"My predictions indicated only one kaiju yesterday. Why was there a second?"
"It makes no sense!"
"No sense? It makes perfect sense! Your reasoning and formulas are utterly flawed!"
Natsuki followed Marshal Stacker to a rusted steel door, the sound of an argument already erupting from within. In the lab behind it, two men were quarreling. He didn't need Ultra vision to guess they were two of the three doctors the Marshal was about to introduce.
"Are all your scientists this lively?" Natsuki glanced at Marshal Stacker, raising an eyebrow.
In Natsuki's experience, scientists were usually steady, wise, and mostly innocent.
Well... except for a certain Babar.
"You know how it is—scientists' minds tend to jump around." Marshal Stacker's expression tightened slightly, but he still offered a helpless shrug.
He keyed in the password, and the laboratory door hissed open.
The interior revealed a space split into two distinct halves, the lighting still dim.
To the left, scientific equipment trailed cables, alongside traditional books and blackboards covered in complex formulas—the unmistakable chaos of a physics lab.
The right side, however, was a grotesque display of kaiju organs and viscera, some splayed on examination tables, others sealed in jars. Surgical instruments lay scattered about—a biology lab, but for monsters.
Two scientists with wildly different styles, two laboratories mashed together. The whole scene looked chaotic.
"Why not just give them separate labs?" After taking in the chaotic scene, Natsuki's first question to Marshal Stacker was direct.
"Well... sometimes we have to consider certain practical matters." Marshal Stacker clasped his hands behind his back, his brow furrowed with what looked like unspeakable difficulty.
"Speak plainly," Natsuki said directly.
"No money."
Natsuki: "..."
A truly practical problem.
They shared a lab not by choice, but due to insufficient funding. Most of the budget had been poured into the Jaegers.
"There's a saying in China," Marshal Stacker began with conviction, "'Use good steel on the blade's edge.' Sometimes when two geniuses come together, they spark brilliant inspiration."
"While we do have funding issues, this arrangement isn't entirely because of that." He offered a mouthful of justifications.
Hearing this, Natsuki felt a certain respect.
What skill—making poverty sound so reasonable.
Truly worthy of a Marshal.
As the two entered, the scientists ceased their daily bickering, turning their attention toward the newcomers.
One wore a white dress shirt with a black tie, kaiju tattoos visible on his exposed forearms. His brown hair was slicked up, and behind black-framed glasses, eyes full of curiosity gleamed. He sat on the edge of an examination table covered in kaiju organs, the very image of a biology scientist obsessed with kaiju.
The other doctor, in a black suit, stood amidst several blackboards filled with symbols, leaning on a wooden cane. He wore no glasses, his features sharp and tight, and both his expression and posture seemed somewhat neurotic—the typical image of an obsessive physics scientist.
"Let me introduce you." Marshal Stacker gestured toward Natsuki. "Newton Geiszler and Hermann Gottlieb, our two excellent doctors."
Then, addressing the doctors, he added, "This is Mr. Natsuki, whom I mentioned before—a visitor from outer space and an important partner in our upcoming plans."
The moment they heard "alien," both doctors' eyes lit up.
"Good Lord!"
"He looks almost identical to a human!" Newton's curiosity ignited. He dropped the kaiju organs he'd been holding and jogged over, scrutinizing Natsuki closely.
His expression suggested he'd discovered treasure.
"Wait!"
"You're all being far too careless!" Hermann's reaction was the polar opposite of Newton's. He snatched a gas mask from his work area wall and fumbled to pull it over his head.
Only then did he limp toward Natsuki with his cane.
"Kaiju are toxic creatures. We should take basic protective measures when contacting aliens."
The two doctors crowded around Natsuki, examining every inch of him.
"How is this possible?"
"An alien that looks exactly like a human?"
"Is it scientific camouflage? Like a human-skin mask?"
"No, there's no trace of disguise. This is all him, completely natural."
"The Marshal said you can transform into a fifty-meter giant. How do you do it?"
"What's the principle? A fifty-meter body compressed to human size? This completely contradicts our understanding of science."
"Could this be humanity's evolutionary path? When humans evolve to a certain point, will they also become fifty-meter giants?"
"Impossible!"
"As long as it's a carbon-based lifeform, that can't happen."
"Then how do you explain his current state?"
"Explain? Why should I explain anything to you?"
"With just a bit of research, I'll crack the mystery. Then you can play with your useless theories by yourself!"
After scrutinizing Natsuki for less than a minute, the pair of geniuses seemed poised to resume their argument.
Watching their performance, both Natsuki and Marshal Stacker exchanged exasperated glances.
These two were quite the duo.
"Ahem!" Marshal Stacker cleared his throat, cutting them off before they could fully launch into another argument.
"Gentlemen, we have a guest today." His gaze swept over the duo, his tone serious.
"Oh!"
"Right!"
Only then did they belatedly react.
"Sorry, we're just curious. After all, we've never seen a living alien before." Newton gave Natsuki an awkward smile.
"The Marshal asked me to brief you on the intelligence we've gathered. Please wait—this is my specialty." Hermann puffed out his cheeks, straightened his collar, and addressed Natsuki with complete seriousness.
"Wait, I should go first!" Newton objected.
"You'll take turns!" Marshal Stacker took a deep breath, feeling his blood pressure spike, and immediately issued an order. "Hermann first. Newton, you wait!"
"Yes, Sir!" they both replied.
The two men snapped to attention in unison.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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