Am I the only one in this team who is not Ultraman?

Page 297

Uehara Shozo also recalled the pressure he felt when facing Leo, a pressure similar to that of not finishing his winter vacation homework in elementary school and having to face the teacher's inspection.

“But this is too strict!” Kinjo Tetsuo slammed his hand on the table. Uehara Shozo thought for a moment, “He’s just going to back out?”

“He said my script was missing something, but he wouldn’t say what it was. It’s really a headache.” Tetsuo Kinjo scratched his head. “Director Hajime Tsuburaya said it felt like it wasn’t interesting enough.”

If it were just because it wasn't interesting enough, then Leo certainly wouldn't have made up any riddles; he would have just told the answer directly.

"That's just director Leo's style. He never tells others directly, but guides them through things. Hmm... but wasn't he originally just the executive director?"

Uehara Shozo then realized that he seemed to have unknowingly overlooked Leo's original position, while Kinjo Tetsuo remembered it very clearly.

"Yes, the executive director position has changed from Eiji to Tsuburaya Ichiro, but Mr. Leo's position as executive director remains unchanged. His abilities speak for themselves."

It's hard to imagine that someone who had never been involved in the photography industry and was previously unknown could perfectly fulfill the role of executive director, doing so without anyone complaining.

"In addition to all that, he also worked as a photographer, prop master, art director, and post-production producer, and even took care of his three meals a day. Is he even human?"

After counting on his fingers, Uehara Shozo was astonished by Leo's competence. Putting aside everything else...

"Maybe Director Leo is from Venus." Tetsuo Kinjo sighed, slumped over the table. Leo's abilities were simply too extraordinary, almost inhuman.

So after Leo rejected his script, Tetsuo Kinjo didn't suspect that Leo was deliberately making things difficult for him; he only thought about what was wrong with him.

"Alright, alright, don't be so hard on yourself. Relax and go eat first. Tonight's meal was prepared by Director Leo and Miss King Joe together."

Upon hearing this, Tetsuo Kinjo immediately perked up, his previous dejected state vanishing as he stood up. "Let's go!"

Leo and King Joe's cooking skills are consistently excellent, the kind you can't forget after just one bite. However, due to the large number of people in the crew and Leo's own busy work schedule, he can only cook once a week, which makes everyone feel sorry for him.

Tonight's meal was exceptionally lavish, after all, the "Ultra Q" series will officially wrap up filming tomorrow, so this can be considered an early celebration. As people involved in the filming, none of us doubted how successful this work would be.

Kazuo Tsuburaya and Hiroshi Tsuburaya wandered around the crowd with curiosity and joy. Children love excitement, and everyone here especially adored the two of them.

However, in their haste to run, the two accidentally bumped into Jin Guqiao, but Jin Guqiao didn't budge, and even the huge pile of soda and juice she was carrying didn't shake.

"Hey, you two, stop running around! Don't bump into each other!"

King Joe, carrying a huge pile of things, looked at the two little ones with a helpless expression, but still smiled. Kids, hmm... I wonder if he and Leo would be this lively if they had children.

"I'm sorry, Sister King Bridge." The two little ones apologized very politely, after all, King Bridge was very good to them, often giving them pocket money to buy delicious food and fun things.

"Go sit down, dinner will be served soon." Jin Guqiao gestured with his eyes to the table not far away, then continued with his work.

Everyone arrived quickly, but unexpectedly, before dinner, director Eiji Tsuburaya announced some shocking news.

That is, after the official conclusion of "Ultra Q", Leo will resign from his position as executive director of Tsuburaya Productions and officially leave the company.

This news surprised and puzzled everyone, because it didn't make sense; Leo's competence was evident to all.

Leo is a good person and very good at regulating the team atmosphere. It can be said that the fact that there were no conflicts during the filming of the entire crew was largely due to Leo's mediation.

So much so that even Kazuo Tsuburaya couldn't eat much of the meal that day, and he didn't even know what to say.

That evening, many people approached Eiji Tsuburaya, hoping he would allow Leo to stay at Tsuburaya Productions. However, after learning that it was Leo's own choice, everyone had no choice but to accept it.

