"Shintaro! Ziro… we need your help. Come with me."
Ziro didn't even think twice. "Okay."
On the way Ziro tried to speak with shintaro about what is happening and what's all this but Shintaro didn't explain a single thing—he just led Ziro through the dimly lit corridors toward the Command Center.
Ziro's mind raced. Why the sudden alarm? What's with the announcement?
In front of a large steel door, Shintaro stopped. "Ziro… let's go inside."
Ziro, knowing nothing, stepped in. The moment he entered, dozens of masked faces turned his way. Some soldiers stood tall with rifles and swords in hand. Some ignored him completely, while others stared at him like they were sizing him up.
"Sir," Shintaro said, "I brought him."
From the shadows, a deep, commanding voice answered, "Good job. We need every bit of help we can get."
The speaker stepped forward—a massive man radiating an aura of absolute dominance.
He stopped in front of Ziro and extended a hand. "Hello there. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Babar… I'm the commander of this military base."
Ziro's voice softened, almost shy. "Oh… yes, I'm Ziro. Nice to meet you."
mwhahaha "Don't be nervous," Commander Babar said. "We won't harm you. We just need your help."
"My help? But… I don't have any powers or anything useful."
"We don't need your power," the commander replied. "We need information. Please—follow me. You too, Shintaro."
"Yes, sir," Shintaro said, then glanced back at Ziro.
"Oh—yeah, coming."
The three of them entered a lift that descended deep underground. When the doors opened, Ziro's eyes widened—people in white robes were rushing around, carrying papers, equipment, and samples.
A middle-aged woman hurried over, saluting the commander. "Please, come inside and have a look."
"Yes," Babar said, "but first, meet this boy. His name is Ziro."
She glanced at Ziro briefly. "Oh—my name is Sherry. People call me Professor Sherry. Just… come inside for now."
"What's the hurry, Sherry?" Babar asked.
Sherry's voice was tense. "Commander, as we feared—it's not just bad. It's catastrophic."
"What do you mean? How could it be worse? We've already had rangers return injured—many didn't return at all. And we couldn't get any information from other survivors of this planet because they were broken absolutely broken mentally....We sealed the base, as you ordered, and even halted rescue missions."
"Yes, and I understand your desperation," Sherry said. "That's exactly why I wanted to speak to a survivor from a planet that called Earth." Let's move on to my lab we will discuss things there .She turned to Ziro. "Let's not waste time." At the lab of professor Sherry. Please, everyone have a seat .Ziro ...I know you guys are confused and a lot of things are going on your mind but I need to ask you something simple… Was your planet full of life?"
Ziro blinked. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean—on your planet, were there more animals, plants, and insects than humans? And… do you know how many existed?"
Ziro scratched his head. "Uh… I'm not good at studies, but yeah—if insects are included, then they definitely outnumbered humans. Actually, I think many other species had higher numbers than us."
Professor Sherry's face went pale. "How many humans lived on your planet? And how many other species?"
Ziro hesitated. "Humans were around eight billion. As for other species… if you count every type, maybe… trillions?"
The professor's knees gave out. She collapsed to the floor.
"Professor!" Shintaro rushed forward. "What happened? Are you okay?! Medic team!"
Sherry waved him off. "No… I'm fine. Don't call them."
Commander Babar's expression hardened. "Professor, explain."
Sherry took a deep breath. "Previously, Shintaro brought back some corpses of the monsters he fought. Around fifty samples. We thought it was unusual to find that many different monsters so early after the mutation. So, we ran a species detection operation."
Her voice trembled. "Every single one of those fifty samples was a different species. Not one was the same. If what Ziro says is true—that Earth had billions of humans and trillions of other species—do you have any idea how many new evolved monsters could exist?"
She continued, voice cracking, "In the past, some planets only had 2% landmass. Some had just a thousand people and a hundred species. Even Shintaro's home planet had only 30% ocean coverage, and its environment was perpetually foggy. But Earth? Earth is perfect for life. A heaven for living beings."
Her hands clenched. "There should be countless ability users… and survivors of the evolution. But also—billions… trillions of monsters."
The commander's face darkened. "Shintaro… escort Ziro to his quarter."
Ziro didn't fully understand, but he could guess the truth, the cold knot in his stomach told him The truth was worse than anyone dared to speak.
As they left, the commander's voice boomed through the hall: "Shintaro—lock down every survivor's quarters. Especially Ziro's. No one leaves their room, at all costs."
"Yes, sir."
When they were gone, Commander Babar turned to the officers. His voice was sharp, like a blade.
"I want every squad leader here—now. If anyone is late, I will punish them with my own hand's"
The air in the room felt like the calm before an all-out war.
---
[TO BE CONTINUED]