Am I the only one in this team who is not Ultraman?

"So this alien isn't our enemy?" Komon raised his hand to express his opinion.

“Not necessarily.” Leo waved his hand. “It’s also possible that they happen to have similar interests and don’t want Sphia to be the winner. Zetton might also be the one manipulating things behind the scenes.”

This analysis wasn't without merit, after all, Zetton had attacked them before. Daigo and Komon exchanged a glance; they now knew each other's identities and would need to cover for and help each other from now on.

"In addition, there is Ultraman. We can be sure that Ultraman is our ally in this battle. It's just a pity that we don't know who their human hosts are. It would be more convenient if we could establish a cooperative relationship with them."

Looking at his comrades lying in the hospital beds, Leo couldn't help but think of the plan that Dr. Dango had mentioned to him before: artificial Ultraman. If his comrades became Ultraman, their minds should be able to control those powers.

Unfortunately, this plan is still just a plan and not very reliable. Leo still thinks it's better to do something else.

..........................................................................................

As it turns out, people often find meetings boring because of the person chairing them. Leo held a meeting for two hours, and even though his mouth was dry from talking, Daigo and his group didn't feel sleepy at all.

The only complaint was that there was a bit too much cumin in the barbecue, but it was grilled well. Dr. Yamata ate the most, and after eating, he didn't even sleep. He took Leo's suggestions for the King Joe renovation plan and started discussing them with my dream.

After discussing for a while, Dr. Yaiba and Imu looked at Leo as if he were an alien. Dr. Yaiba couldn't help but glance at his proud student, "Are you sure his academic background is the lowest in your whole team?"

“At least ten days ago.” My dream’s expression was also strange. The only reaction he and Dr. Yao had after reading Leo’s proposal was: So that’s how it can be improved.

Leo's solution mainly improved some of the mechanical transmission parts and energy supply lines of King Joe. If we follow his approach, the renovation of King Joe will be slower, but the output power, safety factor and firepower configuration will be significantly improved.

If this is the person with the lowest ESCG education, then what about the others? Dr. Yao even found some inspiration for improving the Max propulsion system from this plan.

"Vice Captain, did you really write this plan?" I couldn't help but wonder if Leo had been possessed by an alien.

"Yes, I researched a lot of information and learned a lot of things. The plan I managed to write still has many shortcomings and is just a suggestion for reference."

As he spoke, Leo made do with the table in the ward and continued writing his report. Director Yoshioka had just sent him a text message urging him to finish the report on the Taganura incident in America as soon as possible.

"Why don't we just move the ESCG command center here in the future?" Leo thought to himself, noting that people seemed to gather in the wards much more often than in the command center.

"Daigo, after this, take a vacation to spend time with Rena. I've already arranged a vacation with Captain Megumi."

After this battle, Daigo was the most seriously injured, and Rena stayed outside the intensive care unit for several hours without sleep. Leo thought it wouldn't hurt to give Daigo a break, since it's impossible to face opponents of the Five Emperors' level every day in the future. Zetton and the others are enough to handle the situation.

"Ahem." Captain Gento felt he needed to make his presence felt; after all, he was the captain of ESCG, and it was his responsibility to approve leave.

"Oh right, Captain Gento, I've also arranged your vacation. You and Daigo will both be on vacation. Next week is your wedding anniversary. I wouldn't have known if your son hadn't written to ask about it."

Leo thought the String Man Captain also wanted a vacation, but he had actually made arrangements a long time ago. The String Man Captain's son wrote a letter this morning to ask how his father was doing and said that his mother was very worried. The String Man Captain hadn't been home for half a month.

"But if I, as the team leader, leave, what if there's an emergency..."

No sooner had Gento finished speaking than Leo's communicator rang. Leo picked up the communicator and gestured for Gento to remain silent. "This is Leo, the vice-captain of ESCG. Please speak?"

"This is TPC Australia branch. Vice Captain Leo, we hope you can write a detailed report on yesterday's battle. Also... we need some supplementary information."

"I have already applied for a batch of Flying Swallow EXJ and Divine Eagle for you. At the same time, I have moved the Sky Base to stand by over Australia. Once the research is completed, the Australian branch will have priority in selecting the latest weapons. Also... please convey our condolences to the families of the fallen team members."

"Understood, and please convey the respect of the entire Australian branch to all ESCG members."

