Can Magic Be Fantastical? Why Can't Technology? Please Read and Bookmark—Don't Let It Sit!

"As your companion, the most frustrating thing is that there's always endless work to do. But at the same time, as someone with a strong career drive, having a companion like you who surprises me every so often is downright addictive." Ina Sandra was still immersed in the joy of having just signed the first order for Hebron Heavy Helicopters. She did not like money, but she loved this sense of achievement!

"You'll get used to it. There'll be more of this in the future." Luke replied casually. A brainstorming session was currently raging in his mind, filled with all sorts of wild ideas.

He still very much wanted an elite squad that could fully showcase his technological achievements and strength. Looking across all the famous companies in the myriad worlds, which one did not have one or two renowned elite combat squads to show off? For Luke, building such a squad was not just for security. More importantly, it could be used to test his new technologies.

Becky's Squad had been one such attempt, but unfortunately, it had been shelved and abandoned due to betrayal from within.

However, Luke had not given up on his desire for an elite squad worthy of the name. He had too many ideas he wanted to test on such a team, especially with the Fourth Talent possibly unlocking at any moment. That desire had only become more urgent.

If the Fourth Talent could be unlocked successfully, there would be far too many things Luke could alter and test.

For example, making the concept of technology become like magic.

To put it bluntly, magic could be fantastical, so why couldn't technology?

The magic in this world all had its own origins. So when Luke forcibly extracted the concept of technology with the Fourth Talent and turned it into an unbelievable power akin to magic or superpowers, why could the source of this world's technological power not be him in the future?

Knowledge?

Equipment?

Technology?

He could use a certain technology, extract its concept with the Fourth Talent, and grant it attributes and effects similar to magic and superpowers!

By then, artificially created Supermen would no longer be a dream.

However, if he wanted to continually level it up like a game character, improve it, and bring it closer to the desired result, it would certainly require massive amounts of testing and experimentation, as well as considerable luck and a long span of time. Every step needed to be planned and carried out properly.

In Luke's ideal elite squad, every technological upgrade would be an important step toward his goal. He could not exactly use himself as a guinea pig and play around with those technologies on his own body, could he? He was not Tony Stark trapped in a desperate situation, nor did he share Tony Stark's flashy nature or his belief that his armor technology was his life.

As long as he maintained absolute control and superiority over his technology, Luke did not mind letting others use it in his place.

Whether the results were good or bad, they would both be valuable data for laying the foundation of his ideal future.

As for the crises that might result from technology going out of control, as well as the consequences that could follow, those could always be avoided. If necessary, he could simply use an alias for untested technologies and operate from behind the scenes.

Ina, who understood Luke thoroughly, could tell from his absent-minded state that he was certainly thinking about something important. She immediately abandoned the idea of sharing her inner joy and instead became quiet and silent. She knew perfectly well that Hebron Technology's rapid development to this point was not solely due to her management skills. Rather, it was Luke's continual stream of technological achievements that had pushed Hebron Technology to where it was today.

Luke was the undisputed core and soul of Hebron Technology.

That was why Ina understood her place so clearly. Her emotional intelligence also told her what to do at what time, and when to advance or retreat.

Hebron Industrial Park.

A sturdy, weather-beaten man missing half of his Right Arm entered under the guidance of a staff member, a backpack slung over his shoulder. Following the directions, he arrived at a spacious room. Before he came, quite a few people had already gathered there. Like him, each of them had some kind of physical defect. Their gazes held the same yearning as they stared at a door not far away in the room. Their eager eyes made it seem as though something they desperately desired lay beyond that door.

Every person who entered was anxious, while every person who came out wore an expression as though they had been reborn!

The few whose faces were gray with disappointment looked as though they had lost their souls. Though somewhat resentful, they could only slump away in dejection beneath the watchful eyes of the security personnel.

After entering, the man silently observed his surroundings and everything around him, comparing it all with the intelligence his superior had given him. Among the quiet, silent crowd, he was like a lone wolf that kept to itself—until he heard his name called.

"Mr. Snoke, it's your turn."

The man rose to his feet, stepped forward, pushed open the door, and entered the room.

The room was large and filled with various instruments. More than a dozen researchers in white lab coats bustled about, continuously recording and transmitting something into the machines.

"Please come over, Mr. Snoke." Luke beckoned to him, signaling for him to approach. He could have left today's examination to the other researchers, but this concerned his first squad after all. He felt it was worth sparing some time to personally observe and participate.

"Before coming in, I assume you already signed the contract and understand your obligations and the procedure, correct?" Luke looked at the quiet, steady man before him. He had received information about him from General Evra, so he was more interested in him than most of the people here today. If the memory assessment during the Drift Ceremony showed no problems, then his outstanding qualities might make him a core member of the squad soon to be established.

"Yes." Snoke answered with characteristic brevity, matching the steady impression he gave.

"Then please put on this equipment. It will establish a certain connection with your brain and Neurons. It will not harm you, though some deeply ingrained memories may surface during the process. Overcome them and walk out of them. If you succeed, you'll receive a ticket to becoming a Normal Person again," Luke said.

Snoke stood up and allowed the researchers beside him to attach one device after another to his body. When he put on a helmet and felt a slight sting at the back of his neck, his entire being fell into scene after scene from his memories. Those unforgettable moments became incomparably real, replaying in his mind as though time had flowed backward.

Ten minutes later, a green light lit up on the helmet device, and Luke smiled. Under the monitoring of the new Intelligent Terra specially programmed for this squad, using White Queen's code as its template, the green light meant that no memories or information harmful to Hebron had been found in his recent recollections. In other words, he was reliable for now.

PS1: Tuesday Readership is very important. If possible, please read both chapters today all the way to the final page. Thank you!

PS2: When it comes to fanfiction, I generally like it when authors have their own secondary settings and imaginative ideas. Different people have different opinions on that. The same technology can have different uses and development paths in different hands. For example, Kulturo Manus from Pacific Rim World—although it is the name of a Lord from a game, its technology is Pacific Rim's mech technology, pieced together with technology Luke has mastered himself. It is not the original version. I do not know whether anyone noticed things like the later modularization or Manus's assassin form.

PS3: Originally, I had written a novel without much of a cheat, something like a realistic story where one entered one world-like illusion after another. But two editors rejected it during internal submission. I had already written quite a lot of the outline. Having both editors reject it really hurt my confidence, so after browsing rankings for a day, I suddenly wrote this American Comics story with a bit of a system and cheat. Then it passed internal submission very quickly. QAQ... So I do not have much of a backlog for this book, and I heard that you cannot do massive update bursts during the new-book period either...