Seeing Chen Yuanshan enter, Zheng Mao's face lit up with joy, and he eagerly stepped forward.
"Coach, you're finally back! Is the Black Wolf repaired?"
Chen Yuanshan shook his head with a wry smile. "No! Zheng Mao, you'll have to use the backup unit for this competition."
"But," Zheng Mao's expression turned grim upon hearing this, "Coach, the room where the backup units were stored accidentally caught fire. All our backup units are scrapped."
Chen Yuanshan couldn't believe his ears, his eyes widening in anger. "Caught fire? How is that possible? Was it intentional sabotage!"
"Old Chen," Sun Yi shook his head vigorously, suppressing the speculation that had just surfaced, and grabbed the enraged Chen Yuanshan. "Now is not the time to discuss this. Today's competition is a relay race, with teams of four, taking turns. We need at least four drones."
"However, with the Black Wolf damaged and the backup units scrapped, our team only has three drones that can be used normally. We can't complete the race at all!"
"Moreover," Zheng Mao added with a bitter face, "Registration has already closed. Even if I could get a new drone, there's no way to use it in the competition! The race hasn't even started, and it's already over."
Sun Yi patted Zheng Mao on the shoulder, forcing a smile. "I'm very happy to have worked with you all. After the team disbands, I hope..."
The atmosphere grew increasingly somber, and some of the more sensitive female team members had already begun to secretly shed tears.
Chen Yuanshan couldn't accept this outcome. Jing Mingqiu's confident image flashed in his mind, and he suddenly stood up. "No! It's not over yet..."
As he spoke, he took the Black Wolf, modified by Jing Mingqiu, out of his bag and held it high.
Seeing the drone in Chen Yuanshan's hand, Zheng Mao's eyes instantly lit up. "Coach, didn't you say the Black Wolf wasn't repaired?"
"To be honest, I don't know if it's repaired or not."
Chen Yuanshan recalled the more than ten chips scattered on the table, his heart tightening. A family workshop producing 2-nanometer chips, something even national laboratories couldn't achieve, seemed utterly unreliable.
However, he quickly collected his thoughts, his expression firm, and stared intently at Zheng Mao.
"But even if the Black Wolf disintegrates in mid-air and fails to complete the race, it's better than giving up directly. This is likely our last battle. We have to lose beautifully!"
Hearing this, and seeing Chen Yuanshan's resolute stance, everyone's fighting spirit was rekindled. The track analyst walked up to the contestants and began explaining the points to pay attention to in this competition.
Team engineer Li Yong took the Black Wolf drone from Chen Yuanshan and began pre-race adjustments, ensuring sufficient power and normal operation of all equipment.
Li Yong removed the drone's outer shell and, looking at the obvious welding marks on the frame and the differently colored chips on the central motherboard, he sighed inwardly but said nothing.
Ten minutes later, the competition officially began. Zheng Mao took the Black Wolf drone from Li Yong, and with the other three team members, strode confidently to the starting line, ready to face their final battle.
Zheng Mao looked at the complex track ahead, contemplating his operating strategy. The small-statured Ma Ziming quietly approached and pressed his professional L2 model competition drone into his arms.
"Brother Mao, from what the coach said, the Black Wolf isn't fully repaired. You're the strongest in our team. I'll fly the Black Wolf, and you use my drone..."
"No, no, no," Zheng Mao interrupted Ma Ziming directly. "Precisely because I am the strongest, this Black Wolf must be flown by me. If anything happens to the Black Wolf, I can still try to salvage it."
Ma Ziming tried to persuade him further but was directly waved away by Zheng Mao.
"Ma Ziming, don't just stand here foolishly. You take the first leg, and I'll handle the last. You guys fly first, I'll cover the rear!"
Seeing Zheng Mao's firm attitude, Ma Ziming had no choice but to give up. According to the pre-arranged tactics, he returned to his position, put on his FPV goggles, and waited for the referee's command.
"On your marks, three, two, one, lift off!"
"Bang!"
The moment the starting gun fired, eight drones shot out like arrows from a bow. Ma Ziming's eyes widened as he exerted all his effort to control his drone.
However, because the L2 model professional competition drone was one generation behind the current mainstream competition drones, no matter how hard he tried, he was left further and further behind the main group, quickly becoming last.
First leg, second leg, third leg!
By the time Zheng Mao took over the baton with the Black Wolf, he was already half a track behind the leader.
In the lounge, Chen Yuanshan and the other team members watched the live broadcast on the big screen. Although they had seen this result before, seeing it again still weighed heavily on their hearts.
In drone racing, the pilot's skill was important, but the drone's quality was even more so. In international competitions, due to the blockade of top chips by foreign countries, Dragon Country contestants were prohibited from purchasing them.
No matter how much they honed their skills, Dragon Country pilots were powerless against the absolute hardware disparity.
It wasn't just the Black Wolf team; the race commentators also noticed this. They directed the cameraman to focus on the Black Wolf drone controlled by Zheng Mao.
"Dear viewers, as the race progresses, the situation has become relatively stable. The Air Break team is far ahead, followed closely by the March team and the Azure team, with little gap. The other few teams are in the second tier, with not much difference, and still have a chance to catch up."
"However, the Black Wolf team, in the third tier, is in a very dangerous situation. They have been far surpassed by the main group. Unless something unexpected happens, they are likely to be at the bottom again!"
Unlike the commentators who were pouring cold water, the immense gap on the track ignited Zheng Mao's fighting spirit.
After securely attaching the baton beneath the Black Wolf with the special grappling hook, Zheng Mao pushed the joystick all the way forward. The Black Wolf roared and charged forward.
One hundred yards, one hundred fifty yards, one hundred eighty yards!
The Black Wolf's speed was quickly pushed to its limit, like a giant wolf, roaring as it charged forward.
The short straight track flashed by in an instant, and a continuous S-shaped curve blocked Zheng Mao's path.
He knew very well that if he slowed down to take the curve, as he usually did, he would never catch up to the other teams' drones.
"Since that's the case, I can only go all out!"
Zheng Mao kept the left joystick pressed to the maximum for acceleration, while his right hand continuously fine-tuned the angle of the rotors. He was preparing to maintain maximum speed while navigating the double S-curve, which all other pilots had to slow down for!
Of course, the risk he was taking was immense. Such rapid directional changes at high speeds would put extreme pressure on the fuselage. A single mistake could lead to a loss of control, a crash into an obstacle, and a spectacular explosion.