Ultraman Legend of the Light Chaser

Although he knew that relying on others was not a good thing, Shinjo was especially looking forward to seeing the Giant again before he threw up his stomach—the ground crew of the Flying Swallow No. 1 must have felt the same way.

But the giants did not appear.

Before the central control unit was scrapped, Xincheng could see that the signal from Auguma was sometimes closer and sometimes farther away from him. Every time Feiyan-1 made a sharp turn, it would move further away and then quickly move closer again. Xincheng had to repeatedly make maneuvers that would give the ground crew a heart attack, and the steel plates at the joints of the aircraft creaked.

At first, he could still respond to Hayate and Wild Rain with a few "uh-huhs," but later he simply stopped talking, as executing maneuvers and evasive maneuvers occupied his entire brain.

Perhaps a long time passed, but the sound in the headphones was still chirping and whirring, like the tireless chirping of cicadas in summer.

When Xincheng came to his senses, Ye Rui sounded like he was about to cry: "Hey, hey, Xincheng, what's wrong?"

"I threw up my breakfast," thank goodness Flying Swallow No. 1 was a two-person pilot! Xincheng couldn't remember if his last meal was breakfast or dinner, and stomach acid surged up but he swallowed it back: "We haven't lost contact, why do you act like you're about to attend a funeral?"

But your vital signs are declining. Ye Rui didn't dare say it aloud, only replying, "Forty more seconds."

Less than two minutes have passed? Shinjo was a little dazed, but now that he was out of his highly focused state, he could finally hear more sounds—Daigo was muttering something to himself.

Nobody told them what to do after forty seconds.

Even if the headquarters base used the Magus Cannon to destroy the mechanical civilization's arsenal, how many more forty seconds would it take for them to be free to support the Victory Team?

Oh, and further afield, in the depths of space, Naga spaceships hover silently, like cold gods judging all living beings.

“They are assessing the performance of Earthlings. Only life forms that can break the mechanical civilization’s blockade are qualified to fly into space,” Soruka told Daigo. “However, Samuel told me to ‘respect your own ideas,’ and I agree with him.”

"What is an assessment? What is a blockade?" Daigo asked. "Who determines whether a civilization is qualified to go out into the world?"

“Civilizations that pose a ‘threat’ will be monitored. The monitors are the Auguma, the Naga, and many other extraterrestrials. The ability to break the chains left by mechanical civilizations means that this civilization possesses power that other extraterrestrials must take seriously. In short, you will only be respected when you are ‘a real threat to extraterrestrials.’ The universe is a larger ‘Earth,’” Soruka explained.

“Earth has TPC,” Daigo said.

Earth Peace United Organization. Even if its influence isn't enough to reach every corner of the world, it exists in every country...

Members of the organization can be seen everywhere.

Peace is never just about fighting monsters and aliens.

While the victorious team soared through the skies, many others traveled to previously neglected places, bringing education, healthcare, and food, and for the first time, the shadow of modern civilization was truly projected onto those areas.

Soruka knew what Daigo was talking about: "Earth has TPC, the universe has the M78 Nebula—in another universe, there is the Land of Light."

"Land of Light?"

"Have Samuel lead the way when you have time."

Soruka had only heard Samuel mention that place; he didn't know how to traverse the universe, only assuming it must be very difficult. What exactly happened over those thirty million years? Why did Samuel say regretfully, "Meteorites and cavities, nothing else," when mentioning the M78 nebula in this universe?

Soruka preferred returning to Orion to going to the Land of Light. The M78 Nebula still shone brightly from Earth at this time, but once the last light left Earth, it would disappear from telescopes, becoming what Samuel called ruins and voids.

Soruka led Samuel from Hoshimi Village to R'lyeh, and hoped to lead him from Earth to Orion.

However, now we need to add another item to the wish list: Tiga's human host is great, and his teammates are also good... It's not good to always live with Tiga. Tiga's own will has left and he won't complain about the place being too crowded, but Solka is feeling uneasy.

Shinjo had no idea what Soruka was planning; in fact, he didn't even notice that Daigo had taken one hand off the joystick.

All Xincheng could hear was Ye Rui's friendly countdown. The moment it reached zero, he subconsciously looked down.

A blue star hangs against the dark backdrop of the universe.

