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

Chapter 3 Zetton: Do you understand numbers? Numbers

Ever since Leo could remember, he would occasionally dream of a desert, and at the end of that desert, a huge stone throne, empty, yet a voice would constantly linger around it, speaking in a language he couldn't understand.

Leo knew he was different from those around him. He could easily break steel bars, punch through concrete walls, and even jump more than ten meters high—and that was after he had restrained his power.

But no matter what, it's impossible to fight monsters with your bare hands, which is why Leo chose to join TPC and ESCG.

“How could it be King Joe…” Hong Kai muttered to himself. He recognized King Joe, but this made him feel even more uneasy. Although he only had memories of battle and some fragmented pieces, King Joe shouldn’t exist in this universe.

In the previous ten years, none of the monsters and aliens that appeared on Earth had surprised him as much as King Joe at this moment. He even subconsciously recalled Zetton, which had appeared a month ago.

"Fujiwara, you'll keep them occupied. Daigo and Komon, attack their joints. Be careful. I'll analyze King Joe for any weaknesses."

"Analyzing!" I was practically typing away on my keyboard until it was smoking.

Upon receiving Leo's orders, Unit 1 and Unit 2 quickly launched their attack. It must be said that Fujiwara's piloting skills were truly exceptional; the maneuverability of Unit 1 under her control was beyond imagination.

However, due to its poor maneuverability and large size, Unit 2 quickly became the target of King Joe's firepower.

"Daigo, get out of the way!" When Komon saw King Joe suddenly look over, he instinctively felt something was wrong. Daigo quickly pulled up and narrowly avoided the laser beam that King Joe shot out from between his eyes.

“No.” My Dream’s analysis results came out quickly, but it was not optimistic. “This guy’s whole body is made of very strong metal. According to the analysis, even a direct attack with the Texas Beam will not be able to defeat him.”

"Is it that hard?" Captain Stringman subconsciously put his hand in his pocket and frowned.

If King Joe's strength is really as I dreamt it, then that would be a real problem. Not to mention ESCG, even the Earth Defense Force's current firepower would have to pay a considerable price to defeat such an opponent.

After all, the Texas Beam is already the most powerful weapon in the Earth Defense Force's current equipment, capable of killing a monster in one hit when fully charged.

"Leo, you're in full charge of on-site command. I'm going to the restroom."

"At this time?" Leo was stunned, but Gento had already hung up the phone. Only I was still guarding the command room. Looking at the Hyper gun in his hand, which was not even worthy of scraping King Joe, Leo subconsciously covered his chest again.

If the robot in front of him really is King Joe, then this battle might be exceptionally difficult. He had just felt the echo from the depths of his heart, so he had to give it a try.

But before that, I need to find an excuse to get away.

"Vice-Captain, I'll go cover Daigo and the others!" Before Leo could even speak, Kai took the lead and ran towards King Joe. Leo didn't even have time to call him.

"Truly worthy of being called a senior." Leo couldn't help but sigh. Because they had to face vicious aliens and monsters, the defense team's casualty rate was always very high, but Gai still rushed forward without hesitation.

Leo didn't consider himself a particularly noble person, and he didn't actually have much to protect. But it was precisely because it wasn't much that he was determined to protect what remained, no matter what.

Seeing King Joe's laser strike the tail of Unit 2, causing Daigo and Komon's fighters to crash to the ground, Leo quickly pressed the comms button, "Daigo, Komon, are you alright? Answer me, how are you two?"

Hearing Leo's voice coming through the communicator, Komon, still a little dazed, instinctively asked, "Daigo, are you alright?"

Daigo, who was also in the back seat covering his head, was stunned for a moment. Something was wrong. This was not what he thought. Shouldn't Komon have passed out after the plane crash? How was Komon still conscious? How was he supposed to transform?

"Ah, I'm alright." Daigo could only reply helplessly, but now it was Komon's turn to be dumbfounded. Wait, no, you're still okay after that kind of impact and vibration? How am I supposed to transform if you're not dizzy?

Just as the two were looking at each other, Fujiwara Juri, who was piloting Unit 1, frowned. She regretted that she should have blocked the attack for the two of them herself, since even if the plane crashed, she could transform and escape danger.

"Reporting to the vice captain, Daigo and I are both safe. Sorry, we will immediately switch to ground operations."

Leo finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had originally planned to call the medical team, but fortunately, the strength of the Victory Flying Swallow was high enough. However, without the powerful firepower of Unit 2, Unit 1 piloted by Fujimiya and Fujiwara Juri alone were not enough to fight against King Joe.

