At the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, inside the Breach.
In Precursor territory, atop a purple, sloping structure overlooking the Breach.
"Impossible." The Precursor with the larger crest watched the Breach passage pulse erratically overhead, his voice filled with confusion.
"Leatherback actually failed his mission?"
Thoughts raced through his mind.
All the Jaegers had been focused on Sydney. Even if they had discovered Leatherback's whereabouts, they should not have had time to send support.
Even if Leatherback could not take out both Marshal Stacker and Raleigh, he should at least have killed Raleigh.
"You miscalculated, Quake," the Precursor with the smaller crest taunted him.
"No."
"Something must have changed on Earth without our knowledge." Quake realized something was wrong.
"Yochi, have they finished compiling the footage from before Leatherback died?" he asked.
The kaiju created by the Precursors were all clones with a hive mind. Although their individual behavior differed, they were all commanded by a single biological brain-a biotech brain created by the Precursors.
Even though Leatherback had died on Earth, they could still learn what he had experienced.
However, they lacked the clearance to access firsthand data and could only wait for the council of Archbishop-Class Precursors to release the information.
"Just about."
"They said Leatherback was attacked by a red-and-silver giant. The footage is fragmented, so there's very little information available." Yochi shared the intelligence he had obtained with Quake.
"A giant?"
After Quake's brain received the intelligence, several images appeared, all brief flashes of footage.
He saw the giant in those images.
"Ultraman!?" he exclaimed in shock.
"Why would Ultraman appear in the world of Pacific Rim!?"
He immediately recognized the giant who had killed Leatherback as Ultraman.
But he could not understand why Ultraman was here.
"And... Ultraman can kill a Category IV Kaiju?"
Quake knew about Pacific Rim because he had watched the film before becoming a transmigrator. All of the transmigrators who had entered the world of Pacific Rim possessed relevant knowledge.
But he knew very little about Ultraman. His impression was that Ultraman merely wrestled monsters and smashed a few buildings.
Of course, that was a perfectly normal impression for an outsider unfamiliar with Ultraman.
"The Ultraman I watched before was called Ultraman Tiga. He seemed pretty powerful and could turn gold, but he looked completely different from this one."
"This guy looks completely ordinary. He probably isn't that strong," Yochi reasoned.
Yochi's impression of Ultraman was that the flashier they looked, the stronger they were. Not only did this one look ordinary, but his limbs also seemed thin. He was probably just a grunt.
Quake pondered for a while.
"We still know far too little about our enemy."
"Whatever the case, it's a fact that he killed a Category IV Kaiju."
"His presence undoubtedly increases the overall strength of the Jaeger forces."
"We'll have to make some adjustments to our next plan."
As he spoke and considered his options,
footsteps suddenly sounded behind him.
He turned and saw a group of Ambassador-Class and Central Bishop-Class Precursors approaching, clustered around an Archbishop-Class Precursor.
Within Precursor society, their status was divided into three ranks, from lowest to highest: Ambassador-Class, Central Bishop-Class, and Archbishop-Class.
Quake and Yochi were Central Bishop-Class and Ambassador-Class, respectively.
"You disappoint me."
As soon as the Archbishop-Class Precursor arrived, he reprimanded Quake and Yochi, who were still standing. Only Precursors could understand the mingled syllables.
The moment they heard that voice, Quake and Yochi felt an oppressive force rooted in their genes.
Quake's earlier plan had failed to produce results, provoking the Precursor Council's displeasure.
While Quake and Yochi still possessed souls that had once belonged to humans, these others were purebred aliens.
"Two hundred million years ago, we set our sights on Earth."
"But its environment was unsuitable for us at the time."
"Now, after all these years, humanity has transformed Earth into an environment fit for us to inhabit. It is time for us to take possession of it." The Archbishop-Class Precursor spoke in their unique language.
"There is only one option when dealing with those inferior carbon-based life-forms called humans."
"Slaughter every last one of them, along with all other life on Earth."
The archbishop gazed at the many kaiju still incubating in the distant kaiju factory, his voice filled with unquestionable arrogance.
As time passed, the kaiju they created would grow increasingly powerful. Humanity could never halt their advance.
"But what if they counterattack?"
"They'll carry a weapon called a nuclear bomb through the Breach and destroy this colony of ours," Quake warned. "We should prepare for multiple possibilities in advance."
The Precursors indeed held the advantage in both combat power and scientific advancement, but humanity might resort to unexpected tactics.
Knowing humanity's upcoming plans, Quake understood that he had to proceed cautiously, especially now that an unforeseen development had already occurred.
"You." The Archbishop-Class Precursor approached Quake and looked down at him with contempt. "Are nothing but a weakling."
"You are as cowardly as the humans."
There were several factions within the Precursor Council, and the one standing before Quake belonged to an utterly radical faction.
"Now, get out of my sight."
"Or become nourishment for our weapons."
The archbishop was triggering the fear encoded in Quake's genes, leaving him barely able to stand.
"Yes."
Quake seethed inwardly, but his innate genetics prevented him from resisting. He could only bow his head and comply.
He left with Yochi.
He intended to find council members willing to support his ideas.
If that bastard wants to get himself killed, fine. But I don't.
Earth.
The office of the chief minister of the United Nations Anti-Kaiju Wall-the Wall of Life-Project.
The American chief minister, nearly sixty with graying temples, stood before a wall covered in display screens.
"Are you certain you want to change course?" someone on one of the screens asked him.
"Although the project met with public opposition after the Wall of Life in Sydney was breached, it still held the kaiju off for nearly an hour."
"If you continue with the Wall of Life Project, we will keep providing funding."
The elderly man shook his head.
Then he signaled with his eyes for a middle-aged, brown-haired American man in a well-tailored suit to step forward. "Let him explain it to you," he told the people on the screens.
"Zachary Lyman?"
"The renowned doctor of biology and mechanical engineering."
"Shouldn't you be at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology right now? What are you doing with him?"
Zachary Lyman raised his head toward the United States representative questioning him on the screen and offered a polite smile.
"Mr. Taylor, I felt the call of duty."
"I previously published a paper on [remotely piloted, mass-produced Jaegers]. I wonder if you remember it."
"I do."
"Mr. Stacker Pentecost even opposed that technology at one point," Taylor said, looking at him.
"That's correct."
"But I believe you can appreciate the potential of this technology."
"If these mass-produced Jaegers can be successfully deployed, we will have the power to eradicate the kaiju completely."
"At the same time, we will regain the public's trust."
Upon hearing that,
Taylor considered it for a moment.
"That sounds interesting," another country's representative said. "So the minister of the Wall of Life Project changed his mind because he wants to implement your plan?"
"Correct." The chief minister of the Wall of Life Project nodded. "The Wall of Life alone can no longer restore the public's trust."
"As for Stacker Pentecost, everything that has happened has already proven him a failure."
"Now, I would rather place my hopes in [remotely piloted, mass-produced Jaegers]."
After he finished, the representatives had no choice but to take a closer look at Zachary Lyman, the man proposing the [remotely piloted, mass-produced Jaegers] plan.
"Can you really develop this technology?" Taylor, the United States representative, asked. "How long would we have to wait to see results?"
Zachary Lyman smiled at the question.
"Right now."
"Because I've already developed it."
Before you continue