webnovelvip Chapter 325 Li Muzi: What's the deal with this Catherine?
Chapter 325 Li Muzi: What's the deal with this Catherine?
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
Friday night at 8 PM.
Countless viewers waited in front of their screens early, eagerly awaiting the timely update from the video platform.
Episode 46 of "Ultraman Gaia" premiered on time.
The screen went dark, followed by the episode's title: "The Forest Attacked".
The main feature screen lights up.
The streets, which should have been peaceful and serene in the early morning, were now bustling with noise.
A group of people dressed in bizarre robes gathered in the center of the square, holding banners and shouting frantically. The banners bore chilling words.
The leader was a man who called himself the cult leader. He was holding a megaphone and loudly preaching to the citizens who had stopped to watch.
"Everyone knows that the foolish practice of indiscriminately hunting and killing various animals exists, right?"
The cult leader's voice was loud and inflammatory: "Those selfish humans, disregarding the strong opposition of environmental organizations, still insist on building various farms and committing countless killings! Damn humans!"
His eyes scanned the crowd, trying to find common ground.
"But have you ever thought about why they would do this?"
The cult leader abruptly waved his arm, "Just because you're tempted by greed, do you have the heart to harm those adorable animals? Mother Earth is already scarred and battered by our actions!"
The surrounding believers bowed their heads and clasped their hands together, as if in repentance.
The cult leader's voice suddenly became fervent: "Then, what is true salvation? May the Root Invitation Body guide us towards a new and beautiful world!"
The believers immediately chanted in unison, "The Root! The Root! The Root!"
Upon seeing this, the viewers in front of the screen immediately erupted in a frenzy.
[Outrageous, a cult in action]
Once, I wandered aimlessly...
Where is Chen Guilin? Come and handle this quickly!
It's almost time!
[The Root of Destruction summons followers? The depths of humanity's depravity are truly unfathomable.]
The scene shifts to three young people standing on the periphery of the crowd.
One of them is my higher self dream.
I stared at a figure in the crowd, shouting wildly, and frowned: "That's... Sato?"
My friend next to me sighed, "Yeah, she's completely a different person."
Another friend added, "At first, he just participated in an online event called 'Root Causes Speech Conference'. Later, I heard that he got along very well with a girl there, and gradually he fell for her."
Watching my former friend now shouting like a madman about welcoming the end of the world, I gritted my teeth.
"Don't worry about him, everyone has their own freedom," a friend advised.
But Meng shook her head violently: "No, I must stop him!"
After saying that, I rushed into the crowd without hesitation and grabbed Sato's shoulder, who was shouting wildly.
"Sato! How could you join such an extreme club?!" Imu shouted.
Sato turned around, his once familiar face now filled with indifference and madness.
He forcefully shook off my dream's hand and glared at him.
"What do you know! You don't understand anything at all!" he roared when he saw Imu come here to disrupt the ritual.
"The Earth is angry! Can't you feel it? And soon, punishment will befall you!"
I wanted to say something more, but the believers around me had already surrounded me.
"What are you doing! What are you doing?!"
The cult leader immediately directed the believers to shove and push me, causing me and my two friends to become disoriented and unable to defend ourselves in the crowd.
Pushed and pulled by the crowd, I was driven out of the gathering center and pushed into the pool.
He watched as Sato rejoined the crowd and prayed with the strange-looking girl, feeling utterly powerless.
[Sato was suppressing his feelings, wasn't he? He even joined a cult just to pursue a girl~]
[Earth's Light: Why didn't I know that destruction summoned physical power to save me?]
This kind of extreme thinking will drive humanity insane before the end of the world even arrives.
Giving up on thinking and surrendering one's fate to so-called "gods" is also a kind of tragedy.
In my opinion, we shouldn't give these kinds of people a friendly face. Don't try to reason with them; just talk to them about physics.
That girl's smile is so weird, it feels like she's a robot.
……
On the other side, Li Luzi and Wei Weike strolled along the riverbank.
Because of his fight with Blitzbrotz in the previous episode, Weiweike still had bandages wrapped around his body.
Li Luzi gazed at the sky and softly asked Wei Weike, whose injuries had not yet healed, "Mr. Wei, is the sky really that nice?"
An airplane flew across the sky, leaving a white trail, which reminded Li Luzi of her deceased husband.
She lowered her eyes, a hint of melancholy in her voice: "It seems all I can do is wait. I can only believe, believe that he will definitely come back... But what if one day he doesn't come back?"
She paused, as if something was stuck in her throat, her voice hoarse: "In the end, he was still taken away by the sky."
At this moment, Li Luzi looked up at Wei Weike, her eyes filled with pleading and vulnerability: "Mr. Wei, promise me you'll come back safely in the end, okay?"
Wei Weike remained silent for a long time...
……
the other side.
The cult leader stood on the high platform, continuing to preach.
"Accept destruction! Let's die a perfect death! This is the best option Earth can offer humanity! Then we can be completely transformed!"
The cult leader opened his arms wide and looked up at the sky, as if welcoming some kind of divine arrival.
However, what he received was not salvation.
