I, a ship girl, am the savior of civilization.

Jefferson opened his mouth as if to refute, but in the end he was speechless.

"Alright, let's take down the Kaiju as soon as possible and get back to base. I wonder if the heroes will get to enjoy the desserts made by your Laura?"

Albert laughed as he spoke, then activated the liquid nitrogen sprayer and sprayed the strange man several times.

Having mastered the Kaiju's attack rhythm, Horizon deliberately sprayed liquid nitrogen at the monster, gradually reducing its mobility. By now, the monster's movements had noticeably slowed down.

With the power turned up to maximum, Jefferson and Albert manipulated Horizon, spraying all the liquid nitrogen in the storage tank onto the freak.

In the end, the eccentric became a crystal-clear ice sculpture.

"It's still quite beautiful, isn't it?"

As he said this, Albert raised his fist, ready to smash the Kaiju to pieces.

"Be careful, the Kaiju's energy reaction hasn't disappeared yet, we can't... Holy crap, what is this thing?"

Jefferson habitually reminded Albert, who was preparing to finish him off, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the tail whipping towards the horizon. He barely managed to block it with the steel arm in front of him, and the next moment, a feeling of being suspended in mid-air came over him. The Horizon mech was thrown more than a hundred meters away before sinking into the water.

"Damn it, didn't you freeze your tail too?"

Jefferson maneuvered the mech to stand up again, and asked Jefferson with an incredulous look on his face.

"Do you think this is burning a CD? You burn side A, then side B. The Kaiju never turned its back to us the whole time, and its legs are so short, it can't freeze in the water at all. What can I do?"

Albert argued forcefully, but a hint of embarrassment flashed across his face: "Compared to this, I think we should be thinking more about how to survive."

Horizon knelt on the shallow seabed, and Jefferson and Albert in the cockpit watched the strange creature, half-covered in permafrost, raise its claws, and fell silent.

However, before the two could even think of their last words, a red light shot from the horizon and pierced through the strange man's enormous body.

The next moment, the Kaiju's body was blasted into pieces, which then fell into the ocean like petals scattered by a fairy.

13. The History of PPDC's Imagination

Jefferson and Albert looked at each other, bewildered, as they stared at the dead Kaiju and the gradually spreading blue monster.

What's going on? A betrayal of justice?

Horizon stood blankly before the wreckage of the strange creature, somewhat at a loss. Because the Dawn was classified as a secret and hadn't been seen much for months, even the two pilots were unsure of the situation.

Meanwhile, in the PPDC's command center, the satellite clearly captured the Dawn appearing on the sea surface, the electromagnetic acceleration channel that had been aimed at the Stranger slowly retracting into the ship's hull, and then gradually sinking and disappearing.

"The analysis has been completed. The speed exceeds two kilometers per second. That red light should be formed by the intense friction between the shell and the atmosphere, which is consistent with the weapon recorded during the Marani invasion. However, judging from its appearance and principle, it should be an electromagnetic kinetic energy weapon."

The researchers sitting in front of their computers displayed the automatically generated model on the main screen and explained.

Looking at the electromagnetic channel model on the screen, the lieutenant general said nothing, only requesting that all witnesses keep it a secret. He had heard of the mysterious behemoth, the Dawn, before.

He successively stopped the Kaiju in San Francisco and Maranhão. Although he was initially suspected of being the instigator of the Kaiju's appearance, the discovery of the wormhole cleared him of this last suspicion.

It is obvious that wormholes, a technology far beyond Earth's reach, cannot be mastered by any Earth-based organization. In addition, the mysterious behemoth has not yet shown any hostile tendencies, only occasionally coming to kill a few Kaiju. Therefore, the PPDC has temporarily classified the Dawn as Earth's side.

After a while, Jefferson and Albert's footsteps came from the doorway of the command room. They saluted the lieutenant general, both of them showing some embarrassment and confusion.

On its first battle, it almost caused a disaster. Without the support of the Dawn's electromagnetic cannon, it lost the initiative and the Horizon Warrior, whose mechs were not even standing upright, was either destroyed or severely damaged by the monster's attack.

"Lieutenant General Chen, what exactly was that that killed the Kaiju before?"

After the ceremony, Albert, filled with questions, asked the lieutenant general. It was only through Albert's words that Laura learned that the lieutenant general who had previously comforted her was surnamed Chen.