After putting down the phone, Leo looked at Gento and gestured for him to continue. Gento thought for a moment, then realized, "Wait a minute, who is the captain of ESCG, me or Leo?"

"Hello, this is Leo... Is this for tomorrow's news interview? I understand, I'll be there on time."

"Nan Yuan, is this Staff Officer? Yes, it's me. How's the relocation of the research facility going? Hmm, the report I sent half an hour ago. Okay, the relocation work will be handed over to your Security Bureau."

"Director Ji Gang, would you like to discuss military development in person? Yes, I'll be right there."

Leo kept making phone calls, which seemed increasingly outrageous to everyone, but upon closer inspection, they realized it made perfect sense.

On the very first day of ESCG's establishment, Captain Gento was hospitalized due to injury. For many days, internal affairs and external liaison work had to be handled by Vice Captain Leo. As a result, all units basically got used to dealing directly with Leo. Gento? He was really not familiar with him.

Realizing this, Captain Stringman chose to remain silent, his guilt towards Leo deepening.

"I'll go take care of things now. You all get some rest. I'll take care of everything, so don't worry."

Leo estimated that if they went to find Charlieja later to get the medical equipment, everyone's injuries would heal faster. It was truly a miracle that all members of ESCG survived this time.

As for now, Leo needs to go and discuss matters concerning weapons and equipment with Director Yoshioka; he can't even get any sleep in the middle of the night.

He also had to figure out how to answer the tricky questions from the media during tomorrow's news interview. This was originally the captain's job, but thankfully it was just a TV interview and he didn't have to face a bunch of reporters.

Watching Leo leave, Hong Kai rubbed his full stomach, "I always feel like the vice-captain is really busy."

"Because we're always in the hospital." Komon was quite embarrassed, but Fujimiya and I were alright. Even when they were lying in hospital beds, as long as they could still move their hands, they could basically do something.

"It seems like most of the team's work has to be handed over to the vice-captain." Fujiwara Jūriki felt a little guilty thinking about how Leo used to work overtime all night.

But there's nothing we can do about it; everyone gets injured every time they go out to fight, and none of them are minor injuries.

On the other hand, Leo also felt a little sorry for everyone. He had too many secrets and didn't want this lack of openness to affect the team's unity.

There's nothing I can do but try to do more for everyone, like arranging a holiday for everyone to rest.

(Your teammates always give off an unpleasant feeling.)

Ampera had just been observing the outside world through Leo's eyes. She had an instinctive dislike for Leo's teammates, but Leo restricted her in many ways, preventing her from observing them more closely.

It's quite surprising that Empera, despite being only a part of herself residing in the Dark Cloth, still possessed a mental strength that surpassed that of many aliens. Yet, she was still completely overwhelmed by Leo. Is this guy Reiblood's biological son?

"Isn't it wonderful to have a group of comrades like this to whom you can entrust your life?"

As soon as Leo finished speaking, he sensed that Empera in his consciousness had stopped moving. Of course, he didn't know that Empera was thinking about his Four Heavenly Kings and Two Generals, and was somewhat on edge.

"As long as I am strong enough, I have nothing to fear from any enemies or betrayals."

After saying this, Ampera fell silent again.

Chapter 44 Earth's Nickname: Monster Spawner

"In short, these are my opinions. The monster disaster has clearly become more serious recently, so it's better to retain experienced combat personnel as much as possible."

Leo shared his ideas with Yoshioka, and also had some thoughts on the design of future weapons and equipment, such as using a remote system to control fighter jets, which would ensure the safety of combat personnel.

After all, while the Flying Swallow series fighter jets are not cheap, an outstanding soldier who can fight in the defense force for more than three years is even more rare.

As for why an AI system isn't used, it's simply for security reasons. AI systems are at risk of being tampered with or manipulated. While remote operating systems aren't as reliable as manual ones, they can at least protect the most valuable combat personnel in increasingly intense battles.

"Your opinion is worth considering. In fact, a similar idea was proposed eight years ago, but it was rejected due to technical limitations. Now..."

“It’s not difficult.” Leo interrupted Director Yoshioka, who was about to say something. “After we obtained King Joe and studied its AI system operating system, this is no longer a problem.”

"Then let's do it!" Seeing the determination in Leo's eyes, which clearly indicated his confidence, Director Yoshioka naturally had no reason to hesitate. More than anyone else, he hoped that fewer people would be sacrificed.

