5 to 1

"Sun Zheng Tang? I hadn't used that name in a long time." The soldier narrowed his eyes and paused. "I'm called Black Hawk now."

From beginning to end, the soldier's expression never changed. Rosen even suspected that the injury on his face had damaged his facial nerves, leaving him with a permanently blank expression.

But Sun Zheng Tang's name was thunderous to Rosen—

Sun Zheng Tang, former pilot of the sixth-generation mech Dongting. During his service from 2032 to his retirement in 2039, he had taken part in countless battles of every scale. At least seventeen kaiju had died by his hand. Among them was Death Spirit, the first Generation 7 Kaiju to appear on Earth, which had fallen beneath Sun Zheng Tang's ion cannon. He ranked third in Huaxia and sixth in the world, a true Guardian God of Huaxia. He also held the world record for the longest continuous battle—six days and seven nights without rest. Even four years after his retirement, no one had broken that record.

During the previous kaiju tide, Dongting had fought the Generation 7 Kaiju Cheetah at the easternmost tip of the Jiaodong Peninsula. Relying on strength far beyond that of a sixth-generation mech, Cheetah had forced the front line hundreds of kilometers inland. In the end, Dongting had finally subdued it near Shidao Bay in Shandong. Yet unexpectedly, the Shidao Bay Nuclear Power Plant nearby had also been destroyed in the battle. Rumor had it that the massive radiation leak had not only contaminated vast tracts of land, but had also dragged a legendary great pilot down from his pedestal.

Rosen did not know whether that folk tale was true. After all, when Sun Zheng Tang had been at the height of his glory, Rosen had still been a student at the pilot academy.

But it did not matter. It seemed the answer would be revealed today.

"I thought you'd gone to teach at the pilot academy like Ma Naichao." Lin Yin did not seem particularly nervous despite having a gun pointed at her. She tossed the gun from her back aside and spoke calmly.

"I hate schools. I hate students even more." Sun Zheng Tang still did not lower his gun as he spoke. "Enough small talk, Lin Yin. Shouldn't you come up with an excuse for what you did earlier?"

"An excuse?" Lin Yin wore an expression as though she had already seen through everything. "Hmph. Is that necessary? Other than orders from your superior, you wouldn't listen to anyone, would you?"

"You're right," Sun Zheng Tang replied. "I'm arresting you for prison-breaking."

"Then first, you'll have to make sure your skills haven't deteriorated over the past few years."

"You can try."

Lin Yin smiled faintly, while Sun Zheng Tang stiffly tugged at the corner of his mouth.

It seemed a clash between them was unavoidable.

But someone in the room still had not figured out what was going on.

"Hey! You're Sun... Sun Zheng Tang, right?" Newt was always half a beat slow. Only after their exchange ended did he finally snap out of it.

But no one answered him anymore—because the fierce fight had already begun.

Just as Lin Yin had expected, Sun Zheng Tang was not low enough to use a pistol against an unarmed opponent—or perhaps he simply had greater faith in his own fighting ability.

He holstered his pistol, then charged forward with drumbeat-heavy footsteps!

And he clearly had no intention of going easy on her. His right fist shot straight for Lin Yin's cheek!

Lin Yin had been prepared. She sidestepped the wind-whistling punch, then used the momentum to chop at Sun Zheng Tang's right armpit with the edge of her hand—proving that she was no longer the rookie she had once been.

The force in Lin Yin's hand exceeded Sun Zheng Tang's expectations. His entire right arm instantly went numb, and Lin Yin pressed her advantage, launching wave after wave of strikes along his right side. After several heavy blows aimed especially at his head, Sun Zheng Tang saw stars—so seeing stars was not just a saying after all.

Still, Lin Yin was a woman, and her right hand was injured. Her fair left hand alone could not cause the veteran soldier too much trouble.

Once Sun Zheng Tang recovered, he immediately counterattacked. He took several blows head-on before finally seizing Lin Yin's left hand. Lin Yin had just tried to kick out with her right foot, but Sun Zheng Tang's left knee pinned it firmly in place. With a twist, he slammed Lin Yin hard into the wall, then wrapped his arms around her from behind and lifted her up!

Lin Yin was shorter than Sun Zheng Tang, so both her feet left the floor at once. His arms clamped around her chest like steel bars. Painfully, Lin Yin gasped for breath, as if all the air in her lungs had been forcibly squeezed out.

"Cough, cough..." Lin Yin coughed several times. Her left hand viciously pinched Sun Zheng Tang's left hand, while her feet tried to kick backward, but it was useless.

Before long, Lin Yin's vision began to blur. She was about to fall into shock.

Sun Zheng Tang buried his head behind Lin Yin's back and tightened his grip with both hands until he felt that she could no longer breathe. Only then did he stop. This was his proudest move—Constriction Kill. Five kaiju had died to this technique. It seemed just as effective against humans.

Lin Yin gradually lost the strength to resist. Her legs hung limply, and both arms dangled straight down. It appeared the outcome had been decided.

"Lin Yin, you lost." Sun Zheng Tang could not help feeling smug. When Lin Yin had first been selected, she had challenged him. That stubborn little girl had fought and lost again and again, never defeating Sun Zheng Tang even once.

Now, four years had passed. Sun Zheng Tang thought that although the nuclear plant's radiation had damaged his nervous system and left him unable to pilot a mech ever again, still...

"Five to zero. I won again."

But in his triumph, Sun Zheng Tang forgot one thing—

There were not just two pilots in the room.

"Hey, buddy."

A voice suddenly came from Sun Zheng Tang's left. He could not help turning toward it—

Bang!

A heavy punch followed, landing squarely on Sun Zheng Tang's face!

Blood immediately streamed from Sun Zheng Tang's nose, and his eyes throbbed with pain. There was no question about it—he would need plenty of ointment tonight.

Before Sun Zheng Tang could make out who had attacked him, another hook struck near his ear. His ears instantly rang, and all kinds of sounds from his fragmented memories began echoing inside his head.

He had no choice but to release Lin Yin. Shaking his head, he flung those sounds away. This time, he finally saw his attacker—

The guy who had just been lying sickly in bed was now launching a furious, storm-like assault against him!

This guy... seemed to be called Rosen?

While Sun Zheng Tang's thoughts wandered, Rosen threw three more punches, striking his chest and lower abdomen. The force behind them was terrifying, nearly knocking Sun Zheng Tang straight to the ground!

"You?!"

Sun Zheng Tang was furious. He spread his arms wide like a bear, determined to let Rosen experience the power of Constriction Kill as well!

Then, the situation once again exceeded his expectations—

Rosen's eyes suddenly flashed with an indescribable red light—this was no metaphor or figure of speech. Sun Zheng Tang was certain it was some kind of unknown crimson glow.

Then, as though he had already foreseen Sun Zheng Tang's attack path, Rosen braced himself on Sun Zheng Tang's shoulders and unexpectedly leaped up!

"What—"

Before the stunned Sun Zheng Tang could close his arms, Rosen had already flipped over his head like a swallow.

It's over, Sun Zheng Tang thought. His skill is far beyond what I imagined.

Then an irresistible force came from behind—by the time Sun Zheng Tang came to his senses, his body had already been hurled high into the air and sent headfirst into the wall!

Boom!

Rosen's voice came afterward.

"Now, it's five to one."