53. Aizawa Ryu's Roar

"As expected, that shark monster has started attacking Ultraman!"

Yamanaka said while looking through binoculars at the battlefield from the ground. They were not surprised in the least.

In their view, whenever Ultraman and a monster crossed paths, a fight would naturally ensue, just like the fundamental rule that humans die when they are killed.

However, Qi Ming knew very well that this wave of attacks was being manipulated by a human with malicious intent.

In the original plot of *Tiga*, the reason Keigo Masaki had the Underground Shark severely damage Tiga was because he had already confirmed Daigo's identity and planned to drain Daigo's stamina before stealing his Spark Lens.

In this world, Keigo Masaki probably only knew at this stage that "Ultraman is transformed from a human."

Therefore, he wanted to use the Underground Shark to beat the current Ultraman back into his human form, then use security cameras to identify that person and steal his transformation device for his own use.

Not only Qi Ming, but Keigo Masaki also wanted to play the role of the snipping fisherman, believing that the Giant, already exhausted by Golza and Melba, could be easily defeated by the Underground Shark.

"I don't have the time to waste on your toy. I'll drop by offline and 'meet' you in person later." Qi Ming prepared to retreat.

Transforming into Tiga at only 30% capacity could only be sustained for a minute and a half, and it didn't even allow for form changes.

When facing a non-humanoid opponent like the Underground Shark, his martial arts techniques were hardly adaptable.

Besides, even defeating the Underground Shark would be useless; the thing was a man-made machine, and destroying it wouldn't yield any life energy to convert into Star Blessing Points.

"Bang!" The Underground Shark launched a fierce assault on Tiga, leaping into the air and charging forward with its drill-like snout.

Tiga directly leaped high into the air, flying toward the edge of the horizon.

Too bad for you, I can fly.

"Bang!" The Underground Shark missed its target once again.

Its enormous kinetic momentum prevented it from stopping in time, and under the sheer force of inertia, it ended up smashing right through a building behind where Tiga had just been standing.

"Ultraman actually ran away!" Yamanaka and Kishida were shocked, while Nagi Saijo and Eumi were equally astonished.

On the rooftop of another building, Aihara Ryu stood frozen for a moment before letting out a deafening roar at the departing figure of Tiga:

"Bastard! What kind of third-rate combat technique is that?! You actually ran away!"

"Look at what you were supposed to protect! Do you even deserve to be called an Ultraman warrior?!"

As he spoke, he dropped directly to his knees and began to sob bitterly.

Not long ago, when intercepting [Dinosaur Tank/Dinozor], the squad he belonged to had suffered an unprecedented, disastrous defeat.

Their beloved captain, [Serizawa], had died, leaving only him alive, and it wasn't until Ultraman Seven finally appeared that the monster was defeated.

And today, it was the exact same ending.

Why did it have to be like this? Must humanity always rely on the power of Ultraman to protect the Earth?

Burdened by such an accumulation of stress, and then watching the so-called guardian deity of humanity "run away" after leaving a trail of destruction everywhere, Aihara Ryu could no longer bear it, venting all his pent-up emotions in a thorough breakdown.

Observing this from the shadows, Keigo Masaki stood frozen for a brief moment before offering a contemptuous smile:

"To flee from battle like that—what a utterly useless piece of trash."

"I truly don't understand why a coward like that inherited the light. How could such a pathetic display ever live up to humanity's praise of a savior?"

"As expected, only I can become the true and only god, leading humanity forward."

At this moment, he was entirely lost in self-admiration, completely oblivious to what was about to come his way.

Following Keigo Masaki's command, the Underground Shark burrowed back underground, bringing this episode to a temporary close.

However, discussions and criticisms such as "Underground Shark fiercely battles two monsters," "Ultraman defeated and flees," and "Defense Force officer furiously denounces Ultraman" quickly spread far and wide.

........................

With a gloomy face and without uttering a single word, Dan Moroboshi piloted the Guts Wing 1 to transport Qi Ming back to the Marine Base. As soon as they landed, the latter could not wait to begin researching the new functions of the Ultraman Any-Key.

Having stored the DNA of Golza and Melba, which increased the number of collected species from 4 to 6, the first new feature, [Insight], had been unlocked.

"Is this... X-ray vision?"

Upon activating this function, Qi Ming discovered that he could see right through the trunk of the DeLamb car and directly spot the sniper rifle hidden inside.

"If I used this trick to 'gamble on rough jade stones,' wouldn't I be able to see whether there is jadeite inside the raw stone directly? It would be a guaranteed profit with zero risk!"

However, Qi Ming was not short on money, nor did he have much interest in jadeite.

To him, the greatest utility of this function was seeing through disguises to the core essence, allowing him to clearly discern the true faces of alien beings masquerading as humans.

The [Amplification] function, which required ten transformable species to unlock, would surely be even more powerful.

After studying [Insight], Qi Ming tinkered with the Any-Key for a while longer, hoping Golza and Melba would yield a few more "surprises."

Had it been earlier, Qi Ming definitely wouldn't have bothered to [Access] the genes of Golza and Melba.

After all, the combat power of these two monsters was quite mediocre, possessing neither uniqueness nor any notable growth potential.

However, after discovering that "the Any-Key could only store a maximum of 10 Star Blessings simultaneously," he developed some new ideas.

This suggested that the Any-Key possessed certain "hidden settings," and did those "hidden settings" include fusion?

Since it could store and access genes, surely fusing those genes together shouldn't be a problem, right?

Perhaps Golza and Melba could be directly fused into Golba, and later, by adding Super Pazuzu, it would become [Tyrant], and if he added Enma-Q and Reycubas, it would become [Five King].

[Five King] would surely at least qualify as an A-grade entity.

Yet, no matter how long he researched, he gained nothing.

Qi Ming shifted his train of thought: collecting five species unlocked [Insight], collecting ten species unlocked [Amplification], so perhaps collecting fifteen species would unlock [Fusion].

"Who knows if I'll even be around by then, or if I'll even survive until then."

The situation was growing increasingly complex. The Underground Shark's attack on him served as a declaration that Keigo Masaki shared the exact same ambition as in the original story.

How should he respond to this?

Qi Ming also knew that this guy wasn't a simple villain. In the original series, although Keigo Masaki was arrogant and believed he was meant to be the "savior leading humanity,"

it was precisely because of this mindset that, upon transforming into a giant, he lost control of his immense power.

Yet, this was also because he possessed the ancient hyper-civilization's genetic factors and was striving to prevent the "destructive future" he had foreseen in his dreams.

During the finale when encountering Gatanothor, Keigo Masaki was also willing to take risks and fought desperately to help Tiga awaken from his stone statue form.

For Qi Ming, this was a double-edged sword and an extremely unstable variable.

This world was far more complex and perilous than the original world of *Tiga*. With multiple factors intersecting and influencing one another, nobody could tell whether letting Keigo Masaki develop unchecked would still allow him to follow the "trajectory" of the original story.

Furthermore, if he were to tell Keigo Masaki, "You can't do it this way; transforming with a corrupted heart will cause you to lose control," someone as stubbornly self-righteous as him certainly wouldn't listen.

Should he give him a chance, or simply...

At this thought, Qi Ming involuntarily opened the trunk and gripped the sniper rifle.

At that moment, Eumi's voice sounded behind him: "Agent Qi Ming, Staff Officer Gouto has arrived at the Command Room. We're about to hold an emergency meeting."

"An emergency meeting?" Qi Ming instinctively turned around.