Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

In the afternoon, Xiao Yao received an urgent call informing him to immediately go to the military manufacturing base to participate in the data collection for the maiden flight. Ostensibly, it was to witness the event, but in reality, it was a historic handover ceremony.

At the base, he saw those familiar military veterans again.

The senior leaders' faces immediately lit up with smiles when they saw him.

"Xiao Yao, those materials you provided were a lifesaver!" Old Xu patted him on the shoulder. "Why have you been so rarely around lately? The research institute's materials storage is almost full for you!"

—The military laboratory has long provided him with basic raw materials, and he sometimes personally selects materials and debugs them on-site, so he has become a familiar face.

"Didn't you say last time that the fuselage skin material was holding us back? I'm thinking, instead of waiting for others to make a breakthrough, we should do it ourselves," Xiao Yao replied frankly.

Old Xu smiled and turned to the generals: "Leaders, don't let his youth fool you, this young man is incredibly skilled!"

Those who stand here are all trustworthy key personnel; there's nothing to hide.

"The cell phones in your pockets, the newly replaced high-performance terminals in the lab, and the stealth coating and high-temperature resistant substrate of this eagle—all of these were achieved by him and his team."

The generals nodded in agreement. They had long heard of this man: how much face had China gained at international exhibitions thanks to his few civilian technologies? Now, foreign businesses were lining up to cooperate with him, and even patent licenses were subject to waiting lists.

They just hadn't had a chance to meet before. During the last engine test, the senior leaders didn't exchange pleasantries with the researchers at all, and naturally, they didn't formally acknowledge anyone.

"Xiao Xiao, you deserve the most credit for making this plane fly!" General Xu put his arm around his shoulder, laughing heartily. "We're not leaving until we're drunk!"

"It deserves the most credit!" The other leaders echoed in unison.

Old Xu chuckled and replied, "Alright, I'll have the canteen add two more hearty dishes and bring in two jars of aged liquor!"

"The wine must be top-notch!" General Xu laughed heartily. "This cup is a toast to Comrade Xiao Yao—a toast to our own eagle!"

Before the words were even finished, the control tower gave the order: Test flight begins.

This is not a performance, but a real tactical test. The entire aircraft adopts a completely new architecture, completely overturning the traditional design: each aircraft is equipped with four intelligent micro-munitions, a twin-mounted machine gun + a twin-mounted cannon, and the firepower configuration is precisely matched according to actual combat needs.

Machine guns and autocannons have inherently different ranges and ballistic characteristics, especially when their calibers differ significantly, their impact points at long distances will inevitably be misaligned. However, through a dynamic calibration system, the optimal overlap zone has been locked within the 800-1200 meter range. During a salvo, the firepower density is maximized, with machine guns providing initial suppression followed by autocannon coverage; the four micro-projectiles, as if guided by eyes, all hit the bullseye, achieving perfect destructive effects.

For an entire afternoon, twenty fighter jets took turns taking off, diving, rolling, making sharp turns, and firing live ammunition... with data being transmitted back in real time.

The moment the results were announced, the entire stadium fell silent for a second, then erupted in long-suppressed cheers—

Despite weighing twice as much as comparable European and American fighter jets, the Eagle's maneuverability remains unaffected, even completing a full set of high-G tactical maneuvers; its new power system directly doubles its thrust; and all core indicators are 50% higher than the currently internationally recognized strongest aircraft. Meanwhile, those so-called "top-tier aircraft" lag far behind the Eagle in maximum speed, combat radius, and payload capacity.

In other words, the eagle not only met the standard, but also took the lead in all aspects.

This is just a prototype—the mass-produced version will be even lighter, more powerful, and smarter.

All the researchers present clenched their fists, their eyes welling up with tears.

Old Xu laughed loudly, grabbing Xiao Yao's wrist firmly: "Don't even think about slipping away from this celebration! I'll have to toast you three times!"

"If only we had these iron wings a few decades earlier!" His gaze darkened, and his voice lowered. "Back then, we didn't even have a single domestically produced fighter jet. We suffered so many blows—the moment the artillery position started to smoke, enemy planes would swoop down and bomb us. We could only stare helplessly, without even knowing how to fight back."

An old general with white hair suddenly spoke up, his voice carrying the weight of a lifetime of trials and tribulations.

Xiao Yao nodded slightly: "Old leader, it's not too late to start now. The more screws we tighten and the more data we calculate today, the less detours the younger generation will take, and they won't have to sigh at other people's engines anymore."

"That's right!" The old leader looked at the gleaming silver fighter jets on the tarmac, his voice suddenly becoming clear and bright. "We risk our lives, isn't it all to leave the next generation a proud and upright China?"

The veterans kept their word and set up a small table around Xiao Yao that very evening. As soon as the hot dishes were served, a row of wine bottles was already in place. The young people from the research institute also took turns to offer toasts, their glasses clinking loudly.

After the dinner party ended, Xiao Yao was half-supported and half-carried by his guards into a military vehicle, and they bumped their way back to the Fifth Research Institute.

"This kid is good at everything else, except his alcohol tolerance is too low," Old Xu said with a smile and a shake of his head.

"Are researchers just drinking slurred liquor all day? Are they even developing their brains?" someone immediately chimed in, their tone full of protectiveness.

"Hahaha—" The veterans burst into laughter in unison, their laughter as refreshing as the wind sweeping across the hills, as if they could see again the days when blueprints covered the earthen bed and they drew under the kerosene lamp until dawn.

