A Sudden Turn for the Worse

The fierce battle between Changbai and "Viper" continued, and the world's attention shifted once more to "Gecko" above the Hong Kong Shatterdome.

"Gecko's" mouth was filled with azure poisonous mist. It seemed to have taken the people inside the Shatterdome hostage. Its front claws, each weighing thousands of tons, shifted slightly, and the top of the Shatterdome immediately crumbled, gaining several more cracks!

"Tch..." Su Luoxia's faintly nasal tongue-click came through the communicator. He seemed to be considering how to get that giant thing into the sea.

Tianshan did not dare make any rash moves. Luoyang and Helan, who had just emerged from Sea Gateways No. 2 and No. 3, were the same. They hid behind the arched sea gateways and silently waited for the chance to counterattack.

At this moment, Rosen was still completely in the dark. He and Sun Zheng Tang had only felt the dull boom from a minute ago. Other than that, he knew nothing.

In fact... Gecko's long, slender tail had dragged right onto the rooftop of the hospital behind the Shatterdome—directly above Rosen.

The live broadcast of "Real-Time Battle Report" continued on the television. The news crew's small helicopter had returned near the Hong Kong Shatterdome base—only then did Rosen realize that he was in danger.

"Hello, everyone. This is still Fang Xia bringing you the live broadcast." The female reporter sat at the edge of the helicopter's cabin, with open air hundreds of meters below her. The fierce wind whipped her long hair about, but she seemed not to care. With an anxious expression, she pointed at Gecko outside the aircraft and introduced it. "Just moments ago, another kaiju invaded Hong Kong, codenamed 'Gecko.' It is currently unknown how it crossed the ten-kilometer Miracle Line and reached the Shatterdome base."

As the camera turned, Tianshan, sky-blue in color, stood several hundred meters in front of Gecko, facing it down. Rosen also caught sight of Luoyang and Helan, their heads faintly visible—they were positioned beneath Gecko's forelimbs.

Both sides were poised for battle, and a vicious fight could break out at any moment.

"According to the Shatterdome's diplomatic department, 'Raptor' has been destroyed by Huangshan, 'Viper' has been severely injured by Changbai, and as for 'Goshawk,' Anshan has driven it out of the country." Host Fang Xia seemed afraid the howling wind would drown out her voice, so she shouted at the top of her lungs. "The above information is still being confirmed. The Chinese Navy missile destroyers Zhengzhou and Haikou have already headed toward the ten-kilometer Miracle Line. Our station's reporter accompanying the forces will continue reporting on the situation there later... In short, Gecko is likely the only kaiju remaining from this four-pronged assault. Please do not change the channel. We will broadcast this ultimate battle live from start to finish. Now, let us give the stage to Tianshan, as blue as the sky..."

The host kept babbling, but Rosen did not take in a single one of her commercial catchphrases.

Damn it... Rosen looked up, so anxious he was nearly breaking down.

Three mechas had lost their combat capability. Gecko was now only one step away from him, yet all he could do was sit here. To him, that felt even worse than failing a mock exam.

Sun Zheng Tang's reaction was even more extreme than Rosen's. He narrowed his eyes and carefully ran his hand over the Type 95 Assault Rifle in his grip. Ignoring his neck injury, he ran and slid his way toward the main entrance.

"What are you trying to do?!" Rosen immediately asked.

"I can't just sit here!" Sun Zheng Tang said indignantly. "I didn't join the army to guard prisoners!" Then he shook the rifle in his hand. "And I've got plenty of bullets in this thing!"

Sun Zheng Tang immediately broke into a run. Rosen had no choice; after taking one last look at the news, he hurried after him.

In the news footage, the two sides, which had remained locked in a standoff, finally could not hold back any longer—under Jiang Tianzheng's command, Tianshan opened fire on Gecko!

Tianshan was also among the second batch of Generation 7 heavy mechas. Yet while retaining formidable close-combat capabilities, it possessed incomparably powerful long-range firepower as well—a mobile fortress was exactly what it was!

"Ready—!"

Su Luoxia raised an arm and shouted. The armor on Tianshan's shoulders immediately shifted forward—only then did people discover that behind both its left and right sides were vertical structures pointing downward. They were actually two twin-mounted 460mm heavy cannons.

The world's largest battleship, Yamato, had used main guns of this caliber as well. But modern technology had long since advanced beyond comparison.

Now, they were raised upward. Their enormous barrels, originally aimed at the sky, suddenly dropped and locked onto the area directly in front of Tianshan!

"Fire!!"

Su Luoxia had never expected a single salvo to inflict much damage on Gecko.

He only wanted to force Gecko down from the Shatterdome so he could fight without restraint.

After four shells with a total weight of six tons streaked from the barrels, Tianshan did not even check whether they had hit. It merely stepped forward several paces, raised its arm, and swept Fang Tian toward Gecko's position!

The Magnetic Storm Chain Halberd tore through the air like a silver waterfall, carrying overwhelming force—this was Su Luoxia's signature killing move!

Gecko neither dodged nor evaded, as though it did not consider Tianshan worthy of notice at all.

After taking the first barrage head-on, it showed no sign of toppling. Then Fang Tian arrived in a violent sweep, leaving a horrifying wound on Gecko's left side so deep that bone was visible—but that was all.

Gecko seemed utterly unconcerned by Fang Tian's devastating strike—it did not even move.

"Huh?!" Su Luoxia was completely baffled.

Next—it was Gecko's turn.

Gecko did indeed resemble a chameleon, except that in addition to the four enormous suction cups on each forefoot, several sharp bone spurs protruded from its lower forelimbs. Its elbows also bore protrusions, currently braced high behind it. Its weight was still unknown, but judging from the damage to the Shatterdome, it had to be at least ten thousand tons.

At that moment, Gecko suddenly kicked off with its hind legs, driving its massive forelimbs straight into Tianshan!

Tianshan could not dodge in time and was slammed directly onto the tracks of Passage No. 1. The suction cups on Gecko's forelimbs clung tightly to Tianshan's chest, leaving it unable to move. The enormous pressure instantly bent and warped the sea-access tracks beneath them.

"Damn!" The sight caught Su Luoxia completely off guard. Gecko's impact threw him from side to side on the motion platform. The violent shock directly severed the Pons neural bridge system between Tianshan and Su Luoxia. Fortunately, Su Luoxia swiftly activated the emergency channel, and their Neural Link was quickly restored.

But those few seconds of vulnerability caused Tianshan's situation to take a sudden turn for the worse.

Gecko extended its wet, dripping tongue, then tightly wrapped it around Tianshan's head!

Just as Newt had predicted, that tongue was filled with acidic substances. Tianshan's outermost layer of head armor melted into liquid in the blink of an eye. Before long, Su Luoxia in the cockpit beneath it would surely be dead!

"Luoyang! Helan! Move out immediately!" Jiang Tianzheng opened the all-channel broadcast and roared into the communicator. "Gecko is a Generation 8 Kaiju! Every mecha that can still move, deploy at once!!!"