Chapter 16
CEA Meeting
The CEA headquarters hovers above the stratosphere, its majestic hull remaining perfectly still despite the relentless onslaught of raging high-altitude air currents and waves.
Warm yellow light emanates from the portholes on the outer wall, and from a distance, they look like countless stars twinkling in layers under the dim sky, outlining a lonely and beautiful aerial fortress.
However, inside this base, which gathers the most advanced human technology, the former order has long been broken. A heavy atmosphere permeates every corner like a haze. CEA staff members in different uniforms hurry along the circular corridor, their footsteps sounding particularly clear in the deathly silence.
On the top floor of the base, in a highly oppressive strategic conference room, the heads of various departments gathered together. On the projection screen, a terrifying scene of Golza tearing apart the earth's crust was playing on a loop, while cold red data scrolled rapidly beside it: "Length 63 meters, weight approximately 6.8 tons, surface hardness... incalculable."
The scene suddenly changed, and Ultraman Sirius appeared prominently in the center of the screen.
"Standing 52 meters tall and weighing approximately 45,000 tons, its physical characteristics are extremely similar to Ultraman, a tokusatsu IP created by Tsuburaya Productions in the 1960s."
To demonstrate this visually, Sirius and the original Ultraman were placed side by side on the screen, and the almost perfect overlap made everyone present gasp.
While everyone was still processing these absurd statistics, an elderly man with a mustache slammed his fist on the table and demanded in a booming voice, "Has Tsuburaya Productions thoroughly investigated this? Is this a coincidence or deliberate?"
"We've already investigated thoroughly." The reporter adjusted his glasses and replied in a deep voice, "Tsuburaya Productions went bankrupt after the Ultraman series ended. Currently, we can only contact their descendants for inquiries." He paused, then lowered his voice and added:
"Furthermore, according to some unconfirmed rumors, Eiji Tsuburaya himself... seems to be a Venusian."
Just as the elderly sanitation worker was about to press for more information, the director sitting in the main seat coldly interrupted him: "Director Yoshida, leave professional matters to the intelligence department. The current issue is monsters and giants, not urban legends."
Seeing that the director had spoken, Director Yoshida, though unwilling, could only shut up. Everyone's eyes then turned to Captain Sato, who had had close contact with the giant and the monster.
Receiving a signal from the director, Captain Sato understood and took out his tactical terminal.
"After comprehensive analysis, I believe that the giants may be our allies."
"An ally?" Director Yoshida glared at Sato as if he'd heard a joke, and sneered without any politeness, "A giant life form of unknown origin, which has only appeared once, what makes you think it's a friend? Based on intuition?"
"Based on the facts."
Sato's voice was calm and powerful. He did not use weak words to defend himself, but directly connected the terminal to the holographic projection.
The first scene unfolds: Just as the Dragon Might was about to be engulfed by Golza's beam, Ultraman Sirius blocked the attack.
The second video followed immediately: before the giant dissipated into particles of light, it turned towards the Dragon's Might and nodded slightly to the defense team members on the bridge.
"First, he saved everyone on the Dragon's Might; second, that nodding gesture was a clear manifestation of goodwill from a highly intelligent life form."
"You're considering someone a friend based on just these two points?" Director Yoshida sneered, his tone sharp as a knife. "The most dangerous thing in the law of the universe is feigned goodwill! Can you guarantee it won't turn on you? Can you bear the devastating consequences of this trust?"
As soon as the questioning fell, a refined-looking elderly man slowly interjected, breaking the deadlock: "Director Yoshida, whether it's well-intentioned or malicious, it's too early to discuss these things now."
The urgent task is not to assume the giant's position, but to assess our own strengths and weaknesses—do we truly have the ability to defeat it?
The refined old man's words hit the nail on the head, and Director Yoshida opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment.
At this moment, the reporter pulled up another set of data, his voice hoarse: "Based on the analysis of the Dragon's Might's attack feedback on the monsters, our conventional firepower couldn't even penetrate the monsters' outer layer of skin. Facing giants of the same level... we seem to have no chance of winning."
A deathly silence fell over the conference room. Director Yoshida and the refined old man seemed about to argue further, but the director abruptly stopped them.
"Since we can't defeat them, we shouldn't reveal our hostility for now." The director's gaze swept across the room with an undeniable air of authority. "Regardless of whether the giants are good or evil, we must prepare for the worst."
From this moment forward, all personnel are on high alert. We must not only guard against potential giants, but also remain constantly vigilant against the monsters that are awakening!
