221: Chapter 221, "The White Emperor," is officially closed; the first bird has flown away!

Countdown to the arrival of the sentry ship, day 62.

Pangu Laboratory, Level B2, evening.

The holographic projection connected to Kaitian Base.

Zhou Dehai stood in the output zone of the new Zhulong.

"Chief Engineer Su, all mass-produced components for the Solar System version of the Xuannü have been produced. The last batch of radiator fin assemblies just came off the old Zhulong."

Su Che leaned against the side of the main console. "The full set for three hundred units?"

"Three hundred units, over four hundred components each, not a single one missing."

Zhou Dehai held the production list up to the camera. "The new Zhulong produces the large parts, while the old Zhulong produces the precision small parts. With both machines scheduling production in tandem, we are nearly two days ahead of schedule."

"How is the assembly line preparation coming along?"

"Kaitian Base has cleared three final assembly workshops, and sixty technicians have been arranged in three rotating shifts. Batch assembly can start at any time."

Su Che reviewed the component list on the secondary screen; the quantities and specifications all matched.

"Batch production is one thing, but I also need you to pick the most skilled team. Assemble one unit within three days; I want to conduct a test flight."

There was a pause on Zhou Dehai's end.

"Three days to assemble a complete Solar System version of the Xuannü..."

"Twenty-four-hour shifts. One unit is enough."

"Understood, three days."

The projection disconnected.

Liu Huaqiang came out from the communication area.

"Chief Engineer Su, assembling a Xuannü in three days while the White Emperor's full-machine joint debugging is still running—do you need to oversee both?"

"Zhou Dehai can oversee Kaitian Base. I'll handle the finalization of the White Emperor."

Liu Huaqiang crossed out a line in his notebook and left.

...

Countdown to the arrival of the sentry ship, day 61.

Level B2, morning.

The White Emperor's full-machine integration entered the nine-module cross-validation phase.

All nine modules were lit up individually, but there were still dozens of interfaces between modules that hadn't undergone full-load cross-impact testing.

Su Che listed eighteen scenarios for impact testing, all under extreme operating conditions.

From "sudden pilot ejection while all weapons are firing" to "automatic recovery after a momentary disconnection of the Brain-Computer Interface signal," every scenario was something that could genuinely be encountered on the battlefield.

Academician Zhang Weide finished the first round of structural impact testing.

"The vibration spectrum of the entire airframe at the moment of ejection is coupled with the focusing precision of the directed energy emission chamber. The shockwave from the ejection causes a slight deviation in the mirrors of the emission chamber's optical path."

Academician Li Zhengyang interjected, "What is the magnitude of the deviation?"

"0.03 milliarcseconds."

"It won't affect accuracy for targets within one million kilometers, but it will be off by seven meters at three million kilometers."

"After ejection, the White Emperor is in unmanned mode. The main god ai will recalibrate the mirrors in the next frame. The seven-meter deviation exists for less than twenty milliseconds before calibration is complete."

Zhao Mingyuan added a logic rule to the Cognitive Graph: after unmanned mode takes over, the first frame prioritizes weapon calibration rather than tactical deduction.

"This prevents the AI from rushing to fire as soon as it takes over, before it's even aimed properly."

Su Che injected this change into the joint debugging environment and re-ran the ejection scenario.

Ejection shock, mirror deviation, main god ai takeover, weapon calibration, first shot fired.

The entire sequence took less than thirty milliseconds.

Passed.

Afternoon.

Academician Sun Qiwen brought over a revised thermal balance report.

"With full weapon rapid fire and 12G extreme maneuvers, the peak cockpit temperature is just over twenty-six degrees, about the same as an air-conditioned room."

He opened the report. "But there is one problem. The flexible electrodes of the Brain-Computer Interface generate heat after prolonged continuous operation. After four hours of continuous combat, the electrode surface temperature rises to thirty-nine degrees."

Su Che looked at the number.

"What does thirty-nine degrees feel like against the forehead?"

"A mild fever."

"Add a layer of micro-cooling copper foil to the electrode base to conduct the heat away through the helmet liner."

Academician Sun Qiwen calculated the thermal conductivity and thickness of the copper foil. It added twelve grams of weight, but the electrode surface temperature was suppressed to below thirty-four degrees.

"Thirty-four degrees, body temperature."

"Passed."

...

Countdown to the arrival of the sentry ship, day 60.

The eighteen impact tests on Level B2 had reached the fifteenth set.

Academician Qian Zhenhua discovered a potential issue with the communication channel in the afternoon.

The White Emperor was simultaneously commanding a formation of thirty-six Xuannü, firing its own weapons, receiving shared data from the luan bird central control, and conducting two-way communication via the Brain-Computer Interface.

When all four communication lines were fully loaded, the quantum encryption key refresh frequency would clash with the fire control command transmission frequency.

Every 7.3 seconds, a twelve-microsecond communication bubble would appear.

Twelve microseconds is imperceptible to humans, but the main god ai on the battlefield would perceive it.

