Chapter 1406
Humans: Oh, fine, I'll join then.
With the Dinosaur Man officially joining the Earth camp, TPC dropped all pretense and held a globally broadcast press conference to reveal the truth.
Director Sawai stood on the stage and calmly announced: "From today onwards, the Dinosaur People officially become a member of the Earth Defense Alliance, and we will all be comrades-in-arms fighting side by side from now on."
Upon hearing this, the reporters in the audience were stunned for a second, then all lowered their heads to continue taking notes, without even a gasp.
The scene was eerily quiet, as if Director Sawai had just said not "we have gained a non-human ally," but rather "the cafeteria has added a new dish today."
Sitting in a corner of the audience, Cui Ming crossed his arms and turned to Katsuragi Misato beside him, whispering, "See, I told you, these people have big hearts. If your world suddenly announced that the apostles had become teammates, the people would have already gone crazy."
Misato rolled her eyes: "How can that be the same? Our apostles came with the intention of destroying the world, while the dinosaur people here are at least native to Earth, so they are, in a sense, native inhabitants."
“That makes sense.” Cui Ming nodded, his gaze sweeping over the expressionless reporters. “But the main reason is that the public has long been numb to it. After the Gazot and Kirieloid people, one wave after another, now, let alone dinosaur people, even if the TPC announced the discovery of subterranean people, underwater people, and lunar people tomorrow, everyone would probably just say ‘oh’.”
As they were talking, the live stream switched to a street interview.
A reporter, microphone in hand, stopped an office worker and asked, "What are your thoughts on dinosaur people joining Earth's ranks?"
The office worker, carrying a briefcase, had a "don't delay me from catching the tram" look on his face: "That's great! It'll be good to have more people to help fight the monster. I was there when that guy punched Gakuzot away last time. He was really fierce! With them in front of us, we can work overtime with peace of mind."
An older woman buying groceries nearby chimed in, "That's right, that's right! The dinosaur people may look a bit strange, but at least they don't attack us. Last time, they even helped my grandson get a balloon down from a tree. They're much more polite than some aliens!"
Even more outrageous, a high school student in a school uniform gave a thumbs-up to the camera and said, "Dinosaur guy, you're awesome! Can you ask them to do a live stream and teach us how to tear monsters apart with our bare hands? I'll definitely send you rockets!"
Cui Ming looked at these interviews and his lips twitched: "...Goodness, this mentality isn't just big, it's evolved into a titanium alloy heart."
Misato chuckled and nudged him with her elbow: "Isn't this perfect? It saves you the trouble of explaining. If it were my side, NERV would have to write an eight-hundred-page report to appease the public before releasing information about an Angel. But here, the public has already done the psychological preparation themselves."
“Of course.” Cui Ming stood up and dusted off his clothes. “In this world, cosmic monsters and aliens are just daily challenges. The people may not have developed anything else, but their resilience is definitely the best in the entire universe. Now that a dinosaur-man has suddenly become a teammate, it’s like having a free, powerful NPC in a game. They’re overjoyed.”
Misato stood up and walked out while complaining, "Powerful NPCs... How did you even come up with that? If the dinosaur people heard you describe them like that, they'd probably challenge you to a duel."
“Sure.” Cui Ming shrugged, looking nonchalant. “I’ve been itching to have some practice lately, and sparring with them can help strengthen our camaraderie.”
"You call that a friendly exchange? That's a one-sided beating."
"You can't say that. I was very careful with my actions."
"Temperament my foot! You didn't say that last time when you turned that alien into dumpling filling!"
The two left the venue while bickering, leaving behind a group of calm reporters and members of the public who continued to discuss whether the addition of the dinosaur people could incidentally solve Tokyo's housing price problem.
After all, in this world, even monsters can be adapted to, so what's a few more dinosaur-man neighbors?
Adam and Iwu, standing nearby, were somewhat speechless.
No, we're still here.
The two looked at each other, feeling utterly bewildered. They were supposed to be the main characters at this press conference, but they had been left out in the cold, watching helplessly as Choi Myung and Katsuragi Misato bickered as if no one else was around, before finally walking away without even receiving a proper welcome.
Adam opened his mouth, wanting to remind everyone of his presence, but Yi Wu secretly tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to say less.
After all, the murderous aura emanating from Mr. Cui Ming could be vaguely felt even when he wasn't working. He was like a dozing beast, looking lazy, but who knew when he would open his eyes and bite.
