Uneasy daily life

The indistinct shadow emitted a distant and profound sound, like the long cry of a whale. Sometimes it summoned clouds and rain, sometimes it breathed fire and boiled the sea, sometimes it called for wind and thunder, and sometimes it shifted the stars. Its form was indistinct, appearing only exceptionally huge and eerie in the fleeting glimpses of the scene.

In ancient times, there were people who relied on the natural world to make fire by drilling wood, and to irrigate rice paddies by diverting streams. They worked at sunrise and rested at sunset.

In the rustic pastoral scenery, tiny yet enormous people constantly appear. Sometimes they toil in the fields, sometimes they haul goods for trade, sometimes they build houses and cities, and sometimes they sit high above, overlooking their territories. Their specific appearances are unclear, but their numbers are vast, converging into a torrent.

Humans and beasts met, sparking a protracted war. Ultimately, led by twelve heroes, the beast was defeated, but it left behind a prophecy…

"When death comes to an end, I will be reborn and destroy this world!"

The white-haired girl spread her arms wide and shouted, "And you are the savior who will gather the twelve heroes and defeat the resurrected beast once again!"

"Then who am I?"

The brown-haired girl with pigtails stared blankly at the other person.

"That's a good question." The white-haired girl simply smiled mysteriously. "You'll know once you've saved the world."

"then who are you?"

"You can call me Nine, the leader of the Twelve Heroes. To put it simply, I'm the hero among heroes!"

"Oh...why is it nine?"

"The older ones aren't the most powerful, isn't that normal?"

Thus, the nameless girl and the eccentric Nine embark on a journey to find the twelve heroes and save the world.

They arrived at the city's martial arts school and found Da, one of the twelve heroes, a seemingly calm and reliable middle-aged man.

"It's almost time according to the prophecy. This matter concerns the nation and we cannot shirk our duty. I will go with you."

Upon hearing the purpose of their visit, Da immediately closed his martial arts school, packed his bags, and joined the team.

The scene lasts about ten seconds.

The nameless girl felt that saving the world wasn't so difficult after all. Guided by Nine, they crossed several mountains and found Two, a handsome and refined scholar, living in seclusion in a mountain cabin.

"No, the door is over there, please."

Leaning back in his recliner, flipping through the book in his hand, he replied calmly and directly.

The nameless girl, unsure what to do, turned to look at Nine, who said with a serious expression, "Second brother! If the giant monster were to revive, it would destroy humanity!"

"Isn't that fine too?" Er replied indifferently. "I have no interest in saving humanity. In the end, we'll all just be destroyed together."

The nameless girl asked cautiously, "Don't you like humans?"

"do not like."

"why?"

"Because humans have one advantage and one disadvantage."

The nameless girl looked at the other person with confusion, her clear eyes filled with bewilderment.

He looked up at her and said calmly, "The advantage of bad people is that they are not bad enough, and the disadvantage of good people is that they are not good enough."

"Second brother, aren't you the best at learning and thinking among us? Why be so discouraged?" Da earnestly advised, "Correct your mistakes and learn from them. If you make steady progress every day, you will achieve something..."

"Have you put all that muscle training into your brain?" the second brother scoffed. "Brother, this isn't martial arts. What humans are best at is destroying what they've built, from something to nothing, and from nothing to something. Their progress is limited to technology and knowledge; in the end, it's just a garbage game, going from fighting with swords, guns, and clubs to fighting with cannons and bullets..."

Jiu Yi slammed his fist on the table: "Since that's the case, let's let our strength speak for itself! Even if we break his legs, we'll drag Second Brother to save the world! Boss, get him!"

The eldest clenched his fist, while the second sneered and put down his book.

His first move was extraordinary, eliciting gasps of amazement from the spectators. His punches were like cannon fire, his kicks like thunder. With a flick of his palms, a flurry of movements unfolded, his movements ethereal and graceful. Combining strength and gentleness, he displayed the demeanor of a grandmaster, launching a series of attacks with fluid and continuous movements.

"Well played! You haven't slacked off all these years!"

With a large raised hand, he threw a punch that passed through the gap between the moves and struck right in the face.

After a spectacular fight scene, the bruised and battered Er was forced to join the savior team.

The savior team continued their journey, and the nameless girl began to meet more legendary heroes.

"No way! I'm not going! Why fight a giant monster? We can't win anyway, so why not just pretend we're all going to die this year? Wouldn't it be better to use this time to do what we want to do?"

In one of the paintings, a blonde girl bravely utters a cowardly voice: "If you want to go, go by yourselves. I'm not going!"

Jiu picked up the scroll and put it away, muttering, "If the situation gets critical during a fight, I'll throw this painting over to block the blows."

"Nine—!" A scream came from the scroll.

"Hey, Eleven, didn't you say everyone's going to die?" Nine said logically. "Since we're all going to die anyway, why don't I just throw you out to take a knife for me and die? It'll be the same, won't it?"

