"Luca..."
"Shhh~~~"
Inside the underground laboratory.
Well, calling it a laboratory was a bit of a stretch; it was more like a massive underground mechanical workshop.
As Luca's headquarters in New York, the Aurantius Tower naturally had more than just the top-floor lab.
It was just that Luca, likely infected by Tony's flashy personality earlier, preferred using the top-floor lab with its panoramic view.
But right now, the top-floor lab was still under repair. With no other choice, he had temporarily moved his operations underground.
At this moment, Sherry, carrying a temperature-controlled cooler box, had just walked in and tried to call out to Luca. But she was stopped by Baymax, who was waiting nearby.
Seeing Baymax press a chubby finger to where his mouth would be in a "shush" gesture, Sherry stopped with an amused smile and didn't move closer.
In the distance, at the center of the spacious workshop, Luca was holding a pale blue spherical crystal with tweezers. He was focused intensely, carefully trying to place it into the center of a strange-looking cylindrical machine.
As the tweezers advanced, the pale blue crystal seemed to be caught by some kind of force field.
It floated silently right in the center of the cylindrical machine.
Then, Luca carefully took a step back and slowly pushed a lever on the console next to him.
From a distance, Sherry could clearly see arcs of visible electricity striking the spherical crystal in the center of the cylindrical device.
With each strike of electricity, the crystal glowed brighter and brighter.
The circuitry running along the cylinder at various angles lit up as if reflecting the blue light, growing increasingly brilliant.
Until Luca pushed the lever to the max.
Hummmmm~
After a barely audible hum.
Countless tiny, pale blue particles surged out around the entire cylindrical device. As these blue particles increased in density, several simple lighting fixtures connected nearby lit up instantly, as if energized.
The already well-lit workshop was suddenly bathed in blinding white light.
"Ah! My eyes!"
Luca, who had been fully absorbed a moment ago, yelped and scrambled to pull the lever back down.
But filled with the joy of success, he ignored his nearly blinded eyes.
Rubbing them furiously, he forced his eyelids open to examine the cylindrical machine in front of him.
Or, to call it by its name—the Magic Solar Furnace!
"Hehe, finally successful~ I really am a genius!"
Yes, the experiment just now was the manufacturing of the Solar Furnace Luca had been longing for.
However, unlike the original standard Solar Furnace (GN Drive), what Luca built this time was the "Magic Version" he and Tony had perfected together.
Previously, to stably power the Hell Gate, Luca had forcibly rigged the Crimson Cloak (looted from Justine Hammer) with a drive casing similar to a Solar Furnace.
After receiving Tony's improvement suggestions, Luca had dismantled and studied the [H-28Q Apex Turret]—which had outlived its usefulness.
That research led to this: a "Magically Modified Solar Furnace" with a Hextech Crystal as its core.
However, what it released weren't the original "GN Particles," but rather magical particles composed of Hextech energy.
Fortunately, through the adjustments of the Magic Solar Furnace and the modified "GN Particle Engine," these Hextech Magic Particles could replicate almost all the functions of the original Solar Furnace.
But since the original green particle core was called a GN Drive (Gundam Nucleus Drive), calling this modified version an HN Drive (Hex Nucleus Drive) might be more appropriate.
HN Particles... Hex Nucleus Particles? That name sounds pretty good.
Luca, whose vision was gradually recovering, looked at the "Hextech Engine" before him with delight, wishing he could mount it onto a mecha for testing immediately.
Unfortunately, after the last nuclear explosion, Luca's [Boxer] mecha still hadn't been repaired because he'd been too busy.
Even if he wanted to field test it, he didn't have a chassis.
"But since I've built the HN Drive, I can redesign and upgrade the [Boxer] based on Gundam blueprints. Plus, since the [Boxer] can inherit conceptual attributes, maybe I can add some tech brought back from the Devil May Cry world this time... It's just a pity I only have two Hextech Crystals. I don't know if I'll have the chance to synthesize more Hextech items later."
The "Hextech Engine" (or "H-Solar Furnace") Luca built was, like the original Solar Furnace, a semi-perpetual energy device.
As long as the energy of the Hextech Dimension wasn't drained dry, this engine could run at full power forever.
Luca's life was finally looking up. He had become the second entity, after the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj, capable of utilizing Hextech Dimension energy.
Regrettably, two Hextech Crystals meant Luca could manufacture at most two "HN Solar Furnaces."
Although, using this engine as a template, Luca could replace the Hextech Crystal with Demon Materials or Devil Arms.
But in that case, the engine wouldn't have the "semi-perpetual energy" characteristic.
After all, nobody cared if he drained the Hextech Dimension dry, but draining the Hell Dimension...
Uh... probably... wouldn't be a big problem either?
However, just as Luca was happily playing with his HN Solar Furnace, even planning to hand-craft an "HN Beam Rifle" or "HN Beam Saber" for further testing...
Sherry, who had been waiting outside and completely ignored by him, finally walked toward him with the bulky cooler box after confirming his experiment was paused.
By now, having come down from his excitement, Luca naturally noticed the sound of Sherry's high heels.
He turned around and looked at her with slight confusion.
"Eh? Sherry?"
"Didn't you say you were on the verge of a breakthrough recently and not to disturb you... Wait! You finished APTX4869?"
Realizing the implication, a look of surprise and joy appeared on Luca's face.
Well, okay.
Although APTX4869 wasn't of much use to him personally, Sherry had been researching it for so long. If she really had results, Luca still wanted to find some unlucky soul to test the drug on.
However, upon hearing Luca's question, a mysterious smile appeared on Sherry's face.
Then, she placed the cooler box on the workbench, pushed aside the clutter of tools, and opened it right in front of Luca.
Only then did Luca see what was inside.
In this ordinary medical cooler lay three items.
A capsule resembling a cold medicine pill.
A white pill that looked like candy.
And finally, a metal syringe containing a semi-transparent red liquid.
Most importantly, this metal syringe with the liquid was glowing with that familiar white light!!
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