“Understood. Also… if the plan succeeds, I would like to conduct a pilot program in the Australian branch first.”

“I understand your thoughts. Their losses are too great. We have discussed this as well. If your deal is successful, we can piece together the remaining King Joe wreckage and send it to the Australian branch.”

Leo is truly a genius. Yoshioka never imagined that Earth would take the initiative to do business with other aliens. Even when they cooperated with Mefilas, they only obtained some technology and enough information about the universe.

If Leo's plan succeeds, it will have some impact on the future of the entire Earth. The ten-year monster disaster and alien invasion have made Earthlings fear the unknown universe, and most people are pessimistic about the starry sky.

But both Yoshioka and Director Sawai knew that humanity must never give up on venturing into space. Earth is our home and our cradle, but it should never be the graveyard of human civilization.

"That's good. Oh, by the way, Director Yoshioka, which media outlet will be doing the news interview tomorrow?"

"KCB, don't worry, this TV station is different from those media outlets that make up stories based on rumors."

Those who can get TPC to agree to an interview are basically their own people, at least they are not the kind of bad media that promote conspiracy theories and doomsday theories.

"The main issue is the recent series of monster disasters, as well as the monsters that have appeared on television and the Ultraman that have appeared one after another. These have made the public somewhat uneasy, and we need to respond."

Leo understood all of this. In fact, while the appearance of Ultraman brought many problems, it also made the hope in people's hearts stronger.

So while there are voices on the internet saying "Since we have Ultraman, we don't need the defense team anymore," there are more opinions that "the defense team should further enhance its strength to help Ultraman fight."

"Also, are you planning to contact that Charlie Ga alone?" Director Yoshioka's eyes suddenly sharpened.

“It might be a bit risky.” Leo scratched his head, noticing both dissatisfaction and worry in Director Yoshioka’s eyes. “I’ve designed an identity for myself that can’t stand with TPC, but should be in a subtle opposition.”

This approach may indeed be somewhat risky, but Leo believes it is necessary, as only in this way can he learn more about potential future enemies.

He also had his own ideas on how to deliver the items to TPC.

"...Fine, since you have a plan, then go ahead and do it. I believe in Kazumi, and I believe in you too."

Thank you for your trust and support.

Leo saluted and prepared to write a report, while thinking to himself that today was surprisingly quiet. No monster alarms had sounded since morning until almost midnight, and he didn't know where to go to catch monsters for Chariga.

The thought had barely crossed Leo's mind when his communicator rang.

"This is the earthquake observation center. An abnormal tremor has been detected in Jiuchongshan. According to the observation information, it is very likely to be Golza."

"Received." With a strange expression, he hung up the phone and sent a message to Jujian Hui and the others, instructing them to take action.

After doing all this, Leo had to postpone his work and took out his Ultimate Fighting Device in front of Director Yoshioka, switching to his Awakened state. This was also a form of honesty and trust.

"So this is what your race looks like, huh? Pretty cool." Director Yoshioka wasn't surprised or scared; on the contrary, he quite liked Leo's appearance.

"Judging by the time, I need to catch that Golza before the Victory Team."

Although the recent battles have been quite difficult, that's because the situation has been rather unusual. Now that ten years have passed, TPC has long had mature solutions for dealing with monsters like Golza and Melba that appear every now and then.

One Golza is definitely not enough for the Victory Team to deal with. If Leo doesn't hurry, Golza's body will probably be cold by now... Oh no, because of Sphia, Golza will most likely be reduced to ashes.

Where do you plan to temporarily store it?

"Here." Leo tapped the Limit Breaker with his finger. The space inside was large enough to fit even monsters that weren't controlled by Leo. He also planned to buy some things for Zetton and Demaga so they could decorate the space themselves.

Meanwhile, inside the Fighting Device, Zetton, who was preparing to take Leo directly to Mount Kujue, suddenly sensed some subtle changes in the space inside the Fighting Device. Originally, the space inside the Fighting Device was a single whole, but as Leo had an idea, the large space began to be gradually divided into two smaller spaces.

So, the Ultimate Fighting Device responds to Leo's thoughts and feelings? Is it because Leo has grown to the point where he can basically master it? Isn't that a bit too fast?

