Ultraman: It turns out this is the easy mode.

There are many monsters on Earth, and many of them are related to yokai (supernatural beings), a fact well-known within the defense forces. Recently, another yokai has appeared in Japan. However, this yokai is a gigantic mushroom, and research has determined it to be a yokai mushroom from the ancient Devonian period.

When that enormous, moving mushroom suddenly appeared in the heart of Tokyo, news spread like wildfire throughout the EDF and its affiliated organizations. Cui Ming, upon learning of this, immediately took notice. Watching the ever-growing, wriggling mushroom on the monitoring screen, his first thought wasn't about the potential damage it would cause to the city, but rather, he muttered to himself, "This mushroom's got some nerve, daring to appear while I'm in charge of the Seto team?"

Everyone in the Set team knew about their team's peculiar "tradition": their super chef captain had a keen interest in all sorts of strange and unusual ingredients; anything that looked like it could be cooked wouldn't escape his notice. This giant Devonian mushroom was practically a giant signboard, blatantly proclaiming, "I'm an ingredient!" Ruya, standing next to Cui Ming, heard this and subconsciously wiped her mouth, as if her mouth had been whetted, before saying, "Yeah, it is quite strange indeed."

Logically speaking, the monsters that "live" in this land should be well aware of how terrifying their master is. In past experiences, any monster or yokai associated with food, once targeted by the Seto Team, has basically been destined to have their "eating methods studied".

A monster resembling a giant lobster appeared earlier, but before it could wreak havoc, it was captured by the Seto team in the blink of an eye. Then, under the chef captain's direction, it became an ingredient in a special "victory celebration." This mushroom, however, is so "brave," swaggering out unabashedly. Doesn't it know what might await it?

At this moment, the streets of Tokyo were in complete chaos. People watched in terror as the mushroom continued to expand, screaming and fleeing in all directions. The alarms of the Seth team blared instantly, and the members rushed to their respective fighter jets and tanks. Vice-Captain Shuhei Aragaki shouted through the communicator as he ran, "Attention all personnel! Head to the center of Tokyo! Stop that monster mushroom from causing further destruction!" Tetsuya Kitajima and Tadao Minamihara had already jumped onto the Ulf tank, started the engine, and blue flames spewed from its underside as it shot off like an arrow.

The mushroom seemed to sense the danger, and its cap began to tremble.

Cui Ming frowned as he looked at the screen, thinking to himself, "Hopefully this mushroom isn't too badly damaged. If it's still edible, it might improve the team's meals." With that, he quickly walked towards his command aircraft, preparing to head to the battlefield and have a good look at this arrogant Devonian monster mushroom.

"Attention everyone, we're definitely going to eat these mushrooms, but we need to be careful about their food safety." Cui Ming gave the order to the entire Set team through the communication channel, his tone as if they were facing not a monster that would cause great destruction, but a delicious dish about to be served.

"Yes!" came the team members' unified response through the communicator. The Set team had already guessed it; given Captain Cui Ming's temper, it would be a miracle if he didn't want to eat this monster mushroom that looked like a giant food ingredient. It was just unfortunate that this monster mushroom appeared while Cui Ming was in charge of the Set team.

At this moment, Cui Ming subconsciously wiped the corner of his mouth, his eyes fixed on the mushroom on the screen that was constantly expanding and writhing, muttering to himself, "This thing looks so fresh." His eyes seemed to already see a pot of steaming mushroom soup in front of him.

Far away on the streets of Tokyo, the monstrous mushroom seemed to sense some deadly crisis. Its continuously extending stem suddenly stopped, and its entire body began to tremble slightly. It had a feeling of being watched! Oh no! It was the terrifying feeling of a natural enemy appearing, as if a pair of invisible eyes were locking onto its vital points through layers of space, making its hair stand on end (if mushrooms have hair).