"Um... I... I meant waiting to die, not going to die!"

"It's all the same, death is inevitable," Jiu replied cheerfully, then suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be that you don't want to die, so you're terrified of dying, and because you're so afraid of dying, you'd rather just die?"

A burst of refined, gentle, and exceptionally eloquent insults erupted from the painting, but this did not change the fact that she was added to the team.

The nameless girl felt that these heroes didn't seem like heroes at all.

A burly man lifting weights, a cynical bookworm, a timid, self-assured female painter...

The next one is even more heavyweight.

"Saving the world? Sure, sure! I've got nothing better to do anyway, maybe I can even write a good poem, hiccup~"

He fell into a well while drunk and slept there for a whole day. Then, he pretended to be Sadako and scared innocent villagers so much that they called the police. It took a lot of effort to get him out of the police station. Now, he's inexplicably drunk again.

The nameless girl revealed dead fish eyes.

"Hahahaha—that's how the third one is. He's either drinking and reciting poetry, or he's sleeping after drinking. He's already so old and still can't get married." Jiu hugged the drunken third one and said with a laugh, "Don't be so serious. Saving the world is such a great thing, of course you should do it happily."

A voice came from the painting: "Happy my ass!"

The nameless girl asked instinctively, "Then why do we need to save the world?"

Jiu laughed and said, "After all, if you don't save the world, you'll die. It's normal for a person not to want to die."

The nameless girl gave several counterexamples: "But they're different, right? Neither Two nor Eleven wanted to save the world. One wanted to save the world, saying it was his inescapable responsibility; Three wanted to save the world, saying it was because he had nothing better to do. Neither of them wanted to die."

"Yeah, they are definitely different." Nine didn't deny it. "Two is a chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) who is disappointed with everything, and Eleven is a coward who is too afraid of dying... They both don't want to save the world, but they are still different. Why do you think they are different?"

The nameless girl shook her head blankly.

"On the way to find the other people, I'll tell you a story. This story is called Who Am I?"

"who am I?"

The war between humans and beasts is not a war limited to slaughter.

Dialogue, exchange, cooperation, teaching...

Some people see beasts as mortal enemies, believing that to survive, they must eliminate them. Others see beasts as gods, beings that seem to be the embodiment of nature itself; how can humans, living within nature, not offer them reverence? Still others see beasts as natural disasters, which are invincible and unapproachable; staying away from them is the only correct path.

Beasts are beasts, but in their wars with humans, they become more and more like humans.

It used its strength more effectively in battle, learned to consciously observe and learn about all sorts of things, realized that it could not only live simply, but also live with purpose and dreams, learned to smelt tools with fire, learned aesthetics and art, and learned about many, many things that humankind has discovered...

The more it resembles a human being, the more it becomes an obstacle to human beings—just as the more material possessions a person has, the more progress and prosperity they represent, the more status and power an individual among humans possesses by occupying more material possessions.

Undoubtedly, what was originally like nature itself has become human, and thus seeks to transform and possess nature. Humanity has thus faced the crisis of destruction—unless they become merely animals to be chosen, rather than beings consciously transforming nature, they will all be regarded as thieves and exterminated by Him.

The real war, as defined by humankind, has begun.

Fortunately, precisely because He became too complex, He lost the stability that purity brought. Unable to control the powerful force, He began to differentiate within His body. In the hazy chaos, some vague thoughts began to emerge. These thoughts converged into ideas, ideas coalesced into consciousness, and consciousness began to wander and wander, gradually becoming entirely new individuals.

But before that, they first need to answer one question.

who am I?

The person who answers this question will receive their own name and become themselves.

Thus, twelve heroes were born, and together with humanity, they defeated the beasts.

"This is the story of the twelve heroes and the giant monster."

In the room with thirteen people, Jiu ended the story in a solemn tone.

The nameless girl asked, puzzled, "What about me?"

“I’ve already told you, you need to figure this out yourself,” Jiu laughed. “Given the current situation, you are the savior.”

The nameless girl said hesitantly, "But I'm not even in this story, am I?"

"Because the slots are already full."

Nine shrugged, as unreliable as ever: "Just do whatever you want—anyway, next we need to deal with the beast! I don't want to die, especially not the kind of death where all traces of my life disappear, where I'm completely forgotten in a meaningful way!"

The others had different opinions, but since they had already been drawn into the savior team, they all cheered up and fought again, offering each other various ideas and plans.

"Hey, didn't you just want to wait to die during the National Day holiday? Why are you suddenly so enthusiastic?"

"Hmph! You smug fool, be careful you don't get eaten by the beast first."

Eleven, the coward, scoffed, but her attitude became serious. If she could, she certainly didn't want to die. She loudly encouraged herself, "Besides, of course I'm scared alone, but there are twelve of us! Twelve against one, the advantage is on our side! It's just a beast; we defeated it the first time, and we can defeat it the second time, and we'll definitely be more skilled than the first time! No one died the first time, so no one will die the second time either..."

