Dalian Shatterdome Base.
Everyone watching the big screen fell silent.
Whether they were engineers moving containers or soldiers standing guard,
they all stopped what they were doing and lowered their heads in mourning.
For the fallen heroes, for the comrades who had shared their days and nights.
Because most of the military personnel at Dalian Shatterdome Base came from the Eastern Theater Command.
The Jaeger Combat Department had originally been a newly established division formed by drawing elite personnel and soldiers from the various military regions.
As its first Shatterdome base, Dalian naturally followed the principle of recruiting nearby, which meant that most of the people here came from the Eastern Theater Command.
The members of Sky Breaker Squad had once traded toasts with them at banquets and sweated alongside them on the training grounds.
Sky Breaker Squad's commander, Colonel Li Yunxiao, and Colonel Lin Huixin of Falcon Squadron, Dalian Shatterdome Base's escort unit, had enlisted in the same class and were the closest of comrades.
Unlike Lin Huixin, he was more easygoing and could throw an arm around his subordinates' shoulders and mingle with them freely.
Lin Huixin, meanwhile, was more composed. Especially after the upheaval in her family, she had become far more taciturn.
What they shared, however, was their love for the sky. With their ranks, they could have remained at the Command Center and directed operations remotely.
Yet they had both refused, saying they wanted to keep soaring through these blue skies.
No Air Force soldier was willing to leave that expanse of blue forever.
That was his battlefield.
Command Center.
Mao Shucheng stopped venting his frustration by pounding the table.
Though he was a commander, he was not the sort of person who was good at hiding his emotions.
"This isn't the monster's own doing. They have tampered with Mad Ape and installed a weapon specifically designed to counter us!"
"Is there any way to restrain it? If it keeps releasing electromagnetic interference waves, it'll be difficult for us to strike it effectively."
"Of course there are limits. It can't keep releasing electromagnetic interference waves forever. Take now, for example—after that surge of blue light, its body returned to normal. It can only attack directly with its limbs."
Herman pointed at Mad Ape, which had already made landfall in Hawaii on the screen.
Mad Ape strode across the land, continuously destroying the skyscrapers in its path.
It truly looked like a rampaging King Kong.
"It seems its target really isn't Hawaii. It has no intention of stopping there at all."
"No matter where it wants to go, no matter where its destination is, today, it stays here!"
Mao Shucheng looked toward another large screen, which showed a heavy-lift helicopter unit transporting Mount Tai.
Though it was still over the ocean, the brightly lit shoreline in the distance was already clearly visible.
It could not escape!
"Fire!"
At the ground officer's shout, an Army combat unit opened fire on the approaching Mad Ape.
Although their weapons could not even raise a spark against Mad Ape's body,
as soldiers, they could not seek shelter while the civilians had yet to finish evacuating.
There were no so-called humanitarian treaties when it came to monsters.
Though they were merely trying to stop a chariot with mantis arms, they could not halt Mad Ape's advance at all.
It marched across the entire main island of Hawaii without resistance, walking from the east coast to the west coast as though no one existed.
Quite a few civilians had gathered at the docks on the west coast to take shelter.
Because there were so many ships there, people swarmed aboard, hoping to borrow a vessel and escape.
The ships hurriedly set sail, and some of the large vessels already filled with passengers had raised anchor.
The seven troublemakers were among them, having fled aboard a large passenger ship that was about to depart.
Before they could catch their breath, they saw that Mad Ape had already reached the western harbor.
The crowd that had not managed to board scattered in every direction, but no matter how fast they ran, they could not outrun Mad Ape's strides.
Even without deliberately attacking the crowd, it claimed many lives simply as it walked.
"Holy shit, it followed us here! Old Hu, I hate you! Even if I die, I'll never forgive you!"
"I didn't want this either! If I'd known this would happen, we would have been better off not running to the coast!"
"Ajie, why aren't you moving? Don't you feel anything at all?"
"No. I've already pissed myself."
"I-I'm scared! I haven't even gotten married yet! I don't want to die here!"
Mad Ape was already close at hand, and the massive passenger ship seemed unable to pick up speed because of its heavy load.
As Mad Ape drew closer and closer to the ship, some of the passengers aboard began screaming.
What dignity and composure could remain at a time like this? If you could face a hundred-meter-tall, hideous beast without changing expression, then either you had been scared stupid or your face was simply frozen—see Ajie for reference.
Very few could remain calm, not even battle-hardened soldiers.
But once you became a Jaeger pilot, things were different. No matter how enormous or savage the monster was, as long as you were inside a Jaeger, you had the power to fight back and at least some chance of winning.
Just as Mad Ape's face was about to press against the passenger ship, a massive mechanical arm reached out from behind it, its hand clenched into a fist.
Bang!
Mad Ape was knocked over to the side! Huge waves surged across the sea.
The passengers aboard the ship only felt a beam of light shine upon their faces, and they could not help but feel reassured.
It came from the high-powered searchlight mounted on the Jaeger's chest.
A red flag was painted on the Jaeger's right breast, while two large characters were engraved on its left.
"Mount Tai!"
Had arrived!
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