Four-Pronged Offensive

--3:47 a.m., June 18, 2043--

Following Jiang Tianzheng's orders, the messenger dialed Newt's number. The Gehrs Laboratory, piled high with kaiju parts, immediately erupted with ringing.

But no one was destined to answer—

Because Newt had already headed for the Command Center three minutes earlier.

The entire Shatterdome had become exceptionally lively because of the kaiju invasion. Trainees living on the second level poured into the main hall, and even the residents of the third level—old-timers like Newt—came rushing down. Every one of them craned their necks in anticipation, hoping to obtain the data they wanted from this battle.

"Coming through! Make way!" Newt clutched the instrument in his hands tightly against his shoulders as he shoved forward through the crowded corridor. "Hey, don't you people know to respect your elders?!"

Actually, Newt had not wanted to go to the Command Center to join the excitement.

My experiment is far more important right now... he thought. Besides, nothing will happen. Other than Shandong being slightly damaged, every Jaeger is in excellent combat readiness. Against three minor kaiju, wouldn't eleven Jaegers be more than enough?

Just as Newt turned a corner, a young man sprinting ahead nearly ran him over. After bowing slightly in apology, the young man continued running forward in panic, shouting something as he went.

"Dongting is down! Dongting is down!"

The crowd immediately grew tense.

One had gone down?

Several reactions instantly surged through Newt's mind.

One was simple: No way, right?

The others were far more complicated—curiosity, confusion, and anxiety. All three were there. He was curious which of Raptor, Goshawk, and Viper had destroyed Dongting. He had never gotten a proper look at any of those three kaiju; he had been busy with his experiments these past few days.

What puzzled him was why the three kaiju had headed straight for Hong Kong, just as Jiang Tianzheng had feared. Their destination could have been any number of places. Hong Kong had already been invaded many times, and its population was nowhere near as dense as before. They could have strutted through India, Malaysia, Australia, or even Singapore, which they had failed to invade last time. Yet they had chosen Hong Kong. Perhaps this surprise attack carried some other meaning.

What worried Newt was that the opportunity to counterattack the Breach might have run into trouble. How long had the five Jaegers been deployed? One had already been destroyed so quickly? The kaiju must have been incredibly powerful.

Just as Newt's thoughts ran wild, the old Nokia in his pocket suddenly rang. He was quite surprised—the phone was strictly for work, and apart from a few colleagues, no one even knew its number.

Newt hurriedly pulled out his phone. The first thing he heard was Rosen's anxious voice.

"Doctor!" Rosen shouted. "I can't get through to the Command Center, so I could only call you. We have a new situation!"

"Ah, Rosen." Before Newt could even understand why Rosen was so worried, he instinctively broke into a grin. "I've nearly collected all your data. Kunlun is about to be activated too, and my hypothesis will soon be proven. Don't worry, I—"

While Newt rambled on, Rosen immediately shouted through the phone, "This isn't the time for that! Generation Eight!!"

"Generation Eight?" Newt repeated in confusion.

"A Generation Eight kaiju, in Victoria Harbour!"

"Huh?"

At that moment, Newt stepped into the Command Center—

On the Command Center's giant screen, Viper 2 was roaring as it pounced toward Changbai.

Newt froze, his mouth falling open as his phone slipped from his hand onto the floor. At last, he understood what Rosen meant by "Generation Eight."

"Oh..." Newt stared in stunned disbelief. "My God."

"Deploy Tianshan, Luoyang, and Helan immediately!" Jiang Tianzheng's furious roar from the center of the Command Center temporarily pulled Newt out of his shock. "Destroy the kaiju as soon as possible!"

"Yes!" Three firm responses immediately sounded through the communicator.

Newt hurried toward Jiang Tianzheng. He noticed that Hermann had arrived as well and was standing beside Jiang Tianzheng and Lin Yin. The group was still discussing something.

"The kaiju have evolved again," Hermann sighed. Despite the anxiety in his voice, there was a trace of admiration. "Perhaps they have sacrificed greater size and strength in favor of evolving some particular ability."

