The days were uneventful, passing by one after another.
Fang Er’s life became a simple commute between home and the research institute.
Component after component was meticulously crafted, from the central axis and bearings to each silicon wafer, all passing through his hands.
The windings transitioned from copper wire to copper, aluminum, gold, and Taijin alloy.
This ensured excellent conductivity while also inheriting some of Taijin’s properties, allowing it to withstand the high temperatures generated during high-power operation.
For two full months, Fang Er and Li Tai were engrossed in the laboratory, their lives revolving around parts, punctuated only by the necessities of eating, drinking, and sleeping.
During the monthly system store refresh, Fang Er merely replaced the default items, accumulating all his refresh counts.
It wasn’t until two months later that a series of shouts echoed from Research Lab Number Three.
“I command!”
“Project Wheel Fire Wheel, first phase complete!”
“Plan One!”
“Plan Two!”
“Plan Three!”
“............”
“Begin simultaneous assembly. In three days, let us witness the fruits of these past two months’ labor!”
“Yes!”
Hundreds of researchers erupted in cheers simultaneously.
Two consecutive months of neglecting sleep and food had left everyone looking utterly exhausted.
Now, it was time to present their findings!
A large contingent of Luban and Mozi were surrounded by the team, meticulously performing the final assembly of the electric motors.
There were a total of ten plans, each embodying a different design philosophy.
Numerous disputes had arisen over these designs.
Each team had exerted their utmost effort, eager to outshine the others.
The assembly proceeded slowly, each step executed with extreme caution.
Every clink of metal parts sent a jolt of anxiety through everyone, fearing any scratch that might affect the motor’s performance.
Within the assembly site of the research lab, only the sound of steel cables sliding through hoists could be heard.
Stator core, stator windings, rotor shaft, bearings, rotor, machine base…
The entire electric motor had a diameter of three meters!
And this was even before the installation of the fan blades.
Two days later, ten electric motors were transported to the test site by Caterpillar 797s.
The moment everyone had been anticipating had arrived!
“Prepare to activate the Predator photon generator!”
“Preparing…”
“Ready!”
“Wind Fire Wheel Electric Motor, Plan One, prepare for testing, final checks!”
“Circuitry is good!”
“Data acquisition ready!”
“Real-time feed is transmitting…”
“Fan blades installed!”
“..........”
“All preparations complete!”
“I declare!”
“Wind Fire Wheel Electric Motor, Prototype One, test run, commencing ten-second countdown!”
Five kilometers away, Fang Er, seated in a helicopter, watched the live feed from the cabin and issued the final command via intercom.
“Ten!”
“Nine!”
“Eight!”
“.........”
“Activate the Predator photon generator!”
“Rumble…”
A familiar wave emanated from the test site.
All the visual feeds instantly dissolved into static.
This was due to the magnetic field fluctuations caused by the photon generator’s activation.
Three seconds later, the feed restored.
On the display, the eight fan blades of Prototype One were fully installed. Each blade measured seventeen meters long, and the rotor diameter was a staggering 34.5 meters!
The fan blades were even longer than those of the Russian Mi-26 heavy-lift helicopter!
Hum… hum… hum…
Through his headphones, the sound of the fan blades churning the air reached him.
“Report real-time lift data!”
“Yes!”
“Five tons!”
“Ten tons!”
“Thirty tons!”
“…”
As the fan blades spun faster and faster, the numbers fed back by the sensors beneath the motor’s base grew increasingly larger.
“One thousand RPM!”
“Three thousand RPM!”
“Eight thousand RPM!”
“…”
“Bad! Execute emergency protocol!”
Suddenly, Li Tai’s panicked shout came through the intercom.
Everyone at the test site immediately scrambled with all haste into the underground fortifications.
Fang Er’s heart leaped into his throat.
The fan blades on the electric motor had begun to deform slightly!
Amidst the humming sound of rotation, a discordant noise, like twisting metal, started to emerge.
“Screeeech…”
“CRASH!”
In mere moments, a fan blade snapped off, its broken section spiraling outwards like a missile!
“CRASH, CRASH, CRASH…”
The detached blade sliced through the dense forest surrounding the test site, felling trees as if struck by an emperor’s axe, each massive trunk, requiring two men to embrace, being severed at its base, followed by the next, and the next…
When tranquility finally returned, everyone converged on the test site.
The photon generator had been shut down, and the electric motor had ceased its rotation.
Scattered across the ground around the test site were fragments of the carbon fiber composite paneling from the fan blades’ outer layer.
The dense forest where the blades had landed was left in utter disarray.
“Any casualties?”
Fang Er disembarked from the helicopter and asked Li Tai.
“Fortunately, we evacuated in time.”
Li Tai’s face was pale with lingering fear. It was fortunate they had prepared underground shelters; otherwise, if that thing had struck anyone, not even a speck of dust would have remained!
That single fan blade weighed nearly a ton!
“Here, this is the data from before the blade fracture!”
Motorola emerged from a bunker, handing a printed document to Fang Er.
Rotational Speed: 42,000 RPM.
Lift: 300 tons.
Power Consumption: 2600 kW.
Seeing this data, Fang Er couldn’t help but frown. It was far from what he had envisioned.
“Continue experimenting with the remaining nine units!”
“Bring Prototype One back to the institute and find the problem!”
“Yes!”
Li Tai waved his hand, and his subordinates moved to carry out the orders.
The ten electric motors were tested sequentially over two days.
Even the motor that achieved the highest lift failed to meet Fang Er’s expectations.
Wind Fire Wheel Prototype Six.
Maximum Rotational Speed: 24,000 RPM.
Maximum Lift: 960 tons.
Power Consumption: 8000 kW.
Rotor Diameter: 40 meters.
Fan Blades: 8.
Self-weight: 137 tons.
Sketching the outline of the Starship on paper and calculating its dimensions, he frowned.
Even if they added two rings of electric motors on the outside for propulsion, it wouldn’t be enough to make that 45,000-ton behemoth fly!
Troubled…
Suddenly, a streak of light shot from his brow, and the System Sister, clad in black silk, appeared before him.
She strode to his desk in her high heels, her slender waist swaying, and casually sat down on the edge.
[Little rogue, are you foolish?]
[If the ship can’t fly, why not just build a new platform?]
Fang Er: ???
Holy cow!
That makes so much sense!
I could just make a steel plate fly, couldn’t I?
Why bother with a ship!