"Change the key refresh to asynchronous triggering. Don't bind it to the same clock source as the fire control; let them run independently."

Academician Qian Zhenhua drew two independent clock lines on a piece of scratch paper, separated by a dashed line in the middle.

Su Che split the clock source into two paths in the communication protocol stack and re-ran the test.

The bubble disappeared.

The remaining three sets of impact tests were all passed that night.

...

Countdown to the arrival of the sentry ship, day 59.

Level B2, 9:00 AM.

Su Che sat in front of the main console.

He merged all the logs from the eighteen extreme impact tests and the finalization records of all sub-modules from the previous days, and injected them into the main god ai's ultimate full-machine combat simulator.

The final round.

The virtual White Emperor was fully rendered in the simulator.

The fuselage was thirty-six meters long, with a wingspan of thirty-two meters and a total weight of twenty tons.

It had six improved Adaptive Variable Cycle Aerospace Engines, each with a thrust exceeding 4,400 kilonewtons.

The cruising speed was 300 kilometers per second, with a top speed of 540 kilometers per second.

The main weapon was the ultimate medium-sized directed energy weapon, and the secondary weapons consisted of a swarm of twenty-four close-defense micro-missiles. The quantum fire control command terminal could simultaneously coordinate thirty-six Xuannü.

It featured two-way interaction via the Brain-Computer Interface and one-key switching between dual-mode manned and unmanned operation.

The combat scenario was set to the maximum difficulty.

Fifty heterogeneous targets, including a mix of swarms, large warships, and high-speed small platforms.

The White Emperor simultaneously commanded thirty-six Xuannü in coordination.

The pilot controlled everything via the Brain-Computer Interface throughout the process.

This was layered with global electromagnetic interference, pseudo-entanglement state deception, and dense target formation maneuvers.

Run.

The fire control network topology map spread out on the main screen, displaying the distributed nodes of the thirty-six Xuannü and the sixteen data links of the White Emperor itself.

The pilot's conscious commands originated from the Brain-Computer Interface, and the White Emperor completed its attitude adjustment eleven milliseconds later.

The directed energy weapon fired at full power after the initial preheating pulse, with the optical path deviation controlled within 0.007 milliarcseconds.

The close-defense missiles intercepted the high-speed targets on the flank, and the structural impact of the electromagnetic ejection was completely absorbed by the reinforcement ribs and vibration isolation pads.

The swarm formation deployed a perimeter according to the pilot's tactical intent, with priority numbering rules and overload distribution protection logic running throughout.

Midway through, the simulation pilot actively switched to unmanned mode to focus on commanding the swarm.

The physical toggle was triggered, and control was transferred to the main god ai in the same frame.

The White Emperor's own tactical maneuvers continued seamlessly.

The simulator finished the last frame.

The overall hit rate appeared.

99.4%.

No one on Level B2 made a sound.

Su Che packaged the complete technical package and labeled it "White Emperor Dual-Mode Manned/Unmanned Aerospace Fighter - Solar System Version - Final Draft."

He pushed it into the encrypted vault.

Deep in his mind, the blue-and-white panel popped up.

[Ding! Main R&D mission "Build a fighter jet that pilots can fly with their consciousness!" has been completed!]

[White Emperor Dual-Mode Manned/Unmanned Aerospace Fighter Solar System Version full system verification passed!]

[Trans-atmospheric interstellar penetration capability met, zero-latency switching between dual-mode intelligent controls, zero-omission coordination for the thirty-six-unit swarm formation, and a 99.4% overall hit rate for high-order tactical precision strikes!]

[Every thought of the pilot is an action of the White Emperor!]

[Mission Reward: 1,000,000 Skill Points!]

One million, awesome!

Su Che closed the panel.

Liu Huaqiang walked out from the communication area and flipped to the page for the White Emperor in his notebook.

All the horizontal lines and blank spaces had been turned into checkmarks.

He stuck his pencil into the spine of the notebook and closed it.

"White Emperor finalized."

The seven people were scattered around Level B2; there was no applause, no handshakes.

Su Che stood up, walked to the monitor wall, and switched the view to the final assembly workshop at Kaitian Base.

Under the bright white lights of Workshop No. 1, a Solar System version of the Xuannü was resting on the assembly rack.

The fuselage was complete, with the wings in a folded state, and four improved Adaptive Variable Cycle Aerospace Engines were mounted on the four attachment points at the wing roots and the underside of the fuselage.

The cruising speed was 270 kilometers per second, with a top speed of 450 kilometers per second.

A dozen technicians in anti-static workwear were making the final cable connections and system self-checks.

Zhou Dehai stood next to the assembly rack, holding his handheld device to his ear.

Su Che's handheld device vibrated.

"Chief Engineer Su, the final assembly of the first Solar System version of the Xuannü has just been completed. All circuits have passed the power-on self-check, and the software package has been flashed."

Zhou Dehai switched the handheld device to his other hand.

"It is ready for a test flight."

