Chapter 148: Disciplining Green-Hair

Mount Gao Shan earnestly pleaded with the uniformed man to take him to XIG’s airborne base. Reluctantly, the uniformed man agreed, for after all, he was the developer of the anti-gravity device. The airborne base’s ability to hover steadily in the sky was precisely thanks to the anti-gravity technology developed by Gao Shan. Thus, it was difficult for the uniformed man to refuse his request.

Nearby, amidst the ruins, two men and a woman were unusually excited. The younger man, carrying a camera on his shoulder, beamed as he spoke to the older man. “Mr. Tabata! I got it all on film!”

“Well done, Lunwen!” the older man exclaimed, patting the younger man’s shoulder with enthusiasm. The young woman, equally thrilled, kept praising Lunwen. “This time, you’ve really captured a major scoop!”

“Hehe... Reiko, you flatter me,” Lunwen said sheepishly, scratching his head.

These three were reporters from Japan’s KCB Television.

Meanwhile, after returning to the safe zone, Ryūzawa found Green Hair still unconscious, while Yellow Hair and Red Hair stood frozen in place.

“Hey! Are you two out of your minds?” Ryūzawa called out sharply.

“Hey, hey, hey!” he glared at Yellow Hair and Red Hair, who remained dazed. Thinking they might have been truly frightened into shock, Ryūzawa gently set down the unconscious Green Hair and slapped Yellow Hair and Red Hair hard across their faces.

The two jolted, their vacant stares gradually clearing.

“Waaah—”

Seeing Ryūzawa and Green Hair unharmed before them, the two men in their twenties broke down in tears.

“Boss! I thought we almost lost you and Green Hair!”

“Waaah! You scared us to death!”

Their wailing drew no scorn; many around had lost loved ones or comrades in the sudden monster attack and were steeped in grief.

“I’m not going down so easily, boss!” Ryūzawa chuckled.

“Green Hair fainted from fright. Let’s head home quickly,” he said, hoisting Green Hair up again.

“Boss, let us handle this kind of thing!” Yellow Hair and Red Hair smiled brightly as they helped carry Green Hair, trailing behind Ryūzawa eagerly.

Along the way, Ryūzawa pondered how to regain his lost strength but found no clues. The crisis in this timeline was emerging rapidly, and his current power was too weak. He sensed that even his transformed state was weaker than the early Gaia. If some butterfly effect unleashed even stronger adversaries, with his present strength, he was utterly helpless.

“This is urgent...!” he thought grimly.

Returning home, Ryūzawa collapsed onto a soft sofa while Green Hair was carefully tended to by Yellow Hair and Red Hair. After a rest, Ryūzawa opened his eyes to find a swollen, grinning face pressed close to his.

“Damn it! Green Hair! What are you doing?” he shouted, startled, flinging a pillow at him.

Who could bear waking from a pleasant dream only to find a shining bald head staring straight at them from inches away?

“Boss, you’re awake?” Green Hair forced a smile, trying not to look too awkward.

Ryūzawa frowned silently.

“Well... boss, here! Eat some ramen!” Seeing Ryūzawa’s sour expression, Green Hair nervously presented a steaming bowl of ramen, hoping to make amends for his earlier mistake.

“I made this ramen myself, boss. Please forgive my error today!” he said, sweat beading on his forehead.

“You know you were wrong?” Ryūzawa asked quietly.

“Yes, boss, I know!”

“Do you realize how dangerous that monster was?”

“Yes... yes...”

“Do you know we nearly died today?”

“Yes... yes...”

Ryūzawa then launched into a lecture, weaving in talks about social unity and other subjects seemingly unrelated to the matter at hand. Meanwhile, Red Hair and Yellow Hair stifled their laughter at Green Hair’s thorough scolding.

After a while, feeling parched, Ryūzawa sipped the orange juice on the table, glanced at the nearly overwhelmed Green Hair, then began eating the ramen.

“Hope you didn’t poison me with this ramen!” Ryūzawa warned, glaring at Green Hair, who continued wiping sweat from his brow.

Slurping a few mouthfuls, Ryūzawa’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Didn’t expect this from you, kid!”

Giving a thumbs-up, he said, “For this delicious bowl, I forgive you for today!”

“Boss, I’m not good at much else, but I’m a pro at making ramen because I love eating it!” Green Hair beamed and launched into a detailed explanation of ramen preparation.

“First, let’s talk about the ingredients...”

“Stop! Stop! Stop!” Ryūzawa interrupted, overwhelmed. “Can I just eat in peace?”

“Okay, okay, no more bothering, boss!” Green Hair quickly retreated while Ryūzawa resumed pondering how to improve the moral character of these three.

Soon, he made a decision.

The city had suffered severe damage from the monster attack, and reconstruction was underway.

“Let’s have these three kids volunteer in the disaster relief efforts!” Ryūzawa decided. His bowl was already empty.

“Green Hair!”

“Yes!”

“Make me another bowl of ramen within ten minutes!”

“Got it!”

And so, their story continued.