Sneak attack!

Inside Shatterdome Base, every Jaeger had an entire support team assigned to it in addition to its pilots.

At mealtimes, they mostly gathered in those same groups.

Several Jaeger maintenance technicians were already seated at the Eureka Striker team's long dining table, along with its other pilot, Chuck Hansen.

Young Hansen looked almost like a carbon copy of Old Hansen, though he was younger and had sharper features. He was in his early twenties and wore a fitted gray T-shirt.

His gaze settled on his father as he watched him bring the others over.

"The best thing about living on base is getting enough to eat at every meal," Old Hansen casually told Natsuki and Raleigh as he set his tray on the table.

"After all, Jaeger pilots can't win battles on an empty stomach."

The three sat down.

Hearing his father's remark, Chuck chimed in.

"We just won a battle yesterday, in Sydney."

Young Hansen was always immensely proud when he talked about his glorious record.

"The Category IV Kaiju codenamed Virus tore down that lousy wall in less than an hour. Echo Saber and Vulcan Specter were no match for him either."

"In the end, the Eureka Striker I piloted killed that Kaiju."

The corners of his mouth lifted, and he crossed his index fingers to form the number ten. "Our tenth kill. We've broken our own record again."

"We're at 10-0 now."

As the most capable Jaeger currently in service, the Eureka Striker boasted a dazzling record: ten deployments, ten kills, and not a single defeat.

"Pretty impressive." Hearing that record, Raleigh couldn't help regarding him with newfound respect.

He offered the compliment while twirling spaghetti onto his fork.

When he'd been Young Hansen's age, he'd only killed five Kaiju. Setting aside the guy's rather arrogant attitude, that record genuinely deserved praise.

Natsuki kept his head down and ate, merely listening without offering any response.

Now that he'd struck up a conversation with Raleigh, Young Hansen took the opportunity to say what was really on his mind.

"Honestly, there's a reason that stupid wall project got approved." Young Hansen looked at Raleigh, a hint of hostility entering his gaze.

"There are too many useless Jaeger pilots, and they've made those idiots at the United Nations think we're all like that."

The United Nations had initially been fairly optimistic about the Jaeger Program, but as more and more Jaegers were scrapped, they lost faith in it.

The loss of Gipsy Danger five years ago could be called the straw that broke the camel's back.

After that mission, the United Nations decided to proceed with the Wall of Life project and withdrew its funding for Marshal Stacker.

At those words, Raleigh's fork stopped in midair, his expression turning grave.

He understood.

Chuck was trying to pick a fight with him.

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

"You disappeared for five whole years. What made you decide to come back now?" Young Hansen asked with a raised eyebrow, his voice full of mockery. "Couldn't get enough to eat building that lousy wall out there, 'Little Raleigh'?"

He deliberately said that last nickname in Chinese, which he'd learned from Crimson Typhoon's pilots.

The provocation was so blatant that the air practically smelled of gunpowder.

Faced with those openly hostile words, Raleigh, whose temperament had steadied over the past five years, didn't immediately retaliate. Instead, he turned to glance at Old Hansen.

Seeing the apology in Old Hansen's eyes, he weighed his options and, after a brief moment of thought, silently nodded.

He chose not to rise to the younger man's bait.

But when Young Hansen saw Raleigh remain silent, he pressed his advantage, pointing straight at Raleigh's nose.

"I find it hard to believe someone who's been drifting around for five years can still pilot a Jaeger."

"If you dare hold me back on any upcoming missions, I promise you'll find out what happens."

Raleigh pressed his lips together.

His hand instinctively tightened around his fork, and a trace of hostility crept into his eyes.

Five years ago, with the temper he'd had then, he would absolutely have beaten this brat senseless.

But over those five years, he'd grown used to mockery like this.

On the construction site, shift supervisor Miles and some of the workers were always making jokes at his expense. It had even become part of their daily lives.

Compared to those people, Young Hansen's words barely stung.

Raleigh thought it over. Whatever else the kid was, he'd personally fought Kaiju and saved countless lives. Besides, Raleigh had to show some consideration for Old Hansen. In the end, he held himself back and didn't lash out.

"Fine." With Raleigh still refusing to say a word, Young Hansen felt as though he were punching a pillow.

When his taunts failed, he shifted his gaze to Natsuki, who was still eating with his head down.

In those brief two minutes, Natsuki had already polished off three plates. Now the food on his fourth was being whisked into his mouth by chopsticks moving fast enough to leave afterimages.

Damn it, this guy looks so skinny and frail. How can he eat so much?

"You know, bringing back a guy who's been drifting around for five years isn't even the thing that confuses me most." Glancing at Natsuki, he addressed the others at the table.

"What I really can't understand is how we actually have an alien in our base now!"

"For God's sake, look at what alien monsters have done to our planet! And now there's an alien sitting right here among us, bold as brass?"

He turned toward Natsuki and pointed at him. "They say this guy saved the marshal's life?"

"I'm more inclined to believe it was all a scheme. A scheme to infiltrate the base!"

"If you ask me, if aliens want to help us, they should be lying in a laboratory, letting us dissect and study them, not sitting here dressed like they're on vacation..."

Young Hansen's mouth fired like a Gatling gun as he unleashed a furious barrage at Natsuki, laying bare his deep hatred of aliens.

Old Hansen was about to tell him to stop.

But before he could, the round plate of mashed potatoes on the table suddenly flew up for no apparent reason and slammed into Young Hansen's face with a bang.

"F...!"

"Wha... what's hap... pening?!"

The plate of mashed potatoes plastered across his face left him completely stunned.

He used all his strength to try to pry the metal plate off, but no matter how hard he pulled, it wouldn't budge.

Beside him, Natsuki leisurely continued enjoying his final plate of food. His gaze remained on his meal, but golden light had appeared in his eyes.

There was no doubt Natsuki was responsible.

"I really hate it when people interrupt my meals," Natsuki said calmly, without any change in expression.

The already tense atmosphere instantly grew worse. Those seated nearby even felt the temperature drop several degrees-literally.

"D... damn it!"

"That... was a sneak... attack!" Young Hansen's voice squeezed out through the heap of mashed potatoes.

A moment later.

"I can't... brea...!"

"Mmph... mmph!"

As though some spell had been cast on them, all the mashed potatoes inside the metal plate on his face surged toward his throat, clogging his esophagus. He could no longer speak, only make muffled whimpers.