Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Dinosaur Research Center

After finishing his cigarette, Yue Longze returned to the lively group, ready to continue grilling skewers. As he walked over with his hands in his coat pockets, relaxed and unhurried, Akiko suddenly approached him with her head lowered. Had the light been brighter, Yue Longze would have seen Haneda Akiko’s face flushed with shyness.

“Akiko?”

Upon hearing Yue Longze’s voice, Akiko said nothing, keeping her head down as she drew nearer. She came so close that the two were nearly touching. Suddenly, Akiko wrapped her arms around Yue Longze, prompting the others to erupt in cheers.

“…What’s going on?”

Feeling the softness pressed against his chest, Yue Longze was bewildered. Could Akiko be about to confess her feelings to him? After holding him for about three seconds, Akiko let go, her face burning red, and ran away without uttering a single word, leaving Yue Longze standing confused in the cold wind.

“Haha, Coach Azawa, don’t overthink it! Akiko lost a round of Truth or Dare, that’s all…” Yoshida, the chubby one, explained gleefully, his fat shaking and a mischievous grin on his face. The others followed suit, grinning slyly.

“Right, Coach Azawa, don’t read too much into it!”

“Exactly, don’t overthink it!”

“It’s just a game, don’t get the wrong idea~”

…

Yue Longze: $#@%…

And so, Yue Longze happily joined their game of Truth or Dare. During the game, he was challenged to kiss Yoshida. Both Yue Longze and Yoshida, in perfect sync, declared that Koichi Masano, who had made the suggestion, was undoubtedly a crazed lunatic—possibly even gay!

The two stubbornly refused to kiss, but after much coaxing and relentless pressure from the group, Yue Longze finally braved his disgust and pecked Yoshida’s chubby cheek, dragonfly-light.

“I’m going to brush my teeth a hundred times when I get home!” Yue Longze cried out to the night sky.

Yoshida swore he would wash his face a hundred times. In fact, he immediately began scrubbing the spot Yue Longze had kissed with snow from the ground, causing another round of laughter.

At fourteen, the future hero Shin Asuka was stunned—he never knew things could get so wild… That night, Asuka learned a great deal…

Hard times always seem to drag on, while joyful moments slip away too quickly. Before they knew it, midnight had arrived, and everyone was feeling a bit weary. At the suggestion of their eldest brother, Shuichi Nanino, they packed up all their barbecue tools and took care to bag the trash. After all, environmental responsibility is important.

Everyone piled into the van. Shuichi Nanino drove, Yue Longze sat in the passenger seat, resting one hand outside the window and letting the cold wind clear his head, feeling wide awake and not the least bit sleepy. In the back, Akiko and Sonoko Aoki were already lightly dozing, leaning on each other. Asuka was squeezed between Yoshida and Masano, both snoring and drooling—some of which ended up on Asuka’s face. Fortunately, Asuka was half-asleep himself, or else he would have surely lost his temper…

After dropping everyone off at their respective homes, only Yue Longze and Asuka remained in the van, alongside their driver, Shuichi Nanino.

“Hey, kid, wake up! Where do you live? Time to take you home!” Yue Longze gently patted Asuka’s chubby cheek, rousing him from his drowsiness. Asuka felt something sticky and transparent on his face, instinctively touched it—

“Aaah—!”

Asuka erupted inside the van…

Yue Longze easily restrained the frantic Asuka, found out his address, and Nanino drove him home. Finally, Yue Longze exited the van as well, reminding Nanino to drive safely at night, then set off towards his own home.

It was a delightful night.

In the days that followed, Yue Longze continued his routine at work. Yet his mind often wandered, torn about whether to storm the TPC base and confront the most suspicious person, Dr. Tango.

Breaking into the TPC Pacific Base would be simple for Yue Longze; with Diga’s teleportation ability, he could instantly appear inside. But the moment he entered, even with teleportation, he would inevitably be discovered. The TPC surveillance system was no joke.

Yue Longze weighed the consequences: Would this tarnish Ultraman’s reputation? Would people’s impression of Ultraman be damaged? Public opinion is a formidable weapon!

After all, he could leave, but what about Daigu? Daigu still had to go on with his life—he couldn’t bring trouble to him!

Yue Longze was torn, and so the days slipped by in indecision…

The Dinosaur Biological Research Center was located in Tokyo, Japan’s capital. On this day, after days of heavy snow, the weather finally cleared, and the research center opened its doors to the public, attracting many visitors.

Among those visitors were Yue Longze and Miho.

Yue Longze hadn’t known about the so-called Dinosaur Biological Research Center until Miho informed him and invited him to go along, since it was their day off and they both had free time.

Inside the center, there were displays of various dinosaur skeletons and educational exhibits about dinosaurs. The place was bustling, with families and children crowding every corner. Miho held onto Yue Longze’s arm, looking very much like a couple in love.

Yue Longze would have preferred otherwise, since he already had a girlfriend. But Miho insisted it was a normal gesture between siblings, and he couldn’t refuse her, letting her cling to his arm as they strolled together.

…

“Hey, Azawa, look at this!” Miho tugged on his arm excitedly, urging him to come see.

Yue Longze turned his head and saw a massive brown dinosaur skeleton towering over him.

“Look, it’s labeled as a Tyrannosaurus skeleton!” Miho beamed, clearly fond of dinosaurs.

“Such a fuss over nothing…” Yue Longze muttered under his breath.

“Ahem… They’re all extinct anyway, nothing much to see. I’d rather go home and sleep,” he remarked to Miho.

“Even if they’re extinct, we can still learn about them! They were once the rulers of the earth, you know…”

Miho folded her hands behind her back, leaning forward slightly, her bright black eyes blinking at Yue Longze—her tidy little topknot making her look especially endearing.

Yue Longze smiled, conceding that she had a point.

The two continued to wander leisurely around the research center. Eventually, they reached a tunnel entrance, cordoned off with tape, a sign nearby reading “No Entry.”

“Wow, is there some kind of secret base inside the research center?” Miho exclaimed.

Gazing at the empty, slightly damp tunnel entrance, Yue Longze was curious too, though he didn’t dwell on it. Perhaps important research was going on inside, which explained why entry was forbidden.