Simultaneous Time Travel: What Villain? I'm the Protagonist!

"Establish diplomatic relations? The Land of Light and Earth?"

"Um."

Jack turned to look at Hideki Go, and Hideki Go was looking at him too. The two of them had the same thought in their minds at the same time: this was a huge deal.

"But...why now?" Jack asked. "Earth has been under the watchful eyes of aliens for quite some time now. The Land of Light has always kept its distance, so why the sudden urge to establish diplomatic relations?"

Sheng Ren didn't answer immediately. He looked up at the sky. The night sky was bathed in a dark red glow from the industrial lights, and the stars were nowhere to be seen.

"Because times have changed."

He turned his gaze away and looked at Jack:

"The Land of Light didn't establish diplomatic relations with Earth in the past because it was afraid of interfering in Earth's internal affairs, causing panic among humans, and bringing more trouble to Earth."

"But now, Earth's location can no longer be hidden."

Jack's heart sank, and Xiang, standing beside him, also clenched his fists.

"More and more extraterrestrials will see this. If the Land of Light continues to remain silent, Earth will only become a paradise for cosmic adventurers. Can you hold it off alone then?"

Jack fell silent.

He knew Sheng Ren was telling the truth. In just the last few years, the frequency of monster and alien invasions that Earth had encountered had been increasing. He couldn't always arrive in time, nor could he always escape unscathed.

"The purpose of establishing diplomatic relations is to give Earth a formal channel to understand the universe," Sheng Ren said. "It also lets the universe know that Earth is not a no-man's-land. The Kingdom of Light is here, with formal diplomatic relations, so that they understand that this is a civilized area, and that a bottom line has been drawn."

Hideki Go listened intently, then suddenly asked, "Would the human government agree to that?"

Sheng Ren smiled upon hearing this but remained silent.

He turned to look outside the factory. Dusk had completely fallen, and the lights of the residential areas in the distance were lighting up one by one, like stars scattered in the night, but they were shrouded in a layer of hazy light by the thick smoke from the industrial area.

"Whether or not they agree is not up to me." Shengren finally turned his gaze to Hideki Go. "It's up to all of humanity."

Hideki Go was stunned.

"I will not make private deals with any particular country or political faction." Sheng Ren's voice was calm. "The Land of Light seeks to establish diplomatic relations with Earth's civilization and all of humanity. Not Tokyo, not Washington, not Moscow, but every single person on this planet."

Jack's consciousness trembled slightly: "Are you going to broadcast this globally?"

"Yes," Sheng Ren nodded, "It will be broadcast simultaneously worldwide at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. All frequencies, all radio stations, all television signals—anyone who can receive it will be able to hear it. I will clearly tell everyone about the situation in the Land of Light, the purpose of establishing diplomatic relations, our commitments, and our bottom line."

He paused, then looked at Hideki Go: "Whether they accept it or not, and how they choose, is their right. Just like that child, he can go with the Metz aliens, or he can stay on Earth. No one can make the decision for him."

The wind swept through the ruins, stirring up the dust on the ground and making Hideki Go's orange team uniform flutter.

He suddenly understood what Sheng Ren was going to do.

Just like this afternoon, instead of using his fists to deal with those thugs, he used human laws and rules to give the teenager and the old man justice.

Now, instead of using Ultraman's power to force humanity to accept establishing diplomatic relations, he has completely handed over the choice to humanity.

Even if humans might refuse, might be afraid, might be like those people in the factory, raising sticks and shouting "Kill the aliens!"

He still gave them this option.

The next morning, in the MAT headquarters operations command center in Tokyo.

The atmosphere was so heavy it seemed like it could drip water. All the team members stood in front of the big screen, even the usually composed Captain Kato was clutching his hat tightly, his brows furrowed.

Ten minutes ago, all global communication satellites, all broadcast frequencies, and all television signal towers simultaneously received an unknown, fixed signal. Its source was untraceable, its strength unblockable; it was like an invisible hand gripping the very fabric of human communication.

The signal contains only one sentence, played in a loop in seventeen languages ​​including Chinese, English, Russian, and French:

"At 8:00 AM sharp, I will, on behalf of the Kingdom of Light in the M78 Nebula, issue a formal announcement to all humanity on Earth."

When the clock struck eight, the static on the screen disappeared instantly.

A clear voice echoed throughout the command center, through every street in Tokyo, and to every corner of the earth.

From the giant GG sign in Times Square, New York, to the loudspeakers in Red Square, Moscow; from transistor radios in Beijing's hutongs to black-and-white televisions in London homes; from cargo ships sailing the Pacific Ocean to communication equipment at Antarctic research stations.

At the same moment, all of humanity heard the same voice.

"Hello, humans of Earth."

My name is Sheng Ren, and I come from the Land of Light in the M78 Nebula.

I am the current captain of the Space Garrison.

You may be familiar with us. Over the years, our team members have visited this planet many times to help you repel invading monsters and aliens. You call them "Ultraman".

Today, I am here not for war, not for invasion, but for one thing: on behalf of the Kingdom of Light, to formally request the establishment of diplomatic relations with Earth's civilization.

