Ultraman Legend of the Light Chaser

"You didn't call me Uranus like this..." Kinoshita Kei muttered under his breath.

"Lord Uranus is powerful yet gentle, reliable yet tolerant—do these words even apply to you?" Hitomi Onodera waved her hand, urging him to hurry up. "Honestly... even though I was mentally prepared, now when I think of Lord Uranus, I can't help but think of garbage bags!"

Aiba Yuu was completely oblivious to the situation. He stared blankly as Kinoshita Kei ran out, and a person in a pale white shirt stood by the sliding door.

The other person shook his folding fan: "The 'outside help' that the old swindler was talking about, you must be it?"

Chapter 120 Speculations on Guidance

Ariel Base.

Starting with sleepwalking, a series of monster-related events unfolded like waves, but now things have finally calmed down.

"Georgie, Georgie," Atsuko Sasaki leaned forward and whispered to her colleague, "What's the shortcut key to retrieve microwave scan data?"

The operator with romantic curly hair turned her head. Just a few days ago, her face was full of worry when she talked about Atsuko, but now only a teasing smile remained: "Ah, this is the third operation you forgot. Could it be that you've been 'sleepwalking' at home every day and have forgotten how to go out?"

"Stop talking nonsense and tell me!" Atsuko feigned anger, making a move as if to knock.

“Yes, yes, yes…” Georgie shrank her neck and tossed her a piece of chewing gum: “Here, cool down.”

The two operators' heads were huddled together, looking like two fluffy squirrel balls sharing food.

Takayama Gamu paused for a moment, then continued reporting to Ishimuro Akio: "The EX is stationed on the outer edge because the temperature in the combat zone is too high. The spectral data of the blue giant is very difficult to extract due to the influence of the monster and Gaia. If the superiors are interested in the giant's whereabouts... we can wait until the giant appears in the future to make further observations."

“Hmm…” Akio Ishimuro nodded. Takayama Gamu’s answer was within his expectations. Although the EX was equipped with the latest cutting-edge equipment, it was not a vehicle with a specially designed outer shell like the Hercules team’s tanks. It would be strange if it could collect complete data.

Rather than exploring the power of the giants, he was more concerned with another question: "Have you watched KCB's seven-day interview?"

"Why are you suddenly asking about entertainment programs?" Takayama Gamu relaxed a bit; he was naturally familiar with KCB's Seven-Day Interview. It was a special program dedicated to monster incidents, based on video footage and photos gathered by frontline reporters, as well as interviews with residents in the surrounding area. Special guests were invited to a weekly discussion, hence the name Seven-Day Interview, and it had been receiving a lot of attention lately.

“It reflects part of public opinion,” Akio Ishimuro said. “What do you think about the Giants’ camp, which was discussed in the program?”

Let's start by reviewing the initial anomalies, which can be traced back to the appearance of a silver giant in the sky above the city. He quickly disappeared, only to reappear with the arrival of a monster. As we all know, the silver giant is quite friendly towards monsters. So, where did the wormhole monster in the sky above Tokyo come from?

Gao Shan lowered his head, recalling the program script he had seen while resting in his dormitory last night during a break from work.

[The blue giant's stance is also unclear. However, most believe he harbors intense hostility towards humanity, and reliable sources indicate that the monsters appearing globally recently are controlled by him, with the aim of exterminating humanity.]

He didn't finish watching the program and turned off the TV immediately. There were still guest interviews afterward, and what they said was obviously not very pleasant.

“Alliance…I believe giants are friends of humanity,” Takayama said before Ishimuro Akio could press further.

I suddenly quickened my pace: "What I really want to know is, where did the TV station get its 'reliable information' from!"

"The information about the Blue Giant awakening the monsters was sealed as a secret. The only first-hand information was the footage taken by the witnesses. The original data was destroyed, and only the copied data was kept on the GUARD. The Blue Giant stayed at each location for a very short time. By the time the filming started, he had already gone to the next location. Logically speaking, the information obtained by the TV station could support the claim that 'the Blue Giant is not friendly,' but it was not enough to support the conclusion that 'the Blue Giant controls the monsters.'"

Seeing that Akio Ishimuro did not respond immediately, seemingly waiting for him to continue, Gamu Takayama took a deep breath and expressed his conjecture: "There have always been two opinions about the Silver Giant's behavior. Some believe that he protects monsters for a reason, but people just don't know it yet. He will continue to protect humans, and this operation is proof of that. Others believe that he is more inclined to protect monsters, for example, he has saved at least three monsters, including Bokuragu."

"But why did public opinion ultimately turn against the Giants? Was it because the TV station needed negative news for hype? Or was it because..." Takayama Gamu's long-winded explanation attracted the attention of everyone in the command room. Georgie and Atsuko also turned around, chewing gum, waiting for his analysis.

“I suspect that someone is deliberately inciting conflict between the citizens and the giants!” Takayama Gamu said.

