Chapter 67: Dominator Beta 1.1

Another continuous few days of busy work.

In fact, young as Luca was at this moment, his body was already beginning to feel the strain.

After all, it was not only high-intensity mental activity, but the experimental process also demanded considerable physical effort and delicate manipulation.

Had Luca not frequently used the healing ability of [Sweet Captive] to relieve the soreness in his muscles and eyes, he estimated he would have long since needed to take a proper rest and sleep for a whole day.

During this time, not only Shamira, but even Baymax reminded Luca several times to take care of his health. Still, he had pushed through it all on sheer adrenaline and excitement.

Finally, looking at the energy pistol that was identical in appearance to the original [Dominator] yet fundamentally different on the inside, a satisfied smile finally appeared on Luca's face.

"Next, I need to find a place to test this brand-new Dominator!"

Given the destructive power possessed by the Dominator, Luca naturally could not choose to test it in his small private laboratory at home.

However, even without actual field testing, he already had a general understanding of the various specifications of this "brand-new" weapon.

In fact, although this "Dominator Beta 1.1" itself was a knockoff "patched together" by Haro through analyzing the original [Dominator] and combining existing technical information in the database...

Because Orange Industries already had development experience with "ion energy guns," coupled with some peripheral technologies from the Gundam 00 universe...

The final finished product was already very close to the original [Dominator].

It not only possessed the three form transformations similar to the original [Dominator], along with seventy to eighty percent of its firepower,

Even extra functions such as network connectivity, voice recognition, and facial data retrieval were perfectly replicated as well.

There were only two somewhat regrettable aspects.

First, that kind of auxiliary aiming—and even information prompt boxes—that could be constantly projected onto the eyes in the original version could not be integrated into the "Dominator Beta 1.1," even with Haro's capabilities.

Ultimately, it could only be achieved by relying on an external device resembling a Dragon Ball power scouter.

Well, this external eyewear was actually a piece of technology that Baymax later scanned from the [Tracking Glasses] and "disassembled" from them.

However, the "tech content" of something like the [Tracking Glasses] was actually far "darker" than it appeared. Let alone copying it, after tinkering with it back and forth, they ultimately only managed to "disassemble" a tiny fraction of useful technology.

The other aspect that could not perfectly match the original level was the ultra-small energy battery of the [Dominator].

According to Haro's simulation calculations, the "electromagnetic anesthesia" in non-lethal mode and the "ion ray" in lethal mode both fell within an acceptable range regarding battery wear and tear in essence.

But the "melting mode," which corresponded to the decomposition mode and condensed the "high-energy melting energy ball," stood at a level where, with existing battery technology, one shot would deplete the battery and two shots would render it useless.

It was completely impossible to use it like the original user Luca did, firing a dozen shots in succession before running out of power, with the added capability of continuous recharging for cycled use.

Even this "castrated version" of the battery was achieved only by reverse-engineering the "lithium batteries" inside the two intelligent robots, Baymax and Haro.

No wonder people say that the "darkest" part of these black-tech gadgets is often the energy technology...

Most of the data stored within Haro's chip relied on a "solar furnace" to be realized, leaving the achievements in battery technology pitifully scarce.

However!

In Luca's view!

This accidental second "defect" instead suited his intentions even better.

Perhaps corrupted by these evil capitalists,

Luca's first thought was not to continue improving and upgrading, but rather to have Haro modify the battery of the "Dominator Beta 1.1" into a detachable and replaceable model.

Moreover, he even intentionally "compressed" some of the battery's performance.

This ensured that even when using the "ion ray" in lethal mode, the "Dominator Beta 1.1" would still suffer a certain degree of "permanent damage" to its energy battery.

Furthermore, Luca had Haro very "thoughtfully" add a line of code to the supporting eyewear's program to indicate the degree of battery damage.

This was to ensure that future buyers would not lose their user experience due to severe battery "destruction."

"How much money can you make just selling a pistol? Once the pistol is sold, can you let the power company make the ammunition money?"

Not only that, Luca was also preparing to launch a long-term battery recycling rebate program later on.

Allowing those "permanently damaged" batteries to be returned to the factory, refurbished, and sold all over again.

Yes, it was a rebate, not a trade-in discount!

After all, if "damaged batteries" only yielded a discount on the purchase of "new batteries," it would merely save funds for the purchasing party.

Whereas with a rebate, those Commissioner Smiths could more easily "write off" old batteries to profit from them, and then more actively procure new ones.

"The flagship product is ready now, so the next thing to nail down is the market."

"It's time to head back to the company and meet with those people. Somehow, those shareholders and people from the sales department ought to pull their weight."

Actually, however, Luca already had a good buyer in mind.

The military side was relatively difficult to deal with for the time being.

When they needed to procure new weapons, the review process was often extremely tedious.

Even for just a conceptual technology demonstration, it had to go through approval by the Department of Defense and budget review by Congress.

Besides, because Orange Industries had historically placed too much emphasis on contract manufacturing, its connections within the military were pitifully few.

Therefore, this time Luca had his sights set on another "armed group."

"As a local agency, the procurement plans and budget appropriations for the New York Police Department can be processed much faster~"

When all was said and done, the reason Luca prioritized completing the replication of the "Dominator," and even thoughtfully retained the non-lethal mode, was precisely to target the recently notorious New York police.

"Hehe, gang thugs already hold alien energy weapons; how can those bureaucrats have the heart to let these brave officers fight them relying on ordinary firearms?"

Not only that, as long as he could secure the procurement order from the New York Police Department first,

Could the police in other states simply sit by and watch their colleagues in New York state use equipment that was several times more advanced than their own?

Before that, however,

"I'd better get a good sleep first..."

With that, his spirit finally relaxing, Luca didn't even bother to move his feet, drifting off to sleep right there on the carpet of the underground laboratory.

Haro, who had been operating equipment on the auxiliary mecha nearby, seeing Luca fall into a deep sleep, immediately lightened its movements, carefully "unplugged" itself from the mecha, and gently leaned against Luca's side.

On the other side, Baymax walked silently to Luca's, tenderly picking him up in its arms.

Carefully carrying him up to the large bed in the upstairs bedroom.