On the way, the uncle ran into some fishermen he knew and asked how they had been doing lately.
The fishermen shook their heads. "Not well. Too many people come here to fish, so it's hard to catch anything in these waters."
The uncle said, "No way. With so many people chumming the waters, the fish should be getting fatter."
The fishermen said, "We find it strange too, but the seawater has been getting murkier lately. Some people say the nuclear wastewater discharged before has flowed into these waters, so there are fewer and fewer fish."
The uncle cursed along with them, saying those officials really had no idea what they were thinking. Instead of spending money on dealing with the nuclear wastewater, they were proclaiming all over the world that the discharge was harmless.
At that moment, the boy's eyes lit up. He pointed at a large red fish in the boat. "Uncle, what is that?"
The fisherman said, "I don't know. It's my first time seeing such a strange fish too. Could it have mutated from nuclear contamination?"
The boy did not care about that. "But it's huge—bigger than the fish my friend caught. Uncle, sell this fish to me."
The fisherman thought for a moment. "I can give it to you, but you have to promise me that you absolutely won't eat it. It's very likely poisonous."
Naturally, the boy readily agreed.
After putting the fish into his fish basket, the boy and the uncle bid the fishermen farewell and prepared to head home.
As they passed the marine research institute the uncle had mentioned, a car caught the boy's attention.
"I know that! It's the Defense Team's Dram Car!" the boy exclaimed in delight.
Watching a man and a woman get out of the car, the uncle praised, "That young man is really handsome."
The male team member was Qi Ming, and the female team member was Emi. They had come here to investigate two matters.
"This research institute should be the one from Episode 12 of Tiga, 'Emergency Call from the Deep Sea,' right?"
"But where did that 'Sigma Wave' come from?"
For the past few days, Sigma Waves had been emanating from the seabed in this area. Mamoru Shirogane suspected they might be related to the recent frequent undersea earthquakes, so he had sent Qi Ming and Emi here with a "strange dead fish" to ask the marine research institute about it.
"The DNA composition analysis results are in. It contains recombined DNA factors caused by radiation," the institute director said.
Emi said, "So this was a creature that already existed and then suddenly changed into a mutant? Was it caused by nuclear wastewater?"
The director said, "That possibility is very small. Treated nuclear wastewater is not that dangerous."
"The most likely cause is a series of nuclear tests conducted by the United States in the Pacific before."
"And the recent mass undersea earthquakes may also have been caused by those nuclear tests."
"Because of undersea volcanic eruptions, the migratory routes of pelagic fish have also changed greatly. If they pass through contaminated waters, there will be more and more of these 'strange dead fish'..."
After explaining the dangers, the director added, "We are using the latest equipment to find a way to resolve the harm nuclear testing has caused to marine life."
He led Qi Ming and Emi into the laboratory and introduced it with a proud expression.
"This is the Ultrasonic Induction Transmission System."
"Simply put, it uses ultrasonic waves to gather schools of fish and control marine life so they avoid contaminated waters."
"This is a buoy equipped with a transmitter..."
After the director finished his lengthy explanation, Qi Ming said, "I suggest using this thing with caution."
In the original Tiga series, this ultrasonic induction system had attracted the mutated Pipi Fish—Rayloas.
And in this world, which had practically gathered every person and event from the Ultraman franchise, who knew how many sea monsters it could attract...
Seeing him question it, the director asked Qi Ming indignantly what brilliant insight he had.
Qi Ming said, "There are many enormous monsters in the ocean. If they get attracted here too, can this place withstand them?"
The director said, "Monsters that large probably wouldn't have the characteristics of ordinary marine life."
Qi Ming said, "But what if they do? For example, if ordinary marine creatures mutated, or if they were simply born that large."
The director fell silent for a long time. "We still need to continue experimenting, observe the data, and improve the system. If monsters really appear, the Defense Team and the Defense Force will eliminate them, right?"
Qi Ming said, "If Earth monsters appear on their own and start causing destruction, then they will definitely be killed, but..."
Could monsters drawn in by the ultrasonic system be considered "acting on their own"?
It seemed he needed to find some time to investigate Japan's main Dragon Vein, find Ren Dragon, and have a proper talk with it.
At that moment, Emi asked about the second matter. "Sigma Waves have constantly been released from the waters near the institute. That's very unusual. Do you have any leads?"
The director said, "We noticed that as well, but so far, everything is normal."
"Beep beep." The next moment, their communicators rang.
Mamoru Shirogane sent them a message informing them that a monster had just appeared and attacked an offshore oil exploration station.
Qi Ming looked at the image data and thought, It really is you.
The monster in the image resembled a green pufferfish, with a horrifying appearance. It was Rayloas—the monster that had suddenly mutated under the effects of underground nuclear testing in the original Tiga series.
Before you continue