……

[The giant's stance? I'm not really sure about that either. I only know my son really likes red... and his name is Gaia? Yesterday he kept asking for a blue giant doll. Please, manufacturer, hurry up and put it on the shelves! Letting him paint it himself will only ruin the sofa leather sooner or later.]

What about blue and silver?

[Hmm, usually it's the one who gets defeated in a game of make-believe, so... maybe the Titans themselves are divided into two factions? We often see them fighting, don't we? Speaking of which, I have something to say—Go Gaia! It's so painful to watch him being dragged along by the other two Titans. I hope the Blue Titan is his ally and can defeat the other two bad Titans quickly! My son and I will always be his supporters!]

The residence of Renlong.

The flickering light from the television screen illuminated the white wall.

"Why did you leave the remote control there!" Kinoshita Kei whispered, nudging Onodera Hitomi with his elbow.

The latter and Kinoshita Kei leaned against the door, their eyes peering through the crack in the sliding door at the scene inside—the person who should have been asleep had somehow sat up and turned on the TV. The TV station always liked to rebroadcast popular daytime programs late at night, which happened to be the person's doing.

When Kinoshita Kei heard the TV and ran over, it was too late. The interview was already halfway through. He huddled outside the door, barely daring to breathe.

"Lord Renlong asked me to brew the medicine, and you were the one who left last. You should ask yourself that question!" Onodera Hitomi said in a low voice.

Kinoshita Kei sighed, knowing that he could get through the first day but not the fifteenth. Perhaps Aiba Yu knew something when he deliberately turned off the TV before him.

He pushed the door open and went in. Aiba Yu turned his head, his expression surprisingly calm: "I wonder how long you guys will be lying in wait outside."

“Well… TV stations, they definitely like sensational news,” Kinoshita Kei carefully confirmed that he wasn’t really angry. “I just didn’t want you to see a program like this right after you woke up.”

“I’m checking what monsters appeared on Earth while I was fighting in the alternate dimension,” Aiba Yu said. “What about Pito? It would be better if he knew what happened next.”

“He went to see Agul, and when he found out you were alright, he couldn’t wait to go find his rebellious, silly son,” Kinoshita Kei said. “I had to go back to Geo base by dawn. They issued a ban that no one was allowed to go out until the alert level dropped. I used Uranus’ power to turn into the wind and slipped out.”

Seeing that Aiba Yu didn't seem to be in a bad mood, he felt a little relieved and gave Onodera Hitomi a wink. The latter snapped on the light, took away the medicine bowl, and slipped away, leaving the two of them to talk.

Chapter 121 The Legend of the Cherry Blossom Tree

“Agul awakens only Earth monsters,” Aiba Yu said.

Kinoshita Kei maintained his obedient sitting posture, secretly reaching for the remote control with one hand. Seeing that the other party did not react, he remained calm and quickly lowered the TV volume to mute.

“The monsters I rescued, Bokuragu, Bats, and Gob, were all manipulated by ‘resentment.’ They themselves had no intention of attacking humans,” Aiba Yu thought for a moment and continued, “You should have seen what was on Agul?”

Kinoshita Keito asked with obvious concern, "I saw them going towards you, are you alright?"

"A collection of resentment. I just gathered information about the monsters broadcast on TV. Xiao Jing, the enemy only deployed Mezad and Zolim from beginning to end."

Kinoshita Kei suddenly got goosebumps all over his body.

Starting with overtime work during the rampage of "sleepwalking" syndrome, they fought against awakened monsters, from Zonair, Kadan, and Grimenos to Agul and Zolim. It seemed like there were many enemies, and Tokyo was almost reduced to ashes by a few pillars of fire. But in reality, most of their energy was spent fighting monsters native to Earth, the source of which was the "resentment" affecting Agul, and even further back...

"Bats and Gob, you sent them back?" Kinoshita Kei thought back to that day when Samuel dragged the two dying monsters into the spatial tunnel. The next time he saw Samuel...

When Muir was there, it was over Tokyo.

Aiba Yu nodded: "They are the native inhabitants of a certain planet in this universe. I used the 'Cepheus I' that you pointed out to me to determine the coordinates and find them."

"They're being manipulated too? Have we been fighting monsters that weren't originally our enemies, maybe even our own people?!" Kinoshita Kei discovered a chilling truth.

From the earliest appearance of Gob, monsters have come from space, emerged from underground or the sea, and there have even been modified monsters like the Gas Wolf. For Pito, some of them were his children, and if Samuel hadn't listened to him and saved those native Earth monsters, they might have all died in obscurity.

From the perspective of this universe, Gob and Bats are also "innocent" guys—the enemy is inducing their own people to kill each other.

“Zorim…it emerged from the accumulation of Mezad and the energy generated during the battle between Gaia and Agul,” Aiba Yu’s gaze returned to the television screen, where the host and guests’ mouths opened and closed, and an image of Zolim was displayed on the large screen in the studio: “The citizens do not know the origin of the monster, they only know that it is a monster that destroys the city and threatens lives.”

