Ultraman: It turns out this is the easy mode.

Inside a hidden spaceship deep in space, several gray-green figures were muttering curses around a holographic projection screen. The leader of the Reicuran aliens slammed his fist on the control panel, and the image of Ultraman Seven wielding an ice axe to smash a space probe on the screen froze instantly. Its scarlet "signal eye" flickered erratically with rage: "Damn it, that red Ultraman Seven is so annoying! He destroyed all three probes we deployed in the asteroid belt!"

The Reichuran alien next to him chimed in, its voice filled with anxiety: "Yeah! He's like a madman! We've never encountered such a troublesome Ultra Warrior when we invaded other planets before. He doesn't even give us a chance to prepare!" Another tall, thin Reichuran alien stared at Seven's figure on the screen, its eyes full of fear—they had long heard of Seven's reputation, but they never expected this Showa-era old man to be so "unreasonable," not even allowing them to disguise themselves for reconnaissance.

"This isn't the time to talk about this!" The leader abruptly interrupted his companion's complaints, the holographic projection screen switching to a map of Earth's defense distribution. "We need to think about what to do! If we delay any longer, and humanity and that Seven are ready, we'll be completely out of luck!"

These words silenced the other Reicuran aliens instantly. They knew all too well their advantage—not in direct confrontation, but in despicable tactics and ruthless calculations. As a notoriously vicious race in the universe, the Reicuran aliens had no concept of "fairness" in their "wicked minds." They would do whatever it took to harm humans as quickly as possible or to weaken their defenses most effectively.

"How about we use 'hostage tactics'?" a Reicuran alien suddenly suggested. "Let's capture a few important human figures, such as high-ranking TPC officials or scientists, force them to stop their defense deployments, and then launch an attack!" This is their most commonly used tactic, and they have repeatedly succeeded in invading other planets in the past.

The leader's eyes lit up, and a cunning glint flashed in the "signal eye": "That's a great idea! Humans care most about their companions. As long as we capture the hostage, they'll definitely be hesitant to act! Besides, we have the 'crushing ray system' and the 'capture ray system,' so even if Seven comes to rescue us, we can hold him off for a while!"

As he spoke, the leader raised his hands, his palms glowing red—this was the Reicuran alien's "Crushing Ray System," capable of converting energy through the "energy core" in their heart to fire red light blasts powerful enough to destroy fighter jets. When their hands were combined, they could unleash an even stronger destructive ray. The Reicuran alien beside him also demonstrated his ability, a ring of "capture rays" shooting from his palms, forming a shimmering cage of light in the air, powerful enough to trap objects weighing several tons.

"And then there's our holographic projection technology!" another Rechulan alien added. "We can project a few fake clones on the ground to distract humans and launch destructive light projectiles. Maybe we can even take the opportunity to kill a few important technicians and disrupt their defense plans, just like last time!" They were still proud of their "victory" in killing Asamiya Technician with holographic projection last time, thinking that humans couldn't defend against such underhanded tricks at all.

The atmosphere inside the spaceship became frenzied again. The Reicurans gathered around the projection screen and began to refine their invasion plan: first, send a small team disguised as humans to infiltrate Earth and capture TPC executives as hostages; at the same time, project holographic images into multiple cities to create chaos; finally, while the humans and Seven were distracted, the main force would launch a surprise attack, using the "Crushing Ray" to destroy the defenses and completely occupy Earth.

Inside the command center of the Reicuran alien spaceship, gray-green figures raised their hands, glowing red, their roars shaking the walls: "We are an unbreakable alliance!!!" The leader stood at the highest point, his "signal eye" flashing an excited red, his voice full of inflammatory rhetoric: "To conquer Earth, to plunder its resources, we must unite! Once we take Earth, everyone will get the most fertile land and the most advanced human technology!"

The Reicuran aliens below roared in unison, seemingly filled with fervor and eager to rush to Earth for battle. But a closer look revealed the calculations hidden in their eyes—the short, stout Reicuran on the left was secretly glancing at the energy core at the leader's waist, plotting, "Once we conquer Earth, if I can steal the leader's energy core, I can become the new leader"; the tall, thin one on the right was secretly recording the weaknesses of his companions, thinking, "If we can't beat Seven, I'll use these guys as bait and run away with the spoils."

The alliance ceremony had barely ended when the seemingly amicable Reichuran aliens retreated to their cabins to secretly plot their schemes. One Reichuran, responsible for devising the infiltration plan, deliberately assigned the most dangerous task—approaching TPC headquarters—to a comrade with whom he had a history of conflict, feigning concern by saying, "You're the most skilled; only you can accomplish this crucial mission. The credit will definitely be yours!" The Reichuran, aware of the trap, dared not object publicly—after all, their leader was watching—and could only grit his teeth and agree, secretly planning to shift all the blame onto the planner if the mission failed.

Even worse, some have begun secretly hoarding energy crystals from their spaceships. One Reicuran, responsible for supplies, secretly hid half of the energy blasts that were supposed to be distributed to the combat teams in his own storage compartment, thinking, "If the Alliance collapses, these energy blasts will be enough for me to escape to another planet and find a chance to make a comeback." He was even secretly modifying the spaceship's navigation data to ensure that he could be the first to escape in a critical moment, completely disregarding the lives of his companions.

The leader wasn't idle either. While outwardly proclaiming "unity," it secretly planted miniature bombs in the equipment of every Reicuran alien—if anyone dared to betray them or try to pocket the spoils, it could remotely detonate the bombs, blasting them to pieces. An "unbreakable alliance"? In its eyes, it was nothing more than a loosely bound group temporarily by shared interests; once it conquered Earth, these companions would inevitably be "stumbling blocks" to be eliminated.

Two Reicuran aliens secretly witnessed each other hiding energy crystals, but instead of exposing each other, they tacitly reached a "temporary consensus": "After we take over Earth, let's join forces to get rid of the leader and those troublesome guys, and then we'll split the resources equally." But as soon as they finished speaking, they each added in their minds, "After we've dealt with the others, we'll take care of this guy too, and all the resources are mine."

The spaceships flew towards Earth, appearing on the surface as a menacing "invading army," but in reality, they were a group of selfish individuals each with their own ulterior motives. They chanted the slogan "Unbreakable," but behind their backs, they had already prepared to stab their comrades in the back; they schemed against humanity and Seven, but failed to realize that the greatest threat was never the enemies outside, but rather these "allies" around them who could betray them at any moment.

If Cui Ming knew the truth behind the "alliance" of these Reicuran aliens, he would probably just scoff—with people like them who would even betray their own kind, let alone withstand Seven and humanity's defenses, it's uncertain whether they could even survive until they reached Earth's vicinity. After all, for the Reicuran aliens, "life is their own" is their only guiding principle; the so-called "alliance" is nothing but a self-deceiving joke. (End of Chapter)