Mike looked back and saw a guy in mechanic's coveralls grinning at him.
It was Rosen.
"You really came!" Mike beamed, but his face immediately fell again. "You don't have a combat suit? Should I take mine off for you? But it looks like there isn't enough time..."
"No need." As Rosen spoke, he pulled open the collar of his coveralls—the hint of black beneath showed through.
It was the last Pilot Suit Raleigh Beckett had left in the world.
"Looks like you're ready." Mike smiled again.
"Let's make this count."
"Ready. Release the cockpit."
Mike shouted into the microphone connected to the Command Center. Of course, Rosen had quietly taken Mike's place as the pilot.
Rosen stood ramrod straight on the motion platform, his eyes shut tight. Mike, meanwhile, clung to the vertical beam behind Rosen on the platform.
"Cockpit—release."
The Command Center's response came through the comms.
With a roar, the crane tower securing the cockpit released it, and the cockpit immediately dropped down the rails.
As usual, Mike felt his stomach churn, but Rosen remained calm. His eyes stayed closed.
Then the cockpit's descent gradually slowed as it slowly docked with Kunlun's rear cranial component. As clicking sounds rang out from outside, the entire cockpit sank into Kunlun's head. Mike could practically picture the scene outside—
Outside the cockpit was Kunlun's "brain," and it was still alive.
Kunlun had originally been a man-made Generation 7 Kaiju. His brain had been completely reformatted, then countless wires and devices had been embedded inside it to facilitate neural synchronization with the pilots. The cockpit was now buried within that silicate-based brain.
Every bolt and hook locked into place. The automated systems ran steadily, and the mecha's cockpit successfully fused with its body. This 135-meter-tall humanoid heavy weapon towered before them—something that could only have existed in movies and comics until Project Osprey made men's dreams a reality.
"Docking successful." Mike snapped out of his daze and hurriedly reported to the Command Center.
The Command Center decisively transferred all Command Authority over Kunlun to Mike. Every console before Rosen lit up, and the holographic HUD in front of him began operating. Kunlun was surrounded by people, and the holographic display was so clear that Mike could even make out the pores on someone's face several hundred meters away.
"Pilot: Mike Kane." A voice came through the comms again. Mike immediately recognized it as Jiang Tianzheng's. Its formal, imposing tone was completely different from what Mike had heard before. "The mecha link will begin shortly. Are you ready?"
Mike looked at Rosen. Rosen had already opened his eyes, turned his head slightly, and nodded.
"Yes. We're ready."
"Neural synchronization will begin in ten seconds. Prepare yourselves."
Jiang Tianzheng's voice then disappeared, and a cold synthetic female voice took over the countdown.
"Initiating Neural Link. Ten... nine..."
"It's starting," Mike reminded Rosen. "You know about Random Access Brain Impulse signals, the thing they call the rabbit, right?"
Rosen nodded firmly.
The electronic voice continued, "Six... five..."
"You might not have much experience, so remember: never chase the rabbit," Mike explained. "The rabbit is your memories. Let them surface freely. Don't get trapped in them, and..."
Mike suddenly felt that time might be running out. He patted Rosen on the shoulder and gave a slight nod.
Good luck.
"One."
The electronic voice finished its countdown.
This was Rosen's second time formally entering neural synchronization.
The previous failure remained vivid in his mind. From the very beginning, Rosen focused with absolute concentration. He would not allow himself even the slightest mistake.
As waves of pain pulsed through his temples, Rosen's neural synchronization with Kunlun began.
Countless images flashed before Luo like slides, just as he had expected—
They were the scenes of his life.
He saw himself as a child in the slums, filthy and disheveled, like a stray dog. If not for the old beggar with the broken leg by the roadside bringing him food every day, Rosen might not have survived to this day.
A Kaiju attacked Hong Kong, China, but Rosen did not hide in an underground shelter like the other children. Instead, he excitedly ran to the top of a building and cheered for Crimson Storm.
The massive crimson mecha battled the Kaiju across Hong Kong, China. Wherever the two giants went, shockwaves rolled and smoke filled the air.
Rosen still remembered the children's song that cheered for the Jaeger warriors.
"Whenever Earth faced disaster and destruction, the Jaeger warriors descended from the heavens. They possessed unmatched strength and could crush anything in their path."
"Whenever people needed hope and strength, the Jaeger warriors descended from the heavens. They rode the wind and waves, sweeping away the filth of the world."
Then Rosen met Raleigh Beckett.
"Hey, kid."
Rosen encountered a married couple on the street. They ran a martial arts school on one of Hong Kong, China's bustling avenues.
Rosen felt as though he had seen them on television before, but he had forgotten exactly who they were.
"Do you want to save the world?"
The man was white, and he spoke to Rosen in clumsy Chinese.
The woman was a gentle, beautiful Asian woman. She smiled at Rosen as well.
Young Rosen thought for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Do you provide meals?"
"We do! We do! We'll feed you until you're full!"
"Deal!"
Imitating the adults, Rosen high-fived Raleigh to seal the promise.
Time flew by.
Teacher... are you going to the battlefield again?
Please don't leave us...
Teacher was gone. He was a hero of this era.
We cannot live in his shadow. The future's glory will be forged by us.
This year, 2043. Hong Kong, China.
It was time to save the world.
While Rosen, still in neural synchronization, struggled against his own memories—
The Command Center had already erupted into chaos.
"What is going on?! What is this?!" Jiang Tianzheng stared at the display, his face full of shock. "What exactly is that Mike's Sync Rate?!"
"Seventy percent!" an assistant immediately answered. But when the assistant noticed the fluctuations on the display, he too froze in disbelief.
"Seventy percent? This is seventy percent?!"
Everyone turned toward the display—
The curve representing the Sync Rate was plummeting like a cliff dive. Ninety percent, eighty percent, seventy percent, sixty percent...
At last, it stopped at exactly fifty percent.
Dropping from seventy percent to fifty percent overnight? It was simply unheard of.
"Stop the activation immediately. That Mike..." Jiang Tianzheng raised his hand, just about to slam it onto the table—
But an electronic female voice abruptly cut him off.
"Sync Rate... fifty percent. Mental state stable. Kunlun activation—successful."
Dozens of searchlights across Kunlun's body lit up at once, flooding the area ahead with brilliant light. His massive head rose slightly, and a dazzling crimson glow radiated from his single eye.
"It actually worked?!"
Everyone stared in Kunlun's direction, their faces filled with disbelief.
Fifty percent—this was absolutely the lowest Sync Rate in the history of mecha activation!
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