Chapter 143: Uncle Tian and Little Black King

"That concludes the entire process of this battle."

Zero delivered the final summary, then paused and added, "One more thing. The Captain asked us to keep an eye out for any unusual substances drifting in the space around the incident site, and to collect some samples if possible."

"Unusual substances?"

"Yes. We did find some strange items at the scene—some dust and some liquid. We’ve collected them in specimen canisters and sent them to the Academy of Sciences."

Hiroyuki understood clearly; the Captain's "foresight" likely came from the spoilers he had shared. As for what those dust and liquid samples actually were...? It seemed the Captain had already guessed their nature and had passed them directly to the Academy on Earth for verification, assuming it fell within their capabilities.

The meeting concluded there. Zero mentioned he would submit the mission report to the Captain that evening. He suggested that if anyone was interested in the details, they could request access to the mission logs—after all, it wasn't convenient for Titus to write reports, so Zero had taken on the task.

As the group was about to disperse, a "ding" echoed from the elevator at the end of the corridor. The doors slid open, and a figure stepped out, looking visibly exhausted. Beside his dragging footsteps trotted a tiny, energetic figure, forming a sharp contrast to the drained individual next to it.

"Huh? Hiroyuki, you're here?"

The man was wearing the standard uniform of the task force and greeted Hiroyuki with familiar ease. Hiroyuki didn't recognize him at first, only snapping back to reality when he noticed the bouncing little creature at the man's feet.

"Uncle Oda?"

Hiroyuki was stunned. The young man before him looked to be in his early thirties. Perhaps due to his former life as a painter, his erratic eating and sleeping habits had taken a heavy toll on his body, leaving him gaunt. Yet, unlike before, when he looked like he was about to become a vagrant, Uncle Oda actually looked quite handsome now that he was groomed. His beard was shaved, his hair was styled, and perhaps because of the uniform, his previously hunched posture had straightened significantly, lending him a newfound air of vitality.

However, the dark circles under his eyes remained quite prominent. Unless the Tsuburaya makeup artist had been overzealous, he clearly hadn't been sleeping well.

Concerned, Hiroyuki asked, "Uncle Oda? You don't look so good... are you alright?"

"I'm fine..." Uncle Oda waved a hand. "Just having a lot of dreams at night, feeling like I haven't slept well. If there are no missions in the morning, I’ll go find somewhere to rest... don't tell the Captain, though."

"Right..."

Hiroyuki nodded, then paused. Was it really okay for Uncle Oda to slack off like this? But upon reflection, he understood. In terms of current ground-based combat power, beyond the military's firepower—including missiles and aircraft—Taiga and Senior Homare were recovering from injuries, and Zero and Titus had left Earth to handle the rocket-loss incident. That left only Uncle Oda and his partner, the young Black King, to hold the fort.

Come to think of it, Uncle Oda’s exam date hadn't even arrived yet. But just one day after Hiroyuki and the others left Earth, a Pagos had emerged from the underground and wreaked havoc on the harbor, which had barely recovered from the destruction caused by Glasstron.

That harbor was near Hiroyuki’s home and, naturally, not far from Uncle Oda’s studio. The young Black King had sensed the threat from Pagos and reverted from its egg form to its juvenile state, screeching in agitation. Uncle Oda’s attempts to soothe it were useless against the tangible threat, so in a moment of "might as well go all out," he had been forced to take the young Black King into the fray and beat the Pagos to a pulp.

After the battle, the EGIS (Extra-terrestrial Investigation and Science) division arrived late. They split into two teams: one to process the scene, where they unearthed several crates of uranium ore from the Pagos's remains—totaling over five tons. Fortunately, the radiation shielding on the crates remained intact, keeping the local radiation levels normal and the area habitable.

The other team began searching for the giant alien and the monster that had fought the Pagos.

Meanwhile, Uncle Oda and the young Black King had snuck back to the studio, thinking they could wipe their hands of the matter and remain anonymous. But the moment Uncle Oda stepped inside, he unexpectedly found someone already waiting for him.

Tsk, why did he have to say "again"?

Actually, as Uncle Oda had carried the young Black King back to the warehouse, he’d had a bad feeling. Now that the premonition had come true, he felt only a sense of helplessness.

He hadn't expected the person before him to be his future boss. The man was flipping through the study materials Uncle Oda had printed and left on the table, smiling as he said, "We're short on staff, and you've been hired ahead of schedule."

The man had first shaken Uncle Oda's hand, then reached out to the young Black King. The creature, nestled in Uncle Oda's arms, looked a bit dazed, but it extended a claw to shake the man's hand as well.

The situation had changed so rapidly that Uncle Oda hadn't been able to process it, but one thing was clear: he didn't have to study for the exam anymore.

Yet, before he could even rejoice, the days of non-stop "work" began.

What was the deal with those seventy- or eighty-meter-tall giant beasts appearing out of nowhere!

Every time he thought about it, Uncle Oda’s teeth itched with frustration. What kind of sinister organization was pulling the strings, and why were they so dedicated? Major attacks on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, minor ones on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and overtime even on Sundays.

These days, he and the young Black King were deployed almost daily, only able to slack off and catch a nap in the gaps between monster attacks... Uncle Oda, now numb to the fighting, began to wonder if he was a fake Nackle alien. He no longer felt the urge to fight, only the urge to collapse and sleep.

The real problem was that he couldn't even sleep well; he would wake up feeling just as exhausted as before. Uncle Oda couldn't help but suspect that he was fighting monsters even in his dreams.

While Hiroyuki and Uncle Oda were exchanging pleasantries, the young Black King wasn't idle. It trotted over to the four-member group holding their meeting, looked up to examine each of them, and then hopped into Zero’s arms.

Zero: "??"

Though he didn't quite grasp the situation, Zero instinctively caught the little ball of fur that had leaped into his arms. Well, it wasn't exactly furry, but the young Black King felt quite nice in its juvenile state—like a reptile hatchling, its skin felt soft and cool, almost like a down jacket.

The young Black King was completely unafraid of strangers. Right in front of Uncle Oda, it burrowed into Zero’s arms, nuzzled its head against Zero’s clothes, and used its tiny claws to pull at the front of Zero’s coat to cover its head. It sniffed incessantly for a good while before finally lifting its head in a very human-like manner, squinting its eyes, and letting out a long sigh of relief, looking exactly like a foolish human who had just gotten a satisfying fix of cat-cuddling.

Zero, who was being "sniffed": "..."

Uncle Oda, watching his partner "get a fix" from Zero: "..."

Uncle Oda hurriedly scooped the lingering young Black King out of Zero’s arms, bowing and apologizing profusely, while Zero suspiciously pulled at his own collar and lowered his head to sniff it.