The Feasibility of Laser Weapons

General Jonathan did not say much. He simply led the group of Jaeger pilots into the Shatterdome base.

The interior of the base was spacious, even somewhat empty.

The most eye-catching sight was the Jaeger standing tall on Bay 1.

"Wanderer."

The world's first Jaeger.

Height: 80 meters.

Weight: 2,800 tons.

Power system: nuclear-powered turbine engine.

Plasma cannon: plasma weapon with biometric recognition capabilities (retractable forearm-mounted device).

Dark matter pulse emitter (concealed).

Combat record:

Defeated the Category 1 kaiju "Blazing Flame" in Los Angeles in January 2023.

Defeated the Category 1 kaiju "Skyhook" in San Diego in May 2023.

Defeated the Category 2 kaiju "Giant Baby" at Port of San Jose in February 2024.

Assisted Explorer in defeating Virus, the largest Category 2 kaiju, in Sydney in May 2024.

As the first Jaeger, its record was illustrious, but it had also suffered severe damage.

Not every battle against a kaiju could be won easily, nor could one always emerge unscathed.

Wanderer had undergone no fewer than eight major repairs.

And now, it could finally take things a little easier.

Because it had gained a group of "comrades-in-arms."

"Have you heard of 'lasers'?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Laser weapons existed only in movies.

Forget using them on Jaegers—even condensing one into the shape of a small knife was unheard of.

"They didn't exist before, but now we have them!"

A man leaning on a cane walked over and picked up the conversation.

He had blond hair, a serious and meticulous expression, and a distinctly British style of dress.

He looked to be in his late forties, nearing fifty.

"This is Dr. Herman Gottlieb, a genius in mathematics and physics."

Herman Gottlieb.

He had shown exceptional talent in abstract mathematics from a young age.

He had written the operating system code for both Wanderer and Explorer.

He had overcome the technical barrier of the dual-pilot neural drift connection.

He had also designed an extremely accurate prediction model for kaiju attack frequency.

At the same time, he had made tremendous progress in studying the physical properties and structure of wormholes.

The life-energy detection system for detecting kaiju emerging from wormholes had also been developed by him.

He was serious and meticulous by nature, believing that only data was his guardian.

Though he looked unapproachable, he was actually warm-hearted inside; he simply did not know how to show it.

Dr. Herman walked over and took out something resembling a flashlight.

With a light press, a laser about a meter long shot out at once.

It looked just like a fluorescent tube.

Xiao Shou silently complained to himself.

Chiori Mina reached out, wanting to touch it.

"Don't touch it! The laser's temperature is as high as fifty-five million degrees Celsius!"

Chiori Mina jumped in fright and hurriedly pulled her hand back.

She had not paid much attention to it before, but after hearing Dr. Herman say that, she could indeed feel the temperature around them rising.

Even Xiao Shou, more than ten meters away from Dr. Herman, could feel the scorching heat washing over his face.

"All matter is made up of atoms and molecules."

"Atoms and molecules all contain electrons. These electrons have different energy states, also known as energy levels."

"When high-energy electrons are stimulated by a specific substance, they jump from a high energy level to a lower one. At that point, they emit light with an energy of ^E. The emitted light happens to share the same frequency and direction as the light that stimulated it. Under certain conditions, we can even use weak light to stimulate strong light. This phenomenon is called stimulated emission amplification of light—or, as you call it, lasers."

"But this state is extremely unstable. Its temperature approaches fifty-five million degrees Celsius, enough to break through the structure of most known metals and materials on Earth, including mechs."

"In other words, it could easily injure the user as well."

"But now, we have solved that problem. Lasers will become our weapons in a stable form."

"This will surpass the vast majority of weapon systems we know."

"Through electrical stimulation in a mech's arms, energy can be supplied to the handles, forming laser swords."

After saying that, Dr. Herman glanced at Jacob. Jacob nodded and changed into his mech combat suit.

No matter how eloquently someone talked, nothing was as shocking as seeing it with one's own eyes.

Once Jacob had changed, he headed toward the elevator with a Black man.

It seemed that man was Wanderer's other pilot.

They entered Wanderer's cockpit via the elevator.

Before long, the nuclear-powered turbine engine in Wanderer's chest began to spin.

This meant Jacob and the Black man had completed their neural synchronization and activated Wanderer.

Wanderer reached both hands behind its back and pulled out two objects resembling handles.

They were, well, just like the flashlights Dr. Herman had held earlier.

Electric light flickered along Wanderer's arms, and two beams of laser shot out from the handles.

The lasers solidified into the shape of swords.

Each was over thirty meters long.

Azure light flashed around them, dazzling enough that no one dared look directly at them.

Wanderer raised the laser sword in its right hand and slashed at the iron frame beside it.

That frame was normally used as a platform for mounting mechanical push arms. It was dense and contained no shortage of special metals.

Yet beneath the laser sword, it was sliced apart as effortlessly as a block of tofu.

The female pilots cried out in surprise, and even Xiao Shou and the others were no exception.

The laser sword's destructive power was simply too great. Its cutting ability might not have matched Mount Tai's Mo Dao, but its actual offensive power far surpassed it.

Even monsters with high defenses and thick hides would likely struggle to withstand an attack of that level. At the very least, it could inflict serious wounds.

A pungent burnt smell filled the air.

The scene left the mech pilots utterly stunned.

The birth of laser weapons would undoubtedly raise mech combat power by several tiers.

And besides, they looked cool...

Their style factor had shot through the roof.

Even after Wanderer had put away its laser swords, Xiao Shou and the others kept staring at its arms, unable to look away.

Seeing the fascinated expressions on the mech pilots' faces, General Jonathan smiled faintly.

He had expected this outcome. Laser weapons held enormous appeal for any mech pilot.

Mechs fought monsters mainly through brutal, fist-to-flesh attacks. Electromagnetic particle cannons and plasma cannons had limited ammunition.

Mechs like Mount Tai, which directly carried a cold weapon, were rare—and impractical besides.

Although the Mo Dao had shone brilliantly in the battle against Bladehead, it had inevitably suffered damage.

The materials and costs required for repairs were enormous.

It was far inferior to a powerful laser weapon that only needed to be recharged before use.

"I intend to make laser technology public to the entire world!"