A silver drone zoomed off into the skies via a propped launcher on the back of a car. Within a blink of the eye, it was already hundreds of meters from the ground.
As the drone continued to soar, the chatters below were increasingly intense.
“Is this Thunder Horse’s drone? Is this real? It just looks like something they bought off Taobao.”
“It’s so small, there’s no way it could carry any weapon system. Without that, how can he claim this to be the world’s most advanced drone?”
“Calling this a level of technology the world’s most advanced drone is far-fetched. The Thunder Horse Organization is quite shameless.”
“You can’t possibly compare this to America. It’s barely above Vietnam’s drones. What kind of a sick joke is this?”
“What the hell? With their standards, there’s no way something this simple would come out of the Thunder Horse Military Factory. Are my eyes fooling me?” Everyone was shocked. The international reporters were baffled and even the domestic reporters were equally bewildered. This felt off.
All of those remarks did not escape Xia Lei’s ear. The mockery and jabs, however, did not seem to dampen his mood. A light smile played on his lips, the man still unfazed.
“Babe, their words are truly brash.” Qin Xiang quirked a brow.
Xia Lei rolled his eyes. “I’m not your babe. We’ve got reporters around us, what if they start writing gossip about us? You’ll be the death of my world-famous reputation.”
“Fine, fine. I won’t call you that anymore... babe,” said Qin Xiang.
Xia Lei was at an absolute loss for words.
The man really can’t do anything about Qin Xiang.
The drone continued to soar, occasionally dipping and rising. Sometimes it plunges and it would even circle the top of the Thunder Horse premise at times. It flew as if it did not require any charge. The drone was small, there was no way it ran on fuel. Its engine was definitely electrical.
“Director Xia, so this is the world’s most advanced drone?” The blonde reporter from before asked Xia Lei.
Xia Lei turned away from the hovering drone and gave her attention. His tone remained firm. “Of course. This is the most advanced drone made by the Thunder Horse Organization.”
“The most advanced drone?” The blonde reporter huffed a mocking laugh. “What exactly makes it so advanced?”
Xia Lei’s gaze was unwavering. “That is a secret that I can’t tell you.”
“You’re just abashed to say it out loud, right?” The Southeast Asian reporter smirked coldly.
Xia Lei relented, “Very well then, looks like everyone won’t be satisfied until I explain where its technology advancement lies. The drone we produced has filled up a lot of gaps in the current market. So far, we have filed for one hundred and thirty patented technology. I believe everyone would be more interested in learning about its invisibility. That’s right, you heard me right. This drone is invisible to all radar.”
“A drone like this is capable of that?” One of the Japanese was evidently unimpressed. “What? Did you test the drone with World War II radars?”
“Director Xia, how about you just allow us to visit your manipulation centre. We would like to see its invisibility with our own eyes.” The blonde reporter continued to convince him.
Xia Lei rejected her again. “That won’t do. Our manipulation centre is not open to outsiders.”
“You’re not able to do this and you’re not able to do that. How are you planning to prove that this is truly the world’s most advanced drone?” The Southeast Asian reporter pressed on.
“Well, my claims shall be held accountable. You all are here voluntarily. I did not send you an invitation. It is not compulsory for me to satiate your curiosity,” said Xia Lei.
The Southeast Asian reporter was immediately silenced by his own anger.
“Director Xia, Thunder Horse Organization has chosen to conduct a test flight at such a sensitive time. Not to mention, this drone was made using your very own new aviation material. I think you’re relaying a very dangerous signal to America and its allies. But if your claims of the Alloy X and advanced drone are nothing but a hoax, then the signal you’re giving off is not an honest one. You would only be adding trouble to the already sticky situation. Don’t you think that you’re being a tad bit too irresponsible?” remarked the blonde reporter.
Xia Lei merely smiled at her, offering no answer in exchange.
The waves of questions came to a temporary halt. It was safe to say that none of the reporters was pleased with Thunder Horse’s official statement. They had been waiting there for more than a month for god’s sake! The more recent comers had also waited for ten days at least. It was a difficult wait for Xia Lei’s public appearance but what they received felt like a gigantic ‘fuck you’.
