fictionpage Chapter 64 The village of the past will never return! Those are times that Zhang can never leave!
Chapter 64 The village of the past will never return! Those are times that Zhang can never leave!
The battle continues, but this is more like a silent, heartbreaking farewell.
The background music at this moment did not use any rousing battle music, but instead lowered the volume, leaving only the sound of wind and the heavy breathing of the monster.
When faced with the charging "Shadow Grandpa"—a huge monster with a comical yet ferocious appearance—Tiga simply opened his arms and gently pushed it away time and time again.
There was no visceral impact, only hesitant and reluctant shoving.
"What is he doing? Why isn't he attacking?"
In the live stream chat, a viewer who had joined just to watch Ultraman Tiga's battle asked a question in confusion.
But it was quickly drowned out by the explanations from longtime fans:
Because it wasn't a monster on the other side! It was an old man longing for home!
Ultraman Tiga didn't want to fight either; he was trying to break it up...
[Look at Ultraman Tiga's movements; although enormous, every movement is executed with utmost care, as if afraid of hurting the old man. The suit actor's acting is also phenomenal!]
In the scene, "Shadow Grandpa" was clearly aware of the absolute gap in strength.
No matter how he swung his claws or used his brute force to ram into it, Tiga was like a wall, firmly blocking his way, preventing him from taking another step forward or destroying the city behind him.
He was not reconciled.
"roar--!!"
He suddenly opened his mouth wide and shot out a fireball.
However, Tiga on the screen still did not adopt a defensive stance.
He simply tilted his head slightly, and the fireball flew past.
Tiga had no will to fight, and Obik only wanted to go home.
Both sides were filled with indescribable helplessness.
In a close-up shot.
A tombstone stands silently.
The former villagers of the small mountain village are buried there.
It also symbolizes the old era that has long since ended.
Obik stubbornly clung to the past, unwilling to step into a new world...
But does it really want to destroy everything in front of it?
The answer may lie in the battle...
Tears streamed down its face uncontrollably.
Those tears were a deep longing for the village of the past, and a silent protest against the forced change.
But no one can withstand the tide of time...
We can only watch helplessly as the sea turns into mulberry fields...
Obik was becoming increasingly ferocious.
The New City players shouted at Obik:
"We can't destroy this town!"
"You know, the old village is gone!!"
These words were like ice water poured over Obik's head.
Obik knew this all too well...
That was simply the reality it refused to accept, no matter how hard it tried.
The villages of the past are truly gone forever...
Just when everyone thought a major battle was about to break out, this "Shadow Grandpa" did something that surprised tens of millions of viewers in front of their televisions.
His poised attack suddenly came to a halt.
He lowered his arm and stopped attacking.
He looked behind Tiga at the night sky, which was dyed red by the city's neon lights and where not a single star could be seen.
The emblem on his chest began to glow.
Unlike previous attacks, this time, a red, warm light, as soft as the sunset in olden times, emanated from his body and instantly enveloped the entire block.
"Look..."
The aged voice was no longer the roar of a monster, but had returned to the voice of the old man at the noodle stall, carrying a kind of excitement like a final burst of energy, echoing throughout the city.
"The old village... is back!"
As he shouted, a miraculous scene unfolded.
Atop modern skyscrapers, amidst the cold steel forest and shimmering neon lights, mirage-like illusions slowly emerge.
The special effects team delivered a perfect performance here.
That's not the Japanese village from the original, nor is it the Shanghai that's the setting for this part of the second episode of Ultraman Tiga Season 2.
Rather, it is the homeland that belongs deep in the memories of the Xia people...
The scene is incredibly detailed: it's a crystal-clear stream, with water flowing gently over smooth pebbles covered with countless lotus leaves and blossoms.
Along the river stood neat rows of blue-brick and tile houses, white smoke billowing from their chimneys—the unique aroma of firewood-cooked meals. At the village entrance stood a huge old locust tree, beneath which lay several dilapidated bamboo beds.
Children ran and played on the ridges of the fields, chasing dragonflies; old people wore tank tops and waved large palm-leaf fans, seemingly talking about whose new bride was or whose cow had run away.
There was no noise from cars or construction sites, only the crowing of roosters, barking of dogs, and the rustling of the wind through the treetops.
That was a scene from thirty years ago, now buried under reinforced concrete.
That is the hometown that countless people who struggle in big cities can never return to.
At this moment, not only was Ultraman Tiga in the show stunned and lowered his defensive arm, but tens of millions of viewers in front of the screen were also stunned.
The previously dense barrage of comments suddenly created a brief vacuum.
It's like the pause button has been pressed.
Immediately following this was an explosive, overwhelming flood of posts:
[Waaaaah, I recognize this place! Even though it's different, it feels like my childhood home!]
I used to fish in that river when I was a kid! Later it was filled in and a chemical plant was built on it!
[The old locust tree...there was one like that at the entrance of my village, but it was cut down when the road was built.]
That's our childhood we can never go back to!
[You scoundrel! Don't use the Memory Knife to kill me! I just got off work and was eating instant noodles, and now I'm crying like a baby!]
In the scene, "Grandpa Shadow" stares intently at the illusion, and a childlike smile appears on the face of the giant monster.
He stretched out his claws, as if trying to touch the phantom of the old man fanning himself with a palm leaf fan.
So beautiful...
Everyone's back...
The former lookout tower, the clear stream, the boundless lotus pond...
And those simple, honest people...
His eyes were filled with happiness.
However, an illusion is still just an illusion.
"Whoosh—! Clang, clang!"
