Chapter 113: Who Is the Cosmic Country Bumpkin?

"It's you!"

Looking at that familiar face, Maki felt as if he had been transported back to that day. He remembered the setting sun, when he had been forcibly pushed from the pilot's seat to the co-pilot's side. He had watched the entire ordeal, unable to do a thing.

"It seems you still remember me." Qiao Zhe smiled at Maki and reminded him, "Keep an eye on the flight path."

It appeared that Maki's memories had not been erased by the memory-wiping procedure initiated when the Oblivion River was activated.

While piloting the commercial airliner, Maki looked back and asked, "That giant—is it coming to deal with the plague of Space Beasts?"

When this man left, he had taken the giant's power with him. Maki knew this, but he had never told Mizuhara Sara or the others.

"You know the Space Beasts are running rampant?" Qiao Zhe asked, slightly surprised. "The TLT's Memory Police didn't wipe your memory?"

Maki fell silent at these words. As the first Dunamist, he had, of course, been invited to join the Night Raiders.

"Actually, my memory was wiped once," Maki said. "After I refused to join the Night Raiders, I felt like I had forgotten something. When I returned, I had no recollection of the Night Raiders or the Space Beasts. But, I suppose it's because I once transformed into the giant that I eventually remembered."

Qiao Zhe listened, lost in thought. The TLT’s memory erasure wasn't a total deletion of data; it was more like a hypnotic suggestion, causing people to overlook and forget those memories while absorbing the negative emotions of fear. This made it feel as though one simply couldn't recall a specific event. However, if someone were to intentionally trigger a reminder, the person could recall those memories through repeated reflection. In Maki's case, having been a Dunamist, he had likely undergone a degree of evolution that made him immune to such hypnotic erasure.

"The Night Raiders' fighter jets are very advanced," Qiao Zhe said, implying something. "Even a Space Beast like The One back then could be dealt significant damage by them."

The Progenitor Space Beast had only evolved a few times; compared to the Space Beasts currently cross-evolving on Earth, it was far behind. Yet, it hadn't truly died—its cells had diffused, evolving into the various Space Beasts of today.

Maki did not want to join the Night Raiders, nor did he want to participate in dangerous missions.

"That has nothing to do with me. I just want to stay by my family's side now." If he hadn't been struck by Next back then, he would have long since returned to a normal life.

"I see." Sensing the meaning behind Maki's words, Qiao Zhe didn't press the issue. "Do me a favor: contact Mizuhara Sara."

He had originally planned to devise a scheme, but after hearing Maki's words and seeing that he didn't want to get involved, he lost the desire to disrupt Maki's peaceful life. Of course, Qiao Zhe could have appeared before Mizuhara Sara directly through subspace, but he generally avoided such voyeurism unless the situation was urgent.

Although he was currently on this Earth, he was still keeping an eye on the Gaia Earth. The flow of time was different between the two, and Qiao Zhe had tried to experiment with it, but without success. He had tried placing Star Platinum into subspace, hoping to have it emerge on the Gaia Earth, but the "glitch" didn't work. Using the Ultra-Cloning technique was possible, but the energy consumption required to exist in two worlds simultaneously was unimaginable; the moment he succeeded, he was completely drained and forced to de-transform.

However, the Gaia Earth could be left to Gamu and Fujimiya. Both of them had now learned the Ripple, and their combat capabilities had improved significantly.

For instance, on a quiet night, Ulfgas—who had just arrived on Earth—was being chased all over the city by Gamu.

Ulfgas was a creature resembling a werewolf, seemingly modified by extraterrestrials. It possessed excellent jumping ability and was generally timid and docile, but it would become violent if attacked. The XIG intended to capture it alive if possible, though it depended on the situation. Since they weren't fighting in their element—the air—the Lightning Team was almost being led on a wild goose chase by Ulfgas once they were on the ground.

"Okawara! Kitada! Block this bastard!"

Kajio was panting heavily. Seeing Ulfgas about to slip out of sight again, he hurriedly called out to Okawara and Kitada via his communicator. Breathless, he looked up at Gamu ahead of him, feeling a sudden sense of confusion. Since when did Gamu have such stamina?

Gamu’s current endurance was practically superhuman. He chased after Ulfgas, shouting loudly, "Stop! If you don't stop, I'll fire!"

Seeing that Ulfgas didn't stop, he immediately raised his Gector laser pistol and fired a yellow beam! Of course, he couldn't aim accurately while running, and the yellow beam, carrying a tranquilizer, flew wide off the mark. Still, Ulfgas was startled into a halt, letting out a howl.

Kitada and Okawara moved in to surround it, blocking Ulfgas's path as Kajio caught up from behind.

"You're not going anywhere!"

Kajio aimed his Gector pistol at Ulfgas and pulled the trigger! A laser beam fired, but Ulfgas didn't even move, and the beam zipped past its head. This situation made Kajio feel somewhat embarrassed. He aimed again and fired, but this time it flew over the creature's head.

"Captain Kajio, what are you doing?" Gamu, watching from the side, widened his eyes in disbelief. "Hurry, hit it in the body!"

"I know that!" Kajio’s expression grew frantic as he pulled the trigger twice in rapid succession. Two laser beams streaked past Ulfgas, one after the other, striking the ground near Kitada and Okawara’s feet and making them flinch.

"Wait! Kajio, stop shooting!" Okawara shouted, feeling that his current position was dangerous.

Ulfgas tilted its head in confusion and let out a mocking sound at Kajio. Infuriated, Kajio pulled the trigger again, but no laser beam emerged; he was out of ammo.

"Captain Kajio," Gamu asked, looking at Kajio’s anxious state, "is your marksmanship not very good?"

He was just stating a fact, with no sarcasm intended. But Kajio was displeased. "Then you do it!"

As soon as Gamu raised his pistol, Ulfgas lunged at them!

"Look out!"

Seeing the creature’s sharp claws descending, Gamu threw a kick, subconsciously channeling the power of the Ripple! Ulfgas was knocked to the ground. Having been attacked, its eyes suddenly turned blood-red with rage!

"Grrr-roar!"

Seeing that Ulfgas was about to attack in a fury, Gamu stepped forward to engage it in hand-to-hand combat!

This forced Kajio to shout, "Get back, Gamu! It's dangerous!"