“Nevermind, Director Xia. I can see that you have no plans to answer it.” The blonde reporter continued, “Guess I’ll write about how the Thunder Horse’s proclaimed advanced drone and new material is nothing but a hoax. The miracles of the black horse should come to an end soon.”
But as her last words fell through, the hovering drone over the Thunder Horse Organization buildings lost control and plummeted from the sky.
“It’s falling!”
“I can’t believe this is happening!”
“Hahaha!” The Southeast Asian reporter barked the loudest laugh. “The world’s most advanced drone? More like the world’s biggest joke!”
Ka-boom! The silver drone fell into a farming field across the gates of the Thunder Horse Organization. At that split moment, all everyone could see was a blinding flash of red. A violent shockwave reduced everything to powder within its vicinity!
Though the silver drone’s landing spot was at least one kilometre away from the gate, the reporters could too feel the shocks and scalding heatwave the blast delivered.
Everyone froze.
That was not a drone! That was literally a middle-sized missile! Its explosive strength was comparable to that of America’s Tomahawk cruise missile!
“Was…” The blonde reporter paled. It took a while for her to gather enough words. “D...Director Xia, was that really a drone?”
Meanwhile, Xia Lei did not seem to have registered her query. He stared at the large crater formed in the middle of the field with furrowed brows. “Who chose that spot?”
Qin Xiang shrugged. “How would I know?”
“Get right to it, now! I need to find that idiot and cut his salary!” Xia Lei fumed. “That was a wheat field for crying out loud! It’s about to be harvested soon! The farmer had been working on it hard for half a year. He was so close to harvesting time and the explosion had wiped his efforts out! I need to deduct that idiot’s wage!”
“Hey, calm down. There’s no need to be so angry.” Qin Xiang quickly offered, “I’ll go check it out right away, okay?”
Xia Lei positively bristled at it. “Do it. You must find out who is responsible for this! The wheat farm is huge!”
Qin Xiang had nothing to say.
The reporters looked into each other’s eyes.
The sudden plummet of the Thunder Horse’s drone had produced a large crater in the middle of the field. Judging from its explosion force, it certainly did not pale in comparison to the Tomahawk cruise missile. Thunder Horse’s drone research was a failure and its first test flight was an absolute joke. But was that really the truth? It was quite evident that Xia Lei and Qin Xiang’s exchange was scripted. They were rookie actors. From the first word to its last, their conversation sounded forced and unnatural. It garnered more assumptions among the reporters.
“Director Xia, this research wasn’t aimed to produce drones, right?” questioned a domestic reporter. The man was overwhelmed with feelings, obviously excited.
Xia Lei replied, “What else would that be if not a drone?”
“A flying missile!” The same reporter supplied.
Xia Lei stared at him oddly. “Have you ever seen a missile that can’t fly? Or have you seen a walking missile I haven’t?”
“Director Xia, how did your drone trigger such a violent blast?” The blonde reporter tried to pry.
Xia Lei answered her. “I have no idea. There must be some issues somewhere. I’ll find out its cause and provide everyone with a satisfying answer.”
“Director Xia, your drone is obviously powered by lithium batteries. Without fuel, how was it able to set off such an explosion? It’s actually a new type of weapon, right?” A Japanese reporter attempted to probe.
Xia Lei merely answered, “Remember my friends, please do not make assumptions. This is just the first test flight and as you can see, it resulted in a failure. I’m actually quite ashamed about my earlier statement now. The drone just plummeted from the skies like that. Everyone witnessed it too. Thank goodness the fields were empty. If it fell in the middle of the city, airport or military checkpoints, things would’ve been worse.”
“Director Xia.” The Japanese reporter tried to probe once again. “What is the name of this drone?”
Xia Lei answered, “This is one question I can answer. Its name is Jing Ke.”
Jing Ke was the name of the Thunder Horse’s very first drone model.
“Jing Ke?” The blonde reporter was confused. “What a weird name? Does it have a meaning?”
The Japanese reporter’s expression went dark. “Jing Ke is the name of the most famous assassin in all of Chinese history. He had once assassinated the most famous emperor in China and took over the throne!”
At this point, this Japanese reporter had revealed himself. He was an intelligence officer from Japan and the man had done his research on Chinese history and culture.
Despite being fully aware of his identity, Xia Lei was not bothered at all.