Chapter 1372
Dinosaur Man: Thighs!!!
"Sigh...this world..."
Lina sat on the sofa in the lounge, holding a stack of information about the Lightning Man.
The dense text and photographs document everything about this creature, from its ecological habits to its attack patterns, from the structure of its ionospheric nests to cases of it preying on humans.
She turned the page and her gaze fell on a photo of a missing passenger plane.
The fuselage was badly damaged, the cockpit windows were covered with corrosion marks, and the cockpit was empty.
Lina looked at the documents in front of her.
What was the man in the Lightning thinking?
She put down the photo, rubbed her temples, and spoke with weariness and confusion in her voice.
"Can't we all just coexist peacefully... instead of courting disaster..."
I'm really dead...
She recalled the torn-to-the-bone Gazorts on the battlefield, Nexus covered in blood, and the scene of EDF soldiers firing wildly.
That wasn't a drill; that was real war, a life-or-death struggle.
Hey……
Actually, Lina's group has more ideas about coexistence.
She has always believed that life on Earth should be tolerant of each other, and that humans should not take advantage of their civilization to arbitrarily expel other species.
Whether they are monsters or freaks, as long as they do not actively harm humans, they should be given space to live.
However, she also knew what was important and what was urgent.
When the Lightning People started treating humans as food, when they hid in the clouds and watched cities being destroyed without lifting a finger, when they actively attacked passenger planes and devoured innocent lives, the premise for coexistence no longer existed.
Of course, the most important thing is that she knows she is a human being.
Lina put down her documents, picked up the coffee on the table, and took a sip. The bitter liquid slid down her throat, making her thoughts even clearer.
She is a member of the Victory Team, a frontline warrior protecting humanity.
When it comes to the survival of their race, she has no right to sympathize with monsters that feed on humans.
Besides, look at how the dinosaur people could coexist with humans, why do you lightning people have so many problems?
She recalled the dinosaur people she had met before. Although that ancient race had also been enemies of humans, they ultimately chose to understand and yield, and even provided assistance at times.
In comparison, the Lightning Man's actions are simply incomprehensible.
"I really... can't figure it out."
Lina muttered under her breath, closed the document, and tossed it onto the coffee table.
The door to the lounge was pushed open, and Daigo walked in, carrying two bottles of water.
"Still looking at Lightning Man's data?"
He handed Lina a bottle of water and sat down next to her.
“Hmm,” Lina took the water and unscrewed the cap, “I just think… it’s a real shame.”
"What a pity?" Daigo raised an eyebrow.
“Yes,” Lina said, looking out at the gloomy sky. “They could have lived peacefully in the ionosphere, without interfering with each other, but they had to come down and eat people… Now look what happened, they’ve all been wiped out.”
Daigo was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.
"The captain said that coexistence is based on mutual respect. If they don't respect humans, then they shouldn't blame humans for being impolite."
“I know,” Lina sighed, “so I’m just saying. When it’s time to hit, I won’t hold back.”
Daigo looked at her, a slight smile of understanding on his lips.
"We are all the same."
The lounge fell silent, with only the low hum of the air conditioner.
Lina knew that everyone on the Victory Team, including herself, had come to regard Lightning Man as an enemy.
This is not prejudice, but a choice.
From the moment they put humans on their dinner table, this fate was sealed.
Lightning Man is now considered an enemy.
TPC headquarters has issued an official document listing the Lightning People as a hostile species with the highest threat level, meaning that they can be opened fire on any encounter without warning.
This document stands in stark contrast to the previous monster ecology guide.
But the dinosaur people were different.
They integrated into human society at an astonishing speed.
In the dinosaur-human residential area specially set up by TPC, the smaller dinosaur-humans who can mimic human forms have learned to use electrical appliances, ride the subway, buy lunch boxes at convenience stores, and even watch short videos. This excludes some of the larger, highly intelligent dinosaurs.
These creatures are too large to shrink and mimic like their counterparts, so they have to stay in specially designated protected areas where TPC provides for their needs.
These dinosaurs could not move around freely.
It's not that TPC restricts them, but that they themselves simply don't want to run around.
Actually, these dinosaurs didn't want to run around, mainly because they were afraid of being eaten as snacks by monsters.
The dinosaurs in the Ultraman world had a miserable life.
A bunch of monsters ate them as snacks.
In the reserve, a Triceratops the size of a small mountain is basking in the sun by an artificial lake.
Its name is Rock Iron, and it is the elder among this group of highly intelligent dinosaurs. At this moment, it is looking at the sky with its cloudy eyes, its eyes full of vicissitudes.
A TPC worker came over with a bucket of feed and placed it near its mouth.
"Mr. Yantie, is today's food to your liking?"
Rock Iron lowered his head, sniffed the synthetic plants in the bucket, and let out a low sigh.
"It'll do, it's better than eating tree bark in the wild back then."
Its sound was like two stones rubbing together, carrying an ancient and profound quality.
The staff member sat down next to it, looked up at its enormous body, and couldn't help but ask a question.
"I heard you used to live in the wild? What was it like back then?"
A flicker of fear flashed in Rock Iron's eyes. It instinctively shrank its neck and moved its massive body further into the lake, as if it were safer in the water.
"Back then?"
It let out a cold laugh, a laugh filled with endless bitterness.
"Back then, we were the prey!"
Yan Tie's voice trembled, as if he were caught up in some terrible memory.
"Monsters are everywhere—flying in the sky, running on the ground, swimming in the water! That guy Golza could swallow half our tribe whole in one gulp! Melba swoops down from the sky, and one swipe of its claws takes a life! And then there's Gakuma, those two damned creatures, they stuff us into their mouths like stones!"
The staff were stunned and forgot to open their notebooks.
"But...but aren't you dinosaurs? Weren't you the former rulers of Earth?"
"overlord?"
Rock Iron let out a mournful roar, which shook the surface of the lake.
"Before Ultraman appeared, we were indeed the overlords! But what happened after those monsters came? What were we? Appetizers! Snacks! Bones for them to grind their teeth!"
It lowered its head and pawed the ground with its huge front hooves, sending mud flying, as if venting the grievances that had been accumulating for countless years.
Do you know what the worst thing is?
Yan Tie's voice lowered, tinged with an almost desperate sob.
"We clearly have brains, we clearly can think, we clearly know we are no match for them, yet we can only watch our companions being eaten one by one, unable even to escape..."
The staff member fell silent, looking at the huge, sorrowful dinosaur before him, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him.
He finally understood why these highly intelligent dinosaurs preferred to stay in protected areas and eat synthetic feed rather than return to the wild.
That wasn't imprisonment, that was protection.
In this world overrun by monsters, human cities have become the safest places.
Yan Tie raised his head and looked at the vast sky outside the protected area, his eyes filled with the relief of surviving a disaster.
"So, young man, don't feel sorry for us."
Its voice returned to calm, carrying a sense of detached understanding.
"Being alive, not being eaten, and being able to bask in the sun every day is already the greatest happiness."
The staff member nodded and reached out to pat its rough nose.
"Don't worry, it's safe here. TPC will protect you."
Yan Tie closed his eyes and let out a satisfied snort.
"I hope so... I hope those monsters never find this place..."
A gentle breeze rippled across the lake, creating shimmering waves.
In the distance, the faint sounds of city life drifted by—the voice of human civilization, and also the last refuge for these ancient creatures. (End of Chapter)