A month passed quickly.
On the night before Yu Zhou's next journey, the red-dress girl appeared in his dream.
"I've been to the world of the Ultra Cross-Time Final Battle," Yu Zhou said upon seeing her. "There's a little girl there, about your age, and she embodies a red orb."
"I know," the red-dress girl replied calmly, nodding.
"Her red orb can grant wishes," Yu Zhou continued.
"I know," she nodded again.
"Can yours?"
"No."
"Then why do you hold it?"
"It feels comfortable."
"…."
Yu Zhou had grown accustomed to her evasive answers. He didn't believe her red orb was only good for hugging.
He let the matter drop and asked another question instead.
"You know, Ultraman and such exist only in films and TV in my world."
"I know," she responded.
"Then… since Ultraman's media has its own world, do other films and TV shows have worlds too?" Yu Zhou asked.
Ultraman's worlds existed within media. But what about other stories? Could they have their own worlds as well?
"Yes, other worlds exist," the red-dress girl said. "The universe contains countless worlds—far more than you can imagine."
"So… someday, could I travel to a media world outside of Ultraman?" he asked, the key question on his mind.
"Not for now," she shook her head. "Currently, you can only go to worlds with Ultraman."
"For now?" Yu Zhou pondered. So there was still a possibility he might visit other worlds in the future.
He asked because he wanted to prepare. If he ever did travel to a world he didn't recognize, he'd want to study its media in advance to be ready.
"One last question—do you think I'm handsome?"
The red-dress girl smiled, then floated away, her figure slowly disappearing.
Sighing, Yu Zhou muttered, "Is it really that hard to admit someone's handsome?"
The next morning, Yu Zhou prepared as usual, sitting on his bed and waiting for the spatial vortex.
Soon, it appeared on schedule, and he leapt into it.
Whoosh.
Yu Zhou landed lightly on solid ground, scanning his surroundings.
A few houses lined nearby streets, with people walking by, while he stood on a quiet alley with few passersby.
Scattered on the stone-paved road were papers, one with a photo that looked familiar.
He picked it up—it was a missing person poster. And the person in the photo? He recognized him instantly: Daichi Ozora, the human host of Ultraman X!
"Daichi's missing person poster?" Yu Zhou muttered, recalling the storyline.
As he pondered, a shout came from the corner ahead.
"Captain, are you okay?"
"Naoemi, hang in there!"
Hearing this, Yu Zhou ran toward the sound.
At the corner, he saw four alien beings with insect-like heads, dressed in suits, approaching three men and a woman who were crouching on the ground.
Without hesitation, Yu Zhou pulled out the frying-pan-like weapon from his spatial bracelet. He leapt nearly five meters high, then slammed down onto one of the aliens' heads.
He hadn't realized he could jump so high, but the timing was perfect.
Bang! The alien collapsed immediately.
The remaining three turned to see what happened.
But all they saw was the black bottom of a pan.
Yu Zhou didn't stop—he swung the pan three more times, striking the remaining aliens with loud, painful cracks. They all fell motionless.
"How's that? Think your head still feels fine in that suit?" Yu Zhou muttered, kicking them lightly to ensure they were down before approaching the trio on the ground.
"Thank you for saving us!" The woman had long hair and large, gentle eyes. She smiled as she spoke.
"No problem. Happy to help," Yu Zhou said, already piecing together the identities of the people before him.
From the missing-person poster of Daichi, the insect-headed aliens, and the trio in front of him, Yu Zhou deduced he was in the world of the Ultraman Orb movie.
The woman was Naoemi, the female lead.
Two of the men were members of SSP: Matsudo Mori, wearing round glasses, and Shinta Hayami.
The remaining man, dressed like a uniformed officer, was a member of the WIT Team and Naoemi's uncle, Sawakawa.
"You're amazing! Just a few hits and you took out those aliens!" Shinta Hayami exclaimed.
"Small matter," Yu Zhou said, recalling how easily he had defeated the twin aliens with just one pan.
Suddenly, the device in Naoemi's hand—a replica of Daichi's X Terminal, or X Flash—moved on its own, pointing toward Yu Zhou.
"It's me—X."
Yu Zhou nodded as he confirmed it.
"That's great! Finally, someone! Daichi is missing, and we…"
Before X could finish, the strumming of a guitar came from nearby—a familiar, beautiful melody.
Yu Zhou recognized it immediately—the music often appeared in Ultraman Orb and was played by the transformable hero Gai.
Sure enough, a man wearing a sun hat, sunglasses, and a red shirt walked toward them, strumming his guitar.
"What a flashy entrance," Yu Zhou muttered, impressed.
"It's Kai! He's back!" Shinta Hayami shouted, full of excitement.
"Are you all alright?" Gai asked, approaching.
"We're fine! This person saved us," Naoemi said, smiling at Yu Zhou.
"I'm Yu Zhou, from China," he introduced himself, seeing their confusion.
"Thanks a lot just now!" Gai said, looking at Yu Zhou.
Yu Zhou shook his head, signaling that no thanks were necessary.
"X… how are you here?" Gai immediately noticed the X Flash in Naoemi's hand.
"Ah… you're the Ultraman of this world—"
X recognized Gai instantly and tried to speak, but Gai shook the X Flash, interrupting him.