Marvel: Starting from Constructor Luke

Stacker Pentecost's action was incredibly swift. While everyone else was still immersed in the plan he proposed, trying to refine it, he had already obtained the answer.

"Newton's conjecture was correct. Those Kaiju aren't just driven by instinct. They're not merely hunting and gathering—they came here on orders! They are a group of biological weapons, not natural creatures! Their masters, or rather, their creators, are a colonial civilization from space. They occupy planets like locusts, and once they've exhausted everything, they move on to the next target. Our planet is one of their chosen targets."

"What's surprising is, according to the information gathered from this neural synchronization, they've been eyeing this planet long before humanity even appeared here. They visited during the age of dinosaurs! But at that time, the planet's environment and air weren't suitable for their survival. For other reasons, they left. But they have always maintained some level of interest in this planet."

"Now, with ozone depletion, rising carbon monoxide, and water pollution, they've smelled the ripe opportunity. So, they've returned. They believe that with the current environment—even with the limitations of the wormholes—this is the right time to terraform the planet and begin their colonization. Over the past decade, they have sent wave after wave of Kaiju, not to slaughter us, but to gradually attack and pollute the most affected areas, slowly turning our planet into an environment more suited to them!"

"As for exterminating us? Once the environment is terraformed, we'll need to lose at least half of our population. Eventually, they'll send out Mega Kaiju, stronger than the first to fourth category, to completely clean us out. By then, their new home will be ready, and the new tenants can move in."

"I knew it!" Newton Geiszler jumped up excitedly, his right fist swinging violently through the air.

"That's impossible!" Hermann Gottlieb stared in shock.

"This is the truth, Dr. Gottlieb." Stacker Pentecost's expression was stern. "Like you, I didn't want to believe it, but facts are facts, and it's as irrefutable as mathematics."

"Forget about him. It's just the wailing of a loser! Let's focus on this colonial civilization. Is there any more information about it?" Newton Geiszler shoved Hermann Gottlieb aside, leaning in toward Stacker's face, his cheeks flushed with excitement. He clearly wasn't someone who kept his emotions in check.

In the original series, Newton, frustrated because no one believed him, impulsively dismantled and modified the neural synchronization system of the Shaolin Rogue, conducting a neural sync with a damaged and dying Kaiju head. When Hannibal Chau asked why he insisted on using the Kaiju's head, Newton first claimed it was a secret, but before Hannibal could ask again, Newton enthusiastically explained everything he had done.

Essentially, he was like Hermann Gottlieb, a pure researcher, wearing his emotions on his sleeve without any pretension. Of course, this changed after he was brainwashed by the Precursors in the years that followed.

"It's a colonial civilization. The creators of the Kaiju are called the Precursors, and the Kaiju's DNA is derived from the genes of these Precursors. Through toxic chemicals and biological mutation technology, they clone Kaiju with different forms. The higher the rank of the Precursor, the more powerful and toxic the Kaiju it produces."

"Also, the Rift is exactly as Dr. Luke said. If we want to enter, we need a piece of Kaiju DNA, or we must bring a Kaiju with us. Only then will the Rift recognize us and allow us to pass through," Stacker Pentecost added.

"All this information… It looks like you've put in quite a bit of work these past few days," said Herc Hansen, clapping Stacker on the shoulder.

"The Kaidonovsky couple has helped a lot. Using the single-person neural synchronization system made by Dr. Luke, we had three people sync with a Kaiju's secondary brain, which allowed us to obtain this valuable information," Stacker Pentecost rubbed his forehead.

"How are those three people?" asked Raleigh Becket.

"Three death row inmates. One of them had a doctorate, and participated in the experiment as a bargaining chip for a reduced sentence," Stacker Pentecost glanced at Raleigh and added, "They're still alive, but they'll be spending their whole lives in prison."

"Dr. Luke, do you have a way to help us acquire the key to enter the Rift?" Stacker turned to Luke Field, who was standing nearby.

"Of course," Luke Field replied easily, "We just need part of a Kaiju's tissue. We can modify the Jaeger. If necessary, I can also apply a Kaiju gene coating to make it look authentic—double insurance."

"Then let's get started. Time is tight; we can't afford to wait," Stacker clapped his hands to signal the meeting was adjourned.

…

"I see Dr. Luke holds a high position in this base?" Raleigh Becket caught up with the walking Mako Mori, and they walked side by side. He asked curiously. It was hard for him to imagine that even Marshal Stacker, who had always been difficult to deal with in his memory, showed great respect for Luke. Especially since coming to the PPDC headquarters in recent days, he had noticed that Luke seemed to have the same authoritative voice as Marshal Stacker.

"Of course. During the toughest times for the PPDC, Dr. Luke and Shao Industries behind him provided significant assistance," Mako Mori explained briskly as she walked, "Dr. Luke brought many unique technologies from Shao Industries, which helped the PPDC tremendously. For example, Jaeger modifications — the Jaegers, modified by Dr. Luke are far more powerful than before.

At the same time, he also made modifications to the base."

"The base?" Raleigh Becket was a bit confused.

"Some industrial machinery was added to improve the repair and maintenance time for the Jaegers. Ever since the UN significantly reduced their support and cut off PPDC's funding, it's been hard to maintain too many repair teams. Aside from a few volunteers who stayed, most of them were reassigned by their home countries. Dr. Luke had previously developed an unmanned factory technology for Shao Industries, and he modified that technology for use at the PPDC. Recently, Marshal Stacker began repairing abandoned Jaegers because he realized that, after applying this technology, the current number of Jaegers doesn't even come close to reaching the technology's limit. It can easily support more Jaegers with the current repair teams."

