mc-med Chapter 219 Gaia! Descends!
Chapter 219 Gaia! Descends!
"Tick-tock—"
Accompanied by a crisp metallic clanging sound, the title of the first episode of "Ultraman Gaia," titled "Catch the Light," slowly fades into the black screen.
Old Tang and the tens of millions of viewers in the live stream held their breath, staring intently at the screen.
The screen lit up, but instead of the expected monster rampage or panoramic view of the high-tech base, it presented an extremely abstract and bizarre space filled with shimmering light.
"The effective acceleration value has reached its limit! Entering the particle acceleration field in 30 seconds!"
Wearing a complex brain-computer interface device, Goga Meng floated in this virtual dimension known as the "Particle Acceleration Field".
Before his eyes, a towering giant formed from pure red light was locked in a fierce battle with a roaring phantom dragon.
The giant crossed his arms, and a dazzling beam of light burst forth, instantly blasting the phantom dragon into a shower of light.
"Ultraman?!"
In a moment of inspiration, my higher self unconsciously blurted out the words.
Just as he was about to approach the red giant, the surrounding space began to tremble violently, and a piercing alarm ripped through the void.
The screen suddenly flashed back to reality.
Gao Ga Meng suddenly opened his eyes, panting heavily with sweat all over his face.
This is a university laboratory filled with all kinds of cutting-edge instruments.
His classmates frantically unplugged the equipment from him, complaining that his experiment was too radical.
Just then, my classmate's words brought me back to reality, my head still buzzing.
"What Ultraman are you talking about?"
Did I just say that?
Seeing this, Old Tang stroked his chin thoughtfully and said into the microphone, "Brothers, the opening scene immediately establishes that the protagonist is conducting some kind of consciousness infiltration experiment. And he just shouted 'Ultraman'! Could it be that 'Ultraman' has appeared in this world before? But his friends don't seem to understand what it means?"
The comments section immediately started scrolling.
[This is a pretty hardcore start, jumping right in with particle acceleration and brain-computer interfaces.]
[Science and engineering students have really stepped up; they can even be the main characters in Ultraman!]
So the timeline of this show is 2030? It's a near-future setting!
[National-level performing artist who retreats: Such a huge amount of information right from the start, Gu Laozei's script is something else.]
In the video, Gao Womeng and several classmates walk out of the laboratory and stroll and chat on the street.
Through the dialogue between the characters and some narration, the audience quickly grasped the background information.
Gao Womeng is a genius in quantum physics and a member of the world's top think tank, "Alchemy Star".
It was springtime in 2030, and the Alchemist Star had foreseen a cataclysmic crisis several years earlier.
However, Gao Ga Meng clearly kept this top-secret research a secret from her classmates.
Just as a few science students were arguing about not being able to recruit French majors into the lab, something unexpected happened!
The atmosphere in the upper atmosphere suddenly underwent an extremely terrifying distortion.
With a tooth-grinding sound of space tearing, an extremely large blue multifaceted cone was forced out of the wormhole and hovered 100 meters above the city like the Sword of Damocles!
A standard opening for tokusatsu (special effects) shows a monster appearing!
The piercing air raid siren instantly resounded throughout the entire city.
On the streets, people began to evacuate frantically.
Amidst the flow of people going against the flow, a news van bearing the logo of "KCB TV" was speeding recklessly.
However, unlike its original name "Kantoh Community Broadcasting station LTD.", "KCB" here is an abbreviation for Kingsea City Broadcasting.
Meanwhile, in the passenger seat of "KCB", director Tabata was jumping up and down in a panic, urging cameraman Lunwen to hurry up.
The female reporter in the back seat, Jing Ling, was frantically touching up her makeup while complaining that she wasn't ready yet.
Old Tang couldn't help but laugh: "Finally, some normal media people in this tokusatsu series! What kind of monster doesn't scramble for the first story? Before, in Tiga and Dyna, those bystanders were just watching from afar, but these KCB guys are practically walking into the line of fire!"
[Isn't this just like a real-life war correspondent? They'd rather risk their lives for clicks.]
The director said he wanted to be a witness to history; that's pretty bold.
Just don't become a victim of history.
Just then, the military launched a counterattack!
High above the clouds, two fighter jets with ultra-futuristic stealth paint schemes were cruising at supersonic speeds. Those were the most advanced fifth-generation-plus fighter jets currently in service with the Xia Kingdom!
