My portable grandfather refreshes every week

Chapter 197 Childhood Hero

Inside the giant tree, Brinton couldn't help but hum softly.

To him, humanity was nothing more than "surplus value".

He was an old aristocrat whose family had prospered since the Hundred Years' War. They then diversified their investments, helping Washington defeat Great Britain, helping Lincoln defeat the Southern slave owners, and investing in World War I and World War II.

To this day, they remain on the winning side.

For them, the world was reduced to two options: "surplus value" and "competitors." After eliminating their competitors through the Salem incident, the world was left with only surplus value.

After all, aren't those students who study like crazy, those office workers who are living in a daze, and those ordinary people who are heavily in debt and are already doing their best just to survive, just tools living in a cage?
Wouldn't it be just right to liberate them and thus turn their value into a stepping stone for these great pioneers?
Moreover, they themselves are merely stepping stones: children who develop depression from studying for more than 12 hours a day, corporate slaves who work overtime and only get 4 hours of sleep a day, and homeless people who are heavily in debt and can only sleep by numbing themselves with alcohol and drugs...

Isn't that all the value they have?
"The world is just a damned cage. Whether it's childhood, school, work, or debt, ordinary people can never truly escape the shackles of the world."

"So, I've come to help you, to help you break free from the shackles of this world."

Inside the giant tree, Brinton smiled and spoke to the old man who loved crafts.

"Since this world is a damned cage, then I will take all of you away from this world and fly to the vast universe, where there is no studying, no working, no debt, and everyone is only focused on one goal!"

"To roam the starry sky!"

After saying that, he felt the feedback from 52 billion souls emanating from Zijra.

Numbness, exhaustion, negativity, and apathy...

This is the feeling that was collectively transmitted back by those 52 billion souls.

"To the world, there's no difference between them being alive and dead. Countless mountains and shackles weigh them down: obedience, learning, work, earning money... but no one treats them like human beings." Seemingly seeking the old man's approval, he continued, sharing his thoughts.
"The expenses of supporting their elders, the expenses of their spouse, the cost of raising their children, and the burden of living and studying have turned them into tools. They are already giving their all just to stay alive."

“Only I, only I, treat them as human beings,” he said. “I treat them all the same. After all, whether they are rich or poor, mystics or ordinary people, the weight of their souls is the same to me.”

“I treated them as human beings, and I gave them a new life.”

Love Crafts: "..."

These outrageous remarks left even the evil spirit dumbfounded, and he almost blurted out, "Aren't you going a bit too far?"

For him, the so-called equal treatment simply means that everyone can be put on the table; whether they are put on the table to eat or to be eaten is another matter entirely.

"So, they're not dead yet?" the old man who loves crafts said.

"Yes, they will not die. After I achieve immortality, they will also achieve immortality and witness all my great deeds in the starry sea," he said, announcing the fate of these people like a tyrant.

They were liberated; no one needed to struggle and fight in this world anymore. They gained eternal life and extraordinary power.

But what about their own feelings?
No one cares about their feelings. They are the most important cogs in the machine, the foundation of this makeshift world, but no one really cares about the feelings of these foundational figures.

If living is painful, then there's no need to live this way.

After realizing that the old man who loved craftsmanship did not ask any more questions, Brinton couldn't help but smile with pleasure. He had already convinced the evil spirit, and now all he needed to do was take the next step to gain its complete and loyal submission.

The sense of accomplishment from having your former idol become your subordinate is a million times greater than any other thrill!
Now, he can completely leave this planet, because this ruined planet has no use for him whatsoever; he would even despise it if it were left here.

But is this really that simple?

At that very moment, light appeared!
Endless light rose from the opposite shore, right beside the mechs they had ignored. Under the night sky, the endless light transformed into a giant shining with light.

That light, that appearance, how could it be!

Even Brinton, an elite member of the old aristocracy, knew about famous tokusatsu dramas, but why would products from tokusatsu dramas appear in this world?

