"Just like the anime Brandon White has released—Kamen Rider, Pokémon, and the like—they aren't works that originated in our world at all."
"We're fortunate Brandon White appeared in Huaxia. The fact that he can share these secrets with us without holding anything back shows he trusts us and feels close to us."
He paused there for a moment, then went on:
"Of course, it isn't just about trust. There's an even more fundamental reason—he doesn't care about this information."
"Even if we know it, it's of no use to us."
"And that's simply the truth. Brandon White has more than enough power to suppress anything on Earth that could pose a threat to him."
"So in terms of our stance toward Brandon, we've consistently chosen closeness without moral blackmail. We don't need Brandon to do anything for Huaxia; what we need is simply to maintain Brandon's innate closeness to Huaxia that comes from his bloodline and from being born in this country."
"Sometimes not contending is the strongest form of contention. From Brandon's moves, it's not hard to see that he wants to speed up the pace at which living beings in Earth's civilization become stronger—he wants to guide all civilizations on Earth to grow powerful more quickly."
"And Huaxia doesn't need to do anything special. On the chessboard Brandon commands, Huaxia already occupies the most unique square."
"Here, I advise certain people: don't let greed cloud your judgment and drive you to do what shouldn't be done; otherwise, you'll make yourselves enemies of all Huaxia!"
Back at home, Brandon White glanced into the bedroom and saw Doraemon playing happily with two Pikachu. He could only smile and shake his head. The game industry in this world isn't much different from his previous life, and compared to Doraemon's original world, it's certainly far richer.
But just playing like that isn't all that meaningful.
There are items for virtual online games in Doraemon's pocket. After a reminder from Brandon, the two of them tried them out. Brandon didn't think much of it, but Doraemon ended up getting addicted.
Still, Brandon couldn't keep playing with Doraemon forever, and Shaniu's level of mechanical "operation" skill was too high anyway—it killed the sense of gameplay. So Doraemon actually brought the Pikachu into the game world; one cat and two mice began spending most of their time in that virtual realm.
In fact, Brandon found himself urging them every day to go outside, breathe some fresh air, and rest their eyes.
Looked at this way, he almost felt like a parent.
This time, Brandon didn't disturb them, nor did he head into the chat group. He went to the study instead, picked up a book, and now and then jotted down notes in the margins.
For a while, there was a sense that time itself had gone still and gentle.
Meanwhile, the video of Brandon White confronting the mutant white python began spreading wildly across the internet.
Strangely enough, even when faced with the danger of a mutant beast, there are still people who choose to start a livestream.
Shouldn't you be running at a time like that?
Naturally, plenty of people saw Brandon's video and reposted it across all the platforms.
What's interesting is that at first the circulating clips were all panning left and right with shaky, indistinct footage, but later—without anyone noticing when it happened—several versions of the video appeared that were crystal clear and didn't shake at all.
Most viewers didn't think much of it, but the careful ones could guess the authorities had stepped in.
"In an era of spiritual energy revival, many people are worried and afraid of mutant beasts, waking up every day with a negative outlook."
"They need the strong to give them confidence, to make them feel safe."
"Dragon Emperor Skyler Quinn, Ice Emperor Chris Frost, Flame Emperor Firewing, White Emperor Brandon White."
"At the beginning, these titles were just jokes. Back then, the number of mutant beasts was nowhere near as terrifying as today, nor were they as strong. Many people only ever saw them online."
"But after the second wave of the spiritual energy tide, the age transformed. Those jokes turned into actual honorifics."
"They need espers like the Dragon Emperor, Ice Emperor, and Flame Emperor to step forward. They need those powerhouses to protect them."
Behind the video, a man in a white trench coat was the one speaking.
Huaxia's original "god-making" campaign had succeeded.
But no one knew that among those four, there was actually only one true god!
What's more, if he wished it, no matter how surging the spiritual energy tide became, no matter how strong the mutant beasts grew, there wouldn't be a single civilian casualty in Huaxia—or anywhere in the world.
That is the power of that "god"!
But that's impossible!
Earth's resources are finite. Humans occupy a vast share of them, so it's inevitable that mutant beasts set their sights on humanity. If someone were to prevent that inevitability from ever occurring, the consequences would be far from good.
If humans had a pillar they could lean on, their desires and their courage would swell. While enjoying their own resources, they would also turn their gaze to the already limited resources that belong to the mutant beasts.
If mutant beasts were barred from striking at humans, then humans could slaughter mutant beasts with impunity.
Is that a good thing?
Of course it isn't!
So that "god" cannot act that way, and should not act that way!
They need a god, yes—but only a god who possesses vast power, not a "god" who carries the mind, will, and attitude of a deity.
Brandon is the latter—but he can also be the former.
They would even prefer Brandon to be the former, not the latter. Yet Brandon is already shifting toward the latter.
He won't concern himself with human deaths, nor with the deaths of mutant creatures.
His gaze encompasses not only humanity, but all living beings on Earth.
He will show a bias toward humans, but that bias is not absolute!
And that is enough. A god like this is enough.
But one such "god" is enough!
If possible, what they want is a god who belongs wholly to humanity—indeed, to Huaxia—a figure who doesn't care about mutant beasts, or other civilizations, or anything else at all; who simply arrives in time and rescues humans whenever they face hardship.
Perhaps the consequences of that wouldn't be good, but it's still what they wish for.
Strictly speaking, calling such a figure a god isn't accurate. More precisely, he should be called a hero.
Skyler Quinn, Chris Frost, Firewing, Ethan Yates, Charles Longfellow, Nathaniel Gray, William Mecham… these are the people they have chosen to cultivate—the heroes who belong to Huaxia. They are scattered across different regions of the country, responsible for the safety of each area.
They possess extraordinary talent and sufficient strength, and they enjoy the very best treatment Huaxia can provide.
But there are far too few of these heroes. Set against the whole of Huaxia, they are a mere drop in the ocean.
They need more heroes—more prodigies as powerful as Skyler Quinn!
In the past, that would have been impossible. From the moment of spiritual energy revival and global awakening, the strength of one's talent was already fixed. The second wave of the spiritual energy tide brought a secondary awakening, but it only happened to those who already had talent.
The talented would grow even stronger; the untalented didn't even have the qualification to draw spiritual energy to themselves.
But now, things are different.
The "God" has given ordinary people a chance to change their fate!
(End of this chapter)