The Kaiju Advance

Boom...!!!

A luxury cruise ship that happened to be passing by, weighing over a hundred thousand tons, was effortlessly pierced in two by the monster's shark-fin-like bone blade protruding from its head.

Rumble...!!!

Amid two violent explosions, the cruise ship, now split in half, slowly sank into the sea.

However.

The massive monster remained completely unaffected by the explosions.

It continued swaying its enormous body as it headed toward the coastline.

Along the way, it even smashed through the Golden Gate Bridge blocking its path, causing the live feed from the scene to cut off completely.

What the hell was this ugly thing?

Could it be some disobedient little brother under Godzilla's command?

No!

This hideous, cobbled-together design had absolutely no aesthetic appeal. It was worlds apart from the MonsterVerse Godzilla belonged to!

"Could another monster world have merged in as well?"

Carl frowned slightly, feeling as though she had seen a similar monster somewhere before.

So she began searching through the giant-monster movie footage she had watched in her "previous life."

Very quickly, a movie about mechs fighting monsters surfaced in her mind.

"Could this fucking be a Kaiju?!!"

That was right—it was Pacific Rim.

The Kaiju in it came in all shapes and sizes. Some resembled crabs, some turtles, some crocodiles, and so on.

One of them, a monster called Knifehead, looked extremely similar to the one before her.

Combined with the destruction in San Francisco and at the Golden Gate Bridge—

Carl could almost confirm that this monster was the first Category Three Kaiju, Trespasser, sent to Earth by the alien colonizers known as the Precursors through the Breach at the bottom of the Mariana Trench to wipe out humanity!

Although the movie had not shown any actual footage of Trespasser, it had briefly described the devastation it caused.

Trespasser possessed tough, thick skin that could withstand almost any conventional weapon.

The moment it landed in San Francisco, it triggered a powerful earthquake of roughly magnitude 7.1, causing tremendous destruction throughout the city.

The U.S. military immediately deployed its army, navy, and air force to attack it.

For six straight days, they used every conventional means of attack available, yet failed to inflict any effective damage on Trespasser.

In the end, with no other choice, the U.S. military dropped three tactical nuclear weapons on Oakland and destroyed it!!

Yet even nuclear bombs failed to completely erase its incredibly durable body.

And Trespasser's body contained a special blue blood rich in amino chemicals.

It was actually a special toxin lethally harmful to humans.

The high temperatures generated by the explosion instantly vaporized it and released it into the air.

And so...

Within a hundred miles of San Francisco, the land became a barren wasteland filled with toxins and radiation. Nearly a million people died!

This disaster later became known as the San Francisco Incident, while the day the Kaiju landed was called K-Day!!!

Humanity also launched the Jaeger Program as a result.

They attempted to build giant mechs and use pure physical attacks to cause the Kaiju to die from "internal bleeding," thereby reducing the contamination their internal toxins caused to the atmosphere and environment.

At that thought—

Carl rose directly from the spa tub.

Her toned muscles, along with the capital that surpassed all rivals, were revealed in perfect detail beneath the cascade of icy water.

"Oh My God!!!"

The little secretary covered her mouth and let out an extremely reverent gasp.

Her blazing gaze was welded directly onto the source of life.

She even swallowed unconsciously.

Was this the legendary key capable of sending any woman to heaven?!!

Only when she heard an unhappy snort by her ear did she snap back to her senses, hurriedly grabbing a bathrobe and helping Carl put it on.

After waving the little secretary away, Carl picked up the phone and called Zemo.

Perhaps affected by the earthquake, the call connected successfully, but the signal kept cutting in and out.

"Zemo, that monster is called a Kaiju. Its blood contains deadly poison. Take Samuel Stern and leave San Francisco immediately!!"

"Yes."

Even though he was currently in danger, Zemo's voice remained calm and steady.

That composure—the kind that remained unchanged even with Mount Tai collapsing before him—immediately put Carl more at ease.

Sure enough, her previous approach to recruiting subordinates had been correct.

Only people like this, who could withstand pressure and crises at critical moments and continue completing their missions, were talents truly worth Carl humbling herself and spending heavily to recruit!!

After hanging up—

After giving it some thought, Carl called John Jameson as well.

This was undoubtedly a perfect opportunity to harvest Reputation Points.

How could she possibly let it slip by!!!

San Francisco.

Time rewound slightly to more than ten minutes earlier.

On the broad pedestrian walkway on the left side of the Golden Gate Bridge, Zemo was escorting the vacant-eyed Black Widow alone toward the center of the bridge.

This was a requirement Zemo had specifically made to prevent S.H.I.E.L.D. from pulling any tricks.

Both sides could only send one person to bring the hostage and walk to the center of the bridge for the exchange.

This would minimize the possibility of either side trying to double-cross the other.

Zemo soon arrived at the designated location.

Less than twenty meters away on the opposite side stood a man with short brown hair, dressed in a black bodysuit and carrying a quiver on his back.

He was studying Zemo and the Black Widow he was escorting with a sharp gaze.

At the same time, beside that man stood an oddball wearing specially made handcuffs and a gag. His features were plain, but his head was more than three times larger than an ordinary person's.

Judging from his appearance and the characteristics of his head alone, he should have been Samuel Stern himself.

"Sir, something seems off about Natasha's condition!"

After noticing the abnormality, Clint Barton, the Level Seven S.H.I.E.L.D. agent codenamed Hawkeye, hurriedly informed Director Nick Fury through his communicator.

"Motherfucker!!!"

Nick Fury's furious voice immediately sounded through the earpiece. "Check Romanoff carefully later. If anything is wrong, kill the person handling the exchange immediately, then bring both hostages back."

Being extorted for ten million had already hurt enough.

If they traded for a useless idiot on top of that, S.H.I.E.L.D. would really be taking a massive loss this time.

"Yes."

Hawkeye escorted Samuel Stern forward slowly, then stopped again roughly two meters away from Zemo.

The two released their grips in tacit understanding, and the hostages obediently walked toward the other side.

"Natasha, are you all right?"

While keeping watch on the other side, Hawkeye continuously called out to his friend.

However.

Black Widow seemed not to hear him. Her face still wore that vacant expression.

"Damn it... What exactly did you do to her!!!"

Hawkeye angrily drew his bow, pulling the string taut as he aimed at Zemo across from him.

The arrow he used carried a specially made high-explosive warhead, with far greater power and destructive range than an ordinary armor-piercing round.

If the other side could not give him a satisfactory answer now, he would make sure they died without a body left behind!!!

Thanks to big boss "Yemo" for the two monthly votes, big boss "Qin Blackfish" for the one monthly vote, and all the other readers who cast recommendation votes. This little author is immensely grateful!!!