Start with a blacksmith shop.

Chapter 174 Four Things

He kicked the car door, but the door didn't react at all, while he himself was jolted.

On a regular car, that stomp would have left a deep dent. Although this car is currently only in a virtual lab,

With a complete modification plan, all that's needed in reality is to replicate the operations in the laboratory.

They then actually put it into action.

When he actually started building the car in real life, he realized how difficult it was to be a sheet metal worker, especially with such thick armor.

Fortunately, the Volkswagen Santana he chose had a simple design; it was the kind of small, square box stacked with larger boxes.

As time went on, the bulletproof armored version of the Volkswagen Santana gradually took shape.

The hood was being supported by a sturdy hydraulic cylinder strut, and he was leaning over the front of the car, holding a wrench and twisting something inside.

His head came out, he put the wrench on the tool cart, and then picked up the front trunk that was lying on the ground next to him and put it inside.

After tightening the screws, he returned to the cockpit, pressed a button, and the hood automatically closed.

"It feels so numb, but I've finally finished modifying this thing."

The car's overall appearance is exactly the same as his previous Volkswagen Santana in every detail; it's practically a complete clone.

The vehicle uses a 480kW electric motor, producing 652 horsepower, and weighs a hefty 5 tons, while the battery pack is made as large as possible.

The total designed range is 4000 kilometers. As for speed, it's not particularly fast, with a top speed of only 240 kilometers per hour. Due to the car's weight, its 0-100 km/h acceleration time is only 3.2 seconds.

The car was entirely covered in composite bulletproof material, including the chassis, and a fake exhaust pipe was also installed at the rear.

In addition, a total of eight speakers were installed around the car to simulate the sound of an engine.

From the outside, it looks like an old Volkswagen Santana; no one would automatically know what's inside.

As for the interior, it remained understated and retained the original design without any changes, except for the large screen on the center console, which is the only high-tech feature in the car.

This large screen can be considered the control center of the entire car. The opening of the hood, various car statuses, and functions such as air conditioning are all concentrated on this screen, while the original physical buttons of the car are just for decoration.

When he removed the license plate from the old car and installed it on the new one, the car was completely indistinguishable from the real thing, both in appearance and sound.

Once the car is driven out of the workshop, it's considered off the production line. It took him nearly three months to finally complete the entire car.

It was at this time that the first batch of four Suzaku 9 aircraft rolled off the final assembly line.

Cui Tianzhi had already arranged with him beforehand that two military trucks would come to pick up the control cockpit the day after tomorrow.

They also invited him to visit the Quancheng Air Force Base, saying they had some things to discuss with him.

He also promised to go with the military truck that was coming to pick up the goods.

After receiving this call, he also took a break from car manufacturing and went to the aircraft final assembly workshop.

Looking at the four Suzaku 9 aircraft that were fully completed and parked in the hangar next to the runway, I couldn't help but feel a little excited.

He never imagined that one day he would be trading with the army.

Before they knew it, it was time for the military trucks to come and take the cockpit. Two military trucks drove into the factory that day and, guided by the workers, drove all the way to the hangar.

The four cockpits were loaded into two military trucks and secured on the vehicles.

At this moment, a major who had come with the military truck walked up to him and started talking to him.

"Mr. Li, our leader wants to invite you over; there are some things he wants to discuss. Would you like to come with us in our car?"

He had already thought about this problem. If he went with the military truck, there would definitely be trouble on his way back, so it would be better to drive himself.

"I think I'll drive myself, comrade. Shall we set off now?"

After he finished asking his question, the soldier opposite him nodded. Once the military truck was ready, it led the way, and his electric Santana followed.

After the three vehicles entered the highway, a military truck slowed down and then came up behind his vehicle, making it appear as if his vehicle was being escorted by two military trucks on the highway.

Without any unexpected incidents, we arrived at our destination – Quancheng Air Force Base – without any problems.

After being confirmed by the sentry and the officer in the lead vehicle, his car successfully drove into the base.

Just then, the soldier in the car in front of him walked towards his vehicle.

Knowing that this person had something to say to him, he quickly lowered the car window five centimeters behind him to the bottom.

"President Li, our leader and the person in charge are waiting over at the office building. I'll show you the way."

He nodded to the soldier and replied to him.

"Please get in the car!"

He then tapped on the central control screen, and the passenger door opened automatically.

This scene was witnessed by the soldiers nearby, who were amazed that such an old vehicle could still have this function.

Regardless of what he was thinking, he didn't stop walking and got into the passenger seat.

After the soldier got into the car, he habitually reached for the door to close it, but he couldn't budge it.

As he increased his strength, the car door moved only slightly.

"Mr. Li, is your car door broken? It's so heavy! I tried with all my might and couldn't budge it!"

He turned to look at the soldier, whose face was flushed from straining.

"Don't pull it yet. I've modified this car door a bit; you can't pull it open."

