Returning the recovered remains to their loved ones would take a very long time, even with help from the Metropolitan Police Department.
The Metropolitan Police Department wouldn't be much help for those who lived in the countryside.
To prevent another accident, the TPC Ground Support Team had set up a long perimeter near Shishinohana Forest. Roadblocks had been put in place, and the news kept broadcasting reports about the incident.
It gave people caught up in their busy lives a few surprising stories to talk about.
After the brief excitement died down, life eventually returned to normal: training every day, then beating up their teammates out of boredom.
"Hong, you're responsible for most of the work piling up in the medical department. Could you please go a little easier on them?" Mayumi complained, looking helplessly at Zhou Hong, who had once again brought a teammate in for treatment.
He knew all too well what happened when you got on the medical staff's bad side. For instance, when you were sick and getting a shot, they might deliberately stick you in the wrong place. It wasn't a big deal—they just gave you a taste of a racing heartbeat.
Zhou Hong smiled. "Sure, sure. I'll go easier next time. By the way, can we get a different nurse next time?"
Mayumi rolled her eyes. After finishing up, she patted Koda on the shoulder. "No. You come to the medical center for the tiniest scrape every time. I think you're after something other than medical care."
"I've got to look out for my sisters."
Young Koda and Kariya hadn't yet developed thick skins. They coughed, blushing, and looked utterly embarrassed.
Zhou Hong wasn't embarrassed at all. With a straight face, he changed the subject. "By the way, why are you so free today?"
"Normally, you'd patch them up, scold them a little, and then leave."
Mayumi had gotten into the TPC Headquarters Medical Center through her brother's connections. To prove she was just as capable as everyone else, she always worked with all her might and barely took any time off.
After condemning Zhou Hong for his crude remark, Mayumi explained, "Daigo brought a girl back to the base today. She's in the room next door."
"To take care of her, Daigo asked the doctor to assign me the nearby rooms as well."
"The girl Daigo found seems to have lost her memory. Poor thing."
Daigo had found a girl? What a lucky encounter.
Zhou Hong paused for a moment, then remembered the story.
As far as he was concerned, it was a farce caused by a complete lack of communication.
After wandering Earth for so long, Saki had probably seen too much of humanity's darker side to trust people anymore.
One night, she'd activated the device that called her spaceship. Afraid humans would capture her and stop her from returning home, she'd stolen an emergency escape pod and fled.
It all stemmed from TPC's practically nonexistent security system, as well as Saki's suspicion and mistrust.
"I'm going to see what the beauty Daigo found looks like," Zhou Hong said, heading toward the hospital room.
Mayumi didn't pay him any mind and went back to her work. Zhou Hong's reliability within TPC had been vouched for by a certain captain whose name she wouldn't reveal.
The door to the hospital room opened. Saki, leaning against the bed, looked up and saw an even brighter light.
Her beautiful pupils contracted. The calm expression she'd worn until then shifted ever so slightly. She was surprised.
Zhou Hong slowly locked the door behind him, then sat down with a chuckle on the chair beside her bed.
The plastic chair creaked under a weight it was never meant to bear, and the conversation began.
"Judging by your expression, you've already figured out who I am." Zhou Hong beamed. But with his burly build, the smile looked more threatening than friendly.
Saki wasn't an ordinary person, though, and didn't take offense. She gave a slight nod.
"I'm not very good with words, so I'll keep it simple."
"You've been wandering Earth for so long, seen all kinds of darkness, and decided you can't trust the organization humans have formed?"
Before Saki could answer, Zhou Hong continued, "You can tell Daigo what happened. You don't need to worry."
"After all, you have no intention of harming Earth. You just want to get home as soon as possible, right?"
An inscrutable light flickered in Saki's eyes. She and Zhou Hong had never even met, yet this man of light knew everything about her.
Saki lowered her head and fell silent for a long time. She'd been adrift on this planet with nowhere to turn for hundreds of years. She was truly tired.
"Can I really trust you?" she asked timidly.
She sounded like a little girl asking whether she was allowed to drink the milk in front of her.
"Of course." Zhou Hong's answer was firm. "Please trust us. There are some scumbags, sure, but if anyone tries to stop you, I'll let them get a taste of this."
His fist, as big as a cooking pot, was persuasive enough—for Saki and for those scumbags alike.
Especially with Director Yoshioka backing Zhou Hong.
This time, Saki nodded firmly and slowly climbed out of bed.
Meanwhile, Kariya and Koda were still waiting at the medical center. When they saw their captain walk into the room and come back out moments later with a beautiful girl, they were so shocked their eyes nearly fell out of their heads.
"Koda, is something wrong with my eyes?" Kariya rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
"I don't think so." Koda wanted to say it was an illusion, but what he saw was all too real.
The two looked at each other and reached the same conclusion. "So the deputy captain's physique really can attract girls!"
Ignoring those two hopelessly misguided hotheads, Zhou Hong took Saki to the GUTS Command Room.
"Hey, Daigo, I brought your childhood sweetheart over."
Rena's brow furrowed at Zhou Hong's words. When she saw Saki, she looked at Daigo even more suspiciously.
Rena's gaze was like a prickly thorn, and Daigo hurried to explain. "Hong, what are you talking about? I never—"
Daigo couldn't finish. He remembered Saki.
That only made Rena more displeased, filling the Command Room with the sour tang of jealousy.
"Jokes aside, Saki came from beyond the stars. Let her tell you the details. And notify Director Sawai, too." With that, Zhou Hong hurried out.
Still, he believed that the GUTS team and Director Sawai would bring this less-than-happy story to a happy ending.
When he later heard through the loudspeaker that this was indeed the ending he'd hoped for,
he also heard Saki's final words of concern.
"Darkness will engulf the world. Please, take care."
"I already knew about that, Saki." Zhou Hong spoke to someone who could no longer hear him.
Before you continue