Kinoshita Kei was drenched in a cold sweat. The excitement of successfully transforming into a giant and defeating the monster had vanished without a trace. He had initially intended to recount the battle in detail to his fellow villagers and hear a few words of praise, but now he had completely lost interest. A terrifying conclusion surfaced:

"They are dividing our forces, stirring up trouble with Agul and manipulating the monsters on Earth, which could have been our help in fighting our enemies."

"They even sow discrepancies between humans and 'monsters,' with no one distinguishing between Earth's monsters and those from outer space, let alone considering whether these alien monsters were introduced from this universe or a future one. This battle in Tokyo is a direct result of their actions—if Renlong hadn't appeared, if Uranus hadn't responded to me, the consequences would have been..."

Aiba Yu calmed himself down and checked the state of the "resentment" within his body. Since he woke up, it had been behaving itself, as if it had resigned itself to its fate and remained motionless. In the past, according to its habits, it would have struggled even if there was only a 1% chance. Now it was unusually quiet.

The slime-like thing seemed to sense his prying eyes, stretched out its casually kneaded "arms" to scratch its soft, bouncy body, and shouted, "What are you looking at? Your analysis is good, I'm enjoying it."

"But you're about to be in deep trouble yourself, and you're still speculating about whether to separate or not?" the slime said. "A bad giant who's been banished to the monster camp? Maybe the next time you show up, you'll be greeted by a nuclear bomb? Going to heaven with the monster you're trying to protect!"

"I think the TV station's division is pretty good, right? Great Yokai?" His voice was faint, like the wind blowing from a crack in an underground cave: "Anyway, I can't get out, so let's cater to the tenants' spiritual needs and satisfy their curiosity, okay? The giant of light who is called a 'Great Yokai'?"

“You can’t get out,” Aiba Yu said.

"Hey, there's no need to repeat this!" The slime's body rippled: "You're working for others and being used as a stupid vessel for the enemy!"

"You can't get out."

"...I know you're sturdy and can hold a lot of guests, but you don't need to keep emphasizing it! Sooner or later you'll be begging me to come out!"

Aiba Yu ignored him, but he started yelling again: "Did you just laugh?! Huh? Was what I said funny, you black-hearted vessel! If you're so capable, then 'assimilate' me and kill me here. If you're not, then wait for me to go out and fight monsters or giants or something and come back to take my revenge!"

Aiba Yu knew that what He said was actually true. After Agul's "resentment" was absorbed, the progress of "assimilation" had begun to fall behind the speed of His accumulation. However, the outer seal was still relatively stable. Even if He really came out one day, He would definitely be weakened a lot. He believed that Gaia and Uranus could handle it.

He said all this nonsense just to confuse people's minds.

Aiba Yu was silent for a moment, then said, "You can't get out."

The rolling slime paused, then nearly sprang up in the next second: "Black! Heart! Container! Great Monster! Fake Giant! You'll regret eating my curse!!!"

……

"Lord Renlong, are we really not going to have bad luck eating the tribute?" Onodera Hitomi was amazed by the wealth Renlong possessed. The medicinal herbs accumulated over the years were piled up all over the room. They were brewing medicine to repair external injuries based on a prescription that Renlong had found somewhere.

Those medicinal herbs… in the words of the salted fish who calls himself Earth Consciousness: “They’re all tributes, too. The tea you drank when you first arrived was one, and the rice cakes, were they delicious? They were tributes too!”

“I gave permission, of course not,” Renlong said, picking out some chopped and stored herbs: “Red-headed Pulsatilla, three qian, and go find some fine-leaved Eucalyptus in that pile, dried.”

Hitomi Onodera rummaged through a pile of messy boxes while looking at the pictures in the medical book. Offerings were all about exquisite packaging; even a few steamed buns had to be tied with red string.

"Has no one cleaned up the storeroom in all these years?" Onodera Hitomi was sweating profusely. "Don't you even have a shikigami or anything..."

"Yes, in the past, young boys and girls were offered as tribute."

"Cough cough cough..." Hitomi Onodera almost choked on her own saliva: "Then, where did they go?"

Renlong paused in grinding the medicine, and said softly, "They are all pitiful people, offering tribute to the 'gods,' and they want..."

They either burned to death or drowned. Those I saved who wished to stay could remain here and die of old age. Those who didn't could be sent to live in more distant places. Those I didn't save came here as ghosts; some became Buddhas and disappeared, while others... revenge is the simplest thing, but many things are not so simple.

“Then…” Onodera Hitomi didn’t know whether she should ask or not. She unconsciously uttered a single word and then stopped talking.

Renlong didn't mind her excessive curiosity, and simply said, "That's the task of the Earth Vein Guardian. Have you heard the legend of the cherry blossom tree? The more beautiful the flower, the more bones it may contain."

Chapter 122 "Lily" and Training

"You can't get up yet!"

In the KCB staff dormitory, Reiko Yoshii pushed a man with a dark expression back into bed.

It's almost impossible for a young woman to so easily overpower a man who works out every day to build up his muscles, but she did it anyway.