Quadruple Offensive

——June 18, 2043, 3:47 AM——

Following Jiang Tianzheng's orders, the orderly dialed Newt's number. The laboratory, piled high with Kaiju parts, was suddenly filled with the sound of a ringing phone.

However, no one was destined to answer it—

Because just three minutes prior, Newt had already set off for the command center.

The entire Shatterdome had become incredibly lively due to the Kaiju invasion. The cadets living on the second floor rushed to the main hall, and even the residents of the third floor—the old-timers like Newt—came down. They all craned their necks, eager to obtain the data they desired from this battle.

"Excuse me, excuse me! Please let me through!" Newt's shoulders were pressed tightly against the instrument in his hands as he squeezed through the crowded passageway. "Hey, I say, don't you understand respecting elders and cherishing the young?!"

Actually, Newt wasn't particularly keen on joining the commotion at the command center.

My current experiment is far more important... he thought. It'll be fine anyway. Aside from Shandong sustaining minor injuries, all Jaegers are in good combat readiness. Dealing with three small Kaiju, eleven Jaegers should be a piece of cake, more than enough?

Just as Newt rounded a corner, a young man sprinting forward nearly knocked him over. After a slight bow of apology, the young man continued to run forward with a panicked expression, shouting something.

"Dongting is down! Dongting is down!"

The atmosphere in the crowd instantly became tense.

One is down?

Several reactions immediately stirred within Newt.

One was simple: No way?

The others were more complex: curiosity, confusion, and anxiety—all three. He was very curious which of the three Kaiju, Dragon, Eagle, or Viper, had destroyed Dongting. Newt hadn't gotten a good look at the appearance of these three Kaiju; he had been busy with his own experiments just a few days ago.

He was confused as to why the three Kaiju, just as Jiang Tianzheng had worried, were heading straight for Hong Kong. They could have chosen many other destinations. Hong Kong had been invaded many times already, and its population was far less dense than before. They could have easily shown off in India, Malaysia, Australia, or even Singapore, which they hadn't successfully invaded last time. Yet, they chose Hong Kong. Perhaps this sudden attack held some other meaning.

Newt was anxious that the opportunity for a counterattack on the wormhole might be obstructed. How long had it been since the five Jaegers were deployed? One was destroyed so quickly? The Kaiju must be incredibly powerful.

As Newt was lost in thought, his old Nokia phone in his pocket suddenly rang—he was quite surprised by this. This phone was strictly for work, and besides a few colleagues, no one else would know this number.

Newt fumbled for his phone, and the first thing he heard was Rosen's anxious voice.

"Doctor!" Rosen shouted. "I can't get through to the command center, so I had to find you. We have a new situation!"

"Ah, so it's Rosen," Newt said with an unconscious smile before he could even process the reason for Rosen's anxiety. "I've collected most of your data. Kunlun is also about to be ready for activation. My hypothesis is about to yield results. Don't worry, I..."

Just as Newt was rambling on, Rosen immediately shouted into the phone, "Now is not the time! Generation 8!!"

"Generation 8?" Newt repeated, confused.

"The eighth-generation Kaiju, right in Victoria Harbour!"

"What?"

At that moment, Newt happened to step into the command center—

On the command center's giant screen, the image of Viper 2 roaring and lunging at Changbai immediately caught Newt's eye.

Newt stopped in his tracks, his mouth agape, and his phone slipped to the floor. Now, he finally understood what "Generation 8" meant in Rosen's words.

"Oh..." Newt stammered, stunned. "My God."

"'Tianshan,' 'Luoyang,' 'Helan,' deploy immediately!" In the center of the command center, Jiang Tianzheng's furious roar temporarily pulled Newt back from his shock. "Eliminate the Kaiju as quickly as possible!"

"Yes!" came the firm response from three pilots through the communicator.

Then, Newt hurried over to Jiang Tianzheng—he noticed Hermann had also arrived and was standing next to Jiang Tianzheng and Lin Yin. The three of them were discussing something.