However, they did not directly approach the strange cone.
The pilot's mask flashed with cold, hard data. The fighter jet was still hundreds of kilometers from its target when the radar had already locked onto the massive obsidian polyhedron in mid-air.
"Target locked! Requesting beyond-visual-range strike!"
"Permission to fire!"
As soon as the command was given, the stealth bomb bay at the bottom of the fuselage opened instantly.
Several of the world's most advanced beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles, trailing extremely dazzling tail flames, launched a devastating beyond-visual-range strike on the cone from several kilometers away, like meteors chasing the moon!
"Boom! Boom! Boom—!"
A deafening explosion ripped through the sky, and flames instantly engulfed the multifaceted cone.
However, when the smoke cleared, the energy reaction of the multifaceted cone on the radar screen in the command center showed no signs of weakening!
Its obsidian-blue armor surface was completely free of even a single scratch!
"Beyond visual range missile strike ineffective! The target's external armor cannot be penetrated by conventional kinetic and thermal energy!" came the surprised report over the communication channel.
Gu Nan also made corresponding modifications here.
After all, in the original series, this part involved close-quarters combat between F-15 fighter jets that were the same model but different colors.
Modern air combat is inherently beyond visual range.
Most of the equipment currently in service, especially the most advanced fifth-generation fighter jets as stealth aircraft, would never be foolish enough to fly right up to a monster and engage in dogfighting.
Therefore, testing the waters with missiles from a distance of 100 kilometers is the true logic of modern warfare!
[Previous tokusatsu dramas always featured fighter jets getting right up to the enemy's face and getting them killed, but this time it's normal!]
[It's a pity the damage is so weak, it can't even break through the monster's shell.]
The price of realism is that it makes one's defenses unbreakable.
In the image, the multifaceted cone, having been attacked, appears enraged. It begins to vibrate violently, and its surface erupts with blinding flashes of light.
"Snap—!"
The cone-shaped object slammed directly into the ground!
The moment it landed, it instantly unleashed astonishing destructive power on the miniature model scene that Gu Nan had spent a fortune to create.
In the footage, gushing groundwater erupts, with water columns reaching ten meters high, shooting into the sky with terrifying force. Amidst the splashing water, the surrounding shopping mall models and parking lot sets appear as if they are pieces of paper crushed by an invisible force.
Simulated fragments of the glass curtain wall fell in a flurry, and the miniature steel frame twisted and cracked, instantly turning into a mess in the shockwave.
This realistic sense of destruction gives the disaster scenes in the footage a powerful and impactful feel.
Immediately, the cone exploded, and a cosmic creature pioneer—the monster Gob—nearly eighty meters tall, with arms like giant scythes and covered in ferocious barbs, crashed heavily into the center of the city amidst a violent earthquake!
This behemoth, weighing 88,000 tons, can create a small earthquake with every step it takes!
The ground was blasted into a huge crater, and the resulting shockwave was enough to overturn cars parked on the roadside.
It casually swings its arms, and wherever its thick, sickle-like forelimbs sweep, the reinforced concrete skyscrapers break and collapse like building blocks, with shards of glass and bricks cascading down, instantly tearing huge gaps in the city's skyline.
Amidst the roar, the once bustling neighborhood was reduced to ruins, and the few remaining buildings trembled in its shadow.
With professional cinema lenses that adjust focus and control depth of field, even miniature models appear to be full-size objects in the frame.
This also brings unparalleled and stunning expressiveness!
The destructive power filled the air with dust and an atmosphere of despair.
Faced with this terrifying behemoth capable of destroying a city, the military's highest command could no longer remain passive.
"Target landed! Armor is extremely sturdy! Ordinary attacks cannot penetrate it!"
The commander, his eyes bloodshot, grabbed the communicator. "Immediately call in the strategic bomber formation! Conduct a carpet bombing run within visual range! Absolutely do not allow it to enter the city center!"
High in the sky, accompanied by an extremely dull and oppressive roar of engines, several huge black shadows obscured the sky like dark clouds.
It was a strategic bomber, fully loaded with heavy aerial bombs, which broke into Gobu's visual range.
They abandoned the advantage of high-altitude concealment, just to dump the load on the head of this monster!
The hatch opened wide, and a barrage of heavy bombs rained down!
"Boom boom boom boom—!"
The endless sea of fire instantly engulfed Gobu, and the streets of the entire city trembled violently in the carpet bombing.
