"Uncle! You're here too!"
At that moment, a cute little girl suddenly ran out from the orphanage, calling out to Yu Zhou.
It was Yuka, the girl Dack cared for every day.
Yu Zhou: "…"
"Yuka, I've told you already—just call me Big Brother."
Yu Zhou sighed, helpless.
Since losing her parents, Yuka had been very withdrawn at the orphanage. Thanks to Dack's daily care, she had recovered a lot psychologically.
"But Uncle Dack is your friend, right?" Yuka tilted her head and asked.
"Yes, Dack is my friend," Yu Zhou nodded. He had come to the orphanage before when bored, and Yuka had already gotten familiar with him.
"So, if I call Dack, Uncle, then that makes you my uncle too!"
Yuka said cheerfully.
Yu Zhou was momentarily speechless—she actually made sense!
"Alright, call me whatever you like," he replied with a shake of his head, then turned to Dack.
"Dack, so when are we heading to TPC?"
The alien recovered by TPC might very well be Dack's countryman.
"Right now," Dack replied after thinking. Since Yu Zhou had returned, it was best to settle this immediately.
"Got it."
Yu Zhou nodded, sent Yuka back to the orphanage, and then set off with Dack toward TPC's mountain base.
With the Victory Team credentials, Yu Zhou boarded a TPC vehicle at the designated transport area, heading deeper into the base.
Soon, they arrived and were greeted by two members of the Super Victory Team: Mai and Ryo.
As female operatives of the Super Victory Team, both were highly skilled.
Mai's role was similar to that of the former Victory Team member Nozawa, while Ryo had once been a top ace pilot. The current ace was Asuka, and the previous ace, Ryo, was succeeded by Shinjo.
"A dead-card pilot," Yu Zhou muttered jokingly about Shinjo's skills, then engaged the two talented Super Victory Team women.
"Senior Yu Zhou, hello!"
Ryo and Mai greeted him with polite smiles. After all, Yu Zhou was a former Victory Team member, a senior to them.
"Hello," Yu Zhou nodded back, then introduced Dack. "This is Dack, from Dais Star."
"Hello, Mr. Dack," Mai and Ryo greeted politely.
"Hello," Dack nodded. Meeting the Super Victory Team for the first time, he felt quite a good impression of them.
"Follow us," Mai and Ryo said, leading the way.
Yu Zhou and Dack followed closely. Though Yu Zhou was part of the Victory Team, he wasn't familiar with this mountain base.
Soon, they arrived in front of a laboratory.
"Senior Yu Zhou!"
Asuka, outside the lab window, saw Yu Zhou and became extremely excited.
"Asuka," Yu Zhou greeted, "last time…"
"The pig brain dish you made last time was amazing, Senior!"
Yu Zhou hadn't finished speaking, but Asuka immediately recalled the meal Yu Zhou had treated her to.
"Pig brain?"
Mai and Ryo were confused, glancing at Yu Zhou, then at Asuka.
"Senior invited me over to eat," Asuka explained, "and among all the delicious dishes, the pig brain soup was the best!"
"Really?" Ryo glanced at Asuka, thinking the term "pig" suited him well.
"Time to remove the mask!"
Mai noticed the researchers in the lab preparing to remove the mask of the alien lying on the bed. She shouted excitedly.
Yu Zhou and Dack looked through the window, trying to determine if this alien was from Dais Star.
The armoured alien had a human-like body with no strange features, which was why TPC needed Dack to confirm its origins.
With a click, the mask was removed, revealing a face like any Earth human.
"Dack?" Yu Zhou said, prompting Dack to confirm.
"No," Dack quickly noticed. The alien's face lacked the characteristic blue-black eyes of a Dais Star native.
Yu Zhou also recognized it, having spent time on Dais Star and knowing their features.
"He's so handsome!"
Mai covered her mouth, astonished at the alien's appearance. She had expected something monstrous, but instead, he had a normal face.
The stark contrast created a strange impression on her sense of beauty.
"Handsome?" Asuka glanced at the alien, then at Mai. "I think Senior Yu Zhou is much more handsome."
"Tomorrow, come over to my place for a meal," Yu Zhou said, pleased. The nourishing meal he had given Asuka really seemed to have helped her thinking normalize.
"That's wonderful, Senior!" Asuka cheered, excited at the invitation.
Yu Zhou smiled, ignoring the question of his own handsomeness. The alien in the lab was indeed ordinary-looking, and he didn't understand why Mai found him handsome.
Suddenly, Yu Zhou remembered—he seemed to know this alien's identity.
In the original Ultraman Dyna story, the alien that Mai couldn't forget was only one: Shion, from the Krea Nebula.
Shion had deceived Mai's affections, taking her first love away. He pretended to be kind, secretly stealing all TPC data from her. Though ultimately defeated, Mai still believed he was a "good person," thanks to Ryo's mention of his "benevolent lies."
"You're very handsome too, Senior Yu Zhou!"
Mai's comment snapped Yu Zhou out of his thoughts. His long-hidden charm was finally recognized by Asuka.
"Mai, a word of warning," Yu Zhou coughed lightly. "Don't trust the alien inside, okay?"
"Huh?" Mai was confused.
"Understood?" Yu Zhou continued, seeing her puzzled.
"U-Understood," she nodded, despite not fully knowing why Yu Zhou warned her. After all, Senior Yu Zhou looked far better than that alien—appearance is justice!
"Good. Also, though I'm no longer an active member of the Super Victory Team, I still need to warn you—the alien inside isn't friendly."
Yu Zhou thought it best to tell Asuka and the others. They were his juniors, so a few warnings might prevent potential trouble.
"How did you know, Senior?" Asuka asked, surprised—could Yu Zhou really know the alien's identity?
"Uh… Dack told me," Yu Zhou said, pointing at Dack.
"Did I just say something?"
Even Dack was dumbfounded. He had only said the alien wasn't from Dais Star—nothing more.
"No, you did," Yu Zhou signalled to Dack.
"I… cough, I did!" Dack stammered, quickly correcting himself.
"So, Mr. Dack, where exactly is this alien from?" Asuka pressed. If Dack knew, there was no need to wait for the alien to wake.
"Where from? How should I know?" Dack said, then quickly corrected himself. "No, I mean… I already told Senior Yu Zhou—you should ask him."