Chapter 41: Remodeling

At this moment, a cold electronic voice suddenly rang out in Fugaku's mind: "Main Mission Two: Completed."

"Objective: Storm Crimson successfully survived. Mission Reward: 1500 Reward Points."

Hearing this prompt tone, Uchiha Fugaku's tense nerves finally relaxed. He let out a deep breath, leaning limply against the pilot's seat.

The battle just now was truly heart-stopping; if not for the Eureka Striker's cover, this mission would probably have been impossible to complete.

The battle's victory filled the base with jubilation; the surviving staff members' faces were brimming with the joy of survival after a disaster.

Subsequently, Uchiha Fugaku slowly opened the cockpit hatch, leaped up, and landed steadily on the ground.

He walked quickly to the side of the Eureka Striker's wrecked frame, bowing his head to gaze at this Jaeger that had once fought shoulder to shoulder.

"You worked hard; you truly are a hero," Fugaku silently recited in his heart, a trace of respect revealing itself in his eyes.

At this moment, a set of footsteps sounded behind him. Fugaku turned his head and saw Stark walking toward him, his face full of gravity.

"Mr. Fugaku, now is not the time to be sad," Stark spoke, his voice low. "We still have more missions to complete. Can you continue to fight?"

Fugaku raised his head. "I'm fine."

"Good." Stark nodded, turning and walking toward the Command Center. Fugaku followed closely behind, and the two soon arrived inside the Command Room.

Doctor Herman had already been waiting there for a long time. He was standing before a row of instruments flashing with indicator lights, intently staring at the data scrolling on the screen.

Sensing someone enter, Herman turned around. He pushed up his glasses, a serious expression appearing on his face.

"How is the situation?" Stark asked straight to the point.

"The passage in the Wormhole is now completely open," Herman pointed at the screen and explained. "This is the best time for us to blow it up with a Nuclear Bomb."

Stark's gaze swept around the broken Jaeger wreckage, finally settling on Storm Crimson.

"Right now in the base, only Storm Crimson remains capable of executing the task of transporting the Nuclear Bomb."

He pondered for a moment, as if making a decision: "We'll take all the usable parts from Dangerous Wanderer and Cherno Alpha and install them onto Storm Crimson. This way its combat power can be maximized."

"But doing so means the pilot needs to endure a greater mental load; an ordinary person's head would probably explode instantly," Doctor Herman added worriedly.

Stark nodded, clearly also realizing this problem. He turned to Fugaku: "So, I have decided to serve as your co-pilot and pilot Storm Crimson together with you to complete this final mission together."

Hearing this, Fugaku's expression changed slightly: "General, thank you for your kindness, but due to some special reasons, I can only pilot the Jaeger alone."

Stark stared at Fugaku, wanting to say something, but ultimately only let out a light sigh.

"Alright, I respect your choice." Stark nodded solemnly. "However, if any problem arises, you must immediately sever the connection; do not force it."

Subsequently, Stark turned to face all personnel and loudly ordered: "Everyone, act immediately! We must seize every minute and every second!"

As soon as his words fell, all facilities in the base began operating at full speed. Everyone was busy at their respective posts, tense and orderly, throwing themselves into battle preparations.

Giant Mechanical Arms dragged away the Kaiju's shattered corpses on the ground, clearing out an open space. Engineers rapidly carried out the final modifications on Storm Crimson.

Dangerous Wanderer's intact Electronic Gun Arm was carefully removed and installed onto the arm behind Storm Crimson. This heavy weapon of tremendous power would provide Storm Crimson with powerful fire support.

Simultaneously, Cherno Alpha's Heavy Armor was also dismantled piece by piece and added onto Storm Crimson's fuselage, greatly enhancing its defense.

Under the efforts of countless technical personnel, in just half a day, a brand new Storm Crimson was gradually taking shape. After half a day of rest, Uchiha Fugaku once again arrived before the cockpit. He took a deep breath, slowly put on his helmet, and prepared to link with this brand new Jaeger.

"All ready." General Stark issued the command with a grave expression. "Launch!"

Hum. With a low mechanical roar, Storm Crimson's core began operating at high speed, endless energy surging within its body.

Fugaku immediately felt a mental load unlike any before, sweeping through his brain almost instantly.

This sensation was far more intense than any previous piloting.

Fugaku even generated an illusion, as if his body was gradually fusing into one with this Jaeger.

His flesh and blood seemed to be replaced by steel, bones turning into hard struts, internal organs transforming into complex parts.

Every sensor on the Jaeger's surface was feeding back external information to him; even his thoughts began to become sluggish.

At this moment, a piercing alarm suddenly blared inside the Command Room. On the screen, all data jumped wildly; the Neural Link Index soared to a dangerous height.

"Sever the connection immediately!" Seeing the data jumping wildly on the screen, General Stark's face changed drastically, and he subconsciously shouted.

"As expected, it's no good," Doctor Herman murmured to himself. Such high-intensity neural linking was enough to cause anyone's brain to instantly overload.

But Uchiha Fugaku did not panic in the slightest.

He let out a cold snort, his eyes abruptly turning blood-red. Three Magatama rapidly rotated in his pupils, and with the eruption of his pupil power, his thoughts instantly became incomparably clear.

The next second, Fugaku's spiritual power surged violently, forcibly suppressing the Jaeger's rejection reaction. A trace of complacency flashed in his eyes, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly.

"The link succeeded?!" Doctor Herman looked at the screen, his tone full of disbelief.

General Stark likewise stared wide-eyed, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Fugaku and the data on the screen, unable to speak for a long while.

He had never seen anyone able to maintain neural link stability under such extreme conditions.

And yet at this moment, Uchiha Fugaku had done it.

Under everyone's watch, Uchiha Fugaku steadily pushed the Control Lever.

In an instant, Storm Crimson erupted with two dazzling red lights; its massive body slowly stood upright amidst the roar, assuming a combat posture ready to strike.

Everyone was shocked by the scene before their eyes, staring unblinkingly at this remodeled war machine.

Just then, a sudden sound of quarreling came from the ruins outside the base.

Everyone looked toward the sound and saw Doctor Herman arguing incessantly with Newton beside the wreckage.

Newton's expression was still somewhat dazed; clearly he had only just recovered from the previous Drift.

"I must Drift with this Kaiju Brain again!" Newton's tone was extremely agitated. "This is our only chance to obtain more intelligence!"

"Are you crazy?!" Herman flew into a rage, his face flushing red. "It's precisely because you conducted an unauthorized Drift that those monsters discovered our base's location! Haven't you realized your mistake yet?!"

"No, you don't understand!" Newton's voice trembled slightly, yet was sonorous and forceful. "During the last Drift I saw countless cities and ruins; we need to ascertain their specific plans, otherwise everything will be too late!"

"Enough!" Herman rudely cut off Newton's words. "I will not let you endanger everyone's lives again!"

(Chapter End)