Chapter 56: Nexus TV

A thought flashed through Lin Yu's mind.

If Lugiel truly manifested, it would be anything but good news.

It would be fine if Ginga was there to keep him in check, but without Ginga, this fellow's combat power was exceptionally high.

Although Lugiel's later appearances involved him suffering one humiliating defeat after another, his initial strength fully deserved the word "ultimate."

Lore-wise, he possessed the strongest physical body in the universe.

In particular, the Dark Spark—the divine artifact capable of turning life forms into Spark Dolls—was something one dared not even touch.

Entities like the Father of Ultraman, Hopes Taro, and Dark Zagi would instantly be reduced to useless dolls if irradiated by the "Dark Spark Wave."

Even in that promotional image of the Spark War, the figures of Legend and Noa were faintly visible.

Though the picture might just lack fine detail, and Lugiel's subsequent performances completely failed to demonstrate the ability to turn those two mythological heavyweights into dolls.

No matter how one looked at it, however...

Lugiel was an enemy Lin Yu currently could not oppose!

The oppressive presence he exuded was by no means inferior to Gatanothor, whose place of slumber was still unknown!

It was even stronger!

"Captain, are we still going in?"

Lucia looked toward Lin Yu.

Carmilla did as well.

She was also quite curious about Mount Hoshina.

Why did meteorites keep falling there, and why did three fierce monsters immediately scramble for the meteorite at the very start?

And what on earth was that toy doll swept up by Alien Baltan's—no, Eleking's—tail?

"Big Sis, why did you pull us back?"

"Yeah, the two of us weren't done playing yet."

Darramb and Hudra paid no heed to the danger at all, instead complaining to Carmilla, who had dragged them back.

Turns out, the feeling of being worshipped was this exhilarating!

They suddenly understood why those former underlings of theirs had rebelled.

All they had ever reaped in the Era of Darkness was fear, awe, and hatred.

Such adoration was simply too rare.

"We are going in, but not right now. We'll go tomorrow."

"Lucia, contact the members of HUD to come and, together with the Victory team, blockade Hoshina Town and its surroundings. As for the residents... temporarily prevent them from returning."

"Carmilla, Hudra, Darramb, the three of you stay here to keep watch today. The moment you spot any aliens approaching, intercept them immediately and notify me. Do not venture rashly into Hoshina Town, especially not that mountain."

Lin Yu thought for a moment and spoke slowly.

Eleking was injured and low on stamina.

Zetton was the same and still needed rest.

Entering Hoshina Town rashly in this condition meant that if they encountered any danger, they would have to rely entirely on the three Dark Giants.

As for the combat power of those three...

Lin Yu kept his thoughts to himself.

As for barring the residents of Hoshina Town from returning, his intention was naturally to prevent these people from coming into contact with the Spark Dolls and Lugiel.

Lin Yu distinctly remembered that most of the monsters in *Ultraman Ginga* TV series were created because humans were bewitched and used Spark Dolls to transform.

Moreover, following the lore of *Ginga* TV, Lugiel's current state should be severely wounded, requiring him to absorb human fear and despair to heal his injuries.

If Old Lugiel was heavily injured, Lin Yu's actions were spot on.

If Old Lugiel wasn't injured, Lin Yu's actions were still correct.

"Understood, Captain. I'll contact them right away."

Lucia nodded and pulled out her transceiver without hesitation to summon the troops.

"I am not your subordinate, so don't give me orders."

Carmilla, however, gave Lin Yu a slightly displeased look, crossing her arms as she spoke.

"There is a life form named Lugiel inside that meteorite, and its strength is no less formidable than Gatanothor's. Its ideology is to turn all life forms into dolls, thereby thoroughly resolving war, sorrow, and death."

"Once it awakens, no one can stop it."

"Therefore, Carmilla, I hope you will help me this time."

Lin Yu said softly.

His words caused Carmilla's breath to hitch.

"Turn everyone... into dolls? Resolve war and sorrow? What a lunatic!"

"I understand. I will take charge of guarding this place."

"You go back."

Carmilla frowned and replied.

"Many thanks."

Lin Yu smiled and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Carmilla's voice rang out, causing Lin Yu to pause his steps.

"I need to correct a flaw in your phrasing."

"You don't need to say thank you to me. I'm not doing this to help you; I'm doing it for myself. I, Carmilla, was also born on Earth!"

Lin Yu gave no reply.

After pausing for two brief seconds, he continued walking.

A short while later, the pickup truck roared to life.

And departed amidst the engine's roar.

————————

"The harvest from this trip is all right here."

Inside the HUD base, in the captain's office.

Lin Yu sat in his chair, his eyes gleaming with a faint blue light.

Four Spark Dolls were floating before him!

The Great Moth Superbeast—Doragoro!

The Missile Superbeast—Bemstar—no, Verokorn!

The Wandering Alien—Alien Pegassa!