Accessing PPDC's official website, Laura retrieved publicly available information about personnel at the Hong Kong base. Due to the protection of base personnel and necessary confidentiality measures, the information contained limited details about the actual high-ranking officials.

The entry concerning Lieutenant General Chen was only a single line, describing his name and rank, without even a photograph.

Chen Hui, that's the full name of the lieutenant general.

"So, he is General Chen Hui?"

As Laura pondered this in her heart, Lieutenant General Chen Hui also responded to Albert's question: "Let's talk about that later."

"By the way, today marks the first time our Hong Kong PPDC has killed a Kaiju. If you don't mind, I'll treat you to a celebratory dinner."

Albert was somewhat confused, but Jefferson immediately understood. Chen Hui's implication was that they should talk in a secluded place. Undoubtedly, that mysterious giant ship might involve military secrets.

"That would be too much trouble for you, General. My house is quite big. If you don't mind, why don't you come over tonight and try out Little Laura's cooking?"

Their eyes met, and the two instantly reached a consensus, leaving Albert still completely confused.

Upon hearing Jefferson's words, Laura abruptly turned to look at the two of them. "In just a few seconds, you've already taken care of this ship girl?"

Taking credit for my work, discussing your true selves in my own home, and expecting me, the ship girl, to cook for you.

Does this ship girl have no dignity?

In the end, however, Laura reluctantly nodded and agreed. After all, Lieutenant General Chen Hui was a good person, and considering his previous comforting gestures, cooking a meal wasn't a big deal.

As night fell, the alarm at the Hong Kong base had already been lifted, and Lieutenant General Chen Hui had arrived at Jefferson's home.

Dinner had been prepared long ago. Because of the tight schedule, Laura returned home early and, with the help of the ship's equipment, cooked a fairly sumptuous meal.

The fusion of Chinese and Western styles, combining Chinese home-style dishes with a variety of Western meals, makes it look incredibly appetizing.

"I didn't realize Laura was so capable."

After taking a bite, Chen Hui's eyes lit up, and he said with a smile, "Judging from Laura's appearance, she should be only twelve or thirteen years old. It's a pity that she's following Jefferson at such an age and can do this much."

Jefferson wasn't embarrassed by Chen Hui's teasing; instead, he laughed smugly a few times: "Lieutenant General, I may not be as good as you in rank, but when it comes to children, I will never lose."

Seeing Jefferson gradually losing himself in the moment, Laura expressionlessly tapped him on the head before preparing to return to her room. As for the upcoming news about the Dawn, Laura felt it best to avoid it.

Jefferson and Albert were mech pilots, so they knew it was okay. Their current identities were just those of family members, and it wasn't convenient for them to access these military secrets.

However, before Laura could turn around, Lieutenant General Chen Hui called out to her, "It's alright, Laura, come along. It'll be good for you to broaden your horizons. It's not a big deal anyway."

Chen Hui had previously allowed Laura to remain in the command center simply because he felt that, as a family member of a mech pilot, Laura needed to know about Jefferson's situation. The appearance of the Dawn was merely an accident.

But now that they've unexpectedly seen the Dawn, there's no need to keep it a secret any longer.

"That mysterious behemoth has been temporarily named 'Dawn' by the PPDC. During the Kaiju invasion, it was this warship that provided humanity with time to adapt. Whatever the purpose of the Dawn behemoth, it truly did protect us humans."

"The technology is clearly beyond the current level of Earth. Its origin is unknown, but it seems to have good intentions. The purpose of the records so far is to fight against the Kaiju."

Upon hearing the codename given to her by the military, Laura glanced sideways, a hint of surprise flashing in her light blue eyes. One can only say, fate is truly wondrous.

Setting down his bowl and chopsticks, Chen Hui's tone became serious as the topic turned to this mothership filled with unknowns.

"Based on shell casing comparison, the Dawn mothership was still using 460mm main guns during the first Battle of San Francisco, but during the Battle of Marani, we only collected one heavily deformed tungsten steel shell."

"The analysis team ultimately concluded that Dawn has been equipped with mature electromagnetic weapons. From the initial killing of Axehead to the current targeting of the Stranger, Dawn warships have preferred to use kinetic energy weapons, which coincides with PPDC's analysis."

"However, since it was impossible to make contact with Dawn and satellite infrared spectrum showed no signs of life inside the ship, a startling conjecture arose within PPDC."

