"Although our losses were severe, the facts were right in front of us—we really did drive Shangang away!"
"And now, Shangang had recovered from her injuries and immediately returned to the territory she considered her own. That made sense."
Dr. Chen paused, then asked curiously:
"But what I'm more curious about is how Shangang managed to recover from her injuries within just a few years."
"I watched the complete footage of that battle frame by frame. I knew exactly how badly Shangang had been injured."
"At the time, I thought Shangang should have died, but she survived... I'm very curious. What did she do during the years she remained unseen to heal such grave injuries?"
Old Luo guessed:
"Perhaps she had an extremely powerful regenerative ability? Haven't we discovered monsters that can rapidly regenerate injured parts as long as they aren't killed on the spot?"
"Perhaps Shangang possessed that ability too."
Dr. Chen nodded thoughtfully and fell into contemplation.
Old Luo shifted his gaze from Shangang on the large screen to a smaller screen nearby.
On it stood Wulei and Crimson Thunder Blade, facing each other.
"That kid Little Bing... if he learned that Shangang had appeared, would he be affected?"
Although Luo Bing had always seemed calm in everyday life.
Old Luo could not be sure what he would become after learning this news.
Shangang had a blood feud with Malaysia, but she had little connection to their country—aside from the families of the two Mecha pilots who had gone into battle.
For Luo Bing, this was a family blood feud!
"That kid had been trying to persuade Xiao Yun in front of me, trying to change Xiao Yun's mind."
"I just hoped he had grown enough to accept all of this."
Old Luo sighed inwardly, then began directing everyone to send news of Shangang back home and see what those in charge there thought.
That battle four years ago had been incredibly brutal. It could not be called a loss, since they had driven Shangang back.
But it absolutely could not be called a victory either.
So what now? What did the people in charge back home think about Shangang, who was staying on the soil of a destroyed Malaysia?
Would they wipe away their past humiliation?
Or would they learn from that person across the Pacific Ocean and respond as he had when facing the King of Monsters, Four-Armed Satan?
"Send the news back and let the homeland debate right and wrong for itself."
Old Luo ultimately made his decision.
It sounded like a slippery and irresponsible approach, but when Old Luo sent back the intelligence report, he also attached his own opinion:
To strengthen humanity's belief that it would ultimately defeat the monsters, this battle had to be fought, and Shangang had to die.
When humanity faced Shangang four years ago, it had paid a terrible price. Yet in its public statements, it had still described the battle as a "costly victory."
It was meant to show all citizens that humanity still possessed the ability to defeat the King of Monsters!
Even if the enemy was the King of Monsters, humanity would not fear it or retreat!
Four years ago, that claim had achieved some effect with Shangang nowhere to be found. At the very least, the confidence of people across Earth had risen considerably.
Even if it could not fool the experts, it was still good if it could fool the laymen.
But now, with Shangang's "return from the dead," if humanity simply let her be and allowed her to occupy Malaysian land as her nest...
Then however much confidence had been built back then would now come crashing down in equal measure!
That was the backlash of public opinion!
"You should know that dealing with Shangang will be extremely, extremely difficult. Those conservatives may not have the courage to make such a decision."
After Old Luo voiced his thoughts, Dr. Chen reminded him from the side:
"Shangang isn't some random stray. Determination alone won't be enough to win... Shangang had returned, and all her injuries had healed. I had every reason to suspect that she had become stronger than she was four years ago."
Dr. Chen's voice was somewhat low at that moment.
"The sacrifices last time at least produced visible results."
"But this time... no matter how much we throw into it, no matter how much we sacrifice, we may end up with nothing at all!"
Old Luo did not answer directly. He merely said softly:
"Let's wait for the final decision... Shangang's appearance should trigger one."
The Celestial Dynasty currently had seven Mecha Bases on the mainland and three overseas. The Sakurajima sub-base was one of them, for a total of ten.
If they truly convened a conference and had all ten base commanders participate in the vote, that would be the final decision Old Luo meant.
Of the ten base commanders, only Chief Commander Lan of the main base possessed two decision votes and one veto vote. The commanders of the other sub-bases each had only one decision vote.
That made a total of eleven decision votes.
If the final vote reached seven or more, Chief Commander Lan's veto would become invalid.
Rare ripples appeared in Dr. Chen's expression.
"A final decision... would it really come to that?"
Old Luo nodded.
"I once said that Sakurajima was constrained by its inherent shortcomings, so it tended to make decisions that gambled the nation's fate. Because if it didn't gamble, it would have no chance."
"And Shangang coming ashore again carried enormous significance... It might not seem like much in the short term, but in the long run, I fear..."
