Current mode: King] [Combined thrust: kilonewtons+, low-thrust data not provided in King mode] [Unit temperature] [Speed: Mach 16.8] [Assessment: All normal!]
"???"
Madness!
Nearly seventeen times the speed of sound!
The pilot had lost his mind.
The mech had gone berserk.
Every researcher had gone completely insane too!
They all clawed wildly at their hair, their eyes stretched wide and bloodshot.
The sound of countless worldviews collapsing filled the room.
Their values shattered all over the floor with a series of cracks.
Before anyone could catch their breath.
The mech had already burst through the clouds.
The azure sky gradually turned pitch-black.
A few breaths later, every point of reference had vanished from the screen.
There was no telling where this was.
Inside Crimson Sky No. 1's cockpit.
Xu Fan watched the view before him turn black.
He murmured, "Activate dynamic visual compensation."
The holographic helmet immediately allowed him to see the scenery in the darkness.
Beside him, Wang Yixue had gone completely numb.
Apart from terror, all she felt was shock at Xu Fan's piloting skills.
Taking off with a sonic boom was terrifying!
Even during that savage climb, he could still control the mech with minute precision.
That level of skill was a peak she could never scale.
Her horizons had been broadened.
What a crushing blow!
She had once thought she had a real talent for piloting mechs.
Now she felt she was nothing but a joke.
Compare people, and one deserved to die; compare goods, and one deserved to be thrown away.
Her confidence had taken ten thousand points of critical damage!
Xu Fan had no idea what Wang Yixue was thinking. He focused and shoved the right-hand control stick sharply sideways.
His left hand pulled back.
The mech executed a beautiful turn.
It hovered steadily in space.
The view brightened.
Quantum dynamic visual compensation automatically shut off.
An azure planet appeared before Xu Fan and Wang Yixue.
A veil of silver wrapped its blue-and-white surface.
The faint halo made the planet appear incomparably sacred.
Behind it stretched an endless expanse of stars.
Wang Yixue's tension rapidly faded, and tiny, sparkling stars gradually lit up her eyes.
No matter how many times she saw such magnificent scenery, she could never get enough.
The halo's light traced an exquisite outline around her profile.
Her soft, delicate skin resembled a freshly peeled boiled egg.
She was beautiful too.
Xu Fan was likewise admiring the beautiful sight before him.
The awe in his heart was beyond words.
The mech had cut its main engine output, leaving only the miniature vectoring nozzles across its body working.
They constantly adjusted the mech's posture.
Keeping Xu Fan and Wang Yixue facing the aqua-blue planet.
It drifted slowly under gravity in the silence of geosynchronous orbit.
The sight left the researchers staring blankly too.
After taking several breaths of oxygen.
Elder Wang finally recovered a little.
Looking at the magnificent scene on his phone, he asked,
"How long did the mech take to get from the ground into space?"
"Reporting, Elder Wang. Only twenty minutes have passed since the mech's rapid startup."
"What??"
Elder Wang's eyes flew wide.
He hurriedly checked his watch.
This was actually true?
It had really taken only twenty minutes to go from the ground to geosynchronous orbit!
Twenty minutes to burst free of Earth!
Heh.
Madness.
He couldn't think.
At that moment, his brain cells all fell in battle, wiped out to the last one!
If Newton knew these figures, would he throw open his coffin lid?
Einstein would probably fall silent at this sight too!
Elder Wang shook his head.
He tried to get his brain, now incapable of thought, working again as quickly as possible.
Elder Hua took another fast-acting heart relief pill too.
He had to admit, these things really worked.
When dealing with Xu Fan, he would have to carry at least ten pills from now on.
No, twenty!
Any fewer wouldn't be enough to save him!
After several minutes of deathly silence, Elder Wang finally struggled to speak.
He addressed Xu Fan on his phone,
"Xu Fan, how does it feel?"
"It feels... like it's still missing something. Probably because the laser weapons and Dragoon System haven't been installed. It's not complete enough!" Xu Fan said with a slight frown.
"This still isn't complete enough?"
Elder Wang froze for a moment. This is exhausting. Talking to Xu Fan could give me a heart attack.
I'd better just go along with him. Staying alive comes first!
"All right. Once you're back, make sure you finish refining this mech! Name your price. You'll have all the funding you need!"
"No problem. I love working!"
With another job secured, and all the money he needed to boot, Xu Fan couldn't have been happier.
I need to show off the mech's capabilities some more. Who knows, I might get something extra out of it!
With that thought, Xu Fan turned his gaze toward the distant moon.
People had been there before too.
And a moon-landing monument still stood there, along with Arms's footprints.
Why not stop by and have a look?
At that thought.
Xu Fan tilted his head slightly and said, "Hold on tight and sit properly!"
Wang Yixue's expression jolted. She guessed Xu Fan was about to pull another stunt.
She hurriedly grabbed the buckle in front of her with both hands.
Click!
Xu Fan yanked the control stick.
The hydrogen-powered engines erupted with a roar.
Four azure fire serpents spat blue exhaust plumes over eight meters long.
Densely packed Mach diamonds formed irregular patterns within the flames.
A powerful thrust drove the mech out of geosynchronous orbit and toward the crater-covered lunar surface.
Xu Fan glanced at the data panel in the lower-right corner.
Its speed was actually only Mach 20.
He couldn't help sighing.
Hydrogen-powered engines were certainly the most environmentally friendly and flexible to use.
But they were still slightly inferior to nuclear power.
Seeing that Xu Fan seemed preoccupied, Wang Yixue thought, Looks like even geniuses have their troubles.
At Zhonghai Military Research Base.
Elder Wang, Elder Hua, and the researchers.
They all looked in puzzlement at the direction the mech was flying.
Their eyes were full of curiosity.
Wasn't this kid supposed to be heading back?
"Xu Fan, where are you planning to go? Aren't you coming back?" Elder Wang couldn't help asking.
"I'm taking Yixue to have a look at the moon," Xu Fan said casually.
"All right, then come back ear... What? Where did you say? The moon??"
Elder Wang's body jerked, and even his beard bristled.
"No, absolutely not! It's too dangerous!"
"The conditions there are harsh. Something could go wrong far too easily. You're a precious asset to our country. We can't afford to lose you!"
"Besides, the moon is 380,000 kilometers from Earth. This is no laughing matter! How could you possibly get there without taking several days?"
"Even if you get there, will you have enough energy to return? These are all problems!"
Hearing this, Xu Fan immediately understood Elder Wang's concerns.
"Elder Wang, you don't need to worry. There's enough time, and enough energy too. I'll try to get back before lunch!"
Having said that, he worried Elder Wang wouldn't believe him.
He flipped open a red plastic cover on the manual control console in front of him.
A button appeared beneath it.
Xu Fan drew a deep breath.
He slapped the button with his palm.
A rapid series of alerts immediately sounded inside the mech.
[Activating afterburner mode] [Reserve power activated] [Optimal mech flight posture adjustment complete] [Energy intake bypass ratio reconfiguration complete] [Vectoring nozzle conversion device miniature connections complete] [Entering afterburner mode!]
The alerts ended.
The four vectoring nozzles on the mech's back rapidly transformed and lengthened.
The azure flames blasted out like savage beasts breaking free of their cages.
Unparalleled thrust bore down on the cockpit.
The sensation of blood being forcibly sucked out of his body struck straight at his brain.
Like a beam of red light, the mech drew a long, straight line through space as it hurtled toward the moon.