Surprise and Rewards

Rumble!

Outside, several officers waiting for Chen Yi with Qin Xiaoyu and Xia Keke suddenly seemed to hear something.

The dispatcher from that night looked up at the sky and pointed at a black dot rapidly growing larger.

"Chief, that's the drone from the boss of WingFly."

The precinct chief beside him also looked up. Once he made out the shape of the black dot, he asked curiously, "It doesn't look very big."

"WingFly's drones aren't very large, but their performance is extremely strong. I heard their engine thrust-to-weight ratio can easily exceed thirty. Less than a day after they went on sale, four thousand engines were sold, bringing in nearly a hundred million."

The officer who had done his homework explained, "Besides helping us catch the narcotics dealers that night, it previously livestreamed a space sprint. The drone kept climbing until it reached an altitude of 230,000 meters before running out of fuel. It's currently the highest-climbing drone in the world."

"Two hundred and thirty thousand meters—that's 230 kilometers up."

The chief sighed. "That's farther than going back to my hometown. Technology truly is the primary productive force."

Bang!

Bang!

While they were talking, Chen Yi also guided the drone down toward the secluded path behind them.

After slowing to below a hundred kilometers per hour upon landing, it made an agile drifting turn and shot into the warehouse behind WingFly.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone."

Two minutes after the drone landed, Chen Yi came down from the third floor, pressing down his hair, which had become a little wild from static electricity.

When he saw the two silver stars and silver tassels on the shoulders of the officer standing in the middle, Chen Yi's voice abruptly stopped.

No way. I only forgot to file a report for one test flight.

Was someone this important really going to come in person over that?

Chen Yi felt a little uneasy, but thanks to several years of entrepreneurial experience, his movements and reactions were not slow in the slightest. He walked over, politely greeted them, and invited them to sit.

"Welcome, leaders, to WingFly for an inspection."

"Xiaoyu, bring down the tea I bought last month. It's in the drawer on the second floor. Change the tea for our leaders."

"I'll go right away."

Qin Xiaoyu glanced at Chen Yi's wild hair, then got up and headed to the second floor.

Before long, Qin Xiaoyu came back down.

Besides the tea leaves, she was also holding a comb.

"Mr. Chen, there's no need to be nervous. Comb your hair first. We'll take a photo together later."

Seemingly noticing Chen Yi's unease, the chief revealed a friendly smile and gestured for him to tidy up his appearance first.

"Please excuse the sight."

Chen Yi smiled sheepishly, took the comb into the restroom, wetted his hair to press it down, rinsed his mouth several times with mouthwash, dried his hair, and came out after putting himself back in order.

"We came here this time to thank Mr. Chen for your courageous report in the Lufeng waters a few nights ago, as well as for assisting the police in apprehending criminals.

"We originally planned to come yesterday, but something delayed us.

"So we came early this morning to present Mr. Chen's commendation and reward money."

After the chief finished speaking.

The dispatcher beside him took out a prepared banner and check, while another officer readied a camera.

So that was what this was about.

Chen Yi breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

He had thought he had been caught red-handed because he forgot to report today's drone test flight.

He had not expected it to be this.

The police had mentioned over the phone after returning from arresting the narcotics dealers that they would come to present him with an award.

But over the past two days, he had interviewed managers, built a virtual consciousness machine, and then, after finishing it, returned to his senior year of high school to cram knowledge.

He had been so busy that he completely forgot, nearly causing an awkward misunderstanding.

"Reporting and fighting illegal crime is everyone's responsibility. It's what I should do as a citizen."

Once he understood why the officers had come, Chen Yi completely relaxed.

He accepted the banner representing honor and the reward check, spoke some uplifting words, and generously displayed them before the camera.

"Chief, you caught everyone behind that cargo ship, right?"

After taking several photographs and recording a video for later publicity, Chen Yi asked about the arrests from that night.

"With a million people watching the livestream, I wouldn't have had the face to come here if we hadn't caught them."

The chief answered calmly, "Armed police officers across the province were urgently mobilized. After eight hours of continuous operations, we swept them all up in one net. Not one escaped."

"Applause for you and your colleagues, Chief."

Chen Yi gave a thumbs-up and praised them sincerely.

That praise came from the bottom of Chen Yi's heart.

After all, that night, he had personally seen just how large the narcotics transaction had been.

Without exaggeration, that amount was enough to destroy tens of thousands of families.

That single deal involved such an enormous quantity. If the people behind it had truly escaped and returned to their old trade, even more people and more families would undoubtedly have suffered.

At the same time, from the perspective of Chen Yi's personal safety.

With everyone behind the cargo ship rounded up, he no longer needed to worry about retaliation afterward.

"For an operation like this to succeed, we still need the support of citizens like Mr. Chen."

The chief gave a flawless answer. After speaking, he shifted the subject. "Mr. Chen, do you remember saying that night that the reward would be a surprise?"

"Of course I remember."

Chen Yi raised the banner in his hand. "I'm already quite surprised now."

"..."

The chief had no idea whether Chen Yi meant it sarcastically or sincerely, so he could only pretend not to notice. "Besides this banner and the reward money, Penghai City has introduced favorable support policies for young entrepreneurs like Mr. Chen and emerging technology companies like WingFly.

"I came this time on behalf of the industry and commerce department to inform Mr. Chen that, when you have time, you can prepare the necessary documents and apply for the three exemptions and five half-rate preferential policy.

"In addition, the Penghai Police also need a batch of police drones to combat criminals.

"They need stronger endurance and ascent performance, a smaller size, and simpler operation.

"The speed does not need to be strong enough to sprint into space. Breaking the sound barrier will be sufficient.

"Since they will be used against criminals, it would be best to design one or two simple yet effective weapons.

"The preliminary value of this order will be no less than five hundred million. I believe WingFly should be interested in participating in the bidding."

After the chief finished speaking, Qin Xiaoyu, Xia Keke, and even the two officers who had come with him were all stunned.

There was no need to even mention the three exemptions and five half-rate policy.

As the name implied, it meant three years of tax exemption, followed by five years at half the tax rate.

For WingFly, which had just hired a professional manager and was preparing to expand aggressively, that alone would mean a huge additional profit over the next few years.

As for the second order worth no less than five hundred million, it was said that WingFly would be allowed to participate in the bidding.

But, bluntly speaking, the requirements above had been tailor-made specifically for WingFly.

Other than WingFly, no drone manufacturer could meet those performance requirements.

Put together, those two rewards could no longer be described merely as a surprise.