"It seems… I'll have to increase his brain training."
Yu Zhou sighed and rubbed his forehead, clearly frustrated.
He couldn't help feeling like a disappointed teacher — so much potential, yet still so careless.
Although he often helped Asuka, when necessary, most of the monster battles were handled by Asuka himself.
But judging from Asuka's current personality, Yu Zhou could tell that his own interference had, in some ways, slowed the boy's growth.
The woman in the video looked familiar.
Yu Zhou quickly remembered who she was — one of the masterminds behind Project F, working closely with Counsellor Gondou.
The captain of the Black Buster Corps, Reika Saeki.
From what Yu Zhou knew, the Black Buster Corps was a TPC defence unit stationed on Mars.
They possessed far more advanced fighter jets — the GUTS Shadow, capable of appearing and disappearing at will in combat.
Not only were these jets incredibly fast, but they could even become invisible.
According to Dack, who now spent most of his time on Earth raising his adopted daughter, the GUTS Shadow was developed in collaboration with engineers from Planet Dais — resulting in a truly formidable craft.
Speaking of Dack, Yu Zhou still visited him from time to time.
That alien had completely devoted his life to fatherhood.
"Asuka, that woman is dangerous."
Yu Zhou typed a reply to him, his expression stern.
"My advice — don't go."
If Asuka went to meet that woman, he would surely be captured and have his light gene forcibly extracted.
That was the core of Counsellor Gondou's revised Project F — to revive the stone giants using Asuka's light.
But Yu Zhou already knew how that story ended.
No matter what Gondou tried, his plan was doomed to fail.
Back when Yu Zhou travelled to the ancient era through Charija's time machine, he had secretly swapped out two of the stone statues — leaving only Tiga's original intact.
Right now, those two fake statues were still lying quietly in his spatial ring.
So, the fragments Gondou used to "rebuild" the statues were nothing more than ordinary rocks.
"Good thing I had the foresight," Yu Zhou said shamelessly, patting his chest.
At that time, he had only switched them because it felt like a waste to let the ancient statues be destroyed.
Who would've thought that simple act of "salvaging" would save the world from another disaster?
Now it made perfect sense — back then, when Golza and Melba attacked, the other two statues shattered instantly, while Tiga's statue merely fell without breaking apart.
That was because the other two were fakes.
Otherwise, all three Giants of Light might have awakened at once.
Yu Zhou sent another message to Asuka — but there was no reply.
Something didn't feel right.
After thinking for a moment, Yu Zhou decided to contact Daigo, asking him to keep an eye on Asuka and make sure he didn't do anything reckless.
But Daigo's response only deepened Yu Zhou's concern.
"Asuka didn't report for duty today," Daigo said. "We've checked everywhere — his quarters, the base… he's gone."
"Not good."
Yu Zhou's expression hardened.
Without wasting another second, he alerted Daigo and rushed toward the TPC's Deep Mountain Base.
Inside the base, tension filled the air.
"Asuka's been missing since morning — no one knows where he's gone!"
Captain Hibiki growled, slamming his fist against the table.
He sounded as exasperated as Yu Zhou felt — angry, but mostly disappointed.
Asuka had been with the Super Victory Team for quite a while now, yet he still acted reckless and impulsive, sometimes even a little arrogant.
Yu Zhou scratched his head awkwardly.
Honestly, he couldn't deny it — part of Asuka's immaturity was his fault.
"Daigo, come with me. Let's go find him."
Since even the Super Victory Team didn't know where Asuka had gone, Yu Zhou could already piece together what was happening.
There hadn't been any unauthorized fighter jet launches, nor had Ryo — Asuka's close friend — gone chasing after him like in the original events.
Given what Yu Zhou knew of Asuka's personality, the young man wouldn't just disappear without saying a word.
Even if he were going to meet that black-haired woman, he'd at least leave a message.
That left only one explanation — he had been kidnapped.
And the culprits could only be that woman or Counsellor Gondou.
"Right," Daigo nodded. "Let's move."
He, too, was worried.
To Daigo, Asuka wasn't just a fellow Ultra — he was a successor, a student, even something like a younger brother.
After everything they'd been through together, he understood Asuka's reckless yet sincere nature better than anyone.
Deep in the mountains, Yu Zhou retrieved a miniature spacecraft from his spatial ring.
He gestured for Daigo to board.
Just as the two were about to take off, a clear voice called out from behind them.
"Wait! Please take me with you!"
They turned to see a young woman in a Super Victory Team uniform running toward them.
It was Ryo.
Her cheeks were flushed, but her eyes shone with determination.
She clearly believed that Yu Zhou and Daigo knew where Asuka was — and she wasn't about to stay behind.
"Of course," Yu Zhou nodded without hesitation.
He had no reason to refuse — after all, she was Asuka's partner.
And besides, once this was over, the Sphere invasion would begin, and Yu Zhou would have to leave this world anyway.
Ryo's character was trustworthy; she wouldn't expose anything sensitive.
The spacecraft soared through the atmosphere, swiftly cutting across the void until the red planet came into view — Mars.
They descended onto the surface.
To Yu Zhou's surprise, Mars no longer looked barren.
The once desolate landscape now showed patches of hardy green plants, and the air even contained faint traces of oxygen.
With his enhanced body, Yu Zhou could have walked outside without a suit — but there was no need to show off.
He still put on his space gear before stepping out.
The three began their search of the Martian Base.
It wasn't enormous, but large enough to make searching by foot difficult.
Yu Zhou remembered that Gondou's secret F-Project facility was built underground.
If Asuka had been captured, that was likely where he was now — and the reconstruction of the stone statues was probably already complete.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have taken Asuka so soon.
"If Asuka's nearby, I should be able to sense his light…"
Yu Zhou closed his eyes and let the faint energy within him flow outward, like ripples of luminous mist.
It was the same technique once used by the ancient Diggers — to detect other beings of light.
The glow wasn't detecting ordinary light sources — only the sacred Light of Ultraman.
The light that lived within Asuka.
"Yu Zhou," Daigo finally spoke, breaking the silence.
"Are you sure Asuka was taken here?"
Yu Zhou opened his eyes.
The faint light danced around his fingers.
"I'm certain," he said quietly.
And deep beneath the Martian soil, a faint pulse of light answered back.