After speaking, he tapped on the large screen, and then the car door began to close.

Guided by the soldiers, they drove towards the base's office building. At that moment, Cui Tianzhi and Zhengwei were standing in front of the building talking, each of them holding a lit cigarette.

Cui Tianzhi came downstairs to greet the person only after receiving a report from the gatekeeper.

Don't think it's outrageous that such a high-ranking official would personally come down to greet you.

The main reason is that his talent is too extraordinary. He is the equivalent of an entire team, and it is also an aircraft design team. He is simply a national treasure.

The car stopped in front of the building, and Cui Tianzhi walked towards it. He quickly operated the controls, and the two front doors opened immediately.

He also got out of the car, but Cui Tianzhi, who had just walked over, noticed something unusual about the car.

It wasn't anything else, but mainly because what he saw was that the car door was incredibly thick.

He wasn't unfamiliar with this vehicle; there were many of this model in the military before, so he was quite familiar with it.

But the doors of this car were clearly thicker than any Santana he had ever driven. Gradually, the thickness of the doors began to match that of bulletproof doors he had ever seen.

Li Zhenhua got out of the car, walked up to Cui Tianzhi, and extended his hand to him, but Cui Tianzhi didn't react at all and was staring blankly at the car door.

It was the person sitting next to him who nudged him, and Cui Tianzhi finally came to his senses. He looked at the hand that was being extended in front of him and shook hands with Li Zhenhua.

"Oh, Mr. Li, welcome back to our air force base. Xiao Du, please drive Mr. Li's car and park it properly."

After saying that, she grabbed his hand and walked into the building, and Zhengwei followed her back.

Xiao Du, who stayed behind, readily agreed to park the car, but when he got to the driver's seat, he was dumbfounded.

Because he simply doesn't know how to drive this car. It's not that he can't drive it, but that he doesn't know how to drive it. The first thing is that his left foot can't find the clutch at all.

Unable to find the clutch pedal, I looked down at the gearshift and saw that what should have been a five-forward-one-reverse gear lever had instead become an indicator with three Chinese characters: forward, stop, and reverse.

Is this an automatic Volkswagen Santana? But the layout is different from the automatic Santana!

At that moment, he felt that everything about the car was strange.

He tried to drive like an automatic car, but still couldn't shift into gear. Then he tried pressing the brake and shifting gears, and sure enough, he got it in.

Then, under Xiao Du's driving, the car drove towards the parking lot.

Li Zhenhua, who was following behind Cui Tianzhi, talked with the two leaders along the way.

After entering the elevator, Cui Tianzhi finally asked the question that had been on his mind.

"Xiao Li, something looks off about your car..."

Having already noticed Cui Tianzhi watching the car door, he didn't intend to hide anything and told him the truth directly.

"Hehehe, the boss noticed? I upgraded the car myself, mainly improving the safety features, nothing else was changed!"

When Cui Tianzhi heard him say it was safe, he immediately felt reassured.

"Is your car bulletproof? I've never seen a bulletproof Volkswagen Santana in all these years. You really can't tell from the outside at all!"

Which manufacturer abroad modified it? Did they call you crazy?

They finally got a chance to make some changes, and they're actually focusing on a car model that's thirty or forty years old.

After Cui Tianzhi finished speaking, they walked to the door of a reception room, and Zheng Wei took the lead in pushing the door open and going in.

Cui Tianzhi stood in front of the door, staring at Li Zhenhua across the street.

His words made Li Zhenhua blush, feeling as if he had been exposed in front of someone.

Li Zhenhua grabbed his hair with his right hand and smiled awkwardly at the person opposite him.

"Hehe, it wasn't modified abroad, I have the means myself."

Plus, I'm pretty handy, so I did it myself; I built the whole car by myself.

As for what you called "crazy," I was just trying to keep a low profile, which is also a kind of disguise!

A thumbs-up was held up right in front of him, and just that one thumbs-up was enough to break Cui Tianzhi's guard; he didn't want to say a word to him.

"You two stop standing there chatting at the door, come in and sit down to talk!"

At the invitation of the person in charge, the two entered the living room and the three of them sat down together.

After sitting down, Li Zhenhua was a little puzzled and asked Cui Tianzhi.

"Sir, what brings you here today? I've been wondering about this ever since I got your call!"

After he voiced his question, the three began their conversation.

"There are four things I want to discuss with you this time. First, I want to give you the recent flight data of Suzaku 9."

This will give you an understanding of the Suzaku 9's condition and will help you decide whether to make a redesign later!

Cui Tianzhi stopped speaking, and the person in the seat next to him took a briefcase from beside the sofa and pushed it in front of him.

He nodded, took the briefcase, and solemnly placed it aside; this actual flight data was very important.

"Okay, I've received the data. I'll analyze it carefully when I get back."

