In the end, Old Luo spoke up and posed a question to Lin Wange:
"Suppose—just suppose—that Beast King Godzilla truly went feral and attacked humanity."
"Then, Wange, do you think the two existing mechas, plus the Sakura Saber still under repair, would be enough to stop Beast King Godzilla?"
If it had been before dawn, Old Luo would still have been brimming with confidence, believing that with three mechas under his command, they could at least contend with Beast King Godzilla.
But now, neither Old Luo nor anyone else indulged in such wishful thinking.
After effortlessly slaughtering two Thunder Beasts, Beast King Godzilla's combat power had truly earned him the title of King of Monsters.
It was no longer a title granted solely because his Charged Breath was absurdly powerful.
Lin Wange never joked around when it came to serious matters.
She decisively shook her head.
Old Luo let out a long sigh and continued:
"So, if that hypothetical situation truly happens, my orders will not change."
"I will require all of you to remain beyond the fifteen-kilometer safety perimeter and use conventional weapons to harass him from afar, drawing his attention until reinforcements arrive!"
"I will not allow any of you to die for nothing. That would be irresponsible toward your own lives, and a loss for all humanity!"
"Lin Wange, do you understand?"
Lin Wange pursed her lips and nodded gently.
"I understand, Old Luo."
"Remember to call me General Luo on formal occasions."
Old Luo reminded her, then his earlier stern expression vanished as he began speaking with a smile again.
"Of course, this is only a hypothetical topic for now. There's no need to discuss something so heavy."
"After all, judging from the current situation, Beast King Godzilla is still on humanity's side! He's far more brutal when dealing with monsters than he is with us humans!"
Old Luo then continued:
"An expert has specifically come over to follow up on the research concerning Beast King Godzilla."
"Her name is Chen Yuxin. She's an expert in this field, and she had originally planned to pack up properly and come over in a few days."
"But after news of what happened early this morning reached her, she couldn't wait any longer. She dumped everything on several of her students and flew over by herself!"
Li Chuyi and Li Shiwu's expressions shifted slightly upon hearing that name.
Li Shiwu, especially, showed a rare expression of surprise and concern.
Old Luo looked at Li Chuyi and Li Shiwu.
"Looks like you know her?"
Li Chuyi gave a bitter smile.
"My sister was nearly dragged off by her to become a researcher. She said my sister was highly talented—if my sister's Spiritual Connection Index hadn't later proven exceptional, I'm afraid we really wouldn't have been able to do anything about Dr. Chen!"
Old Luo nodded.
"In that case, you two won't be going to pick her up."
"I originally planned for you to go together, since you'll be dealing with her often in the future... How about this? I'll first show you two around the base. As for picking her up, Wange... no, Little Bing can handle it."
Old Luo changed his assignment at the last minute and handed the task to Luo Bing.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Lin Wange. He simply really couldn't trust her with such trivial matters.
Luo Bing calmly accepted the assignment, then asked:
"Do you have a photo of Dr. Chen? It'd be awkward if we picked up the wrong person."
Old Luo kept a straight face as he took out a photograph and handed it to Luo Bing.
"There'll be a special vehicle waiting for you. The four of you just need to get in and wait."
"The airport is on the flatland behind our base's mountain. The private plane will bring her directly here, so under normal circumstances, you won't mistake her for someone else."
Old Luo was about to leave with the Li Family Siblings, but after taking only two steps, Luo Bing grabbed him with a deeply furrowed brow.
"Old Luo, are you sure you didn't give me the wrong photo?"
Old Luo answered with complete certainty.
"I'm sure. There's no need to ask again."
The corners of Luo Bing's mouth twitched, as if he wanted to laugh but was holding it in.
"Now I understand what you meant by 'under normal circumstances, you won't mistake her for someone else.'"
Lin Wange could no longer suppress her curiosity and leaned over.
"I want to see just how badly that photo turned out."
Even Lin Changge and Koizumi Junko looked somewhat curious, wanting to see for themselves.
The moment Lin Wange saw the photo, she froze as though struck by lightning, then burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Old Luo, you really were farsighted letting Luo Bing handle the pickup. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't be able to stop myself from making a few comments."
"Can I take a look?"
Unable to contain her curiosity, Koizumi Junko spoke up.
Lin Wange cheerfully handed her the photograph.
Koizumi Junko lowered her head for a look, and her expression immediately stiffened as well.
The photograph showed a beautiful woman around thirty years old. Her features carried a seductive charm that combined into a uniquely striking beauty.