Inside the air base.
The piercing alarm suddenly shattered the tranquility of the command room.
Li Muzi's hands flew across the keyboard, her expression changing drastically: "Immense energy detected! Coordinates: POINT 225 A3!"
The commander of the stone chamber whirled around: "Where is the location?"
"It's rapidly ascending from the underground of Gangbei Plaza!" Li Muzi reported loudly.
Beside her, Gamu, who was still pondering her conversation with Fujimiya, suddenly paused.
"Koboku Plaza? Sato and the others are there!"
The scene cuts back to the square.
The cult leader was still praying with his eyes closed. Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently.
Panic gripped the crowd.
"Master! Trees! There are so many trees!" A believer pointed to the ground, seemingly believing it to be a miracle of the master!
The hard concrete ground of the square suddenly shattered, and countless thick tree trunks and vines gushed out from the ground like a fountain!
They grow at an incredible speed, becoming towering trees in the blink of an eye.
The cult leader stared in horror, but before he could react, a huge machine burst from the ground and sent him flying!
Then, a thick vine wrapped around him and dragged him into the dense forest.
The screams abruptly stopped.
[Holy crap! The cult leader's already dead?!]
[He's got some skills! He can actually sense things?]
How did he get killed by his own summoned creature?
Karma comes so fast, like a tornado!
Those believers were probably dumbfounded; their god had simply swallowed their cult leader.
That's called returning to faith!
The disaster spread rapidly.
Within minutes, the once bustling Gangbei District was completely swallowed up by the boundless green forest.
Skyscrapers are pierced by thick tree trunks, and streets are covered with vines.
A modern city was instantly transformed into a primeval forest.
In the heart of the forest, Sato slowly awoke. He looked around in bewilderment, his eyes filled with shock.
Before him stood a massive mechanical tower, shaped like an ancient bronze bell, amidst the sea of trees.
It emanated an eerie green light, cold and menacing.
Just then, the girl who had lured Sato into joining the church appeared deep in the forest.
She walked lightly toward the mechanical tower, a chilling, mysterious smile playing on her lips.
Sato followed her blankly, as if bewitched, step by step toward that unknown, enormous machine.
The atmosphere at the air base was extremely tense.
"The trees are destroying the Gangbei District and are taking over the entire area!"
Li Muzi stared at the ever-expanding green area on the screen, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
Commander Shi and Staff Officer Ye Qian frowned: "The trees are constantly growing, just like a forest..."
Are forests destroying cities? And why is that?
The commander of the stone chamber remained calm and composed as he issued the order: "Is the Lightning Team ready?"
"Test complete, Lightning-3 is ready!"
"Team Lightning, move out!"
In the sky, the Lightning team's fighter jets roared past.
On the ground, Li Luzi watched the three fighter jets roar past.
In the air, Captain Wei Weike looked down at the massive forest that had swallowed the city and gasped.
"The Lightning Team has arrived at the disaster area," Li Muzi reported. "It's still uncertain whether there are any survivors."
Director Di Cheng's voice came through the communicator: "Don't use conventional firepower! Use cooling grenades to stop the forest's attack and spread!"
"Understood! Cooling rounds, fire!"
The fighter jets dropped several white missiles, which exploded above the forest.
Extreme cold air instantly enveloped large areas of trees, attempting to freeze their growth.
However, a bizarre scene unfolded.
The frozen ground was actually pushed up and bulged out one by one!
Then, countless vines and branches burst through!
"It didn't work?!"
In the command center, I stared at the data on the screen, my face filled with disbelief. "The forest's regeneration rate is even faster than the effectiveness of a coolant!"
Upon arriving at the center of the affected area, Wei Weike zoomed in on the image: "Commander, look, there are words on that tower!"
The screen clearly showed that the surface of the huge mechanical tower was engraved with two ancient seal characters – “Dark Green”.
"Dark green..." the Stone Chamber Commander murmured to himself.
"This is the third time." Staff Officer Ye Qian took a deep breath, his tone heavy. "That's also a naturally controlled machine!"
[The Celestial Realm and Flame Mountain are now deep green!]
Is this ancient technology really that advanced?!
The three major natural control machines are now complete!
[A typhoon swept through the heavens, purifying the air; rising temperatures in the mountains melted the snow and ice; and lush greenery was directly planted to cleanse the earth!]
This really is a complete Earth reset system!
Is this an attempt to completely erase human civilization and return the Earth to its most primitive state?
[These trees are incredibly resilient; they can't even freeze in extremely low temperatures.]
In the command center, everyone's faces were extremely grim.
"The rate of forest proliferation has not slowed down at all."
Georgie and Li Muzi stared at the radar screen. "At this rate, covering the entire city will only take twelve hours!"
Staff Officer Ye Qian braced his hands on the command platform: "We must minimize the damage!"
"Director Di!" Shi Shi turned around.
"exist!"
"Incendiary bombs loaded! Have the Cool Dragon team prepare to depart!"
Just as the defense forces were preparing to use extreme measures such as fire attack, I received an urgent private communication request.
