Ultraman: I am really just a human.

Chapter 257 Wind and W

Evening, at the izakaya, Leo's House.

When Xia Chuan lifted the curtain and entered, there were surprisingly quite a few guests, but the atmosphere was still strange.

Even in broad daylight, it was pitch black, even more eerie than before.

"Hey, Kaminari," the bald shop owner wiping glasses at the counter said, his expression lighting up. "Haven't been here in a long time. How's it going at the Knight Academy?"

"It's alright, I guess."

Xia Chuan didn't know what to say. After looking at the silent customers in the store, he stammered and walked towards the counter.

"The usual, milk and side dishes..."

"Whoosh!"

Before Xia Chuan could get close, the customers in the shop suddenly stood up as if on cue, all looking at Xia Chuan with serious faces that were particularly eerie in the dim light.

"Shinji Kaminari?!"

"Don't misunderstand, everyone," the bald boss hurriedly explained with a smile, "Shinaga is a regular customer here, and it's not like five years ago anymore, so there's no need to be nervous."

"What's wrong?"

Xia Chuan glanced strangely at the guests who then continued drinking as if nothing had happened.

They're all aliens.

Although there are quite a few aliens mixed in with the crowd in this city, they are not to the point that they can be seen everywhere.

"Boss, has this place become an alien gathering place?" Xia Chuan asked in a low voice.

He is no longer Lypia, and Lypia doesn't fight and kill all aliens, so there's no need for him to cause trouble. It would be best if they could coexist peacefully.

"It's a long story," the bald shop owner sighed, rubbing his head. "I don't know how it happened, but ever since I started serving noodles, my shop has inexplicably become popular among aliens. It was fine before, but recently there's been a sudden surge in customers."

But don't worry, these guys mean no harm. They're just ordinary people who have settled on Earth. I heard they can't go back to their hometowns, which is quite pitiful.

"If you were really just a normal person, why would you be so hostile towards me?"

Xia Chuan's eye twitched slightly.

Lipia deals with monsters on Earth, and the few aliens she encounters are notorious troublemakers like Zarab and the Mefilas aliens.

Someone who would react this strongly can't possibly be a friendly person.

It's just that the environment has changed, and they've lost the ability to do evil.

"Speaking of which, boss, your hairstyle..."

"It's nothing, I'm used to it."

The bald boss handed over the hot milk with a wry smile.

"Would you like to try some? We happen to have one serving of our soba noodles left."

"Give it a try."

Xia Chuan sniffed. He hadn't noticed it before, but now he could indeed smell the rare aroma of delicious food.

Life needs a balance between work and rest; being constantly tense lately isn't a good thing.

It's a rare treat to enjoy delicious food...

No, he came here today because he had something to do; he arranged to meet up with Taki Akihisa.

I never expected there to be so many aliens at Leo's House.

"Kaminaga!"

A light rain suddenly fell on the street. Taki Akihisa, who was a step behind, hurriedly hid inside the store. When he saw Natsukawa, he quickly put the laptop he was protecting in his arms on the counter.

"We've been delayed a bit; there's still no result for the other encrypted file, but the Fujiwara Foundation has finally gotten a lead..."

Seemingly only then noticing the eerie atmosphere of the aliens in the store, Taki Akihisa stopped mid-sentence, trembling.

"Where... what's going on here, Kaminari? Didn't you say there weren't many people here? These people..."

"It's alright, tell me about the Fujiwara Group first." Natsukawa held down the suspicious Taki Akihisa, and his telekinetic power spontaneously surrounded him, binding the sound waves.

"Huh? Are you alright?"

Finding that the izakaya guests hadn't noticed them at all, Taki Akihisa turned on his computer to continue explaining, puzzled.

"It might be related to a dungeon. According to recent records, the only keywords are 'wind' and 'w,' but it's strange that the Alliance has absolutely no corresponding dungeon information. Is it a new dungeon?"

"It's probably not a new instance; it's more like an instance that hasn't been discovered yet."

Xia Chuan glanced at the statistical data entries on the computer screen, pondered for a moment, and then closed the screen.

Wind, w...

It should be Kamen Rider W, whose story takes place in a special city called Fuuto.

The Fujiwara Foundation must have discovered this instance long ago, and somehow managed to infiltrate it and establish a base beforehand.

That's why the Fujiwara Foundation was able to suddenly disappear when the alliance took action, leaving no trace of even its core research projects.

But that would be troublesome.

There are simply too many instances captured in this world now, so he can't distinguish which one is the W timeline, and naturally, he can't find a direction to enter it.

Unless the actual entrance to the passage can be found.

Will the league know?

Even if you don't know, you should have an alternative.

"Kaminaga?" Taki Akihisa called out worriedly, "I won't ask you about the source of this information, but is there some trouble with this sudden investigation of the Fujiwara Group? We can help..."

"No need for that, you can go back now," Xia Chuan said, helping Taki Akihisa up. "I'll need your help with the other encrypted file as well."

"That's true," Taki Akihisa's attention was immediately diverted. "I've never seen such an encryption method before. Don't worry, I'm sure I can decipher it."

"Just do your best."

Natsukawa did not disturb Taki Akihisa's momentum.

If he could, he wouldn't want to give this kind of information to Taki Akihisa.

But right now, the only person I can trust and who is capable of handling this is this former teammate.

"The buckwheat noodles are here!"

The bald boss brought over the last bowl of noodles from the kitchen, but before he could say anything, Taki Akihisa snatched it away and wolfed it down.

"And this is...?"

"Thanks, Kaminari," Taki Akihisa said hastily, "How did you know I hadn't eaten all day? I was starving!"

"This is for Shen Yong," the bald boss reminded him.

"Huh?" Taki Akihisa froze, looking down at the half-eaten soba noodles.

"It's okay, you eat. I didn't have much of an appetite anyway."

Xia Chuan got up and left, paying the bill and walking out of the izakaya first.

The key information has been found.

The problem is how to enter the W timeline.

His only experience was probably the Shimura Junichi incident.

Even without a corresponding channel, one can accurately enter the corresponding spacetime.

The league is probably making similar attempts as well.

"Kaminaga!"

Taki Akihisa cautiously bypassed the stern-faced alien customer and quietly approached Natsukawa.

"Are these people really alright?"

As a former member of the FOT team, although he couldn't figure out the customers' true identities, his scientist instincts still sensed that something was wrong.

"It's hard to say whether they have any problems or not; it's better to focus on the issues at the front for now."

Xia Chuan turned his gaze to a shadowy corner under the night sky, where a large amount of pungent, high-temperature gas rose, and a deep, reddish-hot trench of lava flowed and spread.

"call--!"

Amidst the raging flames and blasts, a towering lava monster emerged from the corner, each step sending up a massive heatwave.

A hybrid monster created using lava-type Gaia memory.

"Kami, Kaminaga?"

Taki Akihisa was so unsteady on his feet that he could barely stand.

"Didn't they say there weren't any more strange people around?"

"Now we have it."

Xia Chuan pulled open his suit jacket, revealing his abdomen, revealing the Extreme Fox Desire Driver.

"Taki, you go back first, I'll handle things here."

"Kaminaga," Taki Akihisa anxiously pulled Natsukawa, "Are you alright now?"

Five years have passed, and his impression of Xia Chuan is still stuck in the past.

Can one continue fighting after losing their Ultraman identity?

"Whoosh!"

The Extreme Fox Driver lit up with a dazzling halo, and the next moment, red and white armor automatically materialized, isolating Taki Akihisa from the outside.

Assemble.

"Extreme Fox!"

Magnum!

(End of this chapter)