However, Miss Zetton still stepped out of the fighting device, nodded and bowed very politely to Director Yoshioka, and then took Leo's hand. To be honest, Leo thought she would carry him in a princess carry, which would be a bit embarrassing in front of Director Yoshioka, so holding hands was fine instead.

The next moment, Leo and Zetton disappeared from Chief Yoshioka's sight.

On the other side, at the foot of Mount Kujū, accompanied by a violent tremor and a cloud of dust, Golza emerged from the ground. Under the bright moonlight, it was about to roar to the sky when Dimaga slapped it across the face.

"No disturbing the peace!"

Although slightly weaker than Zetton in strength, Dimaga's power was still far beyond that of an ordinary Golza. Golza was completely stunned by the blow, realizing that Zetton and Dimaga were standing in front of him, while Leo was standing on Zetton's shoulder.

Seeing these two monsters he had never seen before, Golza instinctively assumed that his territory had been invaded. He raised his hand and fired an ultrasonic ray at Zetton's chest. Ha, it was all absorbed by Zetton.

When the GUTS team arrived at Mount Kokyo, they only saw Dark Sword Dimaga overwhelmingly beating Golza, while Zetton seemed to be supervising the battle from the sidelines, occasionally making a beeping sound. Leo, who was standing on Zetton's shoulder, quickly attracted their attention.

"Captain, there's an alien on Zetton's shoulder!" Shinjo immediately reported his discovery.

"...It looks like the same person who stole the Zelda bomb." Lina quickly recognized Leo's identity as well.

Megumi knew about the theft of the Zildah bomb, and the figure on Jaden's shoulder matched the surveillance photos.

"It seems that, just as Vice Captain Leo predicted, this alien is manipulating Zetton behind the scenes. But what exactly is their purpose?"

Looking at Golza, who had been knocked unconscious by Dimaga, Lina subconsciously asked a question.

"Is he on our side?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Lina saw a flash of silver light in her opponent's hand, and her teammate's voice came through her earpiece, "Lina, get out of the way!"

A purple sword beam, like a crescent moon, flew swiftly towards them. Lina's experience allowed her to instantly find the best angle and narrowly avoid it. Watching the purple sword beam land behind her, blasting the mountaintop dozens of meters high into ashes, Lina couldn't help but swallow hard.

Whether they are enemies or not, I don't know, but they are definitely not friends.

"This is the power of the Darkweave. It's just a part of the armor, and it's already so powerful even before it's fully repaired."

Leo deftly wielded his longsword, quite satisfied with the power of the Dark Cloth. He had just casually swung the sword; of course, he hadn't intended to hit Lina, at most it would have grazed the wing of Unit 1.

This could be seen as a signal of a shift in stance, and also as a test of the power of the Darkweave.

(Of course, the Dark Armor is a weapon I created specifically to deal with the Land of Light, so its power should not be underestimated.)

Empera spoke with considerable pride, his mind already astonished by Leo's performance. Not only was he not affected by the Dark Cloth and his own power and become irritable, but he could also easily unleash the maximum power of the Dark Cloth at this stage without any pressure. Are all the Leonics monsters?

Golza was quite unlucky; it had just woken up when it ran into Leo rushing to help Chariga with his business, and Leo caught it.

Under the watchful eyes of the GUTS team, Golza, who had been knocked unconscious by Dimaga, turned into a golden light and disappeared into Leo's palm. Dimaga, Zetton, and Leo also turned into dark red light and disappeared from the spot in the next second.

The event happened so quickly that the GUTS team didn't even have time to contact ESCG immediately. Megumi Kijima immediately connected with Leo, "This is Megumi Kijima, the captain of the GUTS team. Golza has been defeated by Dimaga and Zetton, and all targets have disappeared."

"Received. Patrol the area for a while and then return to headquarters. It's too dark to conduct an investigation."

Leo had just finished replying to the message and put the communicator away when Dimaga, who had transformed into a human, happily jumped up and pounced on him, clinging to him with both hands and feet.

"Boss, boss, how did I do this time? Pretty great, right?"

"You seem quite proud of yourself?" Zetton placed his hand on Dimaga's head and began to slowly increase the pressure, causing Dimaga to howl in pain, "Ouch! Big sister! It hurts! It hurts! If you press like that, my head will explode!"

"It's just a Golza. Anything taking more than ten seconds is unacceptable. You actually took thirty seconds to knock it out. You still need more practice!"