Ultraman Legend of the Light Chaser

Atsuko Sasaki reported the cloud imagery from the meteorological department: "The cause of the dust storm is still unclear, but... there seems to be some kind of pattern."

On the screen, swirling yellow sand is piling up towards the riverbank.

Gao Shanwo Meng suddenly felt that he had grown many "hands" and "eyes," which came from the endless yellow sand. Driven by a thought, he awakened his "comrades-in-arms" on this land.

Just as Uranus was to storms, Gaia commanded these sandstorms with ease.

"boom--"

The lava bomb collided with Mezad's body.

With a deafening crash, the shockwave flattened the water's surface and spread in all directions, eventually colliding with the barrier of yellow sand, like plunging headfirst into a soft, resilient, and heavy sponge, disappearing without a trace.

Kiru couldn't see Mezad clearly because of the sandstorm. He turned around to call for help from the "newcomer" who had been doing something all along, but all he could see was yellow sand like clouds, and the giant's silhouette as dark as the night.

Only the blue on its chest was clear, with swirling dust resembling a nebula, and that patch of blue was a star being protected.

Queen Mezad's tentacles, wrapped in electricity, flared incessantly, briefly illuminating a small area of ​​the dust storm, like lightning attempting to ignite the dark clouds.

"Thump, thump..." The giant's heavy footsteps and the sound of the water being stirred slowly approached.

The shadow faded, and Gilu could see its eyes and the color of its body. Gilu scratched its belly with its claws; it always felt like the giant was staring at the spot where it had fired the lava projectile.

Gao Shan Gamu controlled his body and walked forward. The yellow sand should have obscured all vision, but he knew clearly where his enemy was.

Every grain of dust was his eye; the fine sand clung to Queen Mezad's skin, charred black by the electric current, and he could sense the temperature of that current.

As long as Queen Mezade stands on the ground, no matter how it tries to escape, even to the ends of the earth, the sandstorm will not lose its target.

The guardian of the earth slowly approached, his steps unhurried.

He led his vast army.

The earth's veins' "blood" were connected to him, and the gilded color flowed gently through his body, eventually converging on both sides.

The moment the giant emerged, the earth's radiance shone brightest. Fighter flew over the top of the sandstorm, and beneath his iron-gray wings, beams of light pierced through the clouds and mist, connecting heaven and earth.

Gaia walked up to Gilru and seemingly calmly patted its head. Gilru blinked, and the voice of the "newcomer" rang in its mind like a bell:

"Keep an eye on the house for me!"

Chapter 152 The Living Graveyard

The “future” universe.

The spacecraft, with its graceful streamlined shape, began docking, and fluorescent green linear indicator strips extended from both sides, merging into a crater.

Craters are common on this planet, but they are actually important airports. Aiba Yu obtained a star map from the scavengers' cargo ship and searched for each of the "dangerous mines" one by one, finally finding one that was still in use.

This is a massive, rocky planet with a gray crust and undulating mountains that suggest it may have experienced active geological activity. It has a smaller companion star, and the two planets orbit a point mass, like dancing an endless dance.

Alien spaceships came and went; what appeared to be a volcanic crater were actually a massive man-made complex, surrounded by lights, like undying lava. In the polar night of this planet, it was the only bright spot.

Aiba Yu used the same trick again, sneaking into one of the spaceships that was about to enter the port in order to avoid the outer guard.

Fully equipped and staffed ships, with aliens of all kinds moving back and forth in an orderly fashion.

"This is our starship. Even the logistics department is disciplined and efficient. A great ideal unites us—people from different star systems," the slime felt as if he were standing on a high platform, leaving the demented container below stunned. "Even with different cultures and different home planets, we are united. Earthlings who collude with evil will never understand... Hey, container, are you listening?"

“There are over a thousand crew members, and at least twenty-three different types of physical signs,” Aiba Yu’s gaze swept across the entire ship, “but you’re the only one gossiping.”

"You call this gossip?!" The slime's speech was cut short.

He calmed down and realized that the spaceship was terrifyingly "silent".

From the observation room at the bow to the power plant at the stern, everyone performed their duties, and the only conversations were brief exchanges of instructions.

In the midst of a monotonous job, some relaxation is always needed. Colleagues can be good conversation starters. They can complain about their superiors or the lagging departments next door while doing their work. When passing by the transparent porthole, they can admire the dazzling starry sky outside and relax for a while.

Even during tense breaks in operations, there are always some small movements, such as rubbing the chin or fidgeting with the fingers.

But no one on the entire ship acted in this way. Everyone's steps were measured, and their actions in handling tasks were swift and decisive, without the slightest waste.

The routine sounds were actually quite lively, because there were many operations to be performed as the ship approached port, but the more routine it was, the more terrifying it became—they were just like the buzzing gears, qualified parts of the ship.

It just doesn't seem like a human being.

Are these crew members all simulated automatons?

Aiba Yu saw them taking turns eating in the cafeteria. What they were eating was not repair fluid or energy blocks, but normal food. The chefs had carefully taken care of the nutritional needs and dietary restrictions of different species.

If the "Red Jewel" could grant the wish "I need soldiers," what kind of thing would be created?

Suddenly, Aiba Yu remembered what Renlong had said.

One minute ago, it was boasting about the aliens' efficiency; one minute later, the slime understood...

He slowly fell silent, like stagnant water drained of its life force: "What... Could it be that we, Earthlings, and we... have all been played by the 'Wishing Ball'?"

Aiba Yu's gaze pierced through the layers of thick alloy, focusing on a spacious warehouse.

That should be the eastern part that this ship intends to transport into the base.

The west was right beneath his feet.

The ship was crammed full of broken parts and ship skeletons, and—alien beings lying in the gaps.

