Following the commentator's rhythm, the director immediately shifted the camera to each team.
"Team Nine Nian, 20 kilograms, decent. Team Golden Eagle, 35 kilograms, that's already the weight of last year's champions. It looks like they were well-prepared for this event."
"Next, Team Duan Kong, 40 kilograms! Wow! That's amazing, this already matches the weight of an average child. It seems they are determined to win this event!"
"Finally, let's turn our cameras to Team Black Wolf. I'd rather call them dark horses. This little-known team actually defeated the previous champions, Team Duan Kong, in the first round."
"Five kilograms, ten kilograms, fifteen, twenty..."
As the commentator quickly counted the weights attached to the drones below Team Black Wolf's heavy-lift drone, his expression became more exaggerated with each count.
"They've hung a staggering twenty-four weights, that's sixty kilograms, the weight of an adult! With such a heavy load, even if it can barely fly, it will severely impact its maneuverability."
It wasn't just the commentator who was shocked; everyone else was stunned by this incredible number.
Sixty kilograms, one hundred and twenty jin, this weight alone is beyond the reach of many drones, let alone the fact that during the official competition, it would have to navigate a rough course at high speed and overcome numerous obstacles arranged by the organizers.
In the stands, discussions erupted, buzzing incessantly.
"Are they crazy! What's the use of carrying more weight? Coming in last place means they're still at the bottom."
"Small teams are indeed small teams. They haven't even studied the rules properly. What a waste of such a good drone!"
"I bet, at most halfway, Team Black Wolf's drone will crash. If it can fly the entire course, I'll stream myself eating Old Ba's honey-glazed mini burger!"
Amidst the doubts, the second round of the seventh National Drone Championship officially began.
"Bang!"
With the starting gun, the pilots from thirty-six teams simultaneously pushed their joysticks. The drones lying on the ground rapidly ascended, carrying heavy loads, and sped forward!
After a brief acceleration, the drones from the thirty-six teams quickly divided into three tiers.
Team Duan Kong took the lead, followed closely by Team Golden Eagle, forming the first tier.
Team Nine Nian and over a dozen other teams followed, forming the second tier.
Team Black Wolf lagged behind, even slower than a few wobbling teams that had just managed to start.
"What a pity!" the commentator sighed. "Team Black Wolf was too greedy. Coming in last place only earns a coefficient of 0.5. Even if they finish the race, the coefficient multiplied by the load will only be sixty points at most."
"Forget Team Duan Kong; even if Team Nine Nian finishes in the top ten and gets a coefficient of 3 or more, their total score will easily exceed sixty, crushing Team Black Wolf."
"Wait a moment, the situation seems to have suddenly changed. Team Black Wolf's drone's speed is still increasing. They're starting to overtake. Team Qing Feng! Team Shan Ling! Team Chang Hong!"
"Team Black Wolf has overtaken seven teams at once, breaking out of the third tier and closely trailing the tail of the second tier."
"However, the straight track ends here, and Team Black Wolf is entering the curve, about to face the first obstacle corner..."
The director very cooperatively zoomed in, revealing an extremely sharp S-shaped curve.
The curve was incredibly narrow, with high walls on both sides. It was already very difficult to control a drone to fly through smoothly, let alone with the varying weights suspended below them.
In front of everyone, the drone from Team Hao Han, positioned in the second tier, due to a pilot's operating error, had its suspended weights brush against the side walls. A tremendous force was transmitted through the rope to the drone.
Team Hao Han's drone instantly lost balance, spun, and crashed to the ground, turning into a spectacular display of fireworks.
Witnessing this, the audience at the venue and in front of their screens began to discuss again.
"Now Team Black Wolf really has no hope! The greater the mass, the greater the inertia. With one hundred and twenty jin, under this inertia, it can only move at a snail's pace."
"You scared me! Now I can relax. I don't have to eat Old Ba's secret mini burger..."
The confidence everyone had gained from Team Black Wolf's continuous speed increase vanished in the face of this complex curve.
As the discussions continued, Team Black Wolf's drone drew closer to the curve. However, its speed did not decrease; instead, it increased.
The commentator, seeing this, couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. "Team Black Wolf's pilot is still accelerating. Have they realized they've lost hope of winning and decided to give up directly?"
Just as the drone was about to crash into the wall, Zheng Mao calmly pushed the left joystick down low, the engine roared, and the wings tilted. He actually used the heavy objects suspended below the drone as a counterweight, performing a drift with the drone.
Due to the immense pressure, the drone's fuselage was severely deformed, appearing on the verge of shattering.
Yet, strangely, although it looked like it would break at any moment, Team Black Wolf's drone not only passed the S-shaped curve at accelerated speed but also neither its body nor the suspended weights touched the surrounding walls.
After passing the curve, Team Black Wolf's drone shook violently for a moment, and its severely deformed fuselage returned to its original shape.
The commentator exclaimed, "This, this is shape memory alloy?"
"Not quite. Shape memory alloy doesn't recover this quickly." On the judges' stand, an old man gently shook his head, dismissing the speculation.
This old man was none other than Cang Wen Kang, the vice president of the Dragon Country Drone Research Institute.
At this moment, Zheng Mao had no mind to pay attention to the voices from outside.
Considering the reduced flight duration with the heavy load, the race track was very short, and the time left for him to catch up was extremely limited.
Without any hesitation or pause, Team Black Wolf's drone transformed into a streak of light, smoothly navigating through numerous obstacles and continuously overtaking the drones ahead.
Thirtieth, twentieth, tenth, seventh...
Unknowingly, Team Black Wolf had surpassed most of its opponents, with only Team Golden Eagle and Team Duan Kong ahead of it.
The track had now entered the final sprint stage, with no obstacles, only a hundred-meter straight section.
The pilot of Team Golden Eagle glared fiercely at Zheng Mao. "You have no hope! What does it matter if your cornering skills are good? Your speed is slower than mine. This is a straight now, you can't catch up to me!"
Zheng Mao ignored his taunts, directly overtook Team Golden Eagle, and focused his gaze on Team Duan Kong's drone. His right pinky finger was hooked onto a button on the back of the controller, ready to deal with Team Duan Kong's secret weapon at any moment.
Feeling Team Black Wolf's drone getting closer, the pilot of Team Duan Kong dared not hesitate any longer. He directly pressed the button, activating the secret weapon hidden in the tail of the drone.
"Boom!"
A stream of fire erupted from the tail of Team Duan Kong's drone, and its speed abruptly increased significantly.
"I've been waiting for you."
Zheng Mao, without any hesitation, pressed the switch, activating the secret weapon prepared for him by Jing Ming Qiu...