Master of the Stars

Chapter 326: Hovering Target (Part 1/3)

Translator: Strivon

Luo Nan observed both the object and Worker Zhai. Worker Zhai was in the middle of carefully sizing up the object before him in utter concentration.

"It certainly isn’t part of Comet III’s design. The hovering target’s control program is very simple. Its general control chip is already integrated upon the axle, so this little thing looks like something that was added on."

Crag Burst asked curiously, "Added on?"

"Let’s do some testing. Workshop 245, requesting one Batwing Type A shell. Thank you."

His later words were spoken to the service center’s warehouse. As he spoke, Worker Zhai returned his attention to examining the gyroscope’s rotor, as well as its internal and external frames. Since he had already disassembled the central axis, he just examined it a few times before starting to reassemble it.

It was very apparent. Worker Zhai deliberately ignored the minute rhombohedron during his assembling process. He simply restored the gyroscope of the hovering target to its original form. He worked very quickly, finishing before the arrival of the external shell, which was still stuck on the conveyor belt.

When the external shell arrived, Worker Zhai stuffed the gyroscope inside. The final result that appeared before Luo Nan’s and Crag Burst’s eyes was a very odd object shaped like a large bowl. It looked like an exceedingly abnormal flying saucer.

Crag Burst was very familiar with this toy. "A Batwing Type A target drone. Its high-speed flight and emergency hovering movement modes are integrated quite nicely. The Type C and Type B models can be used as simple weapons platforms. It can even be used in the Wilderness."

Worker Zhai gave Crag Burst a chuckle; this could be considered an approval by this expert. Worker Zhai then let loose with his hands, and the large bowl—no, the target drone—hovered amidst a low buzzing sound. It shifted horizontally, little by little, streaking past the tips of the three men’s noses as it gradually increased in speed.

As the target drone accelerated, it became like a bat. It flew back and forth within the narrow work space, and it didn’t collide with anything at all.

Worker Zhai looked at a hologram to the side. There were all sorts of diagnostics data streaming down on it like a waterfall. He shook his head around ten seconds later. "I can’t discover any problems at all."

Upon saying this, Worker Zhai cast his gaze on the miniature vise, and his gaze rested upon the rhombohedron shaped object. He switched to a different interface on the hologram, revealing the repair request form Luo Nan had filled out prior to the appointment. "I need to confirm something. The malfunction that you, Mr. Luo, have...."

"So it’s a tai chi ball that can float...." Luo Nan was very cooperative. He gave a brief description of the relevant circumstances.

Worker Zhai thought for a while, before asking, "How heavy is the tai chi ball?"

"It’s about half a person tall and is made out of strong metal. It must weigh several hundred kilograms." Luo Nan wasn’t quite sure.

Worker Zhai exclaimed, "Huh!?" and Crag Burst coughed, "Nanster, the electrical mechanism of the hovering target can lift five kilograms at most."

Worker Zhai shook his head. "I can’t see any modifications made to the hovering target’s motive power and transmission. Oh, if the metal mesh is used as a supportive function, it can be viewed as part of the transmission. However, the motive power you described is unreasonable."

"Really?" Luo Nan only had a vague understanding of the tai chi ball. It was hard for him to answer such questions. He thought for a moment and could only whip out his contact list and give Xue Lei a call.

Xue Lei was home right now. It seemed that he was engaging in large volumes of training, for his breathing was a bit staggered. He really didn’t waste a single bit of time. Obviously, Xue Lei was very familiar with the tai chi ball, but the problem was that Xue Lei wasn’t good with words. He was bound to make a few failed attempts as he tried to convey his meaning across.

"Tai chi ball, man. It can endlessly store whatever energy that’s beaten into it. And it can even transform that energy to form all sorts of rebounding forces. It can even directly transform their nature."

Crag Burst jabbed Luo Nan with his shoulder. "He deserves to be your best friend. You two are the same."

Luo Nan ignored Crag Burst and wanted to talk with Xue Lei some more. However, Xue Lei had already found a more efficient method. "So, I recorded a video last year involving training with the tai chi ball. I’ll send it to you. You’ll know when you see it. Really."

With the video file on hand, Xue Lei immediately began the transfer. The service center’s Internet was quite remarkable. Luo Nan saw that there was a lot of bandwidth available, so he simply started a video call, and Xue Lei intuitively joined the call.

