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

This change made Dr. Dango and the others clench their fists and grit their teeth. Damn it, they had to find a way to add a device to King Joe that could capture Sphia, even if they didn't eat or drink tonight!

Both Zetton and Galactron made their move, so a group fight wasn't difficult. It was just a dozen or so Darrylbills, which were quickly dealt with and reduced to ashes. Galactron and Zetton then disappeared.

"This is Leo. We're now heading back to base."

King Joe's first battle was quite impressive, but it was clear to anyone with a discerning eye that the real strength lay in the anti-gravity system and the Max power system. The former granted King Joe superb mobility, while the latter significantly boosted King Joe's power output.

"Fantastic! Wuhu!"

"King Joe is really powerful, but I think that robot codenamed Galactron is really cool too. Can we build one like that next time?"

"I don't know, let's wait for the design plan. By the way, who came up with the code name Galactron?"

"Director Sawai, that's a pretty nice name, don't tell me."

Everyone at the Armory was extremely excited. The modification of King Joe was their achievement. Dr. Yao, who had just crawled out of his coffin (literally), was also very excited. The performance of Max's power system far exceeded his expectations in all aspects.

“I plan to use the renovation of King Joe as a reference template and have each branch manufacture similar combat robots. What do you think?” Director Sawai looked at Chief Yoshioka, who laughed heartily.

"Calling it 'Renovated King Bridge' is a bit lacking. How about we make it 'Armored King Bridge'?"

Chief Yoshioka naturally agreed, and adding the armory sign to the front of King Joe Bridge was also to recognize their hard work over the past two weeks. Other rewards would be discussed later.

Meanwhile, Dr. Tango, Dr. Otomo, and other scientists were also discussing the day's events. This group of people were very pure, purely focused on pursuing the mysteries of science and the truth of the universe, so pure that they could put human laws and morals aside for this purpose.

"The King Joe Armory still needs a lot of adjustments, and the data that Vice Captain Leo provided us with today was a great help."

"However, Vice Captain Leo's physical abilities are much stronger than expected. This is another record broken since fifteen years ago. It turns out that the level of human beings can be improved to such a high level."

"First, the physical fitness of all humankind improved, then monsters appeared, and now Ultraman... nothing is surprising anymore. It's just a pity about the living Softia."

"It was our oversight. Tsk, let's hurry back and design something after we're done with these things. We'll treat Vice Captain Leo to a meal later and ask him to let us study it after he captures Sphia next time."

Everyone chimed in with their own comments, while those at the armory, though relieved, secretly rejoiced that the ESCG team hadn't crashed—a rare occurrence indeed, thankfully they didn't have to…

"Report! The second aircraft, piloted by Red Kai and Captain Stringman, has crashed!"

"WTF?"

Director Yoshioka was just happily preparing to leave with Director Sawai when he heard this news the next second. Leo's strange face appeared on the big screen.

"They ran into the barrier that Gadi had built."

Leo wanted to laugh, but he had to hold it in. The monster Gadi could create a special barrier from the horns on its head, which made it easy to hunt for food. The barrier was completely transparent when it was first formed.

Judging from the barrier in front of us, it must have been the commotion from the battle between Leo and the others that startled a Gadi hiding underground, which is why it created the barrier to protect itself. But the problem is, if it hadn't done this, no one would have been able to find it.

Captain Stringman and Red Kai had just finished their work and relaxed a little. The radar couldn't detect the lurking Gadi and its barrier, which is why the accident happened. Fortunately, they parachuted in time and didn't have to lie back in the stone coffin this time.

Gadi is a carnivorous monster that is extremely dangerous and has a very cruel personality. It is rare to see one that is so cowardly. Leo simply forced it out, knocked it unconscious, and captured it alive. He discovered that this Gadi was only forty meters long and was still a juvenile.

He can create such a barrier at such a young age, which shows his potential. However, he is too timid to be taken in as a combat partner, and Leo is afraid of being accused of employing child labor.

As for how he was forced to do it? See the Max cannon in King Joe's hand? It's great as an alarm clock bag.

But now, Captain Gentoo and Kai's originally cheerful faces turned as dark as coal. If it weren't for the fact that such timid juveniles were extremely hard to find, the two of them would have gone all out today, even transforming in front of the other party to grind this guy to dust.

But now, they need to figure out a way to avoid being reduced to ashes by the maintenance crew at the armory.

So, are the ESCG members bound by some mysterious force? They always crash during sorties, except for Vice Captain Leo, who seems to have the fewest crashes.

