197: Chapter 197 Soaring to the Sky

The guests in the lounge area were leisurely sipping champagne when a faint rumbling sound came from outside, followed by the ground shaking.

"Is it an earthquake?" en own asked worriedly.

"I don't know. Did you guys hear thunder? Quick, let's go outside and see."

Several girls nearby ran outside upon hearing this, only to witness the massive kunpeng rapidly ascending into the high sky...

Its ascent speed was much faster than a typical rocket launch; in the blink of an eye, the kunpeng had shrunk several times over.

On YouTube, netizens momentarily forgot to type. They watched the shocking scene on the live stream, their hands involuntarily pointing at the screen.

"FUCK, come and look! This monster really took off..."

In the Pentagon, the Japanese Defense Minister's residence, the Kremlin, and the conference rooms of many power centers around the world, these dominant figures now stared at the screens before them with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"They... they really did it."

Inside the kunpeng command center, Chu Ge and Commander Wang stood at the back of the hall, motionless. This stood in stark contrast to the world-shaking commotion outside.

"Reporting to the First Captain: the auxiliary engines are working normally. We have ascended to 6,000 meters. Requesting to start the main engines."

"Ignite the main engines!"

"Yes! Main engines ignited. Engine operation is normal, and data parameters are within range."

"Maintain minimum output power! Shut down all auxiliary engines in the rear section of the ship."

"Yes, maintaining minimum output power! Shutting down all auxiliary engines in the rear section."

"Adjust the angles of front auxiliary engines No. 1 and No. 6. Stabilize flight attitude and reduce speed to 100 km/s."

"Yes, adjusting angles of front auxiliary engines No. 1 and No. 6. Stabilizing flight attitude, speed reduced to 100 km/s."

"Keep front auxiliary engines No. 1 and No. 6 active; shut down the remaining auxiliary engines."

"Yes, keeping front auxiliary engines No. 1 and No. 6 active; shutting down the remaining auxiliary engines."

...

At the Dockyard Base, everyone looked up at the behemoth in the sky. In the next second, the kunpeng flashed past their eyes like a meteor.

Then came a massive sound, like a thunderclap during a storm right overhead. It was the sound of the aerospace carrier tearing through the air. After the explosion, there was a hissing sound that went from loud to soft, drifting and making people shudder.

Everyone looked at each other in shock; some timid girls even covered their ears and crouched down...

In the sky, the kunpeng had disappeared, leaving behind a misty trail, somewhat like the "meteor train" left by a bolide streaking through the atmosphere.

With the disappearance of the aerospace carrier, netizens finally returned to reality and began typing furiously on their keyboards.

"Holy crap, this speed can't even be described in terms of Mach numbers anymore, can it?"

"I just saw a flash of light, and then it was gone. Is that a Flash skill?"

"Did the person above play too much LOL?"

"It's terrifying. Has Huaxia obtained some kind of alien technology? This doesn't look like Earth's technology at all."

"Wow, the more you think about it, the scarier it gets!"

"Actually, its ascent speed was already very fast. That should have been its auxiliary engines working, and then the main engines were ignited in mid-air."

"The auxiliary engines provide vertical lift, similar to a VTOL aircraft."

"Did you guys notice how many auxiliary engines this monster has?"

"Twelve. I'm not focused on the number, though. Didn't you notice the fire from the engines is different from our current engines?"

"The expert above is amazing. Such careful observation! Give us an analysis."

"Usually, the exhaust of rockets and aircraft is the orange or blue of an explosion, but this ship's exhaust is bright white."

"There's only one possibility: this isn't a chemical fuel engine, but a new type of engine like nuclear fusion—standard for a starship."

"A real-life Star Wars? Is Huaxia going to defy the heavens?"

"No wonder they said they wanted to build an Interstellar Fleet. Looking at it this way, the kunpeng isn't suited for Earth at all; its operational area should be outer space."

"Is... is humanity entering the era of the sea of stars from now on? Led by Huaxia? What are we waiting for? Let's go suck up to them!"

"We have no objection. It's time for the world to have a new leader. I'm just afraid the Americans won't take it lying down, haha."

"I think the Americans are the ones suffering the most right now. They suddenly realized they're nothing anymore."

"No matter how bad our America is, we're still better than you monkey nations. Huaxia must have stolen our aerospace technology; otherwise, how could they have leaped to this level in one step?"

"This tone of voice sounds a bit familiar."

"Eh? Have you noticed that people from two countries seem to be missing from the live stream?"

"Haha, they probably couldn't take it and went to commit seppuku."

..."

Inside the aerospace carrier, Chu Ge watched the clouds flash by and suddenly remembered something.

"Commander Wang, aren't there any civil airliners in this airspace?"

"No, the time slots are strictly controlled. While the kunpeng is taking off, civil aviation on the ground is grounded, and those in the air are not allowed to cruise at this altitude. During the kunpeng's cruise, they cannot change altitude at will."

"Oh, no wonder we can only cruise within our own airspace. It would be hard to coordinate with air traffic control elsewhere. No, wait—let's just go straight to space! Why go through all this trouble on Earth?"

Chu Ge said, his eyes shining with excitement.

"You think I haven't mentioned it? The military won't allow it. They say it's for safety, and there are VIPs on board today. If you take them to space, our crew is trained to adapt, but they aren't!"

Chu Ge thought about it; the reason seemed quite sound.

It was just that the aerospace carrier was too fast. Even with the speed suppressed, it only took 6 minutes and 33 seconds to circle the borders of Huaxia. That wasn't even enough for a warm-up.

Commander Wang looked at Chu Ge, who smiled and nodded.

"Captain Wu, let's do another lap."

"Yes, Commander Wang."

After another 6 minutes and 33 seconds, Chu Ge looked at Commander Wang.

"Um, Commander Wang, how about another lap?"

"I think that works. Captain Wu, another..."

"Reporting to Captain No. 1: Civil aviation is in an uproar. They say if the airspace isn't opened soon, the planes circling in the sky will run out of fuel."

Captain Wu looked at Commander Wang and Chu Ge awkwardly.

"Uh, alright then. Back to the Dockyard Base."

"Yes!" Captain Wu returned to his command post to coordinate the landing.

"Well, Academician Chu, that's it for today. We've shown what we needed to show. We can't just think about ourselves; the people on the ground are waiting. Next time, when we go to the Moon, we can fly a few laps around the Solar System first. There's plenty of space there."

Commander Wang patted Chu Ge and whispered in his ear.

"Then I'd better hurry and prepare. Honestly, I used to think Huaxia's territory was big enough, but looking at it today, it's not. Earth is just like this. Later, when we go to the eight planets of the Solar System, let's plant a flag on each one. Commander Wang, what do you think?"

"I think that works. You're responsible for the flag material. Cloth won't do; on a place like Mercury, it would be gone in a minute."

"No problem."

While the two were whispering, the kunpeng landed smoothly at the Dockyard Base. As Chu Ge and the others returned to the ground, the surrounding crowd immediately erupted in deafening cheers.

"Huaxia is mighty! Huaxia is mighty! Huaxia is mighty!!!"