Choice

The standard synaptic connection rate for connecting to a Jaeger is eighty percent.

Below eighty percent, not only can the Jaeger not perform at its full potential, but even its basic operating system will struggle, let alone fighting Kaiju.

It's no wonder Mao Shucheng decided to open the Jaeger synaptic connection test to the public.

With over a billion compatriots in this great nation, there are bound to be some who reach the standard connection rate.

Just as the three of them were watching the soldiers below undergo their synaptic connection tests, a soldier on guard duty at the entrance came in to report.

"Report, there's someone named Xiao Shou at the gate, claiming to be Group Leader Jin Rong's family member."

Jin Rong smacked her forehead, completely forgetting about this.

"Sorry, Commander, today is my birthday, and my mom asked Ah Shou to bring me longevity noodles."

Jin Rong said apologetically to the two officers.

She was naturally a work-first kind of person, and felt a bit guilty about delaying work for a personal matter.

Even though it was just a trivial matter of bringing food, a common human courtesy.

Mao Shucheng and Zhu Qian naturally wouldn't make a fuss about it.

"Go on, Ah Rong. You're too reserved. If you had just said it was your birthday, we would have given you the day off. Why trouble your family to bring it?"

"I can't let such a small matter of mine delay work. I'll go down and get it."

Watching Jin Rong hurry downstairs, Mao Shucheng couldn't help but sigh.

Jin Rong was his old subordinate. When she first joined the army, she was his secretary. After so many years together, he had come to regard her as his own sister.

Jin Rong was meticulous, especially in her tactical analysis abilities, which were truly unique.

When the Jaeger Combat Department was established, Mao Shucheng immediately decided to make Jin Rong the head of the Jaeger Combat Information Analysis Team.

This position was no small matter; it was responsible for the analysis of intelligence and information during Jaeger combat, and it was a crucial factor in determining victory on the battlefield.

It was just too demanding, with a heavy workload. She was still unmarried in her forties.

Mao Shucheng had tried to introduce her to potential partners, but Jin Rong had always brushed them aside, citing work as the reason.

And so, the years passed.

He still remembered Jin Rong as a lively and cheerful girl when she first joined the army.

Until two years ago, when the Kaiju invaded, threatening the survival of the entire human race.

That burden fell upon all the soldiers.

Six months ago, when "Shanlan" invaded, people only knew that nearly ten thousand civilians had died in Dalian.

But they didn't know the immense price the army paid to eliminate "Shanlan."

An entire tank brigade was wiped out, with only a few dozen survivors out of over three thousand men.

The Air Force deployed an entire Falcon unit; out of twenty-two fighter jets, only two remained.

Not to mention the other ground combat units.

In that battle, over eight thousand soldiers were killed, more than twenty thousand were wounded, and over three thousand of those were severely injured, forcing them into retirement.

It's important to note that this battle involved special troop types, and yet it was still so difficult and brutal.

This also made the high-level leaders recognize the importance of the Jaeger Program.

Ordinary weapons were useless against Kaiju; it was like filling the gaps with human lives every time they fought.

The lives and property of the populace were also under immense threat.

Using nuclear weapons was even more foolish; even if they could kill the Kaiju, it would be a mutually destructive outcome.

The idea of fighting for every inch of land became a joke.

These matters, of course, were not made public. If the public knew about the army's casualties and its powerlessness against the Kaiju, it would undoubtedly cause chaos and destabilize society.

The military could only bear the pain in silence, projecting an image of being able to protect everyone.

And the newly established Jaeger Combat Command Department bore the pressure of fighting the Kaiju and the expectations of everyone.

In the battles against the Kaiju, we cannot afford to lose, nor can we afford to be defeated.

Jin Rong hurried to the main gate of the base.

She saw Xiao Shou carefully cupping the lunchbox in his arms, as if afraid of it getting rained on.

Her heart couldn't help but warm.

Xiao Shou was also a child she had watched grow up. Although he came home less often after joining the army, seeing the once mischievous Xiao Shou now so sensible that he was working to help with the orphanage's expenses, how could she not love him?

Moreover, Xiao Shou working at his mother's shop allowed him to take care of her, which eased Jin Rong's worries considerably.

Jin Rong, who had no children of her own, had always treated Xiao Shou like a younger brother, or even a child, considering him part of her family.

While she loved him, she also felt immense pity for Xiao Shou.

Abandoned by his family as an orphan since childhood, the kind old director who had cared for him best had sacrificed himself for him, a trauma that had become his nightmare.

Xiao Shou's current hard work and efforts to earn money were a way of numbing himself, preventing him from having the free time to dwell on those memories.

How could anyone not feel sorry for him?

His life was harder and more tiring than that of an ordinary child.

If it weren't for the elders and children still waiting to be fed at the welfare institute.

He would have likely broken down from depression long ago.

Jin Rong took the lunchbox and looked at Xiao Shou's hopeful gaze towards the shattered dome of the base before them.

She glanced back at the steel behemoth, recalling Mao Shucheng's resolve just moments ago.

"Do you want to come in and take a look?"

Perhaps, the person "it" had been waiting for had finally arrived.

After passing through numerous checkpoints, Xiao Shou finally followed Jin Rong into the interior of the steel behemoth.

Upon seeing the Jaeger standing in the main hall, Xiao Shou understood the significance of signing a non-disclosure agreement just to enter.

Xiao Shou stood frozen in place, his eyes fixated on the blue and black "giant."

Anyone seeing a ninety-meter-tall Jaeger for the first time would surely be awestruck by its magnificent and imposing presence.

Jin Rong instructed Xiao Shou to stay put while she went to request an opportunity for a synaptic connection test from Commander Mao Shucheng and Deputy Commander Zhu Qian.

Xiao Shou nodded blankly, his gaze still glued to the Jaeger, and he dared not move.

Engineers were busy transporting equipment all around, accompanied by soldiers armed with real weapons.

Jin Rong took an elevator directly to the command center. Upon hearing Jin Rong's request, Mao Shucheng and Zhu Qian naturally did not object.

This was because the three of them had already reached a consensus on the matter.

Jin Rong then went down personally to oversee Xiao Shou's synaptic connection test.

She explained the precautions for neural synaptic connection to Xiao Shou.

Initially, Xiao Shou was very cooperative; after all, who wouldn't be tempted by the chance to pilot such a Jaeger?

However, when he heard that neural synaptic connection required recalling memories, Xiao Shou began to hesitate.

The memory he most wanted to avoid recalling in the past six months was the scene of the old dean dying to save him.

Every time he thought of it, he would do something to distract himself; it had become his inner demon, his obsession.

Seeing Xiao Shou's hesitant and resistant demeanor, Jin Rong understood his feelings and looked at him with pity.

"Ah Shou, some things must be let go. You have to look forward."

Xiao Shou did not respond, his expression contorted.

Mao Shucheng, seeing Jin Rong and Xiao Shou's prolonged inaction from above, grew curious and immediately used his walkie-talkie to ask Jin Rong what was happening.

"Jin Rong, what's wrong?"

"Commander, Ah Shou's closest relative died six months ago during the 'Shanlan' invasion while saving him. It happened right in front of him, and he doesn't want to recall it."

After reporting, Jin Rong saw Xiao Shou still frowning deeply and felt a surge of compassion.

"Ah Shou, how about I escort you out?"

Xiao Shou was truly at a loss at this moment, torn between the opportunity to pilot a Jaeger and the past he refused to revisit.

Just then, the base's broadcast system crackled to life.

"Kid, if the Kaiju attacks again, I'll give you a chance. Would you rather scurry around in fear, or would you rather pilot a Jaeger and take it down!"