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But the next moment, Yamanaka also realized that something was wrong.
These fireflies do bite!
The fireflies all over the mountains, originally a fairy-tale scene, now turned into a terrifying "piranha school". Countless fireflies flew and attacked the TAC team!
Yamanaka fired two shots, but it was obvious that the TAC gun had no effect on these thousands of insects flying together.
The frantic dancing of wild bees is scary enough, but these fireflies are much scarier than wild bees, because wild bees only shoot stingers at perceived intruders, while these fireflies are the most ferocious predators.
"No wonder there are no other animals on this plain!" Noriko suddenly realized. She had just noticed that this firefly plain was too quiet, with no frog sounds or insect chirps. This was a dead end for all living things.
But it's too late to say this now.
"Hurry back to the car, back to the Black Panther, and get the convoy out of here!" Captain Long ordered. While he was talking, he was bitten hard on the face by a firefly. He slapped the firefly to death, but compared to the huge number of fireflies flying in the sky, this was meaningless.
One of the defense soldiers escorting the vehicle took a flamethrower from the vehicle and the flames licked the swarm of insects in the sky, turning into a six or seven meter long dragon of fire. At this moment, they did not care whether it would cause a fire in the surrounding grass. In other words, it would be better if the fire set on the grassland could kill the fireflies.
The light of the flames illuminated the entire plain.
The flamethrower was indeed much more effective than the TAC gun. I saw countless insects falling from the sky and burning into charcoal.
But Captain Long was not happy but shocked.
"Don't get out of the car! Stay in the car, close the windows, and guard the transport truck as it rushes out of here!"
But Captain Long's order was too late. The flamethrower was indeed powerful, but the swarm was too large and could not cover all directions.
On the contrary, the bright flame became the most dazzling target. Insects are naturally attracted to light, and a large number of fireflies gathered from all directions.
Moths flying into a flame is a description of overestimating one's own capabilities. But if the number of moths reaches tens of millions, then the flame will indeed be conquered by these moths.
Densely packed, densely packed, the fluorescent light of death danced wildly. After just a moment, the flames in the flamethrower stopped, a short wail came from that direction, and then only the sound of insects flying remained.
Although the dense swarms of fireflies blocked the view, everyone could clearly see what was happening there.
"It turns out that these fireflies are the ones attacking passing drivers!"
This is obviously the truth, but it is too late to know. Firefly Plains, originally a romantic name, now sounds like a terrifying Jedi.
Fireflies attack everyone within sight, just like locusts filling the sky during a famine, or like army ants devouring everything in the forest. Any living thing on this plain is their prey.
No, not everyone.
Ling also stood, but the fireflies around her did not attack her. The light of Gaia that she had originally condensed into a protective shield gradually dissipated, but even so, no fireflies came to disturb her. After thinking about it, Ling also condensed some light on her fingertips. Normally, this light expressing Gaia's kindness could attract birds, beasts, fish and insects, but at this time nothing happened, and no fireflies approached.
It seems that these fireflies do not show closeness to Gaia like other animals and plants, but similarly, any life born on Earth will not actively attack her.
This is instinct. Even if the Yabo people forced unknown means upon them, they still did not go against this instinct.
So, do they still recognize themselves as life on Earth?
Ling doesn’t know either.
The scene in front of her was like something out of a disaster movie, or a fairy tale. Ling didn't know what she should do or what she could do.
In the 1970s, the sky was not yet seriously polluted. The sky was a brilliant river of stars. The stars in the sky were shining brightly, and there were countless stars on the ground. For a moment, the boundary between heaven and earth was blurred.
Then let’s sing.
Ling also suddenly had this idea.
When words and emotions are powerless, music is ready to go - the words were spoken by someone who has been forgotten, maybe Beethoven, or Tchaikovsky. Ling has forgotten who signed this famous quote hanging on the wall of the music classroom.
But that doesn't matter.
These fireflies had forgotten their habits and their carnivorous nature as larvae had been stimulated, but they did not attack her, so Ling also felt that there were some things they had not forgotten.
Chapter 90 The Singer
[The distant golden stars shining in the night sky. I saw them in my dream last night. They were the color of birds.]
The girl's voice rang out over the plain. At first it was barely audible amid the noise, but gradually it became clearer.
In the midst of an insect plague, people should not have had the mind to appreciate music, but the song had a calming power that lingered clearly in everyone's ears.
