"Get me a direct line to 【Sokovia】 in the name of 【Philippines】, bypassing the 【Department of National Defense】."
Straker Pentecost stared at the screen, which showed satellite footage of a Kaiju wreaking havoc in 【Manila】, his lips trembling as if making a difficult decision.
Finally, a look of determination crossed his dark face, and he exhaled deeply, ordering:
"Tell the person in charge over there that the 【Philippines】 is willing to pay 10%... no, 15% of 【Manila】's GDP from that year as a reward for the 【Didi Chuxing service】, as long as they can send King Kong to resolve the crisis as soon as possible!!"
That's right.
This was one of the solutions he had come up with!
No matter how unwilling he was, Straker Pentecost had to admit that King Kong was currently the best option for dealing with Kaiju.
Even after the successful deployment of 【Jaeger Mechs】, this situation was unlikely to change in the short term.
"Yes."
The staff member left to carry out the order.
But a few minutes later, he returned with a mournful expression and reported: "Sir, our request... has been rejected by 【Sokovia】!"
"What?!"
Straker Pentecost was stunned and asked:
"How is that possible? I clearly remember that the 【Sokovia】 spokesperson said at the UN General Assembly, when publicly promoting the 【Didi Chuxing service】,
that as long as you pay, they will send King Kong to help resolve attacks by Titans and Kaiju... Could it be that they want to raise the price at the last minute?"
Yes, that must be it!
How greedy!
【Manila】's 15% of the annual GDP is nearly billion US dollars!
That guy is still not satisfied with such a generous reward?
Heh, as expected, the responsibility of saving the world cannot be entrusted to such people.
Recalling what Nick Fury once said, that Karl Mala was a capitalist who "only cares about money and doesn't follow the rules."
Straker Pentecost secretly decided that once this crisis was resolved, he would expose 【Sokovia】's ugly face to the public!
Just as Straker Pentecost was planning how to get back at them afterward, he saw the staff member shaking his head mechanically.
"The person in charge over there said that the 【Philippines】 voted in favor of sanctioning 【Sokovia】 at the UN General Assembly, so no matter how much money is offered, 【Sokovia】 will not provide assistance."
"..."
The expression on Straker Pentecost's face instantly froze.
It's over.
It's all over!
Who could have imagined that Karl Mala would be so vengeful!
Willing to give up nearly billion US dollars just to prove a point?
Isn't he supposed to be a capitalist who "only cares about money"?
This isn't "only cares about money" at all!
This is clearly "only cares about revenge"!
However, this put Straker Pentecost and the 【PPDC】 in a very awkward position.
Because if they couldn't use King Kong to get rid of that Kaiju,
then the only option left to them was to use a nuclear bomb to "pacify" 【Manila】!!
But the consequences of doing so would be severe.
The 【PPDC】 would likely become universally condemned after this crisis, and its credibility and influence would plummet.
On the other hand, Karl and 【Sokovia】 would not be blamed for standing by and watching; instead, countries around the world would try to appease them because of the precedents of 【San Francisco】 and 【Manila】, and the possibility of future monster invasions.
The thought that the other party would end up reaping the benefits without doing anything filled Straker Pentecost's heart with resentment and helplessness.
He was finally beginning to understand why a cunning old schemer like Nick Fury would repeatedly fall into Karl Mala's hands and be helpless to do anything about it.
Because even if you know what cards the other person is going to play, how they are going to target you, and what situation you will face next... you are powerless to change it!
You can only let things develop in the direction they have set.
This kind of mental blow is far more fatal than tactical considerations!
For Straker Pentecost and the 【PPDC】, this was just a remote confrontation with Karl, and they had already lost almost everything.
Such an opponent was too terrifying, giving him a creepy feeling!
Just then, another staff member hurried over to report:
"Sir, the 【Philippines】 high-level officials just called, urging us to find a way to stop that Kaiju as soon as possible, or 【Manila】 will be destroyed!"
"Sigh..."