That evening, Leo and Eiji Tsuburaya sat together playing Go and chatting. After all, Leo was leaving the next day, and the old man wanted to have a good chat with his friend during these last few moments.

He had a premonition that once they parted ways this time, he would probably never have the chance to see Leo again in his life.

"Everyone will miss you so much," said Tsuburaya Productions, but in his heart, he was the one who would miss Leo the most.

Over the past few years, Leo has helped him a lot, and even his own health was restored thanks to Leo's treatment.

"I'm quite confident in my popularity," Leo said with a rather smug smile.

To be honest, Leo also misses the people here. In the past few years, while adjusting his own condition, he has enjoyed a rare period of peace and has built a very deep bond with the people here.

“It’s really great, I love this era.” Leo stretched. “It’s a pity I can’t be more involved in the later production.”

"Yes, it's a real pity... Speaking of which, what's his script like?" Tsuburaya was naturally referring to screenwriter Tetsuo Kaneshiro.

"It's just a little bit short. I can feel it. It's just a matter of giving it one last push, but I think Jincheng can definitely do it."

Leo's lips curled up as he recalled the videotapes he had been obsessed with as a child. "He can definitely write it down."

At this point, Leo stood up. "Actually, I'd like to show it to him. Why don't you talk to him? If it's him, I think you can take a look too. You two talk first."

After saying that, Leo instantly disappeared from the spot. The old man understood what he meant, and then Tetsuo Kinjo's voice came from the doorway, "Director Tsuburaya, are you there?"

"Come in, Jincheng, don't be shy."

Upon hearing the old man's words, Tetsuo Kinjo opened the door and walked in, looking somewhat reserved, with a newly written script in his hand.

Chapter 571 The Fallen Heart of Earth

The night was deep and the night sky was exceptionally beautiful. The bright moon was surrounded by a dazzling array of stars. However, in the living room of Mr. Tsuburaya, Jin Cheng was feeling extremely anxious.

I had planned to show the newly written script to Leo, but I didn't expect that only Director Tsuburaya was there. This old man's requirements were even stricter than Leo's, and my script would most likely not be approved.

"Hmm... this kind of story certainly doesn't meet our standards."

As expected, Tsuburaya Productions also rejected the proposal. Tetsuo Kinjo was somewhat helpless, but Tsuburaya's attitude was much gentler than usual, perhaps because of Leo.

"Actually, I've already read your previous version of the story, and I feel that this version is a bit worse than the previous one. Jin Cheng, are you a little anxious?"

“I didn’t expect Director Leo to leave… to be honest, so I was thinking that I should at least write a script that would satisfy him before he left.”

Tetsuo Kinjo kept his head down. To be honest, he had received a lot of care from Leo over the years. Although Leo was strict and serious in his work, he was gentle to everyone else.

If it weren't for King Joe, the girls pursuing Leo would line up all the way to the front door.

Jin Cheng used to complain, but after learning that Leo was leaving, he only felt reluctant, sad, and deeply anxious.

However, leaving was Leo's own wish, so he could only hope that Leo would leave with no regrets. He knew how much Leo valued his new script.

Every time they get together to talk about the company's future, everyone gets excited because the quality of "Ultra Q" is beyond doubt. Only Leo is quiet at this time, with a regret in his eyes that no one can understand.

“But I can’t write it.” Tetsuo Kinjo sighed, scratching his head. “I’m not capable of writing.”

“It’s good that you have this intention, but don’t let yourself get anxious or discouraged.” Tsuburaya patted Tetsuo Kinjo on the shoulder. “Leo said he believes you can definitely write it.”

“Director Leo…” Tetsuo Kinjo hesitated, then Tsuburaya Productions got up, took out the Ultra Star that he had shown Leo earlier from the cabinet, and placed it in Tetsuo Kinjo’s hand.

She also told Jin Cheng about that past that only she knew.

At the moment when Jin Cheng held the Ultra Star in his hands, Leo suddenly heard a sound like gears meshing together, something started to turn, creaking and rattling.

However, after scanning the surrounding hundreds of kilometers with his consciousness for a moment, he found nothing unusual. Leo subconsciously suspected that it was his own problem, "Is it just my imagination?"

