169: Chapter 169 Experimental Mission

One day, a long time ago, a highly classified special mission appeared on Academician Zheng's schedule.

Carrying various necessary items, Academician Zheng boarded a special plane overnight at an airport in ZJ.

His special plane landed at a remote desert airport in the Northwest, and then an inconspicuous off-road vehicle drove him deeper into the desert.

Outside the car window was the endless Gobi Desert, dotted with only sporadic drought-tolerant shrubs.

The vehicle bumped along the desert for a long time before finally stopping in front of an industrial park that looked almost abandoned.

The low factory buildings looked mottled and dilapidated, having withstood years of wind and sand erosion; the cement on the walls had peeled off, exposing the rusted steel bars inside, and most of the windows were broken, giving the place a crumbling appearance.

However, when Academician Zheng, guided by designated personnel, passed through a door disguised as old sheet metal and underwent multiple layers of strict identity verification and biometric scanning, the scene before his eyes suddenly opened up.

Inside the door was a completely different world from the outside.

The interior space was extremely spacious, with clean, temperature-controlled air and bright, soft lighting.

The massive support columns showed that the internal space was far larger than what was visible from the outside.

Most striking was the orderly arrangement of various cutting-edge intelligent industrial equipment.

High-precision five-axis linkage CNC machine tools, laser metal sintering 3D printers, automated electroplating assembly lines, precision optical grinding tables, placement machines, and multi-purpose robotic arms...

It was like a highly integrated, universal digital manufacturing workshop.

Many machines were running automatically, emitting a low, rhythmic hum, yet there were few operators.

The few technicians present were mostly in front of monitoring screens rather than directly operating the equipment.

A middle-aged military officer in a crisp dark green uniform with clear insignia on his shoulder straps, Colonel Li, walked up quickly and shook Academician Zheng's hand firmly.

"Academician Zheng, you've had a hard journey! Thank you for coming in person to support this verification experiment."

"Colonel Li, you are too kind. It is my duty, and all for the sake of the mission."

Academician Zheng responded with a smile, but his eyes could not help but be drawn to the advanced equipment around him.

"This place... it really is a hidden gem."

"The conditions are modest; I hope you don't mind."

Colonel Li's tone was humble, but he still spoke with considerable pride.

"To ensure the perfect execution of this mission, as well as absolute secrecy and to meet special experimental requirements, we had no choice but to choose this place.

We have integrated the best processing and manufacturing equipment available at this stage as much as possible, striving to cover the main links of modern industrial manufacturing."

"That Professor Chen Youhua who created Qiming is truly a pillar of the nation."

Colonel Li sighed with emotion as he led Academician Zheng inside.

"I have always wanted to meet him. What kind of genius could create such a miracle? It's a pity he is too busy."

Academician Zheng laughed and patted Colonel Li on the arm.

"There will be a chance, Colonel Li. When the time is ripe, you will definitely meet.

His identity is still somewhat sensitive right now, and he is working on key projects, so he cannot get away."

The two walked through the busy yet quiet automated production area and arrived in front of a heavy metal door.

After passing security verification again, the door slid open silently, revealing a futuristic main control room inside.

The walls were covered in screens, displaying real-time images of every corner of the factory and equipment operation data.

In the center was a massive integrated console.

"Academician Zheng, this is the main control core."

Colonel Li's expression became extremely serious as he pointed to a conspicuous, dedicated interface with a physical lock on the console.

"The core purpose of this verification experiment is to test Qiming's ability to coordinate such a complex, heterogeneous industrial manufacturing environment and complete the entire process from design files to physical objects without any human intervention. Please authorize the connection."

Academician Zheng nodded solemnly and took out the special device marked with the physical interface for Qiming from the top-secret briefcase he was carrying.

He skillfully passed the key and biometric verification and steadily connected it to the interface.

"Highest authority access detected!"

"Security protocol verification passed!"

"Core link established successfully!"

"Qiming, online."

Qiming's familiar yet cold voice rang out, completely different from the sweet tone used when chatting with Chen Youhua, and at the same time, the elegant and mysterious dynamic flame logo appeared on the main screen.

"Verification experiment, phase one, start."

Colonel Li gave clear instructions into the microphone.

"Mission objective: Based on the full set of design drawings and technical specifications of the Xunfeng-IV unmanned reconnaissance platform, complete the fully automatic processing, inspection, and final assembly from raw materials to the complete unit."

