Victory of the Wall Faction

A knock sounded. After being granted permission to enter, a bespectacled woman with a sharp, capable air walked in and reported to Shao Zhiwen by the window.

"Mr. Shao, word has come from the PPDC. A Category IV Kaiju named Huoda is about to make landfall offshore. They have dispatched Shaolin Rogue and Crimson Typhoon to intercept it."

"I understand. Follow the usual defensive procedures." Shao Zhiwen remained calm upon hearing the news, showing no panic over the Kaiju's impending landfall. It was not merely because PPDC headquarters was nearby and Crimson Typhoon and Shaolin Rogue could arrive quickly to provide support. He also had other trump cards.

At the very least, Shao Industries could not possibly suffer any major losses in this Kaiju attack. At most, there would be a few insignificant losses.

Still, he could not help sighing inwardly. This year had truly been plagued by disasters. The frequency and intensity of Kaiju attacks had suddenly surged, with many places suffering attacks and destruction. Quite a few Jaegers had even been damaged or wrecked in the constant battles. The situation that had once been relatively stable had abruptly deteriorated.

Help was needed everywhere.

Jaeger support was needed everywhere. The existing number of Jaegers was stretched thin by the high rate of combat losses, and in some cases, their deployment was uneven.

Of course, if you asked why, in such a tense situation, the PPDC could immediately assign two Jaegers to support an offshore area threatened by a Kaiju, then you simply did not understand how things worked!

Shaolin Rogue.

Crimson Typhoon.

Both Jaegers had been funded, developed, and staffed by the PPDC, but the bulk of that funding, technology, and manpower had come from China. In other words, those two Jaegers had been manufactured domestically and provided to the PPDC for use. Although the PPDC was an Alliance organization, and all Jaegers nominally belonged to it for centralized management and combat deployment, rules were rules. In reality, everyone knew that the member states behind the PPDC could never truly act selflessly according to those rules.

The math made that clear.

For conventional military hardware, whether tanks, aircraft, or carriers, service life in peaceful times generally lasted at least ten or twenty years. If nothing unexpected happened, Jaegers could have been the same. Yet Jaegers were not only enormously expensive, but also suffered an extremely high destruction rate because they had to fight Kaiju. Any Jaeger that lasted four or five years without being thrown into the Junkyard could be considered an old veteran. A First Generation model like Cherno Alpha, which had survived nearly ten years through constant repairs, upgrades, and modifications without being destroyed and retired, was practically a miraculous living fossil!

In truth, as Kaiju grew stronger and continued evolving, Jaegers had been forced to evolve as well. The past few years had been relatively manageable, with technology becoming mature and stable. First and Second Generation Jaegers had suffered the worst. Due to their poor understanding of Kaiju combat methods and immature technology, it was perfectly normal for them to be scrapped or eliminated after only one or two years of fighting Kaiju.

Every Jaeger deployment was a gamble!

It might continue adding to its honors, or it might fall in its very next battle against a Kaiju.

So here was the question: if you were the leader of a member state, would you be willing to take such an enormous risk and casually send a Jaeger your country had assembled and manufactured to do charity work?

Yes, when the PPDC had first been established, everyone had cooperated seamlessly. Scientific teams from every country had worked together tirelessly for the Jaeger Program, and most member states had sincerely provided money when money was needed, people when people were needed, and whatever else was required. They helped one another with enthusiasm and goodwill. Other than the fact that the big brother in the organization had drawn blood a little too aggressively and made everyone contribute a little more, the member states had indeed gained many benefits from it. Many countries that had originally possessed little heavy-industrial capability had been able to build their own Jaegers with the Alliance's help. The blood drawn by the big brother could be considered payment for knowledge and assistance.

But over the past year, had the frequency of Kaiju attacks not continued to rise, along with the strength and difficulty of the Kaiju themselves? Worse still, eleven years had passed, and no one's economy was doing particularly well. They had once been able to throw money and technology around without counting the cost, rolling Jaegers off production lines like dumplings. But that was no longer possible.

Eleven years into the Jaeger Program, the newest Jaegers were already Fifth Generation!

Such a pace of technological iteration was simply inconceivable for military hardware!

How long had aircraft taken to go from the first generation to the fifth?

Nearly a hundred years!

First Generation Jaegers had many issues even with the member states' latest technology, especially their weight. Most weighed over 7,800 tons, close to 8,000 tons! Second Generation Jaegers weighed around 5,000 tons.