With a piercing siren and the distant roar of a high-speed train rushing past on the overpass, the noise of the real world brutally intruded.
That shattered that illusory tranquility.
The illusion began to flicker violently, like an old television with a faulty connection.
The cold, sharp edges of the skyscrapers pierced the scene once more, and the glass curtain walls reflected a chilling light, mercilessly tearing apart the non-existent tiled houses and river.
The smile on "Shadow Grandpa's" face froze.
He flailed his claws in terror, trying to grasp at the dissipating smoke and trying to hold onto the little river.
"Don't go! Don't go!"
"This isn't my home... Where is my home? Where is my village?"
"Give it back to me! Give my village back to me!"
His pleading turned into hysterical despair.
despair.
A despair that penetrates to the very core.
As the last wisp of smoke dissipated at the top of the office building, "Shadow Grandpa" suddenly turned around and looked at Ultraman Tiga.
This time, his eyes held neither anger nor the madness of before, only a chilling will to die.
Since there is no place for him in this world, since even his last memories cannot be preserved...
"Since we can't go back... then let me and the village disappear together!"
The monster let out a final, mournful cry. It completely abandoned all defensive postures, even deliberately opening its chest to expose its most vulnerable part, and launched a suicidal charge towards Tiga!
Furthermore, as he charged, he spewed forth raging flames powerful enough to destroy entire streets—
But attentive viewers noticed that he deliberately missed the target.
The flames grazed past Tiga's body, merely to create the illusion of "I'm going to die with him," simply to force Tiga to make a move.
Tiga wanted to stop it...
stop!
Obik!
No!
But the monster didn't stop.
His steps quickened, and the flames grew fiercer.
If no attack is launched, the city behind it will not be directly hit, but the spreading high temperature and shock wave will still affect innocent civilians.
Ultraman Tiga had no choice.
As a guardian, he cannot gamble.
He slowly raised his hands.
This is the slowest and heaviest beam launch since the start of "Ultraman Tiga".
The light stream shot out from Tiga's arm, but it didn't have the exhilarating feeling of destroying evil that it used to have. It was as quiet as a white funeral cloth, slicing across the night sky.
"boom!"
The light struck "Shadow Grandpa" precisely in the chest.
The monster's enormous body stiffened.
He fell down without struggling in pain.
He looked up one last time at the lingering shadow of the illusory village that was completely dissipating.
"That's...my village..."
His voice became very soft, very soft.
Ultraman Tiga strode forward and hugged the village's "Shadow Grandpa"...
Immediately afterwards, his body began to dissipate into countless golden specks of light.
He seemed to be standing amidst the light, a relieved smile on his face.
He bowed deeply to Ultraman Tiga, or rather, to this new, unfamiliar era that could no longer contain him.
"Bye now."
The specks of light drifted in the air, like fireflies on a summer night by the river, or like the embers of an unburnt stove in the old days, eventually merging into the cold city night and disappearing.
The battle is over.
But there was no cheering.
Ultraman Tiga slowly lowered his hands.
In the bustling cityscape of Shanghai, against the backdrop of the dazzling lights of Lujiazui, the silhouette of this giant of light appears incredibly lonely, even tinged with a sense of desolation.
It endowed Ultraman Tiga with divinity as a "human".
The camera slowly zooms out.
The backdrop is the dazzling Oriental Pearl Tower and towering CBD buildings of Shanghai, a scene of dazzling lights and bustling prosperity; while in the foreground is Ultraman Tiga's lonely figure and the ruins that have just buried the old days.
The image freezes.
black screen.
In this rapidly changing city, are there still elderly people living in the past...?
When Obik claimed he wanted to destroy this place, he knew he was not only destroying the current city, but also the former village...
[My God, the set design! The final battle, the tombstones in front of the camera—all add a somber touch to the scene.]
Actually, every time I walk along the village roads, I think about what kind of shop used to be at this spot, what this place used to be like. I'm like Obik, but we can't go back. We have to move forward, not just dwell on the memories of the past.
To our hometown, which will eventually fade away, and to those forgotten in the old days.
……
That night, the internet in Xia Kingdom exploded.
Just ten minutes after episode 27 of "Ultraman Tiga" finished airing, five of the top ten trending topics were occupied by it.
#Tiga's Shadow Grandpa#
#I cried#
#HometownThatCanNeverGoBack#
#Gu Nan, you broke my heart#
Bilibili's comment section experienced server crashes.
Long reviews are pouring in like snowflakes:
"I watched this episode in tears. I've worked hard in a big city for ten years, bought a house and a car, but I really want to go back to the village where I grew up. But when I went back last year, the village had been demolished, and my grandfather was gone. Thank you, Director Gu, for letting me see my grandfather again."
"I thought it was Ultraman fighting monsters, but it turned out to be a history of social change. Grandpa Shadow wasn't a bad guy; he was just someone left behind by the train of time. We're all rushing along on the high-speed train, but we've forgotten to look back at those who can't keep up."
"This is why I rave about Ultraman Tiga! It's already exploring humanistic concerns! There's not much to say about this episode, it's phenomenal!"
The following day, even the official media were alarmed.
The next morning, the official account of the *Xia Kingdom Youth Daily* reposted a review of this episode, with the following text:
"Episode 27 of Ultraman Tiga uses a science fiction shell to wrap a deep sense of humanistic concern. It reminds us that while pursuing modernization, we should not forget to reflect on the beauty that has been lost. It confronts the collective nostalgia in the face of changing times, and focuses on the elderly left behind and the disappearing village culture. This is not only an excellent tokusatsu drama, but also a warm and realistic masterpiece."