"〈〉" indicates communication between Ling Luo and the system in their mind, "[]" indicates a character's inner thoughts, and "〔〕" indicates telepathy among Ultra Warriors.
Moroboshi Dan walked down the street, taking in the bustling crowds and the rich aroma of food drifting everywhere, feeling rather exasperated.
For no other reason than that he had left home in a hurry and brought no money.
Knowing he would be staying on Earth for a while, the Old Man had given him an Earth black card.
Ah, what a pity.
True, he was light made manifest, but nobody ever said that light couldn't eat.
If he were to go exchange it for Earth currency now, it would be far too much trouble.
Yet if he were to return to base just like this, Master Zero declared, wouldn't he lose all his face?
He had to... he just had to stall for a little longer before going back.
Ah, rabbits have it hard, rabbits sigh.
Rabbits... forget it, time to go back. Moroboshi Dan pivoted on his heel and headed toward the base.
This wasn't giving in; this was listening to his heart! The light let you look but wouldn't let you eat—what decent person could stand that?
Before he had gone a few steps, the communicator on his wrist rang. (Courtesy of X and Daichi! Every New Generation hero, including Zero, gets one. It communicates! It tracks! It comes with a built-in anesthetic needle! It lets you use light swords and shields in human form! Waterproof, fireproof, and shockproof! You're worth it—let's all thank X and Daichi.)
"Dan, can you hear me?" Ozora Daichi's voice came through the communicator.
"I'm here, what is it?"
"I've tracked down that guy who released Zetton yesterday—it's a Alien Zetton. He's right near you. I'm sending you his data now," Ozora Daichi said.
"Alien Zetton, huh? What an annoying pest. Can't they stay quiet for even a minute?"
Moroboshi Dan massaged his forehead. "Alright, I've got it. Just wait for this master's good news."
"By the way, Ginga and Victory are converging on your location, so be a ca... reful." Looking at the closed communication interface, Ozora Daichi thought, *Heh, I'm used to it anyway, since I can't beat him.*
X wanted to say something but held back. "I hope nothing goes wrong..."
...
As the saying goes, the more you wish something wouldn't happen, the more likely it is to occur.
The ground trembled as Birdton the Volcanic Bird stomped over buildings, heading in a specific direction while the crowd scattered in panic.
"Go! This way! Hurry!!" "Come this way!" "Over here! Watch out!"
Hikaru Raidou and Sho were helping evacuate the crowd. "We'll handle things here! Dan, be careful!"
After all, the two of them had served in the defense team before; they weren't about to lose their heads in a situation like this.
Perhaps accustomed to such scenes, some people in the crowd managed to keep calm, helping those with limited mobility to leave. Coupled with the defense team members rushing in to take over, the crowd was evacuated in no time.
Hikaru Raidou and Sho ran into a corner and exchanged glances.
"Ginga!" "Victory!"
A flash of light later, two giants appeared on the scene to confront Birdton.
"Captain! It's the Ultra Warriors!"
"Understood. Unit One and Unit Two, coordinate for fire support."
"Understood!"
"Understood."
"Understood."
"Oss! Understood!"
...
Meanwhile, on the other side.
"Let go of that person, you jerk!" Moroboshi Dan was slightly annoyed.
Opposite him stood a smug Alien Zetton, currently holding a rather frail-looking teenager by the throat as a human shield.
The teenager looked terrified, his face pale and his body trembling slightly.
"Pesky Ultra Warriors, always showing up to ruin my plans."
Alien Zetton sneered triumphantly, "Don't you guys pride yourselves on justice? You wouldn't just ignore a human life, would you~"
〈How... how punchable.〉 Ling Luo curled his lip. 〈He's ugly, and his IQ doesn't look very high either.〉
Xiaoyou: ......
That's right, this unlucky kid being used as a hostage was none other than our protagonist—Ling Luo.
Of course, the others didn't notice these little mental antics.
"Alright, stop wasting breath on them." Big Head (crossed out) Alien Gats stepped out of the shadows. That Birdton was summoned by this very guy.
"I don't know what's wrong with you, getting tracked without even realizing it. In the end, you still have to rely on me, the great Alien Gats!"
Alien Zetton decided to let it go and not argue with this big-headed fellow.
"Just hurry up and finish these guys off, Birdton!"
...
Ten minutes earlier.
Moroboshi Dan had been tailing this Alien Zetton disguised as a human—an office worker, no less? (It seemed even aliens couldn't escape the fate of the 9-to-5 grind). He needed to find a way to lure him away from the crowd.
