Seeing the dramatic reactions on the audience's faces, Newt immediately felt deeply satisfied.
Especially Hermann—his disgruntled expression made Newt want to burst with joy.
"Kunlun Simulation Rosen?" Jiang Tianzheng seemed doubtful. "I don't know if I've understood correctly. A Jaeger possessing independent thought... I don't think that's a good thing."
"It's the complete opposite of your concern," Newt corrected him. "As long as this theory continues to develop, before long we could have remotely operated—even unmanned—Jaegers. Then we wouldn't have to worry about not finding outstanding pilots. You could fight kaiju from home. Sounds a lot like a game, doesn't it? Haha..."
Newt waved his hands wildly through the air in excitement, as if he were pitching an incredible bargain.
But Jiang Tianzheng merely shook his head slightly.
Lin Yin beside him immediately understood what he meant.
"Dr. Newton, what we lack most is time." Lin Yin's voice was icy, like cold water dousing Newt's enthusiasm completely. "Right now, we should focus our attention on the next incoming kaiju tide. Do you know how many civilians died horribly beneath the kaiju's claws during the last tide because we were inadequately prepared?"
Lin Yin met Newt's gaze without flinching—
Newt immediately drew back his hands awkwardly.
Newt knew that Lin Yin had taken part in the desperate battle at Bohai Bay in 2038. China had deployed all seventeen of its Jaegers then. In the end, apart from Huangshan, Dongting, and Poyang, every Jaeger had been destroyed, while a great many exceptional pilots had been laid to rest in Bohai Bay alongside their partners.
Civilian casualties had been even more horrific. Six kaiju had bypassed the defensive perimeter and charged onto the Jiaodong Peninsula, destroying countless small and medium-sized cities along their route. Tens of thousands had died in that disaster, while the number of people left homeless had long since become impossible to calculate.
At the time, Lin Yin had merely been a rookie who had just become a pilot. Yet relying on her superb skills and sound tactical instincts, she had piloted Huangshan to destroy two kaiju and grown into who she was today.
Faced with this "kaiju killer," Newt, the "kaiju fan," had no choice but to concede defeat.
"I also agree with Lin Yin's view. The current situation is more important," Jiang Tianzheng said. "The higher-ups have also been urging me to launch the 'Savior' operation as soon as possible... To raise funds for building Jaegers, China has implemented a planned economy for twenty years. There has long been widespread resentment among the public... We absolutely cannot stay trapped in this mire for too long. We must end this war as quickly as possible."
"The 'Savior' Plan?" Newt's eyes widened. This was the first time he had heard that codename.
"That's right." Jiang Tianzheng nodded. "The United Nations is preparing to establish the most advanced emergency response base in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, funded and built jointly by all nations. When the next breach appears, we can swiftly eliminate it before it stabilizes—we don't know how many breaches the kaiju can open, so we cannot charge into one every time with the resolve to die alongside them. Therefore, the 'Savior' Plan is currently our best option."
"But we don't even know where the breach is." Newt shrugged skeptically.
"That is what Dr. Hermann is currently researching." Jiang Tianzheng turned to look at Hermann beside him, who immediately returned Jiang Tianzheng's military salute. His face was full of confidence and anticipation.
"Could it be that Dr. Hermann has already made progress?" Jiang Tianzheng raised a brow and could not help asking.
"That's right."
"In that case, begin your report now. Save me the trouble of coming up here again someday."
Jiang Tianzheng stepped back, and Hermann naturally stepped forward to take his place and address the group. Before doing so, he deliberately shot Newt a contemptuous look, infuriating the latter.
"Ahem..." Hermann cleared his throat, putting on airs. "We all know that since the kaiju's second wave of attacks began, they have been appearing and disappearing without a trace. We could not even locate the breach that transported them here—but now, I know."
Hermann placed the briefcase he had been carrying on the table. Inside was his 3D holographic computer.
"During the first wave of attacks, the kaiju... no, their master—the 'Precursors.'" Hermann looked toward Newt, who had once seen the Precursors. "He believed we had no way to destroy his breach, so the breach at that time was practically undefended."
As he spoke, he activated the 3D holographic computer. A rough model of a breach appeared before everyone.
"This is our world." Hermann pointed to the top of the model. "The other side is theirs." He then pointed to the bottom.
A narrow passage connected the two ends of the model.
"This is what the breach originally looked like. Decades ago, Gipsy Danger destroyed this passage and won us a precious peace. But now the kaiju have grown wiser. Having learned their lesson, they added several protective mechanisms to the breach, preventing us from destroying it so easily again."
Hermann extended a finger and firmly pressed the small icon marked "Start" on the machine.
"The first is a motion mechanism."
On the hologram, the worlds at both ends of the model immediately began rotating clockwise. The passage, rather than remaining still as everyone had expected, began rotating along with them.
It was like a fragile ribbon. Sometimes, it stretched and lengthened because one side rotated too quickly; at other times, the unequal rotational speeds of the two worlds caused it to twist. Its connecting points also became highly unstable, sometimes large and sometimes small, while even the area around the nodes shifted.
"The rotational speeds on both sides represent the rate at which time passes in their respective worlds—we know that the greater the relative velocity, the slower time becomes." Hermann began explaining. "I don't know how those silicon-based lifeforms noticed this, but they clearly incorporated time as a parameter into the construction of the breach. That is why this new breach can move to some extent, but it is also less stable than the previous one. That is why the kaiju's appearances have no pattern at all."
Hermann's explanation was highly professional. Aside from Newt, who stubbornly pursed his lips, the other two suddenly understood.
"As for the second mechanism—it is camouflage," Hermann continued. "We still lack effective means of detecting silicon-based lifeforms. Apart from underwater sonar, color recognition, and long-range visual observation, we have almost nothing. Furthermore, in the firsthand information I obtained, there were references to certain anomalies accompanying the kaiju's appearance: unexplained overgrowth of aquatic plants, abnormal fish migrations, undersea volcanic eruptions, and so on..."
Hermann paused briefly to let his listeners absorb that.
"Just as we carried kaiju corpses to bomb their world... they also create certain conditions to allow the kaiju to enter our world more covertly." At last, Hermann reached the point. "Then they can continuously send kaiju to Earth without exposing the breach's location, until..."
"Until we're all finished," Jiang Tianzheng completed Hermann's sentence. "I understand."
Before you continue