"That firepower coverage! It's awesome!"
Old Tang was thrilled. "If missiles can't kill you, I'll send bombers to your face to wash you clean!"
Good heavens, even Sixth Master has been brought out! Although it's just a model airplane, this explosion scene really burned through the studio's budget!
[Sixth Master is still going strong!]
[It feels like I've accidentally stumbled into a military channel; this episode is surprisingly realistic!]
[This explosion effect is definitely not some cheap special effect; the real explosion is absolutely stunning!]
Uh... but... it still doesn't seem to be working!
The concerns expressed in the live chat immediately became a reality.
Amidst the sea of fire, Gobu let out an angry roar.
It suddenly raised its head, and the light-emitting organs on its head instantly emitted several destructive light waves!
This laser is incredibly fast; within visual range, even a large, relatively weak bomber has no way to avoid it.
"Warning! Locked! Avoid—!"
Accompanied by the pilot's last words over the communication channel.
Several bombers were hit in succession by blinding flashes of light and exploded in mid-air. The massive wreckage, trailing long plumes of black smoke, crashed into the ruins of the city.
The pilots didn't even have a chance to eject; they all died heroically.
The live stream fell into a brief silence.
"This... definitely fits the description of tokusatsu (special effects)..."
Old Tang's voice was a little hoarse, "Humanity's most advanced conventional weapons are like toys in front of these unreasonable extraterrestrial creatures like these monsters. Gu Nan is telling us that this is definitely not an enemy that ordinary firearms can deal with."
The camera then cuts to the XIG air base, located at an altitude of 50,000 meters.
Inside the command center, the atmosphere plummeted to freezing point.
"The affected area is still expanding. Is this really the catastrophe you're describing?"
Commander Shi Shi, his face grim, asked Daniel, the Speaker of Alchemy Star, in a deep voice on the communication screen.
"...This is just a harbinger."
Daniel's answer was chilling.
Shi Shi turned to look at Ye Qian, the advisor standing to the side: "Advisor, we've done all we can. Now, we can only rely on them."
Staff Officer Ye Qian took a deep breath. He knew the conventional army couldn't hold out any longer, and nodded heavily: "Send the Lightning Squad forward first!"
"Lightning Team, take note! This is not a drill! Deploy immediately!"
At the control panel, the fingers of communications officer Li Muzi and Georgie Leland moved across the keyboard like afterimages, quickly issuing a series of commands.
Accompanied by the heavy hum of machinery inside the base, three containers, originally folded into hexagonal columns, were quickly slid into the catapult track by the anti-gravity elevator.
Immediately afterwards, in this transforming animation that gets all mechanical fans' blood pumping, the cylinder rapidly unfolds and reassembles, transforming into three extremely avant-garde and futuristic "Fighter" series fighter jets!
Captain Wei Weike led the charge in his blue command aircraft, followed closely by two team members, Kitada and Okawara, in their red wingmen.
"Open the Heavenly Gate!"
The massive bottom hatch of the base burst open with a roar, and three fighter jets, like arrows released from a bow, relied on the anti-gravity devices at the bottom to dive rapidly towards the ground battlefield!
[That transformation! That ejection! Old Gu really understands men!]
My shipping container deformed in mid-air!
[This XIG's equipment level is several eras ahead of Earth's conventional armies, right? Hexagonal shipping containers can be transformed into fighter jets!]
[They're really cool! Conventional military equipment has failed them all; now it's time to see how this defense force uses its advanced technology!]
On the battlefield, the Lightning team instantly cut in.
The powerful barrage of firepower immediately suppressed the rampaging Gob, forcing the monster to cover its head and defend itself.
KCB reporters were snapping photos frantically from a distance, while the survivors on the ground erupted in cheers.
This was equipment they had never seen before!
The government certainly had a plan to deal with it!
Gao Ga Meng stood on the overpass, looking at the fighter jets in the sky. A hint of excitement flashed in his eyes, but soon his brows furrowed tightly.
In the scene, the monster Gob suddenly launched a counterattack, and a beam of light grazed the side of Unit 2!
"Unit 2 has been hit! Out of control! Eject immediately!"
Wei Weike (Katsumi Kajio) shouted into the communication channel.
Kitada was forced to eject.
"How could this happen?!"
On the overpass, Koga Yume became completely enraged. He pulled out his handheld computer and, after typing code at an extremely fast pace, actually hacked into XIG's combat communication channel!
