Though Captain Megumi accepted Yuzhou into the Victory Team as a consultant, she remained cautious. A man with no records, no clear background, and technology beyond human reach could never be trusted fully.
Still, his knowledge was too specific to dismiss outright. Even if half of it turned out to be nonsense, writing it down cost them nothing. If it proved false later, they could always deal with him then.
Her reasoning was simple: Yuzhou might be a valuable source of information—or a dangerous unknown. Better to keep him where the team could watch him than leave him unsupervised.
Yuzhou, of course, didn't sense the layers behind her decision. To him, being invited into the Victory Team felt sudden, almost strange. But since it fit perfectly with his own plans, he accepted without complaint.
The next morning, Yuzhou woke early. After washing up and finishing breakfast, he pulled out his phone from the dimensional bracelet.
Inside was his personal treasure trove: a folder of Ultraman series episodes he'd downloaded before being dragged into this world. He couldn't bring everything, but Ultraman Tiga was definitely there.
"Yesterday was the second Kiri-Elord. Let's see… ah, that should be Episode 25, The Devil's Judgment," Yuzhou muttered as he tapped through the files.
He scrolled down the list. "Which means the next one is The Rainbow Monster's Phantom Realm… featuring Hilbagon and the second Gadi."
Just reading the title made him smirk. He already knew how this episode played out, but watching—or at least reviewing—helped him keep track of the timeline.
Of course, in reality, monsters didn't attack every single day. And so Yuzhou found himself "fishing" around the base, enjoying the downtime.
Daigo, however, eventually sneaked over to him, desperate for answers about Tiga. When Yuzhou casually mentioned that Tiga once had a wife sealed away in an undersea ruin, Daigo nearly choked.
Luckily, Yuzhou quickly added, "Relax. Tiga is Tiga. You're you. His wife has nothing to do with you." That reassurance stopped Daigo from spiralling further.
Meanwhile, Megumi had borrowed Yuzhou's storage bracelet under the promise of returning it intact. To be safe, Yuzhou emptied its contents into his room first.
Among the pile: a hammer, a kitchen knife, and even a butcher's cleaver.
Megumi's eye twitched. "…Why exactly do you carry these?"
"Self-defence," Yuzhou replied with a grin.
"…Right," she sighed.
The calm didn't last long.
"Captain, we've got a report from Lion-Nose Forest," Norui said as he looked up from the console. "Eyewitnesses claim a car disappeared into a rainbow."
"A rainbow?" Megumi frowned. "But this weather…"
On the big screen, Hajime pulled up satellite footage. "Impossible. There's not enough moisture in the atmosphere, and the sun's at the wrong angle. A rainbow can't form."
Megumi nodded firmly. "All the more reason to investigate. Let's prepare to move."
Then she turned toward Yuzhou. "What do you think, Consultant?"
Yuzhou met her gaze calmly. "Actually, I already have a pretty good guess. That rainbow… it's likely the work of a monster called Hilbagon. Its ability creates a Rainbow Phantom Realm."
The room went quiet.
"A monster?!"
Yuzhou explained without hesitation. "Hilbagon has two huge horns, silver scales covered in ridges, a spiked back, and hollow eyes without pupils. Its defence is formidable—simple beam attacks won't work."
He sneaked a glance at Daigo, who stiffened. After all, in the original timeline, Hilbagon had shrugged off Tiga's Zeperion Ray like it was nothing.
"But," Yuzhou added with a smile, "it's not that tough to beat. Its eyesight is poor. It only reacts to moving targets."
That piece of information made Shinjo laugh. "Finally, an easy one!"
With preparations made, the Victory Team headed for Lion-Nose Forest in ground vehicles instead of jets—the rainbow realm's interference would jam aerial systems. Yuzhou joined them.
Inside the phantom rainbow road, an unnatural path appeared out of nowhere. The team drove forward without hesitation, knowing the trap would lead them straight to the source.
Cries for help soon echoed from deeper inside. Everyone rushed ahead and found two children trapped inside a transparent dome. Hajime charged forward—only to rebound painfully off its surface.
"A barrier?"
"Not just any barrier," Yuzhou said. "That's Gadi's work."
Sure enough, the monster Gadi revealed itself, roaring from within the shimmering dome. But before anyone could react, another roar shook the forest—Hilbagon had arrived.
The two monsters locked eyes. Sparks flew—not from claws, but from insults.
Their voices thundered across the phantom realm like two quarrelsome drunks in a bar:
Gadi: "See this? I've got a forcefield!"
Hilbagon: "Pfft, so what? A forcefield makes you special?"
Gadi: "Actually, yeah. It makes me very special. Sorry!"
Hilbagon: "Oh, you're asking for it. Keep bragging!"
Gadi: "What, you gonna hit me? Do it!"
Hilbagon: "You… you seriously just asked me to?!"
With an enraged roar, Hilbagon lumbered forward and swung its massive claws.
CRASH!
The supposedly indestructible shield shattered like glass.
The Victory Team stared. Yuzhou folded his arms and muttered, "And that's about how it went in the show."