"Senior Yu Zhou?"
Asuka, Ryo, and Mai were curious why Dack hadn't spoken and why Yu Zhou had to reveal the alien's identity, but they still asked him about it.
"Oh, this alien is from the Krea Nebula."
Seeing how the situation had developed, Yu Zhou decided to just say it directly.
"Krea Nebula?" Asuka repeated the name slowly, then asked, "Senior, where is the Krea Nebula?"
"Where is the Krea Nebula?" Yu Zhou turned to Dack.
Yu Zhou had no knowledge of the universe—he couldn't even locate the M78 Nebula, let alone the Krea Nebula.
"I don't know either," Dack shrugged.
Yu Zhou: "…"
So, the cosmic navigation he relied on—was it really trustworthy?
Then again, it made sense; Dack himself didn't know about the M78 Nebula, so of course he wouldn't know about the Krea Nebula.
"Since neither Senior nor Dack knows, we'll have to wait until he wakes up to ask."
Seeing that Yu Zhou and Dack had no clue, Ryo decided there was nothing else to do but wait for the alien to awaken.
Yu Zhou had mentioned that the Krea Nebula alien was probably no good, so the Super Victory Team planned to keep him under strict supervision.
Since it was late and they were at a mountain base, Yu Zhou and Dack didn't return. Captain Kohei Kudo arranged accommodations, and they stayed overnight.
The next morning, Yu Zhou stepped out and saw Asuka rushing past him.
"Senior, you're awake!"
"Good morning, Asuka," Yu Zhou yawned. "Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Oh, Senior, the Krea Nebula alien woke up, and Ryo is interrogating him right now," Asuka explained. "I'm going to see what's happening."
"I'll come too," Yu Zhou thought. Since he had nothing better to do, he might as well see this Krea Nebula guy.
"Alright, let's go together!"
The two soon arrived at the Super Victory Team's main hall, watching a live feed from the interrogation room.
"First, can you tell me why you came to Earth?" On the screen, Ryo's expression was serious as she addressed the Krea Nebula alien.
The alien's face, however, showed no expression.
"Why did you come to Earth? Are you alone?" Ryo continued.
No matter how she questioned him, he remained unmoved.
"Are you from the Krea Nebula?"
When Ryo asked this, the alien's expression showed a flicker of surprise, but it quickly returned to neutral.
"Hmph."
Ryo snorted and left the interrogation room. That tiny hint of surprise was enough to indicate the alien was pretending to be indifferent.
Such a visitor was clearly an unwelcome one.
"He's been found out," Yu Zhou noted, having caught the same flicker of expression on the screen.
"We need tighter security," Captain Kudo observed as well, having seen the alien's brief reaction.
Suddenly, an alarm blared, and a scene appeared on the system screen.
A monster had appeared in Sector F7, rampaging through the city.
"Super Victory Team, deploy!"
Without hesitation, Captain Kudo ordered everyone to move out.
"Understood!"
The team clenched their fists and prepared to engage the monster.
"Senior Yu Zhou, are you coming?" Asuka asked, knowing Yu Zhou's combat skills from his time in the Victory Team.
"Me? No, I'll pass," Yu Zhou shook his head. "This is a chance for you rookies to train."
"Senior Yu Zhou, we'll do our best!"
Asuka, Kariya, and Koda, ready to depart, were touched. Their senior was giving them the opportunity to grow—how moving!
"Good luck. Go!" Yu Zhou waved, smiling, choosing not to mention that he couldn't fly a fighter jet anyway.
It would be ridiculous to expect him to pilot a plane into combat; such tasks were for veterans like Captain Kudo. He would stay at the base.
The monster in the city couldn't be attacked recklessly; civilians hadn't been fully evacuated, and attacks risked harming them.
Three fighter jets encircled the monster, deploying an electric net to restrain it.
The net enveloped the creature, seemingly about to succeed, but the monster emitted a blue light and began to fade, as if disappearing.
"Captain Kudo, where's the interrogation room?!" Yu Zhou asked, watching the screen.
"There," Kudo pointed. He respected Yu Zhou as a former Victory Team member and trusted he wouldn't do anything against TPC.
Yu Zhou immediately ran to the interrogation room, pushing the door open.
Ryo had stopped interrogating to fly the fighter jets.
Inside, the Krea Nebula alien was fiddling with some equipment.
Seeing Yu Zhou burst in, he froze for a moment, then quickly stopped, masking his face with a calm expression.
"Do you know why I'm here?" Yu Zhou crossed his arms and asked.
The alien ignored him, expression still calm.
"Let me guess—you don't know either." Yu Zhou slowly approached.
Then, suddenly, he punched the alien in the face. With a thud, the alien fell to the ground.
"What?!"
In the main hall, the video feed from the interrogation room had resumed after Yu Zhou entered. Captain Kudo's mouth dropped open in shock.
Yu Zhou had actually hit someone directly?!
Before Kudo could react further, the monster about to disappear in F7 suddenly regained its physical form.
"This monster… is related to the Krea Nebula alien?!"
Kudo quickly realized that the monster rampaging through F7 City was somehow connected to the alien.
Back in the interrogation room, Yu Zhou grabbed the fallen alien and slammed him against the wall.
"What do you want?!"
Clutching his nose in pain, the alien demanded.
"Guess," Yu Zhou smirked, then kicked him.
The alien crumpled, one hand on his stomach, the other on his face, curling up on the floor.
"Still pretending to be aloof?"
Yu Zhou kicked him again like a true villain.
"I won't let you get away!"
To Yu Zhou's surprise, the Krea Nebula alien still dared to speak aggressively.
"You're asking for a beating!" Yu Zhou muttered. It would be a shame not to smack someone this annoying.
Captain Kudo, watching the feed, pondered.
As expected of a former Victory Team member—decisive, perceptive, and quick to connect the monster's appearance with the alien.
"It seems we should have Senior Yu Zhou properly train our team when they return."
While the deployed team fought, Yu Zhou was still dealing with the Krea Nebula alien, unaware that Captain Kudo was impressed by his actions.
"That monster… is your invasion weapon?!"
With a final kick, Yu Zhou sent the alien flying.