Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

The venue was actually spacious enough to walk around twice. But he insisted on raising the height so that those who were shaking their heads could see for themselves what it meant to "leap off the ground."

"Oh? You little rascal, you're planning to make it fly over the roof?" a professor asked with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

"Higher than the roof, no problem," Qian Wentao answered readily.

After all, creatures that run on land and swim in water are supported by the earth and propelled by the water; only those that fly in the sky have to break free from gravity on their own—without a few strong bones, they simply cannot rise up.

Lin Wan nodded silently.

The professor in charge immediately approved the plan: "Great! Let's move outdoors."

The group filed out and stepped onto the empty playground. The professor nodded slightly to Xiao Yao and the other three, indicating that they could begin.

Ji Fengnan placed the aircraft steadily on the flat cement ground, unscrewed the rear hatch, and replaced the battery with a brand new one.

Qian Wentao confirmed that it was correct, and pushed the remote control switch with his thumb—with a soft buzzing sound, the machine vibrated slightly, and then rushed forward. In less than three seconds, it took off and climbed higher and higher, hovering steadily seven or eight meters in the air, like a silver-winged dragonfly.

The room erupted in uproar, then fell completely silent.

It really flew!

The sharp-eyed professor suddenly paused: the black box in Qian Wentao's hand... wasn't just a start button? Was it also controlling things in real time? He looked up at the trajectory in the air and quickly moved forward, his palms slightly warm—nine promising seedlings, finally! This path, it turned out, wasn't desolate after all.

At that moment, Qian Wentao flicked his wrist, and the remote control moved as if it were his own arm, causing the aircraft to complete the circling, diving, and rolling maneuvers with clean and crisp movements.

He knew the battery wouldn't last much longer. To avoid losing control and crashing due to a power outage, he used his fingertips to gently lower the plane, bringing it back to its starting point without even shifting the tire tracks.

As soon as the plane came to a stop, the professors formed a circle. All eyes were fixed on the remote control in Qian Wentao's hand.

"How did you manage to make this?" a professor asked eagerly.

China has long possessed radio reception technology, as evidenced by the crackling sound waves from radios. By inserting radio commands into aircraft and making them obey a finger a hundred meters away—a few children actually turned a formidable barrier into a smooth path.

A genius's thought process is indeed unconventional.

They lifted the bottom panel of the fuselage and caught a glimpse of the battery.

"Oh—battery powered? If you install a generator, I'm afraid the wings won't even be able to lift." The old professor holding the airplane suddenly realized.

A bystander took the battery and examined it closely: "This doesn't look like a regular carbon battery; the color and texture are different."

"Alkaline batteries," Qian Wentao replied briefly.

The senior professor specializing in energy had his eyes light up: "You guys composed this yourselves too?"

Wang Yutong chimed in: "The entire approach and all the materials were the framework set up by Xiao Yao. We were the assistants, the parts makers, and the parameter adjusters."

This little plane is no ordinary aircraft: it has wireless signal reception, remote control, a lightweight alkaline power supply, and three specially made micro motors—if it were even slightly heavier, the lift would collapse, and it wouldn't be able to fly that high.

Every piece of aluminum foil and every wire holds a new idea. What's even more remarkable is that these were all soldered, tuned, and launched into space by teenagers themselves.

Xiao Yao added, "We've also reserved a camera interface, so we can use aerial lenses to capture high-altitude shots later. It's just that we haven't been able to get the lens and image transmission module working yet."

Taking photos from the air?

The professors exchanged glances, their eyes suddenly lighting up—behind every physics research project, countless topics are inextricably linked to military applications.

At this moment, the professors' eyes lit up: with a little optimization, the accuracy of aerial photography could be greatly improved, the service ceiling could be close to the edge of the stratosphere, the remote control response would be as fast as lightning, and the range would be nearly doubled—if it were to be put into actual combat, it would be like adding wings to a tiger; more importantly, it requires no pilot at all.

While the professors were repeatedly simulating the aircraft, the students in the other groups froze in place, their eyes almost popping out of their sockets, staring intently at Xiao Yao and his three companions.

Who would believe it? This year, someone actually took their paper-based concept to the skies! It's not a model, not just a decoration, but a real thing capable of autonomous takeoff and landing and controlled turning!

He lost with complete acceptance, and even his sighs were filled with respect.

Ji Fengnan was called forward and carefully wrapped the airplane tightly in thick kraft paper, then stuffed the remote control that Qian Wentao was clutching into the box as well. The professors' expressions were solemn, but their voices revealed barely suppressed excitement: "Students, you've worked hard. You're granted two days off to rest well."

No sooner had the words been spoken than the heavy cardboard box was carried away by several professors—along with the sleek little boat belonging to Lin Siyue's group.

The organizers announced on the spot that Xiao Yao's group won the championship, and Lin Siyue's group followed closely behind, ranking second.

Xiao Yao knew perfectly well that their victory wasn't due to technological superiority, but rather the deep-seated Chinese people's yearning for "the Chinese people's own flying machine." In terms of actual completion and stability, Lin Siyue's ship was not inferior, and even more sophisticated in certain details.

Ji Fengnan and the others could no longer contain themselves. Their eyes lit up like lamps, and they suddenly grabbed Xiao Yao and tossed him into the air—their laughter echoed through the corridor.

