Xue Dili stared blankly at the sphere of light in his hand. Although he didn't know how many times he had released it in the Consciousness Space, he still felt an indescribable joy emerging from the depths of his heart.
He had truly mastered a skill, "magic" from the Otherworld!
"Hey, kid! Are you listening to me? As expected, you're a born evil brat! I'm going to..."
"Alright, old thing, say what you have to say." Xue Dili directly interrupted the old Undead before he could continue his foul-mouthed tirade.
Although they hadn't spent much time together, as soon as he spoke, Xue Dili knew what kind of nonsense the old Undead would spout.
"Show me some information about your world. I want to understand your world." The old Undead "hmphed" in Xue Dili's mind.
Xue Dili stood up, not feeling refreshed after a nap, but rather exhausted to the extreme.
Being educated with beatings by a jeep-like Death Knight and a cane in the Consciousness Space for dozens of days, he felt mentally drained.
However, thinking of the old Undead's request, he casually opened a website.
He intended to find a few documentaries, but he thought twice, realizing those documentaries might require a certain knowledge base and could be a bit overwhelming for the old man's mind, so he decided to fool the old man with some healthy and friendly content.
While saying this, he entered the children's section and immediately saw the most eye-catching content.
"Ultraman Tiga"
Alright, this will do.
After setting it to play continuously at double speed, he said to the old Undead, "Take your time watching, I'll just take a nap."
"No problem, as long as your eyes are on the screen, I can see it," said the old Undead.
Xue Dili yawned and went back to dreamland.
Even as he slept, his eyes were slightly narrowed, as if carefully watching everything on the computer screen.
Seeing planes soaring into the sky, beasts far stronger than a Giant Dragon, and the Giant born from light, the old man in the Consciousness Space was utterly astonished.
"What kind of world is this?"
The ghostly fire in the old Undead's pupils showed bewilderment and confusion... then a growing interest in this world.
This strange and peculiar world, which seemed to be a peaceful and beautiful one, made him take "Ultraman Tiga" very seriously, as if trying to truly understand this new world...
...
When Xue Dili woke up, it was already evening. He opened his eyes to see the computer had reached the final episode of Tiga, where he turns into a statue.
"Come on, you have to win! You're Ultraman, how can you lose to such a beast?! Da Gu, what's with that expression, get up!"
In his mind, he heard the old man's gnashing shout.
Xue Dili had a question mark appear above his head.
Old Deng, you're getting too fired up.
He merely wanted to show Old Deng something harmonious and friendly for amusement, not expecting the old man to truly get engrossed, so much so, he hadn't even realized Xue Dili had awakened.
Seeing all the children transforming into light and flowing into the sea, Xue Dili could hear the old man's excited shouts, the sound of chains, and the hoarse "stand up!"
I advise the old man not to get too excited!
Even while bound by chains, the old man performed a charging gesture similar to that of Ultraman in the video.
Evil God Gatandje was defeated, the world was saved, and finally, looking at the ending credits, the old Undead fell silent, leaving only a long sigh.
It sounded lonely, yet also like admiration.
"Hey, old man, what's up?" Xue Dili asked.
"Uh, you're awake!" Only then did the old man seem to realize Xue Dili had woken up, coughing awkwardly.
Xue Dili didn't mention it, fearing the old man would get embarrassed. The elderly are quite concerned about saving face.
As Xue Dili started to get busy, the old Undead seemed to ponder for a long time.
Actually, he had wanted to ask for a long time: Xue Dili's phone, computer, gas stove, fridge... everything was new to him.
But previously, he didn't understand this world, and after today, he thoroughly understood it, provoking his curiosity about many other things.
"Kid, in the year Tiga left, did you become one of those lights?" the old man suddenly asked.
Xue Dili's face turned peculiar for a second, but he simply coughed and said awkwardly, "Yeah, that year, I was only eight..."
"No wonder... no wonder..." the old man kept muttering to himself, laughing and crying, leaving Xue Dili utterly confused.
After a long while, when Xue Dili had finished his tasks, he heard the old man's voice: "Is Da Gu still around? I want to meet him. Don't you guys have some planes? Fly over, meet him..."
"This is the only thing I wish to do..."
The old man's words seemed very sorrowful.
Xue Dili: "..."
The old man actually took it seriously...
For some reason, Xue Dili felt a slight pang of guilt for fooling the old man, though not much, but it was there.
"It's not possible, Da Gu has already retired, became a singer, married, and had kids. We shouldn't disturb him anymore," Xue Dili said softly, with little confidence.
While speaking, he played a video of Nagano Hiroshi singing.
Seeing "Da Gu" in the video singing and dancing joyfully, looking much older, as if decades had passed.
The old Undead merely murmured to himself, "That's true... it is... but if I could meet Da Gu, I could die happy."
Then, he seemed to get lost in the music, the chains swaying constantly, as if cheering for the "Da Gu" on screen.
Xue Dili: "..."
Stunned! What to do when an Otherworld old man becomes obsessed with a Neon male idol? Looking for solutions, urgent.
Once the video ended, the old man sighed once more, looking very melancholic, a feeling of indescribable sadness and loneliness emanating, as if hidden within his hollow skull was a lion.
Xue Dili said nothing more, quietly eating, while the whole room became extremely desolate.
Old Deng seemed to have taken the tokusatsu too seriously.
He genuinely believed Da Gu had saved the world, retired successfully, and became a famous singer.
Indeed, though the old man wasn't outwardly submissive, he was quite gullible, or else he wouldn't have ended up being labeled a "notorious sinner."
Sensing the sad aura the old man exuded, Xue Dili, to prevent him from slipping into depression, promptly said, "What's wrong? Do you really like that man so much?"
"No, I just see a reflection of my younger self in him..." the old Undead stubbornly retorted.
Xue Dili rolled his eyes.
He knew Old Deng was in denial, that he wasn't seeing his past self, but rather his ideal self.
Stubborn old man.
His lifelong dream was to end the Undead catastrophe, save the world, and then retire with honor, surrounded by his descendants, watching his family grow strong — that was his dream.
But that's all it was, just a dream.
In reality, he became a notorious sinner, his family slaughtered to extinction, and he even failed to kill the Witch Demon King.
Though he perished alongside the Witch Demon King, the Witch Demon King was immortal, absorbing souls to resurrect again, leaving the Undead plague to ravage his world eternally.
It seemed he accomplished nothing.
Endless hatred, anger, melancholy... all eventually distilled into that single sigh.