Great, we're doomed now!

It has now been proven that Zigela still retains the plant's photophilic nature and does not release pollen at night.

We will operate from our lunar base, conducting nightly cleanup operations on Earth and withdrawing before dawn!

"One month... no, I'll try to finish all the work within half a month."

Yoshioka shook his head violently and said to the screen, "There are laboratories on the moon, right? Come up with a scientific prevention and control plan as soon as possible, understand?"

"Although I don't know what happened."

Sanada Ryosuke's face reappeared on the screen: "But Horii, you owe me a favor this time."

The meeting room was instantly filled with excitement. Seeing everyone infected by the optimism and gradually recovering from their despondency, Masaki felt a surge of relief. But at the same time, a voice deep within him told him:

That won't work.

Ultimately, only a small number of people can remain clear-headed. They can't even command the TPC, let alone unite all forces. The only ones they can deploy are the Victory Team and the lunar base, with the orbital fleet or the forward base on Mars at most.

If this power were used for destruction, it would pose a huge threat to the Earth, but to use it for global cleanup... is simply a pipe dream.

A month? It wouldn't be finished even in a year!

Moreover, Masaki dared to say that as soon as they started to take action, the public would react within two days and begin to vandalize the infrastructure of TPC and Kuze... No amount of money or strict policies could stop the enraged crowd!

To "purify" the global environment in a short period of time... in Masaki's understanding, only one such power exists—

Giant of Light!

"I……"

Masaki looked at his hands and couldn't help but clench his fist.

Burning Zijra wouldn't be difficult, but if the people aren't willing to hand over Zijra... should he take action against ordinary people?

"What should I do... tell me, Lucifer!"

-

Masaki, aren't you going to do anything? The streets are a complete mess!

"Um?!"

Feeling a jolt, Masaki Keigo was jolted awake from his sleep. He calmly opened his eyes and saw a flat face pressed against the car window, the other person staring blankly as they shook the Sherlock car.

After a while, seemingly confirming that there was only the driver in the car and no flowers or plants, the person wandered off as if sleepwalking.

Masaki gripped the steering wheel so tightly he almost ripped it off!

Suppressing his anger, he turned on the headlights, which immediately revealed a bizarre scene resembling a horror amusement park:

The streets, which should have been bustling with activity, were now occupied by a crowd of people who were like zombies. Everyone was searching for the dormant buds of the Zigera flower, craving them like fanatics, and then sharing some pollen with them.

Those who couldn't find any flowers would eat other bouquets instead, even though it was useless. They continued their meaningless actions as if they couldn't satisfy their empty hearts otherwise.

...It was simply hell.

Masaki is now even having thoughts of giving up on himself:

Let's just leave it alone; they don't seem to need anyone's help anyway.

Suddenly, the crowd stirred—

"I found it! I found it!"

A poorly developed bud of the Zigela flower was found, and the person was overjoyed. However, this quickly attracted a scramble from others, and like a school of koi lured by fish food, the person and the Zigela flower bud were immediately overwhelmed by the crowd.

In the chaos, even family members could not be cared for. In order to squeeze into the crowd, a father let go of his child's hand, and the little boy was immediately pushed away by someone and sat on the ground with a thud, about to be trampled by the surging crowd.

--boom!

burst!

What are you doing?!

The signal flare exploded in mid-air, illuminating the people who looked like hungry ghosts. Masaki appeared in the center of the street, holding the child in one arm and pointing a gun at the crowd with the other—this was the first time he had used a weapon to threaten ordinary people.

"Have you gone mad? Have you lost even the most basic dignity?!"

Some fear of death remained, and the crowd parted around Masaki, but like a river, it did not stop flowing towards the Qijiela plant... Masaki stood there, his body trembling slightly.

The rescued child was in a daze for a moment, then looked up at Masaki. Being so young, he didn't understand why this kind uncle would have such a painful expression on his face.

...After everything calmed down, the father, bruised and battered, returned and gratefully accepted his son, Koshou, from Masaki.

Masaki remained silent, simply holstering his Hyper gun and quietly returning to the Sherlock car.

Well, he no longer had the energy to scold his father...

"Thank you for saving my uncle!"

The child turned his head and waved happily at Masaki: "I don't know what to do... You were so cool just now, just like Ultraman!"

Masaki turned around in surprise and saw that the little boy was waving a small and exquisite Ultraman doll. His heart warmed suddenly.

"...I'm not an old man."

Masaki, both amused and exasperated, said, "Call me big brother!"

Volume 11: To the Day of Destiny: Chapter 484: I am proud to be born (4K)

Another day passed, and as the pollen from the Zigera flowers gradually dissipated with the sunset, people were once again plunged into a state of confusion and bewilderment.

But on this night when everyone was feeling extremely anxious, a live broadcast connected to major news channels around the world, occupying almost every screen, ensuring that most people could see Sawai speaking in front of the camera.

The lights shone on the face of TPC Director and UN Secretary-General Soichiro Sawai, clearly illuminating his newly grown white hair and temples. He stood alone in front of the camera, without a prepared script or any assistance, while a countdown timer, its purpose unclear, appeared in the upper left corner of the screen.