"I only hope Commander Lan was still as combative as she had been back then. That would give this Shangang extermination operation a better chance of passing."
He sighed.
"Playing it safe is a trend, especially in this increasingly turbulent and chaotic era... But blindly playing it safe is merely slow suicide."
Dr. Chen consoled Old Luo.
"The situation isn't as bad as you imagine. After all, the existence of Titan Beasts has now been confirmed, and the overall situation has changed."
"Your view may ultimately prove wrong as well, so don't worry yourself into needless anxiety. Everything you said could be wrong."
Old Luo waved his hand, shooing Dr. Chen away.
"Show some respect for an old general who's been through countless battles. You can't say everything I said was right, but it certainly can't all be wrong either!"
Then Old Luo thought for a moment and said to those around him:
"For now, don't let the news of Shangang's appearance spread... And don't let those young people find out."
Old Luo looked at the two Mechas on the screen and spoke softly.
He was an old soldier, after all, rich in experience and seasoned by countless trials. Though he wanted nothing more than to rush over and beat Shangang to death.
He would still weigh the pros and cons.
But young people were different. Young people had drive. They were competitive and refused to admit defeat.
If they did not charge ahead, could they still be called young people?
On Malaysia's coast, the massive Shangang was a mountain simply by lying there—a poisonous mountain.
Even from far away, one could smell a sour, rotten stench.
This was Shangang's deadliest weapon.
A terrifyingly potent and abundant toxin!
Shangang was not as powerful as the Four-Armed Satan in Hawaii.
This was not a conclusion drawn from data models, but a comparison based on actual combat data.
Shangang had once been severely wounded and driven back by five Mechas working together at the cost of horrific sacrifices. Therefore, the data on Shangang's strength had been gathered in great detail.
She was very, very strong. Worthy of being the King of Monsters, but still within the bounds of understanding.
But Four-Armed Satan... he had once torn a Mecha apart with his bare hands as if he were playing with a toy.
In that battle, Four-Armed Satan displayed utterly crushing combat power.
The strength he displayed gave people the feeling that he was a level above even the King of Monsters.
Four-Armed Satan was only 115 meters tall, shorter than Shangang's 135 meters.
But Four-Armed Satan undoubtedly felt more like a combat-oriented monster.
As for Shangang, she was more like a venom transport depot, the sort of heavy cargo vehicle built specifically to carry toxins around and pollute the environment!
It was understandable if they could not defeat Four-Armed Satan. After all, he only caused widespread destruction and was not particularly serious when it came to environmental pollution.
There was still some justification for not provoking Four-Armed Satan.
But Shangang had already completely contaminated Malaysia's main regions.
The main regions had been completely contaminated. Only another half of the peninsula remained unpolluted, and Malaysia's survivors were struggling to survive there.
But it was foreseeable that once Shangang started moving again, she would not limit herself to that single area.
She would spread from large regions of Malaysia to the entire country...
Then spread to the Philippines, separated from Malaysia only by a body of water...
Until she completely contaminated an island chain and drove an eternal nail into the heart of the Pacific Ocean, one that could never be removed!
The bells of the base rang long, but this time, they carried a hint of melody.
The triumphant sound of victory was always more pleasing than bells signaling the start of war.
Luo Bing controlled Crimson Thunder Blade through the basic operating procedures, and together with Junko, guided the Mecha into the hangar to dock.
Their first battle had been a success, and a perfect conclusion at that. Logically, there should have been nothing left to regret.
Yet after Luo Bing and Junko left the cockpit, his sharp senses still detected something subtly strange in the atmosphere.
Old Luo was still smiling as he patted Luo Bing's shoulder and praised him.
But Luo Bing still sensed a trace of discord from the several adjutants and assistants around Old Luo.
What had happened?
What was Old Luo hiding? Was he hiding something only from Luo Bing, or... from all the pilots?
Book recommendation: an SCP-themed novel, the very popular I, One of the SCP Foundation's Top Ten Employees
"Dr. Chen, Help Me"
It was actually very easy to determine whether Old Luo was hiding something from one person or from everyone.
Lin Wange and Lin Changge could be excluded immediately. They had chatted idly with Luo Bing the entire way.
If Old Luo had told them some secret along the way, it would have been impossible for them not to show even the slightest emotional fluctuation.
Luo Bing's current body had been enhanced by the Golden Finger, and his five senses had improved by far more than a little.
If he could awaken something like a sixth or seventh sense, perhaps he could transform into a Saint Seiya and stage a show where a superhuman beat up little monsters.
As they chatted all the way back, Lin Changge spoke very little, while Lin Wange stayed on voice chat the whole time. The messages never stopped, and her emotions showed almost no fluctuations.
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