The incandescent lights inside the tent were soft, but they could not dispel the sharp scent of disinfectant lingering in the air.
Shen Yong's medical examination results showed nothing serious. Aside from a mild concussion and several burns and bruises that were already healing, his physical condition was astonishingly good.
Yet mentally, Shen Yong remained tense.
He kept recalling the moment when the nurse had asked him about Ultraman.
Although he had managed to cover it up on the spot, the thought still sent chills down his spine.
The two-day observation period soon came to an end.
Today was the day he would leave the temporary hospital.
A woman in casual clothing stepped into the partitioned space. She looked to be around forty years old, with a gentle demeanor and a professional smile.
She introduced herself as Lin Lan, a post-disaster psychological intervention consultant working for the EUC.
"Mr. Shen Yong, hello. We deeply sympathize with what you experienced during this disaster."
She sat down and placed a tablet on her lap.
"We'd like to understand what happened before and after you lost consciousness. This will help us evaluate possible psychological trauma and improve future disaster response strategies."
A sense of alertness rose within Shen Yong.
He knew this was far from an ordinary counseling session.
Maintaining the shaken expression expected of a survivor, he nodded quietly.
"Do you remember what happened when the explosion occurred?" Lin Lan asked gently, as if guiding him through a painful memory.
"It's blurry," Shen Yong replied, letting his gaze drift slightly—an act he performed deliberately.
"I only remember… picking up a little girl who had been separated from the crowd. Then there was a huge shockwave… and after that, I don't remember anything."
"Many people mentioned… that giant figure," she continued casually, though her tone carried careful intent.
"Before you lost consciousness, did you see any unusual light or energy phenomena?"
"Light…?" Shen Yong frowned, pretending to recall.
"The explosion was really bright. I didn't notice anything else. As for the giant… I only heard about it after I woke up."
Lin Lan studied his eyes closely, as if trying to detect the slightest crack in his story.
But Shen Yong maintained his dazed expression perfectly.
He looked exactly like an ordinary civilian who had been frightened out of his wits.
"What do you think about that giant?" she asked.
"Did it make you feel afraid… or reassured?"
"Both, I guess," Shen Yong said with a bitter smile.
"When something that huge is fighting in the middle of a city, who wouldn't be scared?"
"But… it did drive away the monster and save us."
"My feelings about it are… complicated."
While they spoke, hurried footsteps and quiet conversations from EUC personnel could be heard outside the tent.
Out of the corner of his eye, Shen Yong noticed several soldiers rushing past while escorting a silver briefcase.
Printed on the case were the words:
High-Sensitivity Bio-Energy Detector.
His heartbeat skipped.
From the neighboring partition, he faintly heard hushed voices.
"…radius… survivors within range… scanning… none can be missed…"
These fragments of conversation confirmed Shen Yong's suspicion.
He was standing at the very center of the storm.
After nearly an hour of questioning, Lin Lan seemed to find nothing suspicious.
Shen Yong's answers were flawless.
His physiological readings showed no abnormalities.
He appeared to be nothing more than a civilian who had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Alright, Mr. Shen Yong. Thank you for your cooperation."
Lin Lan stood and resumed her professional smile.
"You've recovered well and may leave at any time."
"This is a new personal terminal issued to you by the EUC. Your relief compensation has already been transferred to your private account."
"Once again, thank you for your cooperation. Please take care."
Shen Yong accepted the new terminal and left the emergency center.
Outside, the world was slowly awakening from its nightmare.
The journey back to his suburban apartment showed him a Yangjibang he had never seen before.
On the city's main avenues, massive EUC construction robots used giant mechanical arms to clear twisted steel beams and mountains of rubble.
Their movements were efficient and precise—yet carried an unsettling mechanical coldness.
In the narrow streets and ruins where those machines could not enter, a very different scene unfolded.
Volunteers wearing vests marked with the "Dawn" emblem were setting up temporary shelters.
Among them were office workers who had worn suits just the day before, and young college students whose faces still held traces of youth.
Using their own hands, they carried supplies, distributing hot soup, emergency rations, and drinking water to the elderly and children.
They spoke softly, comforting those who were still crying.
Shen Yong recognized the emblem.
An orange sun rising above a blue ocean.
This was the newly established relief organization backed by YAC Corporation.
Despite some skeptics who suspected corporate motives behind the charity, many victims had genuinely received help from them.
Public opinion online was largely positive.
Shen Yong boarded a temporarily operating maglev bus.
The carriage was crowded with survivors.
Every face carried exhaustion and lingering fear.
Quiet discussions filled the air.
"That giant… what do you think it really is? An alien? Or actually Ultraman?"
