Ultraman: I am really just a human.

Chapter 453 Utsumi Shigeaki: I Endure

"Prime Minister Midou announces that, as a symbol of the new nation, the central government will relocate to Pandora's Tower effective immediately..."

"The central government then officially announced the appointments of the governors of the three municipalities: Kenjiro Ino for Tokyo, Mitsuomi Gohara for Saihara, and Ryoka Saiga for Hokuto. Their inaugural speeches will be held in three days. From now on..."

At Pandora's Tower, the fully-formed Ebert lay reclining beside Pandora's Box, playing with an energy bottle while watching a news projection. He only lazily changed his posture when three of his kind appeared on the screen.

After a few cold laughs, Ebert casually tossed the pseudo-evolution driver to the respectfully waiting Utsumi Nariaki behind him.

He admired this sensible human, so he deliberately stayed behind after killing Chairman Nanba.

"This country will be yours from now on."

Nariaki Utsumi excitedly caught the pseudo-evolution driver, and as a scientist, he understood even more how powerful it was.

but……

"The Evolution Driver should be unique in the entire universe, so who created this one?"

"Don't worry about anything else, just do as I say," Ebert warned calmly. "I'm giving you the Evolution Driver for the Lost Slammer Project. The task of producing Lost Slammers is now yours."

"The Lost Slammer?"

Nariaki Utsumi's smile froze.

"Why continue producing Lost Strikers? This country already belongs to you. If you continue to allow Strikers to attack humanity, the country will be destroyed sooner or later, which contradicts your plan to rule humanity..."

Ebert suddenly raised his hand and lifted Utsumi by the neck: "If you don't want to die, listen to me, understand? Maybe I'll change my mind sometime and send you to see that self-righteous old man Nanba."

"Cough cough... Yes." Utsumi nodded with difficulty, struggling to breathe, before Ebert released him.

"Hmph, do a good job, and I'll make you prime minister someday."

Ebert's gaze turned dangerous, and he lost interest in watching the news. He turned and disappeared, teleported by Pandora's Tower to the Faust Institute in the Northern Capital.

At this point, Katsuragi Shinobu had already reached an agreement with Natsukawa with a stern face, and would then focus most of his energy on breaking the seal.

Even though he still didn't quite trust Natsukawa, Katsuragi Shinobu had no choice but to speak his mind after the truth came out. Otherwise, he would be facing two enemies at the same time, and his 10-year-long plan would be in vain.

"From now on, it all depends on Mr. Katsuragi."

Natsukawa watched Katsuragi Shinobu go to the research room.

After all, he is a top scientist who can feign compliance with Eberl, so perhaps he has a backup plan for him.

A world reset can erase 10 years of history, which also includes the 5 years before the emergence of the fitters.

Katsuragi Shinobu may have misunderstood something, but that's fine as long as the seal can be broken.

Over the past five years, Shinobu Katsuragi, who has been accustomed to preparing multiple options, has not given up on the test subjects. His assistance is certainly greater than that of Kaito Kumon, who disappeared without a trace during the investigation.

"Mr. Kakui and Mr. Katsuragi seem to be having a great chat?"

Eberl appeared, his gaze dangerously fixed on Xia Chuan, as if trying to see through his heart.

"Are they plotting how to deal with me? Haha."

"Of course not," Xia Chuan calmly returned the gaze, "I'm just curious about the extent of your strength, as you never seem to go all out each time."

Ebert was so pleased with himself that he felt comfortable and pleased with Xia Chuan's compliments.

"And now I can finally raise my danger level through emotions. When I was affected by the genius energy bottle, I finally understood what human emotions were: joy, sadness, anger, surprise..."

"It turns out that these are not just surface-level words for humans, but rather deep, complex reactions related to memory and thought—it's truly amazing!"

Natsukawa quietly watched Ebert, who had regained his Ishido Soichi mimicry, as he described human emotions with a look of rapture.

He understood human emotions even more.

Unlike vampires, humans experience emotional fluctuations for others, feeling joy, sorrow, and anger for them... This is also a common idealistic force in the world of tokusatsu.