The parent organism of this monstrous mushroom is quite formidable in a sense. It has long inhabited the earth and is believed to be a remnant species of ancient mushrooms from the Devonian period. Its entire body is extremely flexible, like a giant, living jelly, capable of ignoring missile attacks previously launched by the ZAT team. Those powerful missiles, upon hitting it, were easily absorbed by its elastic body, like mud sinking into the sea. Furthermore, it contains powerful biochemical energy. The herbicide sprayed by the ZAT team not only failed to harm it but was instead absorbed and transformed into a venom capable of dissolving buildings. Wherever this venom reached, skyscrapers were corroded, turning into ruins and causing severe damage to the city.

Even more troublesome is the astonishing resilience of the monster mushroom. Even when reduced to a small fragment by intense fire, it can rapidly regenerate as long as it has moisture. The remaining individual is called Massura, and once the parent organism is defeated, Massura begins to act. Massura can parasitize humans, transforming into a monster after absorbing large amounts of water. It once infiltrated a water tower to release venom, turning residents into mushroom-men, and can control them at will through special rays in its eyes. Possessing high intelligence and ambition, it could potentially assimilate and dominate all of Japan if it's not careful.

Marcura's birth was shrouded in mystery. It emerged from the remains of a "monster mushroom," initially a small mushroom that gained life after absorbing water. It tricked Daisuke Takeda into eating it, thus parasitizing his body and transforming him into a mushroom-human. Subsequently, after absorbing a large amount of water from the water tower, it transformed into a gigantic mushroom monster.

Its most terrifying ability is its toxins. Mashura contains a large amount of special spore toxins that can transform humans into "Mushroom Humans." Infected Mushroom Humans have their heads deformed into mushroom caps, lose their emotions, and become slaves controlled by Mashura. In its monster form, Mashura can spray its toxins as a brownish venom from its mouth, instantly infecting anyone it touches. Alternatively, it can feed on parts of mushrooms or mix the venom into drinking water, causing humans to ingest the toxins and mutate into Mushroom Humans. As a monster-type individual, Mashura possesses high intelligence and a cunning nature. It uses sweet words to gain the trust of humans, lowering their guard before harming them. It is also extremely ambitious, attempting to transform all of humanity into Mushroom Humans for its own dominance. Like the mushroom monster, Mashura's body is extremely flexible and elastic, absorbing the impact of Ultraman Taro's punches and kicks in battle, and quickly springing back up even after being knocked to the ground. In addition, Massura's body has regenerative abilities, allowing it to survive even if severed. Its legs are extremely powerful, and combined with its elasticity, it can move and jump with great agility, frequently employing kicking and charging techniques in combat.

However, Mashura also has a fatal weakness: it hates dryness and cannot survive without moisture, and therefore fears fire and heat. Furthermore, absorbing seawater causes it severe diarrhea. Meanwhile, Cui Ming had already boarded the command fighter jet, leading the Set team towards the center of Tokyo. His mind was preoccupied with how to capture the monster mushroom and what cooking method would best bring out its deliciousness, completely oblivious to the impending danger of battle.

Unlike Cui Ming, Mashura sensed it immediately. The Hunters had arrived!
As Cui Ming's Set team drew closer, Matthew's slimy gills suddenly trembled violently—it sensed danger! The cunning mushroom monster's eyes flashed red, and it instantly abandoned the corroding building. Its massive stalk contracted like a spring, dragging its bloated body frantically through the street. "The hunters are here! I have to run!" it hissed shrilly in its mind, the slimy trail behind it scorching the asphalt, sending up plumes of acrid white smoke.

But the Monster Mushroom underestimated the speed of the Set team. The Sky Whale's ion thrusters tore through the clouds, casting a huge shadow overhead, its electromagnetic capture net humming as it unfolded; the Snow Wind, like a silver lightning bolt, flanked from the side, with Kanar maneuvering the bow's energy cannon, poised to fire. Driven to the brink, Matthew suddenly opened its spiky cap, spewing out dozens of jets of dark green venom. The venom traced eerie arcs through the air, corroding billboards and streetlights along its path, leaving hissing craters on buildings.

