The plunder of the heavens begins with the Spirit Cage.

Lu Qianwei's calm voice clearly echoed throughout the entire square, "Gentlemen, the expansion of the base has recently encountered a bottleneck."

We summoned all former East Bund veterans willing to take up arms and rejoin the ranks, but the number of qualified combatants we could ultimately muster was limited to just over 1,200.

"We don't have much time left. U-Real Group has already discovered our abnormality."

As soon as he finished speaking, He Changfeng and the others looked solemn. In fact, they all understood.

Since the U-People Group occupied Sako City, many of their East Bund members have long since gone to more distant areas.

Unable to achieve a breakthrough in numbers, Lu Qianwei had no choice but to start playing with mechs.

"It doesn't matter that the number of people is not proportional to the number of enemies."

Lu Qianwei pointed to the eight steel giants behind him, "So these eight Titans are our chance to reverse our disadvantage!"

The crowd jolted, all eyes fixed on the eight imposing Titans, their gazes burning with anticipation.

Mecha is every man's dream; who wouldn't want to wear one?!

Suddenly, everyone felt that their exoskeletons weren't so appealing anymore.

"The U-Manchus's war logic remains at the traditional level of artillery, armor, and human wave attacks."

But faced with a technological gap, they are utterly helpless!

Lu Qianwei's gaze swept over each Titan as he slowly explained, "The Heavy Titan Flame and Legion are two heavily armored units. Their weapons and thick armor are enough to replace the offensive and defensive capabilities of an entire armored company."

"Medium Titan Ions, Powerful, and Imperial are the backbone of the battlefield."

They are adaptable to all combat situations, filling the gaps in our troop strength.

"..."

In addition to introducing the Titan's performance, Lu Qianwei also described how to drive and use the Titan, as well as its capabilities and functions.

Finally, regarding the driver, "One Titan and one driver can achieve the tactical effect of hundreds or thousands of people on the battlefield."

"BOSS!"

How can I become a driver?!

Among the crowd below, some people were already shouting and asking questions impatiently.

Almost all the soldiers present held their breath, pricked up their ears, and stared intently at Lu Qianwei above.

In the ensuing silence, Lu Qianwei smiled knowingly, finally someone had asked the right question.

His expression suddenly turned solemn, and he spoke out the rules of the game, word by word.

"Those who can pilot a Titan are not called pilots. You will have a brand new title, unique to this battlefield—Iron Pilot!"

"The Titan is not an ordinary vehicle; there is no such thing as simple control."

It relies on neural synchronization in combat; the relationship between the human and the mech is not one of control, but rather a symbiotic one.

"Therefore, if you want to become a Pilot, you must meet three core requirements."

"First, neural adaptation."

The brainwaves and neural responses of ordinary people cannot keep up with the computing speed of Titan. Forcing a connection will only cause brain overload, nerve burns, and direct fainting.

Only highly skilled individuals with exceptionally high neurological reflexes and resilience can support human-machine symbiotic connections.

"Second, limb synchronization rate."

All of Titan's movements are synchronized with the Pilot's body postures; movement, dodging, dashing, and aiming are all driven by human instinct. Those with slow reactions, poor coordination, and stiff battlefield movements will never be able to board the Titan.

"Once you become the pilots of the Titans, they will abide by the three major agreements."

Lu Qianwei's gaze was sharp as he solemnly recited the ironclad rules of the Titans' lower ranks:

Agreement 1: Connect to Ironclad.

Agreement Two: Uphold the mission.

Agreement Three: Protect the Pilot!

"..."

The entire arena fell silent. The Titans possessed artificial intelligence, which made them realize that the Titans were not simply steel, but conscious beings like themselves.

"Next, all employees will participate in a unified assessment."

Lu Qianwei waved to signal the technical troops to enter the field, and rows of black, fully realistic simulated pilot helmets were orderly moved to both sides of the square.

"Everyone puts on a virtual simulation helmet and enters the full-scale Titan battlefield training ground."

You will experience neural synchronization testing, limb coordination simulation, and extreme stress battlefield trials in turn.

The system will accurately record each person's synchronization rate, reaction speed, tactical awareness, and stress threshold.

"Out of more than 1,200 applicants, only seven were ultimately accepted!"

"What about the other one?!"

“There’s one more… that’s mine, of course!” Lu Qianwei walked up to BT without any hesitation and patted its armor.

BT responded by squatting down and stretching its body.

"By the way, even if you pass the exam, Titan will still select people. Whether you can get in depends on your own abilities."

