Ming had actually found the right place. Divination had actually worked!

Yamanaka: "How can this be? Am I awake?"

Kishida: "Science lost to metaphysics. How am I having such a dream?"

Megumi thought for a long time: "Do you all remember? Team Member Qi Ming said he was—he was an archaeologist!"

Saiga Nagi: "That explains it. Since he's an archaeologist, he must have excavated many ancient Eastern secrets."

Faced with undeniable facts, the group began rationalizing the situation to make it all make sense.

"Calling Command Room, calling Command Room, the situation has changed..."

Just then, Qi Ming's voice echoed through the communication channel once again.

"The abandoned factory is not only the Crow Men's nest, but it's also gathering all the aliens we've seen previously."

Dan Moroboshi's heart tightened: "All the aliens?"

Qi Ming: "That's right, Alien Abbess, Mujin Seijins, Baltan Seijins are all here... I even saw Alien Natan. Excellent, this gives me a chance to wipe them all out in one sweep."

Saiga Nagi: "Team Member Qi Ming, stay put and await orders. Continue observing the situation, we're on our way."

Qi Ming fabricated an excuse: "I'm going in first to catch them off guard."

With that, he directly cut off the communicator.

"Team Member Qi Ming, do not act on your own!"

"How can you possibly handle so many people single-handedly, Team Member Qi Ming!"

Dan Moroboshi and Saiga Nagi shouted desperately, but received no response.

"He hung up?" Megumi could no longer sit still. This was far too dangerous; it was practically walking to one's death.

Yamanaka clicked his tongue in wonder: "He always manages to blow my mind. Is this being overly confident?"

Kishida: "Perhaps the recent string of successes has made him feel invincible, clouding his judgment. Captain, let's hurry over and save him."

Dan Moroboshi nodded. This time, he prepared to deploy personally, using the life-exhausting Ultra Telekinesis to assist Qi Ming in battle.

Five different alien factions united—they had to give it everything!

Yet at that very moment, the doors of the Command Room opened, and Staff Officer Gondo walked in.

"With so many aliens running amok in the city and citizens raising such a massive uproar, have you still accomplished nothing?"

The current pressure of public opinion was so severe that even he had to step in and take charge.

Especially given that a Defense Force officer had recently gunned down a Crow Man, an incident heavily sensationalized by the media, making vigilance all the more imperative.

In this world, the relationship between the Japan TPC and the Defense Force somewhat mirrored the two-party system in the United States.

On the surface, they claimed to cooperate fully to protect citizen safety and maintain peace and stability, but in reality, they competed fiercely in secret. Some speculated that they might eventually fight to the death, leaving only one survivor.

Amidst such a stalemate, they had to vie for the citizens' support.

Kishida stepped forward to report: "Earlier today, we rescued Chris Maya from the hands of the aliens."

Gondo's expression softened: "That famous female singer, right? I know her. That's good, commendable."

If such a celebrity could endorse TPC, the benefits would be numerous.

He immediately asked Dan Moroboshi where she was, whether she had been mistreated, and whether this news could be "accidentally leaked to the outside world."

Dan Moroboshi pulled Gondo aside and briefed him on the recent conflict between Minister Yoon and Qi Ming, hoping he would mediate.

Upon hearing this, Gondo instantly flipped out. Coming straight to the Guts Team to poach people?

"I believe Team Member Qi Ming did nothing wrong. Our Guts Team is fully capable of hosting guests from space without needing their interference."

Naturally, he had no intention of mediating. He was practically praying that Chief Advisor Hoshi would push Qi Ming right over to his side.

Having said that, he suddenly noticed Qi Ming was absent from the Command Room: "By the way, where is Team Member Qi Ming? We mustn't slack off just because of a minor achievement."

Megumi stood up: "Team Member Qi Ming... he has already gone ahead!"

Outside the abandoned factory, seeing that Qi Ming intended to face the enemy single-handedly, Lucia panicked and grabbed his shoulders to stop him.

Qi Ming: "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Still refusing to let go, Lucia gestured frantically, her meaning roughly urging Qi Ming to gather more allies while expressing her wish to fight alongside him.

"Unnecessary. More people doesn't necessarily mean stronger." Qi Ming used a double entendre.

Having persuaded Lucia, he stealthily slipped into the factory and lightly tapped the button on the mechanism, causing the core to rise.

"If I can smoothly resolve this, my Star-Grant Points will definitely reach 10, and I'll be able to Star-Gather once more!"

He spun the dial, and the silhouette of a Teru Teru Bozu appeared on the screen.

"Alliance, it's time to disband."

Pressing his finger onto the dial, he pushed down the core, transforming himself into the previously drawn saucer beast—Nova.

Qi Ming initially transformed into a miniature version of Nova, looking simply like a red Teru Teru Bozu.

He drifted slowly toward a yellow-eyed Crow Man standing guard with a rifle, and directly sprayed a massive cloud of red mist, engulfing it.

This was Nova's [Red Madness Gas], which drove biological entities berserk upon spraying. In the original series, it drove countless citizens mad, causing them to riot and destroy continuously.

The Crow Man shrieked as a red chain manifested around its neck, indicating it had been hit.

It went wild, using its miniaturized ray gun to blast a patrolling Crow Man to the ground.

"Hey, have you lost your mind?"

Compared to an opponent who had gone completely berserk and disregarded bodily harm, a normal Crow Man was clearly no match.

At that moment, hearing the commotion, a nearby Baltan Seijin rushed over.

Without a second word, Qi Ming blasted it with the Red Madness Gas.

"Ugh..." After struggling for a moment, a red chain also appeared around the Baltan Seijin's neck.

It, too, began to "go completely berserk."

"Roar!" The Baltan Seijin let out a beast-like growl, wielding a short blade to hack the Crow Man in front of it into two pieces, before beginning to slash blindly at anyone in sight.

Let the show begin.