Straker Pentecost slumped weakly in his chair, his lips trembling again with anger.
He glanced at another large screen, where the 【Jaeger Mech Unit 1 - Muto Hunter】 was nearing completion under the joint efforts of hundreds of workers and countless robotic arms.
The endless anger and unwillingness in his heart ultimately turned into a helpless sigh.
"Sigh, tell them that if they don't want to be wiped out by the Kaiju, they can only use nuclear weapons to solve it!!"
The 【PPDC】 would have to take the blame for this, whether they wanted to or not.
Because they had no choice.
...
【Manila】.
In the smoke-filled city,
a behemoth over 150 meters long, covered in hard scales and possessing at least 30 pairs of blade-like sharp legs, resembling a giant mantis shrimp, was rampaging through the ruins of the almost paralyzed city.
Rumble...!!!
Another skyscraper collapsed under the impact of this Kaiju named 【Chaos】.
The earth shook violently, and dust billowed into the sky.
In the streets and alleys of the undamaged parts of the city, panicked crowds of refugees were everywhere.
Ferries, bus stations, and airports were already overcrowded.
In order to escape earlier and gain a chance of survival, people began to push, pull, fight, curse, and wail...
In the sky,
hundreds of 【Philippine】 fighter jets were making their last efforts.
Advanced 【air-to-ground anti-tank missiles】 from allied countries were fired at 【Chaos】 as if they were free.
The large-caliber cannons on the fighter jets were red-hot from continuous firing.
But...
such a fierce attack still could not cause any substantial damage to 【Chaos】.
Instead, the nearby refugees were killed and injured in large numbers due to the shock waves from the explosions and the indiscriminate strafing of the cannons.
However,
no one cared about their lives at the moment.
Because if the Kaiju's actions could not be contained, more and more people would die!
Puff puff——
Although repeated bombings failed to successfully break through 【Chaos】's defenses, they did succeed in delaying its progress.
Seemingly annoyed by this mosquito-like harassment,
【Chaos】 suddenly stood upright, then waved its two praying mantis-like forelimbs with sharp, serrated edges to counterattack the fighter jets in mid-air.
Boom boom boom——
Caught off guard, several fighter jets conducting low-altitude bombing were directly cut in half by 【Chaos】's blade-like feet, exploding into fireballs in the air.
During this time, some pilots received the latest orders from the Joint Operations Command.
They began to try attacking 【Chaos】's eyes.
After all, the American hero had successfully killed the first Kaiju through its eyes.
Even if they knew that such an attack was not enough to kill 【Chaos】, if they could successfully blind it and then guide it back to the sea through bombing, it would alleviate the immediate crisis!
Thus...
the fighter jets in the sky took great risks and began a new round of fierce attacks on 【Chaos】's eyes from the front.
But to the utter despair of the 【Philippine】 military,
this Kaiju seemed to have learned from the failure of the previous Kaiju, and had "evolved" a layer of special biological crystal wall with light-transmitting properties on its eyes.
This layer of special crystal wall was as solid as a shield specifically designed for defense, remaining intact even under repeated bombings.
Even suicidal ramming attacks by fighter jets could not damage it in the slightest.
The latest novels are first published on Liǔ Jiǔ Shū Bā.!
"Damn it, is there no other weakness on this Kaiju's body?"
Almost everyone was filled with this question.
But the answer was obvious.
An atmosphere of despair began to fill everyone's hearts.
Finally...
the temporary joint combat group composed of the 【Philippine】 military and multinational air forces used various attack methods and persisted for a full day and night, but still made no progress.
The 【Philippine】 high-level officials finally gave up their last hope.
At their behest, with special approval from the 【Security Council】, a fighter jet carrying a strategic nuclear missile took off from an overseas air force base.
And arrived at the designated location a few minutes later to drop the bomb.
Boom——
The picture seemed to freeze at this moment.
Huge explosions, dazzling flashes of light, mushroom clouds rising into the sky, and cities destroyed in an instant...
Almost all the heads of state and high-level officials around the world focused on this.
