Full Burst!

"Mike... what... do we do now?" Rosen couldn't tear his eyes away from what was in front of him. He could only grit his teeth and ask with difficulty.

The immense force coming from Shandong's arm pressed his back into an arch, cold sweat pouring down him. Even so, the circle of light on the monitor continued to grow larger.

"There's no move like that in boxing!" Mike clung tightly to the vertical beam of the motion platform behind Rosen. "You're on your own!"

A series of metal wires connected their Pilot Suits. Through them, Rosen and Mike had established a temporary neural link—Rosen found the "Pons neural bridge technology" far less troublesome than people imagined. The technology was already available; all they had to do was connect the external cables on their Pilot Suits.

The "boxing" move Rosen had used to repel Shandong earlier had come from Mike. Mike had transmitted his extensive combat experience to Rosen through the connection, but now even he was at a loss.

Rosen had no time to think. Alarms suddenly blared inside the cockpit, red warnings flooding both sides of the monitor. His hands gradually swelled from the blood rushing into them.

This can't go on! Rosen thought. Rather than die here, he might as well take one last gamble.

"Blade Unsheathed!"

Rosen roared. In an instant, a long whip shot from the guard on Kunlun's left hand. The whip consisted of serrated metal segments linked together by two polymer high-voltage cables—

It inevitably drifted backward on the rapidly moving motion platform. But as Rosen pulled back his left hand, clenched his fist, and snapped it forward, the high-voltage cables suddenly straightened against the fierce wind. The metal segments locked tightly together one after another, their resounding clatter echoing through the cockpit.

"What is that?" Mike couldn't help asking.

"Something that once saved the world!"

"Huh? What are you trying to—"

Before Mike could finish, the monitor suddenly flared with light, leaving his vision swimming.

The motion platform had carried the two mechs out of the Shatterdome—outside lay the turbulent western coast of the Pacific Ocean!

Countless buildings, a clear blue sky, and the boundless sea filled the monitor.

Two suns appeared on the display at once. One was the real one in the sky; the other was the brilliant light emitted by Shandong's Laser Cutter. But a third soon appeared in Mike's eyes.

Only then did Mike notice that Kunlun now held a sword before its left hand. Its blade was thin, fast as lightning, and its sharp teeth looked lethally vicious.

That third sun was the reflection off its blade.

"Break for me!"

Rosen roared and thrust his left hand forward!

Slash—

In the blink of an eye, a streak of brilliant light slashed toward Shandong's right arm!

The two mechs successfully burst out of the Shatterdome, and Jiang Tianzheng finally let out the breath he had been holding. A helicopter that had been waiting outside the base transmitted the footage back, and the two mechs reappeared on the Command Center's main screen.

But the sight before him made Jiang Tianzheng suck in a sharp breath.

Shandong's right arm hung limply at its side. Jiang Tianzheng immediately ordered the image zoomed in. A deep gash had appeared in Shandong's right shoulder—the armor had been sliced open cleanly, the circuits inside sparking wildly and burning into a tangled mess. Oil and lubricant poured endlessly from the opening.

Kunlun on the other side was just as badly damaged. Its armor was far thinner than Shandong's, and the armor over its chest and left arm had become warped and uneven. Weak currents occasionally leaped from the gaps created by the twisted plating, a sign that the mech was on the verge of collapse. The Chain Sword before its left hand was likely the culprit behind Shandong's grievous wounds, but more than half its serrated blade had now broken off, rendering it useless.

They stood several hundred meters apart, half-submerged in the Pacific Ocean, seemingly catching their breath before a desperate final struggle.

Jiang Tianzheng froze. He had never expected the battle to become so brutal in only a few minutes.

"Command Center... I... I want to lift the heavy weapons lockout."

Lin Yin's voice came through the communicator. Only three minutes had passed since their last exchange, but her voice was noticeably weaker. She was gasping heavily—Jiang Tianzheng had not seen Lin Yin exhaust herself like this in years.

"Wait... let's watch a little longer..." Jiang Tianzheng was stunned for a moment, unable to process it—

He suddenly remembered that the entire operation's purpose had been to stop Kunlun from destroying the base. But now, it seemed that goal had already been achieved.

"Don't use heavy weapons! Absolutely don't—" Jiang Tianzheng hurriedly shouted into the communicator.

But Lin Yin had already shut off the communicator. She had no intention of listening to him.

Lin Yin's blood was up. More precisely, for the first time in all these years, she felt excited.

Since childhood, her father had forcibly drilled endless military training into her. She felt as if she had lived like a robot—efficiency, efficiency, efficiency. Everything in her life existed for efficiency.

But the cyclops before her gave her a thrill for the first time—she had never felt anything like it from monsters.

Her blood raced through her veins, her breathing grew heavier, her mind heated up, her cheeks burned, and her heart surged...

So this was the strange sensation brought by adrenaline? It felt wonderful.

But that daze lasted only five seconds. Then Lin Yin felt it was time for everything to end.

"Rosen, you're finished."

Lin Yin disengaged the heavy weapons safety lock.

The fierce battle continued. Shandong's right hand had lost power, so it decisively flung out its left hand—the chain commonly known as God Binding Silk appeared once again. It swept across the ocean's surface, stirring endless waves as it tried to ensnare Kunlun again.

Previously, Kunlun would have easily dodged the chain, but it could no longer do so. Countless hidden injuries riddled Kunlun's body, its circuits tangled into a mess. Even moving normally was difficult, let alone dodging and maneuvering. So Kunlun raised its left hand and used the remaining section of the Chain Sword's blade to slash viciously at the chain!

The chain snapped at the blow—

But that bought Shandong precious time to unleash its firepower.

"Full Burst!!"

Shandong flexed and straightened its left hand, thrusting out its chest and raising its head. A full-scale attack was about to begin.

One black cannon barrel after another, magnetic storm rings, and missile silos emerged from beneath its armor, all aimed directly at Kunlun—this was the first time they had faced something made by humans.

"No!!"

Jiang Tianzheng roared and reached out his hand, but the situation was already decided.

Through the screen, he could almost see the smile on Lin Yin's face and the despair on Mike's.

Amid thunderous roars, electromagnetic blasts, particles, and shells surged toward Kunlun like a flood. The sky was dyed in dreamlike colors by these weapons of death.

After a stretch of utter silence—

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!