Chapter 147: Saving One's Life Comes First

Zero’s method of time and space travel was not as effortless as depicted in the original series, where he could go wherever he pleased. It involved a high degree of unpredictability because the pathways constantly shifted, and the corresponding gateways did not always remain in the same location. In other words, returning to a place he had visited before was never as simple as going home.

To put it briefly, it was largely a matter of luck.

"Zero, give yourself a three-day limit. If you haven't retrieved the item by then, return immediately," the captain instructed.

"Understood."

Zero nodded in acknowledgment, stood up, and announced, "I'm heading out."

With that, he dashed out of the small meeting room with hurried momentum.

Presently, only two people and a small monster remained in the room. Seeing that Zero had already departed, the captain turned back to continue the briefing. "I'll have someone check with the police later to see if there have been any missing persons reports in the past few days, and also check hospitals for cases of accidental injury."

The captain paused briefly before adding, "Also, inquire at major psychological clinics in the city to see if any unusual cases have recently surfaced—cases involving hallucinations, extreme terror, mental derangement, or insomnia."

Hiroyuki nodded. After all, they could not simply sit around waiting for Zero to return. Pursuing multiple avenues simultaneously to narrow down the search range was a sound strategy.

"Hiroyuki, Oda," the captain continued, assigning the next tasks, "the two of you head to Pier 12 tomorrow morning at six. A cargo vessel is arriving on the island, and you two will be taking the boat back here..."

"Got it."

Both Hiroyuki and Oda nodded. Hiroyuki felt a mild sense of resignation; he had just left the island that very morning, only to return the next day.

The captain turned to Uncle Oda. "Oda, be honest, how does your body feel right now?"

Oda hesitated slightly. He remained silent for a moment, carefully sensing his physical state before replying, "Mentally fatigued, lacking concentration, somewhat sluggish in my reactions. I definitely don't feel very well."

Hearing this, the captain nodded and said, "If we are to resolve this issue, we must at least find a way to alleviate it. We’ve prepared equipment related to brainwave manipulation here on the island. If the situation deteriorates, we might have to consider directly manipulating your brainwaves to suppress the generation of dreams."

After all, dreams were ultimately generated through brainwaves. The captain’s approach was essentially the equivalent of pulling the network cable when facing a master hacker invading a computer.

Uncle Oda nodded in agreement. If things worsened, preserving his life was paramount.

"Oda," the captain concluded, "although I have no recollection of the Dream Ruins, I believe that since you keep experiencing that dream, it means your trial is still ongoing. In other words, Noa has not given up on you. He still considers you a suitable candidate, which is why He continues to create this dream for you, hoping you will attain that power."

"Perhaps previously you didn't realize what this dream signified, but I think if you can clearly express in the dream your decision to give up on becoming a Dunamist, Noa shouldn't be unreasonable."

At these words, Uncle Oda’s gaze flickered away. He knew that he hadn't slept properly for nearly a week; even with the physique of a combat-oriented race like the Baltan—no, the Naraku—he would eventually reach his breaking point. The current situation was already quite dire.

Sometimes, giving up was also a choice. After all, having described the dream in such vivid detail, helping everyone identify it as Noa's trial for selecting a Dunamist, and subsequently deducing that Space Beasts were already operating in the shadows, he had already made more than enough contributions.

It didn't matter even if he couldn't become Nexus.

Because Noa would select multiple Dunamists at a time and activate them successively, missing one person wouldn't matter—though if the replacement wasn't an insider like Uncle Oda, they would have to search among the general population, which would be slightly troublesome.

However, Oda did not want to give up.

Or rather, it was an instinct—the instinct of the combat-oriented alien race to pursue powerful strength to the utmost of one's ability. It wasn't that Oda felt his power was insufficient and therefore sought more. There was no logic, no reason; he was simply following his instinct.

To be granted gifts by the heavens and not take them invites calamity.

Oda subconsciously felt that amidst such a monumental opportunity, if he backed down, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Thus, early the next morning, Hiroyuki and Uncle Oda rendezvoused at the dormitory entrance and took a taxi together to Pier 12. They were received by an elderly captain. Had Tregear been present, he would have recognized this man as the very same captain who had brought him and the captain to the island that day.

The dark circles under Uncle Oda’s eyes seemed to have grown a size larger, alarming even Hiroyuki and reinforcing his support for the captain's plan. If Uncle Oda could neither pass the trial to gain power nor escape the lucid dreams anytime soon, direct instrumental intervention to suppress dream generation was the necessary course of action.

So, when the sun hung high in the sky, the group arrived at the island housing the research base. Transported along with them was over a ton of supplies. Uncle Oda and Hiroyuki first went to report to the captain, after which Uncle Oda and the captain headed to the research institute, while Hiroyuki returned to the shoreline to help unload the cargo.

"Hiroyuki, you're back?"

At the unloading site, Hiroyuki ran into Taro once again after just a single day. Taro was still dressed in loose, casual attire, working alongside the staff who had accompanied the ship, pulling carts of goods into the warehouse one by one. Hiroyuki had only learned before departure that these staff members were military personnel who had signed confidentiality agreements and were thoroughly reliable. Combined with the fact that the island was already a restricted military zone—with bans on flights and high-altitude photography—very few people currently knew the true situation on the island.

"Yes, the captain summoned us, so of course we had to come back," Hiroyuki explained while lifting a piece of equipment secured in a wooden frame onto a flatbed cart. Looking at its shape... *tch, why does it look so much like that coffee machine on the counter at a certain coffee chain, the really long row type?*

After listening to Hiroyuki's brief explanation of their current predicament, Taro could not help but frown. Space Beasts were an extremely obscure and rare category of monster with very little documented information; based on his impression, he only knew that these creatures were exceedingly difficult to deal with.

"Well, since we haven't even managed to locate it yet, all we can do right now is handle some preliminary groundwork."

For instance, helping Uncle Oda pass Noa's Dream Ruins trial.

Or helping him escape the trial so he could get a proper night's sleep and look after his health.

Right at that moment, Hiroyuki noticed Taro’s gaze shift away from him, landing on something behind him, followed by a momentary stun.

"???"

What was going on behind him?

Curious, Hiroyuki turned around as well and saw a person wearing a black-and-white color-blocked shirt covered by a white lab coat appear upon the rocks behind them, then lightly leap down, landing in complete silence.

"Mr. Mistsuki?"

Hiroyuki knew he was Tregear, but while in human form, bound by a tacit mutual understanding, Hiroyuki addressed him as "Mistsuki."

"Yes, I heard about the relevant situation."

Tregear glanced in Taro’s direction, then withdrew his gaze, walking leisurely toward Hiroyuki. He cupped a walnut-sized metal object in his palm and extended it toward Hiroyuki.

"This is a prop that can influence dreams. Perhaps it will be of some help to you."

Hiroyuki looked at the ring-shaped prop held out before him, wearing an expression that defied description.

It was here—the plot item had finally arrived!