Chapter 101: Nightmare

There was a brief silence at the scene, and then Zero answered, "The host."

The moment he said it, even Baleru and the others looked startled. All eyes turned to Zero.

The host of that competitive program was a fellow in a mascot head, with an exaggeratedly comical style of commentary. No one had ever seen the face beneath that headpiece, except for Zero, who had used his psychic sense to scan the Starport Tower and, along with the tower’s permanent staff, had incidentally scanned that man as well.

"At the same time, he should also be the tower’s chief administrator. He has access to the seventh floor at the top, and I saw the guards stationed at the commander’s office saluting him."

Hearing Zero’s matter-of-fact explanation, Youxing clicked his tongue in amazement. That was practically like having the whole map revealed. Truly, the psychic abilities of the Ultra race were terrifying.

Only later did Youxing learn that when Zero fully unleashed his psychic power, he became nearly blind to the outside world and depended almost entirely on his teammates for protection. Under normal circumstances, he would never use that ability on the battlefield. Moreover, a psychic scan made quite a commotion; anyone with even slightly stronger perception could detect it. Zero’s sweeping scan of the Starport Tower was also a test, to see whether there were any especially sensitive individuals inside, so he could give them special attention later.

The result of that test was that everyone in the tower was practically deaf, blind, and oblivious, and he could roam at will.

"Then I have a proposal," Youxing said. "I’ve just unlocked a teleportation ability. I can teleport directly to the top floor of the Starport Tower you mentioned."

Using his Gate skill, Youxing had observed that the entire tower was covered by a web of radiant routes. The top floor in particular was practically a blazing beacon. Most of it consisted of control lines for electronic equipment inside the tower, such as automatic doors, along with a large number of data channels for surveillance cameras. For him, it was the sort of place where he could go anywhere he wanted.

"The guards on the top floor are heavily stationed, except in the commander’s office."

Youxing pointed at the floor plan on the table, at the room that bore no mark for any defensive force.

"That alien from Magindo must be afraid of people seeing his face, so he only deployed troops on the outside. The office itself is completely empty."

"I can subdue him directly, then open all the locks and checkpoints from the inside."

Youxing was confident he could take the man down, because the man’s former employer had provided a great deal of information. He knew this fellow had almost no fighting ability at all; he was just a complete weakling.

But the moment Youxing made it clear he intended to act alone, everyone frowned.

Garum objected, "Too risky."

Youxing did not object: "The original plan was risky to begin with. Stealing a vehicle and disguising ourselves as armed escorts to infiltrate the place, with so many steps involved—how is that not risky? My plan at least lets us skip the vehicle snatch and the checkpoint breakthrough. Fewer variables."

His words left everyone speechless.

"Are you confident?" Baleru thought for a moment and asked.

"I am," Youxing nodded. "I’ll move ahead, go in first, and deal with that guy. Once it’s done, I’ll pull back and rendezvous with you. If all goes well, we can enter directly through the unloading bay on the first floor at the base of the tower, then go straight up to the seventh-floor summit with nothing but green lights all the way. If I don’t come out... let’s set one hour as the limit. If I’m still not out by then, something must have changed. The tower isn’t simple. You’ll need to verify every piece of information and intelligence you have all over again."

At first, the others had been reassured by Youxing’s confident tone, but his second half of the statement made their hearts rise right back up.

"Every plan involves some risk. There’s no way to make it completely safe."

That was Youxing’s conclusion, and everyone fell silent.

It was true. No action plan came without danger, and none could guarantee complete safety. Seeing that no one spoke, Youxing knew they probably needed time to think and absorb it, so he prepared to leave the room. "My shift starts in six hours. I’m going to sleep a bit first. Pega, wake me when your watch is over."

"Okay." Pega, who was scheduled before Youxing, nodded.

There were only four beds in the villa, and everyone squeezed together and slept in their clothes. Youxing joined them as well. The exhaustion from the journey caused him to fall asleep the instant his head touched the pillow.

Youxing had a very long dream. In it, he returned to that ordinary Earth, with no Ultras, no monsters, and no aliens.

Only humans.

In the boundless universe, within the limits of human exploration, there were only humans.

It was a summer evening. Youxing sat on the ground, surrounded here and there by plastic Ultraman figures and rubber monster toys bought from street stalls. A thin picture book lay nearby: a Disc Monster Encyclopedia printed on coated paper.

He simply sat there, quietly looking at everything before him.

Perhaps it was the dimming light indoors, perhaps the stifling heat, perhaps the steady chorus of cicadas outside the window. Everything made one drowsy.

Youxing slowly lay down. His eyelids grew heavy. Half-opening his eyes, he seemed ready to wage one last struggle against sleep. On the slightly yellowed ceiling, and in the shadows cast by the trees outside the window, everything stretched long.

He closed his eyes.

"..."

Youxing opened his eyes and found himself looking straight into Pega’s pair of round little eyes.

"…Youxing, are you awake? It’s your turn to keep watch."

Pega lowered his voice and nudged Youxing awake. After all, several people in the room were still sleeping, and Pega did not want to wake them all.

Youxing was somewhat dazed. He slowly sat up, glanced at Pega, then swept his gaze around the room. Only then did his consciousness gradually return to his body.

"Youxing?"

"I’m fine. I’m awake."

Youxing reached out and patted Pega on the shoulder. "Go get some rest. Leave the watch to me."

Pega thought for a moment, then nodded vigorously. He lay down on the half of the bed Youxing had just vacated. Beside him slept Senior Ayo, who was breathing steadily in his sleep.

...Hopefully Pega wouldn’t be disturbed by the snoring.

Youxing splashed cold water on his face, then took up his weapon and stood guard in the living room. He tried extending his perception outward and felt no obstruction at all; easily, he encompassed the entire villa.

He could see Garum, Maguna, Senior Ayo, and Pega resting. Zero and Baleru were both awake, and when Youxing’s expanded perception swept over them, they even noticed it.

"You’re awake... uh, Youxing."

Zero walked over and handed him a warmed bottle of milk.

"Yeah, thanks." Youxing accepted it and asked, "Zero, aren’t you going to rest?"

"I’ve already rested enough." Zero sat down in the chair nearby, then looked at Youxing. "You... don’t look well. Did something happen? Didn’t you just sleep?"

"I’m not sure."

That dream...

Youxing rubbed his forehead. He could feel his own touch, could smell the faint fragrance in the air, seemingly coming from a bottle of scented oil on the display cabinet by the wall. He could see all of it.

It all felt too real.

"I had a nightmare."

"Is that so? Then congratulations, you’ve woken up from it."

"Thanks."

Though he said that, there was no relief on Youxing’s face at all.

Had he really woken up? Or had he merely returned to the nightmare?

Seeing that Youxing had gone silent, Zero grew a little worried. But since Youxing did not seem inclined to say more, he did not press the matter further. He simply sat across from him and watched him quietly.