Chapter 324 - 248: Miraculous Data
Under the night sky, Hangar No. 7 of the Celestial Craft Group was brightly lit, but the atmosphere was even more feverish than it had been during the day.
After Han Feng left, the hangar didn’t return to tranquility. Instead, it plunged into a state of near-frenzied activity.
Lin Xue’s eyes were bloodshot as she stared intently at the flight data just exported onto the holographic screen, repeating over and over:
"Impossible... This is absolutely impossible..."
Beside her, Zhao Yu and Wei Chen had also gathered around, their faces showing the same shock and disbelief.
"What is it, Chief Engineer Lin? Is there an error in the data?"
Zhao Yu asked nervously. He was terrified that this precious baby had sustained some hidden damage.
"It’s not an error, it’s just too outrageous!"
Lin Xue swiped a hand across the screen, zooming in on a structural stress analysis diagram to its maximum.
"Look here!
Peak overload, thirty-four Gs!
Duration, zero point seven seconds!
According to our simulation data, anything over twenty-eight Gs should cause irreversible, permanent deformation to the airframe!
But now, look at the actual inspection results!"
She pulled up another report.
"Structural integrity, ninety-nine point nine percent!
Aside from 0.02 percent wear on the engine nozzles from the overload, not a single rivet on the entire fuselage frame has loosened!"
Zhao Yu sucked in a sharp breath and leaned in for a closer look.
"My God... an alloy from a Tier Four Demon Emperor’s spine can actually be this strong?"
"Strong my ass!"
Lin Xue swore outright. "How many years have we studied the materials from the Shadow Dragon Lizard?
We figured out its traits ages ago!
It has enough toughness, but its rigidity could never withstand this level of instantaneous overload!
Unless..."
"Unless what?" Wei Chen asked curiously.
Lin Xue looked at him, then at the faint Rune Circuits on the aircraft’s body, her tone complex.
"Unless some kind of power neutralized most of the stress the moment the overload occurred, and distributed the force evenly across the entire airframe!"
Wei Chen’s eyes lit up instantly.
"It’s the Runes!
It must be the ’Spiritual Energy Resonance’ system Advisor Han designed!
I said it before, his ’Nine Palace Flying Stars’ layout is a stroke of absolute genius!
It doesn’t just conduct energy, it creates a ’field’!
A ’Force Field’ that belongs to the fighter itself!"
The rune fanatic grew more and more excited as he spoke, as if he had seen the gates to a new world.
"Look at the synergy between the ’Turtle Shell’ array and the ’Stabilize the Storm’ array. It’s magnificent!
They’re like a symphony orchestra, playing a harmonious masterpiece under Advisor Han’s direction!"
Zhao Yu and Lin Xue were left dumbfounded.
They didn’t really understand the symphony analogy, but they understood one thing.
Han Feng, that young man who looked no older than twenty, hadn’t just solved a few technical problems.
He had created an entirely new theoretical framework, one capable of subverting the entire field of Spiritual Energy Technology.
They gazed at the black Ghost parked silently in the center of the hangar, their eyes filled with awe.
This was no longer a simple Flying Device.
It was a work of art, a miraculous creation worthy of being recorded in the annals of East Sea City.
...
Meanwhile, in the highest conference room of the City Defense Command, the atmosphere was just as grave.
Chen Beixuan, Li Tiecheng, and a pale-faced Councilor Wang were listening to a report from Academician Li, the chief expert of the Science Academy.
The old academician’s beard was trembling.
"Human-Machine Unity... Everyone, if I may be blunt, this term has only ever existed in theoretical concepts.
We always believed it would require a powerful expert at the Tier Five Celestial Being Realm, who could barely achieve it by enveloping the fighter with their own domain."
"But now, a young man in the Meridian Passage Realm has done it, and in a prototype, no less."
"Thirty-four Gs of overload, what does that even mean?
That’s enough terrifying pressure to turn a Tier Three Iron Armor Rhino into meat paste in an instant!
But Han Feng withstood it, and the fighter jet withstood it!"
Li Tiecheng slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet.
"Cut the useless talk! I’m just asking you, can this aircraft be mass-produced!"
The old academician shook his head with a bitter smile.
"General Li, that’s precisely the problem.
We just analyzed some of the theories Han Feng submitted.
This so-called ’Spiritual Energy Resonance’ and ’Reverse Magnetic Fluid Confinement’... we can’t understand them at all!"
"It’s like an elementary school student suddenly producing a proof for the Riemann hypothesis. We can’t even determine if it’s real or fake!"
"Are you saying that Han Feng is the only one who understands this technology?" Chen Beixuan asked with a frown.
"At present, yes."
Academician Li sighed. "This is beyond our current system of knowledge.
If we want to mass-produce it, unless... unless Han Feng is willing to disclose all the core technology and teach us step-by-step."
Silence fell over the conference room.
An SSS Level core technology, a strategic weapon tied to the city’s future, was completely in the hands of a single person.
It sounded like something out of a fantasy tale.
"I don’t care!" Li Tiecheng broke the silence, his voice ringing with unquestionable resolve.
"Give him our best team, our best equipment, all our resources!
Give him whatever he wants!
Three months!
I don’t care what methods you use, I want to see a squadron of ’Ghosts’ ready for combat!"
"Li, calm down." Chen Beixuan rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It’s not that simple."
"How is it not simple?
Ten years!
Chen Beixuan, don’t you forget, we have less than ten years left!"
Li Tiecheng pointed out the window. "When that thing truly arrives, what are we going to use to hold it back?