Leo unzipped his combat suit and pulled out the blue-gold interwoven device from his chest pocket. His thumb traced the patterns on it, and at that moment, that voice echoed in his mind again.

Although evacuation had been carried out beforehand and there were no casualties, Leo still felt a surge of anxiety and anger as he looked at the city destroyed by King Joe Bridge.

As if sensing Leo's anger, the voice in his heart became more and more pronounced, and this time, Leo seemed to understand its meaning.

Call me, call me, I will give you strength, I will give you everything you desire, I am...

So this time he didn't refuse. He didn't know what to call out, but his body knew. When he chose to respond, he subconsciously called out that name.

"Reblondo!"

Red lightning coiled around Leo, while a completely different, somewhat icy, yet reassuring voice echoed in his ears.

"Finally... this day has come."

Meanwhile, in a small alley in the city, Kai pulled out a ring-shaped object, and in a restroom in TPC, Captain Stringman placed a strangely shaped, coin-like object into a device that suddenly appeared on his wrist.

Inside the TPC command center, I looked at the Blue Sapphire Cone in my hand, but after thinking about it, I decided not to raise it. After all, someone had to be in the command center to take charge of support work. Sigh, I should have let Fujimiya stay.

Just as I was feeling a bit disappointed, the sudden alarm sound made me stare intently at the screen.

"Wait a minute, what is this?" I was stunned when I saw the two huge beams of light that suddenly appeared on the screen. He thought that Fujimiya hadn't crashed yet, and the color and number of these beams were wrong.

A blue-purple beam of light and a yellow beam of light mixed with dark red lightning appeared together in the center of the city, blocking King Joe's path.

As the blue-purple light dissipated, a giant stood proudly on the earth, its purple, black, red, and silver colors interwoven yet not appearing chaotic, instead possessing a unique sense of holiness.

"Ultraman!?" Although I had some guesses in my mind, I still couldn't help but exclaim when I actually saw this giant.

And this is an Ultraman I don't even recognize, so could the other one be...?

Gamu's gaze was fixed on the yellow beam of light. Daigo Komon and Fujiwara Fujimiya were in the same boat, and they all vaguely wondered which Ultraman it was.

However, unexpectedly, when the yellow beam of light disappeared, what stood in the same spot was not any Ultraman, but a monster that everyone was familiar with.

"Zetton?!" Daigo exclaimed instinctively. Not only Daigo, but Komon and the others had also seen that classic tokusatsu series.

“Z-Ton…” Accompanied by a mechanical beeping sound, Zetton’s gaze was fixed on King Joe and the unfamiliar Ultraman who suddenly appeared.

Ultraman Orb, transformed from Gai, was caught between Zetton and King Joe, a very unfavorable situation. He looked around, and aside from King Joe, Zetton was even more oppressive.

Fujimiya, sitting in the Flying Swallow II, frowned. He had only intended to deliver equipment to everyone to target the Lebik people, but he never expected things to develop like this.

Putting aside the question of what's going on with this unfamiliar Ultraman, shouldn't he go out and help out in this situation? But he doesn't have much experience in this area. How did I always look for opportunities to transform before?

Well, since things have come to this, let's just try to crash the plane.

Thinking of this, Fujimiya prepared to launch an attack on King Joe in the Flying Swallow II. However, before he could make a move, a beam of light rushed from afar, and at the same time, Fujimiya heard a... uh, what's that noise?

"Awooo~ Awooo → Awooo~ Awooo"

With a series of incomprehensible screams, the blue and red light struck Zetton, forcing him to stagger back several steps.

As the light faded, Fujimiya looked at the giant blocking Zetton and couldn't help but feel incredulous. There was actually an Ultraman he didn't recognize.

"Awooo!" The giant who had just appeared glanced at Orb and tentatively regarded him as a companion since they were so similar to him. In any case, Zetton and King Joe were definitely not on his side.

Leo, who was standing nearby watching, was also completely bewildered. First, an Ultraman jumped out of nowhere, and now another one flew in, and none of them were people he recognized. No, wait, why does this one look like a savage? "Where did this one come from?"

After thinking for a while, Leo decided to give up on thinking about it. After all, the most important thing right now was to deal with King Joe. This Ultraman wouldn't...

Before Leo could finish thinking, the Ultraman who appeared next launched a flying kick at Zetton. Before Leo could even give the order, Zetton caught the kicking foot, then used a combo to throw the Ultraman hundreds of meters away, where it crashed heavily onto a building.