"Perhaps the Kaiju did indeed originate from extraterrestrial civilizations and invaded Earth long ago as weapons of invasion. Before that, there may have been civilizations as glorious as ours that fought against them, ultimately resulting in mutual destruction. The wormhole in the Pacific Ocean was successfully closed, but the ancient civilization perished as a result."

"The Dawn Giant Ship is a strategic weapon left over from ancient times. When the Kaiju re-invaded was detected, this war machine, which had been sealed at the bottom of the sea, was restarted and engaged in battle."

"puff……"

Laura almost burst out laughing when she heard Lieutenant General Chen Hui's story.

The person in charge of PPDC's truth-revealing team is truly a genius.

14. Exchanges at the Hunter Academy

In another sense, this is very close to the truth.

The unknown civilization that built the Dawn mothership, the purpose of fighting the Kaiju, the Kaiju originating from extraterrestrial civilizations, the sudden changes in Earth's environment during the Triassic period... After listening to PPDC's series of analyses, Laura even suspected that one of them had broken the fourth wall.

And this is not the end.

"The Dawn is clearly very familiar with the Kaiju, which may confirm PPDC's speculation. As for the weapon replacement... according to the tests, the Dawn's outer armor is only less than five years more advanced than current human technology, so there should be a corresponding logistics base on the seabed. The electromagnetic gun it carries may have been replaced there."

"It's a pity that the Dawn is currently operating only through intelligent programs. The ancient civilization may not have completed the development of strong artificial intelligence. Otherwise, PPDC might have been able to cooperate with them."

Watching Lieutenant General Chen Hui speak eloquently, going further and further down the path of self-conquest, Laura was speechless for a moment.

"Could it be that there is some deeply hidden organization on Earth?"

Jefferson tentatively raised the question. This possibility was clearly more acceptable than the wars left behind by prehistoric civilizations.

"It might be possible, but the chances are slim."

Lieutenant General Chen Hui did not speak definitively, but his tone still conveyed a lack of hope:

"The United Nations has conducted an analysis of global resource flows and found no large-scale resource flows with unknown purposes. Unless the entire United Nations has been infiltrated, the possibility of an unknown organization is very low."

Next, Jefferson and Albert suggested a few more possibilities, but Chen Hui rejected them all.

As for Laura, she listened to the story with a mysterious smile on her face.

There's no need to admit it, but as long as the PPDC and the UN don't veto this possibility, Laura will have far fewer troubles. At least, she won't have to worry about being identified as an enemy all the time, or having a few tomahawks flying over her head.

The next day, Lieutenant General Chen Hui granted Laura travel privileges. Although she could not enter or leave certain classified areas, she could move freely within the base.

Although Laura could wander around the base before, she was ultimately just crossing the line of the rules. Now, however, Laura is officially a member of the organization.

As time went by, the development of the second-generation Jaeger was nearing completion, and the frequency of Kaiju invasions increased only slightly, without attracting much attention for the time being.

The related industrial chain of Jaeger began to take shape, PPDC's development was booming, and the Jaeger killed the Kaiju that invaded several times in a row, allowing the world to gradually return to peace.

During this period, the Horizon design, which Jefferson criticized, remained unchanged. PPDC only upgraded some sections, elevating them to the level of second-generation mechs.

It's roughly like an upgrade with thicker armor, more power, and more liquid nitrogen that the tank can store.

June 2017

"Little Laura, the first-generation mech is returning to base today. Would you like to go see it?"

After finishing the last bite of her morning cake, Laura put down her silver fork and shook her head without hesitation: "I'm not going."

Jefferson had always tried to spark Laura's interest in mechs. However, Laura herself was the much more powerful and massive Dawn, making it impossible for her to understand Jefferson's feelings about mechs.

Want Laura to like mechs? Sure, but either make them bigger or tougher, or forget it.

Jefferson's "return" actually refers to the recall of the original Horizon Warriors who were the first to support the Anchorage base in Alaska, back to Hong Kong. Thanks to this, Jefferson and Albert were no longer the only ones capable of engaging the Kaiju at the base.

According to the original plan, the first Horizon was to leave within a few months after having a permanent Jaeger at Anchorage Base. However, Alaska was unlucky, with several Kaiju appearing one after another, and even the permanent Jaeger "Blue Romeo" was destroyed in the battle.

Recently, the Level 3 Jaeger "Gipsy Danger" was manufactured, which relieved the pressure on Anchorage and allowed the original Horizon to return.