ryethenovel Chapter 381 The First Appearance of Planet Juran
Chapter 381 The First Appearance of Planet Juran
Time flies, and a week has quietly slipped away amidst the eager anticipation of countless tokusatsu fans.
And this Friday at 8 PM sharp.
The servers of major video platforms experienced the familiar surge in traffic as scheduled. Episode 10 of Gu Nan's version of "Ultraman Cosmos" premiered right on time!
This episode skips the relatively mediocre episodes 19 and 20 and combines episodes 21 and 22 from the original work.
It is also the future, Gauss's permanent residence, the planet Juran's first appearance.
The screen lit up, but instead of showing a typical Earth city, it directly displayed a vast, profound, and awe-inspiring cosmic star map.
Accompanied by background music that is both stirring and mysterious, the deep and magnetic voice of the narrator slowly begins to play.
"A planet passing through the solar system—Juran. This is a rare astronomical phenomenon that occurs only once every thousand years."
"On the millennium-old comet Juran, the SRC Space Development Center's Exploration Department detected clear signs of life. In order to investigate the unknown cosmic ecosystem, the SRC decisively launched its most advanced manned exploration vessel—the Waltz—to conduct an on-site investigation of this mysterious planet."
As the narration continues, the scene shows a futuristic, silver-white research vessel, trailing a long plume of flame, flying steadily through the boundless space, speeding towards a distant comet emitting a ghostly blue light.
[Here we go! Time to check in!]
[A grand opening, another new planet?]
A comet that occurs only once every thousand years? Is this the villain's arrival this time?
[SRC is really bold, launching a manned spacecraft immediately upon detecting life signs? They should at least have sent a drone to scout ahead first!]
High risk, high reward, right?
The scene shifts back to Earth, to the command center of the elite youth team.
At this moment, the large screen is broadcasting live images of space transmitted back by the Waltz.
Even Captain Haruka's eyes gleamed with anticipation and longing for the unknown: "I hope the SRC's plan succeeds this time. Although we don't yet know what kind of life exists on Juran, if it's intelligent life, we'll definitely gain a lot if we can make contact!"
Meanwhile, Tu Jing was describing the situation on this planet:
"According to the report sent by Astronaut Mitsuya, Juran's atmospheric composition is very similar to that of Earth, so we can indeed expect to discover intelligent life."
Then Musashi spoke up, his tone tinged with emotion. "The astronaut Mitsuya who's currently investigating Juran was my classmate during my training at the Space Development Center. You could say we were rivals, or you could say we were good friends. We used to compete to see who could go to space first..."
Upon hearing this, Rena rolled her eyes without hesitation, already anticipating Musashi's next words:
"In the end, I still lost to him."
"What?!" Musashi's eyes widened.
"I understand your pride in Mitsuya, but Musashi, how many times are you going to say that today?"
"Exactly! We're sick of hearing it!"
Musashi, his thoughts exposed, scratched his head somewhat awkwardly: "I'm sorry..."
[Musashi: I'm jealous]
[Musashi: I was here first, whether I become an astronaut or go into space...]
As Ultraman Cosmos's human form, the entire universe will be your backyard from now on. What's one more comet?
[Mitsuya: I may have gone to space, but I set a huge death flag! Bro, don't be envious of me!]
The atmosphere in the command room was relatively relaxed, and everyone was joking about Musashi.
Suddenly, an extremely sharp warning tone came from the communication station.
"Beep beep beep—!"
"It's a wide-area communication from the exploration ship Waltz!"
Rena immediately dropped her joking expression, her hands flying across the keyboard as she quickly answered the signal, "It's Hikari!"
Captain Qingguang immediately put down his coffee cup and strode to the large screen: "Take it, I wonder what new discoveries he has."
The large screen flickered, revealing the somewhat blurry face of the team member, Hikari, due to interference from cosmic radiation.
"I am Hikari from the exploration ship Waltz."
"Hikari!"