Ling was also singing, but her mind gradually rose higher and became a vision of a certain existence. He overlooked the firefly plain, the TAC team, military vehicles, transport vehicles, countless fireflies, and the open field in the darkness.
Looking back, it didn’t take too long. More than 20 years ago, this place was still a barren mountain with green land, and everything was pristine. Gradually, roads were developed in the mountains. The winding mountain road connected the mountains and the city. Traffic brought people, and residents were established around it, with vehicles coming and going every day.
It is conceivable that with the gradual acceleration of urbanization, one day this plain will disappear into ancient memory. And that time will not be too far away.
The fireflies that depend on this plain will also disappear. The name "Firefly Plain" will be replaced by the names of the roads built by future generations. No one will remember that this was once the home of a large group of fireflies.
The sight continued to rise, into the clouds, and continued upward. The plains were gone, and the sparks of human civilization replaced the faint light of fireflies in the darkness. As far as the eye could see, it stretched beyond the horizon. It was even more vast, with endless neon lights forming a long dragon, like a glass paradise, spreading out like a spider web, filling the entire field of vision.
Ling also suddenly had an illusion.
The fireflies were changed by the Yabo people, and they devoured other creatures on the plains. A little bit of fireflies attacked humans crazily, like a terrible natural disaster. But what about the fireflies that belonged to humans?
Compared to the green fluorescence of those crazy fireflies, the light of human civilization that occupies the field of vision is more vast. How many lives have been devoured by the light of human beings? How many creatures have been deprived of their homes? Perhaps that is a more terrible natural disaster?
But, there's no going back.
Having embarked on the journey of civilization evolution, humans can no longer return to the era of slash-and-burn farming. Individuals can return to the mountains and forests, throw away their mobile phones and electrical appliances, and briefly enjoy the so-called pastoral life, just like what is written in "Walden". Everyone has that corner of desire in their heart, so "Walden" has become a famous book.
But as a whole, humanity cannot stop. Billions of people around the world cannot abandon everything and return to the mountains and forests. Once the pace of evolution begins, it cannot be stopped, otherwise only destruction will befall them, by monsters, by aliens, or even by humans themselves.
From a higher perspective, the earth could no longer be seen, and the world became a round sphere. In the boundless and dark universe, a blue sphere was spinning alone.
Beautiful, but lonely. This is the Earth in Gaia's eyes. He never cares about individual humans, or even a certain biological group. He almost always stays outside the long river of time and has a much more macro perspective. Thousands of years, tens of thousands of years, are the entire history of human civilization, but for Him it is just a moment.
Perhaps the five mass extinctions that the Earth had experienced could leave a little ripple and a little memory in His heart. Apart from that, it doesn’t matter to Him whether it is humans or dinosaurs that dominate the Earth. Because the term “dominate the Earth” is ridiculous. A huge sand castle built by the sea, thinking that you are the king who rules everything, will leave nothing behind after the big waves.
The Earth was born 46 billion years ago. After the 8 million-year-long Hadean period, signs of life appeared on Earth as early as 38 billion years ago, entering the Paleozoic Era.
No one knows whether there were any biological groups on Earth that could be called civilized in the 38 billion years before humans appeared, but it is clear that even if there were one or more generations of civilized creatures, their evolutionary process had failed. The sand castles on the seashore covered by the waves left nothing behind. Even the remains built with the most stable molecular structure may stand for millions or tens of millions of years, but they cannot withstand the erosion of hundreds of millions or billions of years.
Ling had never been so confused as she was at that moment, wondering why Gaia chose her. A great being that stood outside the long river of time chose an insignificant little creature as its spokesperson. Was it really Gaia who was talking to her at that time?
Gaia should be more indifferent. How could she empathize with the joys, sorrows, anger, and happiness of living things after billions of years of looking at everything so lonely? But at that time, she was so humane.
Protect the earth on His behalf?
Ling never thought that she was special. Rather than being flattered, she was trembling with fear. Was she really qualified to respond to Gaia's expectations and the expectations of human civilization?
Just like a few weeks ago, she used the photon ice blade to destroy the armored crab monster. Until now, she did not regret taking action at that time, but she could not let go of her doubts. The hatred of the armored crab for humans - even if it was the result of being controlled by the Yabo people, the hatred was real.
She always stood on the side of humanity, but she didn't know whether what she did was right for Gaia.
It's like letting a child hold the nuclear bomb launch button for the whole world. Ling also thinks that she is the ignorant child. She doesn't know what choice is right, nor does she know when to press the button.