"Activate the full-area protective shield!" Cui Ming calmly ordered from the command center. The composite armor of the Tianjing and Xuefeng instantly glowed blue, and the venom splashed on it only stirred up ripples of energy. The two ships worked in perfect coordination to compress the encirclement, and Mashura's counterattack was like a trapped beast's struggle, but it could not break through this steel defense line.

Just as it was about to burrow underground to escape, a dark shadow descended from the sky! The massive mechanical arm of the Balga slammed heavily into the side of Massura, its alloy claws scraping against its fungal gills and embedding themselves in the ground, shattering glass within a hundred meters radius. Cui Ming had already leaped into the colossal crane robot, and now, manipulating the Balga's hydraulic joints, he swiftly locked Massura's "waist."

"Don't even think about running!" Cui Ming shouted, and Balga's mechanical arm tightened instantly, the specially made restraints wrapped with cryogenic fluid binding Matthew's body. The mushroom monster struggled frantically, its flexible body trying to slip free, but Cui Ming anticipated its movements and adjusted his leverage. As the cryogenic fluid took effect, Matthew's movements gradually stiffened, and finally, Balga lifted it high like a trophy, the slime constantly seeping from beneath its cap now frozen into ice crystals.

Under the full force of the Set team's pursuit, the monster mushroom ultimately failed to escape and was successfully captured by Cui Ming. The enormous mushroom body was secured to a specially designed transport platform, surrounded by the vigilant gazes and ready-made weapons of the Set team members, in case it suddenly attacked. But for the Set team, the mission was far from over.

"Listen up, everyone spread out and search this area carefully. Don't miss any part that might be a remnant of this monster mushroom." Cui Ming gave the order to his team members through the communicator, his tone as if he were directing a treasure hunt. In his eyes, these mushroom fragments were all rare "treasure ingredients."

Upon receiving their orders, the team members sprang into action. The Uruf tanks roared through the streets, and the team members, armed with detectors, searched every nook and cranny. They traversed streets ravaged by the monster mushrooms, their eyes glued to the ground; even the smallest mushroom gills excited them. Some climbed the ruins, rummaging through the rubble; others lay prone, carefully examining the sewer entrances, fearing a single mushroom fragment might be carried away by the water.

Lying on the transport platform, the monster mushroom sensed the every move of the humans around it, its heart filled with despair and rage. It knew it was doomed, yet it was unwilling to accept its fate. "These despicable humans, they're a bunch of lunatics!" it roared inwardly, but powerless to resist. In its panic, it placed its last hope on the most inconspicuous creature, Massura. This Massura was tiny, hidden in the shadows beneath the monster mushroom's body, almost unnoticed. The monster mushroom used its remaining spiritual energy to transmit commands to it: "Quick, hide, find a chance to escape, you must survive..." As if receiving some mysterious summons, Massura, taking advantage of a lull in the Seth team's busy work, silently slipped into a narrow sewer and disappeared into the darkness.

At this moment, the mushroom monster, watching the Seto team's frenzied search for mushroom fragments, had only one thought in its mind: "Damn beasts!!!" It couldn't understand why these humans were so obsessed with its own body. In its eyes, it should be a being that inspires fear and awe in humans, but now it had been reduced to "food" to be slaughtered at will. This huge disparity filled it with grief and indignation. But it also knew that its fate had perhaps been completely rewritten the moment the Seto team appeared.

Avenge me! Mashura!!! Avenge me!!! Ahhh! It hurts so much!!!

Damn humans! Damn humans!!! Waaaaah! It hurts so much!!!
I should have known better than to be so reckless.
But it's no use saying anything now.
They've already attacked.
The mushroom monster's true form, Matthew, knew that she was completely doomed.
Hopefully, my spore will be able to take revenge. (End of Chapter)