After spending some time with the Super Victory Team, Yu Zhou naturally felt that bonds had strengthened.
For the next while, he planned to return to R'lyeh, continuing his routine of teasing Hudra and Darramb. It wasn't a bad way to spend his days.
Living alone in his newly purchased house was boring—aside from logging in every day to activate "Zu'an Mode," there was little else to do.
After briefing Dak, Yu Zhou took off from the coast, heading toward R'lyeh.
Although he could teleport, watching the ocean scenery made the journey more enjoyable.
The vast blue sea stretched endlessly, curving slightly at the horizon—proof that the Earth was roughly spherical.
Seabirds skimmed past him, and schools of fish occasionally leapt from the waves.
Even in his Tiga form, Yu Zhou could feel the ocean breeze.
As he passed a small island, a sudden roar caught his attention.
He paused mid-flight, hovering above the island. Two monsters were fighting, one swinging massive claws at the other.
One of the monsters was all too familiar.
Silvergon!
Yu Zhou recalled encountering one in the early Ultraman Eight Brothers world, and another in the Monster Graveyard in Ultra Galaxy Legend. Daigo had defeated one, and now there was this one—making four in total!
"However, this Silvergon seems artificially created."
Yu Zhou remembered that in Dyna Ultraman, a scientist named Dr. Otomo had attempted to control monsters for battle.
In the original story, Dr. Otomo was a villain, but Yu Zhou thought controlling monsters to fight wasn't inherently wrong.
After all, the GIO team in Ultraman X could materialize virtual Gomoras to fight, and Earth's Reonic Rei could control monsters via battle devices, his alien bloodline turning monsters into part of his fighting strength.
In the original story, Dr. Otomo's experiments ultimately failed; his creations went berserk and were destroyed by Dyna.
This Silvergon was just a test subject—a clone of the one Daigo had killed before.
The difference now was that Dr. Otomo had improved the clone's genetics, fixing its vision problem.
The previous Silvergon had been easily defeated because it couldn't see stationary enemies. Yu Zhou had even helped by warning Daigo, making its defeat easier.
Since he was here at Dr. Otomo's "Monster Island" with some free time, Yu Zhou decided to investigate.
Soon, he landed on the island, de-transforming and choosing not to engage the monsters.
After exploring a bit, he reached a research facility at the island's center.
Outside the facility stood a man holding binoculars, observing the battle between Silvergon and the other monster.
"Hey."
Yu Zhou tapped the man on the shoulder, startling him so much that he shivered and dropped his binoculars.
"Who are you?!"
The man stepped back, wary.
"Here."
Yu Zhou pulled out an ID from the Victory Team and handed it to him.
"Former Victory Team member, Yu Zhou?!"
The man was surprised. How did a former Victory Team member find this place?
He returned the ID, eyes wary. Cloning monsters here was forbidden by TPC.
"So, you're Dr. Otomo's assistant?"
Yu Zhou asked with a smile.
"Why are you here?" The man remained cautious, unimpressed by Yu Zhou's grin.
"Why am I here…?" Yu Zhou tapped his chin, thinking for a moment. "If I say I was just passing by, would you believe me?"
"You think I'd believe that?" The man clearly didn't. Who would stumble upon this place by chance—and know he was Dr. Otomo's assistant?
"Let him in."
A communicator on the man's body beeped, indicating he should let Yu Zhou in.
After hesitating, the man obeyed and opened the facility doors, stepping aside.
"Oh?" Yu Zhou paused. Clearly, the voice on the communicator was Dr. Otomo's. He hadn't expected the doctor to allow him inside.
Yu Zhou, bold in both skill and courage, stepped in.
The interior was spacious, filled with strange equipment.
Observing the devices, Yu Zhou realized he couldn't understand much—they weren't his field.
"Yu Zhou, if humans could coexist with monsters one day, what would you think?"
Suddenly, a middle-aged man in a white coat, wearing glasses, emerged. It was Dr. Otomo.
"Dr. Otomo?"
A smile tugged at Yu Zhou's lips. The doctor's ideas were certainly imaginative.
"If monsters could communicate with humans, we could send them to dangerous places instead of humans."
Dr. Otomo was envisioning a scenario, clearly excited.
Though he didn't know why Dr. Otomo spoke to him, Yu Zhou nodded. What he said wasn't wrong.
"Not only that—they could help repel invaders, reducing the workload of frontline fighters like you."
Seeing Yu Zhou nod, Dr. Otomo continued.
"I wanted to clone monsters, but just as I was about to succeed, the Bioengineering Council ordered my research stopped! These stubborn fools claimed even the gods would be scared of my work!"
Dr. Otomo's voice trembled with anger, growing increasingly agitated.
"Indeed." Yu Zhou nodded again.
"You agree?" Dr. Otomo asked, frustrated yet hopeful.
"You may have misunderstood," Yu Zhou said slowly. "I mean… they are indeed stubborn."
"You recognize my ideas?" Dr. Otomo's excitement surged. Someone finally understood his vision!
"Your idea is solid," Yu Zhou said. "Using monsters to fight can be a viable method."
"My research… is correct!" Dr. Otomo exclaimed, thrilled.
But Yu Zhou immediately tempered his enthusiasm.
"Dr. Otomo, your technology isn't advanced enough."
The previous monster failures had shown that while his ideas were sound, his capabilities were lacking.
"I've successfully cloned Silvergon!" Dr. Otomo protested. "It's right here on the island! I'm sure you've seen it!"
"Not only that, I've improved its genes and fixed its vision problem!"
"But it still won't obey you." Yu Zhou shrugged.
"…"
Dr. Otomo fell silent, frustrated. He had never managed to get monsters to follow commands.
"Dr. Otomo," Yu Zhou said, "I have a suggestion."
"A suggestion?" Dr. Otomo blinked. Could a Victory Team member really have an idea for him?
"You don't necessarily have to clone monsters," Yu Zhou said slowly. "Virtualization, electronic or mechanical monsters could work just as well."
Seeing that controlling living monsters was beyond Dr. Otomo's reach, Yu Zhou subtly suggested he shift his research focus toward electronic or virtual monsters.