The ocean occupied the vast majority of the field of vision.

A line suddenly splits the field of vision in two.

What a dazzling and sharp line it was!

It originates from the Far East, like a sharp sword cleaving through giant waves, or like the sun rising ahead of time.

Yes, the sun.

At the end it points to, a sun rises.

The brilliance of antimatter annihilation shines upon the Earth.

Its creators slammed their fists on the table countless times at research meetings, but it still blossomed in the end.

The terrifying heat evaporated tens of thousands of tons of seawater, billowing white mist rising into the sky, only to be pierced by the radiance, like a knife cutting through goose down. The shockwave followed, dispersing the white mist, and the new city briefly saw a "bowl".

The planet-sized "bowl" reminded him of Jupiter's Great Red Spot.

The bowl quickly disappeared, the shockwave pushed far away, and the seawater, regaining its senses, fiercely closed itself off, and then another water mountain rose from the center of the "sun".

The water mountain was quickly evaporated, and the homeless water vapor drifted on the sea surface. The massive amount of water vapor was rapidly accumulated, and a "chimney" soon rose where the "bowl" was. It pierced through the cloud tops of the troposphere and only stopped growing when it penetrated deep into the stratosphere. Gale-force winds, torrential rain, and escaping hot air circulated wildly up and down the "chimney," constantly emitting thunderous roars.

Xincheng was dumbfounded.

The entire Far East base and the area along that line were shrouded in rapidly forming clouds. The "chimneys" became mountain peaks, and the "land" woven from water vapor advanced in all directions.

A high-temperature, high-moisture "continent" is forming in the Northwest Pacific, and it's growing every second!

It eroded the real land, and the scorching tsunami rose like it was coming from hell.

Auguma’s body emitted a thunderous roar, as if lamenting the destruction of his lair.

If Shinjo could look away, he would definitely see the Tiga he had just been talking about appear. The giant was riding on Auguma's head, holding a red ball of light and stuffing it into the back of Auguma's head.

Oguma's frantic counterattack affected the Flying Swallow No. 1. The fighter jet circled and swooped towards the sea. Tiga caught it, found a reef, and put it down. Shinjo vomited up stomach acid again amidst the dizziness.

The Far East base was not immune to the world's injustices—the Magus cannon turned the seabed into lava, and the chain reaction triggered by the seawater and extreme heat caused a series of small earthquakes to strike the seabed. The base was under siege, and the high pressure on the seabed forced seawater to squeeze in through every crack.

The good news is that everyone in the underwater structures had been evacuated or boarded the Atlas early on, and dispersal efforts were deployed in the nearshore area, keeping casualties to a minimum. Meanwhile, the mechanical civilization entrenched in the deep ocean disappeared, perhaps due to signal jamming, or perhaps it simply vanished completely.

The bad news is that the high temperatures and dense fog will continue for some time, enough to cause some delicate sensors and electronic devices to malfunction. The headquarters must activate backups as soon as possible to allow core institutions to operate remotely.

And the worse news is:

If someone is unfortunately left outside, they are certainly not far from death.

No one can withstand temperatures high enough to melt steel; anyone who can should be called "inhuman."

Coincidentally, those staying in the underwater tunnel connecting the headquarters base to the land were not human on a physiological level.

“Father, Number Thirteen is reporting to you,” said the woman who looked remarkably like Paradia. “Number Twelve’s will has been replaced by Paradia’s memories. The third underwater passage of the TPC Far East Headquarters base has been destroyed, and I am currently unable to move.”

"Difficult to move? What about Number Eight?"

"The passage is filled with hot seawater, which is damaging my bodily functions. I will soon be unable to reply to you. My memories have been uploaded to the central control system; you can view the records."

Number Thirteen explained, "Number Eight is underwater and has lost signal contact."

Number Thirteen answered calmly. She was lying on the beach, her entire vision obscured by white mist. The seawater lapped against her cheeks, leaving bright red marks—severe burns. She could clearly feel the alarms her skin was sending: the proteins were denaturing and coagulating under the high temperature, and her heart was weakening.

With the last bit of time left, they needed to quickly report on their mission. Number Thirteen looked at the white world and said, "Father, Number Twelve is not Paradia. She wanted to be buried like the other 'us'."