Musashi eagerly leaned forward, "What do the life forms on Juran look like? Have you made contact with them?"
The light on the other end of the screen shook its head, its expression somewhat strange: "No, we haven't found any life forms yet. But... there's something I must show you. It's something I discovered and photographed during my surface survey."
With Guangye's operation, a high-definition photo was directly transmitted to the large screen in the command room.
It was a huge, ancient, and dilapidated stone tablet.
The stone tablet is made of neither gold nor stone, and is covered with densely packed, strange and complex characters shaped like tadpoles.
"A stone tablet? It looks like it was carved by hand."
Tu Jing immediately moved closer to the screen, his eyes shining as he examined it closely.
"And look at the texture and structure of these characters! They're remarkably similar to ancient writing systems on Earth!"
Hikaru's voice continued through the communication channel: "The Waltz's translation system is operating at full capacity, but it can only barely decipher a small portion. Among them are a few very interesting words."
"What is it?" Vice-Captain Mizuha crossed his arms, keenly sensing an unusual aura.
"Guardian beasts, magical beasts, cataclysmic changes in nature, planetary orbits..."
Hikaru read out the translated bits and pieces of vocabulary word by word, one by one.
"They all seem to be meaningful, even warning words."
"That's right, this stone tablet must contain the secrets about Comet Julan."
[Guardian Beast? Monster?]
[The world has changed drastically! This looks like a dungeon where monsters are sealed away.]
Next, it will probably be the SRC members who break the seal.
This is probably an epitaph left by an alien civilization!
Take my advice: turn back to Earth immediately! This place is too dangerous for you to handle!
However, before the members of the elite youth team could further analyze the terrifying meaning behind these words, a sudden change occurred!
The communication screen flickered with static.
"Actually... Hikari, the signal here isn't very good, so we can't hear very clearly. The situation is a bit strange."
"Musashi, can you hear me?"
Suddenly, the image on the other side disappeared, leaving only the sound!
"Ah! It's so blinding... such blinding light!"
On the big screen, the image of Hikari suddenly began to shake and tear violently.
Immediately afterwards, a blinding and eerie bright light instantly filled the entire cockpit screen! The light seemed to contain some kind of chilling energy fluctuation.
"What's going on? Hikari! Please answer! Hikari!" Musashi shouted anxiously, leaning over the control panel.
"Sizzle—"
The signal was completely cut off, and the large screen instantly turned into a lifeless, static display.
"Something must have gone wrong with the Waltz!" Vice Captain Mizuha said gravely.
"Contact the Space Development Center immediately and investigate the details over there!" Captain Qingguang decisively issued the order.
Just then, Rena, who had been keeping a close eye on the track monitoring radar, told everyone some bad news:
"Captain! Something's wrong! Juran... Juran has changed course!"
Everyone turned around abruptly, staring intently at the screen in front of Tu Jing.
Comet Juran, which originally had a fixed orbital path, suddenly veered into an incredible acute angle in space and headed straight for the interior of the solar system!
"Tujing, predict its path immediately!" Captain Qingguang quickly walked behind him, his hands supporting him on the back of the chair.
Tu Jing immediately began calculations.
His voice trembled as he watched the three-dimensional warning line on the computer screen, which was constantly being corrected and eventually turned into a blinding red light pointing straight at the earth.
"If this continues... won't we collide with Earth?!" Vice-Captain Mizuha gasped.
"How much longer until we reach Earth?" Captain Qingguang asked quickly.
Tu Jing swallowed hard, then uttered a despairing number with difficulty: "Four days from now... 96 hours until impact!"
[Amazing sharp angle turn.]
Comet hits Earth!
[96-hour countdown! Time is running out for humanity!]
[Hurry to the Western Paradise and ask Ultraman Cosmos for help!]
[The situation is urgent, Ultraman should just blow this planet up!]
The scene switched instantly.
The atmosphere was extremely tense in the emergency meeting room of the Comprehensive Defense Force Headquarters.
