Chapter Thirty: The Esper

Da Gu frowned as he looked at his teammates, inwardly shaking his head with a bitter smile. "Even if Ultraman is not a god, we humans can defeat darkness by our own strength! Isn’t that so?" Da Gu spoke heavily to everyone.

"Da Gu..." Lina gazed at him, her beautiful eyes vacant, wanting to say something but unable to utter a word.

"As humans, we should place our faith in humanity, believe in ourselves!" Da Gu continued, raising his voice.

Captain Ju Jian gave Da Gu a deep look, then swept her gaze across the group. "Keep close watch on that mysterious young man. If anything happens, report immediately! This is an order from the TPC higher-ups."

There was a hint of helplessness in Hui Ju Jian’s tone; she could vaguely guess what the TPC executives were thinking.

"Understood!" everyone replied in unison, though their faces were complicated, each lost in their own thoughts…

Under the sunset, by the riverside, the rippling waters seemed coated in a layer of gold by the evening sun.

Yue Longze sat dejectedly by the river, occasionally picking up small stones from beside him and tossing them into the water, sending up tiny splashes and ripples. Clearly, this afternoon, Yue Longze had failed to find a job—a whole afternoon wasted in vain.

"Damn this black-market ID! It’s making every step impossible!" Yue Longze even considered that, at this rate, he might have to reveal his identity and join the Victory Team.

"What’s troubling you?"

Unbeknownst to him, a young man wearing black glasses was already seated just a few meters away, smiling as he spoke.

"When did this guy sit here..." Yue Longze was a little surprised. His senses were far keener than any ordinary Earthling's, yet he hadn’t noticed the man. Still, Yue Longze answered politely.

"I’m just in a bad mood."

Yue Longze pinched a fallen maple leaf from the ground between his right index and middle fingers, flicked it gently, and watched as the leaf danced on the breeze. He stared at its flight, lost in thought.

"I envy this maple leaf—it doesn’t have to struggle, just rides the wind and soars. Some people work so hard, yet gain nothing."

The man with glasses watched the drifting leaf, speaking with a hint of sentiment, as if deliberately saying it for Yue Longze’s benefit.

"Huh?"

Yue Longze suddenly felt that this man was no ordinary person.

"It’s just a job. Give it a little more effort—if nothing unexpected happens, you’ll find one by tomorrow at the latest." The glasses-wearing man smiled, his expression warm as a spring breeze.

"How do you know?" Yue Longze asked, puzzled.

"I guessed," the man replied, adjusting his frames.

"I don’t believe it," Yue Longze shook his head.

"Heh, I don’t believe it either." The man suddenly stood up, laughing cheerfully. "Ze-kun, it’s our first meeting. You may call me Kirino."

Kirino bent slightly, extending his rough right hand toward Yue Longze, who was still seated.

"You..." Yue Longze suddenly thought of something, but couldn’t quite recall.

"No need to be surprised. This is just one of my abilities, Mr. Black Ultraman." Kirino smiled, though the smile carried a touch of melancholy.

Hearing this, Yue Longze finally remembered—Kirino was the psychic from the original story, gifted with premonition and telepathy.

According to the plot, Kirino was supposed to meet Da Gu months later, yet now fate had brought him to Yue Longze instead.

It seemed that, even if he tried not to interfere with the flow of this world, destiny compelled him to become involved.

"Kirino, it’s a pleasure," Yue Longze stood and shook Kirino’s hand. Seeing Yue Longze unfazed by his knowledge of the Black Ultraman identity, Kirino himself was a little surprised.

"Would you care for a drink together?" Yue Longze asked.

"Good idea."

...

Inside a small tavern, the lighting was dim and the vintage decor reflected the owner’s taste. Yue Longze and Kirino sat across from each other, sipping sake and chatting freely.

"I truly envy your abilities."

This was no empty compliment; Yue Longze genuinely admired Kirino’s powers. If he possessed Kirino’s telepathy and foresight, his own life might have been drastically different—he wouldn’t be trapped in this familiar yet strange time and space.

"People like me are always treated as monsters. There’s never a shortage of lunatics in this world. If those mad scientists discovered our abilities, just imagine what would happen." Kirino was disillusioned with humanity. Ever since his powers surfaced as a child, his companions had regarded him as a freak.

A soccer match—before it began, he already knew the result.

A car—before it started, he knew where it would blow a tire.

For Kirino, such a life held no meaning. Everything could be foreseen, leaving no room for risk or excitement, and he had to constantly guard against his abilities being discovered by those with ill intent.

Yue Longze tried to comfort him, saying the world wasn’t as bleak as he imagined, that humanity’s heart held not only darkness, but much light.

Unbeknownst to Yue Longze, he himself had already caught the attention of some TPC higher-ups who harbored ambitions to control Ultraman’s power.

"This is pointless to talk about—let’s drop it!" Kirino refilled his cup, raised it to Yue Longze, and they drained their drinks together.

They drank and talked at length. Kirino had met Yue Longze purely by chance, not by design. Once Yue Longze knew this, he felt at ease. Both men opened up, sharing their burdens. Yue Longze drank himself into a stupor, and Kirino was not far behind.

A night of drinking, a lifetime of friendship. That was how it was between Yue Longze and Kirino.

Knowing Yue Longze’s predicament, Kirino paid the bill first. The two leaned on each other as they stumbled out of the tavern, finally slumping onto a bench by the roadside.

By now, the sunset had vanished, replaced by a cold, lonely moon.

The full moon hung high, its icy light spilling across the earth.

"Ah… Ze-kun, let me tell you… the day you return… to that… Land of Light… that time and space you spoke of… is not far off!" Kirino slurred, his words muddled by drink.

This was not comfort, but a premonition sensed through his psychic abilities. To perceive this much was already Kirino’s limit. After all, he was just an ordinary human, even with superpowers, there were boundaries.

"Is… is that so? Kirino… thank you… thank you so much." Yue Longze, utterly drunk, didn’t think much of it, taking Kirino’s words as nothing more than consolation.