The sound paused briefly, giving everyone time to process it.

"I know that you are filled with fear of the universe and of us."

You have seen too many aliens who come with malice, too many tragedies of cities being destroyed and loved ones being taken away. You equate "alien" with "aggression" and "danger," just as you would be afraid of a stranger who digs a hole in front of your house every day, and would raise a stick out of fear.

I understand that fear.

So today, I'm telling you everything clearly.

The Land of Light, located on Planet Ultra in the M78 Nebula, is 300 million light-years from Earth. The civilization of the Land of Light predates yours by 30 years. We were once ordinary carbon-based life forms, just like you, until our sun went out, and we developed the Plasma Spark Tower, gaining our current power.

We possess the ability to travel across the stars and the power to destroy a planet. But the purpose of establishing our Space Garrison has never been invasion, but rather to maintain peace in the universe and protect weak, growing civilizations from being destroyed by malicious invaders.

This is our principle, and also our bottom line.

In the past, we maintained a distance from Earth. We only intervened when invaders appeared, never interfering in your internal affairs or the development of your civilization. Because we believed that every civilization has the right to choose its own path, even if that path is slower and more painful.

But now, things have changed.

As your technology advances and you send more and more signals into outer space, Earth's location can no longer be hidden in the universe.

In the future, more and more extraterrestrials will come here. Some will come with good intentions to communicate, while others will come with malice to plunder. The Land of Light can help you repel invaders time and time again, but we cannot stop all malice, nor can we walk the path you are meant to walk for you.

Therefore, we proposed establishing diplomatic relations.

The content of the establishment of diplomatic relations consisted of only three points:

First, the Land of Light recognizes the independent sovereignty of Earth's civilization and will never interfere in any of your internal affairs, nor will it interfere in the direction of your civilization's development in any form.

Secondly, the Land of Light will provide Earth with controllable cosmic knowledge that will not affect the natural development of your civilization, helping you establish your own cosmic observation system, understand the rules of the universe, and possess the ability to protect yourselves.

Third, the Land of Light will establish formal communication channels with Earth, and the Space Garrison will provide formal, unconditional assistance when Earth is invaded by external forces.

In exchange, we have only one request:

Earth will become an officially friendly ally of the Kingdom of Light in the Milky Way. You need to promise not to provide any assistance to the Kingdom of Light to any malicious cosmic civilization.

All of the above content and terms are open to all of humanity. There is no concealment, no conspiracy, and no strings attached.

I know that many of you will not believe it. You will wonder why a civilization that is millions of years more advanced than you would want to establish diplomatic relations with you as equals? You will think of your own history, of all the massacres and plunder that occurred when an advanced civilization encountered a backward one.

I cannot dispel your fear. I can only tell you one fact:

Three hundred thousand years is enough time for a civilization to understand the cost of violent plunder and the meaning of peace. We have walked the path you are walking and witnessed the darkness you are witnessing, so we know even more how difficult it is for a civilization to grow.

We are not here to be your gods, nor your masters. We are here to be your friends, your first trustworthy neighbor in this dark universe.

Finally, I give you time and the right to choose.

The United Nations General Assembly will convene an emergency global special meeting in three days. I will attend the meeting and answer all your questions.

You can choose to accept establishing diplomatic relations and join us in exploring the universe.

You can also choose to refuse, and we will leave immediately, just like before, only taking action when invaders appear, and never disturbing your lives.

Whatever you choose, we will respect it.

Because this is your planet, your civilization, your future.

That's all I have to say.

The sound disappeared. The screen returned to static.

The whole world was silent for a full minute.

Then, like a nuclear bomb, it exploded all over the world.

The once bustling morning rush hour in Tokyo came to an abrupt halt.

A commuter carrying a briefcase stopped in front of a radio by the roadside, forgetting to hurry; a housewife pushing a bicycle stood in front of an electronics store window staring at a black-and-white television, forgetting to buy groceries; school children gathered around a loudspeaker, chattering, "Ultraman! It's Ultraman!"; factory workers stopped what they were doing, looked at each other, and no one spoke.

The command center at MAT headquarters remained quiet.

Captain Kato slowly put down the hat he was holding, turned to look at Hideki Go, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "Go, you knew all along, didn't you?"

Hideki Go nodded, making no attempt to hide anything: "I saw him yesterday afternoon."

"Is what he said true?" asked the South team member next to him in disbelief.

"It's true," Hideki Go said. "Every word he said is true."

Only then did the Jack within him understand what Sheng Ren meant by the new era—not conquering the universe with power, but giving a civilization the right to choose with respect.

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., at the White House.

The emergency cabinet meeting had been going on for half an hour, and the meeting room was still in an uproar.

"300 million light-years! A civilization gap of 30 years! They can easily control all our communication signals, and they can easily destroy all our nuclear missiles and all our cities! You're still discussing whether or not to make contact? This is tantamount to declaring war!" The Minister of Defense's voice almost lifted the roof off.

"But they've been helping us all along!" The NASA administrator stood up, his face flushed. "From the very first Ultraman, how many times have they helped us repel monsters? If they wanted to invade, they would have done it long ago. Why wait until now? Why give us a choice?"

