Midnight Ghostfire

Outside the door, a sea of people surged, a throng of heads. Rosen squinted and realized the large 3D television in the center of the residential area was broadcasting current events.

"The Kaiju that attacked Singapore City, codenamed Gravedigger, has been defeated. It fell less than 1 kilometer from Singapore's main urban area."

As the host spoke incessantly, a video, shot from above, presumably by a helicopter, appeared on the screen.

Rosen couldn't help but push through the crowd to get closer to the screen.

In the video, the Kaiju codenamed Gravedigger had just landed on Singapore's west coast. Rosen judged it to be a standard Category 7 Kaiju at first glance, over 200 meters long and about 70 meters tall, a common quadrupedal, reptilian form.

Not far behind it, Rosen also spotted a wisp of smoke.

"Gravedigger destroyed a Singapore Jaeger upon landing. This is the third Jaeger destroyed this month," the host continued.

The helicopter also zoomed in on the wisp of smoke. It was a Jaeger slowly sinking into the shallows. Rosen immediately recognized it from its deep blue paint—it was the only Category 7 Naval Jaeger among Singapore's two Jaegers, the "Challenge Pioneer." Rosen remembered seeing this Jaeger in Singapore's recruitment advertisements, but the old machine was now a pile of scrap metal.

Next, the scene shifted. Blocking Gravedigger was Singapore's remaining Jaeger, a purple-painted new-generation Category 7 Land Jaeger, "Midnight Ghostfire."

"Isn't that Midnight Ghostfire?" Mike's voice suddenly appeared beside Rosen, startling him. "Midnight Ghostfire and Gravedigger, they make quite a pair."

As Mike spoke, Midnight Ghostfire and Gravedigger had already engaged. The two giants were locked in a fierce battle on the continental shelf shallows near Singapore City.

However, to put it nicely, it was an engagement. In Rosen's opinion, it was more like walking a dog.

Midnight Ghostfire was undoubtedly the most peculiar Jaeger in Rosen's memory. To save money, Singapore had rigidly followed Britain's "big guns on small ships" strategy from World War II. They had installed the powerful firepower of a heavy Jaeger onto the light Jaeger, Midnight Ghostfire. Furthermore, to maintain balance, they had replaced Midnight Ghostfire's bipedal structure with treads and added four large rocket boosters to its shoulders and lower back. To the average person, it looked more like a tank with arms. And strapped to its back was a massive energy pack filled with molten steel and booster fuel.

Midnight Ghostfire's arms—or rather, cannon barrels—were both equipped with powerful Liquid Metal Injectors. It could continuously draw from the energy pack on its back and spray molten steel at a temperature of 3800 degrees Celsius at a maximum rate of 10 tons per second. While this temperature was unlikely to kill a Kaiju, it was the best way to reduce the contamination of the Kaiju's blood.

Once the molten steel solidified and completely immobilized the Kaiju, Midnight Ghostfire would use its right arm's terrifying Million Volt High-Pressure Electromagnetic Blade to send the Kaiju to its demise.

Of course, this was merely the theoretical combat process. In actual combat, Kaiju were not targets. Real battles often differed greatly from simulator results. Those who liked to flaunt their simulation scores often met bad ends, like Rosen previously.

On the television screen, Midnight Ghostfire sprayed scorching molten steel while using its high-speed treads and boosters to constantly circle the Kaiju. Don't underestimate the treads; on this muddy shallows, treads combined with boosters were the perfect combination.

This tactic was effective. The speed difference between the two was incomparable. Midnight Ghostfire, with four streams of acceleration fire trailing behind it, easily toyed with Gravedigger.

Large amounts of scorching molten steel rained down on the Kaiju's back, causing it to yelp in pain. Rosen felt like he could smell the roasted meat from across the screen.

However, as the battle dragged on, the drawbacks of this tactic began to emerge—it was too singular and time-consuming.

Kaiju intelligence was comparable to humans. After being toyed with for so long, it knew what it had to do.

The enraged Gravedigger roared and raised its thick tail, over 70 meters long. With a sway of its head and tail, it seemed to gauge Midnight Ghostfire's movement direction.

Then—it slammed down heavily!

With a deafening roar, the impact wave first formed a mudslide mixed with seawater, instantly engulfing Midnight Ghostfire. Afterward, a small mushroom cloud of vapor rose on the screen. The sand and stones blown away by the wind even flew hundreds of meters into the air, causing the helicopter to shake violently.

"WHF? That's pretty brutal."

Mike clicked his tongue, dumbfounded. Rosen's brow furrowed. The previously noisy hall fell silent at this scene.

Midnight Ghostfire was in trouble. It was only a light Jaeger; it would be heavily damaged, if not destroyed. Rosen thought to himself.

However, as the smoke and dust dissipated, the subsequent scene brought relief to everyone.

Midnight Ghostfire wasn't destroyed, but its purple chassis was scarred and riddled with arcing electricity. Its left tread seemed to be broken, and the booster on its back could no longer emit fire. It was stuck in a hollow and couldn't move.

Boom, boom, boom...

The sound of Midnight Ghostfire's engine idling echoed from the screen, and everyone's hearts sank again.

People could almost feel the pilot's despair through the screen. A light Jaeger that had lost its mobility... was surely doomed.

However, Midnight Ghostfire's next action seemed incredibly strange. Its right hand underwent a mechanical transformation, and the high-pressure electromagnetic blade sprang out from under the armor.

What is it trying to do?

A question mark appeared in the minds of everyone in front of the television.

Only Rosen's eyes flickered as he muttered, "It's trying to self-mutilate."

Just as Rosen predicted, Midnight Ghostfire swung its right hand and severed the connection point between its left tread and the chassis!

Although it had cut off a limb, it regained its freedom.

One of the biggest drawbacks of Synaptic Link technology was shared sensation. That is, any damage the Jaeger sustained was transmitted to the pilot as tactile feedback. Thinking of this, Rosen couldn't help but feel profound respect for Midnight Ghostfire's pilot.

With one side of its power gone, Midnight Ghostfire was at a disadvantage, but its pilot was clearly no ordinary person. Before the Kaiju could get close again, Midnight Ghostfire swept its Liquid Metal Injector towards the sea!

Screeeech!!————

The seawater instantly boiled, and the overwhelming steam enveloped almost the entire sea area!

Then, a series of dense collision and cutting sounds came from within the mist, after which everything fell silent.

Who won?

As everyone speculated, the host revealed the answer.

"Although Midnight Ghostfire displayed formidable combat capabilities, it was ultimately no match for the Kaiju. Its right tread was damaged during the battle, rendering it incapable of combat. Gravedigger, after suffering heavy injuries, continued its advance towards Singapore City."

A wave of regretful sighs erupted from the audience.