Director Yoshioka couldn't help but look at Director Sawai, wanting to ask if Director Sawai had actually selected only the elite when making the initial selections.

Director Sawai couldn't help but scratch his head. He had selected the teams based on their rosters, and they were all elites. Today, when Leo suggested that ESCG and the Silver Meteor advance team have a training session, he thought it was unnecessary. But now it seems that it is absolutely necessary.

When Leo returned to the base, Captain Stringman and Kai didn't come back with him. They asked to stop halfway to avoid being chased by the maintenance crew, so they planned to take the usual route directly back to the command room.

As soon as Leo stepped off the King Joe Bridge, several doctors rushed over to ask him all sorts of questions, worried that his body was under too much strain. After all, the King Joe Bridge was something that ordinary people couldn't operate. Of course, they were also curious whether Leo's physical abilities had reached another breakthrough. If so, it would mean that all of humanity might experience another physical enhancement.

So far, no one has figured out the underlying principle, but the only thing that is certain is that it's a good thing, otherwise too many people would not have survived.

Under the big tree in the front yard of Renlong Shrine, Renlong sat on a stone chair with a teacup in his hand. A girl in white with red shoes stood beside him, with an ice pop in her mouth.

"The light in people's hearts is growing brighter and brighter."

At this point, the girl in red shoes seemed to be in a particularly good mood, and Renlong also put down his teacup and counted on his fingers.

"Hope, bonds, unity, justice, life... Is this what those people meant by the potential of humanity?"

"Life will find its own way, explore its own path, and continue in unity. Light is passed among them like a bond. The tiny sparks left by the warriors of that time spread out fifteen years ago and unexpectedly began to grow stronger so quickly."

As she spoke, the girl in red shoes looked nostalgic. She herself had only awakened fifteen years ago, when there were no monsters yet, and the world was not peaceful, but it was still better than it is now.

"I thought they would have to wait a long time to light the flame, but it was lit once ten years ago, and now it's a little brighter. Is it because of the Ultra Warriors?"

"Unfortunately, not everyone can ignite the flame within themselves."

Ren's eyes were lowered. In this day and age, there are still many people who cannot see the future, cannot find hope, are numb and ignorant, and even believe that monsters are messengers of gods, sent to punish human sins, and oppose TPC's elimination of monsters.

"There's nothing we can do about it, that's just how humans are. It's actually quite incredible that so many sparks have been ignited. That kid you've got your eye on, I think he's pretty good now. He's not controlled by the Dark Spark, but it's a pity he's not easy to get close to."

These words made Ren's eyebrows twitch. She looked at the girl beside her, who was the same age as humans, thought of Zetton, Demaga, and Galactron, and then shook her head. "You won't do. He likes big ones."

"What are you thinking, you 4.9 billion-year-old woman? I mean, I feel like I can give him the one I'm keeping!"

The girl in red shoes immediately bristled. Although her actual age didn't quite match her appearance, she had no interest in Leo.

"The actual age of this universe is only thirty million years." Ren's calm tone was tinged with anger. "And giving him the Dark Spark is enough; that won't do."

"No fun, tch, but you're feeling much better." The girl in red shoes regained her composure a moment later, noticing that Ren's condition had improved considerably.

"Leo has been providing energy to help me recover. I'm feeling better now that I don't have to suppress the Dark Spark anymore, but the other seals..."

With the emergence of the first Demon King Beast, one of the eight seals began to loosen, and the original two or three decades remaining were now uncertain.

Not to mention that many ambitious individuals who covet the power of darkness have already landed on Earth.

Chapter 66 The Man Who Was Haunted by Zildhall His Whole Life

When the combat test data of King Joe Bridge was delivered to all parties, all branches except Sky Base, which has a special geographical environment, immediately launched similar plans.

Given the limited materials, it is expected that the manufacturing share of the three King George Bridges will be allocated to the Asian branch, the American branch, and the Australian branch, and no one seems to have any objections to this.

At the same time, we urgently began to improve and upgrade the Max power system in order to put it into use as soon as possible, which would greatly alleviate the pressure.

But this is easier said than done. The Max power system is the culmination of Dr. Yao's twenty years of research, and it's not easy just to simplify and install it on King Joe.

If they really wanted to finish it in a short time, Dr. Ya-o alone wouldn't be enough, so Dr. Ya-o came directly to ESCG to recruit people. Gamu is his prized student, and he also knows about Fujimiya's reputation.

"They're already here, why do I have to go too?" Leo pointed to himself, not quite understanding Dr. Eight-Tail's thinking.