Yet by the Third and Fourth Generations, Jaegers of the same height had drastically reduced their weight while improving combat strength. How much did a top-tier Jaeger weigh? Around 2,000 tons! This became the dividing line. Jaegers below 2,000 tons, generally around 1,700 tons, were agile assassin-type fighters with relatively weak defenses. Those above 2,000 tons focused on stronger armor and were heavy-armored fighters.

First Generation Jaegers debuted in 2015.

Second Generation Jaegers were developed and debuted in 2016.

The famous Third-Generation Jaeger, Gipsy Danger, debuted in 2017.

The Fourth-Generation Jaeger, Crimson Typhoon, debuted in 2018.

The Fifth-Generation Jaeger, Striker Eureka—the only Fifth-Generation Jaeger in the first Pacific Rim film—debuted in 2019!

Yet it was now 2024. Five years had passed without a new generation of Jaegers debuting. Even among Fifth-Generation models, there was still only that single unit produced in 2019.

Why had technological progress once been so explosive, with earth-shaking changes every year, only for a new generation to become impossible to produce after 2019?

Because the achievements before 2019 had been built through the member states' united effort against the Kaiju threat. They had poured in money without regard for cost and forcibly piled up those accomplishments with manpower, funding, and a bit of luck!

Why had things started falling apart after 2019? Because the member states had injured themselves internally after those years of extravagant spending. Furthermore, existing Jaeger technology could already handle Kaiju at the current level. Without stronger Kaiju appearing, there was no need to keep investing without regard for cost as they had before.

A new plan to block Kaiju attacks was brought up again: building walls.

Building fortifications had been humanity's ancient method of defending against beasts and enemies. Though it had mostly become history in modern times, that did not stop people from bringing it out again when needed.

After all, if the walls were truly strong enough to stop Kaiju, they would obviously be far more economical than the Jaeger Program. But all of that depended on whether the walls were strong enough to withstand Kaiju attacks.

The original backers of the Jaeger Program, despite wanting to continue investing as before, had mostly run out of options. Economies within the member states were sluggish, more and more people had no jobs or enough food to eat, and dissatisfaction with government Senators continued to grow. In the end, the Wall Plan was successfully pushed into the spotlight.

One had to understand that a high-end project like the Jaeger Program was inaccessible to companies without research capabilities, and people without knowledge or ability had no place getting involved. Simply put, the profits were considerable, but the barrier to entry was extremely high. That threshold was beyond the reach of ordinary citizens and businesses in many member states, so the subsidies and benefits enjoyed by the Jaeger Program naturally had nothing to do with them.

But building walls was labor-intensive work that most people could do! Such a massive project would take years to complete. How much manpower would it require? How much money could be made from it?

The public was simple. They certainly feared Kaiju attacks, but when some scientists stepped forward and guaranteed that walls could block monsters below Category IV, that people could live safely and happily within those walls like they had ten years ago, their longing and hope for stable lives and jobs—combined with Jaegers being defeated and damaged time after time over the past year—was enough to make them strongly support the project!

Were there clear-headed people?

Of course there were!

Was there any use in them stepping forward?

No!

With the public's hopes ignited, Jaegers suffering frequent defeats over the past year and leaving people disappointed, and multiple factors working together, the Wall Plan had begun to show signs of replacing the Jaeger Program! If the walls truly could stop monsters, then the Senators, scientists, and businessmen endorsing the Wall Faction would become heroes praised by everyone, just like the original founders of the Jaeger Program!

Although the plan sounded unreliable to anyone with a clear head, people struggling due to economic problems desperately needed hope. Before the worst happened, they would automatically ignore those issues and imagine the best possible outcome.

As for what would happen if a Category V monster appeared that the walls could not stop?

Hadn't that Senator said there were still Jaegers available? It was not as if the Jaeger Program would be abandoned immediately. Besides, the walls would continue to be reinforced, maintained, and expanded!

The Pro-Combat Faction, meaning the Jaeger Program's supporters, faced surging public sentiment, a sluggish economy, and spirited opponents. Many had lost heart, while others were too occupied with their own troubles. Over these past few years, especially the last year, control over public discourse had completely shifted. Under such circumstances, even if the leaders of a very few member states remained clear-headed, they were powerless to reverse the tide.

That was the trend of the times.

Mighty and unstoppable; those who followed it prospered, while those who opposed it perished.