However, his evolution seems to be completely different. The higher the level, the closer he becomes to rationality, relying on absolute strength rather than emotional outbursts. The fact that Ark-I's conceptual divine power has no effect on him is probably largely because of this.

Ebert didn't truly possess human emotions; he merely amplified them, no longer letting them surface.

Understanding human emotions is one thing, possessing them is another.

"Teacher Kakuju!"

A researcher suddenly ran over, and after failing to find Katsuragi Shinobu, hurriedly called out to Natsukawa.

"Two knights from the Eastern Capital have broken in!"

"Perfect timing," Ebert chuckled. "We just need the Lost Striker. Capture him; Kamen Rider is the strongest test subject."

"yes!"

Xia Chuan turned around and pulled up the base's surveillance footage, and sure enough, he found two knights in the video.

It is Saruwatari Kazumi and Himuro Gentoku.

Why would someone so foolish as to walk right into your trap? They just got beaten up.

As expected, the two were defeated by Ebert in a single encounter, losing their transformations and being sent to the Striker Laboratory without any chance to resist.

"Trying to use Faust's power to increase the danger level?" Natsukawa's eyebrows twitched slightly.

With Sento and Banjou both becoming level 6 knights, these two supporting characters, who are still at level 4, are indeed struggling to keep up with the battle.

But going to Faust Base for this reason is not a wise choice.

Even if they weren't transformed into Slammers, they were practically left with no way out after being injected with Nebula Gas.

Nebula gas can indeed increase the danger level, but the human body has its limits. Once those limits are reached, being knocked down will result in immediate death, with no possibility of reverting to the transformation and retreating.

"Gurgle!"

"Ugh!"

Slammer Lab.

When Xia Chuan arrived, the researchers had already begun injecting nebula gas into the experimental chamber. The two people undergoing the modification immediately let out a series of screams, and their eye sockets soon turned black.

"Professor Kakuju!" The researchers made way for Natsukawa, who was wearing a mask, to lean closer to the experimental chamber.

"Living in a corner?"

As he endured extreme pain, Kazumi Saruwatari subconsciously opened his eyes and met Natsukawa's familiar eyes through the transparent panel. For a moment, he was unsure whether Natsukawa was an undercover agent or colluding with Ebert.

Is it possible to infiltrate and become an enemy leader?

It appears that he has already become the head of the research institute.

"So you're Kakuju-sensei," Utsumi Nariaki said as he walked into the lab wearing the Evolution Driver, bowing to Natsukawa. "I'm Kamen Rider Madman, and I'll be in charge of security for this base from now on."

"Are you Natsukawa Nariaki from Namba Heavy Industries?" Natsukawa didn't turn around.

"Uh, Namba Heavy Industries is a thing of the past," Utsumi Nariaki paused for a moment, then continued to reply with his head down, "Now I am Utsumi Nariaki, loyal to Eberl."

Ignoring Utsumi, Xia Chuan turned and left the research lab, leaving behind his telekinetic power to quietly disable the safety switch on the test chamber: "I heard you've enhanced and improved the Caesar system and the compression actuator. Pack up some relevant data and give it to me."

Saruwatari and Kazumi were oversimplifying things. The test chamber had been specially reinforced because it was frequently damaged, and anyone who foolishly lay in it would never be able to get out.

Not to mention that there are now Knights Guarding the area using pseudo-evolution drivers.

If they could escape normally, they wouldn't even consider the villains human.

"Huh? I..."

Utsumi Nariaki opened his mouth in surprise, secretly clenched his fist, hesitated for a moment, and then chose to follow Natsukawa.

When Ebert brought him here, he specifically mentioned the two scientist teachers from the research institute.

Although he did not believe that his talents were inferior, the current situation was beyond his control, and his status as a defector and traitor was certainly not as important as that of his own people.

The petty person gains power.

He'll just have to be patient. Once he gets rid of Eberth, he'll see how that guy reacts.

"What's wrong?" Xia Chuan urged from the front, "Hurry up, I just want to give you some guidance."

"You... thank you for your trouble, Professor Kakuju."

Utsumi Nariaki's face flushed red, but the thought of Eberl lifting his neck made his hard fist go limp again.

(End of this chapter)