Not only did Leo not understand, but Daigo, Komon, Gento, and Fujiwara also didn't understand. It was one thing for Dr. Eight-Tails to come looking for Fujimiya and Gamu, but he also said he wanted to bring Leo along.

The Max Power System has been listed as a top priority project. Dr. Yamata, like Leo, has the authority to directly access all resources, so there's no need for him to sit there and oversee things.

"You have talent, who knows what good advice you might give?" Dr. Yamata thought that Leo might be a special genius, either he had been hiding his knowledge all along, or he had special intuition in some areas, anyway, he could be useful.

"Well... that's fine, but I've already promised Fujimiya half a day off."

Yesterday, the Kirieloids probably gave Yoshida Reiko quite a fright. The research on Max's power system shouldn't have been so difficult to complete without Fujimiya's help. Leo also hopes that he can relax a bit.

"It's alright." Dr. Yao was not in a position to force people; he could mobilize all resources and manpower, but ESCG was definitely not among them, so he could only rely on his old connections.

Leo thought for a moment and figured he probably wouldn't need to do anything today, so he looked towards Gento.

"Captain, I'm going out now. If you need anything, please call me through the communicator."

"Oh, go ahead."

It wasn't until Leo greeted him that Xuan realized he was Leo's captain, not Leo's captain. He hadn't been on duty for so long that he didn't really feel the significance of it.

The main reason is that Leo has handled all matters, big and small, so well in the past two weeks. Although when he becomes aloof, he can make people feel inexplicably afraid to look him in the eye, he is highly regarded by both high-ranking members and lower-ranking members of the TPC.

Compared to Stringman, Leo's name is more useful. He is now considered a walking brand for ESCG. When people mention ESCG, the first thing that comes to mind is this vice-captain who runs around with reports.

Fujimiya gave Leo a grateful look. He had just talked to his girlfriend Reiko. Although Reiko kept saying that she was fine and told Fujimiya to focus on his work with the defense team, she couldn't suppress the tremor in her voice.

Leo responded with a gesture, indicating that Fujimiya shouldn't think too much and should just focus on spending time with his girlfriend. He then took several letters and a paper bag containing unknown contents from his seat and went with Wamu and Dr. Yao to the depths of TPC underground.

Inside the elevator, Dr. Yawei was still quite emotional, saying, "Actually, the Max propulsion system was originally planned to be used on interstellar travel ships, so even though King Joe's version is a simplified version, its power is still a bit too strong."

"Starships...that must be really cool." Leo was also looking forward to it.

“It’s really cool.” Dr. Yao’s comment on Leo reminded me of a past teacher-student interaction. “I remember my teacher saying that he had always wanted to build a huge ship that no one had ever seen before since he was a child.”

"Yes, a ship that can carry us humans to explore the universe in the vast sea of ​​stars."

That was Dr. Eight-Tails' dream. Leo noticed a bright light shining in the old man's eyes when he mentioned it. For a moment, he seemed to sense something warm about Dr. Eight-Tails, but it was fleeting.

Soon, we arrived at the 133rd underground level, which is the TPC underground power plant. This is the lowest level facility of TPC, containing many energy supply pipelines, and is also the development site of the Atlas.

"Wow, this is the Atdis!" Gamu excitedly leaned on the railing, looking at the huge mothership under construction parked on the runway. Although Leo wasn't as excited as Gamu, the brightness in his eyes didn't escape Dr. Yama's notice.

Dr. Yao smiled smugly. No scientist can resist the admiration of others for their research findings, but then he felt a little disappointed.

"The Atlas project was decided ten years ago, but it has not been completed to this day."

“There’s nothing we can do about it.” Leo did know about the Atdis. “The construction of the Atdis required a lot of resources, and in the early days of the Monster Era, we simply didn’t have the extra energy to focus on it.”

Most importantly, to make such a big thing move, a considerable energy system is needed. At that time, I was still a child, and the anti-gravity system had not yet been developed.

Considering that the original design concept of the Atdis was for interstellar exploration, a simple anti-gravity system was not enough. More importantly, Dr. Yao wanted to install the Max propulsion system on it.

“It’s been over a year since construction officially started, but there are still some problems with the Max power system. Let’s go, the others are already waiting.”

Leo nodded. He had already seen Dr. Tango and Dr. Otomo, as well as Horii from the GUTS team, and another figure he hadn't had a chance to visit yet.

Besides them, there were several other people Leo didn't recognize, but I Meng walked up to them enthusiastically, "Daniel, Catherine, what brings you here too?"

