Armed Drone

The upgraded Brainwave Control Device was in a completely different league from the secondhand low-end model Han Yang was currently using.

The secondhand low-end model was already proving somewhat inadequate for Han Yang. With thirteen computers combined, the data flow had grown too large for it to handle properly. It overheated badly, making Han Yang's head feel as though it were trapped in a steamer all day.

Upgrading the Brainwave Control Device had been part of the plan from the start.

The new Brainwave Control Device had been manufactured using some Ita technology. Its performance was better, yet it was smaller. It was only a few square centimeters in size and made from flexible materials, allowing it to be attached directly to the back of the head. Of course, the hair in that area had to be shaved off first.

There was no need to worry about it looking ugly, either. The antenna of the new Brainwave Control Device had been disguised as hair. Once that patch of hair was shaved off and the device was attached, it blended in with the surrounding hair so seamlessly that no one would notice without looking closely.

Although even the new Brainwave Control Device could only communicate with electronic devices to a limited extent, making it impractical to directly control them, it possessed another advantage that Han Yang could not ignore—one he valued greatly.

It could connect directly to the cellular network.

This solved one of Han Yang's biggest pain points: being unable to leave home while operating the robots.

After switching to this new Brainwave Control Device, Han Yang could go anywhere with cell coverage. He could connect to the cellular network through the Brainwave Control Device, use it to access the network equipment at home, then connect to the robots and control them remotely.

The data observed by the robots could likewise be transmitted through the network to Han Yang's brain for processing and calculation.

As long as the signal latency was low enough, it would make little difference whether Han Yang was elsewhere or directly controlling things from home. This freed him from the house and vastly improved convenience.

Naturally, the new Brainwave Control Device was also extremely expensive, selling for as much as 160,000 yuan—far beyond what ordinary people could afford.

After buying the Brainwave Control Device, the drone, custom steel pipes, and various other items, then repaying Shen the Butcher the 20,000 yuan, Han Yang's savings of 300,000 yuan from the past month instantly shrank to 30,000. The pain made him grimace.

"This money really disappears fast."

Han Yang sighed. "I still need to find a way to move out sooner, get a place of my own sooner, and expand the scale sooner."

During the days he waited for the drone and Brainwave Control Device to arrive, Han Yang raised his guard again. Sometimes at night, he even hid just inside the courtyard wall and secretly watched the activity outside. Yet over those days, the person who had been watching him never seemed to appear.

A few days later, the items began arriving one after another. Han Yang immediately started assembling them.

Including its rotors and frame, the quadcopter drone was about a meter wide. Sitting on the ground, it looked enormous. At most, it could carry several dozen kilograms. Fully loaded, one charge allowed it to fly for around an hour. Without a load, flying for two hours was no problem.

It was controlled through a phone app together with a remote controller. Under good signal conditions, its maximum straight-line control range reached thirty kilometers. Even with poor signal and heavy interference, such as in the city, its straight-line control range was at least five kilometers.

Han Yang turned it upside down and took out the custom steel pipe—it looked like a gun barrel, but it was merely an ordinary steel pipe. Using several clamps, chains, and the like, he fastened it directly to the underside of the drone.

And so, a convincing Armed Drone was born.

After that, Han Yang began assembling another robot.

This robot required greater precision than the robots used to operate computers, making it more difficult to build. Fortunately, Han Yang had accumulated enough experience and knowledge during this time, so assembling it posed no real challenge.

It still consisted of two mechanical arms and a camera, except this one was meant to operate a phone and the drone's remote controller.

Once everything was assembled, Han Yang carefully shaved off a patch of hair at the back of his head while looking in the mirror, then attached the new Brainwave Control Device. After adjusting it until it was no longer noticeable, he finally left home.

"Aunt Wang, a large bowl of noodles! Add an extra serving of meat!"

"Take a seat, it'll be ready soon!"

Han Yang saw that middle-aged man again. Though down on his luck, he had always tried his best to maintain his appearance. However, he was not eating noodles here at the moment. Instead, he stood blankly on the street. Han Yang ignored him.

Multitasking, Han Yang ate his noodles while directly using his brain to command the new Brainwave Control Device to connect to the cellular network. After entering a series of parameters, he connected to the network equipment at home, then to the robots. In an instant, the images from all thirteen computers appeared in his mind.

With a thought from Han Yang, the immense computational power and fine processing ability of the computer CPUs combined with his brain immediately came into play. In a single instant, he calculated what to do next.

The signal was sent, and the thirteen robots immediately began moving. The images on the computers began changing as well.

Everything went smoothly. Everything operated exactly as he had anticipated. Han Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, it was time to try controlling the drone.

Han Yang carefully connected to the fourteenth robot, matched several parameters, and successfully established the connection. With one command, the robot immediately moved.

At that moment, Han Yang's phone had already been fitted into the drone's remote controller and fixed onto the tabletop. The robot had also been secured in front of the table.

At Han Yang's command, the robot immediately extended a mechanical arm and tapped the takeoff button. The next moment, the drone positioned in the center of the small courtyard, with no obstructions around it, spun all four rotors at once.

A powerful gust whipped dust and grit into the air. Amid the cloud of dust, the drone smoothly took off.

The footage captured by the drone's camera was transmitted to the phone, then passed through the robot's camera, the network equipment, the cellular network, and the Brainwave Control Device in a chain of conversions before reaching Han Yang's mind.

"The latency is around 80 milliseconds. Not low, but acceptable."

Han Yang relaxed slightly.

With another thought, a command was accurately transmitted from Han Yang's brain to the robot operating the drone's remote controller.

The robot's mechanical arm moved, carefully manipulating the drone's control stick. The drone immediately responded.

Maintaining an altitude of two or three meters, it flew nimbly around the cramped courtyard. It even flew directly through the open window of the side room and into the house.

After testing it for a long time and confirming that he had mastered all the parameters, Han Yang finally felt confident.