"What are you doing?! The way these fighter jets are operated is completely different from ordinary jet aircraft!"
Koga Yume's face suddenly appeared on the big screen of the Ishimura Commander.
"Who are you?!"
Shi Shi frowned.
"While its propulsion is jet-like, it's the anti-gravity device that keeps it afloat! Its instantaneous inertia is triaxial! It can shift in any direction at any time!"
Koga Yume spammed into the communicator, "The machine is perfect! But you pilots aren't up to par!"
When Old Tang saw this, he immediately spat out a mouthful of water.
"Hahaha! What the hell?! The pilot is useless! My dream is actually the designer of this plane's anti-gravity device?!"
Old Tang slammed his fist on the table and burst into laughter, "Isn't this just like when we play games, the designer is teaching you how to play, but you get killed because you're bad at the game?!"
The comments section was also filled with laughter.
[Oh my god, this is a research and development-oriented male protagonist! Is Takaya Yume really that awesome?]
[My dream: Do you even know how to play? If you don't, don't touch the planes I designed!]
[Indeed, Team Lightning flew it like a regular fighter jet, only able to fly in a straight line. That straight-line trajectory made it a sitting duck in the monster's eyes.]
[That's normal. It's a brand new plane; the pilots' muscle memory hasn't adjusted yet. No wonder it got shot down.]
However, the situation on the battlefield did not improve because of Goga's "off-field guidance".
In the blink of an eye, Taiga's No. 3 aircraft was also hit and forced to make an emergency landing amidst black smoke.
Only Wei Weike's captain's plane remained, struggling to hold on until it ran out of ammunition, at which point the Shishi commander had no choice but to order a humiliating retreat.
The defenses have completely collapsed.
The monster Gob roared to the sky amidst a sea of fire, continuing its advance deeper into the city.
Standing on the smoke-filled street, watching the crowds crying and fleeing, and the buildings mercilessly destroyed by the monsters, a deep sense of powerlessness and despair overwhelmed him.
"It's too late..."
Koga Yume clutched her head in anguish, "Was all our previous efforts... was it all for nothing?!"
Even if the Alchemist Star brings together the world's brightest minds and creates XIG's most advanced weapons, humanity is still so insignificant in the face of absolute destructive power.
"What... should I do?!"
As Koga Yume watched the mercilessly rampaging monster, he cried out in despair.
In that instant, the surrounding noise of explosions and the cries of refugees suddenly disappeared.
Time seemed to stand still.
When Goga opened his eyes, he found himself once again pulled into that strange "particle acceleration field".
Then, his consciousness plummeted!
Inside the crimson Earth.
Before him stood a red giant formed from pure light, silently watching him.
Without hesitation, without fear.
All that remained in Gaowomeng's eyes was an intense desire to protect this land.
"Earth is in danger!"
Goa took a step forward, raised his head, and roared at the giant, "I want to become you! I need your light! Please grant me strength!"
The giant did not speak, but slowly extended his enormous hand toward him.
Gaowomeng stretched out his hands and plunged headfirst into that warm and dazzling light.
"Are you testing me...?"
"Light... surrounds me... such beautiful light..."
In the real world, the monster Gob is preparing to destroy the last refuge in front of him.
suddenly!
An extremely dazzling red beam of light, like a sharp sword piercing through the darkness, burst forth from the ground and shot straight into the sky!
Under the shocked gazes of all the fleeing civilians, KCB reporters, and everyone in the XIG command center high above, the beam of light suddenly contracted in mid-air, transforming into a gigantic giant of light, red and silver in color.
Followed by.
There was no light landing, no elegant pose.
This giant, representing the will of the earth, crashed down from the sky like a meteorite with an extremely violent and heavy force!
"boom--!!!"
A deafening explosion!
Gu Nan instructed the props team to use a small amount of explosives and a fine brush to carefully arrange the physical effects, which culminated in the most extreme explosion at this moment!
Ten meters high, the soil mixed with extremely uniform red dust, in slow motion, rose into the sky around the giant's feet like a volcanic eruption!
Every grain of dust that rises up reflects the budget burned by the production team, and every frame is filled with unparalleled weight and power!
At this moment! Gaia, the future destroyer of the earth, as countless people will say!
In the live stream, Lao Tang and millions of viewers watched as the screen-shattering, fully-equipped heavy armor landed with a devastating blow, their scalps tingling and the chat going wild!