Great, we're doomed now!

"That's not a problem for you to consider, Doctor."

Ye Shou told him not to overthink it: "You just need to focus on your research and ensure the safety of the experiments."

Actually, even if this thing becomes beneficial and harmless immediately, Ye Shou cannot release it now, so this is a project that cannot be profitable in the long term.

This is a technological reserve made to prepare for the changing landscape of the next few years, similar in nature to the Magnum power system.

Once Ye Shou is free from constraints in human society and his own strength is enough to withstand any challenge, these skills will come in handy!

"Improper operation will bring tears to the eyes of loved ones!"

"—You should hang this in the lab later, Dr. Nezu."

"Huh?" Nezu scratched his head. "You're the boss, I'll listen to you."

Given his professionalism, if he hadn't lacked a proper laboratory and assistants, how could he have made such a basic mistake, bringing experimental samples home and dragging his daughter into it?

So after accepting Ye Shou's invitation, their family's fate immediately changed.

Getting tons of gold coins is always a great feeling!

Having dealt with Dr. Nezu, Ye Shou was not in a hurry to leave. In the past two days, he has been mobilizing his forces to clean up the mess in the town (hoping that the Japanese government would take forever), and also using the media to create momentum.

I was originally thinking about how to create a "cultural heritage", but instead a monster battle came out. Now I have everything I need!

The mountain god who protects the village and the mischievous tanuki monster—with these two figures at the core, a series of stories are woven together, and various small statues and souvenirs begin to be made and sold.

Ye Shou only slightly guided public opinion, and the local government began to consider how to restore the environment, because the battlefield left by the monster alone was enough of a gimmick, and who wouldn't want a political achievement?

"We can't let this town become a tourist hotspot... Too many tourists will only drive away the monsters."

Ye Shou stood on the hospital rooftop, gazing expressionlessly at the mountains and forests where he had once fought.

"We want to develop it into something like a cultural project, limiting the number of tourists to forty or fifty per month, with opportunities for nighttime exploration and such... How's the village restoration work going?"

"Based on the old photos and documents that have been left behind, we have already made renderings that can restore the appearance of the village in the last century to the greatest extent possible."

The maid, dressed in a smart women's suit, reported to him: "The audit department is investigating Yoshida's problems. In addition to his dereliction of duty, he has probably also cut corners in wastewater treatment... The factory is going to be relocated, and this land can be used to build an 'ancient town.' In addition, we are also contacting people who have left the village and hiring them to come back to work."

“That’s well done. Obik misses not only the material things, but also the people he used to know… Simply restoring the village is not enough. He knows that what is lost will never come back, but if there is a quiet place where he can live out his old age… he would be willing to be deceived.”

Ye Shouchang sighed deeply.

"In that case, things in this town are temporarily over..."

It's over, really?

This is probably all there is to it in this small town, but what about other places?

Ye Shou may have an "unlucky constitution," but that doesn't mean he'll encounter every kind of misfortune!

There must be other changes happening in Japan, and even the world, that Ye Shou is unaware of.

Aliens and ancient monsters may not have appeared yet, but what about native monsters like Obik?

In the Ultraman universe, there is never a shortage of monsters that appear because of environmental destruction. Just from Ultraman Tiga, Ye Shou knows more than five of them!

Any one of these things that suddenly appears would be an insurmountable mountain for him right now!

After all, creatures like Tanuki, Obik, and Sukunagi are right in Nishikida Keiryu's "professional range," making it much easier to fight them.

If it were other types of monsters, to what extent could Ye Shou achieve relying mainly on his own strength?

"Not enough..."

"Lord Ye Shou?"

"There's still so much... I still have so much to do!"

Ye Shou sat on the bench, gazing into the distance, his gaze unfocused. He muttered solemnly, "Rectify the heavily polluting traditional industries, strengthen the recruitment of scholars, and filter out the hidden dangers..."

"Power suits must be made widely available as soon as possible; they are very helpful in both disaster relief and evacuation..."

"Lord Ye Shou?"

"Virtual reality can be used to allow players to simulate and train the correct actions to take in the event of a disaster... and titles and rare items can be set as rewards..."

To create a mech aerial combat game, we'll select people with spatial abilities as reserves...

Will a batch of tech chips be released ahead of schedule? Will...?

Suddenly, a fragrance wafted over, and a soft touch enveloped the back of his head, stopping Ye Shou's mutterings.

That's enough.

"...Liuli?"

“You have done enough, Lord Ye Shou.”

The maid hugged Ye Shou from behind, resting his head against her chest, and gently stroked the boy's cheek.

"This world doesn't rest on your shoulders alone; at least I'm always willing to share the burden with you."

"..."

"So it's okay to take a break; you've already done enough."

"That's true."

Ye Shou paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled with relief.

"...Liuli?"

"Lord Ye Shou?"

"Thank you."

"Hmm~"

"besides."

"what?"

"Have you 'grown' again?"

"Yes...it's all thanks to Lord Ye Shou's hard work."

