The Blind Student Discovered the Crucial Point

Rena rested her chin on her palm, her five fingers splayed against her smooth cheek as she gazed at Daigo's empty seat.

At the thought of the abdominal muscles Daigo had revealed the last time he changed clothes, a faint blush crept onto Rena's cheeks.

With some members off chasing romance and others training deep into the night, the Command Room felt rather empty, and Megumi Iruma couldn't help but feel that GUTS was short-handed.

She didn't know why, but the men in the team had become increasingly fond of running off to work out.

Each time, only Yazumi remained, diligently monitoring the situation, though he would occasionally slack off to play games while on duty.

Megumi Iruma let out a long sigh.

"Captain, an abnormal magnetic field phenomenon has appeared in the MK209 area." Yazumi suddenly poked his head out.

"Notify the Vice-Captain and the others immediately." After saying this, Megumi Iruma paused for a moment before adding, "Tell them to change into clothes that blend in with the crowd before heading out to investigate."

Since the order had been passed down, Rena hopped into Daigo's small car, and the two teamed up to head toward the investigation site.

A certain Ultraman who wished to remain anonymous secretly sent an invitation to hunt monsters to another brawny Ultraman.

Then, after Daigo had finished dressing up and drove to the investigation area, he spotted the most eye-catching guy in the crowd at a single glance.

While everyone else was wearing terrifying costumes to scare people, one person's attire formed a stark contrast with the surrounding children.

Everyone else relied on their costumes to highlight their horror, but he was wearing that costume to highlight his own horror.

Daigo slapped a hand against his face. "What on earth is that guy doing!"

The werewolf, surrounded by a group of little devils, also spotted Daigo and raised a muscular arm toward him.

Rena's eyes widened. "Daigo, is that guy Zhou Hong?"

Cold sweat broke out on Daigo's forehead beneath his pumpkin mask. "I... suppose so."

Parking the car in a nearby spot, Daigo walked over toward the werewolf.

Well, since I'm wearing a mask, no one will recognize me. I'm not nervous at all.

This allowed Daigo to take a closer look at Zhou Hong's getup.

He was wearing a ferocious wolf-head mask, his bare upper body was covered in patches of beast-like fur, and he sported some inexplicable yet terrifying-looking tattoos. He wore a pair of tattered jeans, and his brawny, prominent muscles made him fit the werewolf image even more.

If it weren't for the fact that he had faced Zhou Hong countless times and knew exactly who he was, Daigo would have thought this was a real werewolf ready to tear humans apart at any moment.

That sturdy, heroic physique seemed to possess the power to resolve the root of any problem.

Watching Zhou Hong shoo away batches of little children, Daigo finally approached him.

"Ah Hong, why are you dressed like this?" asked Daigo, who was wearing a pumpkin monster costume.

Zhou Hong sighed. "I had actually prepared to go out wearing an Ultraman suit I ordered from Tsuburaya Productions."

Upon hearing this, Daigo's sweat began to flow even more profusely.

"Today is Halloween, not a cosplay convention."

Wait, an Ultraman wearing an Ultraman suit to go out might actually be a good blind spot.

"But Grandma said that dressing like this might make it easier to meet girls, so here we are." The voice beneath the werewolf mask sounded somewhat hoarse.

"I think you're more likely to make girls run away from you," Rena remarked. "You look just like an alien or a dangerous criminal."

"If this were the past, you might have actually attracted a group of women, but in this day and age, monsters and aliens appear frequently, and everyone avoids them, even on Halloween," Rena said ruthlessly. "Grandma's information is outdated."

This time, it was Zhou Hong's turn to break into a cold sweat. "So that's how it is? No wonder only a bunch of brats came over."

They just saw that I was cool, didn't know what fear was, and just crowded around, didn't they?

Although the expression beneath the wolf mask couldn't be seen, it was undoubtedly one of extreme dejection.

Daigo decided to skip this topic; after all, they weren't out to play, but on a mission to find an anomaly.

"Have you discovered anything unusual here?"

The wolf head bobbed up and down. "That old witch is the biggest problem."

Beside a small cart filled with oversized rainbow lollipops, a crowd of children had gathered, each of them taking a lollipop from her.

Everything looked perfectly normal, even harmonious—if one ignored the old witch's face.

Rena, being a mere mortal, naturally couldn't see the problem and asked curiously, "What's wrong with it?"

"A 500-gram lollipop costs about 500 yen. In the short time I've been standing here, this witch has given away nearly forty of them, all for free."

"And there are a few greedy brats who have come back more than once, but she doesn't care. Did the money in her house fall from the sky?"

Zhou Hong explained the witch's suspicious nature from a strange perspective.

High consumption and a tight schedule—if she weren't from an incredibly wealthy family, an average person really couldn't afford this, let alone in the short time Zhou Hong had been standing there.

"Now that you mention it, it really is suspicious," Rena nodded, indicating she had discovered the crux of the matter.

From this angle, it was indeed highly suspicious.

Daigo, with his sharp eyes, noticed that the witch's reflection was missing from a nearby decorative mirror.

Before Daigo could take action, the werewolf beside him let out a roar and rushed headlong toward the witch.

"Zhou Hong, don't act recklessly!" Daigo had just shouted when he witnessed a bizarre scene.

The children, who had already grown familiar with the scene, retreated at lightning speed with laughter. Seeing the werewolf charge over, the witch tried to push her cart away, but the moment she took a step, a wide-spread hand grabbed her by the crown of her head and slammed her to the ground.

With his right hand clenched into a fist, he hammered down fiercely onto the witch's head; the heavy, pressurized blow produced two dull, satisfying thuds, and the witch's legs kicked out straight.

Surrounded by a circle of bewildered children licking their candies, Zhou Hong kicked the candy cart far away.

Daigo, wearing a pumpkin head, hurriedly explained to the children, "This is a special Halloween game, kids, don't be afraid."

Daigo's stiff explanation made Rena react in an instant.

Rena, who had already taken over the witch's cart, added in a sweet tone, "Children who were scared can come to big sister here to receive a second portion of candy."

Compared to watching the excitement, eating candy clearly occupied a bigger place in the children's hearts.

Seeing Rena successfully distract the little ones, Daigo breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to Zhou Hong's side.

"Just in case, Daigo, call Obiko and have him come over too; nighttime is exactly when he's at his most spirited."

Obiko, the worker who is always full of energy at night, is worth having.

I recommend the book Starting Funeral: Ultra Brothers Come to See Off; I haven't read it, it's a mutual promotion for a friend, and there will be another update around 9 o'clock.