Page 36
Hokuto Seiji, who was named by Commander Takakura, swallowed and nodded.
"I remember a biologist once said that when faced with a forest fire, the ants that have no choice but to flee will choose to wrap themselves together. The ants wrapped outside will be burned to death, and only the ants inside can survive. But the ants will not rush to squeeze in. Any ant outside whose turn it is will be willing to make the sacrifice."
"Is this the greatness of ants? No, this is the instinct of living things. It is an instinct that all living things have."
"In the beginning, any biological population was like this. Any individual could be sacrificed just to keep the population going. If there was no such instinct, then the creatures in that population would have been eliminated and extinct in the long river of history. This includes humans. It was the same when our ancestors were still eating raw meat and drinking blood."
"However, tens of thousands of years of arrogance at the top of the food chain have made many people forget this instinct. But now, facing monsters, facing the Yabo people, and facing one cosmic civilization after another, we should wake up. We are no longer at the top of the food chain. Those alien civilizations all have technology that surpasses ours. Human civilization is already in danger and may be destroyed at any time."
Takakura shifted his gaze from Beidou to the TAC members. Yamanaka, Konno, Yoshimura, Minami Yuko, and Noriko, none of them dared to look at him and lowered their heads.
"The Ultra Brothers saved us. Of course I know that. I know it better than anyone else. When Bestar attacked Tokyo Bay, I was there. It was the first Ultraman who saved me from the sea of fire. I remember it all, and I will remember it for the rest of my life. At that time, I thought that Ultraman might really be like a god."
"I am willing to return my life to Ultraman, even though it is really insignificant. However, it is us humans who are facing threats now. Not me, not you, not anyone. I can sacrifice, you can all sacrifice, even anyone can, but humans cannot! Our civilization, our common human race cannot!"
"Destroy the planet Gogda. This is my order now! I will not push it to the international headquarters or the heads of state of the United Nations. I am the one standing in front of you and speaking now. If there is a military court in the Kingdom of Light, please take me there and let them judge me. I am willing to accept any verdict. Before that, I will not change the order. Destroy Gogda. Do you understand?"
Even Beidou and Nan Xizi couldn't say anything against it at this moment.
"That's all I have to say. If there is no objection, carry it out. If there is any objection, it must be carried out."
Gao Cang paused in front of Captain Long and left the command room.
"team leader."
Seeing that the team members were surrounding him, Ryugoro said, "We cannot disobey the command of the headquarters. The near-light-speed rocket is already under construction, and we must also be prepared. Beidou, is everything okay?"
Beidou, who was named, was full of complicated feelings, but shook his head, "No problem, but Captain, I have a request."
"You said."
"I just read the plan. The rocket launched to the planet Gogda is not remote-controlled but must be piloted?"
"That's right." Dr. Kiji answered for the captain, "The signals we usually use are electromagnetic waves. In fact, light is also a kind of electromagnetic wave. Since the dark universe is invisible, it also means that after entering the dark universe, we can't communicate with the earth through the electromagnetic waves we usually use. This cuts off the possibility of remotely launching unmanned rockets. So this plan requires someone to enter the dark universe and personally drive the rocket."
"It is important to note that, so far, we humans have not really had the experience of entering the dark universe. We have only conducted limited explorations, and our understanding of what is there is zero. This also means that we have no idea what dangers the dark universe contains." Dr. Kikaji emphasized, unfolding the plan left by Commander Takakura, and continued:
"This is the design drawing of the Sublight Speed 7 rocket. The rocket consists of two parts. The front part carries the cockpit. When the rocket is in the normal universe, it will be controlled by the ground base to fly automatically. But once it enters the dark universe, the astronauts in the cockpit must manually control the trajectory and speed of the rocket. And after approaching the orbit of the planet Gogda, the launch path of the star destroyer missile will be set, and then the manned rocket in the front will detach and enter the return program. The Sublight Speed main rocket engine at the rear will start to accelerate and shoot the missile towards Gogda."
"In that case, Captain, I request that I be the one to carry out this mission."
"Beidou!" Nan Xizi said in surprise, because this was equivalent to Beidou personally pulling the trigger at his brothers trapped on the planet Gogda.
"I disagree with this," Yamanaka protested before Captain Long could answer, "It's true that your previous scores in physical fitness, combat, and shooting were the highest in the team, but you haven't recovered from the aftereffects of the battle with Baraba yet, and I don't think your body is in its prime right now. Not to mention, how long have you been in the team? Your time in space flight is less than 100 hours, not even as long as Team Member Noriko's. Do you think space travel means flying an airplane within the atmosphere? Even if you are flying an airplane, how many Airo planes have you crashed?"
If a plane crashes on Earth, you can parachute, but if a plane crashes in space, there is no chance of survival.
"Alright, Yamanaka. I want to hear Bokuto's own opinion on this matter. Do you have anything else to say, Bokuto?"
"Yes, Captain, I have nothing else to say. But I insist on letting me do this mission. No matter what, I promise to destroy the planet Gogda."
