I really didn’t want to lead Ultra Star astray
Chapter 22 - The Will of Earth

Chapter 22: The Will of Earth

“Your thoughts are a bit dangerous, you know. I’m human too!” Mu Yang said irritably, though he didn’t dwell on it too much. Compared to the vastness of nature, humans were still far too fragile. Sure, humanity’s mushroom bombs claimed they could destroy the Earth several times over, but was that really possible? As for the Earth wanting to wipe out humanity, it didn’t seem all that difficult. Earthquakes, tsunamis, or even entering a great ice age—any of these would be catastrophic for humans. Especially now that the Earth had a will of its own, those things could happen with just a word, couldn’t they? “I know, alright!” Earth said helplessly. “Do I need to give humans some special treatment?” “No need. Things were fine before, so let them stay that way!” Mu Yang shook his head slightly. Because of the emergence of Earth’s will, this planet was no longer the same. The Earth used to be fragile, capable of being destroyed by a single powerful gamma ray. But now it was different—Earth had light. If this light continued to grow, threats from the cosmos might not even affect the planet anymore. It was like an insurance policy for Earth, much like in Gaia’s world, where the light of Earth, sensing danger, gave rise to Gaia and the others. “That’s fine, then!” Earth didn’t say much more. If everything was to be treated as normal, she wouldn’t have to worry about how to deal with humanity. In her view, humans might last a hundred million years at most. Given their current way of living, even ten thousand years seemed generous. Sooner or later, they’d play themselves to death (wan si). That amount of time was hardly significant to Earth. “You need to put in some effort too. This little bit of light isn’t enough for you to create an Ultraman, and even if you did, it wouldn’t be very strong!” Mu Yang said, a bit exasperated. “I only just gained consciousness!” Earth’s will muttered discontentedly. “Keep gathering it properly!” Mu Yang sighed lightly. He was curious about what the light of Earth in this world would be like, especially since this light seemed intricately connected to him. He felt an inexplicable sense of closeness. Was it because he was the one who ignited this light? “By the way, I sensed an alien on Earth who seems to be in trouble!” Earth suddenly spoke up. “Oh?” Mu Yang looked at Earth’s will suspiciously. An alien? In this world, it seemed many aliens came to Earth with the intent to invade, didn’t they? Some feared humans, worried they’d become the next great civilisation. Others came because of the Ultramen. Of course, it couldn’t be denied that Earth was a beautiful planet. Especially aliens like the Metron, whose goal was to eliminate humans, though many believed they could make Earth even more beautiful. What an interesting bunch of aliens! (Really love the Metron in Galaxy, super interesting.) “Hm, it seems to be an alien called a Metz, very kind-hearted. They even brought a monster as a bodyguard, but despite being in a bad situation now, they haven’t summoned that monster!” Earth’s will said. A Metz alien? Mu Yang thought for a moment, vaguely recalling some details about this alien. They were a terrifying-looking species, something like a cosmic investigator. They were quite ugly, even a childhood nightmare for Mu Yang. But that episode carried significant educational value, touching on environmental pollution, human-alien interactions, and human greed… In Ultraman Mebius, that episode was paid homage to, and meteor technology seemed to have been developed from the Metz alien’s spaceship. “Is it them?” Mu Yang’s heart didn’t feel at ease. Perhaps he should do something about it. He wasn’t a saintly hypocrite (sheng mu biao), but he didn’t want to see humans make the same mistakes over and over, especially if their actions could spark interstellar wars. The Land of Light did protect Earthlings, true, but they wouldn’t blindly shield humans and let them keep making mistakes. Aside from Seven, who helped humans without principle, no other Ultraman seemed to do that. Mu Yang was indeed an Earthling, but he wouldn’t act that way. Because, more than any Ultraman, he understood humans. Aside from their big rabbit nation, almost every other country walked the path of plunder. Kindness? Sorry, he couldn’t see it. Even among humans, they plundered each other. For those barbarians who called themselves civilised, aliens were even less of a concern. “Are you planning to do something?” Earth asked curiously. She was intrigued by what choice Mu Yang would make. “Some mistakes, I just can’t watch happen!” Mu Yang sighed lightly. Then he vanished from the special space at the Earth’s core. Seeing Mu Yang disappear, the light clusters at the core began to wriggle slowly, gradually revealing the form of a stunningly beautiful girl. If Mu Yang were here, he’d surely be shocked! (Perhaps some have already guessed what’s going on… Earth’s will… begging for flowers, collections, tips, and perfect rating votes, muah muah. Love you all!)

Footnote 1: wan si (玩死) – Literally “play to death,” a Chinese slang term meaning to ruin or destroy oneself through reckless or excessive behaviour. Here, it suggests humans might doom themselves through their unsustainable ways. Footnote 2: sheng mu biao (圣母婊) – Literally “holy mother btch,” a Chinese slang term referring to someone who acts overly saintly or self-righteously moral, often hypocritically. Here, Mu Yang uses it to clarify he’s not naively altruistic.