Ultraman: It turns out this is the easy mode.

Cui Ming sat on the sofa in the living room, looking at the freshly cut watermelon on the coffee table. He recalled the price he had seen in a Japanese supermarket before—a small piece of watermelon cost several hundred yen. He couldn't help but complain in his heart: Japanese fruit is really expensive. In the end, it's the Japanese who made it. If it were up to him, those guys who deliberately raised prices and created monopolies should be hung up by a street lamp so they could taste what it's like for ordinary people to not be able to afford fruit.

That's why Cui Ming never buys too much from local Japanese merchants, especially fruit. Most of the fruit his family eats is air-freighted from overseas, whether it's cherries from the Southern Hemisphere or mangoes from Southeast Asia—fresh and affordable. He's not short of money anyway—he's contracted out almost all of TPC's weaponry, from weapons maintenance to the development of new fighter jets. Even if he only charges a friendly price, the money he earns is enough to support his family's "freedom to air-freight fruit," and can even subsidize a lot of research and development expenses.

"Ugh, this awful heat is unbearable!"

Asuka sat cross-legged on the carpet, munching on a large slice of watermelon, juice dripping from her fingers, her eyes glued to the variety show on the TV screen, occasionally complaining about the weather. July in Japan was exceptionally hot, the air in the living room was stifling, but she preferred to sit with the fan blowing on her rather than turn on the air conditioner.

Looking at her like this, Cui Ming rolled his eyes speechlessly: "If it's hot, turn on the air conditioner. Fans only blow out hot air. You're just making yourself suffer."

Asuka chewed on watermelon, explaining indistinctly, "Hehe, isn't this all for the sake of eating this watermelon~" She threw the watermelon rind in the trash can and picked up another piece, "Think about it, on such a hot day, eating an ice-cold watermelon with the wind blowing is the most refreshing! You don't get this feeling when the air conditioner is on."

Cui Ming was speechless at her twisted logic, so he could only shake his head, take a bottle of ice water from the refrigerator, unscrew the cap, and take a sip—the icy liquid slid down his throat, instantly dispelling much of the heat. He glanced at Miri, who was sitting next to him also eating watermelon, and said, "Miri, turn on the TV and see what the news is."

“Okay.” Misato put down the watermelon in her hand, picked up the remote control, and pressed the power button. The TV screen switched from a variety show to the news channel, where the host was reporting on the recent weather conditions and the latest developments at TPC Space Port.

Cui Ming leaned back on the sofa, listening to the news while casually picking up a slice of watermelon. For him, watching television was never just entertainment, but also a part of intelligence gathering—whether it was the potential impact of weather changes on operations or the details hidden in officially released information, all of which could become key to subsequent crisis response.

Asuka was still quietly complaining about being interrupted from her variety show, while Misato was intently watching the news, occasionally jotting things down in her notebook. The only sounds in the living room were the television, the soft rustling of watermelon being eaten, and the occasional chirping of cicadas outside the window. Despite the sweltering summer heat, a rare tranquility permeated the air—a tranquility that Choi Myung had protected through countless battles, and the most cherished everyday life for him and those around him.

The news footage on television suddenly changed. The weather presenter's expression turned serious, and the background showed a crimson sea—the surface was covered with countless dead fish, and fishermen navigated through it in small boats, their faces filled with panic and helplessness. "According to a report from our reporter off the coast of Hokkaido, since early this morning, large numbers of dead fish have suddenly appeared in many areas of the sea, exceeding 100,000, and the affected area continues to expand..."

Cui Ming's watermelon abruptly stopped in mid-air. His previously relaxed gaze instantly sharpened, and the smile on his lips vanished completely. Beside him, Misato immediately put down her fruit knife, leaning forward slightly, her brow furrowed as she stared intently at the close-up of the dead fish on the screen. As someone who could transform into Ultraman Agul, she had a special connection with the sea. Normally, even slight pollution in the ocean thousands of miles away would elicit a response through Agul's senses. But this time, the sea was unusually "quiet," sending no abnormal signals. "Something's wrong," Misato spoke first, her voice heavy. "If it were a red tide or pollution, the sea wouldn't be silent. I can't sense any abnormal energy fluctuations at all; it's like these fish died out of thin air."

Cui Ming nodded, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the coffee table as his mind raced: "The ocean hasn't given any feedback, which means there's no problem right now—at least not a problem caused by the natural environment. But so many fish dying suddenly can't be a coincidence." He recalled the battles against Ligadron and Sphia; those cosmic beings always managed to influence Earth in unexpected ways. "Could it be the work of other cosmic beings? Like some kind of energy that can silently pollute water without the ocean's detection?"

On television, the reporter continued reporting: "Preliminary tests by experts show that no toxic substances, nor viral or bacterial infections were detected in the dead fish. The specific cause of death is still under further investigation..."

"No poison, no infection?" Cui Ming frowned. This was even stranger. Normally, large-scale fish deaths are either due to environmental degradation or biological diseases, but both of these possibilities have been ruled out. Instead, it seemed like a deliberate and eerie event—as if someone was deliberately creating an "anomaly" and then erasing all traces.

Miri turned off the TV and turned to Choi Myung: "I'll go to the beach and use Agul's power to investigate more carefully. Maybe I can find something that ordinary people can't detect."

Cui Ming nodded in agreement: "Be careful. If you encounter any unusual situations, contact me immediately." He paused and added, "Also, keep an eye out for any unfamiliar energy fluctuations in the surrounding waters, especially signals similar to those of Sphia or Ligadron."

Watching Miri's hurried departure, Cui Ming picked up the watermelon again, but had lost his appetite. He leaned back on the sofa, his gaze fixed on the sky outside the window, a vague unease creeping into his heart—from Ligadron to Sphia, and now to the large number of dead fish, Earth seemed to be being watched by an invisible force, a force more insidious than any enemy he had encountered before.

"When it comes to mass extinctions, Mother Earth is the real expert," Cui Ming muttered to himself with a self-deprecating tone, though there was no real mirth in his voice. He knew very well that if this fish extinction incident was indeed orchestrated by humans or extraterrestrial forces, the consequences could be far more severe than the attack of Ligadron if not handled properly—after all, the collapse of the marine ecosystem would affect the entire Earth's food chain, and things would probably be far more serious than simply "eating watermelon on a hot day."

He picked up his phone, dialed TPC's emergency communication channel, and said to Sawai on the other end, "Sawai, keep an eye on the recent reports of unusual marine activity in various locations, especially the dead fish incidents. I suspect things aren't as simple as they seem." (End of Chapter)