Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 462 Is this right?

Zhai Da eventually pulled Lu Siwen into the "Utopia" group, marking the first time in several years that the group had a new member.

However, Xiao Lu was also a classmate of the wool textile school, and in the years that followed, she appeared more or less frequently in everyone's growth, so everyone generally agreed with her.

Lu Siwen had just posted a "Hello everyone" when she was bombarded with a barrage of messages.

Lin Shuyao: "Welcome, great writer."

Lu Siwen: "No, no, no, Zhai Da is a great writer, how could I be worthy of that title?"

Li Haili: "Don't be modest, your 'big' and his 'big' are not the same kind of 'big'."

Xiang You: "You can contact me anytime for information. I know some little secrets. I still haven't told anyone about the incident where Chu Xiang had an upset stomach but insisted on working, and the office ended up with a strange smell."

Chu Xiang: "Everyone, please wait a moment. I'm going to the next office to have a rematch with him."

Zhai Da watched for a while, occasionally replying to calm things down (or stir things up), and then tossed his phone aside.

After getting up, he still felt uneasy, so he walked towards Xiao Mutou's room.

A familiar figure was hunched over a desk, a laptop standing beside him, its screen constantly updating group messages. Little Wood himself seemed to have re-immersed himself in the world of mathematics.

"What are you busy with?"

Lu Wei said softly, "I'm studying the compilation software with the parameters sent by 'Turing'."

Zhai Da gently massaged Lu Wei's shoulders, and the little wooden boy squinted his eyes in enjoyment.

"Don't worry, you can't complete this project alone. Once the circular headquarters is ready, the Hongtu project team will come, and you will have ample manpower to allocate."

Lu Wei grasped Zhai Da's hand in return: "You seem a little uneasy?"

Zhai Da's throat went dry: "Huh? Really? I didn't feel anything?"

Little Wood placed Zhai Da's hand against his cheek and gently rubbed it: "That's good."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The short weekend passed in the blink of an eye, and Zhai Da felt like he hadn't even had a chance to fully savor it before it was over.

However, the workdays are not too demanding now. In the morning, I go to "Macro Semiconductor" to provide guidance, and in the afternoon, I have more free time. I will go to the Huanhuan headquarters to check on the interior decoration progress, and sometimes I will go to the training school to see the newly recruited employees.

And, check on the progress of the new project.

Formerly known as the "Precision Instrument Factory," now it is the Research Institute Training School.

Not far from Wang Xue's fruit stall, a buzzing flying device moved through the air.

After not seeing him for a few days, Qi Lin had already produced a prototype.

After flying for a few minutes, the drone slowly landed. However, the flight control program made a mistake. As if a crosswind had blown by, the drone began to swerve and spin.

Zhai Da reached out precisely, and before Qi Lin could react, he had already pinched the drone with three fingers, the rapidly spinning propellers not damaging a single hair.

Qi Lin was somewhat embarrassed: "It's still a bit immature."

Zhai Da waved his hand, not caring. In fact, the crosswind just now was created by Zhai Da himself. The ability to manipulate air with telekinesis is the most subtle and traceless, so it was fine to use it right in front of people.

Looking at the drone in front of me, its four rotors are neatly arranged, and in the center is a white integrated shell. It looks very well-made and has some of the prototype of drones in later generations.

However, being extremely familiar with mechanical structures, he easily removed the white outer casing with a gentle squeeze, revealing the slightly messy wiring and a mobile phone battery inside.

Qi Lin gave an awkward laugh, and Zhai Da said, "Don't panic. Reaching this level in such a short time shows that you've already accumulated a lot."

After fiddling with it for a few moments, Zhai Da figured out the structure.

Mobile phone lithium batteries are not actually low-end. As the king of consumer electronics, compared with all batteries of the current era, they have the highest performance-to-price ratio among mass-produced products.

Anything better than it is either more expensive, heavier, or larger.

Zhai Da examined the small device for a moment, recalling the development of drones in later generations.

In fact, the concept of drones has undergone several changes. Thirty years ago, drones mostly referred to medium-sized fixed-wing aircraft, those that were a few meters in size and had two wings.

The application scenarios were generally military reconnaissance and large-scale farm spraying operations. In those days, the more advanced ones in this field were the "Youzi" who were always ready for war and the "Japanese" who always got up early and arrived late.

Later, with the boom in consumer goods, after several reductions in prices, a very closed and niche hobby emerged among the people: model airplanes.

In the past decade, drones generally refer to the various toys in the hands of model aircraft enthusiasts, and their size has shrunk to less than one meter, because if they were any bigger, ordinary people would not be able to handle them.

In the early days of model aircraft, fixed-wing drones were the main focus. You could even see highly realistic replicas of the "F-22" and "Su-27". These were mainly played by foreign players. China started later and had fewer people who could afford to play with them. A good model aircraft was no cheaper than a car.

However, once something falls into the hands of ordinary people, the development strategy often goes astray. I can't afford to play with the "F-22" that the rich play with, but I can play with the "helicopter" instead, right?

I don't care about aerodynamic shape or powerful thrust; as long as my propeller can turn, I can fly!
The pursuit of the "beggar's version" has never stopped once it begins, and soon the "beggar's version of the beggar" appeared.

What helicopter shape do I want?

If I attach a propeller to a battery, can't it fly?
At first, this kind of thing would definitely be at the bottom of the social hierarchy, but after playing it, many people would find it surprisingly good.

Qi Lin was also a staunch supporter of the "Beggar Among Beggars" tradition. He came from an ordinary family and could only become a disciple of the Beggars' Sect.

Today, if anyone has given the word "drone" a completely new definition...

Actually, it was Zhai Da himself.