They were eager to know if a nuclear bomb could really kill that Kaiju?
The results came out quickly.
"Aww..."
A huge figure gradually emerged from the dimming fire.
【Chaos】 seemed to be enraged, standing upright and roaring and hissing hideously at the sky.
Although the scales on its body showed large areas of damage in the nuclear explosion, and many of the blade-like feet under it were twisted and deformed,
it still looked lively overall!
Σ(⊙▽⊙"a？？？
Seeing this scene, everyone couldn't help but be shocked.
What?
Is this for real?
Not dying after a day and night of repeated bombings, plus a nuclear bomb hitting it head-on?!
Is this Kaiju using a health lock cheat?
This has probably gone beyond the scope of 【carbon-based life】?
Oh, sorry, I forgot... Kaiju are not 【carbon-based life】 in the first place, but 【silicon-based life】!!
Subsequently, the focus of attention of high-level officials from various countries has turned to how many nuclear bombs it would take to completely erase this Kaiju.
And the testing ground is naturally 【Manila】!
With the issuance of a series of orders.
Soon, two more fighter jets, assigned a mission in danger, successively dropped two strategic nuclear missiles on 【Manila】.
Boom——
Boom——
An apocalyptic scene was staged again.
An unprecedented huge mushroom cloud pierced the sky.
Fortunately, this time, when the fire gradually subsided, 【Chaos】's figure did not appear, leaving only a huge monster skeleton on the ground.
Although the target was successfully killed,
few people would be happy about it.
Especially those heads of state and high-level officials from various countries who were watching the live broadcast via military satellites.
When they saw such an ending, they fell into silence.
Because the price paid for this battle was too heavy...
A full three nuclear bombs!
Plus 【Manila】, which was completely erased from the earth along with the Kaiju!
And hovering over the scorched earth-like city, a persistent, heavy toxic cloud, mixed with massive amounts of radioactive material and the highly toxic 【blue blood】 evaporated from the Kaiju's body, forming a deadly cloud covering hundreds of square kilometers!
Before long, the water, soil, vegetation, and air in this area will be severely polluted.
In addition, the deposited radioactive elements and toxins may continue to spread to the surrounding sea areas with seawater and ocean currents...
The resulting economic losses and adverse effects will be immeasurable!
Therefore, in the eyes of many people, this does not deserve to be called a victory at all.
Because according to the information circulating from 【Sokovia】, Kaiju were originally killing machines created by an alien civilization using 【genetic engineering】 to destroy humanity.
Their mission is to destroy cities, pollute the environment, and hinder the development of human civilization...
Looking at this ending, the Kaiju has completed its mission!
So, is the ultimate victor in this battle really humanity?
The answer is obvious.
But the most crucial thing is that those alien invaders, whose identities have not yet been determined, will continue to correct and strengthen certain characteristics of the Kaiju based on the data fed back from each attack.
No one knows if there will come a day when even nuclear weapons cannot harm the Kaiju?!
Or... how soon will that day come?
If the Kaiju invasion that occurred in [San Francisco] last time only made countries around the world initially aware of the devastating disasters that these monsters could bring to humanity after their deaths, then this time, it has made countries around the world fully aware of how powerful and terrifying living Kaiju are!
In fact, from a certain perspective, the enormous threat posed by Kaiju to humanity is far greater than that of the Titan monsters that appeared before!
And so...
Many countries that had previously been in a wait-and-see state began to secretly contact [Sokovia] through their high-level officials.
They inquired about the fees for the [DiDi Fighting Service], and whether there would be any discounts after reaching a long-term cooperation intention (annual package), and other related issues.
What?
Why don't they place their hopes on the [PPDC Organization]?
Because anyone with normal intelligence can calculate the huge difference between paying several hundred million to several billion at once, and paying several hundred billion to trillions at once!
What's more, this does not even include the higher maintenance costs of those [Jaeger Mechas] in the later stages.
After all, even landlords don't get their money from thin air, right?
