Capítulo 115: Chapter 115: Construction, Jaegers, Serums, and "Descendants"
Shortly after the live broadcast ended, numerous clones dressed in dark gray cold-weather combat uniforms moved through the tiered seating of the Parliament Hall, efficiently "packing up" the thousands of Federal officials with their hands and feet bound.
Though these individuals had been corrupted by power, degenerating into self-indulgent and even anti-human scum, they still had considerable value for reuse. For example, they could be used to test the effectiveness of biological weapons in combat or to evaluate the practicality of new medical products.
The experimental data obtained from them would also contribute to the continuous advancement of humanity as a whole.
Officials and generals who still had the freedom of movement were taken away by ARS (Rapid Response) units to undergo Atlas's standardized trials and tests. After all, Steel City was now an "asset" of Atlas, and everything had to adhere to Atlas's rules and regulations.
Soon, the hall was almost empty, with only a few AECS (Emergency Countermeasures) units remaining for final inspections.
The Parliament Hall was located in the Federal Tower at the heart of Steel City. This towering structure, over 1,200 meters tall, was about to undergo extensive renovations by Atlas's Engineering Department to serve as the headquarters for Atlas's operations in Universe-06.
In the mid-level area, inside the former office of the Federal Speaker:
Samuel Young sat behind a metal desk, quickly reviewing the state of Steel City's civil, economic, and military affairs via a holographic screen powered by Universe-06's advanced technology.
When he reached the section on resources, he manually paused the rapidly scrolling screen.
The Federal officials, in their bid to maintain power and prevent uprisings or coups, had kept the majority of the population in a state of "just not starving." This strategy was meant to prevent people from focusing too much on other issues while also directing them toward overconsumption in the buffer zones.
However, this very behavior had allowed Atlas to seize a large cache of resources, ensuring that Steel City wouldn't need to worry about resource depletion for the next two years.
Two years would be enough time to complete a significant amount of reconstruction.
During this period, Samuel planned to maintain Steel City's existing monetary transaction system and utilize resources imported from other universes by the company to expand and diversify Steel City's supply chain.
Once Steel City stabilized, he would introduce the company's new, high-quality non-essential consumer goods—like different models of smartphones, various styles and flavors of clothing and snacks—to stimulate market demand.
Large-scale infrastructure projects, upgrading local industries, and providing numerous job opportunities were standard procedures. He also intended to establish and implement incentive policies, such as offering a one-year tax exemption for those who registered their identity and participated in formal labor. Samuel would adjust or add more details as necessary based on the situation.
Among all the projects, two stood out as particularly important: rebuilding social welfare and education. These were crucial not only for improving residents' well-being and educational standards but also for fostering a sense of social responsibility among the populace.
Samuel mentally sketched out his future plans and realized that he would need to stay here for at least two to three months. After that, he would gradually delegate the management, construction, and production tasks to Magnus.
In fact, even if he left right now, Magnus would still be capable of handling the role of regional manager. However, Universe-06's branch was currently in dire need of a large number of officials, which is why Samuel chose to stay temporarily to provide direct assistance to his son.
During this time, Atlas would select local officials, and the company's branches in Universe-01 (Edge of Tomorrow) and Universe-03 (Doom) would continuously send human resources to Steel City to fill vacant positions.
After six years of reconstruction, the European territory occupied by the Universe-01 branch had already become the company's breadbasket. The branch also excelled in producing management and business talents, thanks to the influence of its director, Robert (Guilliman).
Meanwhile, the Universe-03 branch, managed by Leon, excelled in producing soldiers and officers with high physical fitness and strong willpower. After all, the residents there were humans who had been repeatedly tormented in body and mind by the Fallen, enduring for years before being rescued by the company.
The Fallen referred to those who had undergone extreme physical and mental mutations after injecting the 24th chromosome pair, becoming almost indistinguishable from "demons."
