Marvel: Starting from Constructor Luke

Shao Energy Core – Terra Heart.

Energy Defense System.

Orbital Particle Cannon.

Single-Person Neural Sync System.

Unmanned Factories.

List of Energy Weapons.

Kaiju Blue Propulsion System.

...

A long, densely packed list of technologies made Stacker Pentecost almost breathless. He greedily looked through each technical specification, his fingers continuously tapping on the virtual screen, scrolling down, studying the data and technical descriptions. Although much of the data and explanations were brief, Stacker Pentecost didn't mind!

What mattered to him was where and how these technologies could be applied, and their effectiveness!

The brevity of the descriptions actually suited him well. If the list was filled with detailed technical data, it would feel like reading an indecipherable tome to him. Such data was likely something that only PPDC technicians could understand.

One couldn't deny that every piece of technology Luke Field presented was a significant test to Stacker Pentecost's willpower. The moment he saw these technologies, he couldn't help but imagine what the combat power of the Jaegers in the PPDC headquarters would be like if they were equipped with these new technologies. And how many of his warriors might survive longer in battle because of them?

It was clear that Luke Field, by presenting these technologies, was being very sincere. Stacker Pentecost even thought to himself that Luke had probably already revealed nearly all of Shao Industries' secrets.

Trading technology for technology.

This was a common occurrence in the early years of the PPDC, especially when the first and second generation Jaegers were being built. It was a joint effort by technicians from both member and non-member nations, with all technology being shared to quickly build Jaeger units and maintain control of the crumbling situation. But starting from the third generation of Jaegers, as member countries developed their own unique Jaeger technologies, technological barriers and secrecy began to form.

Stacker Pentecost hesitated, because Shao Industries was not one of the member countries—it was just a company.

But then, he thought, a company that has such technological accumulation is already enough to engage in technical exchanges with the PPDC. Furthermore, the situation was different from before. Three or four years ago, even if he was deeply tempted by these technologies, he wouldn't have to use all of PPDC's Jaeger technology in exchange for them. At that time, he would have been more inclined to use official methods to try and acquire these technologies at minimal cost, or even just pay for them directly.

But now, the once-powerful PPDC had become a shadow of its former self. Even the highly emphasized Jaeger program from a few years ago had been formally shelved. Shatterdomes had closed, research teams were disbanded, and military forces had withdrawn. Anyone with access to intelligence knew that the PPDC had no future left, and neither did the Jaeger Program.

So how much value did these technologies still hold?

Three or four years ago, the idea of a technology exchange would have been unthinkable—PPDC's member country legislators would have outright rejected it.

But now, it didn't seem so difficult. At least Stacker Pentecost believed that the legislators wouldn't mind selling these technologies, which they saw as useless, for a good price or exchanging them for something else. And soon, once they left, Stacker, who would automatically become the highest-ranking official of the PPDC, could make the decision freely without any interference.

"Are these technologies real?" Stacker Pentecost wondered.

"Guaranteed authentic," Luke Field smiled. He had waited three years to come to the PPDC to make this deal. What for? Wasn't it for this day when the PPDC was on the brink of collapse? Of course, he could have chosen not to make a deal, and instead, spent more time reverse-engineering the information from the Jaegers. That wouldn't be difficult for him; he had even already done it. But now, he was willing to pull PPDC out of its predicament for the perfect completion of his task, under the pretext of legitimacy. In the process, he could also upgrade himself.

"How can it be verified? Are there any prototypes?"

"The Kurtulo itself is the product of these technologies. Of course, if you need it, Shao Industries is also willing to help update and upgrade your active Jaegers. But doing so would mean your current Jaegers would have no secrets from us."

"The PPDC's funds are tight," Stacker Pentecost said with a distant tone.

"We can put the funding issue aside for now. Let's first see the effects of the technology."

"What do you mean?"

"First, the technology, then payment," Luke spread his hands, casually wiping away a large portion of future profits for Shao Industries, without informing Liwen Shao. However, Luke had already discussed this with Liwen Shao beforehand, and the final result was that she had no objections.

Of course, Stacker Pentecost couldn't pay absolutely nothing. At least, for the next eight months, despite the financial difficulties, PPDC was not yet at the point where they couldn't scrape together any funds.

"Pleasure doing business. I'll take care of things over there as soon as possible," Stacker Pentecost said after much internal deliberation, finally agreeing to the deal. The situation had reached a point where he had no choice but to fight for everything, and so he no longer cared about the so-called regulations concerning technology leakage.

"I'm ready to start anytime," Luke Field was satisfied, just waiting for the moment he would get the materials.

Leaving the office, Stacker Pentecost was met by a short-haired woman with East Asian features. He introduced her as they met: "This is Mako Mori. She will show you around the base from here on. If you have any requests, feel free to ask her. I have to go and deal with some issues."

Luke Field nodded.

In the next few hours, Luke Field was shown around the base by Mako Mori, ate in the cafeteria, and finally arrived at the training grounds of the Jaeger Academy.

"Each of them has undergone extensive training, all in hopes of becoming a Jaeger pilot. But even if they're excellent and hardworking, it's still very difficult to achieve that goal," Mako Mori said, looking at Luke Field. "Maybe in the future, they'll be thanking you, Dr. Luke."

"Thanking me for what?"

"Thanking you for lowering the threshold for becoming a Jaeger pilot."

She smiled: "Before you came, we were surprised to learn that your Mark-6 Jaeger, Kurtulo, uses a single-person neural sync system. And as far as I know, there's no record of you in the Jaeger Academy. It seems you never underwent the necessary selection or training. Yet you're its operator, its pilot."

"What you're trying to say is?" Luke asked.

"You, or rather Shao Industries, must have improved the neural sync technology, making it more widely accessible, right?" Mako Mori said, her face filled with expectation, her black eyes staring at Luke Field without blinking.

"You're very smart, Ms. Mako Mori. Perhaps, in the near future, you'll soon experience this technology yourself." Luke Field gave an affirmative answer.