Chapter 62: Where is the Mysterious Sairo?

This is also why Ultraman, when protecting the Earth, usually chooses to bond with a local human. After all, surviving in this “desert” means adopting a lifestyle that conserves energy and minimizes water loss.

“I remember you can adapt to the environment of outer space... By the way, how do you do that?”

Yuxing was just about to answer when he suddenly recalled a small detail: Captain Hasui had never once doubted his identity, always acting as if he held the script and everyone’s identity cards in his hands. Perhaps, during their brief exchanges, he’d inadvertently revealed information he hadn’t even noticed himself.

“That’s the power of the Taiga Light Key,” Yuxing answered honestly. He was just an ordinary human, and even with special attention from the script, that fact remained unchanged. “I guess the Light Key is adjusting my constitution, allowing me to adapt to the environment of space.”

Yuxing took the Taiga Light Key from his lower back and showed it to Captain Hasui, who took it, examined it for a moment, then looked up at Yuxing.

“If the Taiga Light Key isn’t with you, will you instantly lose this adaptability?”

“No,” Yuxing replied firmly. “I’ve tested it. Even if the Light Key isn’t by my side, I won’t lose this ability.”

He would only lose the ability to switch out certain skills.

Currently, the Taiga Light Key had only one unlocked skill slot. If Yuxing chose to equip “Permeation,” a passive skill that allowed him to blend into his surroundings and adapt to the environment of space, he couldn’t equip the “Gateway” ability at the same time. Without the Light Key, he couldn’t switch between these abilities. The same went for the bond point allocation—it would still take effect, but without the Light Key, he wouldn’t be able to adjust the distribution.

“That’s a relief,” Captain Hasui said, returning the Taiga Light Key to Yuxing. “I need you to wear this bracelet, go into space, and recharge it. You don’t have to fill it all at once—about a third is enough.”

In other words, he only needed to get one of the three white crystals on the bracelet to change color.

Yuxing was about to nod in agreement, but halfway through the motion, he froze.

“How am I supposed to get to space?”

I can’t fly!

Yuxing was a little stunned.

Seeing his confusion, Captain Hasui chuckled and explained, “There’s a starport. On this Earth, there are starports used by aliens to come and go, though they’re hidden from view.”

As he spoke, Captain Hasui took a black card from the pen holder on the table and handed it to Yuxing. Looking at it, Yuxing realized it was an advertisement.

The cardstock was thick, the printing exquisite, with patterns and lettering embossed in silver—a mark of meticulous quality.

Black Star Café...

Yuxing instantly recognized the name and smiled. So the manager came here to open a new shop? Perhaps after the one in Orb was destroyed, he kept trying and trying again.

At the center of the card was the name “Black Star Café,” and below it was a string of addresses that appeared perfectly ordinary—except for a handwritten note at the end: From here, walk twenty meters north, then turn right and enter the wall.

The handwriting was clearly Captain Hasui’s.

The wall...? Was this some kind of illusion, like Platform Nine and Three-Quarters in Harry Potter?

Seeing Yuxing put the card away, Captain Hasui picked up his coffee cup and asked, “Well, any other questions?”

This was essentially announcing the end of the examination—Yuxing was free to go.

Yuxing thought for a moment. If Captain Hasui had simply told him to leave, he wouldn’t have hesitated for a second. But now that he’d been asked if he had any questions...

“My first question—why not let Titus handle this?”

Yuxing had been wondering about this since Hasui mentioned he was “out of contact.” Even though the liaison from the Land of Light hadn’t arrived as scheduled, surely they could have asked Titus for help—he was absolutely reliable.

But Captain Hasui shook his head with a wry smile. “It was an emergency. I didn’t have time to talk to Titus. By the time I thought of contacting him, he was already ‘out of touch.’”

...

Yuxing was about to say he knew where Titus was, but the words stalled on his lips. Captain Hasui knew as well.

So when he said “out of touch”... he meant Titus had gone missing.

Probably just like Taiga—after saving a human, he fell into a slumber...

“My second question...” Yuxing hesitated, then finally asked, “Who was the warrior originally assigned to Earth?”

“Zero.”

The moment he heard the name, Yuxing’s expression darkened. No wonder...

He’s been “sealed by the script” again, hasn’t he? If this is the script’s interference, it wouldn’t matter if it was Zero or even his father, Seven—they’d both disappear.

What kind of danger could possibly have made this top fighter of the new generation vanish for so many days without a trace?

As mentioned before, failing to appear on the battlefield was a grave matter. Zero was a veteran, rigorous in his attitude toward battle, and would never make such a mistake.

Was it Tartarus? Or Bulton?

And according to Captain Hasui, Zero’s last known location was in the M5 star system, just six light-years from Earth... That’s far too close. What happened there?

“The Land of Light has already started searching for Zero. Aside from coming to Earth as my liaison, he actually had another mission related to you, Yuxing.”

“Me?”

Caught off guard by being named, Yuxing asked in confusion.

“Yes. When I last sent a report to the Land of Light, I included your current situation, including the possibility that you might be partially possessed by Grimdo.”

“You know how Tregear managed to ‘handle’ the Grimdo inside him, right?”

Yuxing nodded. “It was those restraints he wore, I heard he developed them himself.”

“He actually started planning and designing that equipment back when he was still at the Science and Technology Bureau. The original purpose was to restrain and suppress spirit-type monsters. In any case, the Bureau still has the research data for those restraints.

“Since the data exists, three days was enough for the scientists at the Science and Technology Bureau to recreate the device. I heard they even made it smaller and more efficient.”

For scientists with a touch of obsessive perfectionism, if they’re going to do something, they’ll do it to the best of their ability—pulling a few extra shifts is nothing.

At this point, Yuxing understood, and his eyes lit up—only for the spark of hope to be instantly extinguished.

Could it be...

“If we can’t get rid of the Grimdo in your body for now, at least we can control it and put its power to good use. That was the plan—but the prototype vanished along with Zero.”

...

Another inexplicable twist of fate!

At this moment, Yuxing could only feel resigned.

That all-too-familiar sensation... This, too, was the script targeting him!

Zero... Zero, where are you—!