"I am Sawai Soichiro, the director of TPC."

His voice was not loud, but he enunciated each word clearly: "Today, I have something to report to all mankind."

The scene cuts away from his face and onto a satellite panorama of Earth. By replacing it with a virtual projection, the blue planet's surface is simulated using CG animation, while large patches of golden yellow are spreading, extending from the center of the continents to the coastlines, like some kind of growing mold, eventually occupying all the continents except Antarctica (which is currently experiencing polar night).

Everyone knows what that is—

“Zijera…this is a name we found in ancient records.”

Sawai's face appeared before the Earth: "I can tell you clearly that this is not the first time it has appeared on Earth, and now it is all over the world."

The pollen of this flower produces a powerful sense of happiness, satisfaction, and fulfillment, far exceeding the effects of any known hallucinogen. Currently, over 95% of the world's population has been affected...

Including myself.

He paused here, his gaze still clear, as if calmly stating an unrelated fact.

“When I stood in front of this camera, my brain was telling me, ‘Go find a new Ziegera.’... I know very well how difficult this period without Ziegera has been.”

The scene switches to street surveillance footage, showing people running around, searching for the randomly blooming pale gold flowers in flower beds, green belts, and on other people's balconies, with snatching occurring frequently.

"In response to this disaster, TPC and Victory Team will, as always, take immediate action. Starting tonight, a swarm of drones will conduct a large-scale clearing operation in Chijera."

In this process, I urge everyone... not to interfere, and more importantly, not to put yourselves in danger.

Sawai paused, as if hesitating whether to continue.

"No matter how wonderful it is, it's just a dream... Reality does have many hardships and difficulties, but this is the world that truly belongs to us."

I will not deny everyone's desire to live in a beautiful and happy world. This is a natural need for everyone and a right that all humankind should have.

At this point, Sawai's voice rose slightly.

"But! I urge everyone to calm down and think about this!"

Reality may not be perfect, but it is indeed getting better little by little... The era with the richest material resources and the most prosperous spiritual civilization in human history is undoubtedly now!

We have reached a historical crossroads and are about to step into a new era.

He looked directly into the camera with an incredibly sincere expression, as if he were speaking face-to-face to everyone watching him.

"Of course, these broad concepts cannot be compared with personal happiness and freedom... so I will not ask you to make any particular choice."

I just want you all to consider this when making a decision—

Is your environment moving in a better direction?

Do you still hold onto hope and dreams for life?

Do you still cherish the family and friends around you?

If so, please continue to trust TPC for a better tomorrow!

At this moment, large-scale commotion has broken out all over the world because of Sawai's words. Even in the control room, some people couldn't help but come out to oppose him, but Sawai did not waver in the slightest. He leaned forward slightly, placed his hands on the podium, and his gaze remained firm.

"TPC hereby pledges to provide all necessary safeguards for the future of humanity!"

Regardless of everyone's choice, TPC's final answer is—we choose [hope].

Live broadcast stopped —

The whole world is in an uproar!

London, Tokyo, New York, Sydney, Cairo, Rio, Mumbai... the same scene is playing out in every city.

Fear washed over the streets like a tide, filling everyone's chest. People were afraid that the drones would take off tonight and burn all the flowers that brought them happiness, afraid that they would never be able to return to that warm and happy dream again...

Most people were frantically grabbing the last of the Zigela and any flowers that even remotely resembled them... They didn't notice that in the chaotic crowd, a few people had stopped, their faces filled with struggle and conflict.

It's not that Sawai has any succubus attributes; she can make people repent with just a few words. Her long-accumulated achievements and reputation have indeed deeply penetrated people's hearts.

Sawai Soichiro's words were not false at all:

Led by TPC and the Kuze Group, human science and technology have made remarkable progress in recent years, ushering in a new era.

Unlike previous technological revolutions that always brought various "growing pains of the times," under Ye Shou's careful control, artificial bodies, biomedicine, new energy, virtual technology, new materials, artificial intelligence, etc., are always implemented in people's livelihoods as soon as possible. This has also increased the employment rate and absorbed the people who lost their jobs due to the elimination of outdated production capacity in the same field.

At the same time, social welfare was increased on a large scale, a new social security system was established, and various infrastructure projects were launched around the world.

These changes are things that everyone can truly feel; the only difference is the degree.

They truly believe the future will be better!

...Zigera is hard to let go of, but reality isn't all bad.

In a large square in Berlin, Sawai's face is still displayed on a giant electronic screen, while the crowd in the square is in complete chaos.

In a narrow alley, the shutter of a flower shop was half-closed. The proprietress, a woman in her forties with messy brown hair tied back, was carrying the remaining potted flowers out of the shop one by one.

"Jinna, don't run around, it'll be over soon!" she shouted without looking up.

The daughter, Jinna, stood at the store entrance. She looked about seven or eight years old, with her hair braided into two braids and wearing a T-shirt with a star pattern. She held a pot of yellow tulips in her hands and looked around at both sides of the street, looking somewhat lost.