"Awooo!"
The pack of wild wolves saw Yu Zhou leap out, and they moved closer, tightening the circle around the two of them.
However, Yu Zhou was still doing his warm-up exercises.
"Wait, seriously? Why are you warming up for so long? They're just wolves!"
To Charija, an alien being, this group of wolves was nothing to be afraid of.
But Yu Zhou—this guy—was still stretching, even doing what looked like radio calisthenics!
The wolves drew nearer. Finally, Yu Zhou finished his warm-up.
Charija simply sat and watched, curious about how Yu Zhou would deal with the wolves.
"Come to think of it, I've never seen him fight in human form before."
He casually pulled out a bag of chips from nowhere, sat down on a rock, and started munching as if watching a show.
"Well, considering he's Ultraman Tiga, even in human form, he shouldn't be too weak."
Crunch. Charija took a bite, mumbling to himself.
Yu Zhou's expression hardened. His eyes locked on the lead wolf. He clenched his fists, as if ready to burst forward at any second.
"As the saying goes— 'Strike the snake at seven inches, catch the thief by taking the king!'"
He lowered his stance slightly, locking onto his target.
Then, from his dimensional bracelet, Yu Zhou pulled out the Victory Hyper Gun—and fired a burst of laser straight at the wolf that appeared to be the leader.
Thud!
The lead wolf dropped instantly, dead silent.
Charija: "…"
The wolf pack: "…"
So… all that warm-up was for nothing?
Why go through all that exercise just to pull out a gun in the end?!
"Why didn't you fight them hand-to-hand?"
Charija was so surprised he dropped his chips onto the ground.
Yu Zhou grinned and said, "Charija—times have changed."
With their leader suddenly dead, the wolves froze.
Just a moment ago, the wolf king had been full of pride, charging at them with the pack behind him.
And now? Dead in an instant?
Without a leader, the rest of the wolves lost their will. Some fled in panic; others charged recklessly at Yu Zhou—only to be shot down one by one.
Soon, the snowy slope was silent. The only things left were the bodies of fallen wolves.
Yu Zhou wasn't interested in wolf meat. Glancing back at his torn-up tent, he sighed.
It seemed his camping trip was ruined.
"Huh?"
Charija, ever the foodie, was just wondering how roasted wolf meat might taste—
When suddenly, the hot spring nearby began bubbling violently.
Blub, blub, blub…
Yu Zhou noticed too. Kneeling beside the pool, he brushed his hand across the surface—only to realize that the water had turned scalding hot!
"Perfect! I was just worrying we'd run out of water!"
Charija cheerfully filled a kettle with the boiling spring water.
"Yeah, great idea…"
Yu Zhou rolled his eyes. Thank goodness he hadn't been soaking in the spring when it changed, or he'd have been boiled alive.
Rumble…
Just then, as Charija capped his kettle, the ground began to shake.
Yu Zhou looked down—the pebbles beside the spring were trembling violently.
"An earthquake?"
Charija had lived on Earth long enough to recognize some natural disasters. This seemed to fit.
But Yu Zhou shook his head. "No, Charija—look."
He pointed toward the mountaintop.
Following Yu Zhou's gesture, Charija saw black smoke pouring from the peak—and occasionally, glowing red stones shot into the sky.
The volcano was about to erupt.
BOOM!!!
Like thunder cracking across the heavens, the volcano exploded before their eyes. Lava burst from the crater, hurling ash and molten rock high into the air.
Then gravity took hold. The lava cascaded down the slopes, a fiery tide consuming the snowy mountainside.
The snow melted instantly into water, then steam, vanishing into the air.
"Charija—watch your step!"
Yu Zhou snapped out of it and looked down. He grabbed Charija just in time to pull him away—
The once-bubbling hot spring had become a pool of molten lava, ready to overflow at any moment.
"Let's move!"
As lava flowed from the volcano, Yu Zhou didn't intend to wait around to die.
He summoned his flight device, leapt aboard, and soared into the sky.
Charija followed close behind, standing on his trademark black umbrella as it floated upward.
"Why did the volcano suddenly erupt like that?" Charija scratched his head, puzzled.
"This is an active volcano—it could erupt at any time," Yu Zhou explained.
But truthfully, he had another theory. The most likely reason for the eruption… was that Golza had awakened.
According to the events of Ultraman Dyna's world, Yu Zhou recalled—it was around this very time that a massive Golza emerged from a volcano.
"Follow me," Yu Zhou said, and flew toward the crater.
The heat was intense—Yu Zhou could feel it radiating even through the air.
Along with the heat came thick volcanic ash.
"Cough, cough, cough…"
Charija, flying behind him, started choking violently.
Meanwhile, Yu Zhou had already put on a mask and goggles—who knew when he had even taken them out?
"Hey—cough, cough—give me one too!" Charija wheezed.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot!"
Yu Zhou smacked his forehead, pulling an extra mask and goggles from his dimensional bracelet and handing them over.
Once he put them on, Charija felt much better.
Soon, the two reached the mouth of the volcano.
Hovering in midair, Yu Zhou scanned the area—but saw nothing except the flowing rivers of molten lava.
"Golza, come out!"
Charija, trying to be clever, released his own Golza—the one he'd been compensated with earlier—from its containment capsule.
It dropped into the lava below.
This Golza, with its bulging muscles, was completely unbothered by the molten heat. It swam through the lava with ease, absorbing its energy.
"Golza, go into the volcano and see if you can find one of your kind."
Charija commanded.
"ROAR!"
Golza nodded and dove headfirst into the volcano, disappearing into the lava.
Then—silence.
Thirty minutes passed.
An hour.
Two hours.
…
"Don't tell me it's dead down there?"
Yu Zhou's legs were starting to go numb from standing on the flight device for so long. Still, no sign of Golza.
"Maybe… not?" Charija said uncertainly.
Boom!
Suddenly, the volcano erupted again, a huge burst of lava exploding from the crater—
Both Yu Zhou and Charija fixed their eyes on it instantly.
(To be continued...)