At the same moment, in a rusty old factory on the western outskirts of the capital, a soldier with a figure and appearance strikingly similar to Xiao Yao slowly stepped in. The area was already heavily guarded; Xiao Zhiyuan personally led a special police unit to block all exits.

After a full month of maneuvering, Xiao Zhiyuan finally dialed the fake number right under Zhou Huilan's nose and asked her to meet him at the factory in the suburbs of Beijing for a "face-to-face handover".

Zhou Huilan's eyes gleamed as she lowered her voice and promised, "After this is done, the three of us will settle down in Europe, where we can enjoy sunshine, sea breezes, and a peaceful life together."

Xiao Zhiyuan grinned and even leaned close to her ear to add, "Whether we get married or not is up to me."

Just as the perimeter of the factory was completed, in the residential building opposite Xiao Zhiyuan's house, Zhou Huilan and her daughter had just opened the security door when they were pinned down in the entrance by several plainclothes officers.

"What are you doing? You've arrested the wrong person! I know Director Xiao!" Zhou Huilan's voice trembled as she dug her fingertips into the door frame.

"Zhou Huilan, codename 'Dawn,' is a key member of a foreign intelligence network. Her target is to recruit scientist Xiao Yao."

The moment the code name left her lips, her face turned ashen. Her lips moved a few times, but she couldn't utter a single word. The cold handcuffs clicked shut on her wrists.

Lin Wan received the news that same day at the National Security Bureau's on-site hospital. She and Xiao Yun were temporarily restricted from moving around—the operation to be launched was scheduled for tonight.

Hearing that the person had been caught, she breathed a long sigh of relief. After all, who wants to share a building with a venomous snake every day? Just brushing past him in the elevator made her neck break out in a fine sweat.

As for these traitors who betray their own side? Catch them, punish them severely, and show no mercy.

What made Lin Wan facepalm was that the mother and daughter had just finished their interrogation and had already revealed their entire plan: they had used their beauty to seduce Xiao Zhiyuan, and then used the "green channel for immigration" as bait to lure Xiao Yao out of the country. She rolled her eyes on the spot: "No wonder when I first met that mother and daughter, I thought their smiles were too synchronized and their eyes were too bright, like two searchlights that had just been fully charged."

Xiao Zhiyuan sat by the hospital bed, his face stiff: "If you hadn't been so fond of gossiping, would I have let her step into my house? Now look what's happened, it's all hindsight!"

"Seriously—you two are really getting into this acting, aren't you? Otherwise, why would Zhou Huilan believe you and actually dare to hand her her son?"

Xiao Zhiyuan almost jumped up: "Do I look like a fool who would betray his country for a woman? Selling his son to go abroad? Do you think I'm out of my mind or have warped eyes?"

"Fine, fine, you only find my face pleasing to the eye, okay?" Before he finished speaking, he tilted his head and pretended to be asleep, pulling the blanket over his nose, afraid that Lin Wan would ask a third question.

The next morning, as soon as Xiao Zhiyuan opened the office door, he saw two state security officials already sitting inside.

"Comrade Zhiyuan, this time you pulled a brilliant lead! Following the clues, you uncovered a 'Black Shark' who had been lying in wait for ten years. The other side was caught off guard, and we intercepted a batch of contact lists on the spot. Several secret locations in the country are being investigated overnight. To ensure your safety, your whole family will be under secret protection for the next year or two. As for Xiao Yao, the organization has taken full control of the situation."

Xiao Zhiyuan straightened his back: "It is a soldier's duty to obey orders."

"This is a commendation order specially approved by higher authorities." Leader Xu handed over a manila envelope. Xiao Zhiyuan took it with both hands and watched the other party push open the door and leave.

……

As soon as the alloy materials project was completed, Xiao Yao immediately transferred the complete set of data and samples to the military research institute, and then submitted an application to tackle the new materials problem. To overcome this tough challenge, he immersed himself in the system space, repeatedly deduced the scenarios with the intelligent mentor, and personally adjusted hundreds of sets of parameters.

The moment he stepped out of the virtual lab, he had already clarified the technical path—as soon as the new team was formed, he set out a clear direction: performance thresholds, process boundaries, and failure thresholds, all quantified to three decimal places.

Yan Xudong stared at the experimental schedule, clicking his tongue in amazement: "Is Professor Xiao made of iron? He's only rested for three days, and a new project has already been approved?" He couldn't help but mutter, "Everyone needs to catch their breath and sort out their thoughts, right?"

But then he thought back to how the old man had forced him to follow this mentor all those years ago; now it seemed like he had made the right bet. He quietly wrote Xiao Yao's name on the first page of his notebook, adding a small note at the bottom: "My teacher for life."

The first project achieved a breakthrough in just four months.

Outsiders might find it slow, but those in the industry know that each of the four core formulas takes a full thirty days to master – that speed is almost insane.

The trainees, however, seemed oblivious to the hardship and fatigue. The lab lights blazed late into the night, instant noodle containers piled high, some rubbing their temples while checking data, others snoring as they slumped over their workbenches. Everyone had only one thought in mind: faster, faster, so the results could be fitted to the wings of the warplanes as soon as possible.

As soon as the project was accepted, everyone surrounded Xiao Yao, asking, "Professor Xiao, when will the second project start? Can we still hold on?"

When the "alloy four-piece set" results report was placed on Old Xu's desk, he remained silent for a long time. Finally, he slammed his hand on the table and sighed, "I'm impressed! No wonder the higher-ups halted all similar projects, waiting for Xiao Yao to finalize the plan—they didn't just jump the gun, they directly overtook the competition!"