Perhaps I've been too worried lately. After all, Hyper Zetton is at least a T1.5 enemy, and it will probably become even stronger after absorbing Greeza, possibly even approaching the level of Gatanothor and the others.

The thought of facing such an enemy put Leo under a lot of pressure. King Joe and Zetton advised him not to think too much, since Hyper Zetton would probably not be able to break through its seal for another year or so.

Under the cover of night, the moon's reflection was scattered by the wind at Lake Ryusei. King Joe straightened his hair and asked, "Should we release Yanagaki now?"

"Well, that's about it. He must have had a hard time waiting for so long. He's leaving tomorrow, so it's always safer to have it with him today."

Ever since he learned that Yanagaki was at the bottom of Lake Longsen, Leo would occasionally come here to talk to Yanagaki and chat with it about Chariga.

Although in Charika’s view, he and Yanagaki had been separated for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, it was only a few decades for Yanagaki.

After learning that Chariga was safe and sound, Yanagaki was relieved. His only request to Leo was that he take Chariga with him when he left, and that Leo come over occasionally to chat with him so that he wouldn't suffocate.

"Yanagaki, it's time to... um?"

Just as Leo was about to use his abilities to ensure that the breaking of Yanagaki's seal would not be discovered by anyone, he sensed something and turned to look at Kazuo Tsuburaya, who was walking out of the woods.

"Ichio, what brings you here?" Leo was somewhat surprised. It was indeed Tsuburaya Ichio standing before him, but why hadn't he noticed the other's approach at all? Even the Dark Shadow Mage couldn't do that.

"I don't know, um..." Kazuo Tsuburaya himself couldn't explain it clearly, but he looked at Leo with reluctance in his eyes, "Uncle Leo, can you not leave?"

"I don't want to leave everyone either, but there's no other way, Kazuo. We'll meet again in the future."

Recalling the person he met when he and Goroki went to Tsuburaya Productions to conduct their investigation, Leo couldn't be sure if it was the same person standing before him, after all...

"But I can't bear to part with you." Kazuo Tsuburaya ran towards Leo. "I still have so many..."

Before he could finish speaking, the sword, its blade gleaming coldly in the moonlight, was firmly pressed against Kazuo Tsuburaya's neck.

Just a millimeter away, the dark blade that Leo himself had conjured could have pierced the child's throat, if he were just a child.

“Ordinary children wouldn’t be able to react to this move, let alone stop in an instant.” Leo’s expression was cold. “Similarly, they wouldn’t bypass my senses and suddenly appear behind me.”

The expression on Kazuo Tsuburaya's face instantly changed from panic to icy cold as the sword was pointed at him. "You really are my good uncle. I was careless to have you find out about this."

"I thought that these past five years would have allowed you to become accustomed to this comfortable atmosphere and lower your guard, but I didn't expect you to still be so vigilant. Aren't you afraid of actually harming the child's body?"

“If it’s just a regular penetrating wound, I can save him as long as he doesn’t die immediately,” Leo said coldly. “There’s only one type of person who would be afraid of this move.”

What Leo didn't say was that the tip of the sword was actually blunt, so it couldn't hurt anyone at all, but for "Kazuo Tsuburaya," he did feel danger just now.

“Indeed, such a direct attack on the spirit would be troublesome for me.” The being possessing Kazuo Tsuburaya nodded honestly.

"So who are you?" Leo hadn't figured out this question.

The seal of Ultimate Darkness still exists, and none of the eight seals have been leaked. However, the moment this guy stopped concealing his aura, the Ultimate Darkness within Leo's body began to activate.

"Well...why don't you try to guess?"

Leo frowned, his perception expanding to the entire solar system, before arriving at a conclusion that even he found somewhat unbelievable: "The moon, no, the reaction is wrong... You are Earth!!?"

At this moment, Leo was truly shocked. What was in front of him was not the Dark Shadow Mage, nor the methods of Gatanothor or Grimd.

Instead, it was the real, genuine Earth core that he had previously overlooked, which had fallen into ultimate darkness.

Chapter 572 Past Events

To be honest, Leo never expected things to turn out this way; it was a huge deviation from what he had envisioned.