……

"According to our reporter, a large number of strange tree roots have appeared worldwide at the same time. These roots have first destroyed all institutions, military bases, and major transportation routes. At the same time, it is estimated that more than 50 billion people have been infected and turned into monsters..." "These monsters are like zombies, instinctively biting the nearest uninfected people and infecting them. The number of zombies is increasing rapidly, and military bases and all important units have been destroyed... We are completely unable to organize an effective resistance..."

"This is a TV reporter. This might be my last report. Wish me luck..."

The signal infrastructure was still intact. At this moment, countless survivors hiding in their houses watched in horror the scene reported by the reporter on television.

It is even quite possible that during the reporting process, some reporters will be killed on the spot by those plant-like monsters, and new buds will sprout from their corpses, making them one of those "zombies".

Despair gripped people all over the world.

A real biohazard has broken out, a real apocalypse has begun, but now, who will save them?

"No, Boston radio reports that a monster over a thousand meters tall has appeared here, suspected to be the real body of a zombie. And there's also a mecha, an incredibly huge mecha!" The reporters' words were a beacon of hope, a single spark of light in the darkness, for people watching TV, picking up their phones in the shelter, or listening to the radio in the fire-ravaged basement.

"No, the mech failed. We don't know which country's secret weapon it was, but it failed... Did our last counterattack also fail...?" The female reporter on the Boston coast cried out at that moment.

"I'm sorry, I don't know how much longer I have to live, or how much longer you all have to live. The world might end today, but I will be hosting one last news broadcast..." The female reporter's voice trembled with fear...

But no one would blame her, because she was so close to the battlefield that they could feel the fear of the towering plants on the peninsula across the sea.

Is it already too late to win? Is humanity doomed?

Everyone covered their faces and wept; women sobbed, children cried—this moment was playing out all over the world.

The sudden disaster shattered their peaceful lives; no one could have imagined that the end of the world would come in this form.

But at that moment, a questioning voice suddenly came from the news, and the cameraman turned his lens. They zoomed out and saw a boy standing on the beach, radiating a faint light, holding a little girl who looked to be only about 12 years old in his arms.

In that shot, the boy held a sword hilt that looked like it had lost its blade, and the Y-shaped hilt emitted a pulsating light.

"That's... light? Impossible... What's going on?" the female reporter exclaimed in surprise.

At that moment, people all over the world who were still struggling to maintain basic communication and order connected their signals to this place. In front of billions of people, they saw a boy on the beach, holding a girl in one arm and a glowing object that looked like a toy in the other.

The scene seemed incredibly familiar, and most people were stunned.

The sea breeze tousled the boy's hair, and in the distance, a monster over a thousand meters tall roared to the heavens. It seemed to have broken free of its roots, standing upright on the ground despite being a plant.

In front of billions of people, the boy raised the transformation device in his hand and made a move that was familiar to countless people!
Light, unparalleled radiance!
The light shot into the sky, and then a giant hand emerged from the ground and grabbed the boy holding the transformation device.

"Boom!"

The earth trembled, and the camera suddenly shook and jumped, but at that moment, everyone was excited as they saw the giant, shining with dazzling light, fall to the earth.

The ground erupted with towering dust and debris, as if the earth itself was cheering for the giant's resurrection. Endless light shone upon Him, obscuring His patterns and form, but at this moment, everyone—whether watching on television, using their phones, or simply listening to the broadcast or retelling—was in a frenzy!
"Light...light...the Giant of Light? The Giant of Light has really appeared!"

Ultraman, who was originally only a tokusatsu hero appearing on the screen and was a part of their childhood dreams and memories, now stood on the earth and ruthlessly tore apart all despair, descending upon them.

Like sunlight piercing through the darkness.

In this most desperate, helpless, and fearful moment, their childhood hero appeared right before them!

The light, the clouds, shone with unparalleled realism, shining brightly.

At this moment, no one doubted His motives, no one doubted His purpose. As they gazed across the sea at the monster that stretched for thousands of meters, the unparalleled cheers seemed to pierce the sky.

They were children, all of them were children once again. It was as if they had returned to that summer when cicadas sang in their childhood, to the television and the DVDs they saw, to their childhood heroes!

　Um, I posted the wrong thing... It was supposed to be posted at midnight...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)