"That's their conspiracy! They want to lower our guard so they can conquer the world without firing a shot! Just like Columbus did to the Native Americans!"

"Columbus had muskets, the Native Americans had bows and arrows. But what they possessed was the power to destroy planets, while what we have is less than bows and arrows in their eyes! If they wanted to conquer, they wouldn't need any schemes!"

The argument grew louder and louder.

The president slammed his hand on the table, and the conference room fell silent instantly. He looked at the Secretary of State: "Any news from Moscow?"

The Secretary of State nodded, his expression complex. "The Kremlin just sent a message that their Supreme Soviet is also holding an emergency meeting. They proposed that the US and the Soviet Union temporarily suspend all military confrontation and jointly address this matter."

The entire conference room fell silent instantly.

Everyone was stunned.

For the first time in over two decades, two superpowers that had been locked in a Cold War, locked in a tit-for-tat confrontation, and even fought tooth and nail over the moon landing, have proactively proposed a ceasefire over the same incident.

They finally realized that all the internal conflicts among humans became insignificant in the face of this event.

For the first time, they truly faced the gaze of the universe.

Moscow, the Kremlin.

The announcement from Sheng Ren was still playing on a loop over the loudspeaker on Red Square. The square was packed with people, but no one spoke or caused any trouble; they just stood there quietly listening.

In the conference room, the military generals were arguing just as loudly as they were in the White House. Some were shouting for an immediate state of high alert, to raise all the nuclear missiles; others were silently smoking, not uttering a word; still others were flipping through files from the past few decades on Ultraman and monsters, page by page.

Finally, Heonjong raised his hand to stop everyone's argument.

He looked at the file in his hand and slowly began to speak: "In 1954, the nuclear test at Bikini Atoll awakened Godzilla. Since then, we've seen far too many monsters and far too many aliens. Our missiles and our nuclear bombs have often been utterly ineffective in stopping them."

He raised his head and looked at everyone: "If what this person said is true, then this may be the only time we humans will not have to fear waking up tomorrow to find monsters crushing our city."

The meeting room was completely silent.

For the next three days, the whole world was in a state of unprecedented turmoil.

The stock market crashed, and gold prices soared. Supermarkets in Europe and America were emptied of bottled water, canned goods, and bread. Some people held signs in the streets, shouting for aliens to get out of Earth, refusing to establish diplomatic relations, and demanding the protection of their home; others held Ultraman posters and stood guard outside observatories, shouting that they were not alone.

On the streets of Japan, the thugs and onlookers who had beaten the teenager were now divided into two factions. Some cursed and said that the aliens were indeed in cahoots, and that the old man from before was one of their men; others lowered their heads, recalling that afternoon when the man named Shengren hadn't actually hit anyone, but had stopped the violence with just a contract and the police. They thought of the boy who had been beaten, and of how they had shouted to kill the aliens, and felt a lump in their throats.

The boy continued digging holes in the factory's open space every day. The Metz alien sat on a rock nearby, watching him, and no one dared to cause trouble anymore. Some people watched them from afar, their eyes filled with curiosity and fear, but no one dared to approach them again.

The boy's injuries had healed considerably, and he was digging much faster. He said he would dig out the spaceship within three days and take his uncle to the United Nations General Assembly to see that person.

Hideki Go has barely slept for the past three days.

He led the MAT team to various cities in Japan, answering people's questions, telling them the truth about Ultraman, and telling them that what Sheng Ren said was true.

He had seen hysterical crowds shouting to drive away all the aliens, mothers clinging to his legs and crying that they were afraid they would never see their children again, and children with shining eyes asking him what exactly was in the universe.

He finally understood what Sheng Ren had said.

Darkness has always been there, and so has light.

Humans are never perfect; they experience fear, they blindly follow, and they might even raise a stick out of fear. But they also experience curiosity, anticipation, and a willingness to believe that in the dark universe, there are kind neighbors.

He had been confused about why he transformed into Ultraman.

Now he understood. It wasn't about protecting a flawless human civilization, but about protecting a civilization with its good and bad, its light and darkness, that was constantly striving to move forward. It was about giving them time, giving them opportunities, so they could become better.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

For the first time in global history, all member states sent representatives to an emergency special meeting at the United Nations General Assembly Hall. The hall was filled with political leaders, scientists, and military commanders from around the world, and the meeting was broadcast live by all television and radio stations worldwide.

According to later statistics, more than 30 billion people around the world watched the live broadcast that day, gathered around radios and televisions.

That was the first time that human civilization officially stood on the stage of the universe.

One minute before the conference began, the entire venue was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Then, a soft golden light shone in the center of the stage.

The light faded, and Sheng Ren stood there. He didn't reveal his true form as Ultraman; he was simply dressed in a black suit, indistinguishable from everyone else present.

He looked at the audience of representatives from various countries filling the seats, and at the 30 billion pairs of eyes staring at him through the camera, and gave a slight bow.

"Distinguished representatives, people of Earth, hello everyone, I am Sheng Ren, from the Land of Light."