"Rapid regeneration?" Jiang Tianzheng remained silent while Lin Yin guessed from beside him.

"I don't know..." Hermann fell speechless. "Though I'm ashamed to admit it, that isn't my field of study..."

Seeing this, Newt immediately squeezed into the group.

"It's not some kind of earthworm-like ability or rapid regeneration," Newt said, pushing up his glasses. "I believe the kaiju's second brain is at work."

Seeing Jiang Tianzheng about to ask a question, Newt immediately continued explaining.

"Like dinosaurs, it's too large. Its body needs two brains working in sync just to move, much like Jaegers before Generation Five... But a second brain usually only controls movement and possesses no intelligence whatsoever... Yet now, as Hermann said, they have evolved again."

The kaiju evolved at terrifying speed. Their DNA chains stacked, accumulated, and expanded like building blocks, growing bigger and stronger until they finally took flight.

As he spoke, Newt thought, Can humanity really remain ahead in this war of "evolution"?

"What do we need to do to destroy it?" Jiang Tianzheng asked darkly. At the same time, he turned on the communicator's microphone so Newt's answer could reach every Jaeger pilot.

"I think it's simple!" No matter how bleak the future seemed, Newt always stood on humanity's side. He roared into the microphone, "Everyone, cut it in half again! I refuse to believe Viper has four brains!" Newt added, "And watch out for its strong acid! That should be its primary method of attack!"

"Enough!" Jiang Tianzheng snatched the microphone away. "You've heard enough now. Warriors, figure out a way to kill it!"

On the giant screen, the sky-blue Tianshan, 150 meters tall and carrying the Magnetic Storm Chain Halberd—Fangtian—on its back, was the first to slide out through the No. 1 seaward gate. After hearing Newt's report, Su Luoxia said nothing. He merely raised his right hand and gave the Command Center behind him a thumbs-up before charging toward Victoria Harbour.

But Tianshan stopped after rushing only a few dozen meters.

He shifted slightly to the left, and his right hand unexpectedly reached for Fangtian's long haft on his back.

"What's going on?" Jiang Tianzheng asked through the communicator.

"Boss... looks like you took this too simply." Su Luoxia's wary voice came back. "I've barely left the base, and the newly installed life detector is already going off."

"What did you—"

Before Jiang Tianzheng could finish—almost as if to verify Su Luoxia's words—everyone heard a tremendous bang, and the entire Shatterdome base shook!

Dust showered down from the ceiling, and a rivet popped free from an overhead beam, falling through the crowd and striking the floor.

Everyone looked up in confusion. Only Newt, Lin Yin, and Jiang Tianzheng continued staring at the giant screen—now showing the feed from Tianshan's cockpit.

Tianshan leaped off the track and turned to look behind him.

For some reason, more than half the massive lights atop the base had gone out. Even the protruding lotus-shaped suspended gate was covered in cracks—yet there clearly was no kaiju there.

But the detector did not lie. According to its readings, a kaiju was currently positioned directly above the Shatterdome.

Su Luoxia acted decisively. He drew Fangtian and gave it a savage swing. The slender Magnetic Storm Chain Halberd immediately unfolded in his hands. Then Tianshan spun the weapon in a flourish, driving the surrounding seawater back as threads of magnetic storm sparks coiled around its body.

The entire sequence was deeply provocative, and the kaiju finally revealed itself—

It had not been absent. It had simply been invisible to the naked eye.

A gigantic reptilian kaiju, two hundred meters long, appeared atop the Shatterdome. It exhaled clouds of vapor as it stepped on the upper level—now the Shatterdome truly had become a shattered dome.

Everyone recognized the kaiju at a glance—its slender body, feet equipped with sucker-like organs, scales covering its entire body, two protruding eyes on either side of its long face, and a tongue in its mouth that looked exceedingly sticky.

A chameleon. Except this was a giant silicon-based chameleon.

"Codename: Gecko." Jiang Tianzheng could no longer remain seated.

"This is a four-pronged offensive."