Ultraman: It turns out this is the easy mode.

"."

When Cui Ming opened his eyes, the morning light had just shone into the room through the gap in the curtains. In the hazy light, he glimpsed three slender figures curled up beside the bed—Hilda, Rosalie, and Chris from Norma, who were sleeping quietly beside him, their breathing shallow.

He didn't get up immediately, but his eyes darkened, and his tone was serious but not blaming: "It's a good thing you didn't do anything dangerous, otherwise I might have retaliated."

This is no joke. The most dangerous time for Cui Ming is when he's asleep—not because of the environment, but because of Cui Ming himself! Having spent years teetering on the edge of life and death, he's developed an extreme instinct for alertness. If anyone makes a threatening move, his body will retaliate before his mind can even register it. Not to mention, Cui Ming habitually hides deadly weapons in every corner of the house, from miniature energy knives under his pillow to tranquilizer darts in a hidden compartment behind the bookshelf. The slightest disturbance could trigger these weapons instantly.

"Hey"

Cui Ming sighed softly, his tense body gradually relaxing. Norma was also a pitiful group of people, and he understood better than anyone else—they had been used as tools, abandoned, and discriminated against. They had finally escaped their misery and found a place to settle down. Their longing for "security" was stronger than anyone else's.

His gaze fell on Chris, who was curled up on the outermost side. The girl's brows were slightly furrowed, as if she was still having an unsettling dream. Cui Ming reached out and gently stroked her soft hair, his voice extremely soft: "It's alright now, you don't need to be afraid anymore."

He knew perfectly well that EDF had never intended to send these girls to the battlefield—their missions were simple: either to be instructors, teaching EDF warriors how to pilot mechs, or to help make ice bombs from the rear. These were jobs that did not require facing death directly.

"Never mind, poor souls," Cui Ming murmured to himself. EDF wasn't at its wit's end yet. The Winged Infiltrators were well-trained, respectable female soldiers, fully capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility of combat. There was no need to send these girls, who had suffered persecution, back into the dangerous battlefield. What they needed wasn't the smoke of gunpowder, but a stable life, a space where they could slowly rediscover themselves.

Chris seemed to feel the warmth of his palm; her brows gradually relaxed, and her lips unconsciously pursed, like a child who had found someone to lean on. Cui Ming withdrew his hand and turned to Rosali beside him—his fingertips had just touched her hair when he felt the girl's body tremble slightly. He knew that Rosali was actually awake, but was too embarrassed to open her eyes.

Cui Ming didn't point it out, but gently patted the top of Chris's head as if to comfort her, his movements so gentle that they were unlike the usually decisive and efficient Storm One.

Finally, his hand landed on Hilda's head, the one furthest inside. This girl's story was more heartbreaking than the other two—when she was forcibly taken away, her parents chose to completely forget her in order to "live a normal life," and even had another child, treating her as a "dead person" who had never existed.

Although Cui Ming could understand her parents' helplessness, she could not ignore the pain of being abandoned by her closest relatives; it was a scar etched into her bones.

Cui Ming leaned against the headboard, watching the three girls beside him gradually relax. He felt no annoyance, only a faint pang of heartache. He knew it would be difficult for these girls to completely escape the shadows of the past, but at least he could make them feel a little more warmth and a little more security in EDF and by his side—that was enough.

When Cui Ming pushed open the door to the commander's office, the other man was working on a stack of documents, his pen moving rapidly across the paper. He took a deep breath, suppressing his complex emotions, and said, "Commander, may we talk?"

The commander looked up and saw it was Cui Ming. A look of understanding crossed his face, but he still sighed helplessly, "Sigh! Storm One, your matter is very important, but we also have very important matters to attend to, so I'm sorry." As he spoke, he picked up another document, clearly trying to change the subject.

"Halt! Commander!" Cui Ming stepped forward, blocking the commander's hand as he tried to continue flipping through the documents, his tone firm. "Let's talk about Project Seed! I have no objection to your plan, but let's discuss it!" He knew that running away wouldn't solve the problem. Since the EDF had placed their hopes for "continuing the bloodline" on him, he at least had to make things clear. The commander put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and looked at the resolute Cui Ming before him. Finally, he relented: "Hey! Storm One, you need to understand the idol effect. Those Norma trust you, depend on you, and see you as their savior. Having you interact with them more isn't just for the plan, but also to stabilize their emotions—so the Norma are in your hands!"

He paused, then added, "It's okay! We'll take care of the baby for you after it's born! You don't need to worry about anything afterward."

“Am I that kind of person?!” Cui Ming couldn’t help but raise his voice when he heard this. He never cared about the issue of “raising children”.

The commander looked at him with a serious expression: "Of course you're not, but they will definitely go to military academy in the future." One sentence revealed the core issue—EDF wanted not only the bloodline of Cui Ming, but also warriors who could shoulder the responsibility of protecting humanity in the future. Sending the children to military academies for training was the ultimate goal of the "Seed Project."

I can understand Cui's fate.

He was silent for a moment, his mind flashing back to the Norma's pitiful past, the pressure the EDF faced from cosmic threats, and the helplessness he felt when he talked to Balalaika about "the continuation of the race".

Yes, it's all for the continuation of humanity. So be it if you're just a tool. At least this way, those Norma who have been persecuted can have a stable future, and humanity can have more hope in future crises.

The Commander-in-Chief himself is one of them.

In countless cycles, the Commander-in-Chief has always been on the front lines of the battle, often in charge of the most dangerous infiltration missions, and has lost his life several times.

Who can blame them when the Star Guide has a cheat code, and a ridiculous one at that—a time machine?

"Hey Commander, you should understand, right? We all know that it's enough for us to bear these things ourselves. Don't force those girls."

"Don't worry, we won't force anyone. After all, forced relationships are never happy; only genuine willingness can achieve the best results."

The commander nodded.

"We are all tools, tools for the continuation of humanity. The entire EDF exists solely for the continuation of humanity." (End of Chapter)