Chapter 161: Tokyo Bay

Green-Hair’s culinary skills seemed to have improved even further over the past few days.

Yue Longze put down the glass bowl in his hand. Ignoring the grease around his mouth, he contentedly patted his belly. After a sound sleep followed by a bowl of such delicious ramen, he felt the physical strength he had expended during the battle with the metallic lifeform immediately recover.

"Not bad at all!"

Yue Longze smiled as he looked at Green-Hair beside him, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Your cooking is getting better and better! Keep up the good work!"

"Ah... Boss!"

Green-Hair had originally intended to say something modest, but he suddenly noticed that the plaster on Yue Longze's left arm had been removed at some point.

"What is it?"

Yue Longze looked at Green-Hair in confusion. At this moment, Red-Hair and Yellow-Hair were also staring at Yue Longze with astonished expressions.

"Boss, when did you take off your cast?!"

The Three Stooges asked in unison.

"Oh, so that's what you were talking about."

Glancing down at his left arm, Yue Longze smiled faintly. "What, do you want to test out your Boss's current strength?"

"Ah, no, no, no! How could we dare..."

Green-Hair immediately waved his hands in panic. He certainly didn't want to get beaten into the shape of a pig's head again.

"Tch."

Yue Longze curled his lips and rotated his wrists. "Do I seem that violent in your eyes?"

"No, no, no! Boss is not violent at all!"

The Three Stooges quickly chimed in with flattery.

"Alright, cut the crap!"

Yue Longze stretched his left arm, his sharp gaze sweeping over the Three Stooges as he said sternly, "Let me see if you guys have made any progress these past few days!"

Realizing that Yue Longze wasn't joking, the Three Stooges nodded heavily and quickly spread out across the living room.

Yue Longze stood simply in place, adopting no formal stance, and just quietly observed the tense trio.

"Boss, watch out!"

Red-Hair made the first move, taking the initiative—a principle Yue Longze had previously taught them.

Only by swiftly resolving the opponent could one avoid unnecessary trouble!

"Come on then!"

Looking at the charging Red-Hair, the corner of Yue Longze’s mouth curled into an arc. With a slight side-step, he directly executed a grappling maneuver, subduing Red-Hair instantly from behind.

"That won't do."

Yue Longze released Red-Hair and frowned. "Your whole body is full of openings!"

"Again!"

Yue Longze curled his finger at Red-Hair, who once again swung his fists and executed the combat techniques Yue Longze had taught them.

"Hah!"

Red-Hair let out a sharp cry, this time paying close attention to covering his vulnerabilities.

Yue Longze, however, shook his head inwardly. "Still no good!"

His right fist thrust out like a nimble little snake, moving at an incredible speed accompanied by a faint gust of wind to strike Red-Hair right in the face.

"Bang!"

Red-Hair winced in pain.

Of course, Yue Longze definitely hadn't used his full strength, otherwise Red-Hair would have been sent straight to the hospital for emergency treatment.

"Openings! Openings!"

Yue Longze stared at Red-Hair, who was clutching his aching face. "While attacking, you must always make sure to cover your own openings!"

He then shifted his gaze to Yellow-Hair and Green-Hair standing nearby, gesturing to them with his chin. "You two come at me together."

Yellow-Hair and Green-Hair exchanged glances, stepped into a staggered stance, and assumed solemn combat postures facing Yue Longze.

"Don't be nervous! Relax!"

Yue Longze made a provocative gesture with both hands.

"Hiyah!"

Green-Hair and Yellow-Hair paid utmost attention to concealing their vulnerabilities, but they were still each knocked down by a single punch from Yue Longze.

"Although you covered your openings, you messed up your own attacking rhythm!"

Yue Longze pulled the Three Stooges back up, signaling them to continue while explaining their current shortcomings.

...

"Alright!"

Yue Longze waved his hand at the sweating Three Stooges. "That's it for today, go wash up and get some sleep!"

With that, ignoring the three of them, he walked off in his floral shorts to take a shower by himself.

The torrent of hot water spraying from the showerhead made Yue Longze feel physically and mentally relaxed, every pore on his body opening up, bringing a sense of deep comfort to his heart.

...

"Fujimiya Hiroya..."

Yue Longze murmured. Recalling that it was Fujimiya Hiroya who had saved him today, he felt that he might cross paths with this guy quite a bit in the future.

And that fellow Fujimiya, during the first half of the original storyline, always seemed to be at odds with Agul—no, with Iruma, wait, with Daina—with Irumuno... with Xiemeng (Myamu).

*Note: Translating smoothly:* ...always seemed to be at odds with Irumu—no, Gamu.

However, the specific plot details had long since faded, and Yue Longze didn't know why Fujimiya acted that way.

"Regardless, the current priority is to recover my own power first!"

...

Another new day began.

The reformed Three Stooges had already left early for work once again, leaving the spacious home empty with only Yue Longze alone.

The daily routine for Yue Longze now was waiting for news from Gamu. Once a monster appeared on Earth, he would immediately rush over.

After all, this concerned whether he could recover his strength.

Aside from waiting for Gamu's news, Yue Longze had nothing else to do.

He also wanted to find a job, but in a country where identity information management was this strict, he had no way around it.

Without official household registration, finding a job was practically impossible.

After washing his face, hastily dealing with breakfast, and fixing his hair, Yue Longze decided to go out for a walk.

Staying cooped up at home all the time was dreadfully boring.

The weather was growing increasingly chilly.

Short sleeves and shorts no longer seemed suitable for this season.

He put on the dark denim jacket he had worn all the time back in the Xiaoxi spacetime, tucking the cuffs of his trousers tightly into his brown leather boots.

Without looking back, he closed the door behind him and prepared to head out for a stroll!

...

On the streets, there was a constant stream of people coming and going. The expressions in the crowd were always hurried; amid such a fast-paced life, everyone seemed tense and exhausted.

"Humans..."

Yue Longze walked with his hands in his pockets, looking at the rushing crowd and couldn't help sighing, "Always running about for a living, yet ignoring things that are far more important!"

As an Ultraman, after experiencing so much, Yue Longze could appreciate certain important truths much more deeply than an ordinary human.

Although the streets of Tokyo were bustling, they were ultimately filled with people in a rush. Yue Longze hailed a taxi and headed for the tranquil Tokyo Bay.

He wanted to see the sea, to look at the azure ocean.

The vast and mysterious sea could always make one feel relaxed and happy.

...

"Screech."

Accompanied by a gentle braking sound, the taxi slowly came to a halt.

"Young man, wake up! Tokyo Bay has arrived!"

The driver was a slightly bald middle-aged man whose weather-beaten face was etched with the traces left by the years.

The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were like the rings of a giant tree, circle upon circle.

"Ah, we've arrived already..."

Yue Longze groggily woke up from the backseat, looked at the cruise ships docked outside the window, and gratefully thanked the smiling driver. "By the way, Mister, your driving is really smooth! I slept very comfortably all the way."

The slightly bald middle-aged driver smiled bashfully and said nothing.

Yue Longze paid the fare, bade farewell to the driver who had left such a favorable impression on him, and took his first steps into Tokyo Bay.