Ultraman: It turns out this is the easy mode.

The Gakuma affair has finally come to an end—there was no fierce conflict, no innocent casualties, just a "negotiation that scared the monster to tears," but it is like a mirror, reflecting a truth that has been hidden by human arrogance for a long time: humans have never been the sole masters of the earth.

Stop acting like the "most intelligent of all creatures," thinking that monsters should be driven away or even exterminated at will. These "native inhabitants" who have been rooted on Earth for millions of years are inextricably linked to the planet's ecology and geology. If truly driven to the brink, the "major antics" they can cause humanity could inflict devastating consequences.

Geologically speaking, the survival activities of many monsters are deeply intertwined with crustal movements.

The Gakuma brothers are relatively mild-mannered, feeding only on rocks; but if it were a monster inhabiting a tectonic plate fault zone—such as those that use geothermal energy or can manipulate rock strata—once disturbed by human greed, even a slight emotional fluctuation could trigger a tectonic shift that could lead to disaster: houses would collapse like building blocks, highways would break into pieces, city power grids would be completely paralyzed, and billions or even tens of billions of dollars in economic losses would only be the beginning. Even more terrifying would be the lives buried under the rubble and the shattering of countless families after the disaster.

Especially for island nations like Japan, situated in the compression zone between the Pacific and Eurasian tectonic plates, their geological structure is as fragile as thin ice. If they were to truly anger a monster that controls the geological lifeline, it only needs to gently stir the underground rock layers to trigger not only earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher on the Richter scale, but also awaken dormant volcanoes and unleash tsunamis tens of meters high. At that time, coastal cities would be swallowed by the sea, volcanic ash would obscure the sky, and the risk of the entire island "sinking" would not be an exaggeration, let alone economic recovery.

Ultimately, Earth has never been a home solely for humanity, but rather a shared living space for humans, monsters, and all living things. So-called "human-animal peace" is never about humans bestowing "mercy" upon monsters, but rather a balance that both sides must jointly maintain for their continued survival. Developers like those on Jiuliang Island, who disregard the monsters' right to survival for exorbitant profits, even attempting to turn their habitats into money-making tools, are essentially courting disaster—not only pushing themselves into the abyss but also potentially dragging countless innocent people down with them.

The Gakuma incident serves as a wake-up call, alerting all those who harbor illusions: never underestimate the power of any living being, and never challenge the bottom line of ecological balance.

Humanity may temporarily gain an advantage through technology, but in the face of Earth's millennia-long ecological cycle, we are ultimately just a tiny link. To live peacefully on this planet, the first thing we must learn is not "conquest," but "respect"—respect for the existence of monsters, respect for the laws of nature, and, most importantly, to remember the simplest truth: Don't court death, or you won't die.

After examining the crustal movement data of Kurajima for the Gakuma brothers and confirming that the designated "safe feeding zone" was geologically stable, Choi Myung led Saeko Busujima back. The helicopter's rotors whipped up a gust of wind in the open space. He leaned back in his seat, casually flipping through the report in his hand, his face expressionless, as if he hadn't just completed the important task of "negotiating with the monster," but simply gone to the next block to buy a bottle of water.

Just like I told the Victory Team before, TPC has a lot to deal with lately: frequent sightings of aliens, constant reports of geological anomalies from various places, and the legal issues of pursuing the developer... But all these complicated matters seem to become particularly simple when they fall on Choi Myung's shoulders.

After all, his tasks were always straightforward—no need to worry about procedures, weigh pros and cons, or deal with various parties. He dealt with threats and eliminated trouble. In short, he was responsible for "killing" and "removing obstacles." As for the follow-up, coordination, and appeasement, those were never his concerns.

Meanwhile, Sawai and his team were truly working non-stop. The lights in the command center stayed on until late at night. Sawai sat at his desk, a thick stack of documents piled up in front of him: on one hand, he had to coordinate with the logistics department to install monitoring equipment in Gakuma's "safe zone" to prevent humans from accidentally entering; on the other hand, he had to meet with the legal department to discuss sentencing for the illegal developers, and also appease the affected workers and help them obtain compensation; in addition, he had to compile geological data for Kuryo Island and report it to headquarters, while also dealing with media inquiries—after all, the news that "TPC reached an agreement with the monster" had already spread in a small circle, and a reasonable explanation was needed to avoid causing public panic. Yoshioka was also busy. He had to lead the police to investigate the developer's other projects to prevent similar situations of "forcing workers to dangerous sites" from happening again; Nanyuan had to liaise with the environmental protection department to assess the ecological restoration plan for Kuryo Island and ensure that Gakuma's activities would not affect the surrounding environment.

It was already evening when the helicopter landed at TPC base. Cui Ming got off the helicopter, saw the lights were still on in the command center, glanced at them briefly, and then turned to walk back to his dormitory—he knew that Sawai and the others were still busy, but that was their division of labor, and his own task was complete. If new trouble arose tomorrow, he could just pick up his equipment and head out again; simple and straightforward.

Saeko Busujima followed behind him, watching his retreating figure, and couldn't help but smile: "Looks like there will be a new mission tomorrow?"

Cui Ming nodded, his tone tinged with anticipation: "I hope those cosmic country bumpkins arrive soon, so I won't be bored."

For him, "solving problems" is more interesting than staring blankly at documents—as for the complicated follow-ups, he can leave them to those who are good at handling them; he only needs to do what he is good at.

However, Cui Ming has recently encountered a "small problem" - not an opponent like the developer who can be dealt with directly with fists, nor a monster like Gakuma who can be negotiated, but a more hidden and troublesome situation: he has been targeted.

But this time, the situation of being targeted is completely different from when dealing with cosmic invaders in the past.

It wasn't because he disrupted the plans of some cosmic organization, nor because he hindered anyone's expansionist ambitions, but for a more private and dangerous reason—similar to the situation he encountered in the Land of Light universe. This time, the aliens targeting him weren't after his life or his power, but after his genes.

This feeling was subtle, initially just an occasional, faint sense of being watched—perhaps a strange energy fluctuation suddenly passing behind him while dealing with geological anomalies; or perhaps an unidentifiable aircraft signal flashing across the radar screen on the way back to TPC base; and even on several occasions, during night patrols, he could vaguely sense residual energy traces in the air that didn't belong to Earth, traces carrying an element of "analysis." (End of Chapter)