Long nodded, signaling Shanzhong to stop talking.
"That's it, Beidou, get ready, the mission will be carried out in five days. Yamanaka, this is something Beidou has already made up his mind about, we should respect his choice."
Yamanaka wanted to say something more, but was stopped by the captain and couldn't.
As the rocket was assembled by the logistics department, the TAC team had nothing to do in the next few days. But the threat was always there, and the atmosphere was always a bit heavy. Beidou often did some rehabilitation exercises with dumbbells and stretching.
No one knew that at this moment, terrible things were happening on the approaching planet Gogda.
The Yabo people created a terrifying super beast named "Ace Killer", which was specially made for Ace. What's more terrifying is that the Yabo people extracted the energy of the first generation's Specium, Seven's Emerium, Jack's Ultra Bracelet, and Zoffy's M87 energy, and injected them into the body of "Ace Killer", giving it the skills of the four Ultra Brothers, which means that once Ace fights it, it is equivalent to fighting his four brothers in a sense.
"Beidou, what do you think?" Nan Xizi walked to Beidou and asked softly.
The rocket launch had entered the last day of countdown. At this time, because everyone was doing their own things, no one in the spacious command room paid attention to the conversation between the two. "Are you really going to launch missiles at your brothers?"
"Are you here to persuade me, Yuko?"
"That's not the case, but I think Beidou might have other ideas."
"I'm sorry, I don't have a specific plan. Ace's light chose us, and we are all willing to sacrifice ourselves to fight for it. But Commander Takakura is right. We are Earthlings first, and Ultra Warriors second. And my brothers have already made up their minds to sacrifice. Yuko, you should remember that when my brothers gave us the energy and asked us to return to Earth, they asked us to destroy the planet Gogda."
"Even so..."
"Listen to me, Yuko, I don't want to launch missiles at my brothers either. Before that, I will do everything I can to rescue them. Do you understand?"
"But, if you're alone—"
"No, I am not alone. The Ultra Ring will connect us together. Yuko, I will call you when I need you. When the Ultra Ring flashes, even if the dark universe blocks electromagnetic waves, I believe it cannot block Ace's light."
"Beidou-kun," Noriko suddenly came over and said, interrupting Beidou and Nan Xizi's conversation, "The guard room just called and said someone is outside the gate looking for you."
“My friend?”
"Yes, it's a little girl named Oshima Reiya. Beidou-kun, you are really popular with children. Some people say you are the king of children."
"It's Lingye, okay I understand, I'll go check it out."
"Since she's someone I know, I'll notify the guard and have someone take her to the reception room."
"Okay, please."
When Hokuto Seiji arrived at the visitor reception room, Ling was waiting for him. The girl was sitting on the sofa, teasing the potted green ivy on the table next to her. I don't know if it was an illusion, but the green ivy she was teasing seemed to be more energetic than the surrounding green plants.
"Good afternoon, Brother Beidou."
"Good afternoon. I haven't seen you for a long time. Are you looking good? I heard that you fought very hard against Barabas. I was thinking whether I should go to visit you."
This was not just a polite remark. Beidou had indeed wanted to go and visit Lingye these past few days, but he was unable to do so because he was tied up with Gaogeda's affairs.
"It's okay. I recovered after sleeping all day. After a few days of recuperation, I'm full of energy." The greetings ended here. Ling didn't come here for this matter. She stopped teasing Luluo and looked at Beidou seriously. "The planet that trapped the Ultra Brothers has been approaching the earth."
This is a statement, not a question. TAC and the defense forces kept the matter of Gogda secret from the public, but Beidou was not surprised that Ling also knew about it. As the light transformed by the will of the earth itself, it would be strange if it did not detect the threat of an alien approaching. In fact, Gaia should be able to understand the current situation more clearly than the data of their TAC team.
"Regarding this, the TAC team has prepared a star-destroying missile, which will be launched this afternoon. I will drive the rocket into the dark universe and complete the launch mission."
"Blow it up directly? What about the Ultra Brothers?"
Beidou didn't answer. In fact, he hadn't thought it through yet. He could only take things one step at a time.
Chapter 47: Gaia's Gift
Ling sat very upright on the sofa in the reception room when the conversation really started.
Whether it was her in her previous life or the eldest daughter of the Oshima family, she had received more or less etiquette training, which had become an instinct. Therefore, Beidou, who was originally sitting casually, subconsciously became restrained and sat straight.
It feels like going back to school and facing the teacher.
Ling realized this and came to her senses. She deliberately relaxed a little, "Sorry, I didn't realize it..."
"It's okay, it's okay, it's my fault."
At this time, a receptionist came in and brought a cup of tea to each of them. After she left and made sure that there was no one around, Ling continued:
"I'm sorry, I can't help you. Because my power comes from this planet. Once I leave here, the light energy will be depleted and cannot be replenished."
"Ah, no need to apologize, this is to be expected. My brothers have mentioned this to me before."