But I never expected Mr. Choi Myung to be so interesting when he's not working.
Yi Wu tilted her head, her gaze following the figure that had already reached the entrance of the venue, and she wondered to herself.
His nonchalant demeanor just now was completely different from the legendary Storm One who could crush super beasts into mincemeat and smash the heads of extradimensional beings like watermelons.
The contrast is so stark that it makes one wonder if there are two Cui Mings.
At this moment, Yi Wu asked from the side, "Mr. Cui Ming, what exactly happened to Earth that caused everyone to be so..."
She pointed to the press conference venue, where reporters were packing up their equipment in twos and threes, their conversations having veered from dinosaurs to where to go for barbecue this weekend, as if the global news they had just heard was nothing more than a commercial break.
"Such a big heart?"
Cui Ming paused, glanced back, and then shrugged helplessly.
"We encountered many monsters and aliens, and then... nothing more."
He spoke casually, as if he were remarking on the nice weather, casually pulling a protein bar from his pocket, tearing open the packaging, and taking a bite. "Besides, most aliens come with malice. At least the dinosaur people are one of our own. Look at those bastards, the crow people, the kind who come to capture slaves."
He chewed on a protein bar, speaking in a casual tone as if he were discussing which type of cabbage was fresher at the market.
"."
Adam and Iwu both fell silent.
The Crow People—they'd heard of them; those space pirates who specialized in plundering inhabitants of other planets and enslaving them, using cruel methods.
And yet, Earthlings can treat this kind of encounter as everyday conversation, and even casually comment that "dinosaur people are much more polite than crow people"?
How extensive must this experience be to warrant such a comparative standard?
"So, you don't need to worry so much."
Asuka, who was sitting next to Choi Myung, suddenly interjected. She was looking down at her phone, and the screen seemed to be showing a game live stream where the streamer was passionately explaining the power ranking of Earth's defense line after the dinosaurs joined.
"Anyway, everyone's used to it."
Without looking up, her fingers flew across the screen, her tone dismissive as if she were just saying, "The food was awful today."
"."*2
Awesome.
Adam and Iwu could only feel this way.
The two looked at each other and saw the same shock in each other's eyes.
After sleeping for tens of millions of years, the dinosaur-men awoke to find the world had changed. Their original ambition to restart Earth's ecology was thwarted by Cui Ming, and they were then misled by TPC, ultimately becoming henchmen of Earth's camp without even realizing it.
I was initially worried that people might reject, fear, or engage in racial segregation, but now that I see—
Think more.
Humans simply don't care.
It's not the kind of indifference that comes from being forced to accept something; it's the kind of utter indifference that goes, "Oh, you're here. Have a seat, have some tea, and remember to call me when you're fighting monsters."
Yi Wu opened her mouth, but after a long pause, she managed to stammer out, "Then when we go out in the future..."
"Just wander around." Cui Ming waved his hand, crumpled the protein bar wrapper into a ball, and stuffed it into his pocket. "Just don't transform and damage public facilities. Last time, when that alien grew to gigantic size, he flattened a convenience store, and the public's reaction was—"
He paused deliberately, mimicking an exaggerated tone: "'Wow, potato chips are on sale! Grab them now!'"
"."
Adam felt that his worldview was undergoing an 8.0 magnitude earthquake.
Don't these people even try to save their own lives?!
"Why run for your life?" Cui Ming seemed to see through his thoughts, and scoffed, "Can you outrun a monster? No way. So why not just do what you were doing? Anyway, TPC and the GUTS team are there to hold them off. If they can't hold them off, there's Ultraman. And if Ultraman can't hold them off—"
He patted his chest and gave Adam a smile that sent chills down his spine.
"And me too."
"."
Yi Wu suddenly realized that joining the Earth camp might have been the right decision than she had imagined.
It's not because Earth is so powerful, but because Earthlings' ridiculously high resilience and adaptability are a racial talent tailor-made for cosmic warfare.
Adam took a deep breath, trying to accept the reality, and then cautiously asked, "Mr. Cui Ming, what kind of training do we need to do next?"
"Training?" Cui Ming swallowed the last bite of the protein bar, licked his fingers, and said, "First, learn how to use a human toilet. With your dinosaur-like size, public toilets can't handle it."
"."
"Just kidding." Cui Ming grinned, a smile that actually seemed rather cheerful in the sunlight, provided one ignored the ever-present malice in his eyes. (End of Chapter)