Luo Nan only introduced Worker Zhai to Xue Lei, since Xue Lei had already met Crag Burst in the past. The video file finished transferring over by the time Luo Nan was done.

Worker Zhai motioned to Luo Nan to cast the video onto the giant hologram so several people could watch it together.

The perspective in the video recording was that of a selfie. One could see that it was Xue Lei recording himself. The video showed Xue Lei in Gym Master Xiu’s back courtyard. Xue Lei’s bare arms revealed a body of powerful muscles, and he let out a punch after harmonizing his breathing.

His fist struck the tai chi ball. The deep ring that resounded showed just how impressive Xue Lei’s power was. Of course, the tai chi ball merely trembled a bit. Xue Lei’s punch wasn’t enough to cause the ball to distinctly rock.

"What beautiful penetrative strength!" Crag Burst clicked his tongue in admiration and in generous praise. He turned to speak with Luo Nan, "Leister is quite amazing. He was able to send all the power of his fist into the center of the tai chi ball. This sort of result can only be achieved with the hovering target enduring the hit."

Xue Lei’s strikes continued to pound without end, without any variation in speed, and the tai chi ball remained relatively stable from beginning to end. About a minute passed, and the power of his fists suddenly increased. His glowing red arm actually caused an explosive sound as it struck through the air.

Not only was the attack much fiercer, its path of energy changed as well. The tai chi ball didn’t fall back when it was hit by this attack; it actually jumped up. It jumped above the edge of the metal bowl to reach a height of twenty centimeters. Xue Lei landed another fist as the tai chi ball sank back down, and the hovering target jumped up once more. It even swayed a little, and it didn’t come back down this time.

The several hundred kilogram tai chi ball hovered in the air. It was about thirty kilometers off the ground, and it began to spin.

Xue Lei’s expression spoke of utter concentration. The speed of his fists didn’t change, but an explosive sound came with each fist, one after another. The hovering target continued to rock, and occasionally it would shift, but later, its rocking motion grew smaller and smaller while its spinning speed grew faster and faster. Outlines of the luminous designs on its surface shone in daylight.

The video stopped here.

Crag Burst’s loud applause embarrassed Xue Lei a bit. He thanked Crag Burst repeatedly for watching.

Luo Nan looked at Worker Zhai, who was staring at the still frame of the video. Worker Zhai was lost in thought. He sighed in admiration as well. But he didn’t seem to be very astonished.

Crag Burst also saw Worker Zhai’s expression. He grinned in laughter, "So how ‘bout it? Can you see a way now? Can you fix it?"

Worker Zhai’s head hung down as he pondered for a moment, but his expression remained calm. "I pretty much understand now. It should be storing and transforming the external kinetic energy. It stores it like a spring, The greater the power, the greater the potential rebound. The way it transforms the energy is quite interesting. From straight physical energy to rotational energy. Then there’s also the hoving powering.... Let me perform a test."

He moved the miniature vise and placed the miniature rhombohedron into the cavity of some device, which fixed four sides of the rhombohedron in place. Then, a buzzing vibration started. One could see that the device was mimicking Xue Lei’s fist. It sent external kinetic energy inside.

Luo Nan adjusted the direction of his camera to let Xue Lei be able to see the test process. The three people observed with rapt attention, but there were no changes with the rhombohedron, even with the passing of a dozen seconds.

Worker Zhai didn’t feel anxious. He soon made some calibrations, and this time he directly passed electricity through the rhombohedron. He increased the voltage and the current, but the rhombohedron within the device didn’t react whatsoever.

"Is it completely broken?" Xue Lei was a bit disappointed.

"Try it again when you completely put it back together?" Crag Burst wanted to try something else.

Worker Zhai didn’t say anything. He just stared at the device’s cavity and continued to make calibrations. A metal rod flipped up from beneath the control console as he worked. There was a handle near the tip, and it was even wrapped in insulating material.

The metal rod revealed itself perfect upright at a 90° angle. Worker Zhai gripped the handle, then took a deep breath.

Luo Nan’s eyelids jumped, and Crag Burst turned to look a beat later. The two locked gazes, confirming with each other that a minute ripple was born within the mental plane.

"Whoa whoa whoa! It changed! It changed!" Xue Lei immediately discovered the changes within the cavity of the device through the lagless high-speed Internet.

Luo Nan and Crag Burst turned their gazes to look, and they saw several long fine threads extending out from the outer surface of the miniature rhombohedron. They were everywhere, and they gently swayed.

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