The people in charge of packing were very good at squeezing every last bit of space. The ship's skeleton took up the largest space, the parts filled both sides, and if there was any room left, they would also stuff in the wounded but not dead, or aliens whose remains were preserved, without any consideration for medical treatment or humanitarian care, as if those who were still breathing were also parts.

The aliens were easier to pack than the ship's fragments because their limbs could be twisted into bizarre postures. Those who were stuffed in didn't utter a sound, seemingly unaware of what protest was. They simply stayed quietly in their positions, their feet wedged into the broken keel, their hands squeezed into the gaps, their heads tilted to the side, finally finding a space.

Their faint breaths brushed against the surface of the alloy, leaving a light white mist. Their eyes were fixed straight ahead, empty like a burnt-out ruined city.

[HX0701B safely entered port, landing completed, hatches opened.]

The broadcast started, but Aiba Yu naturally couldn't understand it. It was the universal language established by the Allied Forces of Aliens, which the slime translated for him in a dry and laborious manner.

Although the hatch was said to have opened, no one actually disembarked. They were all part of the ship and did not need to relax or go home to rest. What truly needed to "rest" were the "cargo" they carried—the parts, skeletons, corpses, and wounded aliens beneath Aiba Yu's feet.

The container-like recovery pod descended slowly with a roar, sliding from inside the ship toward the base warehouse, its wheel hubs rattling and sparks occasionally visible from the friction.

The base's warehouses were also completely dark, with all processes operated by machines. Radar and other scanning machines served as the "eyes," eliminating the need for lighting.

A few minutes later, all the recovery capsules were transferred, the docking tunnel was closed, and the spaceship closed its doors and departed from the port. Aiba Yu quietly emerged from the cramped recovery capsule and stood atop it again. The pitch-black interior of the warehouse did not obstruct his view; he saw—

A living cemetery.

Thousands of aliens, with broken limbs or no longer breathing, were crammed together inside the shipping container with equally incomplete parts.

The containers were arranged very neatly, just like the crew members that Aiba Yu had seen on the cargo ship, without the slightest error.

Those aliens were confined in these cold boxes, their chests heaving. Their heartbeats, breaths, and the gurgling flow of blood created a somber and oppressive symphony.

Aiba Yu couldn't help but wonder, "Are they dead or alive? Has it always been like this? If they are indeed the product of a wish... then what difference is there between them and being dead?"

He finally understood why he could hardly find the Andromeda Galaxy Expeditionary Force's aliens in the memories of the "resentment" aggregate.

The wishing orbs have achieved a physical framework; they are competent war machines, meticulous and never disobeying orders, but they have not been given a soul—perhaps this is something it cannot do.

To create one living thing, another must be consumed. The wishing ball is a crystallization of material civilization, but ultimately it is just a crystallization of material civilization.

Aiba slowly straightened up, surrounded by the sounds of thousands of breaths, heartbeats, and blood flow. The graveyard where the "corpses" were moored was certainly not as cramped as the inside of a shipping container. The aliens had built this warehouse to be extremely spacious, and the unloading of cargo ships was like worker ants crawling into a nest that their colony had built up over many years.

These aliens are still alive, but they never actually lived.

They were sealed here along with the ship's parts, buried deep within.

The crater-like base was brightly lit, with black alloy walls isolating it from the outside world. The "parts" silently awaited their "recycling."

Cargo ships, also laden with the undead, broke free from the port, crossed the Milky Way, and flew towards the front lines of the battlefield.

Chapter 153 Lucifer

"You've come, my kind."

A voice rang out from the darkness.

The vast warehouse, seemingly endless, suddenly lit up with two points of red light.

Those were two eyes, belonging to an alien.

He had a body similar to that of an Earthling, and a head like that of a reptile, with eyes like scarlet gems, from which flowed viscous blood.

He stood on a high platform, where there was a small, dark window leading to the outside world; it was an observation hole.

When he said the word "same kind," his eyes narrowed. Aiba Yu had seen a similar expression on Bōtō before—when he was obsessed with experimenting with and developing the power of light particle biological weapons.

“I’m very curious,” the alien said, “that the ‘resentment’ of a living being is something that can drive people mad and churn their consciousness into a black hole.”

He scanned the uninvited guests who had intruded into the base with a probing gaze: "Even a life that has lived for millions of years is nothing more than a relatively solid mountain. In the face of the wear and tear of billions of equally solid wills, they will eventually lose themselves."

“Great power comes with equally great side effects. Fortunately… I found you.”

Aiba Yu was on edge. When the alien’s gaze fell on him, he had the illusion that “the other party knows you completely”, as if he had no secrets in front of him.

The alien took a step forward, and Aiba Yu's mind went blank for a moment, but he immediately snapped back to reality. He looked back warily, his eyes burning with silver flames.

“Open your heart, my kindred spirit. Just as I can ‘see’ you, you can ‘see’ me,” the alien said, opening its arms as if to embrace him, like a long-lost friend.

My old friend, who seemed warm and sincere, said: "There will always be someone in this world who is 'destined' to meet you. For me, it's you, and for you... you'll soon find out that person is me."

Aiba Yu began to scrutinize him as if he were a lunatic.

The alien lowered his arms and paused, seemingly waiting for Aiba Yu's reaction. After a while, he said, "Hmm... you are very polite, much more polite than the 'kind' I met last time. It took advantage of our 'common ground' to look through my memories and then tried to use me as nourishment without saying a word. It was really awful and rude. I don't really want to call it 'kind'."

His words were rambling and unclear, and the slime yelled, "What the hell? Smash this thing that can't speak human language!" But Aiba Yu understood what he meant.

“The same kind… Dark Lucifer,” Aiba Yuu said, “Are you his alter ego?”