"All departments, take your positions and stay sharp." Commander Cost stood in a commanding control room. "I hereby announce: Mecha Hunter trainee pilot onboarding and training officially begins."
With the help of the loudspeaker system, Cost's words echoed throughout the entire base. Even the bystanders who were just there for the show started to get nervous.
"Group One, begin testing Gypsy One. Neural link—activate."
"Sir, neural link established. Everything looks good."
"Good, set the nuclear engine to minimum output. Release the safety locks. Gypsy One, try raising your arm."
Under everyone's gaze, the nuclear reactor on the chest of the yellow Mecha started to glow red. With a humming sound, the Mecha's arm moved. It was like a patient who'd been bedridden for years finally recovering—awkward, slow, but it still managed to lift.
"Okay, Gypsy One, now try moving your fingers..." The test crew treated Gypsy One like they were handling a high-risk patient. Experienced pilots wouldn’t need all this fuss, but for first-timers, you had to go by the book. As it turned out, this thing was harder to control than an Avatar—at least Gypsy One couldn’t manage the fingers.
After more than twenty minutes of tests and Q&A about the Mecha, neural link, and pilots, the Brighton brothers were finally allowed to take a step.
The Mecha lifted its leg, then put it down. With a thud, the whole ground shook—this step was even less steady than a limping Van Wei. But someone in the crowd started clapping anyway. As they say, "One small step forward, one giant leap for success." If you can get a Mecha to walk its first time out, that's already impressive.
Sure enough, the Brighton brothers felt proud and excited, while Commander Cost nodded and said, "Group One, continue testing Gypsy One. Remember, no excessive engine output, keep an eye on the piloting status, and hit the brakes at the first sign of trouble. Group Two, start testing 'Lance.'"
"Yes, sir!"
The Gao Sisters did a bit better than the Brighton brothers—their arm movements were much smoother, and they could even bend their fingers a little. If Gypsy One was like an old-school puppet, then the Gao Sisters were at least Barbie-doll level. Still, the red Lance Mecha walked all wobbly, like a girl trying on high heels for the first time.
"Brighton brothers, can you keep going?"
"No problem, sir!"
"Alright, get more familiar with the machine." The hangar space was actually pretty limited—there wasn’t room for two Mechas to move around. So Cost ordered, "Open the hangar doors. Gypsy One, head out to the sea for some exercise, and test the watertight seals while you’re at it. Okay, Group Three, fire up Crusader."
Buzz—the engine in the Mecha’s chest started up, glowing red. Nobody really knew how this nuclear engine worked, but it sure could power a Mecha Hunter like crazy—just like Iron Man’s arc reactor. At the same time, the neural link activated, and in an instant, a flood of information surged into Jill Young’s mind like a tidal wave.
At that moment, the black Mecha gave a gentle shudder, then seemed to transform from a lifeless thing into something with a spark of spirit.
"Queen, how do you feel?"
"I feel... amazing!" Jill Young’s voice was full of excitement.
"Uh, as long as you feel good. The data shows your neural link is really stable. Now try moving your ha—arm..." The operator didn’t finish, because the giant Mecha across from them had already lifted both hands just like a normal person. Then, without waiting for the next command, it started flexing its fingers. It was a bit stiff at first, but soon all ten fingers were moving like they’d been doing it forever. If you ignored the looks, you’d think it was a real, living body.
Everyone started cheering and applauding—even Cost let out a sigh. Truly, an unbelievable genius.
"Hahaha, this feeling is wild—it's like I'm driving, but also like I'm being possessed. I feel like a giant!" The black Mecha took a deep breath, its chest reactor spinning faster, the flames shifting color as the power ramped up. At the same time, the Mecha started moving its wrists, shoulders, and ankles like an athlete warming up. It twisted its waist, turned its head, and with a clatter of metal, the black Mecha's movements grew more agile and faster.
"Crusader, watch your engine output—don't cause an accident." Cost said this, but he looked pretty satisfied. He ordered, "Lance, roll out. The other two Mechas, get ready for testing." Cost breathed out; this batch of trainees was definitely solid. So far, all the test results looked good. With a bit more training, these five fifth-gen Mechas could really help hold the line against the current crisis.
But as always, disaster strikes when you least expect it.
"Sir!" a staff member suddenly shouted in panic, "The detection network just picked up a Kaiju signature!"
"Where?"
"Right—" Cold sweat ran down the terrified staffer's face. He glanced at the hangar doors, pale as a ghost. "Right outside..."
"What?!" Cost whipped his head around, just in time to see a massive bulge rise on the blue ocean outside. It was like a huge bomb had gone off underwater—water shot sky-high, then crashed down in a roaring torrent. The surge was still miles away at first, but it raced closer and closer, moving like a tidal wave straight for them.
Gypsy One was right in the path of the wave. Seeing this massive turn of events, it froze, looking totally lost.
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"We're doomed!" Cost's face changed dramatically. This was the rookie's biggest weakness—how to handle a crisis!
"Roooaaaar—!" A gigantic roar shattered the rising waves, sending a howling wind blasting through the entire base hangar. It was like the Mecha itself was stunned by the sound—Gypsy One froze, and then a massive claw burst from the surf, slamming right onto Gypsy One's head.
Boom! The crash was so loud it defied imagination—Gypsy One lost its balance and toppled over. Even its massive metal body couldn't stand up to the hit and collapsed. In the spray, a huge blue shape appeared, like a super-sized Komodo dragon—Kaiju! A Level 3 Kaiju!
Its eyes blazed with blue light, radiating pure menace. Right in front of it, Lance was wobbling out of the hangar. Behind it, the hangar doors were wide open—the strongest and weakest spot in the base, now exposed to the Level 3 Kaiju.
"Evacuate!" Everyone screamed, running like mad. These folks were well-trained and quickly retreated to their stations, but Cost still looked grim. He grabbed the mic and yelled, "All defensive firepower, full blast! Lance, get back here now!"
"Evacuate?" The Gao sisters cried out in shock, "But Gypsy One is still outside!"
Outside, Gypsy One was flailing in the water like a helpless girl pinned down by a thug, totally unable to fight back. It couldn't even stand up, let alone resist the Kaiju's claws. The auto-cannons blasted the Kaiju, but the explosions didn't faze it—in fact, they just made it angrier. The Brighton brothers' panicked shouts came through the comms, making everyone's faces go even paler.
"Forget Gypsy One, you guys can't fight—evacuate now! Close the hangar doors, we can't afford any more damage!" There were five fifth-gen Mechas, but none were ready for combat. This was the base's weakest moment. "Get the standby pilots into the Mechas, be ready to reinforce at any moment." Thank goodness it's just one Kaiju—maybe the fourth-gen Mechas can handle it...
But just as that thought crossed his mind, another giant wave erupted on the distant sea. This one was bigger, stronger, and faster.
"No—!"
As everyone screamed, another massive Kaiju burst through the waves, radiating pure menace. It leapt straight out of the water—thousands of tons of monster, soaring over two hundred meters high—then crashed down on the red Mecha like a mountain falling from the sky.