The moment the order was given, the data streams on the screen began to refresh at an unprecedented speed.

The external factory seemed to be endowed with a unified soul and will.

"Instruction received. Starting to parse the complete technical package for Xunfeng-IV..."

"Material inventory database synchronization complete... Titanium alloy TC4, carbon fiber composite materials, special glass ceramics... Confirmation: all ready."

"Generating globally optimal production scheduling plan... Calculating time and energy consumption for each process..."

"Instruction issued: Area A, No. 07 five-axis machining center, start. Target: Main fuselage frame, machining program loaded."

"Instruction issued: Area B, No. 02 laser selective melting forming equipment, start. Target: Complex internal flow channel components for the engine."

"Instruction issued: Area D, No. 11 ultra-precision grinding machine, start. Target: Lenses for the optical reconnaissance module."

Through the monitoring screen, Academician Zheng and Colonel Li clearly saw the outside world come to life.

Robotic arms precisely grasped materials, AGV carts shuttled silently along predetermined routes, delivering materials accurately to each workstation.

The cutting heads of various CNC machine tools spun, the laser sintering equipment emitted a faint blue light, and robotic hands performed micron-level assembly operations.

The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, seamlessly connected, and astonishingly efficient.

"Report!"

A technician in front of the console could not hide his excitement.

"All equipment operating parameters are within the ideal range dynamically optimized by Qiming, and the overall energy consumption is 7% lower than our best manual scheduling plan!"

"Machining accuracy is being monitored in real-time; currently, all critical dimension tolerances are controlled within 50% of the highest design requirements!"

Colonel Li stared intently at the screen, the habitual seriousness on his face replaced by immense shock.

He had experienced countless equipment development and production missions, but he had never seen such an efficient, precise, and completely autonomous manufacturing process.

This was no longer just automation; in a sense, it was completely unmanned and intelligent.

Several hours passed quickly amidst high tension and amazement.

Parts were processed, inspected, transported, and assembled.

Finally, on the assembly line, multiple robotic arms, with dazzling coordination, accurately installed the last component.

"Final assembly complete. Starting to burn the underlying flight control firmware and initialization parameters."

"System self-check started... Power, propulsion, sensing, navigation, communication... All systems passed."

"Report: Xunfeng-IV drone platform, manufacturing complete, comprehensive quality rating: Excellent."

From the moment the first piece of material was cut to the completion of a whole, brand-new drone gleaming with cold metallic light, the time taken was only a fraction of the traditional high-end equipment manufacturing process.

The control room fell into a silence bordering on awe.

Everyone watched the perfectly born drone on the screen and the data streams still scrolling smoothly, speechless for a long time.

This was not just the completion of a manufacturing mission, but a powerful demonstration of the future form of industry.

Academician Zheng let out a long sigh. Although he had confidence in Qiming, witnessing it display such terrifying industrial control and optimization capabilities with his own eyes still left a huge impact on him.

Colonel Li turned around, the shock on his face gradually transforming into an extremely complex expression, mixed with excitement and awe.

He looked at Academician Zheng, his voice slightly hoarse from excitement.

"Old Zheng... is... is this the true power of Qiming? This has completely surpassed automation... This is a global, all-insightful intelligent core!"

Academician Zheng nodded slowly, his gaze still fixed on Qiming on the screen.

"What it learns and optimizes is not just the operation of a single piece of equipment, but the understanding, reconstruction, and sublimation of the entire manufacturing system. It can redefine the boundaries of production."

Colonel Li was silent for a moment, his eyes becoming incomparably sharp and burning. He lowered his voice and asked a crucial question.

"Academician Zheng, if... if we could build more nodes directly controlled by Qiming, and if the computing power network were large enough.

Could we completely reshape and upgrade our entire nation's industrial base and even... the research and production system for strategic equipment in a short period of time?"

Academician Zheng did not answer directly, but gave the screen a meaningful look and said softly.

"That is why I have been applying for various test missions recently. I want the higher-ups to see Qiming and value Qiming.

Its potential goes far beyond unmanned engineering. With sufficient conditions, it could even replace the entire industrial system of Rabbit Country."

This top-secret verification deep in the desert was just one of many various Qiming test projects that Academician Zheng had participated in these days.