In "The Time-Traveling Cohabitation Handbook," Zhai Da briefly described some near-future applications of drones, including spraying pesticides, delivering food, and aerial photography.

Before this, the model airplane industry was ultimately just a "toy" industry, at most producing relatively expensive toys.

In contrast, the drones described by Zhai Da have found their way into production and daily life. Qi Lin, having also read Zhai Da's book, was deeply inspired by it; he had no idea drones could be used in such a way!
In fact, those descriptions had a significant impact on the model airplane enthusiast community, but very few people actually put them into practice.

As a member of the research institute, Qi Lin was undoubtedly one of them. When Zhai talked to him about work arrangements after the successful production of "Machine Core Semiconductor", he boldly proposed the idea of ​​"opening a separate pit".

The two walked and talked along the path. When they passed Wang Xue's fruit stand, they opened two bottles of chilled drinks to help the mute girl earn some income.

Qi Lin said solemnly:
"President, based on your idea and my meager accumulation of knowledge, this prototype is quite well completed."

Zhai Da declined to comment: "What are your market expectations for it? Let me hear your thoughts."

"I think 'aerial photography' is a great starting point. I've done it myself before, and once you've seen that flying perspective, you'll fall in love with the feeling—shooting landscapes, cities, and everything else."

Zhai Da raised a hand, directly interrupting Qi Lin's ramblings on about petty capitalism.

"Qi Lin, you need to see beyond the surface. What exactly is a drone?"

"You say."

Zhai Da held up one finger: "A drone is one that can fly and doesn't require anyone to sit inside and operate it."

"Aerial photography is just a small branch of it; we need to broaden our thinking."

Qi Lin sat upright and solemnly.

Zhai Da held the prototype in his hand, simulating it flying, and quickly crashed it into Qi Lin's chest: "For example, a drone can carry 500 grams of explosives—I mean, a camera—and flexibly and quickly approach a target."

"Drones are also capable of carrying 50 kilograms of fertilizer and distributing it to designated locations."

"Similarly, drones can also carry 1.5 tons of express packages, fly thousands of kilometers, and deliver them accurately to ensure their mission is accomplished."

Qi Lin tilted his head forward slightly, and the genius showed a puzzled expression.

Is this correct?

"The president is right! That makes sense!"

Zhai Da calmly said, "I have high expectations for your project. If aerial photography is the main focus, it wouldn't be worth me making a special announcement to everyone at the meeting."

Is the biggest market for drones for ordinary people to take aerial photos?
How many ordinary people play this? Can tens of thousands of them be used up in a single day?
Do you really think this thing is a mobile phone? There are 9 million mobile phones in China, while even in the life before and after Zhai Da's rebirth, the number of civilian drones in China did not exceed 200 million. They are not even in the same league.

More than a decade after it became so popular, no one around Zhai Da was playing with it anymore.

The core users are not ordinary people, but rather those who fill in the blanks.

I'll list it on Xianyu (a second-hand marketplace) today, and it'll be activated overseas tomorrow.

If the explosives could provide electricity, they would dare to stick propellers directly onto them.
Even if we take a step back, only "large and medium-sized" drones that can participate in production and daily life are worth the research institute's involvement.

Aerial photography drone?
It's just a modified version of the original skin. Given the research institute's current niche, releasing something like this would actually lower its value.

I thought they went to make toys.
Zhai Da took a sip of his drink, shook his head, and said, "I don't rule out pure aerial photography drones, but as pioneers, it will take several years to cultivate the market. On the other hand, if we directly target productivity and bring actual efficiency improvements to related fields, the resistance will be much smaller."

The research institute is not aiming for "weaponization".

But "productivity" is what Zhai Da envisions drones to be like.

Then, at crucial moments, if the country needs it, it has the ability to switch back and forth between the two.

"I understand. Starting with productivity is a wise move, Chairman."

Qi Lin's personality is actually quite common.

He is ambitious, somewhat utilitarian, and a bit materialistic, but none of these traits diminish his genius and impressive girlfriend.

Such a personality can easily lead to losing one's true nature when facing a "stronger" opponent. For example, when Zhai Da becomes a little serious and it concerns the future of the drone project, he immediately chooses to transform into Zhai Da's form.

But it doesn't matter. Zhai Da's appearance is not bad either. This is also a research institute project. He won't waste tens of millions of yuan.

"The structure of the drone is not the key point; flight control and communication are. We have many talented people in our research institute, so we should discuss and learn more. For example, Zhou Mo has some ideas in this area."

Zhai Da recalled that one of Zhou Mo's earliest manuscripts was about "Internet of Things communication protocols," which might be applicable to drones.

"Let's go, it's too hot outside. We'll find a place with air conditioning to discuss this."

As he spoke, Zhai Da took out some banknotes and handed them to the mute girl.

Today, that stubborn little brat shook his head, picked up a whiteboard, and wrote a line: You saved me, no money needed.

They also handed me a bag of apples.

Because they only picked the big and good-looking ones, the remaining apples on the stall looked rather odd and cracked, and they probably wouldn't sell well.

Looking at Wang Xue's serious expression, Zhai Da noticed that the girl was a bit darker than when she first started setting up her stall.

But I'm also healthier now.

The whiteness I had before was caused by stringing beads indoors for a long time.

Zhai Da smiled, now ready to accept such kindness, and said with a smile, "Thank you then, please give my regards to Meng Tao."

After saying that, he turned and headed towards the instrument factory.

Qi Lin quickly followed the president, ready to discuss the matter further, but Wang Xue tugged at his clothes.

Turning her head, Wang Xue flipped the whiteboard over, and it read:

"Yours, four pieces."

Qi Lin:
(End of this chapter)