“Oh,” the father replied.

Clones naturally have their own thoughts, but due to the teachings and authority of their "father," they only reveal the truth when they are about to die.

"Are the target and you all in the passageway?" the father asked.

"Yes," Number Thirteen closed his eyes briefly, "Number Eight is here too."

Number 8 is the child who has always been by Number 13's side. In the long years after the destruction of the ancient civilization and the slow sprouting of modern civilization, he was observed to be an individual who could use the power of the Titans—a clone of Amui.

They originally planned to cultivate their own giants before the giant statues "resurrected," or to make good use of the statue remains whose location had been discovered and try to take over the nest... However, with the alien beast breeding plan obviously more successful now, the clones of Amui and Paradia, the human hosts, are only used as consumables.

Yes, clones of precious ancient genetically enriched samples were used as consumables, not even to be "fully utilized" for the purpose of linking experimental giants and alien beasts.

Because a work that far exceeded expectations has been created.

“You’ve basically completed your mission, Number Thirteen,” the father said gently. “You can still try to stand up, right?”

Number Thirteen said "difficult to move," and they are always required to use precise words, so she has not completely lost her ability to move.

"Yes." Number Thirteen responded, slowly propping himself up with his elbows that exposed his bones, and actually sat up in the boiling seawater, trying to move his legs that were soaking at the bottom.

“Alright, it’s okay if you can’t stand up. You have to hold on a little longer until you see our Number Sixteen,” the father said. “He’s a good boy. It must have been painful for him to see himself turn from a human into a monster, but he didn’t complain about his good captain not protecting them or take his anger out on the TPC. He knows that we are the ones who deserve to go to hell. He—sympathizes with Number Twelve as a clone.”

Number Thirteen remained silent.

Waves of tide surged in, steam and boiling water washing over her face and body, gradually sticking her skin and clothes together.

She wanted to tell her father that she also sympathized with Number Twelve. Not because they were clones, but because Number Twelve's will had been shattered by Paradia's memories.

How can the meager experience of a clone compare to that of the original, who migrated to R'lyeh with Soruka and others 30 million years ago and participated in countless defensive battles?

Even without her father's request, Number Thirteen would continue to persist. She sat quietly half-submerged in the boiling seawater, surrounded by white foam, waiting for an angry shadow—Fujisawa Sosuke, whom her father had designated as Number Sixteen.

He was selected for the TPC Air Force at the age of nineteen, but failed to join the Victory Team three times. Once, he was deemed unfit due to psychological factors, and twice, his ancient gene concentration was insufficient to support the pilot requirements of the Flying Swallow series fighter jets. However, he himself was unaware of this and always thought that he had failed the theoretical subjects or his physical test performance was not good enough.

Excellent fighter pilots can typically withstand 9G of G-force, but will lose consciousness within 2 seconds under 12G. Sustained high-G maneuvers cause blood to rush to the brain, and no amount of physical training can improve the blood vessels in the brain.

The Flying Swallow-1 has a speed of Mach 5.5 within the atmosphere and can accelerate to Mach 49 in outer space.

What does it feel like to play a large loop at 49 times the speed of sound?

TPC's chief engineers are all industry giants whose influence is unparalleled. But even these giants can't turn a 24-hour day into 72 hours.

The current anti-gravity components can, to the best of their ability, help the pilot of the Flying Swallow-1 complete a large loop without their body disintegrating into a shower of stars, and the pressure suit can alleviate blackout issues. However, completely eliminating the physical burden on the pilot is a long shot.

Therefore, the pilots of Flying Swallow 1 and 2 were required to have physical abilities beyond those of ordinary people. Perhaps they themselves did not feel it, but the ancient genes, inherited from the human beings of the previous generation of civilization, gave them the foundation to adapt to life in the universe.

"I'm not counting on Number One anymore. Even those who used to work in administrative positions can get on Flying Swallow Number Two, so why can't I?" The answer to Cangjie's long-standing question was actually hidden in the items in his medical examination report.

He was born with ancient genes, something predetermined and beyond his control, but the concentration of alien beast factors within him was now off the charts. It was unclear whether he had become an alien beast, or whether a human had been bound to an alien beast.

Accompanied by scalding waves, an angry shadow emerged from the thick fog.

He was very close.