Grandma: I Think Zhou Hong Could Be Director

The meeting ended right at quitting time. Zhou Hong had casually invited Director Sawai to visit sometime, never expecting him to accept on the spot.

Some time later, on one of Zhou Hong's days off, Director Sawai showed up early one morning, with Daigo in tow.

Or perhaps Director Sawai had deliberately chosen that particular day to pay a visit.

Daigo followed behind the director, carrying a huge pile of gifts. He curiously looked over the old-fashioned house.

The house, with its green bamboo and wooden construction, stood surrounded by towering buildings. Its quiet elegance made it seem completely out of place.

Director Sawai and Grandma were already chatting away, while Zhou Hong kept bringing out all sorts of food and snacks from inside.

"Director, whenever you have time, make sure you get some proper rest. Don't run yourself into the ground," Zhou Hong said worriedly as he poured Director Sawai a cup of green tea.

Director Sawai had arrived early that morning, and his dark circles were impossible to hide. The old man was trying to keep up appearances, but sharp-eyed Zhou Hong had noticed.

After taking a small sip of tea, Director Sawai smiled. "I've just had a little too much on my plate lately."

"The destruction caused by monsters around the world, and the disasters triggered by undersea earthquakes, haven't given these old bones of mine a moment's rest."

"But the TPC branches around the world are all running smoothly now, so things should ease up for a while."

Zhou Hong wasn't buying it. The moment the director had some free time, he came to check on his subordinates and bring them gifts. This handsome old man never seemed to get a moment's peace.

Grandma chimed in, "As you get older, your body can't keep up. You'd be better off developing some dependable young people."

"Once you retire, you can hand everything over to them."

Grandma gave Zhou Hong a meaningful look.

This is a dependable young man. You should promote him.

Zhou Hong could only stay silent, thinking Grandma was far too ambitious.

Director Sawai smiled and gave a slight nod. "Zhou Hong is excellent. I don't need to train him—he's already a dependable officer."

"Director, I'm still just a member of the Rookie Squad. I'm only a deputy captain, so I can hardly be called an officer," Zhou Hong said, unbothered.

"You'll get promoted. You will."

Daigo felt a little envious. He had joined GUTS, but judging by the way things stood, Zhou Hong seemed to be much more favored by Director Sawai.

"I really hope things can stay this peaceful forever."

As he breathed in the fragrance of the green tea and savored the soft texture of the daifuku, the scent of cherry blossoms blossomed in his mouth. The comfortable feeling made Director Sawai's eyes drift nearly shut.

Grandma smiled without answering, quietly holding her tea and savoring the tranquility.

The lush bamboo leaves swayed in the breeze, making a soft rustling sound like classical music. Their minds suddenly felt much more at ease.

Then the PDI began to vibrate, shattering the peace.

Daigo stiffened. He didn't want to disturb Director Sawai, who was enjoying the moment, but as a member of GUTS, he had a responsibility to fulfill.

"Daigo, a monster has appeared. Return to base immediately," Megumi Iruma said, looking a little helpless.

She knew Director Sawai had assigned Daigo to be his bodyguard.

But GUTS was desperately short on personnel.

She had wanted to recruit Zhou Hong as well, but Director Yoshioka stubbornly refused to let him go, allowing only a temporary transfer.

Director Sawai opened his eyes. "Sorry to have intruded today. I'll visit again when I have time."

"Daigo, let's go."

"Zhou Hong, you should go back and help, too," Grandma said as she stood up. "If you want to take over from Sawai, you need to work hard starting now."

Zhou Hong had no such ambitions, but since Grandma had said so, he could only nod and follow Daigo to the car.

Just like Zhou Hong's daredevil flying, Daigo had some special driving skills from his time in the ground transport unit.

The ride wasn't bumpy, but the car moved incredibly fast, bringing to mind the AE86 that delivered tofu.

They were back at headquarters in no time.

"Zhou Hong's here too? Then I'll leave it to you and Daigo to pilot Guts Wing 1 and support Munakata and the others." After receiving the call through the PDI, Zhou Hong and Daigo headed for the hangar.

Meanwhile, Director Sawai headed to the GUTS Command Room.

"What's the situation?" Director Sawai asked before he had even sat down.

"The monster is still attacking the Oil Survey Station. Munakata and the others are already on their way. Given how fast Zhou Hong flies, he'll probably arrive at the same time as them," Yazumi reported.

Director Sawai smiled at Yazumi's way of referring to Zhou Hong, but quickly composed himself.

"Can we confirm whether anyone at the Oil Survey Station has been injured?"

"We've lost communication."

Director Sawai fell silent. There was nothing he could do now except pray that the casualties would be minimal.

"Zhou Hong, I can see the monster and Munakata's team." Daigo's body, strengthened by constant training and the power of light, could withstand the side effects of high-speed flight.

Zhou Hong didn't give the small matter much thought. He glanced at the team comms, which were switched off, and let his imagination run wild.

"Daigo, if we crashed, and Tiga and Jostar both showed up at the same time, wouldn't that look suspicious?"

Daigo's forehead immediately broke out in a sweat. "You have a point."

Zhou Hong whistled, a more peculiar smile spreading across his lips. "Looks like we'll just have to avoid crashing."

Zhou Hong eased off the engine a little, but his finger had already pressed the attack button.

The laser streaked past from behind, shooting beneath the Guts Wing 1 piloted by Shinjoh and bursting into sparks across Raybeak's body.

"They got here so fast? Is Zhou Hong flying the fighter?" At that speed, Shinjoh immediately thought of a certain daredevil pilot.

"Hey, ace pilot, it's me." Zhou Hong's teasing voice came through the comms. "Want to see which of us can drive this monster away?"

At the sound of Zhou Hong's voice, Commander Munakata's stern expression eased slightly.

"Use Guts Wing 1 to drive the monster away. Keep it as far from the Oil Survey Station as possible. Guts Wing 2 is going to begin the rescue."

"Understood!" *3

Since they didn't know how the monster attacked, neither Guts Wing 1 lowered its altitude. Both aircraft gave Raybeak a full laser barrage.

The monster cried out in pain amid the sparks and looked up at the fighter jets in the sky.

Without a moment's hesitation, it plunged underwater.