บท 98: A Sly Heart (2-in-1)
Time flew by, and South River TV was about to air the third and fourth episodes of "Ultraman Tiga."
"Dad, I want to watch South River TV!! I want to watch Ultraman!!"
Having finished the homework assigned by his after-school tutor, little chubby classmate heard the weather forecast ending on TV and rushed out of his room.
"It's still early, why are you in such a hurry?" Little chubby's dad replied, glancing at him.
Despite his words, he grabbed the remote and switched the TV to South River TV. Under the excited chants of "A new storm has appeared!" from his son, they started watching Ultraman together.
The third episode of Tiga, "Demon's Prophecy," began to delve into the identity of the giant of light.
Was Tiga really a friend to humanity? Could he pose a threat?
Humans are inherently suspicious creatures. When faced with the unknown, many tend to respond with doubt and caution.
However, facing the camera, Captain Yuli firmly believed that Tiga's appearance was to guide humanity forward, even as the Kirielods challenged her, causing a building to explode with their so-called sacred flames.
Simultaneously, Captain Yuli faced internal doubts from the TPC's hawkish faction, who also believed that Tiga's existence might not be beneficial and could potentially pose a threat to humanity.
"What's there to doubt?"
"Exactly, he's saved people every time he appeared!"
"Unbelievable."
Countless viewers watching this scene couldn't help but complain.
They felt these people were overthinking things. Even if Tiga wasn't a friend, wasn't an enemy's enemy still an ally?
Little chubby got angry seeing this too, "These people are so bad! Ultraman saved so many people, and they still doubt him!"
"I think their suspicion is reasonable. Every time a monster appears, so does Ultraman. It's natural to question it," his dad responded, munching on sunflower seeds.
Hearing this, little chubby couldn't hold back, "A sly heart!"
Kids don't think that deeply. They just know Ultraman saved people, so Ultraman is good. Anyone doubting Ultraman is bad!
"A sly heart?" His dad was puzzled.
What did he mean?
He pondered for a while.
It wasn't until Tiga and the Kirielods were fighting that he suddenly had an epiphany. He patted his son's head, "Oh, you mean 'wolf heart, dog lungs'! Nice, you know idioms… Wait, what? (*￣︿￣)"
Halfway through his words, he realized and grabbed his son's ear, "Hey, did you just call your dad sly?"
"Oww! Ow!!" The boy protested, jumping up and mimicking Ultraman's pose, pretending to shoot a beam.
His dad played along, pretending to fall back, "awsl!"
"Hahaha!"
Father and son quickly forgot about the scolding.
"Cough, cough."
Suddenly, an untimely cough made them both shiver. They looked back.
"Oh no! A ghost!"
Both father and son did a tactical retreat, almost falling off the couch.
After a while, his dad realized, "Honey!!"
Yes, the "ghost" was his wife.
He remembered she had called earlier, asking him to pick her up because it was raining...
"Well, honey… let me explain…"
"Ha! Lucas, you ignored my call to watch Ultraman? Are you childish? Is this fake nonsense more important than your wife?"
"No!" At this, Lucas got excited, "Ultraman is real! Look!"
He pulled out a Spark Lens from somewhere, "I am! Di…"
Before he could finish, his ear was twisted 90 degrees.
"Pick one!"
She held out three items: a washboard, a beer bottle, and a keyboard.
A moment later.
Little chubby's dad knelt on the washboard and continued watching.
Facing the Kirielods, Tiga struggled.
At a critical moment, Captain Yuli's voice reached Tiga.
"Tiga! I've always believed you would protect us humans. Please, stand up!"
At that moment, the central theme of "Ultraman Tiga" appeared—human faith.
Ultraman is light, but Ultraman is also human.
However, what defeats the enemy is not just light, but human faith and effort.
It was humans who discovered the Kirielods' plan, humans' resolve that foiled their plot, and humans' faith that gave Tiga the strength to defeat the enemy.
Facing the power of human faith, Tiga stood up again and defeated the Kirielods!
As the ads played, the fourth episode aired—"Goodbye, Earth!"
This episode intentionally introduced the theme of space exploration, another significant topic in human society.
Three astronauts from the Jupiter exploration ship Jupiter 3 were assimilated into the monster Regadron and returned to Earth to absorb its energy.
Tiga tried to stop the monster astronauts, but it wasn't easy.
Even in his red power form, Tiga struggled against Regadron, who overpowered him.
However, human emotions were something Regadron couldn't understand. The astronauts, despite being assimilated, subconsciously missed their loved ones on Earth.
Victory Team transmitted photos of the astronauts' families.
As expected, no matter how strong the exterior, the inside is most important. Receiving the photos, Regadron malfunctioned.
"Live as humans once more!"
