Under the gaze of many.
Zhang Weimin walked to the front of the mecha and stood before its optical sensors.
"Mecha, activate!"
Following Zhang Weimin's command.
The brand new Phantom mecha's eyes emitted dark green laser slices, scanning from Zhang Weimin's head!
"Voiceprint match, confirmed… Iris scan, confirmed… Telemetry gene key, confirmed… Welcome to the Phantom powered mecha, produced by Huarong Industries… Huarong products, always top quality!"
After all comparisons were completed and Zhang Weimin's identity was confirmed.
The front hatch of the brand new Phantom powered mecha automatically opened, revealing the human-adaptive control cabin!
Huh?
That's all it takes?
I can just climb in and pilot it?
Zhang Weimin hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth. With his back against the mecha, he squeezed his entire body inside.
Under countless envious gazes.
The Phantom powered mecha's adaptive interior cabin began to search, until it perfectly adhered to every inch of Zhang Weimin's skin without constricting his blood vessels.
"Pilot, adaptive close-fit complete…"
"If you experience any discomfort, manual adjustments can be made…"
Holy cow.
This powered mecha.
Actually considers the comfort of the pilot.
Zhang Weimin shifted his body.
He felt no pressure… In fact, the adaptive control cabin, tightly fitted against his body, seemed to be releasing micro-currents and other components.
This made Zhang Weimin feel very comfortable.
It was like bathing in a mineral-rich hot spring.
"No problem… Close the hatch… Prepare for piloting!"
As the powered mecha's hatch closed.
Zhang Weimin's vision was plunged into a brief darkness.
Then, his eyes suddenly opened up.
The surrounding environment was captured by light sensors embedded beneath the mecha's outer shell and transmitted to Zhang Weimin's eyes without distortion.
White dashed boxes appeared around the surrounding crowd, stone pillars, and umbrellas.
This must be the effect of the Phantom combat mecha's highlight prompt module.
Zhang Weimin piloted the powered mecha and walked towards the shallow sea.
Through the shallow water, he could clearly distinguish the intervals between the seawater, the fish, and the coral plants.
Looking into the deep sea.
Several sharks, marked in bright red, were hunting!
A few highly toxic sea nettle jellyfish were opening and closing their caps as if they were harmless!!
Several nearly imperceptible deep-sea currents were mercilessly swallowing and pulling any creatures passing above them to the seabed!!!
Holy cow.
This mecha is too damn awesome!
It can even identify and highlight dangers in nature immediately!
…
"Look at your dad, he's having so much fun!"
"But this powered mecha does seem quite impressive!"
"Your dad is piloting the mecha with no apparent lag, able to control it as if it were an extension of his own arm!"
"…"
Just as Zhang Xijin's mother and daughter were commenting on their father (husband) who seemed to have acquired a new favorite toy,
A deafening boom was heard, almost piercing their eardrums!
Zhang Weimin, in "Professional" mode, had activated the mecha's flight mode.
With all twelve main and auxiliary turbojet engines at full power.
The Phantom powered mecha, like a sword piercing the sky, vanished from the ground instantly.
"Such a strong sonic boom, the mecha's flight speed must be supersonic…"
"No need to doubt it, it has indeed broken the sound barrier. Look, there's a trumpet-shaped sonic boom cloud forming near the mecha's hull…"
"My god, that's so cool, surrounded by the trumpet-shaped sonic boom clouds, this mecha looks like a war god clad in heavenly mist from a mythological movie…"
Just as Zhang Xijin's mother and daughter stared in astonishment at the Phantom powered mecha disappearing into the sky, the phone rang.
It was Zhang Weimin.
Zhang Xijin's mother answered the phone.
"I say, old Zhang, how old are you, acting like a child…"
"Play around enough, come down quickly…"
"Huarong Industries' positioning for this powered mecha is a wearable exoskeleton armor for high-net-worth individuals, not the fighter jets you usually fly…"
Facing his wife's concern.
Zhang Weimin, whose voice was clearly brimming with excitement, seemed unconcerned.
"It's okay, it's okay, it's very safe."
"This mecha performs better than any fighter jet I've ever flown."
"To be frank, and you might not believe it, I feel like the J-20 would be thoroughly outmatched by this mecha in every parameter!"
In Great Xia, the J-20, like the US F-35 and F-22, is considered a top-tier fifth-generation fighter jet.
Before his wife could speak, Zhang Weimin continued.
"You and our daughter continue to play here, I'm going to fly this thing back to the J Province Military Region Air Force Base…"
"I was already shocked by the pictures and videos, but only by piloting it myself can you understand what it means to have your perceptions shattered…"
What the heck?
Their husband (father) was going to fly this Phantom powered mecha, which was positioned as a giant toy, back to the J Province Military Region Air Force Base?
He wasn't kidding, was he?
This was Qiongzhou Island, with a straight-line distance of 1800 kilometers to the suburbs of JN City, where the J Province Military Region was located!
"Old Zhang, stop joking…"
"Come down quickly, it's too dangerous…"
"This is 1800 kilometers in a straight line from the JN City Air Force Base…"
"That's already beyond the combat radius of many military fighter jets…"
"What you're piloting now is just a large charged toy, don't get carried away…"
Zhang Weimin's wife was genuinely anxious.
Ignoring the scorching sun, she strode purposefully towards the dispersing crowd of onlookers.
She tilted her head up.
And looked towards the sky.
Under the dazzling sunlight, she tried to find where her husband was piloting the mecha, hidden behind which cloud.
"Don't worry, I've checked the mecha's control panel…"
"This powered mecha is incredibly amazing…"
"It uses a high-energy composite graphite silicon-lithium battery. This battery technology is still in the laboratory theoretical stage, yet Huarong Industries, a private enterprise, has managed to develop and manufacture it…"
"The high capacity energy storage of the high-energy composite graphite silicon-lithium battery can provide the mecha with 37 hours of ground endurance at 150 km/h… or about 3 hours of flight time at Mach 2…"
The aerial flight speed of this mecha can reach Mach 2… which is twice the speed of sound… 2145 kilometers per hour!
This is simply outrageous.
As the spouse of a senior air force officer.
Even if Zhang Weimin's wife didn't understand military equipment or have military knowledge, through Zhang Weimin's exposure, she would know that the J-20's theoretical maximum speed is Mach 2.5, while the US F-22 fighter jet's speed is Mach 2.25!
This powered mecha, which completely disregarded aerodynamic design and had astonishingly high air resistance, could reach Mach 2?
This speed was already very close to that of the J-20 and F-35, such top-tier fifth-generation fighters.
Furthermore.
More importantly.
This Phantom powered mecha used electric power.
If the power source were changed to high-energy aviation fuel, or even a miniaturized nuclear fission reactor still in the experimental stage.
Its flight speed would increase to a terrifying level, capable of crushing the J-20 and F-35.
A question nagged at Zhang Xijin's mother's mind.
Is this, really just a powered mecha produced by a private company, developed and designed for high-net-worth, high-income individuals?