"In terms of life sciences, the only thing we've developed is a drug that can preserve youth," Dack explained to Yu Zhou. "But it only maintains one's appearance. It doesn't actually extend lifespan."
"Preserve youth?" Yu Zhou raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound too bad either."
If his own appearance had shifted drastically over the years, such a medicine would have been a godsend. But strangely, despite all he had been through, Yu Zhou's looks hadn't changed much.
"After its release, it became nothing more than a beauty product," Dack said with a helpless shrug. "And the people of Dais adore it."
Something meant to preserve life had ended up as a glorified cosmetic. To Dack, it was absurd.
"I don't see the problem," Yu Zhou said with a grin. "If that were sold on Earth, it would be gone in a heartbeat. People would fight for it."
"Our population is far smaller than Earth's, yet even here, it's already in short supply." Dack shook his head.
"And besides," he added thoughtfully, "Earthlings' physiology is different from ours. Even if we tried to trade, it's not guaranteed that the drug would work on them."
"Fair point." Yu Zhou nodded. Dack was right. What Dais could use safely, humans might not. That little fantasy of bringing a batch home vanished immediately.
The thought of accidentally poisoning half the planet with a "miracle beauty pill" was enough to make him drop the idea.
After looping around the capital city of Planet Terra, Yu Zhou felt like he had just toured a supersized, futuristic version of R'lyeh, built atop the bones of an ancient civilization.
For a city to maintain architectural styles that had originated thirty million years ago was nothing short of astonishing.
At last, they wandered into the trading district. The section was cleanly divided, and Yu Zhou's eyes quickly caught the antique market.
Unlike the curio stalls back on Earth, this one brimmed with the weight of genuine history. Yu Zhou tugged Dack toward it, eyes sparkling.
"Their antiques… are literally from Earth's Ultra-Ancient Age."
Maybe, just maybe, he could uncover something useful.
Perhaps even a hammer from the Age of Light itself.
"Come take a look! Ancient hammers, axes, blades for sale!"
A loud hawker's call rang out, grabbing Yu Zhou's attention.
"…What, I was just thinking about ultra-ancient hammers, and suddenly someone's selling them?" Yu Zhou muttered, half in disbelief.
Curiosity piqued, he approached the stall. Granted, the ancestors of these people had been Earth's ultra-ancient humans, but would they really have lugged farming tools into space?
"Gentlemen, come take a look! All authentic ancient artifacts!" The stall keeper beamed at the newcomers.
"Authentic, huh?" Yu Zhou eyed the counter sceptically. Rusty tools, caked in soil, their heads poking out of hardened dirt. They looked old enough, but…
"Of course!" the man insisted. "I dug them out myself."
"…You dug them up? Where exactly?" Yu Zhou asked.
"From ruins, of course," the man said, confused at the question.
"What ruins?" Yu Zhou pressed.
The seller frowned. "Now, sir, if I told you that, you'd just go digging yourself, wouldn't you?"
Yu Zhou sighed. "I'm not asking for the coordinates. I'm asking—did you dig these up here, on this planet?"
"Oh, that's what you meant!" The man slapped his forehead. "No, no. These? These were unearthed on Earth. Our ancestors' home."
Yu Zhou's eyes lit up instantly. From Earth…? Then they really might be relics of the Ultra-Ancient Civilization.
"Alright. This one, this one, and this one. Wrap them all up," Yu Zhou said decisively.
The merchant's jaw dropped. "A-are you serious?!"
Yu Zhou casually waved the bank card Airi had given him. "Package them up. Charge the card."
Dack stared at him, baffled. Yu Zhou was buying a pile of ancient scrap like it was treasure.
The merchant gleefully wrapped the items, scanned the card, and handed them over. Yu Zhou stored them neatly in his dimensional bracelet.
As they walked away, Dack finally asked, "Why in the world did you just buy a pile of junk?"
"There are treasures even in trash." Yu Zhou smirked.
He'd learned that lesson once before—in the world of Ultraman X, where a boy named Yuto had once shown him his collection of antiques. Hidden among them was the legendary Ultra-Ancient Hammer, which turned out to be a transformation device, the Sparklence itself.
So, who was to say another gem wasn't hiding in this so-called "junk"?
Back in the hotel, Yu Zhou laid his purchases out on the floor.
Dack leaned back in a chair, watching with an amused look. "Alright then. Show me how you find treasure in garbage."
"Watch carefully," Yu Zhou said, grabbing a dirt-encrusted item. He smashed it against the ground, knocking loose chunks of hardened earth.
A glimmer of metal emerged.
"…Well, I'll be damned. That really is an ultra-ancient hammer."
Yu Zhou turned it in his hand, marvelling. It was made of some unknown alloy, sturdy despite the ages.
"Next one."
He cracked open another, revealing a strange pot.
"A jar?" Dack said, peering closer.
"Looks like it," Yu Zhou agreed, sniffing at the opening. Then his face instantly turned green.
Dack sat up in alarm. "What is it? Poison gas? Are you dying?!"
Yu Zhou set it down with trembling hands. "…It's an ultra-ancient chamber pot."
Three million years of… fermented waste still clung inside. The stench hit him like a physical blow.
For a moment, Yu Zhou almost punted it clear out the window.