Spotted, an Ultraman? (Part 5)

　　"The actual photos of 'Ultraman,' comparison images, and all our collected evidence have been sent to TPC's email."

　　"You..." Captain Anzhu recognized the teasing tone, but before he could retort, Hayata had already hung up.

　　Captain Anzhu muttered under his breath: "Slick old alien!"

　　Hayata closed his PDI and leaned back in the rear seat, gazing out the window: "They're so trusting of a criminal, TPC people are really carefree. This place is strange enough—everything we've encountered relates to Ultraman, and Ultraman seems to be playing the villain in all these stories. The original, Dyna... but where's Tiga, whom the suited man is looking for? Seriously, I'm nearly living as an old man and still can't find peace. Sending me to this universe to discover what truth exactly..."

　　He supported his aching head, when his peripheral vision caught something about twenty meters in front of the car—a slightly overweight man in a black suit and white shirt. The man had a distinctive style, his face covered in a powder-like substance, as white as a corpse that had been cold for days. His left hand held a black briefcase, his right hand carried a closed umbrella, and he stared at Hayata with a smile that was standard yet deeply unsettling.

　　Hayata felt a chill run down his spine: How long had he been watching me? The figure in the distance seemed ghostlike, appearing eerily unnatural under the dense gray clouds.

　　Tap tap! The window on his left was suddenly knocked.

　　Hayata turned to see a large, ghastly white face pressed against the car door. He instinctively reached for his gun, but just as he was about to fire, a spine-chilling voice spoke:

　　"Have you seen Tiga?"

　　Hayata turned to his right—the man was somehow already sitting beside him! He stared straight ahead, the umbrella positioned between his legs, both hands folded over the handle, appearing extremely serious.

　　"Who are you?" Hayata asked instinctively.

　　"I'm looking for Tiga." The suited man turned, smiling at him, "Have you seen Ultraman Tiga? I've returned, but he's gone. I've been searching for him for over a decade. I've prepared lavish gifts for him, but why has he disappeared?" He slowly turned his head and asked: "Ultraman?"

　　"You!" Hayata pressed his gun against the suited man's head, attempting to control the situation.

　　"Ultraman?" he repeated, finally saying: "Are you really an Ultraman?"

　　"No." The suited man shook his head as if not seeing the gun, "No, you're not an Ultraman. You're just an Evil Tiga. I need to find the real Ultraman... the real Tiga! To show him the gift I've prepared with my own hands." With that, he vanished like a gust of wind.

　　Hayata wanted to dismiss him as insane, but hesitated, overwhelmed by a profound sense of strangeness that seemed to entwine every nerve in his body.

　　Minutes later, his PDI rang with an urgent message from Sena: "Come quickly! Something's happened to Yanagitake!"

　　When Hayata arrived, Sena and Fuyugokoro were standing at the mountain entrance. Brownish-white fungal filaments wrapped around the mountain and trees like silk, with trees near the entrance already turning yellow.

　　Sena explained: "Yanagitake encountered something unusual while collecting mushrooms. According to her, these fungi have offensive capabilities and have spread across a three-hundred-meter radius!"

　　"What exactly is this thing?" Fuyugokoro rubbed his head, gun in hand, the dangerous filaments visible to the naked eye.

　　Just then, Hayata's PDI activated. He opened it to see Horii and Aida on screen.

　　Horii shouted a warning: "Don't approach the mountain! It's extremely dangerous! Our astronomical radar scans show these fungi are Vugathus, the largest monster from Dyna's era! It can invade modern networks and has extraordinary growth abilities, capable of developing body parts anywhere. Each filament serves as its neural center—essentially its brain. Its capacity to infiltrate and process modern civilization's systems is beyond imagination! Dyna supposedly destroyed it completely last time—why has it reappeared?"

　　Sena pushed into view: "But Yanagitake has been captured by Vugathus!"

　　"What...?" Horii and Aida's faces paled instantly.

　　"We must go in!" Sena declared firmly, "How did Dyna defeat Vugathus back then?"

　　Aida explained: "Vugathus has a main body. Follow any filament to find its source—that's its core! But be careful, Vugathus isn't a mindless monster; it's a fungal plant-monster with intelligence exceeding humans!"

　　A voice came through: "You must rescue Yanagitake; she's extremely important to us! Team member Hayata, this is your first battle—don't disappoint us."

　　Hayata immediately understood the implication in Captain Anzhu's words—this was his chance to prove his innocence. He responded: "No problem, Captain."

　　Captain Anzhu replied with satisfaction: "Good. We have more information to share, but let's wait until you've rescued Yanagitake."

　　Before ending the communication, Aida added: "Don't bring your PDI near Vugathus—it can invade networks. If given the opportunity to infiltrate modern communication channels, Vugathus could once again bring down TPC Headquarters!"

　　With that, the communication ended.

　　Hayata looked up at the small mountain covered in fungal filaments. Sena announced: "Team member Fuyugokoro, team member Hayata and I will go back for equipment. Today, let's have a mushroom hot pot!"

　　Both men responded enthusiastically: "Yoshii!"