Tide of Flames

--- June 16, 2043, 8:30 AM——

Captain Jiang Tianzheng always had a knack for choosing representative codenames. Within an hour of their creation, 'Dragon' and 'Eagle' were already making headlines, spreading like wildfire through the media.

Every employee at the Shatterdome had come to know these two Kaiju: one shaped like a crocodile, the other like a golden eagle. Right now, under the 'watch' of numerous aircraft, warships, and satellites, they were speeding towards the South China Sea.

On the real-time feed, Dragon, 230 meters long and weighing 20,000 tons, surged through the Pacific waves. The splashes it created formed super-waves over 10 meters high. From above, the scene resembled the legendary battleship Yamato, reborn.

It moved silently, relentlessly forward, like a phantom assassin.

The other Kaiju, Eagle, was clearly more restless. At 180 meters long, it circled in the air, emitting constant shrieks that warned nearby fighter jets not to approach. Three jets had already fallen victim to it. The remaining fighters, having exhausted their ammunition, had either retreated or were cautiously trailing several kilometers behind. Simultaneously, several missile destroyers from Pacific Rim nations hung back on either side of the Kaiju, none daring to make a move.

Perhaps there would be a third, a fourth… but no one felt fear. Everyone believed their faith was far stronger than their enemy's.

Captain Jiang Tianzheng's orders came one after another. The Kaiju would reach the South China Sea within 48 hours, and by 72 hours at the latest, they would be at the southern waters of Hong Kong. By then, even if the enemy didn't attack, Hong Kong's Jaeger pilots would have to sally forth to meet them. Jiang Tianzheng also had to counterattack the wormhole on schedule, making the prompt repair of 'Kunlun' and 'Shandong' exceptionally important.

Repairing Shandong was no easy feat. Its entire right arm's power system had been destroyed by Kunlun, even damaging the silicon-based compound skeleton beneath. Furthermore, the 8th generation Jaegers were new, and spare parts were scarce, making repairs quite difficult.

Fortunately, Kunlun wasn't as heavily damaged. Primarily, several internal torque converters were impaired. Also, this was its first combat deployment, and all spare parts were readily available. Over 200 workers managed to complete the major repairs on Kunlun in just 36 hours.

Now, gleaming in its silver paint, it stood majestically in the sixth Jaeger hangar, as good as new.

Good news continued to pour in. At the Hong Kong Shatterdome, all eleven Jaegers, except for Shandong, were battle-ready.

'Kunlun', 'Anshan', 'Changbai', 'Taihang', 'Huangshan', 'FL', 'Dongting', 'Luoyang', 'Helan', 'Tianshan', 'Hengduan'.

The colorful Jaeger warriors gathered, eager to engage in a climactic duel of steel and flesh with the Kaiju that dared to challenge them.

However, there was also bad news.

--- June 17, 2043, 3:30 PM——

The reconnaissance units tracking the Kaiju transmitted intelligence, confirming the existence of a third monster—a black 'Viper' about 150 meters long, its codename.

It had no limbs, moving like a snake by wriggling its body with incredible speed.

This was a three-pronged assault. Just as Jiang Tianzheng had predicted, the three Kaiju bypassed the Bashi Channel, ignoring Taiwan and the Philippines, and headed straight for Hong Kong!

Upon the announcement that they would sortie, the atmosphere in the entire Shatterdome intensified. People rallied, encouraging each other. The maintenance crews began working overtime, performing pre-battle checks on the Jaegers. Most did so voluntarily—some were so excited they hadn't slept all night.

The pilots were no different.

Lin Yin felt a pang of resentment. With her right hand injured, neither she nor 'Shandong' could sortie.

"Rosen…"

Lin Yin's expression darkened as she repeatedly muttered the name. The thought of him made her grit her teeth. Ever since this guy joined Raleigh Beckett's tutelage, he'd been nothing but trouble. He and Sethi, relying on their talent, were arrogant and constantly caused problems.

And three years ago, he'd crossed her. Now, he was the culprit behind her injured right hand—Lin Yin harbored no good feelings towards him.

Lin Yin's father had been an Air Force Captain. When he was alive, he had told Lin Yin: the most important things for a soldier were obedience to orders, followed by discipline. A group of disciplined soldiers would form an invincible army; soldiers without discipline, no matter how numerous, would only be a mob.

Based on Rosen and Sethi's character, they didn't deserve to be pilots. Lin Yin thought, even if Rosen had changed… he still didn't deserve it.

"Sister, what's wrong?"

Only then did Angie's worried voice finally pull Lin Yin back from her thoughts.

At that moment, they were in the middle of a simulated combat, and Lin Yin had been spacing out.

"Nothing, nothing…" Lin Yin adjusted her state slightly. "Just got a little distracted."

"Distracted?" Angie suddenly laughed. "Sister gets distracted too? That's rare."

Looking at that smile, Lin Yin felt a sudden wave of nostalgia—she used to be like this, always using a smile to hide her inner tension. She could sense a familiar aura emanating from Angie: nervousness, unease, fear, full of suspicion and conflict. And Angie was only 15. She had only received professional pilot training and knew nothing else. Even though she had eliminated three Kaiju, these effects wouldn't disappear overnight. Lin Yin knew this all too well.

"Are you scared?" Lin Yin turned to Angie, offering a reassuring smile—she had never smiled like that at anyone else before.

Upon seeing it, Angie's smile melted away like ice and snow. Tears welled up in her eyes, and her body trembled slightly.

"Sister… will I… will I die? Like my mom and dad?" Angie choked out, pausing. "I want to avenge them… but every time before going into battle… I'm so scared. I'm afraid I won't come back…"

Sigh. Lin Yin sighed inwardly. Angie was too young. Although she possessed the talent to save the world, placing such a burden on a 15-year-old girl was hardly humane.

"Silly, don't forget your precious 'Anshan' will protect you." Lin Yin couldn't help but step off the simulator and pinch Angie's cheek. "And me, and Marshal Jiang Tianzheng, and those unreliable big brothers, maybe even…"

Lin Yin paused playfully here, then continued with a teasing expression, "Maybe even your Prince Charming? Who could that be?"

The little girl's reaction was predictably characteristic. Angie's face flushed crimson, all the way to her ears. She raised her hands, trying to deny it repeatedly.

But Lin Yin put on an "I know" expression and patted Angie's head. Angie's incoherent defenses immediately quieted down as if the volume had been turned down. In the end, she just blushed and remained silent.

"Sister…" Angie suddenly asked timidly, "Do you have someone you like?"

"Me?" Lin Yin was a little surprised. She hadn't expected Angie to ask such a question. Looking down, she saw Angie gazing at her expectantly, seemingly waiting for her answer.

"Maybe," Lin Yin said with a smile, straightforwardly. "But he hasn't appeared for a year."

"Then who is it?"

"It's you, silly."

"I haven't disappeared for a year… So, Sister, you're teasing me again!"

The two dropped their simulation battle and started playfully wrestling, the previously heavy and tense atmosphere dissipating with it…

Meanwhile, the other pilots were also making their own preparations.

Training, meditation, simulation battles, reading newspapers, researching Kaiju, sleeping soundly…

In short, all of it was for one purpose.

Only one thought remained in everyone's minds.

—June 18, 2043, 3:35 AM—

The Tide of Flames was about to arrive.