"Looks like I can still work harder in this area~"

Ye Shou's words made the maid blush, and then she looked into the distance again, this time without her usual listlessness.

No matter how much I worry, it's pointless. I just need to do what I can in the present moment!

Chapter 113 Kuse's Book of Friends

Unsurprisingly, the "monster attack incident" spread rapidly online. After all, even the Japanese government was slow to realize the need to protect the village, let alone the ever-dedicated journalists.

In no time, the news dominated headlines around the world, and paranormal enthusiasts, biologists, media, and even UFO research associations and Satanists—all sorts of people flocked to the Far East.

Fortunately, the government has implemented traffic control measures; otherwise, the number of people in the town these days would probably be comparable to that of a train station during the Spring Festival travel rush!

In this situation, Chika received a message from home, telling her to go home in rather stern terms. The pink-haired high school girl was reluctant but didn't want to argue with her parents, so she finally left with a heavy heart...

She was forcibly dragged away by Liuli and sat in the car feeling lost and empty inside. Usually a clever girl, her mind was completely blank and she couldn't remember anything!

Only images of the past when I was with Ye Shou kept flashing through my mind...

What if that was the last time she saw him? She was extremely shaken.

Although Ye Shou quickly called to let her know she was safe, she couldn't forget the feeling of being lost and disoriented.

(Also, why did they call Ruri instead of her... that made her quite jealous.)

So when she left, Chika's lips were pursed, and she looked like she might cry at any moment. It was hard to tell whether she liked to join in the fun or simply didn't want to leave someone.

Ye Shou stayed behind, and his family basically didn't take care of him.

After confirming his son's safety, Junpei Kuze dispatched a large number of security personnel under the pretext of factory demolition. Ostensibly, this was to maintain order, but in reality, it was to prevent reporters and the like from harassing Ye Shou.

—With their family background, they can't be photographed at the accident scene, otherwise all sorts of conspiracy theories will circulate (in fact, this time it really is related to the Jiuze Group).

Grandpa Kuze was very interested in supernatural powers, but there aren't that many coincidences in the world. He suspected that Ye Shou was involved, so he didn't interfere too much. He would be happy if he ruined Ye Shou's plan and caused some kind of blunder.

He was waiting for Ye Shou to come home and explain the matter, but to his surprise, it was the maid who returned first, not Ye Shou.

Liuli brought back a very "horrifying" plan, the contents of which were personally drafted by Ye Shou. It was only a very rough outline at the moment, but even her father, who was used to big things, felt his head spinning at the things it involved.

Da~da~da~

In the study, Junpei Kuze sat behind his desk, slowly tapping the surface with his fingertips. In front of him lay a handwritten report in Ye Shou's handwriting.

He wasn't considering the feasibility of the plan, but rather wondering if his son had suddenly fallen ill or been cursed by supernatural forces, otherwise why would he say such absurd things?

"With a three-year timeframe, we will gradually shut down heavily polluting factories and upgrade industries based on low-pollution high-tech technologies... I can understand this part, as public opinion is becoming increasingly strict on this issue, and technological iteration is an inevitable trend."

Prohibiting the over-exploitation of mines, forests, and lakes under one's name, improving workers' welfare and benefits, establishing public hospitals and welfare funds... It's easy to talk about these things, but to actually do them is far more difficult than it seems.

However, he will eventually take over the Kuze family business, so if he has any ideas, he can go ahead and do them.

Things like these can all be taken into consideration.

—But what's with the increased aid to TPC?

At this point, Junpei Kuze's tone became serious. He was the one who was in charge of the cooperation, but now he had become Ye Shou's adversary.

There was no way around it; the amount Ye Shou set in the plan was simply too outrageous!

It's at the national budget level; someone who didn't know better would think he was about to launch a medium-sized war!

Even for the Kuse family, this is not something they can just casually produce!

"That's the total funding for the next five years; when divided among each phase, it's not that staggering," Liuli said, conveying Ye Shou's message to her father from the center of the room.

Junpei laughed: "You're avoiding the point... Rurikawa Tsubaki, you've been by his side for so long, can't you see the problem here?"

"..."

"TPC is a borderless association of scholars. The reason I chose to support them is because I am optimistic about their future, which would increase the influence of the Hise family internationally, and ideally, help them break free from the constraints of Japan as an island nation—but I don't intend to bet so much!"

Junpei Kuze took a deep breath and barely managed to regain his composure.

"Politics cannot be separated from the exchange of money and power, but even in this kind of shady business, there are rules that everyone tacitly agrees on."

Just like in a prime ministerial election, you can choose to support one side, or you can secretly cultivate a good relationship with the other side, just like hedging against risks. But it's not like you can just invest as much as you want. Everyone is playing a game at the same table, and they have already formed a tacit understanding.

If you break this tacit understanding, you must be prepared to bear the consequences!

Now, we're one of TPC's major sponsors, and I have a great relationship with Sawai-senpai—that's enough!