Led by their instructor, the gifted students walked out of Peking University's gates and boarded the shuttle bus back to campus. The bus was full of chatter, with everyone talking about the remote-controlled airplane that could turn and hover.

Lin Siyue looked at Xiao Yao, a slight smile playing on her lips: "Congratulations on winning the championship. But next time, we won't let you win."

Xiao Yao nodded—without the system's backup, he might not have been able to withstand this group of monster-level opponents on his own.

As soon as the professors returned to the lab, they immediately invited several senior experts from the chemistry department to work together on the problem. They also worked through the night to compile materials and report this breakthrough directly to their superiors. Upon hearing this, the leader slammed his hand on the table three times, his face beaming with delight.

The chemistry professors touched it, tested it, and disassembled it, and immediately gasped in shock.

"Did a few kids really tinker with this?" A white-haired professor repeatedly stroked the battery casing, his tone full of disbelief.

Professor Li pointed to the exposed wiring and explained, "If it were made in our lab, the parts would never be this 'rough'—look at these solder joints, this bracket, they were clearly found and matched on the spot. If we really wanted to be meticulous, we could improve everything from flight altitude to attitude control."

"But aren't they physics majors? Can they even handle electrochemistry?"

The underlying logic of batteries is, in essence, the domain of chemistry.

Professor Chen chuckled and replied, "These kids know the library better than their dorms, and their self-study pace is miles ahead of the course schedule. They've practically worn out chemistry monographs and cutting-edge papers. Except for one or two who started a little later, the others are now practically on track for perfect scores in every subject." He paused, then added, "Xiao Yao is in our class."

Upon hearing this, several professors from the chemistry department immediately objected: "Then why did you select all the candidates and send them to your physics department? Our chemistry department lacks talent, not ability!"

Professor Chen waved his hand, his tone gentle yet firm: "Let's put the competition for students aside for now. These two things right now are worth our joint efforts to explore deeply—they contain the fulcrum that can move the entire industry."

"We must delve deeper!" a chemistry professor slammed his fist on the table. "Military and civilian applications, a two-pronged approach! This new battery and wireless receiver module alone are enough to pave three technological routes!"

……

The next day, Xiao Yao and his group of four, along with Lin Siyue and the other three, all received a notification from Professor Chen: the research department had formed a special task force to tackle the three core components—the new battery, the micro generator, and the ultra-low power receiver—and would begin in-depth research and development immediately.

All nine original designers were invited to participate throughout the entire process. This resume is enough to be prominently displayed on a resume for the next ten years.

When the news reached the dormitory, Xiao Yao's roommates hugged him and jumped him around three times. Being able to turn blueprints into a national project made them feel that their lives had been worthwhile—even though all the data sources, algorithm frameworks, and technical paths came from Xiao Yao; what they did was to weld their ideas into reality, one nail at a time.

"Xiao Yao, thanks." Ji Fengnan hugged him tightly, her voice a little hoarse. "If it weren't for you leading the way, we wouldn't even have been able to get to the lab."

"I'm just the one who drew the blueprints. You guys did the actual work. You and Wang Yutong did the calculations. Debugging, welding, test flights—which part can be done without people?" Xiao Yao looked at everyone seriously. "This isn't one person's achievement; it's nine hands lifting it up together. If even one finger were missing, this plane wouldn't be able to fly steadily."

These words warmed the hearts of Qian Wentao and his companions. Among their peers, it was truly rare to find someone so clear-headed, humble, and unpretentious. With solid skills and a righteous spirit, one naturally goes far.

The nine people quickly returned to their dormitory to organize their materials, preparing to travel with Professor Chen to the research base in a jeep.

As she packed her bags before leaving, Su Man walked in dejectedly: "Xiao Yao, I heard from Director Gao that you're going to be sent abroad for training for a while... Did you... apply to go abroad?"

Xiao Yao smiled and shook his head: "No way. I'm just going to a sister unit for a two-week exchange. I'll be back in ten days if things go smoothly. Don't worry, I won't go anywhere else, and I certainly won't leave you behind."

Upon hearing this, Su Man's eyebrows instantly relaxed, two blushes rose on her cheeks, she waved to him, and turned away lightly.

Ji Fengnan and the other two had already packed up and were just waiting to leave. When Su Man came in, they tacitly scurried towards the door, quietly leaving the whole room to the two of them.

As soon as Xiao Yao stepped out of the dormitory building, Qian Wentao came up to him and put his arm around his shoulder heavily: "Tsk, Su Man is reluctant to see you go, isn't she? There will only be more and more of these kinds of assignments in the future—doing scientific research means we're destined to be apart more often than together."

Wang Yutong immediately retorted, "Nonsense! Researchers aren't ascetics; can't they have a personal assistant? Su Man can just start working there, following them around every day—isn't that perfect?"

Ji Fengnan strolled over slowly, shook his head and smiled: "The two of them aren't even in a hurry, but you're worrying about them for them."

He didn't care about Xiao Yao and Su Man's relationship at all—they knew what they were doing and would sort things out sooner or later; what hurt him the most right now was that he didn't even have anyone to eat with, and he spent his days squatting in his dorm eating instant noodles while also swallowing a bellyful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection).