Making Big News

Ultraman's appearance threw all of New York into an uproar. For the entire night yesterday, no one at the Daily Planet went home to rest.

After the battle ended, boss Richard convened a meeting overnight and demanded that, no matter what, they finalize tomorrow's front-page headline before dawn!

First came the discussion over the mysterious giant's name. Just as the Daily Planet next door had won the honor of naming Superman, everyone wanted to secure the chance to name this giant as well.

The reporters and editors put their heads together and launched into a heated discussion. Stuart Watt, the editor-in-chief with a bald crown and a beer belly, swept out a hand and said, "I think this giant should be called 'Superman.' Who else could be more deserving of the word 'super'?"

But objections quickly arose—this name simply failed to reflect the giant's characteristics.

A bespectacled photographer suggested, "Maybe we should call him 'Titan Giant'? It reflects the giant's physical size while also conveying, to a certain extent, that he possesses godlike power. As everyone knows, the Titans were the ancient divine race in Greek mythology that existed before the gods of Olympus."

Quite a few people actually approved of the name, though naturally some still found it unsuitable. Then a pretty blonde female intern timidly raised her hand and suggested, "Maybe we could call him 'One-Punch Man'..."

Richard, who had been sitting behind his desk with his legs crossed and drinking tea, promptly sprayed out a mouthful. He stared at the young intern reporter with an extremely strange expression... Could she be some kind of transmigrator too? If not, then she was damn well a genius!

The young reporter explained, "Look, that monster was so powerful. So many guns, cannons, and tanks couldn't do anything to it, but then this giant showed up and knocked it flat with one punch. Shouldn't he be called 'One-Punch Man'...?"

Huh? Thinking about it that way, it somehow made a bit of sense. After discussing it, the reporters all began nodding. The balding editor-in-chief even stroked his chin and nodded repeatedly, as though expressing approval. One-Punch Man, brilliant! At first glance, the name seemed incredibly crude, but it was actually a stroke of genius in its simplicity. It retained the title "Man" while adding the prefix "One-Punch" to emphasize the sheer strength of his divine power...

"I think the name works." The editor-in-chief turned to the boss. "Mr. Li, what do you think...?"

Richard sneered inwardly. What do I think? I think you don't need to come to work tomorrow.

He had initially been hoping that his reporters could come up with a more impressive name, but it seemed the discussion was only getting more and more ridiculous. So he waved a hand and declared decisively, "I've already decided. The giant's name will be 'Ultraman.'"

Everyone froze.

"Ultimate Man?" the editor-in-chief repeated, frowning. Though he did not dare say it aloud, he clearly thought his boss was terrible at naming things.

It was no wonder they thought so. "Ultraman" was actually a transliteration. It was written as Ultraman in English and ウルトラマン in Japanese. Translated literally by meaning, it meant "Ultimate Man."

"No need to say more. That's the name." Richard made the final decision. "I've decided this part already. There's nothing left to discuss. Let's move on to the next item."

So everyone looked at one another and, helplessly, had no choice but to accept the name "Ultimate Man."

What else could they do? He was the boss.

Richard snorted. Bad name? That was because they were pronouncing it wrong! The correct pronunciation was—Urutoraman. How cool was that!

With the naming issue settled, the meeting continued. The editor-in-chief tapped the whiteboard and waved a ballpoint pen in his hand. "Everyone, stay sharp. We may be facing the biggest news story of the century. Compared to this giant, some playboy's million-dollar steel toy or a monster strong enough to tear tanks apart with its bare hands are not worth mentioning. Who is this giant? Is he an alien? Was he just passing by? What is his attitude toward Earth? Is he the only one? Does he have any hobbies? Is he single..."

Richard's face darkened. "You're getting off track, Stuart."

"Oh, sorry, it just slipped out." The editor-in-chief rubbed his nose. It was an occupational habit. After all, that was usually the approach for digging up juicy stories on public figures. The words had come out before he even thought about them...

The reporters all stared at their editor-in-chief with dark expressions. Whether he was single? And what if he was not? Were they going to invite the giant's wife out to meet everyone?

"...That's about it," the editor-in-chief said. "Everyone, remember your assignments. Those who need to investigate, go investigate. Those who need to prepare drafts, get to it. We have to publish this report before dawn, no matter what, and it must be the front-page headline. Everyone knows how tight the deadline is, so I won't belabor the point..."

After thinking it over, the editor-in-chief finally turned to Richard to ask for the boss's opinion. "Boss, do you have anything else to add?"

"That's about it." Richard rose to his feet and said, "I have a feeling this will be the most crucial step for our Daily Planet to reach greater heights. This is exactly the time when we need everyone's combined efforts! Let's do this!"

The reporters responded in unison.

Most of the reporters who came to the Daily Planet were ambitious young people with dreams and aspirations. Something this huge had happened in the city; even if the boss had not asked them to, they could not possibly just go home and sleep. Now, every reporter was brimming with fighting spirit, like soldiers fully equipped and ready to charge onto the battlefield at any moment.

In this state, even if the boss had forbidden them from covering the story, they would never have obediently listened.

The reporters quickly scattered. Those writing drafts wrote drafts, those editing photos edited photos, and those chasing leads swiftly left the newspaper office to investigate and gather information throughout the night...

Until someone suddenly noticed, "Huh? Where's the boss?"

Pointing at the boss's empty office, he asked the colleague beside him in confusion.

"Wasn't he still here during the meeting?"

"Didn't you see? The boss left after the meeting," someone else answered.

"He left? Where did he go?" The reporter who asked was stunned. Was their boss really that dedicated? Had he actually gone out to chase the story himself?

The other person rolled his eyes at him. "Are you stupid? Have you ever seen a boss personally pull an all-nighter? He definitely went home to sleep."

The reporter: "..."