49. Turning the Tables on the Despicable Reporter Hirukawa (Please Keep Reading!)

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“Star Convergence,” activate!
Qi Ming pressed the button, and the four buttons of the Ultraman Any-Key simultaneously emitted beams of green laser light. The four beams intersected to form a luminous screen.
Within the screen was a strange space, where a giant glowing with red light was battling an enemy resembling a cobra.
“Gaia Ultraman and the Phantom Dragon!” Qi Ming immediately recognized the two colossal figures.
This was a scene from the first episode of “Gaia Ultraman,” titled “Capturing the Light,” where Takeshi Yamashiro witnessed during a particle acceleration experiment.
The view zoomed in on the Phantom Dragon, which stretched out its neck and massive head, lunging fiercely to ram Gaia.
Qi Ming paused.
Wait a moment, why is the Phantom Dragon getting a close-up? Could it be that I’ve drawn this useless thing?
“Whoosh!” Gaia Ultraman spread his arms wide, gathering a massive amount of photon energy around his head, forming a huge red, ribbon-like blade.
This was Gaia Ultraman’s finishing move—the Photon Ice Blade!
The Photon Ice Blade struck the Phantom Dragon, causing its body to stiffen before exploding violently, instantly slain.
The screen froze briefly. After losing the target, it recalibrated and selected Gaia Ultraman nearby.
Gaia’s face filled the entire screen, giving Qi Ming a strange feeling—as if he was watching Gaia, and Gaia was watching him in return.
Gaia nodded, then the screen dissipated.
The dial on the Ultraman Any-Key rotated, and a silhouette of a giant appeared on the screen with three lines of text:
Gaia Ultraman.
Integration: 60%.
Rating: Class B.
“Just now, did Gaia really see me? We made eye contact through the Ultraman Any-Key’s light screen.”
“He nodded at me—is that the Earth’s will affirming me?”
Qi Ming pondered for a moment but decided not to dwell on it; whether it was true or not didn’t matter.
What mattered most to him was returning to his own Earth.
Does Gaia Ultraman possess the ability to traverse time and space?
It seemed so, yet it seemed not.
Although Takeshi Yamashiro and Hiroshi Fujimiya in “Orb Ultraman: Genesis” once traveled to another world’s Earth to protect the Tree of Life,
perhaps they had fashioned a time-space shuttle to get there, unrelated to Ultraman’s powers.
Forget it, he would figure it out after his next transformation.

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………………………………
“Unbelievable, they’re really all dead…”
Not long ago, Tsubasa Moroboshi had reported remotely that all the aliens had been eliminated by member Qi Ming, so they could no longer threaten Earth.
Strategist Gondo from the offshore base found this hard to believe and immediately came to see for himself.
Upon arriving at the scene, faced with the carnage and chaos, he fell silent.
Beside him, the cold and stern Saeki Rika, resembling Saijo Nagi, was shocked as well. “All this was done by one person? This is…”
Gondo muttered, “This is a killing machine for extraterrestrials!”
He looked around. “Where is member Qi Ming? I want to speak with him personally.”
Such a terrifying record unsettled even Gondo; he wanted to recruit Qi Ming himself.
At that moment, a commotion came from afar.
“It’s the reporters—lots of them heard the noise and came over.”
Gondo frowned. “Those reporters are always the first to rush over at the slightest disturbance. Get the press officer here quickly.”
Hearing the noise, Qi Ming emerged. Seeing so many reporters, he immediately used his PDI communicator to privately instruct Emiko to tell Lucia to stay inside the vehicle and not come out.
“Oh my, this person looks… Is he really a member of the Victory Team?”
“Look at the gun at his waist—that’s Victory Team equipment!”
The reporters quickly surrounded Qi Ming, aiming their cameras and microphones at him.
They believed that even if Qi Ming remained silent, countless female fans would support him for his looks alone. Newspaper and magazine sales, TV ratings—they’d all soar without question.
Qi Ming was momentarily stunned, recognizing the trio of reporters from “Gaia Ultraman.”
News director Kenji Tanaka, cameraman Rintaro Inoue, and female host Reiko Yoshii.
Good, this added a breath of fresh air to this grim world.
However, the despicable reporter Hirukawa was also present.
He trampled over countless reporters’ feet to squeeze in front of Qi Ming, brandishing a microphone as if to shove it into Qi Ming’s face.
“Victory Team member, considering you achieved results so much later than the Defense Forces, were you playing the long game to catch a bigger fish?” Hirukawa questioned.
Nearby, Strategist Gondo’s expression changed drastically at this trap-like question.
If Qi Ming denied it, it would confirm the notion that TPC was inferior to the Defense Forces.
If he admitted it, Hirukawa would accuse TPC of callously sacrificing civilians to achieve their goals, turning public opinion against them.
This guy’s intentions were dangerously malicious!

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“Tell Qi Ming not to answer anything until the press officer arrives,” Gondo whispered, but this order clearly couldn’t reach Qi Ming, who was surrounded by reporters.
Tanaka frowned, disapproving of Hirukawa’s conduct and was about to speak up in defense.
Qi Ming remained composed and said, “TPC has always prioritized protecting the public and maintaining peace. It is under this guiding spirit that we confront ruthless aliens head-on and eliminate every last one of them.”
[No matter what they ask, just express your own viewpoint.]
Hirukawa was momentarily taken aback. He had assumed Qi Ming was young and easy to manipulate into uttering certain keywords.
But this statement left no opening whatsoever.
Quickly restoring his fake professional smile, Hirukawa continued, “It seems you were confident all along, so why didn’t you disclose your operation plan earlier to reassure the panicked citizens? Is there something the public doesn’t know?”
Qi Ming replied, “That’s not the point. The key is that we minimized losses, eliminated multiple aliens during operations in the suburbs with zero casualties, and caused no property damage. Don’t you think our achievements are substantial?”
[If they persist, respond with: “That’s not the issue. I believe the real issue is…” and then continue presenting your viewpoint.]
Hirukawa’s face turned pale in waves; he realized this young man saw through his tricks.
He couldn’t keep pushing tricky questions, as it would be obvious he was badgering Qi Ming, risking being blacklisted by female viewers across Japan.
Nearby, Strategist Gondo and Saeki Rika were amazed. They hadn’t expected this guy to be not only physically formidable but also adept at handling the media!
Meanwhile, the Victory Team members wore strange expressions.
Yamanaka said, “These words sound oddly familiar.”
Emiko recalled clearly, “This seems to be the ‘response formula’ that the captain used when he was grilled on TV before, spoken by Qi Ming.”
At that moment, Qi Ming’s expression hardened as he looked at Hirukawa:
“I believe the public’s unease stems from some unscrupulous media exaggerating the facts.”
“This reflects our society’s unhealthy mindset. I hope the industry will resist such unprofessional reporting.”
“I believe the authorities must exert pressure to hold these unethical reporters accountable for their biased coverage.”
Strategist Gondo and the Victory Team were once again astonished.
Qi Ming, after facing all their tricks, was able to fight back!
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