Things seemed a bit off now. Leo sensed that Zetton was in a bad mood, clearly regarding this new Ultraman as an enemy as well.

To avoid further conflict and destruction, Leo looked at the device in his hand and instinctively raised it. "Zetton, deal with King Joe first!"

Although he was very annoyed, Zetton still prioritized Leo's orders and rushed towards King Joe instead. However... well, there was Orb between King Joe and Zetton.

Seeing Zetton charging towards him, Orb immediately prepared for battle, and Blaze, who had gotten up from the ground, also rushed forward upon seeing this.

Orb, transformed from Gai, decisively blocked Zetton's path, intending to deal with the other Ultraman who had just appeared first.

The Lebek aliens who were in charge of controlling King Joe were also thrown into a panic by all this sudden turn of events. What's going on? They thought King Joe was invincible, so what's with these two giants and that monster that suddenly appeared?

It seems they're not the only ones eyeing Earth. The leader of the Lebik aliens narrowed his eyes. "First, we'll eliminate these two troublesome giants together with that monster, then bring out the second King Joe and take care of this monster too!"

"Our leader is wise!" The Lebik aliens were quick to flatter him, and then they all got to work.

Although I don't know where these two came from with that monster, the two giants must be in cahoots, so dealing with them first is definitely the right thing to do.

Zetton, blocked by Orb, let out an unhappy "beep beep beep" sound. With a force of its two hands, it threw Orb away. The force was terrifying. Leo did not expect Zetton to have such great strength.

However, in Zetton's eyes, he seemed to have already regarded the two giants in front of him as King Joe's companions. It didn't matter; they were just three enemies.

Just then, King Joe's eyes fired a swift laser beam, which struck the giant who had been howling loudly since his first appearance, charging towards Zetton.

Such an attack was not fatal, but it really made the unknown Ultraman feel very uncomfortable. Zetton then realized that King Joe, whom Leo had asked him to deal with, was not with the two giants.

However, she was too lazy to think about it too much and just wanted to get everything sorted out. With that thought, Zetton teleported in front of King Joe under the bewildered gaze of the Lebek aliens, slapped King Joe to the ground, and then unleashed a barrage of punches from both sides, making King Joe spark with fury.

Although Leo had witnessed Zetton destroy Gudun in three moves a month ago, he still couldn't help but gasp, "...Zetton is too good at fighting!"

"No, no, no, what's going on with this guy?" The leader of the Lebik aliens scratched his head. "Quickly, get the second King Joe out here!"

The wild Lebek aliens dispatched King Joe II. King Joe used a destructive ray, Zetton's HP dropped to -1, and Zetton used teleportation! Zetton then used fireballs and a barrage of punches! King Joe II also fell!

"This is truly incredible..." Looking at the data displayed on the screen, I couldn't help but swallow hard. "This Zetton's stats in every aspect far surpass King Joe's."

“We can tell these things, right? Meng, hasn’t the captain come back yet?” Leo noticed that he hadn’t heard Gento’s voice earlier.

"The captain went to the restroom, vice-captain, I'll request backup right away." This Zetton is too strong, I'm planning to find an excuse to slip away and join the battle.

"Ah... I don't think I need to. I'll see how it goes. Oh my god, I'm going!" Leo turned around and saw that after Zetton finished off the two King Joe Ultramen, she started dealing with the two unfamiliar Ultramen. Moreover, she was taking on two at once without any pressure, using the teleportation skill as if it were free.

He quickly hung up the call and raised the device in his hand, the name of which he didn't know. "Come back, Jaden, stop fighting!"

Upon hearing Leo's command, Zetton glanced at the two Ultramen lying on the ground, unable to even get up, and instantly transformed into a beam of light, disappearing back into the device.

Seeing Zetton suddenly disappear, the two Ultramen struggled to their feet, their timers flashing. They exchanged a glance, then flew into the sky and disappeared, leaving the Lebik aliens heartbroken.

Chapter 4 The Smallest Loss in Ten Years

"Confess!" Leo, in charge of the interrogation, slammed his fist on the table, startling the Lebik alien opposite him into sitting up straight. "Where did you get King Joe?"

"It was...it was given to me by the Pedan aliens," the Lebik alien said tremulously, the words being translated into Earth language and played back by the translator.

"You're from Pedan, right? Tell us what happened in detail. Earth is a civilized planet. As long as you tell us the truth, we won't make things difficult for you."

With some doubts in his mind, Leo picked up his tea and took a sip. Two hours after Zetton destroyed two King Joe units, he and Daigo and the others stormed into the underground ruins of the construction site and captured all the Lebek aliens.

