The Great Tang, Australia.
In the central plaza of the research institute, a new experiment was underway.
The Qingque Sky Platform!
With no expense spared, a prototype was completed in less than four months.
The rectangular platform, two hundred meters long and ninety meters wide, was equipped with eight Feng Huolun No. 6 electric motors.
In a sense, this could be considered a super-sized drone.
The platform was divided into two levels.
The upper level housed two Predator photon engines and two aircraft runways.
The lower level contained the command center, control rooms, living quarters, and hangars for fighter jets.
The entire structure, except for the keel and runways which were made of high-strength titanium alloy, was constructed entirely from carbon fiber panels.
At this moment, countless researchers had gathered in the central plaza, observing from a distance.
"Predator photon engine ready!"
"Leilong voltage stabilizing station ready!"
"Taotie power storage ready!"
"Feng Huolun electric motor ready!"
"Emergency equipment verified!"
"............"
"Requesting test flight!"
At the center of the Qingque Sky Platform, Li Tai listened to the reports from each department via the intercom, a sharp glint in his eyes.
"Transmit my order, commence test flight as per the scheduled plan!"
"Yes!"
With his command, the two Predator photon engines installed on the sky platform were simultaneously activated.
"Hum........."
Upon activation, the photon engines instantly drew in surrounding light particles, plunging the area within a ten-meter radius into darkness, resembling two parallel black holes.
Next, the transformer cabin activated, and the adjusted current was transmitted through the lines to the Feng Huolun electric motors.
The seventeen-meter-long blades began to rotate slowly.
"Whoosh.......... Whoosh.......... Whoosh..........."
As the rotation speed increased, the surrounding air was agitated, and visibly, eight small tornadoes gradually formed beneath the Qingque platform!
"Increase power!"
Li Tai, full of confidence, once again issued the order via the intercom.
"Received!"
The rotation speed of the Feng Huolun reached its peak in an extremely short period, 24,000 revolutions per minute!
The entire Qingque Sky Platform began to shake gently and lifted off!
The massive platform, weighing 7,000 tons, was flying!
"It's a success!"
"Hahahaha, we did it!"
"It's really flying!"
"We're in the sky, so happy!"
".........."
The project team members left on the ground became instantly excited upon witnessing this scene.
Some hugged each other in jubilation, some stood in corners with red eyes, while others anticipated the rewards they would receive.
"Fifty meters!"
"One hundred meters!"
"Three hundred meters!"
"Five hundred meters!"
"............."
"Three thousand meters, reaching the test altitude for fighter jet takeoff and landing!"
"Runway cleared, ready for takeoff at any time!"
"Requesting takeoff!"
"Approved!"
Inside the Qingque hangar, Zhang Tian, upon hearing these words, clenched his fists, lowered the cockpit canopy, and gave the ground crew an ok gesture.
The lift activated, and the F-35 was brought to the upper runway.
Without any delay, Zhang Tian immediately started the engine and sped towards the other end of the runway in the F-35.
With its short takeoff capability, even without a catapult, the 200-meter runway was more than enough for the F-35.
In the hopeful gazes of everyone, the fighter jet, after accelerating for a distance, suddenly soared into the sky.
Inside the cockpit, Zhang Tian's mood was one of immense pride!
He was the first man in the entire Great Tang to soar into the sky in such a fighter jet!
Although the gold-mining ships could also fly, their offensive capabilities were zero, and they could only flee when attacked, which was incredibly frustrating.
To learn to fly a fighter jet, he had pestered Wang Xuance for a long time before being sent to learn from Huang Tagu for a period.
Following him, four more fighter jets took off: Xue Rengui, Ge Luoyang, Zhou Yanxi, and even Su Dingfang came to join the fun.
He, the so-called Governor of Australia, was still a lone commander!
He didn't know what Li Shimin was thinking!
In the small Australia, there were Fang Er, Li Xiaogong, Chai Shao, and Li Xiuning. Even if there was a war, it wouldn't be his turn to step forward as a newcomer...
Therefore, having nothing to do all day, he frequented the Tianhuo Army, spending a few days with one division and playing with another, living a life of great pleasure!
But he wasn't just playing around; there was nothing in the Tianhuo Army that he couldn't get the hang of!
From small handguns to tanks and fighter jets, he was now proficient at all of them.
The five F-35s formed a triangular formation in the air, circling the Qingque platform a few times.
Just as Zhang Tian was about to request permission for target practice, his radar suddenly displayed numerous unidentified signals.
Based on the radar wave feedback, these were definitely not gold-mining ships!
Moreover, today, to test the Qingque, it had been explicitly ordered that all gold-mining ships were prohibited from venturing out.
"Brothers, we have guests, follow me to take a look!"
After calling out to Xue Rengui, Su Dingfang, and the others, he accelerated and rushed towards the dark dots, with the other four following closely.
At a speed of Mach 2, he quickly saw what those dark dots were.
But...
He saw Fang Er standing on the head of a dragon, waving at him...
"Holy crap!"
Zhang Tian was completely stunned!
That...
Was a dragon???
He rubbed his eyes hard, but the scene before him remained the same.
"Brothers, am I hallucinating? I think I saw a dragon??"
He instinctively questioned the others.
"You're not hallucinating, you're blind!" Xue Rengui retorted unceremoniously.
Didn't he see the Duke standing on the dragon's head?
In his eyes, the word "impossible" didn't exist!
So what if it was a dragon?
He wouldn't be surprised if the Duke dragged the Jade Emperor down from heaven himself one day!
After speaking, Xue Rengui controlled his fighter jet to salute Fang Er with three nods, but his eyes kept drifting towards those black dragons.
Damn it...
With so many dragons, the Duke should give me one, right?
He felt that riding one of these would be even more stylish than flying a plane...
Looking at the Duke's ethereal posture, it was simply awesome!
He took out a walkie-talkie from his flight suit pocket; this was a backup item besides his flight helmet.
The allure of the great dragon made him completely lose his focus...
Completely forgetting that he was currently flying an F-35!
Holding the walkie-talkie in one hand and adjusting the frequency with the other...
But as he touched the dial, he realized he couldn't quite remember which channel it was.
"Hey? Old Zhang, what's the Duke's walkie-talkie number again??"