With the director's final decision, the strategic meeting, filled with tension and anxiety, finally came to an end. The officers, each with a different expression, packed up their documents, whispered among themselves, and filed out. The large conference room quickly emptied, leaving only the lingering tension in the air.
Captain Sato did not follow the crowd and leave. He stood quietly in place until the last door closed before he stepped towards the head of the table.
The director didn't stand up immediately. He looked intently at Sato, who had walked up to him, and asked softly, "Now that there are no outsiders, Sato, tell me honestly, do you think that giant really had good intentions?"
Instead of directly answering the director's question, Sato said very seriously, "Director, this is actually like when we were kids trying to make a new friend for the first time."
The director raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue.
"When facing a new, unfamiliar classmate, if you always keep a straight face and clench your fists because you're afraid of rejection or being hurt, the other person will definitely be wary of you, and you'll forever remain strangers, or even become enemies." Sato's voice was calm and gentle:
"But if you're willing to take the first step and proactively extend goodwill, although it may not always be reciprocated with genuine friendship, and you might even get hurt... if you don't take that step, you don't even deserve to have friendship!"
"So I think that no matter how great the risk, we should try to extend goodwill to the giant before it actually shows hostility."
A long silence fell over the conference room, broken only by the soft hum of the air circulation system.
The director leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table, as if he were repeatedly pondering the weight of those words.
After a long while, the director's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed, and he slowly stood up and nodded solemnly.
"If you think this is the right thing to do, then go for it." The director walked up to Sato, reached out, and patted him heavily on the shoulder. "I will support your decision."
Just then, the director's gaze fell on the silver-red giant image on the virtual screen, and a smile suddenly appeared on his lips, breaking the previous seriousness.
"But!" he changed the subject, his tone becoming more relaxed, "As friends, how can you not even know your friend's name? That's incredibly rude. Since we're going to take the initiative to show goodwill, we can't just keep calling each other giants, can we?"
Captain Sato was taken aback, clearly not expecting the director to be so concerned about "naming rights" at this critical juncture.
He glanced at the screen instinctively, the gentle, kind look in his eyes flashing through his mind as the light particles dissipated. Almost instinctively, a name popped out of his mouth:
"How about... Sirius?"
"Sirius?" the director repeated softly.
"Yes, Sirius." Sato's eyes lit up. "Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, represents light and protection!"
"His full name is Ultraman Sirius!"
"His full name is Ultraman Sirius? It seems you've seen that tokusatsu series, Sato."
Warm yellow light emanates from the portholes on the outer wall, and from a distance, they look like countless stars twinkling in layers under the dim sky, outlining a lonely and beautiful aerial fortress.
However, inside this base, which gathers the most advanced human technology, the former order has long been broken. A heavy atmosphere permeates every corner like a haze. CEA staff members in different uniforms hurry along the circular corridor, their footsteps sounding particularly clear in the deathly silence.
On the top floor of the base, in a highly oppressive strategic conference room, the heads of various departments gathered together. On the projection screen, a terrifying scene of Golza tearing apart the earth's crust was playing on a loop, while cold red data scrolled rapidly beside it: "Length 63 meters, weight approximately 6.8 tons, surface hardness... incalculable."
The scene suddenly changed, and Ultraman Sirius appeared prominently in the center of the screen.
"Standing 52 meters tall and weighing approximately 45,000 tons, its physical characteristics are extremely similar to Ultraman, a tokusatsu IP created by Tsuburaya Productions in the 1960s."
To demonstrate this visually, Sirius and the original Ultraman were placed side by side on the screen, and the almost perfect overlap made everyone present gasp.
While everyone was still processing these absurd statistics, an elderly man with a mustache slammed his fist on the table and demanded in a booming voice, "Has Tsuburaya Productions thoroughly investigated this? Is this a coincidence or deliberate?"
"We've already investigated thoroughly." The reporter adjusted his glasses and replied in a deep voice, "Tsuburaya Productions went bankrupt after the Ultraman series ended. Currently, we can only contact their descendants for inquiries." He paused, then lowered his voice and added:
"Furthermore, according to some unconfirmed rumors, Eiji Tsuburaya himself... seems to be a Venusian."
Just as the elderly sanitation worker was about to press for more information, the director sitting in the main seat coldly interrupted him: "Director Yoshida, leave professional matters to the intelligence department. The current issue is monsters and giants, not urban legends."
Seeing that the director had spoken, Director Yoshida, though unwilling, could only shut up. Everyone's eyes then turned to Captain Sato, who had had close contact with the giant and the monster.
Receiving a signal from the director, Captain Sato understood and took out his tactical terminal.
"After comprehensive analysis, I believe that the giants may be our allies."