On Level B2, everyone turned to look at the silver-gray fighter on the monitor wall.

Twenty-eight meters long, twenty-five meters wingspan, and seventeen tons total weight.

The ultimate directed energy weapon, quantum fire control, swarm coordination algorithms, Deep Space Main God AI airborne unit, full-band metamaterial stealth...

Everything was packed into this single unit.

Su Che picked up his handheld device.

"Bring it to the runway."

...

Kaitian Base, Northwest Runway.

2:00 PM.

It was the height of autumn in the suburbs of the capital in October, and the poplar leaves on both sides of the runway had half fallen, having been swept by ground crew to the outside of the isolation zone.

The first Solar System version of the Xuannü was towed to the start of the runway by a tractor, its wingspan automatically unfolded into position, and the air intakes of the four engines faced down the runway.

This was an unmanned aerial vehicle; takeoff, climb, acceleration, orbit change, and return were all remotely controlled by the Deep Space Main God AI.

Su Che stood in the observation tower at the end of the runway, with the main screen connected to the real-time control interface of the main god ai.

Lieutenant General Peng Zhenbang had arrived at some point and was standing behind and to the left of Su Che, his hands behind his back, the collar of his military uniform buttoned up tightly.

"Lieutenant General Peng, you arrived quickly."

"Zhou Dehai notified me." Lieutenant General Peng Zhenbang's gaze fell on the silver-gray fighter on the runway. "I've been waiting at the gate of Kaitian Base for twenty minutes."

Su Che said nothing more and pressed the communication button.

"main god ai, initiate the test flight program."

A confirmation command popped up on the main screen.

On the runway, all four engines ignited simultaneously.

A hissing sound, so sharp it was almost beyond the threshold of human hearing, sounded like silk tearing, or like the air itself being cut.

The Xuannü released the tow locking mechanism and began its takeoff roll.

In less than three seconds, the front wheel left the ground.

The nose pitched up fifteen degrees, and the main landing gear left the surface of the runway.

Climb.

Without slowing down or circling, it pulled up and climbed directly.

On the speed measurement panel in the observation tower, the numbers jumped rapidly.

The speed during the ground cruising phase broke the sound barrier within seconds, and then broke five times the speed of sound within another few seconds.

The wake of the sonic boom swept across the sky above the runway, shaking down the last few leaves from the poplar trees.

The Xuannü's silver-gray fuselage turned into a bright dot in the high altitude.

Then, even that dot could no longer be seen.

On the main screen, the altitude data was still jumping upward.

30,000 meters, 50,000 meters, 80,000 meters.

"Entering near space." Lieutenant General Peng Zhenbang's voice was much quieter than the aftershocks outside.

Su Che stared at the speed measurement panel.

The Xuannü switched to aerospace mode above 80,000 meters, and the engines seamlessly switched from atmospheric cycle to closed cycle with no drop in thrust.

The speed continued to climb.

The cruising speed was 270 kilometers per second.

At the edge of Earth's atmosphere, this was equivalent to covering the straight-line distance from the capital to Shanghai every second.

On the main screen, the main god ai sent back the first set of flight status data.

Engine conditions were normal, the stealth coating was intact, the airframe structural stress was within the safe range, and all weapon systems were showing a green light for standby.

Su Che pressed the communication button.

"Accelerate to top speed."

The main god ai executed the command.

The thrust of the four engines was pushed to the maximum.

The numbers on the speed measurement panel began to soar.

300, 350, 400. 420, 450.

450 kilometers per second.

Top speed reached.

At this speed, it would only take fourteen minutes to get from Earth to the Moon.

Lieutenant General Peng Zhenbang lowered his hands from behind his back.

Su Che issued the final command over the communication channel.

"Return to base."

On the main screen, the flight trajectory of the Xuannü drew a large arc, the nose turned 180 degrees, and it began to decelerate and descend.

The entire test flight process lasted less than ten minutes.

There were no anomalies.

Su Che turned off the communication channel and turned to look at Lieutenant General Peng Zhenbang.

Lieutenant General Peng Zhenbang walked to the window of the observation tower and looked toward the runway.

On the distant horizon, a silver-gray bright dot was rapidly growing larger.

The Xuannü decelerated and aligned with the runway.

The landing gear was lowered, and the nose pitched up slightly.

Landing.

The sound of tires hitting the runway came from outside the observation tower, crisp and clean.

It taxied to a stop.

The four engines shut down one by one.

On the runway, the Xuannü lay quietly; there wasn't a single scratch on the fuselage, and the stealth coating shimmered with a matte finish in the afternoon sun.

Lieutenant General Peng Zhenbang turned around and looked at Su Che.

"The first bird has flown."

Su Che packaged and archived all the test flight data from the main screen, marking it with a timestamp.

In the corner of the main screen, the countdown to the arrival of the sentry ship.

59 days.

The remaining two hundred and ninety-nine units must catch up quickly.

And there were still the Mingdi Interceptor and the Mecha.