"Probably some secret EUC weapon. It looked exactly like Ultraman—clearly man-made."
"Come on. Even the EUC says it's an unidentified phenomenon under investigation."
"Whatever it is, it saved the city. It's our guardian!"
"I don't know… that kind of power scares me. What if it loses control? It could be worse than the monsters."
Shen Yong listened silently.
For the first time, he realized how every movement he had made in that giant body had been witnessed, judged, and interpreted by countless eyes.
When he finally returned to his familiar apartment and closed the door, Shen Yong let out a long breath.
He collapsed onto the sofa and activated his new personal terminal.
Instantly, a tidal wave of information flooded the screen.
On the EUC's official news channel, Mark Reyes stood in full military uniform, announcing the formal creation of the Monster Countermeasure Division (MCD) and the launch of the Titan weapons program.
"Humanity's fate must remain in humanity's own hands," Mark declared firmly.
Regarding the mysterious giant, the official statement described it as "an unidentified phenomenon currently under investigation."
Citizens were encouraged to submit any relevant information.
Social media, however, had already become a battlefield of opinions.
Many people had edited blurry drone footage of the battle with dramatic orchestral music, turning it into viral videos.
Titles like "The Guardian of Yangjibang" and "The Giant of Light Descends" spread rapidly.
In these videos, Shen Yong's giant form was portrayed as a savior.
This was the celebration of the "Giant Supporters."
But the "Threat Advocates" fought back just as fiercely.
Using professional 3D software, they simulated the destruction caused by Shen Yong's footsteps and the secondary damage from the battle.
Cold statistics revealed that the giant's fight had contributed at least 12% additional economic damage and several dozen civilian casualties.
"A power that cannot be controlled is itself a sword hanging over humanity's head," wrote a famous social commentator.
What made Shen Yong sweat the most, however, were the obsessive "analysis fans."
Somehow they had obtained high-resolution footage of the battle.
Frame by frame, they analyzed every move he made.
"Look at that opening stance! It's not perfect, but it's clearly imitating the original Ultraman's fighting style!"
"Neronga's weakness is its horn. The giant targeted it from the beginning—he clearly knows the monster lore!"
"A bold guess: the giant's human host must be a hardcore tokusatsu fan!"
Reading these comments, a cold sweat ran down Shen Yong's back.
He had never imagined that his hobby might become the very clue that could expose his identity.
Night fell.
Outside the window, the city lights were still dim.
Shen Yong shut off the terminal, leaving the room in silence.
He stared at his hands, his emotions tangled.
He had fulfilled his childhood dream.
But he had also taken on an unimaginable burden.
Subconsciously, he reached into his pocket.
It was empty.
The Beta Capsule had not appeared again.
During the past two days, he had tried again and again to find it.
Without that device, he was once again just an ordinary middle-aged man who could only dream in front of a screen.
If another monster appeared…
What could he do?
"Well… I got to be Ultraman once," Shen Yong muttered with a bitter smile.
"That alone makes this life worth it."
"Next time, even if I'm not Ultraman… there are still things I can do."
Earlier that day, he had seen the Dawn Mutual Aid Society recruiting professional rescue volunteers.
With his physical fitness and survival training, Shen Yong felt he could easily qualify.
After becoming Ultraman once, he had felt something new—an excitement and fulfillment he had never experienced before.
Not just from becoming the hero of his childhood dreams.
But from saving people.
That feeling of saving others brought him a profound sense of accomplishment.
"Besides," he muttered jokingly,
"In tokusatsu shows, transformation devices usually appear whenever they're needed."
"Maybe it'll just suddenly show up again."
He raised his right hand theatrically, pretending to grab the Beta Capsule from thin air.
At that exact moment—
A miracle happened.
A ripple of silver light appeared in his palm.
The glow spread outward like ripples across water.
Then—
A cold, solid object materialized.
The light faded.
The familiar, mirror-smooth Beta Capsule lay quietly in his hand.
Shen Yong stared at it in shock.
He concentrated his mind, willing it to disappear.
The capsule dissolved instantly into countless particles of light and vanished into the air.
He summoned it again in his thoughts.
The light gathered once more.
The capsule reappeared in his palm.
At last, he understood.
The device had formed a connection with him that transcended physical space.
It did not truly exist within this world.
It responded to his will, materializing from the void.
Lost in thought over this astonishing discovery, Shen Yong failed to notice something.
High above, on a tower across from his apartment building, an invisible sensor—undetectable by human technology—silently transmitted an encrypted data stream toward Earth's geostationary orbit.
Inside a dark spacecraft, a cold electronic voice broke the silence.
"Target located."
"Energy resonance confirmed."
"Individual identified: Shen Yong."