United

--4:10 a.m., June 18, 2043--

Even so, Sun Zheng Tang knew full well that Rosen was under immense pressure right now.

Rosen was facing a Generation 8 Kaiju. Kunlun was inferior in every aspect, and even if Sun Zheng Tang himself were piloting it, he would not have been confident of winning—let alone Rosen. If he remembered correctly, this was Rosen's first time piloting a mech against a kaiju.

Not long after the Chinook helicopter climbed higher, the dangerous back-and-forth between Kunlun and "Gecko" entered Sun Zheng Tang's sight. The two had been locked in combat for a long time, neither able to gain the upper hand. Kunlun was the first to seize an opening, smashing its elbow into Gecko's spine. A cluster of spines on the monster's back immediately snapped off, but Gecko retaliated in kind. Several claws suddenly sprang from the fronts of the suction cups on its feet. With a sweep of its forelimb, sparks flew from Kunlun's thigh armor, leaving several deep scratches.

What the hell is this thing? Sun Zheng Tang clicked his tongue inwardly. This Gecko looked like a chameleon, a dog, and even a dinosaur, while possessing the traits and abilities of multiple creatures at once. Wasn't this Generation 8 Kaiju a little too terrifying?

He grew even more worried for Rosen.

Seeing that it could gain no advantage in close combat, Kunlun immediately pulled back and ran toward the nearby harbor, with Gecko close behind. The two clashed fiercely again at the edge of the docks. Kunlun's outer armor suffered severe wear under Gecko's dual assault of claws and acid, its silver surface becoming pitted and scarred. Still, Kunlun had achieved something: the battlefield was moving away from Hong Kong's urban district and gradually toward the outskirts, reducing the damage their battle inflicted on the city.

During their violent struggle, the cargo containers piled along the way were scattered across the ground like toys.

But Gecko's strength was ultimately greater than Kunlun's—

It wrapped its tail around a thirty-meter-tall gantry crane. After a shriek of tearing metal, the several-thousand-ton machine was actually hoisted into the air by Gecko's tail!

"Holy shit?!" "WTF?!" Sun Zheng Tang in the helicopter and Mike in Kunlun's cockpit cursed in unison—even Rosen's expression changed drastically!

With a furious roar, the monster swung its tail, hurling the enormous mass of metal at Kunlun like a meteor!

If that hit home, forget a mech—even an iceberg would lose a layer of ice.

Kunlun frantically retreated while activating the Cloud-Mist High-Pressure Magnetic Storm Ring in its right wrist once more—

Rosen let out a roar!

"All or nothing!"

The meteor arrived in an instant, and Kunlun raised its right hand at the same time!

Hummm—

Bang!!

A powerful current in the tens of millions of volts instantly pierced through the metal. As arcs of electricity surged, the immense repulsive force they generated actually shoved both sides away!

Kunlun crashed to the ground and slid nearly three hundred meters. Gecko did not fare much better—the chunk of iron bounced straight back and struck its huge reptilian face head-on. Corrosive saliva sprayed in all directions, and smoke rose from the chaotic docks.

"Damn it..." Rosen muttered from inside the helicopter.

Only then did Sun Zheng Tang notice blood flowing from the corner of Rosen's mouth, showing that Kunlun had not emerged unscathed from that clash of magnetic force and kinetic energy.

Kunlun staggered to its feet from the docks. Its right hand was severely deformed, and its overall speed was clearly several notches slower than before.

But Gecko was worse off. Its protruding snout had been smashed inward, and its eyeballs rolled wildly in every direction, clearly not yet recovered. Kunlun pressed the attack, grabbing a pair of metal shipping containers roughly fifteen meters long with its right hand and slapping Gecko hard across the face, leaving the monster utterly dazed.

Then Kunlun took several steps back to open the distance. The front of its left hand began to transform—the I-19 ion cannon beneath it was about to display its Divine Might!

"This could work!" Sun Zheng Tang's face lit up with delight.

The ion cannon was far more powerful than conventional weapons. No living creature could survive the impact of such powerful high-energy ions—even a kaiju would die after taking only a few hits.

Kunlun seized the precious opportunity and fired the first shot.

The blast struck the monster squarely in the back. The spines on Gecko's back flew through the air before stabbing into the ground like swords. A layer of skin was violently stripped away, revealing charred black tissue beneath. The tremendous force of the plasma explosion sent containers drifting everywhere like foam plastic, and the smell of roasted meat filled the air.

But astonishingly, Gecko still had not lost its ability to fight.

During the cannon's charging interval, Gecko charged forward. It opened its long mouth and clamped down on the ion cannon's muzzle, then pressed its body forward with all its strength. Kunlun failed to adjust its balance in time and was immediately dragged to the ground!

"This is bad!" Rosen's expression instantly turned grave. "The ion cannon's damaged!"

Sizzle—

The sound of metal being corroded by powerful acid came from Gecko's huge mouth.

A piercing pain shot through Rosen's left hand. He did not need to think to know that Kunlun's left hand was surely beginning to melt like a candle in the acid.

Use its own plan against it. An idea flashed through Rosen's mind. His weapon was in the monster's mouth right now—wasn't this the best possible chance to attack?

He acted at once. Rosen gritted his teeth, and Kunlun's left hand transformed again, returning to its original palm form—the Chain Sword at its wrist guard immediately sprang out, piercing straight through Gecko's lower jaw!

Kunlun's left hand suddenly exerted force and yanked back—Gecko's lower jaw instantly split into two halves. Countless streams of slime and blood clung to Kunlun's left hand and were dragged from that huge mouth, dripping wetly all over the ground.

Gecko let out a heart-rending cry. It rolled across the ground in agony, nearly losing control!

"That worked too?!" Countless people watching the scene cried out in disbelief. A moment ago, they had all thought Kunlun was doomed. They had never expected its pilot to pull off such a stunning reversal!

Jiang Tianzheng was naturally watching as well, his expression a kaleidoscope of emotions.

He could now be one hundred percent certain that the rumor was true—Rosen had not been crushed by his consecutive failures. This past year had not been wasted on him.

There definitely isn't a move like that in the operations manual, Jiang Tianzheng thought. When it comes to tactics and techniques for fighting kaiju, perhaps Rosen isn't inferior to the veteran pilots at all.

Perhaps he was qualified to join the plan as well.

On the big screen, Kunlun shook its body, and the acidic substances coating it fell away. Then it strode toward Gecko.

Although both of Kunlun's hands were badly damaged—its left hand had been corroded beyond recognition, with only the Chain Sword still connected to the wrist guard, while its right hand was twisted and deformed and could stop functioning at any moment—it only needed to hold Gecko back now—

Shandong was already rushing over, Tianshan had landed from the shallows, Luoyang's systems had finally returned to stability, and even Hengduan and Taihang were advancing here side by side.

Six against one!

This would be an encirclement attack!