In fact, although Leo has lived a very peaceful life over the years, he has never slacked off in the slightest. He is well aware of how many people are thinking about him.

Leo wouldn't be surprised if any of these guys came knocking on his door: the Dark Shadow Mage, Modius, Gatanothor, or Grimd.

However, the one that appeared before Leo did not belong to any of the above, yet its presence did not seem abrupt; rather, it was the one that should have appeared the most.

The core of the Earth, once the eternal core, which had fallen into ultimate darkness, was not completely devoured by darkness 30 million years ago, but instead parasitized the moon.

The once bright moonlight now seemed cold, carrying a hint of malevolent chill. This moonlight contained some kind of power, attempting to dismantle Leo's mental defenses and distort his thoughts and will.

"Don't waste your energy. The mental strength of the Reibloods is so strong that they can withstand the explosion of the universe. It's understandable that they didn't realize your existence before, but now that they do, they can't be affected by you."

Leo said coldly, his eyes sharp yet tinged with emotion, "I thought you had already been divided up by the Dark Shadow Mages."

In the distant past, so ancient that no one remembers it, a powerful source known as the Eternal Core transformed into the Star Core, and thus Earth was born, along with its will.

Forty million years ago, with the destruction of yet another civilization, the Earth's will, which had given birth to civilization, was filled with despair. She had lost count of how many times she had watched her beloved children and everything they had done turn to dust.

As the eternal core, the Origin Star is far too powerful, which has led to the birth of many monsters on the planet. However, the most fatal problem is the uncontrollable leakage of its own energy.

This is like breathing naturally, except that every breath brings terrible natural disasters. Even if the Renlong was created in the hope that it would help humanity live better, it would be to no avail.

Then, thirty million years ago, the will of Earth hoped that the civilization it had nurtured could survive peacefully and stably.

The obsession she held so deeply was that the red ball naturally appeared before her, responding to her wish.

However, Earth at the time did not realize that certain details in the deal between the Red Ball and itself had been deliberately obscured, which became the beginning of the Dark Outbreak.

When darkness erupted, the Dark Shadow Mage intended to monopolize the entire Dark Core, but Gatanothor and Grimd disrupted his plans.

“Indeed, if the visitors hadn’t stumbled upon me by chance, I would have been completely devoured by those three.” This is what the Eternal Core, or rather the Ultimate Dark Core, possessing Tsuburaya Kazuo said.

"Visitors?" Leo hadn't expected that there would be visitors involved.

“That’s right, the visitors,” said the Ultimate Dark Core. “They wanted to stop the River of Oblivion from spiraling out of control as soon as possible, but they found that they were no longer able to reverse the process.”

"Under those circumstances, they made a decision to add new code to the River of Oblivion, so that it would absorb not only negative energy, but ultimate darkness."

The Dark Shadow Mage hadn't anticipated that Wangchuan would join the fray, but he didn't think much of it, because Wangchuan was ultimately just a machine, and the visitor had done a good job; it wouldn't be corrupted into a monster by the darkness.

However, there were too many contenders at the time, and Ultimate Darkness was inevitably divided up, which was one of the reasons why Modius was able to be born.

“But the Dark Shadow Mage wouldn’t have expected that this would give me an opportunity.” The core of Ultimate Darkness said calmly, and the two seemed to be getting along well, but only Leo knew that they were both looking for an opportunity.

"You decisively chose to abandon your old core and choose to reside on the moon, right?"

A faint, dark figure appeared behind Kazuo Tsuburaya; this was the core of darkness communicating with Leo through its own consciousness.

"You're right, but that's not all. I am the core of ultimate darkness, and the echo of resentment and anger from the destruction of all civilizations on Earth over the past 49 billion years."

The voice of the dark figure sounded like a collection of countless voices, accompanied by countless echoes. It was the despair that the Earth's will had accumulated over the long years, and it was also the root of the Dark Shadow Mage's ability to erode the Eternal Core.

If it weren't for such despair in his heart, the Eternal Core wouldn't have been eroded and transformed so quickly.

"I am the despair itself, the eternal core!" The black figure unleashed powerful energy, causing the entire Dragon Forest Lake to tremble.