Beat him up (crossed out) knock them out with anesthetic needles, confiscate their dangerous items, tie them up in a deserted spot.
Beat him up again (crossed out!) make an anonymous call to have the management authorities haul them away, and finally have X wipe the nearby surveillance footage. Perfect~
It wasn't the first time they'd pulled this stunt together~
Alien: *Don't come any closer!* (Terrified JPG.)
Trolling along leisurely behind him, watching the other party duck into a narrow alleyway, Dan was just about to make his move when a sudden earthquake disrupted his plans.
Birdton appeared.
Staring at each other in blank dismay, Moroboshi Dan looked at the other guy, then down at the weapon he had just raised.
Alien Zetton looked at Moroboshi Dan, then down at the weapon in his hand.
Silence.
"Damn it, stop right there!" Moroboshi Dan gave chase. "Hikaru, Sho, I leave the others to you!"
Hikaru and Sho, who had just arrived, signaled that they had received the message!
Ling Luo had just finished a cup of milk tea and was preparing to take a shortcut home (don't ask why he didn't just teleport—he had just eaten, after all).
"Ding, massive heat source detected approaching."
"Massive heat source? Could it be a monster?" Ling Luo wondered, while simultaneously pondering whether this might be a chance to farm some points.
Accompanied by a roar, the ground shook, and Ling Luo had to grab a nearby pillar to keep from falling over.
*[Ah, it's Birdton.]* Ling Luo thought. Let's see which lucky contestant was showing up today.
Panicking and running blindly, Alien Zetton spotted someone up ahead who seemed frozen in fright, standing completely still. His eyes lit up—heaven was truly helping him!
He stepped forward, grabbed the kid by the neck, and began shouting threats at the pursuing Zero.
A bit uncomfortable... Ling Luo forcibly restrained himself from punching the guy right next to him.
〈Xiaoyou, that must be Master Zero's disguised form, right? Tsk tsk, he looks so good.〉 Ling Luo thought, looking at the white-haired youth across from them.
Even though it was their first meeting, Ling Luo was eighty or ninety percent sure.
〈Yes, Host.〉
With the affirmative answer, *heh*, now was the time to put his acting skills to the test!
...
Back to the present.
"Sic 'em, Birdton! Show them what you're made of!" Alien Gats yelled arrogantly, not taking his opponents seriously at all.
Having been through countless TV and theatrical battles, Ginga and Victory were no longer greenhorns. Their teamwork was seamless; while they couldn't secure an instant victory, they definitely weren't losing ground either.
In fact, if not for the hostage being held by the enemy, Ginga and Victory would have blasted him with a Spacium Ray long ago to teach him why flowers are so red.
Without the Ultra Warriors going on the offensive, the defense team's attacks couldn't truly harm Birdton.
Especially seeing the enemy holding a human shield, everyone felt utterly frustrated.
As time ticked away, seeing that their opponents dared not unleash their full power, Alien Zetton and Alien Gats grew even more arrogant, spitting one wild statement after another.
Time was up.
"Hey, the two of you sound simply dreadful. Could you keep it down?" Ling Luo's cold voice rang out.
"And you're both uglier than each other. Tsk, actually, that's not really your fault, but coming out here and disturbing the peace is definitely on you."
*Wait a minute? Did you forget who the hostage is?!!*
Zetton and Gats: *Brothers, who gets this? He's launching a personal attack!*
Moroboshi Dan: *As true as that may be, could you maybe consider the current situation?!*
"Ding, target's emotional fluctuations detected. Emotion points +4." ×3
Without waiting for Alien Zetton to spout more nonsense, Ling Luo stomped hard on the alien's foot, forcing him to loosen his grip.
Then he followed up with a sharp elbow strike to the waist—well, roughly the waist area—sending the alien crashing into Alien Gats beside him.
Moroboshi Dan: *Prime opportunity!*
Seizing the moment, he stepped forward and kicked Alien Zetton, sending both aliens crashing to the ground in a tangled heap, before reaching out to pull the teenager by the waist and whisk him away to safety.
Meanwhile, Keisuke, who had arrived early and hidden on the sidelines, smoothly deployed a capture net (courtesy of X and Daichi—let us thank Daichi and X for their reliability once again).
Before the two aliens could even get back up, the electricity crackling through the capture net successfully knocked them both out cold.
Seeing that the situation here was resolved, the two Ultras on the field stopped wasting time, coordinating with the defense team's firepower to finish off Birdton before soaring away into the sky.