Chapter 1
Interface
“I’m not angry; I’m not angry!”
Tang Rui looked at half-formed airplane model parts in the 3D printer and took a deep breath.
He shouldn’t get angry.
Was material blockage and breakage a problem with the 3D printer?
No, it wasn’t.
He was the problem.
It was because he did not have the means to buy a more advanced laser 3D printer.
Wasn’t it normal for the material to be blocked and cut off when using these hot-melt printers?
He wasn’t angry.
Tang Rui closed the program, cut off the power, and skillfully cleaned up the trash.
This set of movements was so practiced that only one knew how often he must’ve failed.
Less than five minutes later, after cleaning up the trash and refilling the filament, he started the printing program again.
There were no problems this time.
The front landing gear part of the aircraft model was quickly printed out, and after buffing out some rough edges, it was ready for service.
Tang Rui collected the parts, returned to the workbench, and began to put the model together.
“The last component has been printed. Although there was a small problem previously, it didn’t affect…”
While assembling the aircraft model, he talked to the camera and occasionally explained.
This was basically his daily routine.
As the owner of the online shop for aircraft models and the admin of the small broken website, his daily job was to receive orders from the online shop, then assemble the machines on the spot before finally uploading the video onto the site.
By selling airplane models and posting videos, he could make some money.
He even sold models to his fans.
Most of the orders in his online store came from this.
Of course.
That wasn’t to say that he made a lot.
An airplane model went for 320 yuan, but the cost was already 260 yuan. Thus, all he could earn was money from his craftsmanship.
On the other hand, Xiao Po Station had earned a lot, though it wasn’t some crazy amount.
As the UP Master of the artisan section, he had more than 10,000 fans. Unfortunately, that wasn’t nearly enough to make good money.
However, he was not in a hurry.
After all, he had just graduated, and this account had been in operation for less than four months. He could just have a promising future.
“Alright, the model’s assembled. Next, we’ll test it.”
Tang Rui turned off the camera on his mobile phone and left home with the aircraft model.
Few would observe the process of building an aircraft model, but the same couldn’t be said about fans of aeromodelling shows. His fans, however, had a strange affinity for watching those planes explode.
This was rather abnormal.
However, in order to increase his fans, he had to give up on his high-end aircraft model operation skills and do some work from time to time.
Who cared if they called him a drifter?
So what if he failed all the time?
It was still an honest wage.
And that wasn’t too shabby.
He brought his equipment to the square in the park behind the residential area.
There was basically no one in the square during the day.
Come nightfall, though…
The elderly folks began to appear to dance in the square. Even children wouldn’t find a place if they wanted to ride on the roller coaster.
Tang Rui put the phone on the stand and took out his six-channel radio controller.
The controller came separately from the aircraft, of course, or it wouldn’t sell for a mere 320 yuan.
He turned on his phone’s camera and turned on the motors.
“Everyone, listen to the sound of this 70mm 12-blade ducted fan. It’s absolutely powerful.”
Tang Rui bragged while he toggled with the control surfaces of the plane.
After ensuring that there were no problems, he directly increased the throttle, and the aircraft began to thrust ahead.
After a short 3-meter roll, the nose of the plane flared up, and the aircraft shot straight into the sky under the thrust of the powerful engine.
“Today’s agenda will begin. According to the usual routine, we will perform a roll, then a side drop, and an inverted flight. Finally, we will perform a low-altitude pass.
“After these maneuvers, and there are no problems with the model, it should be a tailwind all the way!”
Under Tang Rui’s control, the plane pulled a few standard maneuvers.
As a veteran R/C pilot of over three years, it was not difficult for him to fly such a model.
A truly awesome model, however, could display a vortex as it passed by. Now that was true speed.
His model, however, could only be considered a toy.
However, there was nothing he could do. After all, toys made money.
Everyone could afford this model, that cost merely two to three hundred yuan. Even if it crashed, it would not hurt.
If it were a gas-turbine-powered aircraft, however, the engine alone could cost at least ten thousand yuan.
As for the better ones, there was simply no limit.
There were those that cost 100,000. Even a 200,000 yuan R/C jet was not unheard of.
The complicated avionics and flight controls notwithstanding, one stood to lose thousands of yuan if he didn’t operate it well.
If it wasn’t for the fact that they had a mine at home, who could afford to play with it?
That was why no one had asked him to order a gas turbine model even after he had opened the online store for four months.
This left him with no room to display what he had learned.
“The flight test is successful. As everyone can see, it flies great, and the operation is as smooth as silk… Ahh…”
Tang Rui, who was currently bragging, suddenly felt his vision turn black, and he sat down on the ground.
He only recovered after a good while.
Fortunately, he had already landed the plane. Otherwise, he would’ve lost another one.
“Is he anemic? Or was it because he suddenly stood up after squatting for too long? Constricted blood flow?”
After Tang Rui recovered, he frowned and muttered something.
He was only in his twenties, and was in completely good health. Logically speaking, he shouldn’t have such a problem.
Could it have been all those late nights he’d been pulling lately?
That shouldn’t be the case.
When he was writing his graduation thesis, staying up late was an understatement.
Could it be that he really wanted to soak wolfberries in a thermos cup?
That would be too embarrassing.
He stood up and moved around a little, but he felt that there was nothing wrong with his body.
Tang Rui threw the issue of health care to the back of his mind.
After re-recording the ending video, he prepared to pack his things and go home.
Next, he had to disassemble the aircraft model, mail it to the buyer, and edit the video to upload.
Time was of the essence.
“F*ck!”
Just as Tang Rui put away the phone stand and was about to pick up the model and go home, he suddenly discovered that a virtual panel had appeared on the airplane.
[Item: Fixed Wing Model Airplane]
[EXP: 35, 100]
[Origin Point: 0.1]
What was going on?
The cheat was transferred to his account?
But what was with this cheat?
Tang Rui’s mind was full of question marks.
After calming down, he realized that there was no other item other than the airplane model.
This made him wonder if there was something wrong with this airplane.
He shelved that thought.
Tang Rui directly put away the airplane model and returned home.
He had just arrived home, and before he could study the aircraft model and the cheat, the buyer sent him a message asking when he could deliver.
Delivery?
It was impossible to ship this one.
He could, however, make a new model and send it to the other party.
“I’ll send it to you immediately. I’m waiting for the courier to come and pick it up.”
After Tang Rui replied to a message, he immediately got to work and started work on a new model.
This 300 yuan airplane model was a pretty easy task. If he didn’t make a video, he could finish it in two hours.
The main thing was the flight controls and decals would take some effort, but the other accessories could be installed after final assembly.
Tang Rui spent more than an hour recreating a new airplane model.
However, after he was done assembling it, a faint light flashed across its surface.
If it weren’t for the fact that it was rather dark in the house, he wouldn’t have been able to see this glimmer.
As the faint light disappeared.
A transparent panel appeared above the model.
[Item: Fixed Wing Model Airplane]
[Experience: 0/100]
[Origin Point: 0.2]
Tang Rui looked at the transparent panel and fell into deep thought.