Chapter 79: The High-Performance Model Fighter Jet

Zhu Lan could have personally handled the matter at the naval base. Given his relationship with Luo Guoqiang, there was still room for negotiation. However, Zhu Lan chose not to go himself but instead entrusted the provincial government with the task. This was, in part, to avoid arousing suspicions from the military. The naval base was a place shrouded in secrecy, and had Zhu Lan raised the issue directly, it was inevitable some would become suspicious.

In recent years, the South Sea Fleet had acquired much new equipment. Not only domestically, but internationally, there were many eager to learn more about the fleet’s condition. Coupled with the recent incident of the American fleet approaching the coastline, the South Sea Fleet had become highly vigilant. If Zhu Lan brought up the matter at such a time, it could be construed as an attempt to probe military secrets. Considering this, Zhu Lan refrained from intervening directly and instead sent Lan Tianxin to negotiate with the provincial government, leaving them to present the issue.

"Welcome, welcome!" Zhu Lan stood at the entrance of Fantasy Technology as a convoy pulled up. Five young men stepped out of the vehicles.

"Young Master Zhu, I didn’t expect you to come in person. This is truly an honor!"

Zhu Lan smiled, saying nothing more than, "Please, come inside."

Inside Fantasy Technology, the five were visibly curious. The inner workings of Fantasy Technology had always been shrouded in mystery, with little known to the outside world.

From the very beginning, the Fantasy District was planned directly under Fantasy Technology. With military secrecy and strict security protocols in place, outsiders rarely set foot in Fantasy Technology’s facilities. Even with the construction of the new buildings, the work sites were cordoned off from the rest of the company, with large numbers of security personnel patrolling daily to prevent any breaches.

Even with binoculars, one could see little, as all the important operations took place indoors. There was nothing to observe from the outside.

The five were all renowned figures in China. Zhu Lan had expected it would take much longer to settle matters concerning the War Club, but in less than three days, the five approached him through Tang Xuejian.

Apart from the sixty billion yuan and technical support provided by Fantasy Technology, the remaining eighty billion was covered by the five themselves. Two took on fifteen billion each, while the remaining three covered forty billion, with each holding a proportional share.

A utility vehicle carried them deeper into the heart of Fantasy Technology.

The car stopped outside a row of warehouses—these were part of the original nine warehouses from the early days of Fantasy Technology, of which four had been demolished, leaving five standing.

The warehouse doors were no longer the old ones, but massive, resembling the double-sliding doors of an aircraft hangar.

Compared to their original state, the warehouses had been greatly expanded.

As the doors slowly opened, the scene within was revealed: six Panda fighter jets quietly resting inside.

"Gentlemen, here are the first units, ready for your inspection."

The five nodded and stepped forward.

One needed not be an expert to be amazed by what they saw. The entire aircraft was composed of meticulously crafted components, with authentic aerospace alloy shells. Though painted, their reflective sheen was striking.

The engines were not electrically powered but ran on fuel, identical to those of real aircraft.

"Incredible!" Huang Shang stared at the Panda in disbelief. If not for the smaller scale, he would have thought it a real fighter jet.

"Well? What do you think?"

"It’s absolutely authentic!" When someone nearby inquired, Huang Shang glanced over and nodded firmly.

As a scion of a military family, Huang Shang’s father was an Air Force division commander in the Northeast Military Region, and his grandfather was a founding lieutenant general. Having grown up surrounded by the Air Force, Huang Shang recognized just how faithful this Panda was to the real thing.

And it wasn’t only his military heritage; his grandmother was a member of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang financial consortium. Back in the day, his grandfather had been a major in the Air Force. During the civil war, he defected with several others and a few aircraft, forming the earliest nucleus of China’s Air Force. His name was inscribed on the Wall of Honor.

Leveraging these connections after the founding of the nation, the family helped import much Western air force equipment, and during the Panda acquisition plan, the Huang family played a crucial role. Regrettably, the deal never went through, and had it succeeded, China might have had its own carrier-based aircraft as early as the 1990s, rather than adapting the S-33 into the -15 later on.

Given this background, no one understood the Panda fighter better than Huang Shang. In his own home stood a perfectly scaled model of the F-14 Panda, a gift from the US Air Force.

"Would you like to try it?" Zhu Lan, well aware of these men’s backgrounds, wouldn’t have brought them here otherwise.

Huang Shang, a third-generation scion of the military compound, came from a family whose grandmother, mother, and several distant cousins were all key figures in China’s heavy industry. Within the Jiangsu-Zhejiang financial consortium, the Huang family ranked among the top ten.

Zhu Changzhen, the eldest son of Northern Manufacturing Group, had a mother who established a renowned logistics empire in North China, Russia, Korea, and Inner Mongolia—a household name in the region. His father was the chairman of Northern Manufacturing and a major general, while his grandfather had been a geologist for the Two Bombs, One Satellite project.