Mako Mori continued, counting off on her fingers, "In addition to the unmanned factory technology, Dr. Luke also upgraded the PPDC's energy systems. According to him, PPDC's current budget only allowed for this level of upgrade, but actually, if the upgraded energy system were fully activated, it could not only power the PPDC headquarters but also provide enough energy for the entire island."

"The base's defense measures were also upgraded. Originally, when the base was built to deal with Kaiju, the defenses against things like electromagnetic pulses were insufficient, so Dr. Luke turned it into a super-large Faraday cage. Although Marshal Stacker thinks it's unnecessary, since it was a favor from Shao Industries, he didn't say much."

"Finally, Dr. Luke and Shao Industries have the backing of a country. His connections and influence in his country are enormous. While all other PPDC bases have been closed and transferred, this main base remains. This is partly because China believes the PPDC should be retained until the Kaiju wall has been fully tested. But Dr. Luke and Shao Industries also played a significant role. Marshal Stacker, and all of us, are very grateful to him."

"I see. So, he's a good guy after all," Raleigh Becket smiled.

Mako Mori smiled back. The two arrived at their respective resting rooms within the base, with their doors facing each other.

"I heard you're a pilot?" Raleigh Becket suddenly turned to ask as they entered their rooms.

Mako Mori turned as well, holding a folder, and met Raleigh's gaze. "Yes, I've just recently become a pilot, though I haven't been in a real battle yet."

"Simulator results?" Raleigh Becket asked. Becoming a Jaeger pilot required extensive training and hard work, and there was quite a bit of talent involved! When Raleigh first joined the Hunter Academy, he had seen many people eliminated due to factors like failing training, poor simulator results, or unstable mental fortitude.

"51 hits, 51 kills." Mako Mori replied softly.

Raleigh Becket raised an eyebrow in surprise at her simulator results, "That's impressive. Which Jaeger did they assign to you? Maybe we'll fight together someday."

"Kurtulo." Mako Mori's face lit up with rare excitement — the first time Raleigh had seen such an expression on her.

"Kurtulo? The sixth-generation model?"

Having been at the PPDC headquarters for nearly a week, Raleigh was familiar with the unique Jaeger placed in the central area, which looked very similar to Crimson Typhoon. He had received some information from his old friend, Herc Hansen, and knew that it was the newest and only sixth-generation Jaeger, just like the special fifth-generation Jaeger, Striker Eureka.

"Yes, it's incredibly powerful. When I pilot it, I can feel its immense energy. It has six energy cores…" Mako Mori clearly adored Kurtulo.

"Wait a minute, I heard that it was Dr. Luke's Jaeger?" Raleigh Becket frowned, recalling the information he had gathered from Herc Hansen about Kurtulo.

Mako Mori paused, tightening her grip on the folder. "Dr. Luke is a researcher, and his safety is highly valued by everyone at the base, including Shao Industries and the country behind them. We can't treat him as a soldier. Furthermore, Dr. Luke is always immersed in research and Jaeger technology modification. To him, Kurtulo is just a product he created for testing and proving his technology."

"Is that so?" Raleigh Becket nodded as if he had been convinced.

Mako Mori seemed a bit deflated. Kurtulo, the most advanced and possibly strongest Mark-6 Jaeger, was something no Jaeger pilot out in the field wouldn't want to pilot. Yet, for Dr. Luke, this powerful Jaeger was merely a large toy — a tool for verifying his technology. Once it was finished, his interest in it had already waned significantly.

Remembering when Dr. Luke had handed her the control of Kurtulo and how she had incredulously asked why he gave her the position, Mako Mori still didn't fully understand the answer. But that didn't stop her from being thrilled about becoming Kurtulo's pilot. For the past few months, she had been familiarizing herself with all of Kurtulo's features. Not only was she an excellent fighter, but she was also a skilled Jaeger technician, which helped her understand the technology embedded within Kurtulo more quickly.

…

As the countdown to the final day on the war clock approached, the entire atmosphere at the base became tense.

11:53 PM.

The energy from the wormhole triggered the PPDC alarm.

Tendo Choi quickly sat down at his station, watching the data scrolling down on the screen and making a report.

"Three signals! Signal strength level, Category 4! One of them is Category 5!"

Seeing Raleigh Beckett and the others rush in due to the alarm, Tendo Choi spoke under Stacker's gesture.

"Their codenames are Scunner and Raiju, and the first fifth-generation monster is coded Slattern. They will arrive at Xianggang in an hour."

"Sound the alarm, evacuate all citizens, and shut down the bridges. The government will arrange for every citizen to enter the shelters. The rest is our job. The fall of Sydney cannot be repeated here. Crimson Typhoon, Shaolin Rogue, Cherno Alpha..." Marshal Stacker talked over Tendo Choi.

"I'm afraid Shaolin Rogue won't be available for deployment at the moment. Dr. Luke just dismantled it for experimental modifications." Shaolin Rogue's mechanic, Chen Kesheng, raised his hand helplessly: "Dr. Luke said it's just a third-generation machine, perfect for experiments. Even if it fails, it's only a third-generation machine lost."

The other members of the Shaolin Ranger maintenance team also looked helpless. Boss, after the previous upgrades, the Shaolin Rogue already met the standard of a fourth-generation machine!

"Well," Stacker's gaze swept around and landed on the adopted daughter, Mako Mori, who was standing next to Raleigh Becket with a somewhat eager look on her face. He said, "Then Gypsy Danger and Kurtulo, you will block the monsters. My only goal is to make sure they don't get close to the base and the city. Striker Eureka, you are responsible for holding the coastline. If any Kaiju break through the blockade, you stop them. Any questions?"

Everyone nodded their heads in unison.

"Then start preparing. Keep the Kaiju bodies as intact as possible; Dr. Luke will need them." Stacker waved his hand, signaling everyone to prepare.