Awakening, Waiting, and Undercurrents

--June 16, 2043, 6:00 AM--

A morning sun slowly rose from the horizon. It was time to get up.

Sun Zheng Tang's internal biological clock woke him up right on time. He abruptly opened his eyes, sunlight streaming into the room, illuminating it brightly.

He propped himself up with his hands, about to sit up—

But a sharp pain in his neck made even this iron-willed strongman gasp.

"Hiss—"

Sun Zheng Tang quickly reached for his neck. Only then did he realize it was heavily cast and fitted with a brace. He must have been seriously injured.

"What is this..."

Seeing his own somewhat comical reflection in the window glass beside him, Sun Zheng Tang suddenly remembered—

I was defeated by Rosen?

Sun Zheng Tang frowned, feeling the intense pain in his neck as he clicked his tongue in disbelief.

Damn, he really went hard. Sun Zheng Tang felt a surge of anger, but ultimately sighed with a hint of resignation. Ah, the Yangtze's waves push the waves before them. My old bones should probably retire.

Right, and I rashly agreed to Rosen's terms. Sun Zheng Tang didn't know what Newton, Lin Yin, and Rosen were plotting. Thinking pessimistically, maybe they planned to help Rosen escape. Thinking optimistically, maybe they just wanted to see Rosen. Either way, it definitely wasn't good.

"Time to get to work." Sun Zheng Tang steadied his head and leaped off the bed.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Senior Sun, you're awake?"

"?" Hearing this, Sun Zheng Tang couldn't help but look up.

Rosen was lying on the hospital bed opposite him, smiling at him. His face was still bruised and battered, likely Sun Zheng Tang's handiwork.

"Why are you still here?" Sun Zheng Tang asked, surprised. "You could have just left while I was unconscious."

"No, I never intended to escape from the start," Rosen said with a smile. "I just couldn't stand by and watch Dr. Newton and Lin Yin get implicated because of me."

"Afraid they'd be captured by me?" Sun Zheng Tang asked.

"Exactly. That's why I challenged you, Senior," Rosen replied, adding, "I hope you can forgive me for that."

Sun Zheng Tang felt a bit awkward. He hadn't expected that as the senior, he hadn't thought things through as much as this kid.

To change the subject, Sun Zheng Tang cleared his throat and continued, "Why did Dr. Newton and Lin Yin come to see you behind Marshal Jiang's back?"

"Just to verify a certain hypothesis of Dr. Newton's." Rosen's smile vanished. He paused. "Dr. Newton said that for the Seventh Generation Jaeger—Kunlun—he simulated my brainwaves and is trying to establish some kind of synaptic link with me."

"What? A synaptic link?"

Sun Zheng Tang was stunned at first, then almost felt like laughing.

He had piloted Jaegers for so many years and had never heard of the term "synaptic link." Synaptic Link did exist, but it only happened while the pilot was actively piloting the Jaeger. Once the connection was severed, the pilot had no way to maintain it. Sun Zheng Tang had seen his share of geniuses, like Xiao Huang of 'Shanghai', Lin Yin of 'Shandong', Angie Beckett of 'Anshan', not to mention a few who had passed away. Even among these top-tier pilots, there had never been a precedent. This made the "synaptic link" Rosen spoke of sound like a pipe dream.

There were rumors in the past that staff in the Jaeger hangars had witnessed paranormal phenomena. They claimed Jaegers could adjust their stances and twitch their bodies without a pilot in the cockpit and with all power systems shut down. There was even an explanation among pilots: when you dream of your partner, your partner can sense your dream and move with you.

But rumors were just rumors. Maybe Rosen believed in that kind of thing, but Sun Zheng Tang didn't. At least, he had never seen it himself.

And now, the pilot of 'Dongting' was Tang Yi. Who knew if that scrawny kid could handle his old partner—Thinking of this, Sun Zheng Tang suddenly felt a faint sense of displeasure. Perhaps it was jealousy, perhaps betrayal. Who knew?

Whatever it was, it made Sun Zheng Tang unhappy.

"Are you kidding me?" Sun Zheng Tang chuckled. "How come I've never heard of a 'synaptic link' between a person and a Jaeger?"

"No, Senior, you have seen it," Rosen replied.

As he spoke, Rosen's expression turned stern. Sun Zheng Tang had no idea what Rosen was up to—and then, the situation changed!

Rosen's normal black pupils suddenly flashed with a crimson hue. The red was so vivid, as if a flame was burning fiercely in his eyes!

"What?!"

The sight was all too familiar to Sun Zheng Tang. This was the third time it had appeared before him. The tall, imposing Sun Zheng Tang stumbled back like a startled bird, his face full of tension.

"This is an anomaly that recently appeared in me," Rosen said, blinking. His expression relaxed, and the two fiery orbs extinguished. "It's never happened before."

"So... what will happen?" Sun Zheng Tang asked, clearing his throat cautiously.

"That remains to be seen," Rosen shook his head. "Dr. Newton has taken my brainwave data. But we'll have to wait until the next time Kunlun is activated. After Dr. Newton collects the samples and compares them, he'll be able to give us the results."

Next time Kunlun is activated? When will that be? Sun Zheng Tang couldn't help but wonder. Rosen doesn't seem to know that he'll be escorted to BJ for a public trial in a month. Will he even live to see the next activation?

But looking at Rosen's expectant expression...

Sun Zheng Tang decided it was best not to ruin it.

"So, all we can do now is wait."

"That's right."

Marshal Jiang was leading several technical teams, beginning the repair of the control center. The control center's operational terminals had suffered significant damage during the previous day's chaos. Several main units were burnt out, some were mangled by the magnetic storm, and many junk programs generated during the 'Kunlun-Rosen' Synaptic Link hadn't been cleared. In short, the top priority in the Shatterdome now was this. Who knew when the Kaiju swarm would descend upon humanity, so everyone was racing against time, the sooner the better.

After a period of collaborative effort, the control console finally powered up again. Lights flickered on one by one, symbolizing the big machine's return to operation.

Jiang Tianzheng had just opened his operation terminal and completed his initial check when new messages arrived.

"Beep—beep—"

The system received an alert from the waters near the Solomon Islands.

Jiang Tianzheng immediately clicked on the message to view it. Inside was a video shot by an ocean liner. In the footage, the once calm sea surface suddenly became turbulent, with large amounts of bubbles erupting from the water and countless dead fish floating to the surface afterward. From a distance, the entire sea area looked as if it were boiling.

The person filming was clearly anxious, chattering about something. Shortly after, the ocean liner immediately turned back—but it was already too late.

Jiang Tianzheng could only watch as the screen suddenly became abnormally dark, as if something had blocked the sun—then the video ended amidst screams.

The command center fell silent. The technicians stared at the screen, dumbfounded. Only Jiang Tianzheng's face darkened grimly.

There was no doubt, this could only have been done by a Kaiju.

"Runner!" Jiang Tianzheng commanded, "Sound the alarm immediately, and the base will enter combat readiness!"