Chapter 71: The Enforcer

"Ahem, ahem~"

Through a very ordinary microphone came Luca's clear voice, familiar from memory.

"I believe everyone here is well aware of the purpose of our gathering today~"

At this moment, standing amidst a cluster of bizarre data-collection equipment in the middle of the weapon testing range, Luca looked at everyone with complete ease.

Thanks to the prompt reminders from the attendants, everyone who had been chatting idly at the open-air cocktail party had long since quieted down, waiting for Luca's performance.

Although quite a few among them—not just shareholders, but even veteran backbone members of the company—did not hold high hopes for the project Luca had been talking about.

Still, since they were all "family," no one would actively step out to cause trouble just to make their presence felt at a time like this.

Indeed, everyone genuinely wanted to see what kind of tricks this heir of the Orange family could pull off.

"The current predicament of Orange Industries is undoubtedly known to everyone present even better than to a newcomer like myself."

"This is an internal demonstration, so I'll skip the cliché opening remarks. Without further ado, let's move straight into the official testing and presentation phase!"

At these words, everyone nodded in satisfaction. Many even wore encouraging smiles, offering polite, restrained applause.

After all, Luca was merely a successor, and absurdly young at that, having yet to truly establish any real authority.

If, under such circumstances, Luca were to lecture these "old timers" on grand visions of the future or indoctrinate them with high-flown philosophies, it would only make him a laughingstock.

Instead, this pragmatic style inherited from Gina actually won the favor of quite a few.

Dressed in a striking red suit, Justin Hammer was also smiling and clapping, while speaking to Heinrich beside him with a hint of pride.

"Now comes the real test. Let's see if this kid is as exceptional as your backer claimed."

Heinrich's expression remained completely unchanged at these words, save for a fleeting, imperceptible flash of red light in his left eye.

Like Justin, many people present were whispering among themselves, but none of this had the slightest impact on Luca up on the stage.

Putting down the microphone in his hand, Luca gestured to Wrench standing nearby.

Wrench, who had been eager for some time, carried a square black briefcase over, ran up excitedly, and placed it on the table, flipping it open.

Inside lay, naturally, the "Dominator Beta 1.2" pistol, "independently developed" by Luca.

That's right, the "Dominator Beta 1.2"!

In fact, over the past few days, Luca hadn't simply been waiting around while his subordinates prepared for this internal presentation.

During this period, he had spent a vast amount of time working with H.A.R.L.O.W. to study this "knockoff Dominator," figuring out which technological components could be black-box encrypted to prevent reverse engineering.

And which parts were more suitable for patent registration with selective public disclosure.

In truth, Luca had only learned just a few days ago that the act of patent registration itself required detailed disclosure of technical solutions, including core principles and implementation steps, in order to truly receive "protection."

However, this very act was often the root cause of core technology exposure.

Consequently, many large enterprises, particularly those in the military-industrial technology sector, would rather take the risk of having their technology cracked and reverse-engineered by others.

They would choose to forego patent registration and instead rely on physical means to enforce strict confidentiality over their products' core technologies.

Well, of course.

In this Marvel Universe, if certain geniuses truly wanted to crack your technology, they wouldn't listen to reason at all.

It's just that these genuine geniuses rarely applied such cross-era technologies to commercial fields, so there wasn't too much need to worry about them.

Moreover, even if everything went smoothly from this point on.

There was still a considerable amount of time required, ranging from securing orders and upgrading factory assembly lines to actual production and sales.

Thus, Luca could fully afford to continue weighing and refining encryption methods and manufacturing costs a step further.

Digressions aside.

At this moment, Luca with graceful composure gently lifted the "Dominator Beta 1.2" from the black briefcase, holding it flat in his palm for all to see.

Naturally, such a gesture by Luca made it impossible for everyone present to clearly see the weapon in its entirety.

With a flick of his wrist, Luca made an empty grasping motion toward the "Dominator Beta 1.2" pistol and tossed it forward.

The next instant, several machines beside him flashed with a brilliant blue light.

Immediately following, a holographic projection—identical to the gun in Luca's hand, but magnified several times over—rapidly materialized out of thin air right before everyone's eyes.

Holographic projection technology, complete with zero-latency tactile operation.

Such a marvel remained unrealized in the real world even after a decade.

Yet in the Marvel Universe, this was already considered standard-issue equipment for top-tier scientists.

Even at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, specially established by S.H.I.E.L.D. to cultivate talent for Hydra, there was an exclusive course named Holographic Engineering, designed to help agent trainees on the scientific track better master the use of such equipment.

Fortunately, thanks to the technical support provided by his "sugar daddy" H.A.R.L.O.W., Luca finally got to experience this equipment firsthand.

And as expected, quite a few unworldly individuals were slightly startled by Luca's sudden display.

Yet Luca did not stop his actions because of their astonishment.

He simply continued, introducing the weapon while holding the "Dominator Beta 1.2" in his own hands.

"I believe many of you are aware that my late father dedicated himself to creating a cross-era energy weapon. This ion energy pistol was forged precisely on the foundation of that philosophy."

"I have named it—the Arbiter!"

Yes, considering that the primary target audience for this weapon would be state police departments, Luca had hesitatingly chosen to abandon the original name, "Dominator."

Perhaps in the original work, giving it such a name carried various metaphors against a dystopian world, but as a commercial product, Luca clearly had to protect his clients' reputations and spare them any unnecessary negative associations.

As Luca gave his brief explanation, the massive blue projection shifted and transformed continuously.

At this point, many people were already beginning to realize something.

"Isn't this that weapon from the internet a while back!?"

"No wonder it looked somewhat familiar at the time. It turns out the guy in the video was the kid from the Orange family!"

"What video?"

The online video these people were referring to was naturally the incident where Luca had blown up a runaway dump truck with a single shot from the [Dominator].

Back then, however, the Battle of New York had just concluded not long ago, and the public's attention was largely focused on the Avengers and the aliens. Coupled with the fact that Luca had used public relations to suppress the news, the actual spread hadn't been very wide, and most videos appearing online had been blurred.

Nevertheless, with the physical object right in front of them now, those who had paid attention to related rumors quickly recalled it.

Meanwhile, standing in a corner, Justin Hammer paid no attention to Luca's subsequent introduction.

Instead, he looked at Heinrich beside him with a hint of playful mockery.

"Heh~ The Arbiter? Fits your ideology rather well, doesn't it?"