The Approaching Meeting—Please Follow and Bookmark

"How did you do it?"

Shao Zhiwen stared wide-eyed. He had already circled Luke Field three or four times. He had once been a technical expert himself. Although he had let much of it fall by the wayside after entering business, and his knowledge had begun to lag behind in this age of technological explosion after shifting his focus to commerce and company management, his foundation, fundamentals, and understanding were still there!

He knew all too well how difficult the Single-Pilot Drift System was! Even Catherine Lightcap, the Creator who had drawn upon her expertise in brain neurology to create the Drift System in mere months and improve it afterward, had been unable to accomplish this. A single pilot's Neurons simply could not bear the mental burden of controlling a Jaeger—unless the Jaeger itself was made smaller.

But how could that be possible?

The size and advancement of a Jaeger had to match the size and strength of a Kaiju. If its size were reduced, many of its systems, many of its weapons, and even the damage it could inflict on Kaiju would be greatly diminished.

Thus, at least two pilots had to Drift together and share the mental strain of operating a Jaeger. Even ten years later, Jaegers over seventy meters tall still required at least two people to operate through the Drift System. That was why Stacker Pentecost, the only person publicly known to have independently controlled the damaged Coyote Tango for three hours while his Companion was unconscious, battling the Kaiju Mutavore and ultimately winning, possessed such tremendous prestige and renown!

Everyone knew that aside from practical issues like funding, the main thing preventing Jaegers from being deployed on a massive scale was the difficulty of finding pilots. It was not as though any two random people could be thrown together to pilot a Jaeger. They needed extraordinarily resilient willpower, powerful physical fitness, exceptional combat ability, and above all, absolute trust in their Companions and flawless coordination!

The earlier requirements were manageable. The final one—trust and tacit understanding between Companions—was the hardest. Under the Drift System, both sides could see each other's privacy, the memories and secrets they least wanted anyone else to know. Not everyone could accept another person entering their mind and leafing through every part of them. And once they resisted, it would affect the stability of the Drift connection. That requirement alone eliminated countless people.

That was why active, retired, and deceased Jaeger pilots were either blood relatives, such as fathers and children, sisters and brothers, or people with deep bonds, such as lovers and comrades-in-arms.

But if safe single-pilot Drift technology truly emerged, PPDC would immediately gain twice as many Jaeger pilots. And they would all be outstanding pilots with extensive combat experience, perfect coordination with at least one other person, and a thorough understanding of teamwork!

Over the past three years, Shao Zhiwen had been battered black and blue by Luke Field's inventions time and time again. Two years ago, he had begun to doubt whether he truly possessed any talent for scientific research. A year ago, he had completely given up on research and instead devoted himself to raising his daughter. Yet whenever Luke unveiled another new technology, Shao still could not help feeling bitter.

But when he remembered that all of those technologies had been placed in Shao Industries' intelligent core, and that Shao Industries held a share of their ownership, the faint bitterness in Shao Zhiwen's heart vanished instantly. Environment really could change a person. He was no longer the man with a trace of a researcher's spirit from three years ago. Now, he was a businessman!

"Doctor, PPDC wants to take away the corpse of the Kaiju Huoda." A woman in a white lab coat hurried over with her phone in hand.

"Refuse them." Luke Field did not hesitate. "Kaiju Huoda was killed by a Jaeger from Shao Industries. Shao Industries should rightfully possess ownership and disposal rights over its corpse."

"That may be difficult. Anything involving Kaiju falls under PPDC's management and authority. If they insist, there could be trouble." Shao Zhiwen interjected from the side. He also wanted a Kaiju corpse quite badly. As Luke Field put it, Kaiju might not be treasures from head to toe, but most of their bodies certainly were.

Especially their blood. Its first discovered use alone was as a primary material in a powerful fuel propellant!

Why had Kulturo been able to reach the battlefield so quickly?

It had used a fuel propellant made with Kaiju blood.

With enough of this propellant, Jaegers would no longer need to be suspended beneath at least eight heavy transport helicopters and slowly hauled to the scene whenever they deployed. In other words, PPDC and the Alliance nations behind it would have more ample response time and faster support when preparing for and responding to Kaiju attacks than ever before.

That would greatly reduce the destruction Kaiju could cause and the distance they could advance.

Of course, this was still unpublicized new technology. But it would have to be made public sooner or later, wouldn't it?

At the very least, the moment Shao Zhiwen learned what this technology could achieve, he had immediately spent heavily to purchase and stockpile Kaiju blood from the Black Market and PPDC—the famous Kaiju Blue.

"Give them some money. Consider it a purchase. In any case, Marshal Stacker will not use the entire Kaiju corpse for research. Most of it will still have to be sold off." Luke Field shrugged. "Also, tell Marshal Stacker that in a while—perhaps in a few days—I will visit PPDC to discuss cooperation between Shao Industries and PPDC. I think he must be eager to meet me now as well."

"All right. So you think the time has come." Shao Zhiwen's tone carried a hint of emotion. Over the past three years, Luke Field had never concealed his intention to use Shao Industries as a stepping stone. From the very beginning of their partnership, Luke had made it clear that PPDC was his goal. Of course, Shao Zhiwen believed Luke would not cut ties with Shao Industries. Their relationship had long since become impossible to separate. What benefit would there be in cutting ties with Shao Industries when Luke was one of its major shareholders? It was not as if being a major shareholder and Chief Technology Officer of Shao Industries prevented him from going to PPDC.

Over the next few days, Shao Industries clearly received far more attention, both from the outside world and from upper management. Shao Zhiwen was so busy that his feet barely touched the ground. He needed to explain matters to various parties above and take the opportunity to reveal part of Shao Industries' technological reserves, including its Automated Factory, Sixth-Generation Jaeger development, technological applications for Kaiju Blue, and more.

As he complained to Luke one evening, "I have to attend all kinds of meetings every day, and I end up giving speeches that last four or five hours at a time. My throat is about to give out." Yet Luke could hear the irrepressible excitement and elation in his slightly hoarse voice. Clearly, at a time when the Wall Faction held an absolute advantage, the Jaeger Faction was at its lowest ebb, and supporting factories were being shut down, mothballed, or abandoned, Shao Zhiwen, as the head of Shao Industries at the forefront of the Jaeger industrial chain, had evidently received some kind of promise or support.

But while Shao Zhiwen suffered and enjoyed himself, Marshal Stacker Pentecost at PPDC headquarters was facing a storm of fury from the current Alliance administrators representing PPDC's member nations.