I will continue to work hard, and the upgrades and improvements to Suzaku 9 will never stop!

He made assurances to the two men, took a sip of the water that Zhengwei handed him, and then looked at Cui Tianzhi again.

Seeing the glance he was giving him, Cui Tianzhi understood and continued speaking.

"Secondly, this also concerns the Suzaku 9. In actual use of this model..."

Our Dragon pilot offered a suggestion regarding this aircraft.

Based on practical considerations, one proposed solution was to have one Mighty Dragon aircraft act as the lead aircraft, while the Suzaku 9 would serve as wingmen, forming a formation of one Mighty Dragon leading a squadron of Suzaku 9s.

The current problem is that the Suzaku 9 requires too many pilots. If one Mighty Dragon aircraft leads five others, there will be five pilots operating them from the base.

Our idea is to be able to control all five aircraft from a single cockpit pilot, allowing one pilot to control multiple aircraft.

This is a suggestion from the Dragon pilot; see if you can implement it!

After listening to him, Li Zhenhua fell into deep thought, imagining in his mind a Dragon fighter jet with five henchmen, like a pack of wolves, pressing down on the enemy.

The M31 is an air superiority fighter, and the Suzaku 9 also possesses air superiority characteristics. Of course, its primary function is as a multi-purpose unmanned aerial vehicle.

Although the payload is small, just like Cui Tianzhi suggested, why not just bring a few more?

A lead aircraft, accompanied by five wingmen, forms a small squadron, attacking like a swarm of locusts.

Human wave tactics have always been the winning formula in Kyushu. In the past, the focus was on human wave tactics, and now this is equivalent to modern human wave tactics, which is one application of this tactic.

It sounds pretty exciting, so I started to consider the feasibility of this approach.

If this is to be achieved, the only option is to move towards artificial intelligence.

Having five aircraft sharing one cockpit is indeed a bit overwhelming, not only increasing the stress on the pilots.

Furthermore, the aircraft's electronic hardware needs to be upgraded, which may result in insufficient space on the aircraft.

Of course, this isn't absolute; five planes are indeed too many, and there's really no need to have five.

If one person can't fly five planes, then fly four. If one person can't fly four planes, then fly three. At worst, it can reduce the number of people needed, right?

Thinking this to myself, I pondered for a while and gradually regained my clarity.

"Sir, your suggestion is excellent."

Indeed, everything must be based on actual combat to design weapons more effectively.

I need to go back and think about this carefully, but I believe it has great potential for development.

Upon hearing this from the inventor of Suzaku 9, Cui Tianzhi smiled happily. At this moment, he already had a vision of Suzaku 9 flying all over the sky in his mind.

After resolving one issue, during a break from discussing serious matters, the three of them took a sip of tea and rested.

Cui Tianzhi was also talking to him about the recent performance of Zhuque 9, but of course he wouldn't talk about some classified information!

"Okay, let me move on to the next thing, which is mainly about you personally."

After the Camel Kingdom placed orders for Suzaku 3 and Suzaku 8 some time ago, along with the commissioning of Suzaku 9,

With all your achievements combined, the Minister of Equipment Development reported your accomplishments.

You may be nominated for this year's Science and Technology Progress Award. We'll see how the higher authorities consider your case during the award ceremony.

However, Minister Wang quietly told me that I have a high probability of becoming the winner.

After these achievements are reported, the Kyushu Academy of Sciences may issue you an appointment letter, hiring you as an honorary associate researcher, with a rank equivalent to associate professor.

This is a reward from above for your outstanding contributions.

After saying so much in one breath, Cui Tianzhi's mouth was a little dry, so he quickly drank some water.

He was stunned when he heard half of it. What? An associate professor? He hadn't even graduated from university! He'd become an associate researcher?

After listening, he realized that the higher-ups had never forgotten him and had been paying attention to his achievements.

Actually, it's impossible not to pay attention to him; such a genius is truly a national treasure.

Besides, he is still young, and with more growth, he may very well become a pillar of the nation.

Don't assume that those above will be curious about the reasons behind his achievements. Kyushu is a vast country, and there are some geniuses there. The upper echelons of Kyushu are also very broad-minded.

After a moment of stunned silence, Li Zhenhua calmed down and accepted what had just been said.

Cui Tianzhi and Zhengwei smiled and congratulated him.

The two of them were also pleased that he had gained recognition from above, even though they hadn't had much contact with him.

But judging from the fact that he developed three different aircraft in a row, he was someone who would eventually soar to great heights.

To paraphrase a saying popularized by the clay Buddha: "The golden carp is originally a creature of the pond, but once it encounters wind and clouds, it transforms into a dragon."

After chatting for a while, Cui Tianzhi straightened up and his expression became serious.

"Mr. Li, now that I've covered the first three things, let me tell you the last one. This one concerns your personal safety, so please listen carefully."

(End of this chapter)