The components of the Chiyan were manufactured in dedicated workshops and were finally delivered to the Tower Research Institute.
He Xingzhou, wearing a mechanical exoskeleton, personally assembled them.
"Mechanical skeleton."
"Nuclear battery and protective layer."
"Chest plate, shoulder plates, leg guards..."
When He Xingzhou installed the last part, a red-brown, tall, and imposing mecha emerged!
The hard, specially made alloy plates, the metallic sheen, the strong and powerful legs and mechanical arms, and the nuclear battery representing power and might—all showcased its power and strength!
Standing beneath the mecha, one could feel their own fragility and insignificance.
"Chiyan, commence self-check!" He Xingzhou shouted.
In the control room of the Chiyan, there was a superconducting quantum chip. It was also a superconducting quantum computer!
Lu Mi took over the Chiyan’s basic AI system and reported, "Initiating self-check..."
The mecha activated the automatic mode and began to move simply.
"Power system intact."
"Energy system intact."
"Defense system intact."
"Attack system missing."
"Control system intact..."
"Master, the Chiyan has completed the self-check, and the basic functions are intact. The attack system is currently lacking," Lu Mi summarized.
"Not bad, I’ll give it a try first!" He Xingzhou took the pilot’s seat of the mecha and started performing simple operations.
*This felt much more realistic than the experience in a game—no matter how detailed the tactile and VR equipment were, there remained a gap between them and the real world.*
Walking, running, He Xingzhou even did jumping and rolling operations. With the shock absorption and auxiliary operation systems, it was fairly convenient to control.
*With the nuclear battery, the mecha’s endurance, mobility, and loading capabilities far surpassed those of the mechanical exoskeleton! The only problem was that the manufacturing cost was much higher than that of a mechanical exoskeleton!* He Xingzhou thought.
*Just a nuclear battery required nuclear fuel and was difficult to manufacture, leading to its high cost and making it hard to mass-produce under current circumstances.*
*Unless they could collect a vast amount of nuclear materials and other resources from nature, the mechs would remain difficult to deploy on a large scale.*
*Most soldiers would still have to be equipped with mechanical exoskeletons, with mechs reserved for elite forces.*
"Let’s try the particle jet device." He Xingzhou moved to the lake outside the research institute to conduct the test flight, reassured that even if it fell into the water, nothing serious would happen.
"Activate flight mode!" He Xingzhou pressed the buttons, and the jet engines behind the mecha, with the nuclear thermal machine heating the air, formed a strong reverse airflow lifting the over-five-meter-tall mecha off the ground.
Since it was the first flight operation, Lu Mi enabled a semi-auto mode to prevent He Xingzhou from losing control.
Moreover, the mecha was equipped with a compressed nanometer material parachute, which could be used for an emergency ejection during flight malfunctions.
He Xingzhou tested the flight while several accompanying researchers watched anxiously.
"Dr. He is directly on a flight test, we can’t keep up!"
"The mecha’s power is incredible; it feels like a small jet plane!"
"It performs vertical takeoff and landing!"
"It’s flying, it’s flying!" Everyone looked up, watching as He Xingzhou ascended into the sky.
The feeling of piloting a mecha into the air for the first time was incredibly marvelous, akin to acquiring superpowers and wielding the ability to change the world!
Feeling impulsive, He Xingzhou accelerated the altitude.
"Current altitude is 10 meters, airflow stable, temperature suitable."
"Keep pushing!" He Xingzhou looked up, climbing again. This time, he elevated directly to 100 meters, with the mecha remaining steadily in the sky.
Fortunately, the vicinity of the Tower Research Institute was a restricted area with no pedestrians passing by, otherwise, He Xingzhou would instantly become headline news.
"Ascend!" He Xingzhou continued the ascent, rising to 300 meters.
At this point, when looking down at the researchers below, they seemed rather small.
Lu Mi reminded, "There’s a small airflow in the current space that might affect the mecha’s stability."
Feeling the mecha wavering slightly, He Xingzhou ascended another 1,000 meters; it seemed they were now near the clouds when looking up.
Lu Mi cautioned, "Master, ascending Chiyan too high entails risks. It’s better to fly at low altitudes."
*Although He Xingzhou was reluctant, he realized that as a first-generation machine, its limits shouldn’t be pushed to fly straight to tens of thousands of meters instantly.*
He maintained his current altitude, taking a few loops.
When He Xingzhou landed, the display showed energy consumption had been less than one percent.
*The endurance was promising, but this was without using laser weapons. Laser weapons consumed significant energy, as did electromagnetic weapons, which would reduce endurance time,* He Xingzhou thought.
"The preliminary experiment was fairly successful." He Xingzhou piloted the mecha back into the research institute, passing by researchers and guards who looked at him curiously and enviously.
No words were needed to know; they all wanted to try piloting the mecha themselves.
"Next, it’s time to design the weapon system." He Xingzhou decided to fortify the mecha’s final shortfall.
"Electromagnetic guns and electromagnetic wave weapons are readily available, requiring only modifications to install them inside the mecha," He Xingzhou mused. "I can create different weapon templates; the electromagnetic gun and missile launcher can be made into mecha load types, allowing the mecha to be used as a mobile turret as well."
"But ultimately, laser weapons are more convenient and are more effective against the highly armored Zerg!"