At that time and moment, it was just like this moment.
There is no doubt that the fireflies are controlled by the Yawa people, but Ling also believes that this hatred is real for the fireflies. Attacking passing vehicles and blocking traffic on the road is indeed their intention.
They hope that the Firefly Plains can return to their past, which is their homeland. Human development has built roads, and the noisy sounds and exhaust fumes of cars have painted this place with human colors. Not only that, the pace of human development will not stop. Maybe in five years, maybe in ten years, the Firefly Plains will be gone forever.
This group of fireflies will also lose the land on which they depend for survival - such things are happening every moment in every corner of the world.
But what can she do?
Even though she could see the Earth from this perspective, she was not Gaia, but just an ordinary Earthling, a girl who looked nine years old but was actually only a high school student. She had long known that Gaia would not interfere with her choices, just as He had never commented on how she used Gaia's light in the past few months.
Ling is also a human, so she can only make choices that lean toward humans. This was determined from the beginning.
The fireflies stopped attacking during the singing.
Ling was also singing, pouring her emotions into her singing. Language is a shortcut for human communication, a high-level code that only humans can master, but singing is the ultimate way of communication. Even a peasant woman in a remote village in North America can tell whether the other party is sad or happy from the drums of an African tribe on the other side of the world.
Songs are common not only among humans, but also among all living things. Singers are probably the first and perhaps the last way for humans to communicate.
[The distant silver moon shines in the night sky. I saw it in my dream last night. It was the color of a wild rose.]
This was a real emotion that Ling had not felt when she sang to her music teacher before. She hoped that the fireflies could listen to this "Night Song" and at least find a moment of peace in this song.
This prayer was also watched and promised by Gaia.
So the fireflies really went quiet. The influence exerted by the Yabo people, by some unknown means, had disappeared.
"It's so beautiful." On the hillside, Hisayoshi, who arrived late, murmured.
"Yes." Zhemu nodded in agreement. The flying fireflies were indeed a fairy tale scene - he missed the scene of the fireflies eating people just now.
Kuze ignored Tsurugi because they were not talking about the same thing.
There is no more beautiful scene than the song that touches the soul and the prayer that is answered.
Kuze took out the Kagura bell and performed Kagura dance on the grassland - not Reiya's radio gymnastics, but the real, ancient Kagura dance. A dance dedicated to the gods they worship.
Her long silver-blue hair fluttered with the movement of her body, and her deep red eyes reflected the brilliant and colorful light of God that only she could see.
One witch is singing and the other is dancing.
Singing is to calm anger and appease the creatures on earth. Dancing is to worship the gods and offer faith.
Unintentional and yet appropriate harmony. Just like the mythological era, Kagura dance traces back to its source.
In his sight, he indeed saw the dancing priestess, and the fireflies in the sky seemed to be dancing with her, but at the same time, Ling also saw a certain abrupt light spot among the fireflies in his vision, which was out of tune with the other fireflies.
That's not a creature from Earth!
found it!
At the same time, an ominous voice echoed across the Firefly Plains—
[Super Beast Hotalenga, no need to hide anymore, come out and stop the TAC team's transportation plan! ]
A small dot of light that originally looked no different from an ordinary firefly quickly grew larger at the sound of the Yabo people until it reached a height of over 40 meters.
It was a Ultra Beast. The Firefly Ultra Beast Hotalunga.
"It's the Super Beast!" Captain Long heaved a sigh of relief when the Super Beast appeared. The enemy had already revealed their cards, so there was nothing to say, and the only thing left was to fight.
"Everyone listen up, target the super beast, concentrate your firepower and start attacking!"
Everyone has been waiting for this moment.
The first to open fire was Konno's shoulder-mounted rocket launcher, followed by Yoshimura and Yamanaka's TAC guns. But the real firepower came from the SADF vehicles. For this transport mission, the SADF vehicles were equipped with a large number of large-caliber weapons.
"Hokuto, Minami, the two of you escort Ryoko to safety."
After the fireflies stopped attacking, Beidou immediately found Ryoko, took off the mask on her face, and shot the mask to pieces. At this time, Ryoko had already fainted - Beidou didn't think it was caused by him, he just pulled with Ryoko a few times, most likely because of the heavy fall from Captain Long just now.
"understand!"
Beidou carried Ryoko and made a gesture to Nan Xizi.
Ace's ring was already flashing, and they were just trying to find an excuse to get out of sight when Captain Long's order came just in time.