439: Chapter 439 Problem Emerges, Urgent Report

The morning light was still crawling across the blue stone slabs of the trial plaza. Chen Xiaodao stood where he was, his gaze fixed on the mechanical joint of his left arm, where no more white steam was rising from the cooling vents.

Yet, that blue line in his mind felt as if it had been carved in.

That set of maneuvers just now had been too fast.

The System response was also ridiculously fast, almost synchronized with his thoughts.

But just at the moment of the final roll, as the fuselage swayed horizontally and glided close to the ground, a faint blue line suddenly flashed in the bottom right corner of his vision, like a stream of data darting past the corner of his eye.

It was only for an instant, so fast that one might think it was a visual afterimage.

But he knew it wasn't.

He had practiced the Dao of the sword for ten years; his body remembered things more clearly than his brain. That split-second delay, even if only half a beat, should have caused a subtle deviation in the attitude correction.

Yet at the time, the mecha had been as steady as a nailed-down target, its trajectory unnaturally perfect.

"Something is wrong," he said in a low voice.

He pushed off with his feet and turned to walk toward the dispatch console. His steps weren't fast at first, but after a few paces, he suddenly accelerated, almost rushing over.

Chen Wuwang was still standing in front of the dispatch console, his back to him, his silver hair swaying gently in the wind.

His Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flashed with red light from time to time, as if reading some stream of data.

One of his hands rested on the console, his fingertips tapping unconsciously—the rhythm was slow, but it didn't stop.

"Family Head!" Chen Xiaodao rushed behind him in a few steps, his voice unable to suppress its urgency.

Chen Wuwang didn't turn around. "What is it? Want to try another round?"

"No," Chen Xiaodao caught his breath and stood half a step behind him to the side. "There is a problem with the new System."

As soon as these six words left his mouth, even he himself was stunned for a moment. These words were too heavy.

This System was the painstaking effort watched by the entire clan, the ladder for the Chen Family to climb higher, and the very thing he had just patted his chest and guaranteed he could fly with his eyes closed.

But he couldn't not say it.

Chen Wuwang finally turned his head. The red light of his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye swept across Chen Xiaodao's face and paused for two seconds.

"Speak," he replied with only one word.

"During high-speed flight, the navigation is inaccurate."

Chen Xiaodao stared at him, his tone not retreating in the slightest. "During the last roll, I clearly felt the System's assistance lag by half a beat, but I didn't make any operational errors. And..."

He paused. "I saw a blue line flash across the bottom right corner of my vision, like a stream of code, gone in a flash."

Chen Wuwang frowned.

It wasn't shock, nor was it suspicion; it was simply a frown of contemplation.

He didn't speak, turning to directly activate the main control screen of the dispatch console, his fingers sliding quickly to pull up the preliminary waveform chart of the flight log from just now.

The image popped up, showing a fluctuating energy curve with a region of high-frequency oscillation in the middle.

"Here?" He pointed to a barely perceptible fluctuation.

"Yes, that's the node." Chen Xiaodao leaned in. "I was doing a three-and-a-half-turn spiral roll. As the third turn ended and I entered a dive to change direction, the System's prediction should have been to deploy the spiritual energy wing flaps early, but it was late."

"Did you push the control stick?"

"No. I let go completely, letting it correct itself. It did correct, but the trajectory deviated from my expectation by about 0.3 degrees."

Chen Wuwang stared at the screen, his fingers continuing to slide, zooming in on that waveform. The red light swirled in his pupils, as if analyzing something.

A few seconds later, he said softly, "It's not signal interference."

"It isn't?" Chen Xiaodao was taken aback.

"Interference would have noise, and external intrusion would have permission anomaly alerts, but there is nothing in this log."

Chen Wuwang turned off the screen and looked up at him. "It looks very normal, running smoothly, with timely feedback, just as you said, 'like it's grown inside your brain'.

But at some moment, it quietly deviated a little."

