Chapter 30: The Young Are Simply Too Young

“Yes!” I dream nodded emphatically, his expression earnest as he spoke. “When I was flying back here, I noticed a massive shadow speeding through the Chiba Sea!” There was no doubt in his mind about what he’d seen, but as for the situation with the Yamata Oilfield, he couldn’t be sure—“And as for the mechanical monster hidden at the Yamata Oilfield, that’s something a friend of mine told me about!”

“Your friend?” Director Dike’s tone was tinged with suspicion, his brows furrowed. He was inclined to trust I dream, but as for I dream’s friend, he couldn’t be certain—after all, he’d never met the person himself.

“That’s right!” While speaking, I dream quietly crafted an identity for Qiao Zhe. “His name is Qiao Zhe, and he’s a scientist like me. I think he must have discovered something at the Yamata Oilfield, which is why he made a point of telling me about it!”

Strategist Chiba inquired, “So where is this friend of yours, Qiao Zhe?”

I dream’s video call was currently being broadcast on the main screen, but the image showed no one else nearby.

Pressed by Chiba’s question, I dream’s heart skipped a beat, but he quickly regained his composure and spoke calmly.

“He’s already gone into the Yamata Oilfield, using one of his inventions to track the monster’s location!”

The transformation device did indeed belong to Qiao Zhe.

So this wasn’t really a lie, I dream thought to himself. Since he couldn’t reveal Qiao Zhe’s identity as an Ultraman, this was the only explanation he could give.

Remembering what Qiao Zhe had said, he became visibly anxious. “Commander, the monster in the sea is here to destroy the one at the Yamata Oilfield!”

“If the two of them start fighting, it will lead to a massive disaster!”

“Before either monster reveals itself, we must evacuate the people immediately! Get everyone into the underground shelters!”

Chiba and Dike exchanged glances, taken aback by I dream’s confident assertions.

They weren’t the ones to make the final call, so they both looked to Ishimuro, whose word was final in this room.

At that moment, Ishimuro gazed at I dream, deep in thought.

“I dream, did you learn all this from your friend Qiao Zhe?”

“Is he, like you, a member of the Alchemic Star?”

This Qiao Zhe seemed to know quite a lot, was I dream’s friend, and was investigating the monsters. Though others were in the dark, Ishimuro had gleaned plenty of information from I dream’s words and formed his own suspicions.

“That’s right.” I dream, feeling the pressure, continued to fabricate Qiao Zhe’s background. “But Qiao Zhe has never joined the Alchemic Star. I’ve invited him many times, but he’s always declined.”

A single lie required more lies to cover its gaps, and I dream grew increasingly uneasy. If Commander Ishimuro pressed further or turned to ask Daniel, he was certain he’d slip up.

“I see.” Fortunately, Ishimuro didn’t continue to probe, or perhaps he’d already arrived at his answer.

Ishimuro asked quietly, “I dream, does your friend have any intention of joining XIG?”

“Ah? No,” I dream was momentarily taken aback by Ishimuro’s sudden turn in questioning.

Seeing the hint of disappointment on Ishimuro’s face, he hurried to add, “But Qiao Zhe said that if any monsters appear, we can always notify him. Even if he’s not a member of XIG, he’ll help us!”

This made Ishimuro’s eyes light up, his expression immediately turning stern. “That won’t do!”

“It won’t, Commander?” I dream’s anxiety deepened.

“No, it won’t!” Ishimuro replied with utmost seriousness, his tone stern. “I dream, you can’t let your friend help us for nothing!”

“Here’s what we’ll do—his name is Qiao Zhe, correct? From now on, you’ll be responsible for contacting him. He’ll receive the same treatment as you and will be considered an XIG ground investigator.”

“I dream, our funding is more than adequate—there’s no question of shortchanging Investigator Qiao Zhe!”

Before I dream could react, Ishimuro made his decision and then turned to Atsuko. “Issue a Level Three Alert immediately. Have the ground troops evacuate the residents of Oilfield Town into the underground shelters.”

“Yes, sir!” With Ishimuro’s order, Atsuko began relaying the commands at once.

Strategist Chiba, visibly troubled, looked to Ishimuro and spoke up. “Commander, the enemy hasn’t even appeared yet, and we don’t know their exact locations. Isn’t this—”

“No need to say more.” Ishimuro cut Chiba off, offering a brief explanation. “That’s exactly why we must act ahead of time.”

“Besides, I dream is a professional. We ought to trust him.”

“If anything happens, I’ll take responsibility!”

With that final declaration from Ishimuro, Strategist Chiba said no more.

Ishimuro’s confidence in this decision was clear, which was why he dared to act so decisively.

If I dream was Gaia, then his friend was no ordinary person either—especially since he was also investigating monsters. The answer was almost self-evident.

With that in mind, Ishimuro naturally chose to trust I dream.

As XIG’s commander, decisiveness was essential when the situation called for it.

He now turned to Makoto Dike. “XIG, mobilize!”

“Understood.” Makoto nodded and then spoke to Joji. “Joji, inform the Lightning and Falcon teams to ready themselves.”

With those words, Director Dike strode out of the command center to find his partner, Kamiyama, intending to have the Peacekeeper launch first.

I dream watched the entire process unfold.

Deeply moved by Ishimuro’s trust, he nevertheless remembered Qiao Zhe’s wish not to join XIG. “Commander—”

“I dream, hurry and get your family to the underground shelter,” Ishimuro interrupted, turning to cut him off.

For a moment, I dream was at a loss for words. Just then, Takayama Shigemi came over, pushing her bicycle. “I dream, why are you back again?”

“I understand, Commander.” I dream replied through the communicator, then, feeling a bit dejected, ended the video call.

‘I’ll have to explain things to Qiao Zhe later. But nothing’s really changed, so he’ll probably agree,’ I dream thought, uncertain.

Yet with Ishimuro’s arrangement, he realized Qiao Zhe still hadn’t joined XIG—since only he would be in contact with him, no one else had the authority to intervene or give Qiao Zhe orders.

As these thoughts churned in his mind, I dream turned to Takayama Shigemi. “Mom, a monster is coming. You and Dad need to get to the underground shelter right away!”

Youth is sometimes naïve; he had no idea he’d fallen into Ishimuro’s trap.

Meanwhile, deep in the Yamata Oilfield, Qiao Zhe’s sapphire ring glowed on his wrist as he searched for Enzan’s location.

The Enzan machine could evade radar detection, but it could not escape the sensing abilities of an Adept. He now knew precisely which direction it was in.

But just then, Qiao Zhe suddenly sensed someone approaching from afar, following him.

‘Am I being tailed? Who could it be?’

Vigilance rising, he did not pause his steps, continuing forward at an unhurried pace, pretending to admire the scenery while glancing back out of the corner of his eye...