At the critical moment, the astronauts' humanity awakened, draining Regadron's energy and helping Tiga destroy it.
They then turned into stars, leaving Earth to continue exploring the universe.
Compared to episode two, where humans killed Gakumas for their own benefit, this episode was more heartwarming. The astronauts made significant contributions to human space exploration and saved humanity in a critical moment, turning into light to continue their mission.
This episode perfectly combined space exploration and human compassion, raising a question for viewers: In the era of space exploration, what moral standards should we uphold?
---------6
The ratings for the third and fourth episodes of "Ultraman Tiga" increased again, reaching a gratifying 1.3 rating.
In the same time slot, the show ranked eighth, just 0.8 points behind the seventh place.
Although it didn't break into the top five, this achievement was already quite remarkable.
Remember, "Ultraman Tiga" had only aired four episodes, and the TV station broadcasting it was not among the top-ranking ones. The scriptwriters and directors weren't well-known, and while the actors' performances were good among the new generation, they were not as famous as popular stars.
Given these conditions, achieving this rank was something everyone was very satisfied with.
Ren's fan count skyrocketed once again.
This also led to another wave of comments and tags on Zach's social media.
Curious onlookers waited eagerly for him to fulfill his promise of licking his cat.
However, Zach wouldn't waste the positive momentum. Since there was still a day left before the final deadline set by the manufacturer for the live broadcast, he shamelessly stalled once again.
The audience was used to his antics.
They never really expected this shameless guy to lick his cat; they just wanted to use his own words to embarrass him.
Ren didn't bother with Zach anymore. This guy was just a keyboard warrior, and engaging with him would only make him more arrogant.
Meanwhile, the popularity of "Ultraman Tiga" wasn't just reflected in its TV ratings.
"Knock, knock."
With a series of knocks on the door, Jada pushed open the studio door and beckoned Ren to come out.
"You all keep working," Ren told his assistants before stepping out. He looked at Jada curiously, "What's up?"
"It's about this…"
As Jada explained, Ren's expression turned to one of realization.
It was about the online streaming rights for "Ultraman Tiga."
"Ultraman Tiga" had only sold the first-run TV broadcast rights to South River TV, while the online streaming rights had not been released.
Given the show's rising ratings, which quickly reached the top ten in its time slot and continued to climb, it was clear that it hadn't yet peaked.
Who wouldn't be eager to get their hands on such a promising dark horse?
They couldn't hope to secure the TV rights, but the online streaming rights were up for grabs, and it would be foolish not to capitalize on that.
So starting this morning, several video websites began reaching out to inquire about buying the exclusive online streaming rights for Ultraman.
For example, Qiyi offered 8.5 million yuan per episode.
Tencent, backed by its vast resources, proposed 9 million yuan per episode for the exclusive online streaming rights.
This price was quite sincere.
Soon, another platform entered the bidding—Bili.
In Ren's previous life, Bili had never purchased the rights to Ultraman series, except for the adapted "Ultraman" series. However, in this world, Bili frequently bought tokusatsu series. Seeing the success of "Ultraman Tiga," they too offered 9 million yuan per episode.
"So, which website do you think we should choose?" Jada asked after presenting the three offers.
Although Ren had told her to make the decision herself, she thought it was better to discuss it with him, considering it was his work.
Ren pondered for a moment.
Looking at the prices, Qiyi was immediately out of the running.
However, selling online streaming rights wasn't just about the price; it was also about the promotional resources each platform could offer.
Qiyi had many shows waiting for promotion, so it was unlikely to give "Ultraman" the necessary resources.
Tencent and Bili offered the same price.
In terms of fame, Tencent was more well-known, but it had the same issue as Qiyi, with too many shows vying for promotion.
Bili, on the other hand, promised to use all its resources to promote the series.
This was something Ren valued highly.
After all, online popularity would boost TV ratings, further increasing TV viewership.
"Hmm, try negotiating for a higher price and more promotional resources. If that doesn't work, we can consider shared streaming rights with a lower price. Based on current offers, I lean towards Bili," Ren said.
"Great, I was thinking the same," Jada nodded.
She planned to finalize the deal as quickly as possible.
Given the rising TV ratings and the increasing demand for "Ultraman Tiga" online, there was a lot of potential traffic and new users at stake.
Soon, the fifth and sixth episodes of "Ultraman Tiga" aired.
The fifth episode, titled "The Day the Monster Appeared," depicted a day when a monster's corpse washed ashore. The Victory Team started handling the situation, but the monster revived, and they realized they could only destroy it by burning it. Deputy Captain Munakata developed a new battle plan to confront the monster.
This episode didn't just focus on Ultraman fighting monsters. It used interviews with various social groups to show their different reactions, deeply illustrating the unconscious state of society on that chaotic day.
This realistic depiction resonated with many viewers.
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