"That's the problem right there." Chen Xiaodao's voice sank. "It's too smooth, so smooth it doesn't seem real. I'm afraid that next time, it won't just be a 0.3-degree deviation, but it will throw the pilot out directly."

Chen Wuwang nodded and finally said, "Don't panic."

His tone was calm, even a bit indifferent. "This is within our expectations; we will all think of a way to solve it together."

Chen Xiaodao was stunned. "You knew there would be problems?"

"Not knew, but was prepared for it." Chen Wuwang looked at him, his gaze unwavering. "We are forging a path that no one has ever taken before; how could there be a way to reach the heavens in a single step?

No matter how strong the System is, it is made by humans; no matter how smart the machine is, it is assembled from parts. It's not strange for problems to arise; what would be strange is if they didn't."

He raised his hand and patted Chen Xiaodao on the shoulder. "It's good that you reported it immediately. You're ten times better than those who discover problems but still try to tough it out."

"I'm not afraid of losing face," Chen Xiaodao shook his head. "I'm afraid of something happening to someone during a test flight. If this thing loses control at high altitude, below is Qiming Plain, not an empty field."

"I know," Chen Wuwang nodded. "That's why I need everyone to carry this together. This is not my affair alone, nor is it your responsibility alone."

After he finished speaking, he turned around, reopened the console, and pulled up the communication channel.

"All members of the Technical Research Group, gather immediately at the central control platform in the assembly area." His speaking speed was steady, but every word carried weight. "Everyone who has run the test, come. Not a single one can be missing."

After sending the instruction, he turned to look at Chen Xiaodao. "You go too, and tell them everything you know. Every detail, including that blue line, including how your body felt—don't leave anything out."

"Gather them now?" Chen Xiaodao asked.

"Now." Chen Wuwang stared at the screen, already beginning to retrieve segments of the flight log. "Once a problem surfaces, you have to swarm it immediately. Wait for data? We can't wait. Wait for experience? We don't have any. The only people we can rely on now are this bunch who have stayed up late, cursed, and revised blueprints together."

Chen Xiaodao didn't ask again, nodded, and turned to leave.

"Wait," Chen Wuwang called out to him.

"Anything else?"

"Don't make it sound too grave." Chen Wuwang glanced at him. "It's not to scare people, but to make everyone vigilant. We need people who can solve problems, not people who are scared out of their wits."

"I understand." Chen Xiaodao grinned, still with that unyielding look. "I'll just say: 'Brothers, the work is here, who can handle it?'"

Chen Wuwang pulled at the corner of his mouth. "Go."

Chen Xiaodao turned and left, his footsteps crisp, landing with a solid sound.

Chen Wuwang didn't move, standing where he was, his fingers beginning to tap the edge of the console again. Da, da, da—three fast, two slow, as if calculating something.

He stared at the screen, the red light of his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye swirling, as if repeatedly reading the same segment of data.

Sunlight shone into the assembly area, and the metal corridor glimmered with a cold light. Footsteps came from afar; it was the sound of the first batch of technical research personnel arriving.

He didn't turn around, nor did he speak again, just marked the start time of that flight log in red, locked it, and saved it into the temporary meeting data package.

In the bottom right corner of the console, a System prompt popped up:

[Today's heavenly secret instruction has been generated]

"Within seven days, the Spiritual Vein beneath Qiming Plain will show slight tremors."

"The spiritual plants in the third zone of the Chen Family's Medicinal Field will undergo collective mutation at the hour of the Rat tomorrow."

"The Northern Territory Black Crow flock will fly over the Dongling Wen Family at noon."

He glanced at it, didn't click it open, and didn't delete it.

His fingers tapped on the tabletop one last time, then stopped.

He raised his head and looked toward the direction of the central control platform.

There was no one there yet, but it would soon be packed with people.

There would be arguments, doubts, the sound of slamming tables, as well as silence and gritted teeth.

He wasn't afraid of noise.

He was only afraid that no one would dare to tell the truth.

Now, someone had.

It was time for him to take action as well.