"The Kaiju have evolved again," Hermann sighed, his anxious voice tinged with a certain admiration. "They may have abandoned larger size and greater strength, evolving instead towards certain abilities."

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

"I don't know..." Hermann was speechless. "Although I'm ashamed, this isn't my research topic..."

Seeing this, Newt immediately pushed his way into the crowd.

"It's nothing like 'earthworms' or 'rapid regeneration'," Newt said, adjusting his glasses. "I believe it's the Kaiju's 'second brain' at work."

Seeing Jiang Tianzheng about to ask a question, Newt quickly continued his explanation.

"Like dinosaurs, they were too large and required two brains to operate in sync to move their bodies, similar to Jaeger pilots from five generations ago... However, a second brain usually only controls movement and has no intelligence whatsoever... But now, as Hermann said, they have evolved again."

The Kaiju evolved at an astonishing speed, their DNA molecular chains stacking up like building blocks, accumulating, growing stronger, and finally dancing gracefully.

As Newt spoke, he wondered if humanity could truly maintain its leading position in this "evolutionary" war.

"What needs to be done to destroy it?" Jiang Tianzheng asked, his face grim. He simultaneously turned on the communicator's microphone, allowing Newt's answer to be relayed to every Jaeger pilot.

"I think it's very simple!" No matter how bleak the future, Newt always stood on humanity's side. So he roared into the microphone, "Everyone, cut it in half again! I don't believe 'Viper' has four brains!" Newt added, "Also, watch out for its strong acid! That should be its primary means of attack!"

"Alright!" Jiang Tianzheng snatched the microphone. "We've heard enough. Warriors, figure out how to take it down!"

On the giant screen, the sky-blue 'Tianshan,' standing 150 meters tall and equipped with the 'Storm Chain Halberd - Fang Tian,' was the first to slide out of the No. 1 Sea Gate. Su Lixia Bing, upon hearing Newt's report, said nothing. He simply raised his right hand, gave a thumbs-up to the command center behind him, and then charged towards Victoria Harbour.

However, Tianshan stopped only a few dozen meters after charging out.

He moved slightly to the left, and his right hand reached for the long handle of the 'Fang Tian' on his back.

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

"Boss... it seems you've underestimated the situation," Su Lixia's voice, laced with caution, came back. "I've barely left the base and my newly installed 'bio-detector' is already going off."

"What are you tal—"

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

Dust rained down from the ceiling, a rivet popped out from the beam overhead, shot through the crowd, and landed on the ground.

Everyone couldn't help but look up with puzzled expressions. Only Newt, Lin Yin, and Jiang Tianzheng kept their eyes on the main screen—which now displayed the feed from the Tianshan's cockpit.

Tianshan leaped off the orbit, turned, and looked back.

Most of the base's top floodlights had inexplicably gone out, and even the prominent lotus-shaped aerial gate was covered in cracks—but there were no Kaiju present.

However, the detector wouldn't lie. According to the readings, a Kaiju was currently located directly above the Shatterdome.

Su Lixia was direct. He drew 'Fang Tian' and swung it sharply, the slender Storm Chain Halberd instantly forming in his hand. Then, Tianshan performed a flurry of weapon maneuvers, causing the surrounding seawater to recede. Wisps of magnetic storm sparks coiled and crackled around Tianshan.

This series of actions was highly provocative, and the Kaiju finally revealed its head—

It wasn't that it didn't exist, merely that it was invisible to the naked eye.

A 200-meter-long, giant reptilian Kaiju appeared on the roof of the Shatterdome. It spewed clouds, its feet crushing the top floor—the Shatterdome had truly become a shattered dome.

Everyone recognized the Kaiju at a glance—its slender body, feet with suction-cup-like organs, scales covering its entire body, two bulging eyes on the sides of its long face, and a tongue that looked incredibly sticky in its mouth.

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

"Codename: 'Gecko'," Jiang Tianzheng couldn't sit still.

"This is a quadruple offensive."