Chapter 32

no drone can escape being locked on

“turn left, and you will reach your destination in 200 meters,” the navigation guided tang rui to the entrance of the residential area where li shuyao lived.

as he parked the car, he saw li shuyao coming out of the community gate.

“over here,” tang rui rolled down the car window and called out to li shuyao.

li shuyao turned her head and smiled sweetly at tang rui from inside the car.

she was so beautiful.

tang rui suddenly felt his blood flow from the left atrium through the mitral valve to the left ventricle, then through the aortic valve to the aorta, circulating through his body and entering the veins, passing through the superior and inferior vena cava to return to the right atrium, flowing through the tricuspid valve to the right ventricle, and finally, after passing through the pulmonary circulation, returning to the left atrium through the four pulmonary veins.

in simple terms, his heart skipped a beat.

with a simple t-shirt, denim shorts, and white sneakers, her well-proportioned figure was displayed perfectly.

especially her long, straight legs were simply irresistible.

“you’re here so early?” li shuyao opened the car door and asked with a smile.

“you’re early too,” tang rui looked at the time; they still had more than ten minutes before their agreed meeting time.

“have you had breakfast?” li shuyao asked.

“yes, i bought some buns on the way,” tang rui replied.

li shuyao’s mouth twitched slightly, thinking just as she had expected. fortunately, she had already eaten breakfast at home and didn’t rely on tang rui to bring her food.

“this is your new car?” li shuyao asked casually, sniffing the lingering faint smell of formaldehyde in the car.

“yeah, i just bought it yesterday,” tang rui nodded, eager to show off a bit.

unfortunately, li shuyao didn’t inquire further. she didn’t ask where he got the money or how much the car cost. it made him a little uncomfortable.

soon, tang rui parked the car inside zijin college, which was under nanjing university of science and technology.

after parking, he carried the drone, and li shuyao held the laptop for him.

the two of them then went to the sports field on campus.

“over here!”

zhou tao, who had already arrived, saw tang rui and shouted loudly. tang rui smiled and walked over; he didn’t need zhou tao’s call to notice them. from afar, he recognized this familiar group – some were his seniors, some were juniors, all members of the aeromodelling club, and he knew them quite well.

“what up everyone?” tang rui walked up to them, but he noticed that their expressions were off, which confused him.

just how long has it been since they last saw each other? why did they suddenly look like they didn’t recognize him?

“senior, is this your girlfriend?” one of his juniors asked.

huh? girlfriend?

at that moment, tang rui remembered that he was with li shuyao.

“uh… she’s my friend, li shuyao. she’s interested in aeromodelling, so she came along with me to take a look,” tang rui introduced li shuyao to the group.

“hello, nice to meet you all. i hope i’m not intruding,” li shuyao greeted them with a smile.

“not at all.”

“honored, very honored.”

“welcome, welcome.”

the group of normally playful engineering students suddenly turned shy and awkward.

zhou tao was even winking and teasing him, making tang rui roll his eyes.

he came here to show off his skills, not to show off his girlfriend.

“where are your equipment? did you update it?” helpless, tang rui had to change the subject.

“they are all over there. rui, your… oh my god…”

“this is your new ‘wife’?! she’s so beautiful.”

“stealth design, and it’s a wave-riding body. rui, are you trying to reach the heavens?”

“this airframe is simply amazing, rui, you’re awesome.”

as soon as the group noticed the drone tang rui had brought, they immediately shifted their attention away from li shuyao. all of them crowded around the drone, exclaiming in amazement.

not only them, but others around also gathered to see what was going on. after all, they were all aeromodelling enthusiasts, and when someone brought such an impressive device, who wouldn’t be curious?

everyone here understood the subject matter. just by looking at the aerodynamics and appearance, they could guess some of its capabilities. therefore, they were even more interested in tang rui’s drone.

“your stealth design is amazing.”

“no, no, it’s just ordinary. i don’t know its actual performance yet.”

“look at the wing design! oh my god… it’s a variable-sweep wing.”

“it’s a technical verification, so i don’t know if there will be any issues.”

li shuyao stood on the outside, watching the group of people gathered around tang rui’s drone, discussing it enthusiastically.

looking at tang rui’s face, which was both modest and secretly proud, li shuyao found it quite interesting.

while tang rui was showing off in front of everyone, just three kilometers away from zijin college, several military vehicles were parked. these were no ordinary vehicles; they were all specialized vehicles.

inside an unfolded field command vehicle, several soldiers were sitting in front of the computer, closely monitoring the data on the screen. one of them, a middle-aged man in military uniform, asked, “when will the aeromodelling start over there?”

“the plan is nine o’clock, in seven minutes,” the person in civilian clothes immediately replied.

“let them begin.”

“understood. i will contact the person in charge there.”

after making the call, the person on the other end immediately arranged for the aeromodelling to start.

“this system, how many unmanned aerial vehicles can it simultaneously track and lock onto?” the middle-aged man in military uniform asked after looking at the screen.

“according to our tests, with one 360° wide-area scanning radar, combined with the electronic warfare vehicle’s reconnaissance radar and low-altitude warning radar, along with the information processing center, it can simultaneously lock onto 38 drones or cruise missiles.”

“what about countermeasures?”

“under normal circumstances, electronic interference, signal induction, and laser weapons are used for countermeasures. in a battlefield scenario, they can also be paired with close-in weapons systems. no drone can escape locking under this system.”

as the two were discussing, some red dots suddenly appeared on the screen.

“report, unmanned aerial vehicle group detected.”

“lock onto all targets and conduct simulated attacks.”

“yes.”

the two stopped chatting and turned to look at the screen.

meanwhile, at the sports field inside zijin college, everyone started flying their aero models or drones. tang rui’s drone had not taken off yet, but it was already placed on the runway.

on both sides of the runway, a group of people were watching and waiting for the drone to take off.

tang rui received the notebook computer from li shuyao and sat down below the podium.

click…

he opened the mechanical locks on both sides of the notebook, took out four metal support rods, and fixed them into the corresponding corners of the notebook’s base. then he attached the support brackets and stood it on the ground.

“what’s the use of being flashy? simplicity is more practical.”

zhou tao complained, but tang rui knew he was probably envious at the moment.

tang rui didn’t pay much attention to him. after securing the bracket, he opened the notebook.

click…

he unfolded the keyboard on both sides, erected the throttle valve and control stick, and pulled out the foot rudder from the base.

“wow…”

everyone around him was astonished at tang rui’s actions. they all envied the cool equipment he had.

“move to both sides, don’t stand at the tail, and watch out for the jet wash.”

after calling out to the onlookers on both sides of the runway, tang rui opened the interface of the drone’s control system.

the operating system started.

the drone began its self-check.

normally, when he flew by himself, he would skip this step. but today, he not only didn’t skip it but also completed all the pre-flight preparations.

“radar system normal.”

“optical system normal.”

“navigation system normal.”

“communication system normal.”

“power system normal.”

“flight control system normal.”

“avionics system check complete, all systems normal.”

engines started.

buzz…

roar…

the twin jet engines with the strengthened system panels started. accompanied by the roar of the engines, two blue-white exhaust flames with clear mach rings shot out.

“wow!”

suddenly, there was a chorus of exclamation around.

the exhaust flames and mach rings left everyone dumbfounded.

tang rui’s lips curved up slightly as he glanced at the runway ahead.

after ensuring there were no people or obstacles, he released the brakes, pushed the throttle, and pulled back the control stick.

amidst the astonished gazes of the onlookers, the drone took off rapidly, shooting straight into the sky.