17. An Anomaly During the Interview

Saeki Rika nodded. “I see. I thought you were afraid of going in now and getting beaten up along with him.”

Kondo coughed lightly. “Ordinary people wouldn’t have such skills. We need to investigate him thoroughly.”

…………………………

In the following days, the atmosphere in the Victory Team’s command room sank below freezing.

Whenever Qi Ming arrived, the others remained silent.

For example, just now, Qi Ming walked in carrying afternoon tea. Saijo Nagi glanced at him without saying a word.

Being subdued by Qi Ming in just three moves was a heavy blow to her pride.

The last person to defeat her was someone she didn’t want to recall. In the past few days, she had been quietly seeking information through contacts.

At this moment, Moroboshi Dan wasn’t present; he was participating in a televised talk show.

In this age of social media, everyone had a smartphone. The scene where Ultraseven failed to save lives and allowed monsters to wreak havoc was captured by local villagers.

Once uploaded online, it caused an uproar. Sensational headlines flooded newspapers, and negative opinions spread rapidly.

It’s said that villains can repent and become saints instantly, but good people’s mistakes are remembered forever. Qi Ming wasn’t surprised by this at all.

With Kiriyama, the TPC strategist, keeping things objective, the TPC maintained a neutral stance.

However, the Defense Forces were already clamoring to “exert every effort to protect the lives of citizens, even if it means confronting Ultraman’s interference” and insisted that “unknown giants must not become obstacles to Earth’s defense.”

The program invited Moroboshi Dan to speak as the representative Victory Team captain of the TPC.

Facing the questioning, Moroboshi Dan said:

“In the past, Ultraman has always fought alongside us, punishing evil and promoting justice.”

“I believe he, like us humans, has his own sense of right and wrong and feels dissatisfaction, even hatred, towards evil deeds.”

Host: “Evil deeds?”

Moroboshi Dan had prepared well on his way there:

“According to our understanding, the five deceased were very poorly regarded by the local villagers.”

“They terrorized the countryside, incited riots, and many suffered greatly because of them.”

“When the monster appeared, they were dragging a young girl on a motorcycle. I imagine Ultraman, who always fights for justice, wouldn’t have liked them either.”

Host: “So you’re suggesting that Ultraman can decide who lives or dies based on his own judgment?”

Moroboshi Dan froze. “No… that’s not what I meant.”

Everyone in the command room was watching the live broadcast on the big screen. Kishida was displeased: “This is deliberately making things difficult for the captain.”

Qi Ming said, “The captain was pretty normal today. That statement was fine, but he lacks experience dealing with tricky media types—he didn’t even know how to use a formulaic response.”

Emi was curious: “Formulaic response?”

Qi Ming recalled the advice a British knight once gave him:

“If you have nothing to say, say ‘no comment,’ or that the matter is under further investigation, and due to confidentiality, it’s inconvenient to give an opinion.”

“It’s best to have something to say but not be led by the nose. No matter what the other side says, don’t respond to it; only state your own views.”

“If the host presses further, say ‘That’s not the point,’ or ‘I believe the real issue is…’ and then present your standpoint.”

Emi nodded enthusiastically, impressed. “Oh…”

Beside her, Yamanaka couldn’t help but say, “You’re quite skilled at these sidesteps.”

Unlike Saijo Nagi, who admitted “losing is losing,” Yamanaka and Kishida both felt Qi Ming’s victory involved some luck.

That day, his condition wasn’t great; they were caught off guard, unprepared psychologically, and the floor was slippery… it might not happen again if they faced him another time.

So, yesterday Yamanaka couldn’t resist throwing a jab at Qi Ming, only to receive a fierce verbal counterattack that left him looking pale and flushed.

But Qi Ming didn’t resort to violence, disappointing Kishida and Yamanaka, who had rehearsed countless counterattack moves in their minds.

This revealed Qi Ming’s “code of conduct”—he’d exchange words if provoked verbally and retaliate if physically attacked.

Truly petty and unwilling to take any loss.

As Qi Ming pondered for two seconds, preparing to respond, Saijo Nagi suddenly spoke up: “Something’s wrong!”

On the screen, the female host suddenly fell silent. Her face darkened, her eyes glowed ominously, and she began to float.

“This is…” Qi Ming immediately recalled the third episode of Ultraman Tiga, “Judgment of the Devil,” where the female host exhibited the same behavior.

“I tell you, Earth will soon be reborn,” the host’s voice grew eerie.

“Be careful, everyone!” Moroboshi Dan immediately stood, leaning on his cane to confront her. He ordered the crew to step back as his Ultraman psychic power charged.

“The sacred flames will burn all impurity to ashes. The Kirieloid will rule Earth—I will prove it to you soon!”

After saying this, the host slowly collapsed and fainted. The crew rushed to aid her in panic.

Moroboshi Dan went backstage and pulled out his PDI communicator. “Something just remotely took control of the host’s mind. Everyone, enter full alert immediately!”

As he stepped outside, he sensed an unusual energy shift.

“Boom!” Suddenly, a building before his eyes exploded violently, engulfed in flames, turning to ashes.

This was… proof!

…………………………

The TPC took the Kirieloid threat extremely seriously.

Everyone in the Victory Team was sent out to search for clues, except Qi Ming.

But this time, Saijo Nagi didn’t say anything, and Kishida and Yamanaka only grumbled a little.

Qi Ming pulled Emi and the captain into his room.

“Let me share what I know about the Kirieloid. It might not be accurate, but it should serve as a reference.”

“This species lives in a special space between parallel universes. They visited Earth during the Middle Ages, attempting to enslave humans to gain their faith.”

“Now they’re back. We must be vigilant. They can disguise themselves as humans and hide among crowds, and their combat power after enlarging is formidable.”

Most importantly, no one knows how many Kirieloids lie beyond the gates of hell.

Moroboshi Dan and Emi exchanged doubtful glances. They had just begun investigating—how did Qi Ming know so much?

Qi Ming fabricated smoothly: “A friend told me.”

Emi grew more suspicious. Their intelligence network knew nothing about this. What kind of friend could know so much?

Moroboshi Dan asked, “How did the Kirieloids destroy the building?”

Qi Ming thought for a moment. “It seemed to be an attack launched from underground.”

Moroboshi Dan: “We can’t underestimate this.”

Qi Ming: “Like I said, it’s just a reference. You need to verify it yourselves.”

Emi, half-believing, went to prepare a seismic wave detector, but the TPC strategists had already lost patience. They invited Dr. Toujima, known as Earth’s Brain, from Antarctica.

The strategists planned to use his device, the “Toujima Rectifier,” with ultra-long-range radar to expand the search area and locate the Kirieloids for a counterattack.

Besides that, the upgraded radar could also be used to find the Zuluk aliens, the escaped Golzan Melba… and various other monsters.

Upon hearing the news, Qi Ming’s eyes flickered with thought. “Dr. Toujima, huh… just in time.”