Those clumsy Battle Armors? Or are we going to throw away human lives?"
"The appearance of the ’Ghost’ is our only hope! Even if there’s only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, we have to seize it!"
Chen Beixuan fell silent.
He knew Li Tiecheng was right.
Councilor Wang, who had been silent the whole time, now had beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.
He finally understood how foolish and laughable his previous attempts to suppress Han Feng had been.
In the face of East Sea City’s survival, his petty factional interests were laughably insignificant.
Now, he only prayed that this affair wouldn’t implicate him.
"The Speaker’s intention is to offer full support," a voice said from the doorway.
The Speaker’s secretary walked in and placed a document on the table.
"The Speaker has ordered the ’Shadow’ project to be elevated to the highest strategic level, codename ’Sharp Sword’.
Advisor Han has been granted the highest priority to requisition all resources below Tier Three in East Sea City.
No department or individual may obstruct or delay him for any reason.
Violators will be dealt with according to wartime regulations."
Upon hearing this, Li Tiecheng burst out laughing.
Chen Beixuan also breathed a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face.
Only Councilor Wang felt a chill run down his spine.
...
Inner City, in a secret underground safe house.
A well-dressed, middle-aged man calmly stared at the shattered remains of a communicator before him.
"Li Mo has been exposed, and Ghost Face is dead."
Behind him, a figure shrouded in shadows spoke in a hoarse voice.
"The plan has failed. We severely underestimated the ’variable’ named Han Feng. His growth rate is already beyond our control."
The middle-aged man turned around, his face devoid of any expression.
"No, the plan hasn’t failed. It just needs to be adjusted."
He walked over to a massive holographic map displaying a three-dimensional layout of East Sea City.
"Conventional methods are ineffective against him, so we’ll use unconventional ones. He wants resources to build his aircraft, doesn’t he?"
The middle-aged man’s finger tapped lightly on the map, landing on an area in the Western Suburbs marked "Abandoned."
"’Accidentally’ leak a copy of the backup data for the ’Prometheus’ project to him."
The figure in the shadows shuddered.
"You mean... that data? It’s too dangerous! If we lose control..."
"Do we have a choice right now?" the middle-aged man retorted. "The Weaver’s footsteps are drawing closer. We don’t have time to wait."
"It’s time for this shark we’ve been keeping in a fish tank to see the real ocean."
...
While the outside world was in turmoil because of him, Han Feng, the man at the center of the storm, was fast asleep in his villa, dead to the world.
He slept for a full thirty-six hours.
It wasn’t until the morning of the third day that he was woken by hunger.
His mental fatigue was completely gone, replaced by an unprecedented sense of fullness and power.
He opened his eyes. The room was pitch black, yet he could clearly "see" every speck of dust in the air.
With a thought, the system panel unfolded before his eyes.
[Name: Han Feng]
[Cultivation: Meridian Passage Realm Fourth Layer (Perfection)]
[Physique: Innate Sword Body (Middle Level, 645/10000)]
[Energy (Sword Essence): 1000/1000 drops]
[Spiritual Power: 2125Hz]
[Skills: Sword Control Technique·Small Success (1/10000), Spirit Patterns Armament Construction·Mastery...]
Feeling the thousand drops of Sword Essence flowing endlessly within him and the significant jump in his Spiritual Power, Han Feng stretched with satisfaction.
The Small Success Level of the Sword Control Technique was truly a qualitative leap.
"GRUMBLE..." His stomach rumbled at an inconvenient time.
Only then did Han Feng feel an intense wave of hunger. He threw off the covers, got out of bed, and shuffled out of the bedroom in his slippers.
In the living room, the butler, Old Liu, was sitting primly. He immediately stood up upon seeing Han Feng emerge.
"Sir, you’re awake."
Old Liu respectfully handed him a glass of warm water. "After you went to sleep last night, Vice Dean Chen and General Li both called. People from the Lu Family and the Su Family also sent visiting cards, but I turned them all away as you instructed."
"Mm."
Han Feng nodded and sat down to enjoy his breakfast.
There was porridge made from Spiritual Energy Grain, tenderloin from a Tier Two Demon Beast—the Iron-backed Wild Boar—and several side dishes rich with Spiritual Qi.
The value of this single breakfast exceeded the entire monthly income of an ordinary family in the Outer City.
"Also," Old Liu continued, "the Lu Family and the Su Family both sent people to deliver things specifically for you. I didn’t dare to touch them and have placed them in the Underground Cultivation Chamber. Additionally, General Li and Vice Dean Chen also stopped by, but they left without disturbing you when they saw you were resting."
"Understood," Han Feng nodded.
’I understand how the world works, but right now, I have no interest in dealing with all this.’
After eating and drinking his fill, Han Feng went straight to the Underground Cultivation Chamber.
Looking at the case of Life Source Liquid from the Lu Family and the shimmering Dragon Blood Ginseng from the Su Family, he broke into a grin.
’Talk about a timely delivery.’
’I was just worried that my reserves of Elixir Pills wouldn’t keep up with a tenfold cultivation speed, and now this arrives.’
"One month to reach Meridian Passage Perfection."
A fire called ambition burned in Han Feng’s eyes.
He paid no more attention to the turmoil of the outside world, sat down cross-legged, took out a bottle of Life Source Liquid, and drank it all down.
Surging Life Energy exploded within his body.
The Cyan Cloud Spirit Martial Technique began to operate with a roar!
A new round of cultivation had begun!