And most importantly:

The Skeleton Monster—EX Red King!

Aside from these Spark Dolls, he had also reaped the Steel Element and an increase in his Alien Nemesis bonus.

The extra damage had scaled from 10 percent to 20 percent.

"If I keep upgrading like this, sooner or later I'll be able to punch an alien out with every single blow."

Lin Yu muttered inwardly.

[Steel Element: An utterly pure Steel Element. Upon consuming it, Steel Beasts will experience a massive surge in strength. If infused with the power of Magatano-Orochi, it will evolve into the Steel Demon Lord Beast!]

A square piece of metal, radiating a silvery luster and measuring about thirty centimeters in diameter, materialized inside the office.

"Thud!"

The desk was crushed on the spot, and even the reinforced flooring made of special materials caved in, leaving a deep indentation!

"This thing is heavier than the Earth Element!"

Lin Yu's eyes widened.

This square block of metal, barely larger than his palm, probably weighed several dozen tons, close to a hundred tons!

True to its name as steel.

However, something was off.

The Demon Lord Beasts embodied Light, Darkness, Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire.

Where did Steel come from?

This wasn't among the six primary Demon Lord Beasts, was it?

Even if this was a new Demon Lord Beast.

Following the elemental theme, shouldn't it be Iron?

Why did the Ultraman universe care so little about logic?

Ah, right, there were no Ultraman in this world, never mind then.

"Earth, Darkness, Steel—I already have three elements."

"Once Masaki Keigo returns, we'll make use of Magatano-Orochi's tail and let these three elements absorb Magatano-Orochi's power first."

Lin Yu murmured to himself.

He then turned his gaze back to the four Spark Dolls.

Without the Ginga Spark and the Dark Spark, these figurines were nothing more than ornaments.

[The host can choose to place the monster dolls into the game.]

[Doing so will unlock the qualification to raise this monster!]

His phone vibrated, drawing Lin Yu's attention to these two notifications.

They caused his eyebrows to twitch involuntarily.

There was this kind of gameplay too?

Lin Yu experimented by placing Doragoro onto the phone screen.

[Do you wish to convert "Doragoro"?]

"Yes."

[Conversion successful.]

[The host has obtained the qualification to raise "Doragoro"!]

[As this is the host's first time using the doll conversion feature, an extra reward is granted: Breeding Slot +1!]

It was this particular notification that truly delighted Lin Yu!

A breeding slot!

With this item, Lin Yu could continue raising monsters.

Previously, he only had three slots, occupied by Eleking, Zetton, and Five King.

Later on, because Eleking's cultivation was completed, marking the successful rearing of his first monster, he was rewarded with an extra slot.

Which Lin Yu used to cultivate Magatano-Orochi.

And now, the fifth slot had appeared!

Subconsciously, Lin Yu felt a sudden impulse to place the EX Red King doll onto the screen for conversion and cultivation.

He forcibly restrained himself, however.

"Even if I cultivate EX Red King now, there's no way to finish it in the short term and throw it into the battlefield."

Ginga TV probably has uses for it tomorrow.

"Besides, what if I obtain an even stronger monster doll on Mount Hoshina?"

With that thought in mind, Lin Yu with a trace of regret tucked the EX Red King doll back into his pocket.

"Let's check on the status of the monsters."

He swiped across the screen to review his monsters.

At that moment.

On the Planet of Monsters, Eleking was peacefully floating on its back in a lake.

Seeming to notice Lin Yu watching, it changed its posture and began doing the dog paddle.

A newly learned trick!

"This blockhead..."

Lin Yu's mouth twitched.

Glancing at the rapidly healing wounds on Eleking's back, it certainly wouldn't get in the way tomorrow.

He then looked toward Zetton.

Zetton was also on the Planet of Monsters.

Having cast off the berserk state induced by the Eternity Core fragment, it looked somewhat listless.

Still, it was in much better shape than before and would definitely recover by tomorrow.

Next was the Magatano-Orochi egg rooted deep in the earth—the Cursed Soul.

At this moment, the Cursed Soul appeared slightly more turbid, and the cultivation progress reading underneath stood solidly at "30%."

"Huh? Magatano-Orochi's cultivation progress is rising this fast?"

Lin Yu rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Eleking, Zetton, and Five King had each taken over a week of cultivation just to reach thirty percent after being deployed into various Ultraman TV series!

This Magatano-Orochi had only been at it for a day or two, all things considered, right?

Could it be—

Lin Yu cast his gaze toward the Planet of Monsters.

It seemed that the energy reserves of this planet, initially gifted by the system, far exceeded standard levels...

"Since that's the case, Magatano-Orochi, go forth and develop!"

Lin Yu tapped his finger.

[Do you wish to deploy "Magatano-Orochi" into the Nexus TV series?]

"Yes."

[Deploying... Deployment successful!]

[Magatano-Orochi is currently located in: Nexus TV series!]

[Generating monster log!]