The Lebik aliens' light-shrinking technology was cracked by Earth several years ago, and there are naturally ways to counter it. However, Leo never expected his teammates to be so powerful, making this the easiest task.

"...About half a year ago, the Pedan aliens suddenly approached us, saying they had powerful weapons they were willing to sell to us, and promised that if we could conquer Earth and give it to them, they would give us another fifty King Joes."

“Fifty units, not thirty?” Leo remembered that the other Lebik people he had interrogated earlier all said thirty units. The Lebik person opposite him scratched his head embarrassedly, “Actually, it was fifty units, but our captain had a different idea, so he reported to the higher-ups that there were only thirty units.”

Leo didn't care about this layer of affection; he simply asked, "So, you've agreed?"

"Yes, all we need on our planet Lebik is Earth's population. Earth's environment, while habitable, is not essential to us. If we can exchange it for so many King Joe bridges, it's absolutely worth it."

"I see. I heard from other Lebik aliens that you're a scientist, but you all look pretty much the same?"

"I am indeed a scientist, responsible for the maintenance of the spaceship and the upkeep of the weapons. As for appearance, the Lebik aliens do not rely on appearance to identify each other. Just like you humans see all crows as looking alike, we see you all looking alike if you take off your clothes."

"Alright, do you want to live or die?" Leo tossed the Lebik scientist a choice.

“I want to live. I know what you mean. I’m willing to hand over all the scientific and technological information I know, as long as I can live.”

As he spoke, the Lebik scientist's tone even carried a hint of flattery. Leo neither nodded nor shook his head, but simply got up and left, leaving the LTL personnel to handle the subsequent interrogation.

Stepping out of the interrogation room, Leo pondered for a moment before looking at Daigo beside him. "Daigo-senpai, how are the captain and Gai-senpai?"

It's really baffling. Who would have thought that besides Hong Kai fighting on the front lines, even Captain Stringman, who was stationed in the rear, got injured? But could he have slipped and fallen like that just by going to the toilet?

"It's alright, the medical department said I just need to rest for a few days." Daigo's smile always put people at ease. "Also, Vice Captain, please don't call me senior anymore, it sounds weird. Just call me Daigo."

"Alright then, Daigo, how's the Lebik aliens' spaceship?"

"The SRC containment team has already excavated the spaceship and transported it back to base, but the recovery of the King Joe wreckage will probably take several days."

This is mainly because the Lebik's ships are relatively well-preserved, and they can be towed back by plane. However, both King Joe ships have been nearly destroyed by Zetton, so the risks need to be eliminated first before a way can be found to bring them back.

"Let's go then. Captain Stringman is lying in a hospital bed, but the higher-ups are paying close attention to this matter. Can you come with me to give the report?"

"Ah, okay." Daigo nodded subconsciously in agreement. He didn't know why, but he always felt that Leo had a certain charisma in his speech and behavior, which made people unconsciously believe and obey him, just like a leader.

However, Leo's performance today was nothing short of outstanding, especially in the capture operation of the Lebik people after King Joe's defeat. Leo's performance was impeccable, and even experienced seniors like Daigo and Komon could not match his swiftness.

It's strange, this vice-captain has only been in the team for a short time, but his fighting skills, reaction speed and shooting accuracy are even better than some veteran soldiers.

The incident involving the Lebik people was originally to be reported by the String Man Captain himself, but unfortunately, the String Man Captain was seriously injured while going to the toilet, so the task had to be handed over to Leo.

But Leo was quite nervous because ESCG's work was very important, so they only had one direct supervisor, namely TPC Director Sawai Soichiro.

“Hmm, Pedan aliens…” After reading the report submitted by Leo and the confession of the Lebik aliens, Director Sawai frowned, a rare occurrence for him.

Just like his usual image on television, Director Sawai gave people a very kind feeling. The only person who made Leo feel pressured was the police chief Tetsuji Yoshioka standing next to him. The latter had sharp eyes and was very intimidating.

"Judging from King Joe, whom we dealt with today, this Pedan alien is very likely to be someone who, like Zetton, has appeared in a tokusatsu work by Tsuburaya Productions... Um, I haven't had time to organize the information on that yet."

"It's alright, Vice Captain Leo. I just find it a bit unbelievable. To be honest, I was a fan of director Eiji Tsuburaya when I was younger. Putting Tsuburaya Enterprises aside, how much of a threat do you think the Pedan aliens pose to us?"

Director Sawai put down the documents in his hand, eager to hear what this newly appointed young man had to say.