American comics: Starting with Luke the Maker

"How did you do it?"

Shao Zhiwen stared wide-eyed, having circled Luke Field three or four times. He had once been a tech whiz himself, though he had lost a lot after diving into business, and his knowledge had even fallen behind in this era of technological explosion due to his focus on commerce and company management. But his foundation, basics, and understanding were still there!

He was all too aware of how difficult a single-person neural handshake system was! Even Catherine Lightcap, the creator who had relied on her accumulation in the field of neurosciences to create and improve the neural handshake system in just a few months, hadn't been able to achieve this. Because a single person's neurons simply couldn't bear the mental burden of piloting a Jaeger. Unless the size of the Jaeger was reduced.

But how was that possible?

The size and upgrades of the Jaegers were directly proportional to the size and strength of the Kaiju. If the size was reduced, many things, many weapons, and even the damage to the Kaiju would be greatly insufficient.

Therefore, at least a two-person neural handshake, sharing the mental burden of piloting a Jaeger, was currently the only option. Even ten years later, Jaegers over seventy meters tall still required at least two people for neural handshake operation. That's why Stacker Pentecost, the only publicly known pilot who, after his partner fell unconscious, independently controlled the damaged Gipsy Danger to fight the Kaiju known as Scunner for three hours and ultimately achieved victory, possessed such great prestige and fame!

Everyone knew that the limitation preventing the large-scale deployment of Jaegers, aside from realistic issues like funding, was the difficulty in finding pilots. It wasn't just anyone who could team up and pilot a Jaeger. It required considerable mental fortitude, strong physical fitness, outstanding combat skills, and, above all, immense trust and understanding with one's partner!

The former were easier to come by, but the latter, the trust and understanding with one's partner, was the most difficult. Under the neural handshake system, both parties could see each other's privacy, see each other's memories and secrets that they least wanted others to know. Not everyone could accept someone entering their brain, browsing through everything about them. And once resisted, it would affect the stable connection of the neural handshake system. This alone eliminated countless people.

Therefore, whether active, retired, or deceased Rangers, their relationships were either based on blood relations, such as fathers and daughters, sisters and brothers, or deep relationships, such as lovers, comrades, etc.

But if safe single-person neural handshake technology really appeared, then, to say nothing else, the PPDC could immediately have twice as many Jaeger pilots. And all of them would be highly experienced in combat and at least have another excellent Ranger who was very understanding and knew how to cooperate!

Although Shao Zhiwen had been utterly defeated by Luke Field time and time again in these three years, doubted whether he really had research talent two years ago, and completely gave up on research a year ago, turning to focus on cultivating his daughter, every time Luke came up with new technology, it still made him feel sad.

But thinking that these technologies were all placed by Luke in Shao's Industries' intelligent core, and Shao's Industries even had a share of the ownership, the sadness in Shao Zhiwen's heart instantly disappeared. The environment can indeed change a person. He was no longer the somewhat research-oriented person he was three years ago. He was a businessman now!

"Doctor, the PPDC wants to take away the Kaiju Hardship's corpse." A woman in a white coat hurried over with a phone.

"Reject them," Luke Field said without thinking. "Kaiju Hardship was killed by Shao's Industries' Jaeger. Shao's Industries should rightfully own the ownership and disposal rights of its corpse."

"I'm afraid that won't work. Anything involving Kaiju is under the management and decision of the PPDC. If they insist, there will be some trouble," Shao Zhiwen interjected. Although he also wanted a Kaiju corpse. In Luke Field's words, a Kaiju was not entirely a treasure, but at least most of its tissues were.

Especially the blood. The first discovered use alone was that it could be used as a key ingredient in a powerful fuel propellant!

Why could Kourtulov arrive at the battlefield so quickly?

It was because they used this fuel propellant made with Kaiju blood.

With enough of this propellant, Jaegers would no longer need to be slowly transported to the scene by at least eight heavy transport helicopters when deployed again. In other words, the PPDC and its allied nations could have more ample response time and faster support speeds in the deployment and response to Kaiju attacks.

This meant greatly reducing the destructive power and speed of the Kaiju.

Of course, this was still undisclosed new technology. But it was bound to be sooner or later, wasn't it?

At least Shao Zhiwen, after knowing the potential effects of this technology, immediately went to the black market and bought a lot of Kaiju blood, also known as the famous toxic blue blood, from the PPDC at a high price and stockpiled it.

"Give them some money. Just treat it as buying it. Anyway, Marshal Stacker doesn't use the Kaiju corpses entirely for research. Most of them have to find someone to sell them off," Luke Field shrugged. "Also, tell Marshal Stacker that I will visit him at the PPDC in a while, maybe in a few days, to discuss cooperation between Shao's Industries and the PPDC. I think he must be very eager to see me now."

"Okay, it seems you think the time is right," Shao Zhiwen said with some emotion. In these three years, Luke Field had not concealed his intention of using Shao's Industries as a springboard. From the beginning of the cooperation, Luke had clearly told him that his goal was the PPDC. Of course, Shao Zhiwen believed that Luke would not sever ties with Shao's Industries. After all, the relationship between the two was already indistinguishable. As a major shareholder and chief technology officer of Shao's Industries, what benefits would he get from severing ties? It wasn't like being a major shareholder and chief technology officer of Shao's Industries prevented him from going to the PPDC.

...

In the following days, Shao's Industries clearly received more attention, both from the outside world and from higher levels. Shao Zhiwen was so busy these days that he barely touched the ground. He needed to explain to various parties above and take the opportunity to publicize a batch of Shao's Industries' technological achievements. These included unmanned factories, sixth-generation aircraft development, and the technological application of Kaiju blue blood, etc.

In his words of complaint to Luke at night, it was: I have to attend all kinds of meetings every day and give four or five-hour speeches at every turn. My throat is about to give out. But Luke could hear in his slightly hoarse voice the suppressed excitement and joy. Obviously, with the Wall faction taking absolute dominance, the Jaeger faction extremely withered, and the supporting factories being shut down, sealed, and abandoned, he, as the head of Shao's Industries, the front line of the Jaeger industry chain, had obviously received some promises or support.

And just as Shao Zhiwen was suffering and enjoying himself, Marshal Stacker Pentecost of PPDC headquarters was facing a storm of criticism from the current alliance administrators of the member countries behind the PPDC.