Chapter 89: The Era Where Everyone Is a Dragon Begins

The House of Cinema.

Task Announcement: Flights of Imagination

Target: All of humanity.

Points Reward: Minimum ten, maximum one hundred.

Requirements: Film movies or television series that adhere to logic, regardless of genre, and use human creativity to construct wondrous worlds. Any work capable of inspiring the Ultraman race will earn points.

These points can be exchanged in the House of Exchange for anything desired. In the House of Exchange, one may find everything from personal items to interstellar space stations—even Ultraman transformation devices, for a hundred million points.

The House of Combat is a category dedicated to training warriors. Any living being willing to fight for Earth may apply to become a warrior of the House of Combat, receiving virtual training there. However, training requires points, and the various forms of virtual training are enough to leave one parched and exhausted.

Battles against Sun Wukong, monsters, the Buddha, all manner of demons and spirits—clearly, anything rendered in virtual reality must have truly existed.

This drove humanity mad.

Especially in the Celestial Empire.

So those legendary things really existed after all.

But why can’t they be seen now? No one could fathom it, and it was clear the Ultraman race would not provide explanations. If one wished to learn the truth, there was only one path: become a warrior, level up step by step, and reach a rank where one could speak with Ultraman as an equal—perhaps then, one would qualify to know the inside story.

For a time, countless people wished to apply to become warriors, but the entry requirements left everyone stunned.

The entrance exam required one to bravely face a real supernatural being and survive.

At the moment the website went live, the entire Earth was monitored by the Ultraman’s Skynet. All falsehoods were dismissed; only real experiences or those who had truly fought supernatural beings would be recognized.

But where on Earth could one find such beings? And how could ordinary people encounter them and live to tell the tale? Wasn’t this setting people up for failure?

Yet on Earth, there were always some who knew things, and not a few who had encountered such beings.

So, within minutes, when over a thousand had successfully joined the House of Combat as warriors, everyone was dumbfounded.

Those things truly existed on Earth.

And there were people brave enough to battle them.

No, it was imperative to seek out these experts, find the supernatural—even at the cost of one’s life, it was worth it for just one attempt.

As for the House of Kings, it drove everyone into a frenzy.

This one was even simpler and more direct.

It consisted solely of leaderboards, each representing the best of humanity in collective competition. Every leaderboard had countless sub-rankings. For example, the main board was the Earth Board, beneath which were national boards, then regional boards. Each board admitted only the top five hundred.

Anyone whose abilities reached a certain level could be ranked.

As for the types of leaderboards, the options were many. Films produced could be scored and ranked accordingly. Combat outcomes could be scored and ranked. Innovative scientific research could be scored and ranked as well.

It was not just about honor—there were tangible benefits too. Anyone who held the top spot on the main board for a month would receive a million points, which could be accumulated, and if they maintained their reign, they could enter the Super God Board for special Ultraman training.

Even the top hundred on any board would receive points, though in varying amounts.

And points could be exchanged at the House of Exchange for any personal needs.

Points were not bound to individuals and could be traded.

Indeed, Zhang Kai’s intention in creating this system was to establish a new global currency, unifying the world’s markets.

In the end, everyone would be working for him.

Some might notice the problem, but under the deterrence of the Ultraman race, no one dared to defy it.

The benefits were simply too great—no one on Earth could refuse.

Indeed, the moment the points system was announced, all countries published the exchange rate between their currency and points, and the rates kept rising.

Watching Earth’s development proceed exactly as he had designed, Zhang Kai promptly announced the aid resources submitted to the Celestial Empire.

Cutting-edge materials, virtual technology, magnetic rail systems, space technology—all standards decades ahead of their time, yet commonplace in movies and TV shows.

Were it not for artificial intelligence managing selection and verification, Zhang Kai would have been at a loss.

And this spurred all nations into action.

In no time, countries gathered their most talented individuals for emergency meetings.

Now, points were key. With points, one could obtain anything from Ultraman.

And the ways to earn points were endless.

Battling supernatural beings.

Making films.

Even scientific research counted.

Nations began to compete as never before, offering full support to anyone who could earn points for the country. No one dared hold anything back, for to do so was to fall behind.

Very soon, countries began to announce related matters.

For instance, the Celestial Empire revealed forbidden zones, tales of demons and monsters, regions where extraterrestrial beings might lurk, and their threat levels.

Foreign nations followed suit, publishing information about extraterrestrials, their demons, vampires, and more.

These disclosures galvanized the populace.

Having accepted the reality, people now yearned for fame and fortune in Earth’s House, with both glory and profit in reach.

Previously, they lacked direction.

Now, with the state providing guidance, how could they be afraid?

After all, the Celestial Empire prided itself as the “House of Gourmets”—if it tastes good, extinction is not a dream.

In a short span, the course of Earth’s development shifted fundamentally.

Everyone became obsessed.

Meanwhile, newly emerged supernatural beings that still plagued humanity met with misfortune.

If they were careless, any disturbance would draw suspicion, and soon mobs would rise up. There was strength in numbers—arson, poison, whatever it took—as long as ordinary lives weren’t affected, the state would support it, so long as monsters were slain and points earned.

In less than a month, in the Celestial Empire alone, dozens of supernatural beings who surfaced amidst the resurgence of spiritual energy were overwhelmed by human waves, adding tens of thousands of warriors to the House of Combat’s regional ranks.

Zhang Kai took the opportunity to add himself as a warrior.

He joined a special strategy team organized by a House of Combat forum, planning to tackle a forbidden zone.

By this time, the forbidden zones had been thoroughly explored.

In the past, perhaps everyone would have been terrified, anxious.

Now, in everyone’s eyes, forbidden zones meant points. Monsters and demons? If you pay, we’ll kill them.

This particular forbidden zone lay in the Shadow Mountains.