A month passed just like that. Finals were approaching, and the school was about to break for vacation.
The little girl in the red dress didn't stand Yu Zhou up. The night before his next journey, she appeared in his small, shabby apartment.
"Young master…"
"Young master…"
"Young master…"
"…"
Yu Zhou shot upright at the sound.
Moonlight streamed through the window, dimly illuminating the room. At his bedside stood the little girl in red, clutching a red ball, silently staring at him and murmuring something under her breath.
"Holy crap! A ghost!"
Even after facing so many monsters, Yu Zhou was startled.
Panicking, he almost pulled out his divine light stick to transform and strike the "ghost."
"Don't panic, young master. It's me."
Yu Zhou froze, hand on the transformation button, at her words.
He flicked on the light and stared at the little girl in disbelief.
"You usually only appear in my dreams! Why are you standing here in front of me?!" he exclaimed.
"Because… I can appear directly."
She said it calmly, expressionless.
"Alright, fine, even if you can appear directly… you don't need to show up like this—it's terrifying!"
Yu Zhou had almost jumped into transformation.
If he had, the small apartment would have been destroyed—not the biggest problem; the real issue would be the news the next day: "Ultraman from a virtual world appears in the real world!"
Luckily, he hadn't transformed.
The little girl didn't apologize. She just stared at him silently.
"Fine," Yu Zhou shook his head, putting away the light stick. "Tell me… why did you appear like this? Something big must be going on, right?"
Usually, she only communicated through dreams. Showing up in person meant something serious.
"No."
Yu Zhou: "…?"
"So other than nearly scaring me to death, what's the point of appearing?" he gritted his teeth.
"No."
"Do you know this not only traumatizes my tender heart, but also messes with my sleep?!" he continued.
"Yes."
Yu Zhou: "…Well, I guess it wasn't intentional."
"Intentional or not, you still did it!" she replied, leaving Yu Zhou no way to excuse her.
"You owe me compensation for emotional distress!" he declared.
"Compensation?" she tilted her head. "What kind of compensation?"
"Uh… this…"
Yu Zhou hadn't expected her to actually consider it.
"Can I borrow your red ball?" he asked tentatively.
After hesitating for a moment, the little girl nodded and held out the red ball with both hands.
"Whoa! You actually agreed?"
Yu Zhou was surprised—she usually refused him outright.
"Well… if you really don't want to, I don't have to use it," she said, making him feel a bit guilty.
"It's fine, go ahead." She placed the ball in his hands with a smile.
"Hehe."
Yu Zhou didn't hesitate. He held the red ball in his hands.
It felt warm and soothing, calming his mind.
"Huh… this is actually pretty comfortable," he murmured.
"I told you, holding it feels nice," she said, smiling.
Though she had said it didn't have any wish-granting power, Yu Zhou still wanted to try. Who knew—it might actually work?
"I want a plasma spark!"
He hugged the red ball and spoke.
The little girl just watched silently. Yu Zhou waited, expecting something to happen.
After a moment, nothing changed—the ball remained ordinary, and no plasma spark appeared.
"Maybe my posture is wrong… try again."
He raised the ball high. "I want a plasma spark!"
Still nothing. The ball didn't glow like in the Super Time-Space Great Battle.
"Maybe this wish just doesn't work?" he thought, deciding to try something else.
"I want infinite energy!"
No effect.
"I want immortality!"
No effect.
"I want to become a celestial being!"
No effect.
"I want to be an astronaut!"
"Cough… that was just a joke!" he said, embarrassed.
"I want a lollipop!"
"Here you go." The little girl handed him a rainbow lollipop, smiling.
"Where did this come from?" Yu Zhou asked.
"You wanted one, didn't you? Here!"
"Ah, whatever." Yu Zhou returned the red ball to her and unwrapped the lollipop.
"Wait… it's the middle of the night. Why am I eating this?" he realized.
He should have been asleep, but the little girl had woken him.
He licked the lollipop, knowing he'd have to wash up again later.
The little girl smiled as he ate, then slowly vanished.
The next morning, Yu Zhou was woken by his alarm, dark circles under his eyes.
"As expected, the black circles are here."
He washed up, sighing at his reflection.
After breakfast, he sat on his bed, waiting for the spatial vortex.
Soon, the air in front of him twisted, and the vortex appeared.
Prepared, he leapt into it.
"Run!"
"Help!"
"Everyone, get out, it's coming!"
Late at night, the streets were filled with fleeing people—some caught outside, some woken from sleep.
The ground trembled beneath their feet. People panicked, but the sheer crowd slowed their escape.
A spatial distortion appeared, and Yu Zhou landed lightly on the street.
"Move aside, let me through!"
A person shouted, nearly colliding with him. He dodged, but more people rushed toward him.
"What's happening?"
Yu Zhou ran with the crowd, trying to find safety.
"Is this an earthquake?" he wondered, feeling the shaking ground.
Suddenly, a tremendous roar came from behind. Yu Zhou looked back—an enormous skyscraper had been smashed into fragments by a giant claw.
"Encounter a monster right on arrival?!"
He prepared to transform.
The creature had an oddly familiar appearance:
Two bull-like horns, crimson eyes, a massive blood-red mouth, and on its chest, an Ultraman-like timer—but purple in color.