"Have you mentioned it? Did the Ultra Brothers know Gaia before?"
"No, that's not what I meant. It's just that we in the Kingdom of Light understand how rare and precious it is for a planet to give birth to consciousness and light. It just so happens that it's Earth, this beautiful planet that is no different from our former home. It's really an indescribable fate. So the Kingdom of Light is looking forward to the day when Earth's civilization can work side by side with the Kingdom of Light to maintain the peace of light in this universe."
"It's like this... Although there is no way to go to Gogda Star, I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help." Lingye said while holding up his hands.
From Hokuto Seiji's perspective, she didn't have anything in her hands, so he didn't pay much attention to it and just thought she was just doing it casually.
"Well, you stay on Earth to prevent the Yabo people from taking this opportunity to send more Ultra Beasts to Earth, and relieve Ace's worries. This will be the greatest help to Ace."
Beidou's reaction made Ling feel both relieved and regretful.
Because her hand was not empty at this moment, but contained Jack's Ultra Medal. Beidou, or Ace, was completely unaware of it.
It seems that the "golden finger" she brought from her previous world can only be seen and used by her, which makes her feel a little fortunate - anyone who has his own "golden finger" will always have such a mentality. But at the same time, she also feels a little regretful that the medal cannot be lent to Ace. Otherwise, he would have a better chance of rescuing the Ultra Brothers.
If Ace could use it, she would not hesitate to lend the medal, but it seems that this method is not feasible now.
"That rocket, are you and Sister Yuko going together?"
"No, just me. That rocket can only carry one person."
"But if that's the case, how can you merge into Ace?"
This was something Beidou had not been sure about before, but before he could speak, Ling also separated a strand of Gaia's light, broke it into two and continued:
"This is the light of the Earth. It does not exist in the form of electromagnetic waves, but is a kind of consciousness, similar to pure information. Its essence is similar to the soul of a living being, so it will not be isolated by the dark universe."
"soul?"
"Everything comes from Gaia and returns to Gaia." Ling also said this without further explanation. "You and Sister Yuko each take a copy, and use the earth as the coordinate. When needed, Ace's light can find a connection."
"That's great. I was worried about this." Beidou happily took the two pieces of Gaia's Light and let the light attach to the Ultra Ring.
The light was as warm and bright as Ace's, and the two were not mutually exclusive, but they seemed to be completely different in nature. The light of the Ultra Warriors came from the Spark Tower, which was actually a star-like energy source. But the light of Gaia had nothing to do with it.
Gaia never draws energy from the stars. For her, it makes no difference whether the battle is fought in the day or at night, the only thing that matters is whether or not she is on Earth.
Although he said before that he and Xizi could find a link for Ace's light, that was just Beidou's guess to comfort Nan Xizi, and even he himself was not sure. Now that he has the light of Gaia as a beacon, he can transform into Ace at any time, which solves the biggest problem for Beidou.
Ling didn't stay long. She left after drinking a cup of tea and saw Butler Ye was still waiting for her in the car in the parking lot.
She skipped half a day's work to come to the TAC team today. The filming of director Asaka's TV series has restarted, but she didn't have many parts in the new episode. It tells the story of Sakura and her sister-in-law Tsukishiro Yukito attending the summer festival together.
Speaking of the summer festival, Sakura is still nervous about the fireworks display she had previously bought the Ultra Beast from, and she doesn't know if it can go off normally.
The launch time of the Sublight Speed 14 rocket is :. At noon, Beidou arrived at the launch base early.
He had already given half of Gaia's Light to Nan Xizi, and all the preparations that could be made were already made. The only thing left was to fight. Although he didn't know what kind of traps the Yabo people had set for him on the planet Gogda, it didn't matter now.
Commander Takakura, Captain Long, and all the members of the TAC team gathered in front of the main control system in the command room and watched the launch of the rocket.
"Ten seconds countdown, nine, eight, seven..."
As the countdown was completed, Rocket No. 7 gushed out blue flames and rushed into the sky at a very high acceleration. Beidou was pressed tightly against the seat by the acceleration, and the arrow body trembled violently due to the friction with the atmosphere. Even Beidou felt the instinctive discomfort of his body. If it were an ordinary person, he might have fainted long ago.
Sub-light speed rockets were not designed to carry people. Even the well-trained TAC members may not be able to withstand it, but fortunately, after breaking through the atmosphere, such shaking disappeared. Although the rocket was still accelerating, Beidou felt much better.
"How's it going, Beidou?"
"Yeah, I feel fine, no problem."
If it were an ordinary space mission, then the period just now would be the most dangerous stage. After the rocket safely completed the launch and orbital integration, the tower could cheer and celebrate the victory.
But this is no ordinary sky survey mission.
The rocket still needed to continue flying in space for several hours. In front of the main control console, neither Captain Long nor Commander Gao Cang had any intention of leaving to rest. Everyone was waiting, and there was no sound. The only sound in the command room was Beidou's occasional reports.
As time passed, the rocket got closer and closer to its target.