The two people, known as Daniel and Catherine, were both blonde and appeared to be European. Leo immediately realized that they must both be geniuses from the Alchemy Star.

“Vice-Captain, let me introduce you.” I Meng introduced the two to Leo, “Daniel McPhee, the Speaker of the Alchemy Star, a genius in every way, and this is Catherine Lean, the inventor of the Natural Circulation Assist System.”

Leo didn't know Catherine, but he did know about the Natural Cycle Assist System, a great invention that allowed crops to grow naturally by influencing the environment of a region, thus solving the hunger problem in many countries.

"Vice Captain Leo, I've heard so much about you." Daniel shook hands with Leo politely, while Catherine was much more enthusiastic, "Hello, Vice Captain Leo, I never expected you to be so young."

"I've gotten a few more wrinkles lately, but thankfully you can't see them," Leo replied with a smile. He then chatted with the two of them for a couple more minutes before finally walking toward the simply dressed, white-haired, wrinkled old man.

"Are you Dr. Masachika Nezu?"

Leo's voice startled the old man for a moment, then he nodded somewhat blankly, "Yes, I am Nezu, and you are...?"

Dr. Nezu looked at Leo, feeling that the voice was familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. His eyes shrank back slightly. He was very worried that Leo might be a victim of the Zildar bombing incident, a hurdle he could never get over.

"I am Leo, the vice-captain of ESCG."

Upon hearing that it was Leo, Dr. Nezu's eyes lit up instantly. He recognized Leo, but restrained himself and nodded, "So it's you."

"I'm a junior, please don't address me like that. I didn't expect to see you here. I remember your research project is..."

Leo only learned yesterday that Dr. Nezu had been invited back to TPC, but very few people knew about it yet, and it had not been made public.

“It’s still Zelda gas.” Dr. Nezu’s eyes were complicated. “I’m researching ways to make Zelda gas more stable, so that it will be easier to destroy or utilize it.”

Zildar was like a nightmare that had haunted the old man for many years. He carried the burden of sins and lost a great deal, yet in the end, he still had to return here to continue his research into this nightmare.

"This is for you." Leo said nothing, but simply handed the item in his hand to Dr. Nezu.

"This is..." Before he could even open the letter, Dr. Nezu opened the paper bag and saw a large round cake, or something else entirely.

"This is an Australian meat pie brought by the representative of the Australian branch when he came to observe the King Joe Bridge test today. Also included are his personal gifts, as well as letters from the families of the soldiers who died in that battle and from the local Australian community."

“I know that Zilda’s loss is a deep wound for you, but I also want you to know that your research has indeed saved many people and prevented the destruction of the whole of Australia.”

Leo reached out and helped the old man straighten his clothes. Since returning to TPC yesterday, Dr. Nezu had been engrossed in his research, and his clothes were still old and he hadn't had time to change.

Leo didn't know whether these letters and the meat pie could bring some comfort to the old man. He just felt a warm feeling from the old man, much like the Eight-Tailed Doctor from before.

Watching Leo go and communicate with the others, and looking at the thank-you letter in his hand and the still-warm meat pie, Dr. Nezu's eyes involuntarily welled up with tears. He quickly wiped them away, took a deep breath, put the letters away, and had someone cut the meat pie so everyone could eat it together.

Everyone present, except for Leo, knew each other. They ate meat pies while looking at Dr. Yawei. Dr. Yawei got straight to the point, "Everyone, I hope to get your help to complete the Max power system as soon as possible."

"Although I can guess, Dr. Yaiba, the Max Propulsion System is the culmination of your research. Is it really okay for us to interfere?" Dr. Tango took a bite of his meat pie. As a scientist, he understood what scientific achievements meant to a scientist.

“I know, and if I could, I would certainly like to complete it by myself, but… time doesn’t allow it.” Dr. Yao turned to look at the Atlas. “We are facing more and more challenges.”

"The most urgent task is to complete the Max propulsion system. If we can contribute more to the future of humanity and protect more people, everything personal... is insignificant."

Although Dr. Tango felt he could not achieve such greatness, he greatly respected and admired Dr. Yao.

Naturally, no one had any objections to being able to participate in such a large project. After finishing their food, they got busy. Dr. Nezu was an energy expert, and Gamu was Dr. Yao's most outstanding student. The rest of them were also genius scholars.

Leo, well, he seems more like a mascot. Everyone thinks his only use here is his great strength, which makes wrenches very convenient. Dr. Eight-Tails probably sought him out hoping he could provide some mystical enhancements.