Gu Xiaobei, scion of Jiangnan Manufacturing, came from a family whose roots traced back to Ming dynasty shipping. With centuries of heritage, they had once been notorious pirates dominating the East China Sea. After the foreign invasions, they seized the opportunity to buy ships and run routes between China and the West, further expanding during the 1970s and becoming a vital part of China’s industrial development.

Ding Jiacheng, an elite of the highest order, was among the first to profit from the reform and opening-up. By the 1980s, he was a millionaire, and now his business empire spanned all industries, particularly excelling in metallurgy. During the Western Development campaign, the Ding family invested over sixty billion yuan, establishing numerous new energy research and development centers.

Shangguan Qiaoning came from a family of medical professionals, several of whom were among China’s most renowned physicians, dedicated to the health of the country's leaders. More importantly, their pharmaceutical enterprises accounted for twenty-five percent of China’s pharmaceutical production.

Each of the five possessed remarkable backgrounds. There were wealthier and more powerful families, but Tang Xuejian had excluded them. These five were well-regarded in Beijing’s circles and were known for their humility.

Seeing Huang Shang’s interest, Zhu Lan waved to someone nearby, and a truck emerged from another warehouse.

"Come, give it a try!" The truck’s side unfolded, revealing a long antenna. Zhu Lan opened the door, gesturing for the five to enter.

They stepped inside curiously. The truck’s interior was spacious, containing a special device.

"This is a remote control system, isn’t it?" Huang Shang instantly recognized it.

Zhu Lan nodded. "It’s a user-friendly system. I’m sure you’ve tried something similar before. Care to give it a go?"

Eyes lighting up, Huang Shang stepped forward to examine the console. "So advanced!" With a few expert touches, he could tell this system was on par with, if not superior to, those used by the military. A further test would confirm it.

"Open warehouse number four. Activate fighter number nine," Zhu Lan instructed Yu Dongming.

Yu Dongming nodded and relayed the command.

Soon, the remote system lit up, first displaying Fantasy Technology’s revolving solar system logo, followed by streams of code, and finally shifting to a first-person view.

"The fighter is activated. You may proceed."

Huang Shang sat down without hesitation.

He didn’t begin immediately, but first consulted the manual for guidance.

The other four stood silently behind, watching him operate.

Soon, Huang Shang had mastered the controls, tried a few maneuvers, and once confident, began guiding the Panda fighter out of the warehouse.

Through the external cameras, everyone saw the Panda slowly emerge from the warehouse and move onto the roadway.

Zhu Lan had reconstructed and extended the original road, making it over 4,600 meters long and wide enough for eight vehicles abreast—ample for even a real F-14 to take off and land, let alone a model.

The remote-control system, with its powerful smart assistance, allowed Huang Shang to easily guide the Panda to the center of the road.

The controls simulated those of an actual cockpit: monitors, joysticks, landing gear—everything was included. For those less skilled, intelligent assistance was available.

Helmet on, Huang Shang pushed the throttle forward, and the Panda began to accelerate down the runway.

At 2,600 meters, Huang Shang expertly pulled up, sending the Panda fighter into the sky.

The camera captured the Panda’s taxiing and takeoff in perfect detail.

"This remote control system allows flight within an eight-kilometer radius. The fuel on board provides up to an hour and a half of flight time, with a maximum speed of four hundred kilometers per hour," Zhu Lan explained as Huang Shang operated, detailing the capabilities of the Panda and its control system.

"So you mean, it could fly to any corner of the province?" Zhu Changzhen asked.

"Of course," Zhu Lan nodded. "But that would require integrating the remote system with satellites for signal transmission—something the military would never permit, even if I wanted to. Still, after the War Club is operational, we can enhance the signal towers to extend the range by another two kilometers."

Zhu Changzhen was stunned. This was already at the level of a military-grade drone—and these could even carry missiles.

As someone from Northern Manufacturing, Zhu Changzhen had seen military drones like the Wing Loong and the Rainbow, but compared to Zhu Lan’s model, aside from materials, aeronautics, and controls, his was nearly equivalent to the Air Force’s combat drones. How could he not be amazed?

Zhu Lan noticed Zhu Changzhen’s expression but said nothing.

"The Panda is carrying two low-yield missiles. You can try launching them at the marked target on the map," Zhu Lan said.

Huang Shang nodded, guiding the aircraft toward the target.

The target was not far, set on a barren hill west of Fantasy Technology, where several decoy targets stood clearly visible through the camera.

Huang Shang didn’t attack immediately; he made a pass, circled, then returned.

He unlocked the weapons, activated the targeting system, and locked onto a ground target.

Pressing the firing button, the camera showed two half-human-sized missiles trailing long flames as they streaked toward the targets.

Boom!

The aircraft’s camera captured the explosion as the missiles struck, the realism so intense that even Huang Shang, operating the controls, was momentarily stunned—it was as if a real fighter jet had just executed a live-fire strike. The planes, the missiles, the controls—all perfectly simulated. The impact on the five was immense.

(To be continued.)