Without any questioning, everyone quickly lined up to receive their simulation helmets, thus beginning the three-day pilot trial.

For the next three days, the base remained brightly lit.

Countless veterans donned helmets and entered a realistic virtual battlefield: urban warfare blockade, high-altitude sniping, close-quarters assault, holding positions to the death, and infiltration behind enemy lines—countless high-intensity battlefield trials relentlessly crushed everyone's mind and body.

Large numbers of soldiers fell victim to the challenges posed by overloaded neural networks, insufficient battlefield resilience, and slow tactical responses.

Some people have insufficient neurological adaptation and feel dizzy and nauseous when wearing a helmet;

Some people's limbs are stiff and their mechs move erratically, making them unable to fight at all;

Some people's mentality collapsed, and they were directly defeated when faced with the virtual enemy force of hordes of people.

……

One thousand two hundred elites, through layers of elimination and selection.

The data rankings are updated in real time, and the synchronization rate, tactical score, stress resistance score, and compatible models are all clearly displayed.

Finally, the three-day trial came to an end.

The system rankings are now finalized, and seven perfectly compatible pilots have been officially born!

The first place winner is Lu Qianwei, who is the familiar female lead He Jiang.

The only one in the entire arena with a nerve synchronization rate of 92%, agile movements, and a calm mind...

The powerful Titans have chosen her!

Lin Xiao, the second choice, was unsurprisingly selected by Polaris as a sniper.

The third Zhou Fengnian became the pilot of the Legion Titan.

Ma Wuchang, the Ronin Titan.

Gao Cheng Ion Titan.

Xu Zhenzhen, Emperor Titan.

Qiujier Flame Titan.

The seven who stood out donned special exoskeletons and stood in the center of the plaza, amidst countless envious and jealous gazes, before their respective Titans.

More than a thousand unselected soldiers looked at the seven men's upright backs, feeling regretful but able only to clench their fists.

Damn it, I really need to find a chance to beat them up to get rid of this pent-up frustration.

Lu Qianwei walked up to the seven people, smiled, and glanced at them. "Congratulations!"

From this day forward, you seven are officially the Eastern Ironclad, destined to live and die with the Titans!

"Your cannons and city defenses will be crushed by your own hands."

Chapter 270 The Long Sword and the Storm 9

In Sarco City, inside the SCSD headquarters, Dawn Jones, a cigar between his fingers, frowned as he looked at three reports.

In the past six months, the number of East Asian migrants in Saco has decreased by nearly 30%, and the shortage of coolies at the docks, quarries, and slums is growing.

Near the abandoned car dismantling yard in the western suburbs, which has been abandoned for several years, the patrol team has repeatedly encountered unfamiliar enclosed trucks entering and leaving. The two patrol officers sent to investigate last week said there was nothing unusual, but... no matter how they looked at it, it still seemed suspicious.

"What exactly are those lowly vagrants doing?"

Dawn Jones was puzzled, but after thinking about it, he finally made a phone call and summoned someone.

As Lieutenant Carl pushed open the door, he heard the senior inspector give a sinister order: "Take six men and drive an armored vehicle to that junkyard in the western suburbs to see what's going on."

"Yes, sir!" Karl stood at attention and saluted, his face bearing his usual arrogance.

In Saco City, the U.S. police are like gods; the lives of East Asians are worth less than a stray dog. Investigating a junkyard is simply a waste of their talents.

Two hours later, at the entrance of the abandoned car park in the western suburbs, in front of the rusty iron gate, Carl stopped his car with six armed policemen.

He approached Zhang Wanhe, the parking lot manager, with a blank expression.

The dark-skinned middle-aged man greeted the police with a smile, reluctantly pulled out a thick wad of US dollars from his pocket, and handed it to Karl: "Sir, this is just a junkyard, they collect scrap metal to make a living. Didn't you just come here last week?"

"We're really out of money..."

Carl weighed the banknotes in his hand and then casually put them into his pocket.

Then, he slowly pulled out a pistol and pressed it against Zhang Wanhe's forehead.

Don't give me that!

We received a report that you are hiding contraband and harboring fugitives.

"I'm not going to waste time talking to you. Open the door, we need to search!"

Zhang Wanhe's smile slowly faded as he calmly looked at the arrogant group of U-Real Police officers in front of him. It seemed that their superiors had already noticed something.

True to his nature, he eventually pressed the intercom clipped to his collar and said, "Open the door!"

The heavy iron door creaked as the motor turned. Zhang Wanhe stepped aside and gestured for it to open: "The door is open."