April 12, 1974.
The streets of Tokyo.
The weather still carried a hint of a chill, especially after a spring rain the previous night. Pedestrians on the streets wore light spring coats, walking with hurried steps. The gentle breeze stirred up by their movement brushed against the cherry blossom trees along the roadside, causing one or two petals to drift down gracefully.
"Ah, what a wonderful spring day..."
Sitting on a bench by the side of the road, Minghui chewed on a piece of bread with a blank expression, though he couldn't help muttering a complaint between swallows.
For reasons unknown, he had transmigrated to this city three days ago. Being a newcomer in an unfamiliar place, he would likely have been done for if not for the Japanese language naturally acquired as a perk of his transmigration.
Yet his current situation was hardly any better. Being homeless and without a job to earn money, he could only scrape by on odd jobs and the charity of kind strangers just to barely stay alive.
Having worked odd jobs for three days without washing his clothes, he had begun to emit a sour, stale odor—a fact clearly betrayed by the strange looks cast his way by passing pedestrians.
"Must be nice..."
Minghui wrapped his somewhat tattered trench coat tighter around himself and swallowed the last bite of bread.
"Cough, cough... Oh no... I'm choking!"
Just as he was pounding his chest in distress, an old man pushing a handcart stopped right in front of him and smiled warmly. "Young man, would you like a bottle of water?"
Catching sight of the old man, Minghui looked as though he had found a savior. He nodded repeatedly and hurriedly handed over the few remaining coins he had left.
The old man accepted the coins with a smile, picked a bottle of soda from the cart beside him, thoughtfully popped the cap off for Minghui, and handed it to him.
With a large gulp of soda, Minghui felt the bread stuck in his throat wash down. He let out a long breath. "Ah, that hits the spot~"
"Thanks, old timer." Minghui thanked the old man, then began to sip the remaining soda slowly. Over the past three days, he hadn't been extravagant enough to spend his meager earnings from odd jobs on soda, so he had to cherish every drop.
However, having just spent his very last coins, he was now completely penniless and had to figure out dinner all over again.
"Um..." Minghui looked at the old man's cart. He noticed that just past noon, there weren't many drinks left on it, and his eyes lit up. "Old timer, since your business is doing so well, do you need any help? I don't ask for much, just meals provided!"
"My business is small, where would I need to hire anyone?" The old man waved his hand, then smiled and said, "Though I recall there's a sports club just ahead looking for a coach. You look like you're in pretty good shape, young man, so you should have a shot."
"A sports club... looking for a coach?"
Minghui muttered to himself, running the numbers in his head. It actually sounded like a good place to go. If he could really land the job, it wouldn't just solve his food problem—it might even take care of his lodging as well!
A sports club should have dormitories, right?
Clutching onto this hope, Minghui asked the old man for the precise location of the sports club and then bid him farewell.
"Thanks a lot, old timer! If I get the job, I'll come buy soda from you every single day!" Waving vigorously, Minghui wore a smile; he felt as though a happy life was already beckoning to him.
Just then, a gust of cold wind blew past, slipping down his collar and causing him to shiver involuntarily.
"Hurry along now, young man. Looks like the weather's about to turn," the old man said, waving to him with a smile.
Minghui nodded, wrapped his worn trench coat tightly around himself, and turned to seek out the address of the sports club. As he turned around, the smile on his face faded unconsciously. For some reason, his heart felt heavy, and a growing sense of unease began to creep in.
With a thought, a curtain of light unfolded before his eyes.
[Key elements not detected. The System has not activated. Please wait patiently, Host.]
Looking at the words on the light screen before him, Minghui felt even less secure.
"What key elements? And what kind of System are you anyway? Not a single hint! Is this some kind of live-streaming thing, or some god-tier billionaire thing? It couldn't possibly be a girl-chasing system, could it?"
Angrily dismissing the System light screen and looking down at his own miserable appearance, Minghui felt a wave of sorrow wash over him. But things had come to this, and there was nothing he could do. He could only pray that whatever these key elements were, they wouldn't be too hard to encounter, and that the System wouldn't turn out to be something utterly ridiculous, or he truly wouldn't be able to go on living like this.
