Ultraman cubs begin to wreak havoc.

"I want to ask a policeman for directions."

As he spoke, the man took off his sunglasses, revealing a gentle gaze. Anyone meeting him for the first time would certainly not think he was a bad person.

"uncle."

Haruna asked the man:

Where would you like to go?

The man smiled and replied to Haruna:

"White Fox Forest".

Something flashed through Haruna's mind, causing her to stare blankly at the man's face for a moment.

"What...what happened?"

The man noticed Haruna's unusual reaction and asked her a question.

"It's okay."

The man smiled again.

"I want to go to the White Fox Forest."

Almost instantly, Haruna gave her answer as if it were instinct.

"I'll lead the way."

When Haruna agreed to give directions to the stranger, Fukudome Yumeko was very worried. Would Haruna get into trouble? Coincidentally, today was a special day when the GUTS members came to visit.

Yumeko stared at the hairpin Haruna had given her. The lifelike fox sculpture on the hairpin seemed to be talking to her. Where did Haruna get this hairpin from? She said she would find the police to investigate, but how do you investigate something like this?

Yumeko sighed, her gaze returning to the hairpin. She noticed a lonely smile playing on the lips of the fox statue on it...

the other side

Teruko Moriyama, who was in charge of meals at Moriki Academy, sped up her car. If she didn't hurry, she'd be late for the fifth time this month. If she was late again, she didn't know how much of a scolding she'd get. Her boss was Sachiko Makihara, a nutritionist. Sachiko Makihara was overweight.

He's very talkative, and his catchphrase is "That's why I hate young people these days." Teruko has heard this phrase countless times, and it's incredibly annoying.

To be honest, I've wanted to quit this job for a long time!

Thinking of this, Zhao Zi stepped on the gas again. Zhao Zi had returned here because of her divorce. Four years ago, Zhao Zi got married at the young age of twenty because she was tired of rural life. However, because her husband cheated on her, the two got divorced. She had no choice but to return to the village. In the small rural area, rumors spread quickly.

What is misfortune to one is honey to another. People in small towns are different from those in cities; they especially enjoy gossiping as a form of after-dinner entertainment. Although going back to my hometown is nice, my parents live with my older brother and sister-in-law. Because my sister-in-law's family is in charge of Moriki Academy, Teruko's parents asked her to arrange a job for her at the academy.

At that time, through her sister-in-law's father's introduction, Teruko took charge of the catering at Moriki Academy. Of course, precisely because her sister-in-law's father was the one who introduced her, she couldn't simply refuse the job because she disliked Makihara Sachiko.

However, this job also left Teruko feeling depressed every day, and despite her depression, Teruko was completely helpless.

As Teruko's car approached a gentle curve, a figure suddenly appeared in the windshield. Teruko hurriedly turned the steering wheel and slammed on the brakes, causing the car to veer onto the curb. Fortunately, it stopped just in time.

Did I bump into someone? But I didn't feel anything...

Feeling uneasy, Teruko slowly unbuckled her seatbelt, got out of the car to check, and looked around, but there was nothing there.

Am I seeing things? But I really saw it...

Just as she was puzzled, someone suddenly patted her on the shoulder from behind, which startled her so much that she quickly turned around and found that it was Mr. Tanno, the village policeman, behind her.

"Officer!? Don't scare me!"

As she spoke, Teruko noticed that Officer Awano's expression was somewhat off. Awano's face was bloodless, his pale expression lacked any vitality, and his eyes were vacant and unfocused.

"Your car was speeding."

Yasunori Awano said a sentence without any emotion.

"I'm sorry, I have an emergency."

But Yasunori Awano acted as if he hadn't heard her apology, mechanically starting to rummage through the pockets of his uniform.

"Please, don't give me a ticket, okay?"

Teruko pleaded urgently, while Yasunori Awano calmly extended his fist.

"What is it?"

Upon hearing Teruko's question, Yasunori Awano opened his palm.

"ah!"

Teruko was startled when she saw what was in Awano Yasunori's palm. It was a small, brownish-brown worm-like creature, very similar to a cicada larva. The worm was wriggling in Awano's palm, and its body was like a firefly, with a bluish-green light flashing inside.

"Please take it."

Yasunori Awano spoke emotionlessly as he reached for Teruko.

"I don't want to!"

Teruko noticed Awano's unusual behavior and took a slight step back.

"Please take it."

Awano Yasunori seemed not to hear him, speaking stiffly as he continued to approach Teruko.

"I said I don't want to!"

As Teruko frantically tried to escape, Yasunori Awano grabbed her arm.

"It hurts! Let go!"

But Yasunori Awano used a lot of force, and the more Teruko struggled, the more pain her arm felt. Just as Teruko let out a cry of pain, Yasunori Awano seized the opportunity and shoved the insect from his hand into her mouth...

Meanwhile, at the school...

"Fukuru-kun, I'll ask you one more time."

Teacher, Konami Misato, looked at Yumeko and asked earnestly.

"You really don't know where Matsushita went, right?"

After a slight hesitation, Yumeko nodded.

"I do not know."

At that moment, the school's male employee, Katayama Kyosuke, rushed in.

"I called the police station in Awano, but no one answered."

"He's such a worry, he's the only policeman here, and we can't get in touch with him."

"I'll go and report to the headmaster."

"Okay, call the headmaster on his cell phone."

After saying "I understand," Katayama ran out of the room. At Moriki Academy, only Misato and Katayama were the two staff members responsible for caring for the children. Both of them had been born and raised there. Misato fell into deep thought:

Today is a special day for the GUTS team members' visit. Haruna, of all people, chose today, disappearing early this morning. What could she be up to?

Suddenly, Misato had an idea and said to herself:

"Could it be that Matsushita-san went into the forest?"

Upon hearing this, Mengzi's heart tightened, and she quickly asked:

"Why do you say that?"

"At this time of year, the white lilies in the White Fox Forest are in full bloom. Haruna probably wants to pick some white lilies to give to the GUTS members, right?"

However, Yumeko rejected her hypothesis.

“If that’s the case, I’ll definitely go with her.”

Misato agreed with Yumeko's point and nodded.

"You have a point."

However, Mengzi began to feel anxious. If Mengzi really went to the police station, she should have come back long ago. Could it be that she really ran into the forest alone again?

At that moment, Katayama ran back again.

"I've already reported this to the principal. Now I'm going to the police station."

"I'll go."

However, Katayama stopped Misato.

"The GUTS team will be here soon, so you should stay here and prepare to greet them."

Misato thought for a moment and nodded in agreement with Katayama's arrangement.

Meanwhile, in the White Fox Forest...

"Uncle, why did you come to this forest?"

As Haruna returned the bottled water the man in sunglasses had given her, she asked, "We've arrived at the entrance to the forest."

The man smiled slightly at Haruna and took a sip of water from the mineral water bottle.

"The reason I came here is a bit complicated."

He scratched his head as he spoke, indicating that there was indeed some trouble.

"I had a dream."

"Dream?"