The reason that beauty felt so unusual was because...
She was a bald woman with not a single hair on her head.
Brothers, stand up! We must strive to become stronger!
Men Only Get in the Way of My Research
"What kind of personality do you think Dr. Chen has?"
Lin Wange sat in the backseat and asked.
She, her sister Lin Changge, and Koizumi Junko were all sitting in the back, while Luo Bing was in the front passenger seat.
The special vehicle had been modified, and its interior was exceptionally spacious, with no sense of crowding.
Luo Bing answered crisply:
"I don't know about anything else, but I can say for certain that she has a lot of personality!"
Everyone nodded, deeply agreeing.
That was certainly true.
Without personality, she could never have come up with that kind of appearance.
She also had plenty of boldness—or perhaps she simply didn't care about other people's opinions and did whatever she pleased.
In any case, judging from the Li Family Siblings' reactions, she probably wasn't easy to get along with.
"Don't worry too much about it. We'll bring Dr. Chen back, meet her once, and then leave Old Luo to deal with her."
"The one who'll truly have to deal with Dr. Chen often is Old Luo!"
Luo Bing concluded, though the photograph involuntarily surfaced in his mind again.
Judging by her facial features, she should have been a very beautiful adult woman. Why had she chosen such an unconventional appearance?
Luo Bing couldn't understand it. For the moment, he could only guess that this was perhaps what made a national treasure-level expert special.
Before his transmigration, he remembered a national treasure who was already well past seventy, yet had a physique like a bodybuilding champion. He looked less like someone devoted to knowledge and more like someone devoted to muscles.
Lin Wange then changed the subject.
"The Snake King's corpse has been found, and there are two more Thunder Beasts now!"
"Nothing else unexpected happened this time. Luo Bing, with the corpses of four monsters and all the usable materials on them, are you planning to have the Assembly Department use all of it to upgrade the Sakura Saber?"
Luo Bing nodded.
"I do have that idea. The Sakura Saber needs major repairs this time, and I'm also planning to make some major modifications so it better suits my combat habits."
Every pilot had their own style.
Some preferred swift offensives and quick resolutions, while others relied on sheer strength to overpower opponents. Some used conventional weapons to assist in frontal combat and developed in multiple directions.
Different mechas had different performance profiles and priorities. Their speed, strength, and armor varied, naturally creating differences.
Pilots could adapt themselves to their mechas, but since the Sakura Saber was undergoing major repairs, Luo Bing naturally intended to add a few personal touches.
For example... adding a Nuclear Bomb beneath the Sakura Saber, officially so he could treat big brother to a Nuclear Meal anytime.
Lin Wange looked a little envious.
"Tsk tsk, four monster corpses... That's far too extravagant!"
Luo Bing smiled.
"You want to make major modifications to Wulei too?"
Lin Wange nodded repeatedly.
"I have that idea. If possible, I'd like to apply for one Thunder Beast. It should let me add quite a few interesting weapons."
Luo Bing nodded.
"Wait until the Sakura Saber's major repairs are finished before applying. The base has to ensure that two mechas remain operational at the same time."
Lin Wange nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Seeing the two chatting enthusiastically, Lin Changge maintained her cool expression and spoke up to cool everyone down.
"Don't forget, four monsters appeared within a single day! Though all of them died at Beast King Godzilla's hands, we can't keep relying on Godzilla!"
"Before... before this, a monster attack might not even happen once every few months, yet this time, in just one day..."
"Though only Scythe Head actively attacked us, while Beast King Godzilla went deep into the sea to find the other three himself, we absolutely cannot let down our guard!"
Until now, Wulei had only one gold and three silver marks on his shoulder.
Though this was an away mission, and Sakurajima had previously shared some of the pressure.
It still showed that monster attacks had not been frequent.
At most, there had been about one each month.
If the frequency of monster attacks began rising drastically... the experience of several small countries that had already been wiped out showed that this was a sign of a storm approaching!
Luo Bing closed his eyes slightly to rest, saying nothing.
He couldn't say that they should leave everything to him.
But at the very least, the days ahead would be better.
There was still an event tonight, so he needed to keep himself in peak condition.
The connecting flight landed, and its passengers filed out one after another.
Some were personnel traveling between the two locations, while others were base staff returning home on leave.
Others were family members from the mainland coming to visit, or people moving over to settle down.
Though Sakurajima Base was only a branch base, it still had tens of thousands of associated personnel.
Most staff members' families remained on the mainland, where they felt safer.
But quite a few families had moved over as well, allowing their whole families to be together.
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