"An ally?" Director Yoshida glared at Sato as if he'd heard a joke, and sneered without any politeness, "A giant life form of unknown origin, which has only appeared once, what makes you think it's a friend? Based on intuition?"
"Based on the facts."
Sato's voice was calm and powerful. He did not use weak words to defend himself, but directly connected the terminal to the holographic projection.
The first scene unfolds: Just as the Dragon Might was about to be engulfed by Golza's beam, Ultraman Sirius blocked the attack.
The second video followed immediately: before the giant dissipated into particles of light, it turned towards the Dragon's Might and nodded slightly to the defense team members on the bridge.
"First, he saved everyone on the Dragon's Might; second, that nodding gesture was a clear manifestation of goodwill from a highly intelligent life form."
"You're considering someone a friend based on just these two points?" Director Yoshida sneered, his tone sharp as a knife. "The most dangerous thing in the law of the universe is feigned goodwill! Can you guarantee it won't turn on you? Can you bear the devastating consequences of this trust?"
As soon as the questioning fell, a refined-looking elderly man slowly interjected, breaking the deadlock: "Director Yoshida, whether it's well-intentioned or malicious, it's too early to discuss these things now."
The urgent task is not to assume the giant's position, but to assess our own strengths and weaknesses—do we truly have the ability to defeat it?
The refined old man's words hit the nail on the head, and Director Yoshida opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment.
At this moment, the reporter pulled up another set of data, his voice hoarse: "Based on the analysis of the Dragon's Might's attack feedback on the monsters, our conventional firepower couldn't even penetrate the monsters' outer layer of skin. Facing giants of the same level... we seem to have no chance of winning."
A deathly silence fell over the conference room. Director Yoshida and the refined old man seemed about to argue further, but the director abruptly stopped them.
"Since we can't defeat them, we shouldn't reveal our hostility for now." The director's gaze swept across the room with an undeniable air of authority. "Regardless of whether the giants are good or evil, we must prepare for the worst."
From this moment forward, all personnel are on high alert. We must not only guard against potential giants, but also remain constantly vigilant against the monsters that are awakening!
With the director's final decision, the strategic meeting, filled with tension and anxiety, finally came to an end. The officers, each with a different expression, packed up their documents, whispered among themselves, and filed out. The large conference room quickly emptied, leaving only the lingering tension in the air.
Captain Sato did not follow the crowd and leave. He stood quietly in place until the last door closed before he stepped towards the head of the table.
The director didn't stand up immediately. He looked intently at Sato, who had walked up to him, and asked softly, "Now that there are no outsiders, Sato, tell me honestly, do you think that giant really had good intentions?"
Instead of directly answering the director's question, Sato said very seriously, "Director, this is actually like when we were kids trying to make a new friend for the first time."
The director raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue.
"When facing a new, unfamiliar classmate, if you always keep a straight face and clench your fists because you're afraid of rejection or being hurt, the other person will definitely be wary of you, and you'll forever remain strangers, or even become enemies." Sato's voice was calm and gentle:
"But if you're willing to take the first step and proactively extend goodwill, although it may not always be reciprocated with genuine friendship, and you might even get hurt... if you don't take that step, you don't even deserve to have friendship!"
"So I think that no matter how great the risk, we should try to extend goodwill to the giant before it actually shows hostility."
A long silence fell over the conference room, broken only by the soft hum of the air circulation system.
The director leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table, as if he were repeatedly pondering the weight of those words.
After a long while, the director's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed, and he slowly stood up and nodded solemnly.
"If you think this is the right thing to do, then go for it." The director walked up to Sato, reached out, and patted him heavily on the shoulder. "I will support your decision."
Just then, the director's gaze fell on the silver-red giant image on the virtual screen, and a smile suddenly appeared on his lips, breaking the previous seriousness.
"But!" he changed the subject, his tone becoming more relaxed, "As friends, how can you not even know your friend's name? That's incredibly rude. Since we're going to take the initiative to show goodwill, we can't just keep calling each other giants, can we?"
Captain Sato was taken aback, clearly not expecting the director to be so concerned about "naming rights" at this critical juncture.
He glanced at the screen instinctively, the gentle, kind look in his eyes flashing through his mind as the light particles dissipated. Almost instinctively, a name popped out of his mouth:
"How about... Sirius?"
"Sirius?" the director repeated softly.
"Yes, Sirius." Sato's eyes lit up. "Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, represents light and protection!"
"His full name is Ultraman Sirius!"
"His full name is Ultraman Sirius? It seems you've seen that tokusatsu series, Sato."