Ultraman: It turns out this is the easy mode.

It swayed its newly formed body, its claws slicing through the air, leaving behind a trail of sparks. Clearly, with the fusion plan with the spaceship failing, rock had become a second-best option, but even so, Ligadron still displayed adaptability far exceeding that of ordinary Specia. The energy core in its chest flickered three times, emitting a signal-like fluctuation, seemingly attempting to contact its kind, or perhaps probing for a new energy target.

Suddenly, it stopped moving, and a crack appeared in the rocky shell of its head, from which orange-red light shot out—it was Ligadron's "flash emission organ," a capability that remained even after fusing with inorganic matter, capable of interfering with electronic equipment. The light swept across the distant asteroid belt, but found no spacecraft to parasitize, only endless debris and dust.

Ligadron's energy core dimmed slightly, clearly dissatisfied with its current fused form. But it didn't stop; the rocky spines on its back suddenly emitted a weak propulsive stream—an impromptu modification borrowed from the propulsion principles of spacecraft. Although its speed was far from the standard Mach 4 flight capability, it was enough to propel it slowly toward Earth.

It knew perfectly well that the blue planet possessed a continuous supply of high-purity energy, as well as the red giant who had just repelled it. An ordinary Softia might have retreated in fear, but the "upgraded" Ligadron possessed a much stronger desire to assimilate. The fusion with the rock was merely a temporary measure; once it reached Earth and absorbed enough energy, this temporary shell would evolve into something far more powerful, enough to contend with that terrifying Ultra Warrior.

In the cosmic debris field, Ligadron swayed its gray-black rocky body, the orange-red energy core on its chest shimmering ever brighter. It gently tapped the ground with its claws, which were covered in metal fragments, causing the debris to tremble slightly under the energy fluctuations—after this period of integration and adjustment, it had completely taken control of this temporary body, and could even extend its energy tentacles through the gaps in its rock armor, flexibly capturing the surrounding cosmic dust.

"That's it!"

A silent declaration echoed in Ligadron's consciousness. It could clearly sense that although the rocky body did not contain high-tech energy like a spaceship, it possessed extremely strong physical defense capabilities, and the crystalline mineral protrusions on its shoulders could even tear through air currents when moving at high speeds; the energy core in its chest, nourished by meteorite minerals, had recovered most of its power, enough to support its next fusion.

It raised its head, and from the cracks in its rocky shell, an orange-red light shone directly towards Earth. That blue planet emitted a soft glow in the universe; to it, it wasn't a beautiful home, but a treasure trove of "fusion materials"—the steel structures of cities, the energy equipment in factories, even human-made vehicles could all become "nourishment" for strengthening itself. The humiliation of being repelled by Gauss had now transformed into an even stronger desire; it wanted to go to Earth, to fuse with more things, to become powerful enough that it would never be easily defeated again!

Without the slightest hesitation, the rocky spines on Ligadron's back suddenly unleashed a powerful propulsive force, instantly increasing its previously slow speed. It curled its body into a sphere, its gray-black rock armor forming a sturdy protective shell on the outside, and charged towards Earth like a real meteorite.

In the vacuum of space, the "meteorite" that Ligadron transformed into streaked through interstellar dust, leaving a dark red trail. Small asteroids it encountered along the way were shattered upon impact, the fragments merging with its rocky body, making it even larger; the energy core in its chest continuously absorbed free energy from the universe, its light growing brighter and brighter, even beginning to radiate faint heat, melting the surrounding ice into water vapor.

It could sense that it was getting closer and closer to Earth. The planet's gravity was constantly pulling it, accelerating its descent. Ligadron adjusted its posture, aiming the sharpest crystal on its shoulder at the atmosphere—it wanted to break through the defenses as quickly as possible, giving Earth no time to react, and rush directly into the city to begin its "fusion plan." Meanwhile, in Earth's orbit, TPC's satellite monitoring system had already detected the "abnormal meteorite." On the screen, the red dot representing Ligadron was approaching at an extremely rapid speed, and the accompanying data showed: "Meteorite diameter approximately 50 meters, surface containing unknown energy fluctuations, expected to enter Earth's atmosphere in 30 minutes."

Inside the underground armory of TPC headquarters, the roar of machinery filled the air. Cui Ming, dressed in a black combat suit, was crouching beside a weapon shaped like a large bell, his fingertips rapidly sliding across the control panel, the screen constantly displaying line parameters—this was a "sonic oscillation bell" he had specially modified, capable of destroying the structure of energy bodies through high-frequency sound waves, specifically targeting creatures like Ligadron that survive through fusion.

"Adjust the bell's resonance frequency to 850 Hz to ensure it can penetrate the rocky outer shell and directly affect the core," Cui Ming instructed the technician beside him without looking up. Not far away, three heavy anti-aircraft guns had been assembled, their barrels gleaming with a cold, hard metallic luster. The muzzles were aimed at the simulated "meteorite impact trajectory," and their ammunition magazines were filled with specially made armor-piercing incendiary rounds—these rounds could detonate after penetrating the rock, releasing high-temperature flames to counteract Ligadron's fusion ability.

Preparations were proceeding smoothly, but Cui Ming's brow remained furrowed. He walked to the monitoring screen, looking at the images of the "abnormal meteorite" transmitted by the satellite, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table: "This thing's fusion ability is disgusting. If it gets close to the space station, it might fuse with the space station's metal structure, and then we'll be in big trouble."

Thinking of this, he immediately picked up his communicator and dialed the TPC space station's communication channel: "This is Cui Ming. Notify all space station personnel to immediately initiate the emergency evacuation procedure. You must evacuate to the safe area within 30 minutes. Repeat, everyone must evacuate within 30 minutes!"

The voice of the space station commander came from the other end of the communicator: "Roger! But Mr. Cui, some experimental data from the space station hasn't been transmitted yet..."

“Data can be reconstructed, but once people are gone, everything is gone!” Cui Ming’s tone was firm and unyielding. “Ligadron can fuse with any substance, including the alloys of the space station. Once it gets close, you won’t even have a chance to evacuate. Execute the order immediately!”

The commander no longer hesitated: "Understood! Organize an evacuation immediately!"

After hanging up the communication, Cui Ming looked again at the equipment in the armory. The debugging of the sonic oscillation clock was nearing completion, and technicians were hoisting it onto the launcher; the anti-aircraft gun's aiming system had also been calibrated, and the screen displayed "Locked on simulated target, error less than 0.1 meters." He walked to an anti-aircraft gun, patted the cold barrel, and said sharply, "Ligadron, let me show you what a 'welcome ceremony' really looks like." (End of Chapter)