China still wanted to do its best to preserve the Alliance and the Jaeger Program, but what could it do when so many member states, including the leading American Eagle, wanted to shift to the Wall Plan?

Support the entire PPDC with one country's strength?

What a joke!

Research investment, Jaeger maintenance, labor costs, Jaeger repairs, construction of new generations. Every year brought a staggering amount of expenditure!

An organization that consumed money at such a terrifying rate, and which dozens of member states could barely sustain, would truly die if anyone tried to support it alone.

Thus, in recent years, the member states behind the PPDC had long since lost their former close cooperation. Everyone was busy building their own Kaiju walls. The Jaegers developed by each country mostly remained in their own bases for extended periods. Over the past year, the prevailing attitude had been every man for himself.

You needed help? Fine. Offer some money or resources.

No payment?

Then why should I let the Jaegers at my base risk being damaged to help you? At least a third of the construction, technology, funding, and maintenance for the Jaegers at our base was our responsibility. Every deployment, even if the Jaeger returned safely, required energy replenishment, mechanical inspections, and full maintenance afterward. All of that burned money!

You said it was an order from PPDC Marshal Stacker Pentecost?

We also needed Jaegers to protect us for the time being! We faced Kaiju threats as well, so we were willing but unable to help you. Besides, you could seek assistance from a closer Jaeger base.

That was the prevailing trend.

Even Stacker Pentecost, the PPDC Marshal, was powerless to stop the member states' outward compliance and covert defiance.

Nominally, he was the PPDC's Marshal and highest-ranking official, able to manage all PPDC affairs. In reality, however, most of what he could truly oversee and take responsibility for concerned the Jaeger Program. Base management naturally remained in the hands of the member states. This was especially true for the eight bases located in other member states, where most staff had to be recruited locally. Member-state officials would certainly be stationed at those bases as well, holding certain important posts and controlling a degree of power.

For example, finance!

As long as the PPDC still had the backing and influence of its member states, Stacker Pentecost would forever be the PPDC Marshal in name only. There were simply too many matters in which he had to compromise and too many decisions he could not make.

As the head of Shao Industries, Shao Zhiwen was also worried that the Jaeger Program might be shelved. As the world's most famous supplier in the Jaeger industrial chain, even with a fallback plan, he needed to prepare for the worst. Even without any fallback, though, he was not worried about ending up nearly bankrupt as he had three years ago, relying solely on the mature Jaeger industrial chain.

After all, the amount of money that the many Pacific Rim member states had invested in the Jaeger Program over the past decade was astonishing. The technology gained through research, the construction techniques, and everything else—how could such things simply be abandoned? Even if several harsh years lay ahead, the industries derived from Jaeger Program technology alone would be enough to keep Shao Industries alive and growing.

Besides, he had Luke Fielder, the man who had brought Shao Industries back from the brink!

Thinking of Luke, Shao Zhiwen turned and asked his Secretary, "Where is Dr. Luke right now?"

The female Secretary checked the tablet in her arms and reported, "Dr. Luke is at the G3 Jaeger Factory. Kulturo, the Sixth-Generation Jaeger developed by Luke's Lab, is about to finish assembly. He is there on site."

"Oh, has he finally finished his big Toy?" Shao Zhiwen smiled, his eyes filled with excitement. Though he called it a big Toy, he understood that as the world's first Sixth-Generation Jaeger, even in the current unfavorable climate, its debut would surely attract immense attention. That would be good news for Shao Industries!

After all, until now, only nations had been capable of building Jaegers!

If Luke Fielder's Sixth-Generation Jaeger, Kulturo, truly passed testing, Shao Industries would be setting a precedent!

The first company to build a Jaeger entirely through its own efforts!

The first company to build the world's most advanced—and only—Sixth-Generation Jaeger entirely through its own efforts!

Either claim would prove that Shao Industries' industrial capability, construction technology, and research capacity were far ahead of its peers, unmatched even among the very best!

PS: The 1,700-plus-ton weights for Crimson Typhoon and the others are figures provided in the film. Most materials I found for the production designs listed them at over 6,100 tons. But I chose the film's numbers. If it is going to be black technology, it might as well go all the way. Besides, I really cannot accept an agile Jaeger weighing over 6,000 tons and running on a diesel engine. Better to make it 1,700 tons.

PS1: Please keep reading and add it to your collection!

PS2: The new chapter was just put under review. I revised it, but I do not know whether it will pass.