Faced with this catastrophic event that could wipe out all life on Earth, the top brass of the defense force demonstrated exceptional execution capabilities, swiftly making the most decisive and ruthless decision.
"We have decided to use an ultra-high-performance nuclear bomb to directly detonate Juran, which is approaching Earth, from outside space!" a senior general announced expressionlessly.
At the other end of the long table in the conference room, Captain Qingguang argued his case forcefully.
This indicates that they need to rescue the survivors.
"You want to go to Juran?"
The commander of the defense force placed his hands on the table, his eyes fixed on Captain Haruka with sharp, piercing gazes.
"Yes, I want to bring back Hikari, who lost contact in Juran." Captain Haruka said without flinching, looking directly at the commander.
The commander frowned slightly, sighed, and spoke with an undeniable air of authority and composure: "Captain, you should know very well that there are only 90 hours left until Juran impacts Earth. Moreover, considering the impact of the massive meteorite fragments generated after the explosion on Earth, the nuclear bomb must be launched and detonated outside the atmosphere before impact, that is, 13 hours before impact."
He paused, then presented everyone with a cold, hard math problem: "That means the explosion must be carried out in 76 hours. To conduct a rescue operation in deep space within such a limited time is simply a pipe dream!"
Surprisingly, the netizens in the live chat were unusually rational this time in the face of the defense forces' seemingly "cold-blooded" decision.
To be fair, the defense forces finally did something right this time; they really didn't make a mistake. This is a matter of life and death for billions of people on Earth!
Indeed, if the nuclear missile launch had been delayed, even if the comet shattered, the fragments would have crashed into the atmosphere, causing significant damage to Earth.
Allowing a 76-hour grace period during a doomsday crisis is probably the maximum humanitarian concession the defense forces can offer.
Despite the immense pressure exerted by the commander, Captain Haruka did not give up.
"Our elite youth team possesses the most advanced scientific and technological airship!"
Captain Qingguang confidently raised his head, his voice resounding, "Using it, we can achieve ultra-high-speed space travel in the shortest possible time, and returning before the nuclear missile launch is entirely possible!"
"Commander!"
On the other side, Captain Mizuha continued to offer his bargaining chips, "Our EYES team's goal isn't just to rescue Mitsuya. Maybe we can even correct Juran's course!"
"Correct the track? Is such a pipe dream even possible?" the commander asked, somewhat displeased.
Captain Haruka projected the photo of the stone tablet that Hikari had sent back onto the big screen: "This is what Hikari found in Juran. I believe there must be some special reason why Juran suddenly defied the laws of physics, changed its trajectory, and crashed into Earth. And that stone tablet seems to hold the mystery of correcting its trajectory. While rescuing Hikari, we must solve this mystery no matter what!"
After a brief silence, the entire conference room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Commander Sahara gave Captain Haruka a deep look before finally relenting: "In that case... if you cannot return to Earth within 76 hours, we will not hesitate to launch a nuclear missile. Good luck to you."
Having obtained this precious 76-hour life-or-death clearance, the elite youth team immediately entered the highest level of pre-battle mobilization.
……
In the locker room.
Musashi wore a heavy spacesuit with a solemn expression.
Here, he was lost in a memory.
This memory also includes his initial dream of going to space, which he expressed in episode 20 of the original work, "Musashi's Sky".
Moreover, the vow he made with Mitsuya back then echoed in his mind.
"I will definitely become an astronaut and go into space!"
"But by the time I'm in space, you'll probably be an old astronaut by then, haha!"
Musashi zipped up his spacesuit, clenched his fist, and his eyes were filled with unwavering determination: "Hikaru, if anything happens to you in space, I will definitely come to save you! Hang in there!"
Inside the control center lobby.
Captain Qingguang, with a stern expression, gave the final, do-or-die order to all the fully armed field team members.
"This operation will face unpredictable and mortal dangers! If we cannot alter Juran's orbit within 74 hours, even if we remain on Juran, the Defense Forces' nuclear missiles will launch as planned. No one can guarantee a safe return to Earth!"