"I dreamt of an urgent communication specifically requesting your help," Li Muzi said.
"Atsuko, switch to the home screen."
On the big screen, the face of Catherine, a member of Alchemist Star, appeared.
"Cass?" I was somewhat surprised.
On the other side, Li Muzi narrowed her eyes, as if trying to see through the relationship between the two.
Catherine's expression was serious: "I have reviewed the information you sent. Based on the data analysis, I have come to a conclusion."
"What conclusion is it?" I asked hurriedly.
"That tower called 'Dark Green' has the exact same internal structure as the natural circulation auxiliary system I developed called 'Original Shield'," Catherine said, making a startling statement.
Upon hearing this, everyone in the command room was stunned.
The cutting-edge technology that humans developed to protect the Earth's environment actually uses the same principles as the natural control machines that want to destroy humanity!
But isn't this some kind of ancient technology?
Why is the principle exactly the same as that of the cutting-edge technology that has just been developed?
Before anyone could even begin to ponder the hidden meaning behind it.
"The growing forests are causing the affected areas to expand continuously."
The situation had become even more critical, as KCB news reports showed countless buildings being destroyed by plants that had sprouted from the ground.
Soon after, Catherine arrived at the air base, bringing with her the design and technical blueprints for the original Shield system.
"They are indeed very similar."
"I suspect that someone may have used the original shield's basic program to create this machine."
My brain was racing in my dream.
Looking at the data on the screen, Commander Shishi looked at Meng and Catherine.
"If it works on the same principle as the original shield, then I think it should be able to stop this forest from multiplying, right?"
“That’s right.” Catherine nodded. “All we need to do is destroy the main power line on the lower level.”
A solution was found, but another problem arose.
Looking at the terrain on the map, everyone said, "From our current position, it's difficult to launch a direct attack from the air."
"But it's absolutely impossible to get through that dense forest to the base of the tower; ground troops simply can't get in."
Director Di Cheng, however, seemed confident: "Then let's use the Peace to transport the Sting tank directly to the skies above Dark Green."
Catherine also proposed a bold tactic: "Just drop the Sting directly onto the target location from above!"
[Hilarious! Watching Catherine and my dream interact, Li Muzi snapped another pen in half!]
[Directly airdropping tanks to rush in?!]
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained; truly a genius of the Alchemy Star."
[Human technology is being used by aliens to exterminate humanity; the irony is palpable.]
[Isn't this ancient technology? How come the system's principles are the same as what Catherine is researching?]
We can't exactly say these naturally controlled machines are products of future human research!
Subsequently, Catherine surprisingly requested to personally participate in this extremely dangerous infiltration operation.
The captain of the Hercules team looked at her and teased, "Looks much more reliable than my dream. How about joining our XIG?"
Catherine smiled and said, "I'd be happy to."
"Great! Our Hercules team will definitely take care of you then!"
Seeing the Hercules team's muscular men maintain an optimistic attitude before setting off, those around them were somewhat speechless.
"Aren't you guys being way too optimistic?"
Everything is ready.
In the sky, the massive Mir transport plane roared through the clouds, with the Hercules team's indestructible heavy armored vehicle—the Sting—suspended below.
"Drop the Sting!"
Following the command, the Sting, using its anti-gravity system to decelerate from high altitude, precisely crashed into the deep green area in the heart of the forest.
With a loud "boom".
"The Sting has landed successfully!" shouted the Hercules team captain. "Forward!"
The tanks forcibly cleared a path through the dense primeval forest, their massive tracks crushing vines and tree trunks along the way.
As if sensing the intruder, the dark green trees began to launch a frenzied attack, their thick branches lashing at the armor of the chariot like whips.
Meanwhile, the dark green main body is also firing green light bullets to cause destruction!
"Launch! Launch!"
The cannons on the tanks roared, destroying all the obstacles in their path.
The exquisite explosion performance also gave the audience a real treat for their eyes.
Another bunch of exquisite-looking models were used as consumables by Gu Nan, who had a large budget, and were blown to ashes.
"Force your way through! Don't underestimate our Hercules team!"
Under the cover of heavy firepower, the Sting made rapid advances.
"Alright! We've made it! Sting, target position reached!"
The tank crashed directly into the bottom entrance of the Deep Green Tower.
The Hercules team, along with Meng and Catherine, immediately grabbed their equipment and rushed into the tower.
The two descended the dimly lit, complex metal passageway, surrounded by eerie green lights and an oppressive atmosphere that felt alien to Earth.
Finally, they reached the very bottom.
A massive core device emitting a bright light appeared before the two of them.
"This is the center of the lower-level communication mainline!" Catherine exclaimed, looking at the data on the instrument. "All we need to do is destroy it!"
She raised the laser gun in her hand and aimed it at the core.
Just as she was about to pull the trigger, a cold voice echoed in the empty space.
"You won't attack."
I dreamt and Catherine suddenly looked up.
The strange girl who had lured Sato in the square had somehow appeared at the top of the core.
She still wore that chilling smile, staring blankly at Catherine.
"Catherine Lane," the girl slowly uttered her full name.
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.