Upon learning of the Commander's impending visit, the troops were meticulously prepared. They formed a neat formation at the main gate, their uniforms pristine, their leather boots gleaming so brightly that a fly would slip.
Many were new recruits, having never seen the Grand Marshal in person, their faces flushed with excitement.
When Jiang Ye's red flying car landed, the only ones whose breaths hitched were the new recruits. The veteran soldiers were far more composed, but their eyes began to gleam.
That was the Grand Marshal, the supreme commander! As long as he took a liking to someone, a single word could see them promoted three ranks, moving directly from the common soldier's barracks to the Brigade Commander's office!
There was a soldier who had trespassed into the Grand Marshal's office one night. No one knew what was said, but that soldier was now a Squadron Leader, reportedly about to be promoted to Brigade Commander, a feat that became a legend throughout the army. Such a rapid ascent was more than just soaring to the heavens; it was a rocket launch!
After Jiang Ye alighted, he conducted a satisfied inspection, offering verbal commendations before departing to tour the bomber base with accompanying officers.
The soldiers dispersed, revealing knowing smiles. The fantasy of being personally noticed by the commander had fallen through. It made sense, really; standing there like statues, how could anyone be directly picked and promoted? This wasn't like finding a partner based on looks.
The first stop was the bomber factory.
The factory's exterior was unremarkable, only two stories high, and its footprint wasn't particularly vast.
But upon entering, the space expanded dramatically!
The underground section plunged over forty meters deep, filled with an immense array of machinery and processing lines. Spherical assembly robots darted about, carrying parts in their grippers, appearing like countless scattered billiard balls. The clanging of metal and the whine of cutting tools created a deafening cacophony.
The daily electricity consumption of this single factory was enough to power the entire coastal city for a week.
Jiang Ye spent a few minutes in the manufacturing workshop before heading to the hangar.
The massive roller door slowly retracted upwards, revealing a spacious hangar bathed in white light. The colossal aircraft, at least thirty meters wide, was draped in a black cloth, lending it an air of mystery.
Jiang Ye clapped his hands, "Uncover it!"
A technician climbed the ladder beside the aircraft and gently pulled off the black cloth. The entire sheet slid smoothly along the fuselage, as if silk brushing against a smooth thigh, with seemingly no friction.
Applause erupted immediately. Jiang Ye and the accompanying officers couldn't help but clap.
Beautiful, so beautiful!
The entire bomber was flattened and rounded, slightly wider at the tail and thicker at the belly. Its surface was devoid of any sharp edges, as smooth as a giant pebble, smoothed by millennia of ocean currents.
The fuselage was painted a dark gray with a hint of blue, exuding great aesthetic appeal. This coating offered exceptional stealth capabilities, with a radar cross-section of only half a square centimeter, less than that of a sparrow. On radar displays, it appeared as a tiny speck of noise, easily overlooked.
Jiang Ye walked behind the aircraft to examine the engine nozzles. There were four in total, inconspicuous small openings, just large enough to fit a car tire.
It appeared this model was a quad-engine aircraft, making it unlikely to crash due to engine failure, as the simultaneous malfunction of four engines was highly improbable.
Jiang Ye reached out, intending to touch the fuselage.
"Commander, be careful!" a nearby officer exclaimed. "Touching the surface might damage the stealth coating. When it was being constructed, anti-friction paper was placed on the fuselage."
Jiang Ye paused slightly, surprised that something so high-tech was so delicate that even a touch was forbidden.
"The stealth performance is currently of little use; on this planet, besides us, there are no other air defense capabilities," another officer remarked. "This is the Commander's aircraft. If the Commander wishes to touch it, he may. He could even write poetry or paint on it."
Jiang Ye chuckled and gently ran his hand over it.
The fuselage looked smooth but felt surprisingly rough, so rough that pressing hard could prick one's hand.
"It's rougher than sandpaper," Jiang Ye exclaimed in surprise. "How can this be?"
"The fuselage surface is composed of numerous extremely fine protrusions. The shape of these protrusions resembles hollowed-out shark denticles. This kind of surface can reduce drag in most situations and enhance stealth performance," Liu Jizi stated fluently.
She had stayed up all night, studying bomber factory data for over three hours, specifically to be able to answer the Commander's questions on the spot. This was the self-cultivation of a secretary.
Jiang Ye gave her a satisfied look. This secretary was becoming increasingly reliable. He would have to promote her and give her a raise upon their return.
Next, they proceeded to inspect the bomber's bomb bay and crew compartment.
The bomb bay's capacity was astonishing; it could fit a sliced elephant. The crew compartment, however, was minuscule. Jiang Ye sat inside to test it; his entire body had to be curled up, and he would need a catheter in case of an urgent need to urinate mid-flight. The aircraft lacked a dedicated toilet, as this was primarily an unmanned combat bomber, with its manned capabilities reduced to almost nothing.
"If I were sitting inside and needed to urinate after takeoff, where would the urine go?" Jiang Ye inquired.
"It would be expelled directly from the tail, and instantly vaporized by the engine's heat," Liu Jizi replied with the confidence of a model student being questioned by a teacher.
"And if I needed to defecate mid-flight, what should I do?" Jiang Ye looked at the seat. "There's no toilet seat here either."
Liu Jizi froze, then quietly said, "If you needed to defecate... you might soil yourself... and have to return for a shower..."
"That's excellent! From now on, any soldier who makes a mistake won't need solitary confinement. Just lock them in here and send them for a flight. Before takeoff, they must drink a liter of cold water and eat a kilogram of soybeans," Jiang Ye said, his mind brimming with mischief. "If the flight mission is long, they'd probably turn into a patty."
The officers struggled to suppress their laughter, and moments later, they all burst out.
After the aircraft tour, Jiang Ye was very satisfied. This thing was large and advanced, finally resembling a weapon of the future.
Although Li Nannan would undoubtedly still call it a "trash aircraft," Jiang Ye was content.
Leaving the bomber manufacturing plant, they proceeded to the unmanned bomber automatic resupply base.
The base had no above-ground structures, only a wide runway.
At the end of the runway was a circular black lift platform, marked with the silhouette of a bomber in white lines.
Jiang Ye and the accompanying officers stepped onto it, and the lift platform automatically descended, sinking underground.
A cool breeze swept through, and the resupply base interior was as cold as early winter. Jiang Ye felt as though he were standing on ice.
Most of the resupply production lines could not withstand high temperatures, and many ultra-low-temperature parts boxes emitted cold mist. Coupled with its underground location, the entire resupply base felt like an ice cellar.
Upon reaching the lowest level, Jiang Ye headed straight for the control room.
The control room was dominated by large screens, supporting both touch and voice operation, and connected to satellite signals and ground communication stations.
Jiang Ye tapped the screen, selecting "Bomber Ready."
The real-time image of the hangar appeared. In the brightly lit hangar, the previously silent bomber suddenly came to life, rapidly taxiing out of the hangar and heading directly for the resupply base's tarmac.
There was even live audio. Despite its immense size, the aircraft moved with astonishingly little sound, only the low rumble of its wheels, comparable in decibels to a supermarket shopping cart, truly a phantom.
The bomber's various data points popped up; everything was nominal. Energy: 99%. However, it was not armed.
Jiang Ye lightly tapped the screen, selecting "Weapon Replenishment" and then "Replenish All."