32. Benchmarking Against MacArthur

Sakura Junior High School, Faculty Office.

Kyoko Aihara, the physical education teacher, was preparing for a nap during the lunch break. Just as she was drifting off, a sudden wave of commotion and screaming erupted outside.

So noisy... what is going on?

Having her sleep interrupted, Kyoko Aihara was extremely annoyed.

A moment later, a large group of female teachers returned to the office and began gossiping excitedly.

"Is that the new teacher? He’s so young, so handsome!"

"I always thought Westerners were the most attractive race, but I never imagined an Asian man could be this handsome!"

"He's perfect! More handsome than any celebrity I've ever seen!"

Kyoko Aihara buried her face in her arms, eyes closed, trying to cling to the last remnants of her drowsiness, but the chatter of the female teachers was relentless.

According to them, this new male teacher was "heaven-sent." Japan's Takuya Kimura lacked his charm, and Hollywood's Leonardo DiCaprio fell short of his charisma.

"He's coming, he's coming this way!" The chattering grew even more frantic.

Unable to take it anymore, Kyoko Aihara opened her eyes and stood up. She was going to see exactly who had ruined her peaceful dream.

Through the office window, she saw a man and a woman walking side by side down the corridor. The woman was plain-looking and expressionless, while the man possessed a clean, fair face with sharp, cold, and defined features...

The moment she saw him, the fury in Kyoko Aihara’s heart instantly vanished, replaced by a vacant stare.

The woman was Rika Saeki, and the man, of course, was Qi Ming.

He was being taken on a tour of the school by Rika Saeki to make his appearance.

"Sakura Junior High from *Ultraman 80*, is it? Not only is the name the same, but the principal and the dean I just met are the 'original cast' as well."

"That teacher in front seems to be Kyoko, the PE teacher. In the original show, Takeshi Yamato seemed very fond of her, and the students thought they should be a couple."

Thinking of this, Qi Ming gave her a slight smile and a nod. This moment of "thawing ice" caused the group of female teachers to shriek in infatuation.

Rika Saeki sighed slightly at the sight, but she could understand their reaction.

"Come and teach a class tomorrow. We'll take a photo as proof, and that will be enough," she said, handing Qi Ming a stack of certificates.

Qi Ming flipped through them briefly: a teaching license, proof of employment... and at the very bottom, a certificate of Japanese citizenship.

Seeing this, he picked up the citizenship document and flicked it away.

The document traced a parabola and landed perfectly into a trash can twenty meters away.

Rika Saeki: "You..."

Qi Ming: "My home country does not recognize dual citizenship."

Rika Saeki: "But your status..."

Qi Ming’s tone carried a hint of sarcasm: "You can give me a green card, you can give me permanent residency, but citizenship... did you bestow this 'honor' upon MacArthur back in the day?"

Qi Ming never considered himself a collaborator.

He had merely accepted the plea of Dan Moroboshi to remain in this disaster-prone country, to contain major catastrophes at their source as much as possible, and to protect the humanity of this world.

If one were to analyze it, his niche was comparable to that of the five-star "Emperor" MacArthur.

Realizing that Qi Ming knew the score and that such petty tricks were useless, Rika Saeki did not insist further.

After Qi Ming returned to the Command Room, the others were surprised to learn the ins and outs of the situation.

Dan Moroboshi, leaning on his cane, said, "Whatever you do, you must do it seriously. Even if it is just one class, you must treat it with diligence."

Qi Ming, who was preparing his lesson, said offhandedly, "I was a middle school student myself six years ago; I have experience."

Emi: "But attending class and teaching are different. There are many children that even experienced veteran teachers can't handle."

Qi Ming explained his understanding:

"The language of adults is extremely imprecise, filled with a massive amount of 'basic common sense' that has already been established."

"Most adults communicate casually based on assumed common knowledge. I've seen many researchers do this; they even invent new terms without providing definitions."

"Children, however, know almost nothing about the world. They might be hearing this so-called common sense for the first time. You need to help them define the world and describe it."

"While people find it difficult to understand things they don't know, they are even worse at explaining things they take for granted. That is the barrier between teachers and students."

Nagi Saijo spoke up, which was rare: "So you will be careful with your wording and use vocabulary that children can understand, right?"

It was evident that she was not indifferent to everything; she still cared about the next generation.

Qi Ming: "That's right."

However, Dan Moroboshi was still uneasy and insisted on following him the next day, leaning on his cane.

Emi wanted to go too, but unlike Qi Ming, who only followed "acceptable rules," she had mission reports to write.

...

The students in the class showed great enthusiasm for their "substitute teacher," Qi Ming.

Qi Ming saw many familiar faces from *Ultraman 80* in the class.

For instance, the small child with glasses known as "The Doctor."

And the child who, after a heartbreak, summoned the monster "Ho."

Once Qi Ming stepped onto the podium and began teaching algebra, Dan Moroboshi listened for a while and felt that the lecture was going quite well.

No student was distracted; every gaze was focused on Qi Ming.

However, after watching for a bit, Dan Moroboshi noticed an empty seat and whispered to the dean, who was in charge of recording the class, to ask what was going on.

Dean: "That child? He’s probably out looking for a UFO."

Dan Moroboshi sat up straight: "A UFO?"

The dean explained that the empty seat belonged to a student named Akio.

He had recently started claiming that he was an Earthling born on an outer planet, stopped attending classes, and was entirely focused on boarding a spaceship to "go home."

Dan Moroboshi: "Is this true?"

The experienced dean chuckled:

"Of course not. You must have heard of students claiming they have a stomachache to avoid school during exams, or saying they did their homework but forgot it at home; they are all just excuses."

"That child, Akio, has worse grades than the other students, is not good at sports, and cannot compare to his two older siblings. He doesn't have any good friends at school either."

"So he began to escape from that reality by making up this story about being from an outer planet, feeling that if he weren't human, he wouldn't have to try anymore."

Dan Moroboshi was thoughtful. During the break, he pulled Qi Ming aside and told him about the situation.

In his view, the teaching profession was sacred, and although Qi Ming was only a substitute, he should take responsibility and persuade the child to return to school.

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Next, there will be an unprecedented "five-fold assault," as well as the revelation of the cause behind the formation of this world.

The story is exciting, with new highlights every day. I trust you are all willing to offer your monthly tickets, hehehe.