Shatterdome

Rosen was the type of person to act the moment he decided on something.

Most people tend to overcomplicate matters, but in Rosen's view, breaking a task down into a few steps made everything clear.

For instance, right now, Rosen had to complete his first step—

Acquire a Pilot Suit.

Without one, even getting into a Jaeger would be useless.

When Rosen was a pilot, he had his own Pilot Suit. He remembered being ecstatic the first time he put it on; the white armor looked incredibly cool, just like Iron Man.

The complete suit covered every part of the body, protecting the pilot entirely. When a pilot was ready to activate a Jaeger, the suit's feet would lock securely onto the motion platform in the cockpit. The suit's gauntlets connected to various extension wires inside the cockpit. The full neural transmission plate on the suit's back—commonly known as the "Spinal Clamp"—firmly attached the pilot's back to the vertical beam of the motion platform. This not only provided stability but also ensured that commands from the pilot's brain were transmitted to the Jaeger instantly.

The helmet part of the suit was a full-coverage helmet, which pilots usually called the "Mind Cap." This helmet helped them transmit brain information during the synchronization process, enabling the Synaptic Link.

In addition to these functions, the suit had undergone improvements over the years, offering other features. For example, it could automatically perform CPR if it detected the pilot's heart had stopped, or it could monitor the pilot's overall health, and even stabilize blood pressure.

Rosen vaguely recalled that in front of the motion platform was the control console, where pilots received all the information detected by the Jaeger's sensors: visual, auditory, 3D models, holographic projections, and messages from friendly forces.

But all that was in the past.

When Rosen was demoted from pilot to pilot candidate, his Pilot Suit had to be returned. Now, he had to find a way to get one on his own.

"Tsk..."

Ever since Mike had left, Rosen had been pacing alone in the lab, stroking his chin as he pondered the problem, looking somewhat anxious.

He was trying to find a way.

Borrow one?

Rosen thought about it, but immediately shook his head.

If it were pilots lending to each other, it might be possible. But for him, a cadet, to ask a full-fledged pilot to borrow one?

Well... Rosen didn't think he had that much pull. Besides, it would be bad if it drew attention.

Rosen also considered buying one on the black market. A Pilot Suit cost around 4 million RMB. If he sold a few papers, Rosen was confident he could afford it.

However, after checking online, he learned that some people had previously impersonated Jaeger pilots using the Pilot Suit's reputation to commit fraud. This led the Chinese government to tighten controls on such items. While he could probably still get one with more effort, there wasn't even three days left until the Kunlun test drive, so this route would definitely take too long.

After much thought, Rosen finally came up with an idea.

Borrowing—it was still borrowing.

But his target wasn't a current Jaeger pilot; it was a senior.

"Teacher... it looks like I'll have to trouble you again."

Rosen didn't head directly to the pilot residential area, because he knew Angie wouldn't be there.

Angie's energy seemed inexhaustible. It was impossible for her to stay bored in one place for hours. The little girl was probably in the simulation combat room on the first floor, or supervising maintenance next to her beloved "Anshan."

With his mind made up, Rosen headed for the first floor of the Shatterdome.

However, after Rosen finally squeezed out of the crowded elevator, he looked at the scene before him and felt a sense of unfamiliarity.

Rosen suddenly realized that since his demotion, he hadn't been to the first floor of the Shatterdome in months. The scene in his memory had completely changed.

"Have I really not been down here for this long... No wonder Angie said I haven't sparred with her in simulation battles for a while."

Since the 8th Generation Jaegers were stationed at the Hong Kong Base, the Shatterdome's maximum height had increased from 200 meters to 230 meters. Rosen remembered that when he last visited the first floor, those areas had just begun construction, but now they were fully operational.

The center of the Shatterdome's roof could open and close like lotus petals. Directly below the opening point was a Jaeger deployment platform.

The roof was currently closed. When necessary, the top of the Shatterdome would open, and then those large airships and heavy-lift helicopters could lift the Jaegers waiting below and transport them to the drop zone.

Rosen used to not believe that those small aircraft could lift thousands of tons of behemoths. But when he looked up at the sky at the new generation "Titan-class" military airships used for transporting Jaegers—

He immediately transformed from a skeptic into a firm believer in aerial deployment.

I refuse to believe it!

That thing was too damn big!

Those damn airships were bigger than the Jaegers!

That was Rosen's first thought when he saw those airships.

However, aerial deployment had its drawbacks, namely the excessively long preparation time. From the airship's ascent to the Jaeger's deployment, the process took at least 3 hours. Therefore, this method was generally not used lightly when Kaiju attacks occurred.

In addition, 12 dedicated channels radiated outward in a circular pattern from the deployment platform. Six of them led to the Jaeger storage bays, where the 12 Jaegers of the Hong Kong Base were kept. The other six led to the base's sea gate, through which the Jaeger pilots on emergency duty would drive onto the Pacific Ocean.

To shorten deployment time, workers spent a full year constructing 6 sea tracks, each 5 kilometers long, outside the sea gate. The 6 Jaegers going into battle could slide rapidly along these tracks, riding the waves to their designated positions to calmly defend against Kaiju.

As an intelligent and hardworking Chinese person, Rosen couldn't help but feel a surge of pride.

Besides the dedicated channels, the spacious hall was filled with numerous pieces of equipment and various large machinery. Countless workers bustled about, and forklifts loaded with goods zipped past. Just then, a forklift driver whistled at Rosen.

"Hey kid, move aside!"

Rosen then realized he was blocking the elevator entrance and quickly and awkwardly moved out of the way.

Rosen glanced back as he walked—behind him were the large elevators leading to the second and third floors. The mezzanine where the command center was located extended from above the elevators, quite conspicuous, offering a clear view of everything on the central deployment platform.

This cluster of buildings was situated between the third and fourth passages leading to the Jaeger hangar. Compared to the open spaces on either side, it appeared rather narrow.

Yes… the second and third floors occupied such a small area. Within this Shatterdome, spanning over a thousand acres, equivalent to nearly 80 football fields, the Jaegers were the eternal protagonists.

Looking at the scene before him, Rosen suddenly remembered when he was a child and Raleigh Beckett first brought him here.

The Shatterdome had been just like this back then, bustling and lively.

Rosen felt it was like a big family. Time had passed so quickly, just a few months, and Rosen didn't even know why he hadn't come down to see it during this time. This should have been his home.

Fortunately, Rosen still remembered the way to the simulation combat zone. He put away his sentimentality for a moment and set off at a brisk pace.