Kays Translations

Chapter 199: Airplane

Anyang is becoming increasingly busy. Nowadays, due to its strong territorial foundation, abundant population, and plentiful resources, many of Anyang’s plans are being implemented one after another.

The most striking among them is the Brilliant Star Group, a dazzling gem that attracts much attention. Having completed its initial technological accumulation, the Brilliant Star Group has begun rapid expansion.

First, the textile sub-factory, which had been relocated earlier, has expanded even further. In just half a month, the textile factory has doubled in size, employing over ten thousand female workers. Nearly half of the women around Anyang come here to work. With a monthly salary of at least three taels of silver, many common people are delighted. Not to mention, the factory frequently offers bonuses.

There are rewards for technological advancements, for improvements, and for the monthly weaving output—so many different incentives that it’s dizzying. The most significant are the technical rewards, which are often calculated in hundreds of taels of gold. With such incentives, the enthusiasm in the textile factory has reached its peak.

Now, textiles from Anyang have nearly flooded the entire Cai Kingdom, turning it into a “raw material supplier and transit hub.” The role of a raw material supplier is self-explanatory—it is an inevitable result of the dumping strategy. As for becoming a transit hub, that too is due to the dumping strategy.

The price of fabric from Anyang is only 80% of the market price, while the purchase price of raw materials is about 10% higher than the market rate. This has essentially transformed the Cai Kingdom into a unique wholesale market.

In addition, the glass and colored lamp factories have also been relocated and are undergoing rapid expansion. However, despite this expansion, Anyang has firmly held onto the secret of glass production, and the outside world still hasn’t discovered how to produce it. All they have access to is the old, colorful glazed glass.

Other basic smelting factories and similar industries have also been relocated and are expanding rapidly. For a time, Anyang has become a hub for recruitment.

Beyond this, the opening of the railway between Anyang and Dingshan City has pushed Anyang’s rapid development to its peak. If there is anything unpleasant, it is that in the south of Anyang, near Qingyun Valley, the locals have been frequently hearing strange wailing sounds from the sky.

On the outskirts of Qingyun Valley, Yun Feihong was biting her lower lip, directing her subordinates to continuously modify the aircraft design.

This was Li Xian’s request—he insisted on not using flying formations or similar techniques and wanted the aircraft to rely entirely on the propeller to achieve flight.

At the time, including Yun Feihong, everyone thought—Young Master Li Xian was making a rash decision again. But after more than a month of intense research, combined with occasional hints from Li Xian, they finally understood why.

Only by doing it this way could they truly master flight, aerodynamics, air buoyancy, fluid mechanics, and propeller design. In a month’s time, Yun Feihong and her team managed to refine the flight design data.

However, it still seemed imperfect, as there were many problems with the aircraft.

Frowning, Yun Feihong continuously wrote and drew on the engineering blueprints. The formulas, mathematics, geometry, and physics involved—most of them had been developed gradually within Anyang itself. Even if these documents were leaked to the outside world now, others wouldn’t be able to understand them.

Everyone was busy, except for a small group nearby—Li Xian, Xu Ren, and a few others—who were chatting and laughing.

Suddenly, a young man covered in grease ran up to Yun Feihong. “Factory Director, the new aircraft is ready.”

Yun Feihong looked up and saw that, sure enough, on the flight platform halfway up the mountain, a wooden aircraft made mainly of pine had been completed. The aircraft used wings similar to a kite, with the outer covering temporarily made from the best and most durable linen fabric.

She stepped forward to inspect it. The aircraft used an array engine powered by spirit stones rather than the current internal combustion engine.

After completing the inspection, Yun Feihong signaled to Li Xian that they were about to conduct a test flight.

Li Xian was also watching, but he rarely spoke. This was the process of breaking through the cocoon and transforming into a butterfly—if he interfered too much, it would be detrimental to future development. So unless it was a critical issue where he needed to give guidance, he remained silent, just observing quietly.

Based on his experience, this test flight was bound to fail because, up until now, the aircraft still lacked a tail wing! Everything had been developed based on the kite model. While an aircraft doesn’t necessarily need a tail wing, Anyang’s current technology was still lacking, and more accumulation was required.

However, since everyone here was a cultivator, even if the test flight failed, there was no life-threatening danger. So, Li Xian was happy to watch it unfold.

Seeing that Yun Feihong was about to start the test flight, Li Xian turned to Xu Ren and the others. “What do you all think—how long will this flight last?”

Xia Qingqing was the first to speak. “I think it will succeed. Look at those big wings—it looks just like a butterfly.”

Xu Ren, having learned a lot from following Li Xian, responded without hesitation, “I think this flight will be even shorter than the last one. It might just crash straight into the ground.”