Captain Haruka emphasized, "Even so, we must rescue Member Hikari, and everyone must come back alive! As long as we unite, we can definitely complete the mission!"
"Understood!!!" the crowd shouted in unison, their morale soaring.
Just as everyone was preparing to line up to board the elevator, Rena suddenly stepped forward, her eyes slightly red, and pleaded with the captain.
"Captain! This mission is too dangerous. I don't want to stay at EYES base alone. Please let me go to Juran with the others!"
Captain Haruka stepped forward and gently but firmly patted her shoulder: "I understand how you feel. But, just in case, Rena, you must stay here."
Even the wind came out to offer comfort:
"If you stay on Earth, we can safely go into space. Reina is the only one skilled enough to use a supercomputer for analysis and support. We'll be relying entirely on you for our flight trajectory calculations in space and for cracking the monolith's code."
Rena bit her lip, fighting back tears, and finally nodded firmly: "I understand! Captain, you must all come back safely!"
"Alright!" Captain Haruka turned around, waved her hand, and announced, "EYES team, onward to space!"
"clear!"
Accompanied by rousing background music, the massive hangar dome doors slowly opened to both sides.
A colossal, futuristic-looking aircraft—the KeNeng Airship—was displayed before all the viewers.
This fighter jet is 32 meters long and has a wingspan of 28 meters, completely different from conventional fighter jets. It is assembled from three modular pieces of different colored Sci-Tech Core Spaceships.
The heavy armor and oppressive design showcase the violent aesthetics of humanity's top-tier industry.
"Right core check complete!"
"Left core scan complete!"
"Core inspection completed!"
"Keneng Plasma Wave Power System activated, ready for standby!"
"Science and Technology Airship, take off!"
"BOOM—!!!"
The deafening roar of the engines echoed through the sky.
The thrusters at the bottom of the KeNeng airship spewed out thick, azure-blue plasma tail flames. The massive machine, like a steel behemoth breaking free of its shackles, instantly pierced through the clouds and sped toward the vast universe with overwhelming force.
[That's pretty cool! A transforming fighter jet that combines!]
[A range of ten million kilometers? And the ability to travel at supersonic speeds in space? The elite youth team's tech tree is absolutely focused on vehicles!]
[It's like a dream about Dyna.]
[Carrying the hopes of all humanity, we set off into space!]
[The budget is burning fast! This takeoff scene is amazing. Director Gu wasn't lying!]
Inside the cockpit.
Outside the window was a dazzling and profound starry sky, a breathtaking view that could only be seen from space, which momentarily captivated Musashi.
"Keep it up, everyone! This is the universe I've been dreaming of!"
Looking out the window, Musashi couldn't help but sigh, "It's so vast, it's really a little frightening."
The KeNeng airship made long-distance jumps in the dark universe at faster-than-light speed.
After an unknown amount of time, a huge star emitting a faint blue light finally appeared in the distance.
"We're almost at planet Juran!" Musashi reported loudly, looking at the radar screen.
"Confirm the atmospheric composition of Juran," Captain Qingguang ordered.
Tsuchikage quickly analyzed the data transmitted back from the external sensors: "The oxygen content is sufficient, very similar to Earth! Just as Hikari reported, we can breathe directly."
Just as Musashi was about to push the control stick to plunge into the atmosphere, the previously calm communication channel was suddenly filled with the intermittent, extremely terrified screams of Mitsuya!
"Don't come any closer... You can't come any closer! Ahhh!"
"Hikaru!" Musashi exclaimed in shock.
"A monster! It's ferocious! Everyone, don't come to Juran... Go back! Go back now!!!"
Everyone's hearts sank.
With a piercing metallic tearing sound and static noise, communication was once again completely cut off.
This desperate warning, "knowing there are tigers in the mountains, yet venturing into the tiger's den," did not deter the elite youth team; instead, it accelerated their descent.
"Entering the atmosphere!"