To avoid transforming injected humans into a different species, Atlas chose to extract the genetic information from the 24th chromosome pair and use nanobots injected into the body for "genetic reprogramming," enhancing the physical capabilities of suitable candidates.
Developing nanotechnology consumed the Research and Bioengineering Departments' primary focus for nearly four years, draining a vast amount of the company's resources. Finally, in mid-1998, they overcame the technical bottlenecks.
Although the cost and maintenance fees remained exorbitantly high, and the technology was relatively immature, making it impossible for Atlas to immediately apply nanotechnology on a large scale in civilian medical facilities, they could now produce small batches of nanobots carrying the 24th chromosome information. These were distributed to a select few core employees chosen by the Bioengineering Department.
The safety of nanobots had been confirmed, but the complexity and resource investment required to create a single dose were comparable to manufacturing two Luna transport ships, and the nanobots were still a one-time-use product.
As a result, only a few core employees were granted the right to use nanobots, typically frontline investigators responsible for solo reconnaissance missions.
Additionally, the Bioengineering Department had applied nanobots to the temporary project of Compound V.
Initially, Compound V was not favored by Atlas due to its unpredictable and uncontrollable nature. The probability of it unleashing a human's potential and bestowing useful superpowers was exceedingly low, even when injected during childhood, often resulting in lifelong disability.
A critical issue was that humans who injected Compound V would undergo mutations, with most becoming reproductively isolated from ordinary humans.
However, changing the approach so that users temporarily gained "superhuman" states provided a perfect solution to the problem of permanent mutations. The one-time-use nanobots offered an ideal pathway for temporary enhancement.
After extensive testing and experimentation, the Bioengineering Department successfully produced the first batch of temporary serums in December 1998, just six months ago.
These serums, with effects lasting between 20 to 26 hours, were named "24V."
But 24V had a fatal flaw: once used, it inflicted severe damage on the user's brain neurons and organs. Moreover, after more than 15 uses, the user faced the constant risk of sudden death.
Therefore, frontline employees eligible to receive the first batch of 24V had to fully understand the serum's details and clearly acknowledge the consequences of its use.
At this moment, as Samuel recalled these numerous developments, he noted the information regarding Steel City's resources and reserves, then continued scrolling through the holographic screen.
Soon, the screen displayed military-related files, such as the parameters of Federal main battle tanks or the schematics of standard firearms. However, it was the PPDC's (Pan Pacific Defense Corps) proposed "Mark-Ⅵ Jaeger Project" that made Samuel pause and carefully review the data and details.
The PPDC planned to combine the features of the third to fifth generations of Jaegers and then optimize them to create the sixth generation.
The latest Jaeger would be powered by a combination of an electric turbine system and a nuclear reactor, using the three-pilot system of the fourth-generation Jaeger, "Crimson Typhoon." The design would also add armor to the Jaeger's shoulders and back to prevent Kaiju from ambushing the head cockpit.
Thus, the ideal sixth-generation Jaeger would possess the reliability and protection of the third generation, the close combat agility and long-range plasma pulse cannon of the fourth generation, and the mobility of the fifth generation.
Although the PPDC presented the proposal under the guise of "protecting Steel City," it was evident that such a versatile Jaeger was meant to launch a strike on the wormhole bridge beneath the ocean.
No wonder the Precursors, who controlled the Conservative faction, vehemently opposed it. They were willing to risk destabilizing the balance and execute PPDC's top generals to prevent the construction of the sixth-generation Jaeger.
But now, the "Mark-Ⅵ Jaeger Project" was entirely in Atlas's hands.
In fact, Samuel had considered a large-scale Jaeger project six years ago, but he shelved it due to the potential imbalance between construction and trial costs and actual combat effectiveness.
A hundred-meter-tall Jaeger had very limited applications in modern warfare, requiring constant testing and improvement—a project that was more trouble than it was worth.
But now, with the ready-made data from the PPDC, Samuel planned to personally oversee the project once he had finished helping Magnus handle Universe-06's affairs. He would first create two prototype Jaegers as a backup.