Cheng Jiming, the future air force general, also shared his opinion. “I think the wind will blow it away.”

Li Yuanming chuckled, “Everyone, the young master asked how long the flight would last, not about the result. I guess 30 seconds.”

Fang Shijing put down his teacup. “30 seconds? So, just after leaving the flight platform, it will crash to the ground? I guess about a minute.”

Yan Ze’an, who had been busy with official matters, raised his head and said, “Five minutes.”

Ling Zhifeng said confidently, “If it can succeed, it will succeed. It will succeed in kissing the earth.”

Li Xian smiled as he watched everyone argue. The reason he called everyone here wasn’t out of boredom, but to make everyone understand how technology develops step by step. Only then can they truly understand technology and use these weapons’ capabilities effectively, knowing how to deploy them and plan tactics.

Soon, the sound of spinning propellers could be heard, and a small expert in the Foundation Establishment stage was seated at the pilot’s seat. Yun Feihong waved, and an engineer untied the restraints. The plane slowly moved, lifted off the ground, and slowly ascended, flying out from the platform.

Many people cheered…

Gradually, the plane had reached an altitude of more than thirty meters, and the cheers grew louder. But at that moment, the plane suddenly began to sway, then started to hover horizontally.

The cheers were immediately cut off.

Yun Feihong shouted, “Turn off the left engine and try!”

The test pilot immediately shut off the left engine, and the plane briefly stabilized. But the next moment, it began to tumble and completely lost control, crashing to the ground like a drill.

Fortunately, the test pilot reacted quickly and used a magic artifact at the last moment. A turtle shell formed around the pilot to protect him. However, even so, when the pilot was pulled out of the wreckage, he staggered like a drunk man.

This failure seemed to have placed great pressure on Yun Feihong, as all possible factors had been considered, including mathematics and physics, which had been pushed to their current limits.

Li Xian, seeing this, quickly offered a small suggestion. “Director Yun, have you ever seen a bird without a tail?”

That remark woke Yun Feihong from her daze, and she suddenly understood.

Everyone here were cultivators with strong abilities; Yun Feihong immediately began designing and calculating again. Several members of the research department also came over to help. Even Xiao Yuquan, a master in the Nascent Soul stage, joined in.

Having been in Anyang for not long, Xiao Yuquan had grown fond of the lifestyle here, with new surprises happening every day.

Just an hour later, they completed the calculations. Then, magic spells and flashes of blades filled the air as the workers discarded machine tools and, relying solely on their hands, pieced together a plane.

This time, the plane had a tail wing, resembling a fish’s tail but horizontal. The fuselage also resembled the shape of a fish’s body. However, the wings, similar to those of a bird, were somewhat awkward.

With the new engine installed, the engineers skillfully adjusted the angles and levels. Then, more than ten test pilots scrambled for the chance to test the plane. These guys had become addicted. In the end, the old method was used: drawing lots.

One lucky person jumped into the cockpit, and when Yun Feihong signaled that takeoff was possible, the person made a strange shout. The engine started spinning, and the plane operated smoothly. After the engineers checked and confirmed there were no issues, they untied the ropes, and the plane immediately slid a short distance before taking off steadily.

This time, the plane no longer spun in circles and could be controlled flexibly using the tail wing. The plane flew higher and higher in the sky, going farther and farther. In the sky, a test pilot howled happily, and the howl even drowned out the engine’s roar.

“It worked!”

Countless people cheered.

Only Yun Feihong shouted, “Come down quickly, that spirit stone only has about 5% of its spiritual energy left. It can only support for another ten minutes or so.”

Unfortunately, it was too late!

The plane, which had been flying smoothly, suddenly stopped, and then began to spiral down. The test pilot quickly summoned a magic artifact, a small flying board—an ultra-small war device engraved with the Floating Cloud Formation, used to protect the test pilot. Don’t underestimate this thing; it was made entirely of mysterious iron.

The pilot was fine, but the plane didn’t make it; with a loud crash, the first real plane of Anyang kissed the earth.

But this did not dampen anyone’s excitement. Yun Feihong immediately ordered the construction of a second plane with several adjustments.

Once there was a second, there would be a third. That’s how technology works—once a breakthrough is made in key technology, the rest will follow smoothly. In just two hours, five wooden planes were completed. Each test pilot took turns flying and sharing their feedback.

In the end, Yun Feihong herself took a turn, personally experiencing the flight.

When the plane landed, Yun Feihong laughed heartily. “We did it! We really did it! We didn’t rely on formations, spells, or any other means—just purely mechanical design, and we got the plane off the ground!”

Next, the second plan began: a plane with formations to assist it, even more powerful! “I’m going to make a plane that can break 500 kilometers per hour!”

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