Familiar Old Faces

Alright. Newton calmed himself down; it was time to get down to business.

The two had just come from the eaves of the Shatterdome to the hospital rooftop, then successfully entered the hospital's top floor through a ventilation shaft. Next, they needed to find Rosen's room. Before Rosen was taken away, Newton had to get all the information he needed from him.

Before them lay a long corridor. Lin Yin clearly knew the way and walked ahead without a word. Newton hurried to follow.

There was no one else in the corridor. The two walked one after the other, in silence...

But Newton couldn't stay idle. To his left were rows of windows, and he couldn't help but look out—the view outside was fully visible.

"Huh?"

Newton suddenly gasped, his eyes widening. Only now did he realize how long it had been since he'd last left the Shatterdome—the outside had completely changed.

Behind the Shatterdome, the neon-lit commercial district was gone. It had once provided all sorts of entertainment for the tens of thousands of employees within the Shatterdome. Now, those buildings seemed to have been completely taken over by the military, with green trucks coming and going incessantly below.

The high-end hotels in the distance also seemed to have deteriorated significantly. Some had their outer walls covered in climbing vines, and many birds circled noisily in the air, as if they had made the hotel rooftops their homes.

Every sign outside the window indicated that the Hong Kong of the past, with its vibrant nightlife, no longer existed.

"What's going on?" Newton couldn't help but ask Lin Yin.

"War is coming soon," Lin Yin said without turning back, merely glancing out the window with a sideways glance. "The government ordered an evacuation long ago; there aren't many people left in the coastal cities."

War? Newton always felt a bit distant from that word.

It wasn't that it was irrelevant to him. It was just that every time the pilots fought monsters to the death outside, he could only sit in the command center, anxious. Perhaps he had once wanted to be a pilot himself... but that could only be a dream for his next life.

As Newton was lost in thought, Lin Yin suddenly stopped him with a hand.

"We're here."

Rosen was bored. The burly man in black was unresponsive, merely staring at him coldly.

Under that gaze, Rosen felt like the other "Rosen" inside him was about to awaken. A long time ago, no one had dared to look at him like that. As for the gun in the man's hand, Rosen wasn't afraid at all; he had at least 100 ways to snatch it.

But in the end, Rosen suppressed the stirrings within him—even if he escaped, what then? He had nowhere else to go but here. Rather than suffer humiliation elsewhere, it would be more satisfying to just take a bullet obediently.

But just then, the situation changed.

"Tap, tap, tap." A knock on the door caught both their attention.

The soldier immediately tensed, gripping his gun and moving towards the door.

"Who?" the soldier called out.

"Me! Me! Newton Geiszler!" came the response from outside the door.

Rosen was stunned. Dr. Newton, why was he here?

"Dr. Geiszler?" The soldier had clearly heard of Newton's reputation, but he still asked cautiously, "I didn't receive any notification of your visit."

"Commander Jiang Tianzheng sent us," Lin Yin's voice came from outside—this surprised Rosen even more. Lin Yin was here to see him? Rosen wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death!

The mention of two heavyweight names made the soldier hesitate no longer. He slung his gun over his shoulder and swiftly opened the door. However, upon opening it, the soldier was met with an unexpected "gift."

First, a shadow darted into the room. The soldier might not have seen clearly, but Rosen did—

It was Lin Yin, her face stern.

Lin Yin brandished her fair left hand and, with lightning speed, delivered a swift chop to the soldier's right neck!

The blood vessels leading to his brain were struck hard. The soldier immediately felt suffocated and involuntarily stumbled back a few steps. Lin Yin then moved to his side and delivered a hard blow to his temple.

Both strikes hit vital points. The soldier's vision went black, and he fainted cleanly. Lin Yin then picked up his gun and slung it over her back.

By the time Lin Yin finished, a shaken Newton had just stepped into the room.

"Heavens, why did you knock him out?"

"Because we don't have credentials," Lin Yin's face returned to its usual calm. "If we didn't, he would be pointing a gun at us."

After their brief exchange, the two finally looked at the utterly bewildered Rosen.

"Dr. Newton, we don't have much time, let's get started."

Newton took the bag Lin Yin was holding for him and pulled out several strange-looking instruments—they looked like a few stickers and a wireless sensor.

Rosen suddenly felt a wave of fear. Dr. Newton had always tinkered with Kaiju, like a veterinarian. Now that he was tinkering with a person, it seemed quite abnormal.

"Don't be scared, Rosen," Newton forced a smile. "This is very simple. It's a miniature brainwave receiver and transmitter. You just need to keep it on."

As Newton spoke, he attached the "stickers" to Rosen's forehead and the back of his head. Then, with a gentle peel, the stickers adhered firmly to Rosen's skin. They even became transparent, making them almost impossible to spot at first glance.

It looked incredibly futuristic. Newton then tucked the sensor into Rosen's pillow.

"As long as you keep them on, I'll be able to receive your brainwaves continuously."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Rosen suddenly remembered he hadn't asked Dr. Newton what he was here for. "Brainwaves? What exactly are you here for?"

Newton then proceeded to tell Rosen all the information he had previously gathered.

"You mean... Kunlun is simulating my thoughts?" Rosen suddenly remembered a scene from his dream – back then, Kunlun's eyes were his own eyes; he felt as if he had become Kunlun.

"That's right," Dr. Newton nodded, full of excitement. "If we can truly achieve this theory, then we'll never have to worry about pilots and Sync Rate again. It's magnificent, isn't it?"

Rosen also nodded happily.

If Dr. Newton's theory were truly realized, he would be the first person to benefit. At that time, Rosen could truly prove himself.

However, a voice shattered Rosen's beautiful dream.

"Don't move."

Rosen looked up and saw a dark gun barrel pointed at him.

The soldier Lin Yin had just defeated had gotten back on his feet. He pulled out his tactical pistol and aimed it at Lin Yin, Newton, and Rosen.

Lin Yin had knocked off his helmet, finally revealing his true face: sharp eyebrows, bright eyes, and an extraordinary presence. But a long scar utterly ruined this demeanor – starting from his left ear, it crossed his nose bridge and ran all the way to his right ear, as if slicing his entire face in two.

Seeing that face, Lin Yin suddenly froze. She narrowed her eyes and murmured in disbelief, "It's you... Sun Zheng Tang?"