The usable scenarios might be limited, but "limited" was still better than zero.
After organizing the files, Samuel was about to review the remaining content related to Steel City when:
**[Two Descendants… have descended upon Universe-06… near Yellowstone Volcano.]**
The cold voice, dormant for a long time, echoed once again in his mind.
"..."
Hearing this, Samuel leaned back in his office chair, a bit dazed.
Two more sons?
The last notification had been in September 1995, when Horus and Magnus descended. Now, it was April 18, 1999 (in the main universe), nearly four years later, as if the time had passed in an instant.
Perhaps due to his immortality, Samuel sometimes overlooked the passage of time.
He quickly composed himself and sent a message to Magnus via the screen: **"Prepare the Shadow Strike craft. We
're heading to North America."**
Then he stood up, walked toward the office door, and, before leaving, donned a custom black trench coat designed for his over-two-meter-tall frame.
Outside in the corridor:
Samuel, along with six Hunters assigned to protect him, boarded an elevator that took them to the top floor of the tower.
Before passing through the pressure-sealed doors, Samuel put on a breathing mask, even though he didn't need one to breathe freely in the extreme environment of Earth-06.
Samuel was well aware that the differences between him, his sons, and ordinary people were impossible to hide—especially the pristine white wings of Sanguinius.
Therefore, unless the internal discussions within the company became too "exaggerated," he usually chose to turn a blind eye, not stifling his employees' imagination. After all, he understood that the more something is restricted, the more curious people become, which could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings and backlash.
Whoosh—!
As the doors opened, Samuel's black trench coat fluttered in the cold wind.
He also saw the Shadow Strike craft hovering in suspension mode, maintaining a certain distance from the helipad, with Magnus waiting nearby.
Without further words, the father and son, along with the six Hunters, boarded the Shadow Strike craft.
The craft's doors sealed shut, its height increased in suspension mode, and it eventually relied on its fusion engines to ascend to near-earth orbit.
Inside the command cabin:
"I noticed you've been getting along well with the folks at PPDC," Samuel remarked, his gaze fixed on the vast expanse of space through the holographic window.
"Yes, Father. Most of them are worthy warriors," Magnus replied, nodding without hesitation. "Especially General Quan Shaofeng, the PPDC's commanding officer. He seems to be a rare, uncorrupted figure in Steel City, and he's also a reserve Jaeger pilot."
"I've read his file." Samuel stopped gazing out the window, slightly turning to look at his son, who was a bit taller than him, and spoke in a solemn, deep tone: "Son, in the not-too-distant future, you'll be responsible for managing all aspects of Universe-06 on your own. Do you remember the ancient saying I once told you and your brothers? 'When the water is too clear, there are no fish; when a person is too critical, they have no followers.'"
"Of course. Excessive purity leads to a lack of necessary ecological balance and interpersonal relationships," Magnus responded without hesitation.
"Good." Samuel nodded, signaling the end of the conversation, knowing that Magnus no longer needed extensive reminders.
It didn't take long.
The Shadow Strike craft re-entered the atmosphere, bringing them to the northwestern region of North America.
Two days ago, a hydrogen bomb had cleared the skies somewhat, while also destroying the Precursor city, preventing further atmospheric pollution.
However, it would take at least a hundred years for the area to return to its original state. After all, destruction is easy, but restoration is hard. Alternatively, they could wait for the spatial gate, which opens every 414 days, to access planetary environment modification technology ahead of time.
Soon, the pilot followed Samuel's instructions and landed the Shadow Strike craft on the southwestern shore of what was once Yellowstone Lake, now a lake of magma.
The lake water had long evaporated, replaced by scorching magma.
After disembarking, Samuel used his psychic abilities to guide Magnus and the six Hunters to a shallow pit, where they found two "children" playfully interacting.
One had naturally white short hair, while the other had black hair and a healthy, wheat-colored complexion.
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