Er said with a faint sneer, "Little Eleven, you weren't this timid before. What's wrong? Has life not only closed doors for you, but also worn down your courage?"

"I am timid because I have experienced the beauty of life, afraid that if I die I will never be able to experience it again. But this timidity also makes me braver, and I am determined to defeat the beast that wants to take my life." Eleven stood up straight and said in a deep voice, "I don't want to lose, so I will not lose! As long as we are united, a mere beast is nothing but a joke. We can suppress it with a flick of our wrist, and this time we will completely annihilate it..."

"Aren't beasts immortal? But why can't beasts die? Huh? You were born because of beasts, so aren't you beasts? Wait, there are twelve of you, and there are thirteen people in the story... Could I be a beast?"

The ignorant girl, curious and confused, began to make wild guesses.

The room suddenly fell into a deathly silence.

Eleven stared at the ignorant girl subconsciously. His expression, which had been encouraging her just moments before, slowly froze, and a pale look of terror appeared on his face. Suddenly, a thought swelled rapidly in his mind.

I am me, I am the beast, the beast is not me, I am not me...

Boom——!

The house exploded instantly from the inside out, and a rainbow of light shot into the sky, piercing through the clouds.

The gale whipped the clouds into waves, the waves churning and swirling into massive eddies that obscured the sun, instantly darkening the entire sky. Suddenly, from within this dense cloud cover, two suns appeared, and the cloud eddies gradually calmed, revealing scales, long whiskers, crests, and five claws…

"Waves roll up a thousand clouds to obscure the sun and moon, winds press down for ten thousand miles to suppress the universe. With a single drumbeat, banners flutter, and mountains of armored soldiers crumble like iron fortresses."

Standing amidst the ruins, one of the eleven men, drunkenly shouting, "Very well! Let's settle this battle today!"

Vertical pupils emerged from the two suns, expanding to the sides as if the eyes were opening again within the eyes.

The world suddenly turned into a gray and silent color. The eleven people instantly regained their colors, and the surroundings also regained their colors. However, the mountain cabin had transformed into an uninhabited seaside city with dense high-rise buildings and crisscrossing roads. The earthquake trembled and pushed the waves in continuously.

"Tsk! A world within a painting... Eleven is so useless!"

The vaguely hazy beast in the sky suddenly transformed into a Godzilla standing on the earth!

Godzilla stomped on the ground, roared, and unleashed a laser breath that swept across skyscrapers and cleansed the earth.

The eleven people quickly took cover and leaped into the sky one after another.

Jiu Da shouted, "Things have come to this! Let's settle this once and for all—merge! I'll form the head!"

The eleven heroes, surrounded by a rainbow of light, dodged the laser attack in a head-to-head flight posture. In the blink of an eye, they collided and their figures merged into the sudden burst of rainbow light.

Godzilla tossed its head, and the laser continued to bombard the beam of light. The scattered energy droplets triggered a dense explosion, but the beam of light flowed upwards and rushed straight toward Godzilla. It suddenly expanded at a short distance away, and an Ultraman burst out from it!

"scare--!"

Ultraman punches through the laser beam and then delivers a hammer blow to Godzilla's head.

A sudden change in style – a tokusatsu scene!

The two supreme beings suddenly engaged in a fierce battle, clashing in the sky and on the ground, exchanging beams of light, and fighting hand-to-hand. Ultraman uprooted a building and smashed it on Godzilla's head. Godzilla inhaled a large amount of seawater in a storm and unleashed a mixed breath attack. In no time, the city was obliterated.

Suddenly seizing an opening, Godzilla bit down on Ultraman's left hand. In the struggle, Ultraman abruptly transformed into light and escaped, while Godzilla swallowed a ball of light. It raised its short arm, and the light instantly transformed into a giant human-shaped sword in its hand. The sword was exactly the same as Ultraman's, without any trace of Photoshop!

"Ow—!"

Godzilla unleashed its superb swordsmanship, like a master swordsman honed through countless trials, instantly slashing the reappearing Ultraman, sending sparks flying. It even opened its mouth and spit out a layer of laser enchantment onto the sword in its hand. With a sword strike that burst forth from its two orifices, even the space of the painted world was cleaved open.

Even more terrifying, this sword can speak and inflict mental attacks!

"Endless homework, endless overtime, death is impossible, I can only live like a corpse..."

"Life is full of disappointments, but as long as you're willing to work hard, you'll work even harder..."

"It is said that people who accomplish nothing like to talk big, because they can't do the good things, they can only talk."

"Are you concerned about world affairs again today?"

"You've abandoned your dreams, so why are you still broke?"

The effect was outstanding, causing Ultraman to suffer repeated defeats.