The sports club mentioned by the old man wasn't very far. After walking for just seven or eight minutes, Minghui found the place.
"Jonan Sports Club?"
Looking at the sign in front of him, Minghui muttered the name.
For some reason, he felt a sense of familiarity with the name, though he couldn't remember exactly where he had heard it.
"Oh well, it's a pretty common name anyway, so it's no surprise I've heard it before."
Shrugging, Minghui pushed the question to the back of his mind. He looked around and soon his eyes lit up. Sure enough, he found a help-wanted sign, and according to the description, food and lodging could even be provided if needed!
"That's fantastic!"
Pumping his fist hard, Minghui let out a cheer. Though he hadn't successfully landed the job yet, he still had some confidence in his own physique. And if all else failed, he could lower his standards and work without pay, just to secure food and lodging first.
"Um, excuse me, sir. Is there something I can help you with? I am Masashi Omura, the president of this club. You can talk to me about anything. Are you here to apply for a coaching position?"
At that moment, a voice came from behind him.
Hearing that the newcomer was the president of the club, Minghui took a deep breath, lowered his head to straighten his clothes, and slowly turned around wearing what he hoped was his most appropriate smile.
Here it comes, here comes the chance to improve his life!
"Um, are you here to apply as a coach, or do you have a child at home who needs training?" Masashi Omura looked the young man up and down, scratching his cheek as he asked.
A somewhat chubby middle-aged man came into view. The smile on Minghui's lips froze, and memories within him began to churn, familiar fragments flashing through his mind.
Jonan Sports Club...
"Uh, I'm here to apply for the coaching position. My name is Minghui. Excuse me, what is your name?" He hadn't paid attention to names earlier, but now he desperately needed to confirm.
"So you really are here to apply! My name is Masashi Omura, I'm the president of this club!" Hearing that Minghui was an applicant, Masashi Omura immediately stepped forward warmly. "Come, come, come inside, Mr. Minghui."
As they got closer, Masashi Omura caught the unpleasant odor radiating from Minghui, but instead of showing any disgust, he patted Minghui on the shoulder. "Looks like you've come a long way. Come inside first to rest and get something to eat; we can talk about the job application later."
I'm finished...
Minghui felt entirely numb, yet facing Masashi Omura's enthusiasm, he couldn't help but show a look of gratitude.
"Ha!"
Right at that moment, a low roar suddenly rang out, striking Minghui's heart like a thunderclap.
Minghui abruptly raised his head to see a fiery red figure flying away toward the distant horizon.
"Another Ultraman?!" Masashi Omura beside him wore a look of astonishment.
"Leo... the lonely lion..."
Watching the direction in which the red figure disappeared, Minghui muttered aloud.
It was over, confirmed beyond a doubt. This truly was the world of Ultraman Leo. In a world like this, missing three meals out of five was a minor issue; getting accidentally stepped on and crushed to death by a monster was the real tragedy.
Wait, though—did President Omura just say "another" Ultraman?
"President Omura, haven't you seen this Ultraman before?" Minghui turned and asked Masashi Omura.
Masashi Omura shook his head like a rattle drum. "No, first time seeing him."
If that was the case, then could it be...
"President Omura, which direction is that?"
"Well..." Faced with Minghui's question, Masashi Omura scratched his head. "That should be the direction of Kuroshio Island, I think?"
Indeed!
Minghui's heart shook. This must be the very beginning of the story—the battle of Kuroshio Island!
Realizing the timeline of the plot made Minghui feel even worse.
This is fatal, absolutely fatal. Leo was a total rookie in the early stages, making the probability of getting stepped on even higher!
[Key element 'Ultraman Leo' detected. System activating, countdown: 24 hours.
Please wait patiently, Host!]
Just then, the System light screen suddenly popped up.
Before Minghui could examine the prompts on the light screen closely, a massive wave of pain overwhelmed him, and he immediately passed out.
"Hey, Mr. Minghui, what's wrong?"
Accompanied by Masashi Omura's cries, Minghui's consciousness gradually sank. The moment he completely lost consciousness, he seemed to see a sentence flash by.
"Dear user, it's the Little Monster-Bashing System~"