First Battle - Kunlun vs. Shandong

Lin Yin had the Pilot Suit on in just one minute. That crimson battle suit had accompanied her in eliminating 13 Kaiju, and now, they were about to face a new enemy—Kunlun.

She nimbly slipped into the cockpit, as efficient as ever.

"Ready! Release the cockpit!"

Two minutes later, Lin Yin's incredibly firm voice came through the command center's communicator.

With the order given, the cockpit shot downwards along the track like lightning.

Then, a tremendous commotion erupted from the first hangar—Shandong, one of the strongest Jaegers in human history, was deploying.

"Attention! Do not use any thermal weapons!" Jiang Tianzheng instructed Lin Yin once more. "Destroy Kunlun's head! As for Mike Kane inside... his fate is irrelevant!"

"Got it."

No sooner had Lin Yin spoken than, in the next instant, an impossibly large metal hand appeared on the wall next to the entrance of the first hangar.

The 160-meter-tall Shandong emerged from the first hangar, leaning against the wall. With every step he took, he left a massive footprint on the base's ground. Then, the crimson figure rapidly swept past the command center, kicking up endless dust.

"Mission confirmed: Eliminate Kunlun. All thermal weapons are locked."

Lin Yin was performing the final mission confirmation, but her voice was quickly drowned out by the roaring sounds. All other noises were submerged by Shandong's heavy footsteps.

Gazing at Shandong heading towards the sixth hangar, Jiang Tianzheng couldn't help but feel a surge of respect. He straightened his body and gave a perfect salute to Shandong's retreating back, seemingly muttering to himself.

"Lin Yin... I'm entrusting everything to you."

Just then, Mike was astonished to find the rampaging Kunlun suddenly stop. After releasing its final burst of magnetic field, the Cloud Mist Magnetic Storm Coil retracted, and the metallic components orbiting Kunlun's right arm like satellites fell to the ground.

Mike had already envisioned a thousand ways to die—burned alive, suffocating, electrocuted to a crisp, or something else... But what was happening before him ignited a strong will to survive within Mike.

He changed his defeated demeanor and urgently shouted into the communicator, "Command Center, I've stabilized the situation! Requesting to immediately end Kunlun's test drive!"

But there was no response. The communicator remained silent.

Mike couldn't help but lean closer to the communicator and continue shouting. It was only then that he realized the communicator had already lost signal. Mike guessed that Kunlun's powerful magnetic field from its right arm had likely damaged a radio port somewhere.

"Now... what should I do?"

There was no one in the heads-up display anymore. All the staff had fled when Kunlun went chaotic. Now, outside the Jaeger, only flashing red warning lights and thunderous alarms could be heard.

And he couldn't contact the command center... Mike was at a loss.

However, at that moment, a sound began to echo through the vast Shatterdome.

Thump... thump... thump...

The sound was rhythmic, like a drumbeat. The detection devices on Kunlun's control panel also lit up. According to the readings, something was approaching Kunlun.

Mike wasn't a pilot; he couldn't get more data from Kunlun. But he knew it definitely wasn't an enemy. How could there be an enemy inside the Shatterdome?

He arrived.

A crimson figure appeared on Kunlun's holographic heads-up display—but the reality soon proved Mike wrong.

The crimson figure was indeed Shandong, and in his right hand, he was dragging a "Soul Extinguisher," built specifically to deal with Kaiju: a giant flail.

The handle was 70 meters long, and the head weighed a staggering 800 tons—it was currently being dragged on the ground by Shandong, sending sparks flying everywhere.

Shandong now resembled the gladiator Mike remembered, but Mike didn't believe this kind-hearted warrior would perform a friendly maintenance check on Kunlun with the hammer in his hand.

"He's here to kill us," Rosen's voice suddenly cut in, startling Mike.

"You're finally awake, old man!" Fearing Rosen hadn't grasped the current situation, Mike quickly added, "Look at what you've done, we're going to die!"

"I know."

Rosen's eyes were still crimson, but after waking up, he appeared calm, even with a slight smile on his lips—

Mike suddenly felt like he had become a different person. His previous composure and conservatism were completely gone, replaced by a sense of relief and ease, as if a burden had been lifted.

Rosen raised his hands, holding them level with his chest, one in front of the other. Kunlun immediately mirrored his movements—it even synchronized with Rosen's deep breaths, despite not having lungs.

This was definitely not something achievable with a 50% Sync Rate.

Mike was momentarily stunned, then quickly made a judgment. But he suddenly realized, "No way? Are you planning to fight an 8th-generation Jaeger?"

"What else?" Rosen didn't even look up.

"Are you crazy?!" Mike couldn't understand if Rosen or he himself had lost his mind. "No matter how you look at it, we should surrender, right?"

"You can try. See which is faster: you climbing out of the cockpit, or the hammer falling from the other side."

Their argument was destined to be fruitless. Because at that moment, Shandong on the opposite side swung his right hand, and he smoothly gripped the "Soul Extinguisher." Then, he took a step forward and charged menacingly—this time, death had truly arrived.

"Mike," Rosen suddenly turned and asked, a smile on his face, "Want to live?"

"Obviously!"

"Then help me." Rosen winked. "To be honest, I haven't fought in seven months."

"F*** you!!"

Mike angrily let out a string of curses.

Looking at the two Jaegers in the distance, Jiang Tianzheng couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache. They were supposed to be sharp weapons against Kaiju, but now they were killing each other…

Just as Jiang Tianzheng was lost in thought, Kunlun suddenly moved.

The massive Jaeger suddenly raised both hands, bent its waist, and crouched its knees, assuming a standard defensive stance. Its single eye flashed with a burning light.

"Huh?"

Jiang Tianzheng and Lin Yin uttered a question almost simultaneously. Kunlun stopped shaking; it seemed to have snapped out of its chaotic state. Jiang Tianzheng looked back at the display screen. The Synaptic Link between Kunlun and its pilot had indeed stabilized, but the Sync Rate remained at only 50%.

However, there was still no response from Kunlun's communicator, so both of them tacitly agreed to continue the attack.

Shandong gripped the Soul Extinguisher tightly in its hand, while Kunlun stood tall and majestic. Their three eyes met, and they assumed their fighting stances—

June 14, 2043, 10:34 AM. This date should be etched in history.

Because the first Jaeger vs. Jaeger battle in human history was about to begin.