"Asuka's disappearance… I'm certain it's tied to the one behind Project F."
As Yu Zhou walked down the dim corridor, he spoke quietly to Daigo beside him.
Ryo followed close behind, listening intently to every word.
"Yes," Daigo nodded. "The plan that Masaki left behind was later revived by Counsellor Gondou. The R'lyeh investigation was decided internally by TPC — Gondou was only the person in charge."
"Exactly," Yu Zhou said. "But even now, he hasn't given up on Project F."
Ryo's eyes widened as she pieced it together.
"Then that means… Asuka's disappearance was Gondou's doing!"
Daigo's expression darkened.
A conspiracy led by a high-ranking TPC officer — that was hard to believe, even for him.
But right now, the priority wasn't judgment — it was finding where Asuka was being held.
From Yu Zhou's earlier explanation, both Daigo and Ryo understood that Asuka must be trapped inside an underground base.
Searching blindly across the Martian outpost would take too long.
Daigo decided to take a more direct approach — he entered the main Mars Base and began asking around.
Being members of the Super Victory Team and the Victory Team, they had no problem using their authority to question people.
"Counsellor Gondou?" a passing staff member repeated when Daigo asked.
"Hmm… now that you mention it, he often goes to a certain restricted area."
The man thought for a moment, then pointed them in a direction.
"You go down this passage, make a few turns, then take the elevator leading underground — that's where he usually goes."
Yu Zhou thanked the man and immediately led the way at a brisk pace.
After several turns through narrow, metallic corridors, the three arrived at the elevator.
Then — they hit a problem.
The elevator required facial recognition to operate.
Ryo's face tightened in worry.
"What do we do? If he's down there, we can't waste time!"
"I could just… smash it open," Daigo offered, raising one finger seriously.
Yu Zhou sweat dropped. "That might work, but if we break it, we might lose the only way down."
Daigo scratched his head, embarrassed. "Fair point. Then what?"
Yu Zhou sighed and smiled faintly. "Leave it to me."
He reached into his space bracelet and pulled out a special transformation badge.
As soon as he clipped it to his chest, a shimmer of light rippled across his body — and in an instant, he had transformed into Counsellor Gondou himself.
The elevator's scanner blinked to life.
"Identity confirmed. Access granted."
Daigo and Ryo both froze in shock.
"Wait—what?! Just by wearing that badge you can turn into someone else!?"
Yu Zhou smirked. "Relax. It's just an illusion trick."
He removed the badge, and his body flickered back to normal.
"Still," he muttered, glancing down at himself, "being that chubby guy for even a second felt like an insult to my looks."
With a soft chime, the elevator descended smoothly to the bottom level.
When the doors slid open — the sight that greeted them made both Daigo and Ryo's blood boil.
Inside a large laboratory chamber, Asuka was trapped inside a cylindrical glass container.
He was slumped weakly against the floor, eyes closed, all strength drained from his body.
Standing nearby were Counsellor Gondou and the black-haired woman Reika Saeki, both wearing triumphant smiles as they looked toward a massive figure behind them —
A giant stone statue, half-complete yet already radiating a faint light.
It resembled Ultraman Dyna, but its features were slightly distorted, unnatural.
Gondou's team of scientists stood around the chamber, silent and tense, as beams of light from a massive photon converter struck the statue's colour timer on its chest.
The machine hummed and rang like silver chimes — and then, the lifeless stone began to glow.
In seconds, its dull grey colour shifted into brilliant silver and crimson, and its chest crystal pulsed a vivid blue.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
Gondou burst into manic laughter, raising his arms in triumph.
"At last! Humanity's own Giant of Light! One that belongs not to aliens — but to us!"
He looked upon his creation with near-religious awe.
"We'll call him… the Colossal Super Power Giant!"
"Colossal Super Power… what?" a voice suddenly echoed from behind him.
"Giant. The Colossal Super Power Giant," Gondou replied automatically.
"Good boy," Yu Zhou said casually.
"Eh?" Gondou blinked — then his eyes widened in horror as he finally turned around.
There stood Yu Zhou, Daigo, and Ryo, staring him down.
The excitement on his face twisted into panic, then forced calm.
"How did you find this place?" he barked, clasping his hands behind his back to hide his trembling.
Yu Zhou's eyes narrowed. "Still acting arrogant?"
Without another word, he strode forward, grabbed Gondou by the collar, and hauled him up effortlessly.
"What do you think you're doing?! That's Counsellor Gondou!"
Reika shouted, aiming her pistol straight at Yu Zhou's head.
"Oh? And what if he is?" Yu Zhou said coldly.
Then, with a smirk, he threw Gondou straight at her.
The bulky man crashed into Reika with a loud bang, knocking both of them to the floor in a heap.
Meanwhile, Daigo and Ryo rushed to the containment cylinder, smashing it open and pulling Asuka free.
But Asuka was barely conscious — his body limp, his light nearly extinguished.
Yu Zhou turned toward the rest of the room — rows of armed base personnel had already raised their rifles at him.
He raised his Victory Team ID badge high.
"You people should know this," he said sharply.
"Project F was conducted without authorization — Gondou acted on his own. As TPC members, do you really intend to side with him? To betray your duty?"
His words echoed through the chamber.
But no one lowered their guns.
Their faces were grim — loyal to Gondou, not TPC.
Yu Zhou sighed. "Then don't blame me for what happens next."
He shifted his stance, ready to move —
— but before he could, a low rumble shook the entire base.
The ground heaved violently, alarms blaring as dust fell from the ceiling.
The whole underground facility began to quake, as if something enormous was awakening below.