Munitions Empire

"We cannot be sure if what they're saying is true..." Yulin warned, her skepticism clear. She truly doubted that they could actually create the so-called airplane.

Having seen real airplanes and even flown in them, she was well aware of their immense complexity.

Even the Great Tang Group was constantly exploring and improving in the making of airplanes, how could anyone possibly catch up technologically? She did not believe it!

"It's fine! It's totally fine, Yulin! I'm quite curious to see if he can really bring me a surprise," Tang Mo took the coat from Wes's hands, visibly excited, "Prepare the car, Wes! Let's go see this inventor, see if he's as interesting as he says."

He was eager to find out how much this world could still surprise him. He had only just begun to feel a sense of belonging in this world, and meeting a technical genius would make that feeling even stronger and more authentic.

"..." Wes nodded and immediately left the room.

Tang Mo then wrapped his arm around Yulin's waist, "Come on, Yulin! Haven't you flown on a plane too? Let's go enjoy the spectacle together?"

"Okay!" Yulin's face blushed slightly as she nodded.

Koss Laina sat in the room, lifting his teacup; he had just visited the restroom since this was already his fifth glass of water.

To be honest, he was beginning to think of leaving. Although there was a beautiful woman chatting with him, it seemed they were not on the same wavelength at all.

He wished to find someone knowledgeable to discuss airplane design, but the young lady opposite seemed more interested in telling risqué jokes.

Although many nobles he knew fancied such women, he was an exception; he had a greater fondness for machinery and technology—if not for this obsession, he wouldn't have holed up at home all day, fiddling with the invention of flying machines.

The young man named Mishe did have some talent and a keen sense for technology, but his specialty was electrical devices, and after only about ten minutes of conversation, he had left.

Just as he was about to get up and bid farewell out of boredom, the door to the room was pushed open. This time, two men and a woman entered.

In the center was a young man of only twenty, but it was clear he was the main character among the three. The woman who had been chatting with Leite immediately stood up and respectfully left the room.

Leite stood up reflexively, showing respect. Of the three, the oldest man simply leaned against the wall after entering, toying casually with car keys. The stunningly beautiful woman stood quietly behind the young man.

"I heard you've designed a flying machine?" Tang Mo casually sat down on the sofa, looking at the middle-aged man who seemed unsure whether to sit or stand, and started the conversation.

"Have a seat!" After saying that, he seemed to realize he was being somewhat impatient and gestured with his hand twice, encouraging the other man to relax, "Don't be so formal, introduce yourself. I am an expert from the Great Tang Group in this area."

"I'm very, very pleased to meet you," Leite's eyes sparkled upon hearing Tang Mo's introduction. He had barely touched the sofa when he jumped up excitedly, then realizing he got too excited, he sat back down.

"No need for small talk. Since you say you've designed a flying machine..." Tang Mo scrutinized the man, sensing a kindred spirit in his eyes.

In that moment, he was fairly certain the man was indeed a flying machine technician and not an assassin there to kill.

Because only those who were passionate about technology would exhibit such excitement upon meeting their kind—an assassin would remain calm, unlikely to show such strong emotion while on a mission.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I've brought... the blueprints..." As Leite spoke, he took out some drawings from his briefcase and handed them to Tang Mo.

Tang Mo took the blueprints from the hands of the man not yet forty, not having removed his gloves when he entered the room, a precaution for his own safety.

As possibly the world's most proficient poison expert, he was confident that no poison could penetrate the gloves and directly threaten his life. If that was the case, it was likely that no such poison existed in the world.

To Tang Mo's astonishment, although the other man's drafting skills were amateurish, the basic drawing skills were quite strong.

These were indeed blueprints for an aircraft, yet compared to the biplane fighter blueprints that Tang Mo had directly transported from another world, they were still incomplete.

What the blueprints depicted seemed more like a bird, a winged, primitive object resembling a glider rather than an airplane.

"What's this called?" Tang Mo asked casually as he flipped through the blueprints.

Koss Laina immediately replied, "I've always called it the 'Flying Wing'."

"Your design is very primitive; I seriously doubt whether it can actually fly." Tang Mo, somewhat disappointed, put down those drawings and said to the man in front of him.

He was indeed feeling some disappointment.

On his way here, Tang Mo thought that the man might be someone like the Wright brothers of this world, capable of coming up with a relatively mature primitive aircraft.

However, the man seemed more like da Vinci, merely dreaming and drawing a biomimetic bird-like flying machine on paper, fantasizing that it could take flight...

Thus, Tang Mo was very disappointed, and even his tone betrayed a hint of similar sentiment, "I don't know how you made these wings, but their thickness and weight cannot be guaranteed, and moreover, they lack the means to sustain flight because they are missing the necessary equipment that could continuously provide power."

Yulin could understand Tang Mo's disappointment because she had seen more advanced and complete airplane designs.

So, she understood Tang Mo's mood. They had thought they might meet a genius, but instead, they found only a dreamer, which indeed was a bit of a letdown.

"You... You really are an expert in this field! I... I am so honored! To meet someone like you here." What Tang Mo and Yulin didn't expect was that while Tang Mo was feeling let down, Koss Laina became excited.

"But this thing is far from what you mentioned; it can't even safely... glide." Tang Mo was about ready to end this conversation.

In his view, the man was just a dreamer. If the man was willing, he could introduce him to a university to study this field, but beyond that, Tang Mo had no other thoughts. Read new chapters at empire

"Sir, I have conducted experiments!" He started to say, while pulling out even more drawings from his bag, spreading them one by one on the table: "I made improvements! I have further refined the design!"

"Hmm? Experiments? Improvements?" Tang Mo looked down at those drawings and found that the flying machine designed by Laina had evolved from a paper kite that completely mimicked a bird into a more sensible large triangle...

Laina nodded excitedly and said, "Yes, I've conducted experiments! I've built a 'Flying Wing' and made some modifications."

"I have always been in the canvas business. My workshop produces a type of sail, where we brush a concoction made from tree leaves onto sturdy cloth to create airtight sails," Laina explained while pulling out a piece of canvas from his bag.

As he spoke, he pulled out a section of dried wood: "Using these kind of sails and sturdy supports... I chose a very light kind of vine, which after drying out..."

"Continue, I am quite interested," Tang Mo smiled and waved his hand behind him, stopping Yulin from drawing her gun.

Pointing at one of the drawings, Laina continued to introduce his design: "I built a triangular wing using vine because the previously constructed bird-like wings of that 'Flying Wing' were too heavy, so I had to simplify the structure."

"A huge triangle, very stable, and material-saving... then I fixed a basket underneath to carry and control the person..." While speaking, he continued to search for another drawing.

Tang Mo realized that the man's design still seemed to be at a very primitive stage: "Wait... you haven't considered the control surfaces..."

Laina was startled, but as someone familiar with sailboats, he quickly grasped the concept of rudders. Excitedly, he said, "Control surfaces? Ah! That's a perfect analogy! Yes, like rudders! At first, I indeed didn't think about how to control it...

so, I had a pretty bad fall."

"... You're lucky to be alive," Tang Mo opened his eyes wide, somewhat at a loss for words before managing to squeeze out that statement.

"Ha, haha... My butler said the same thing. But eventually, I succeeded! I flew... about 40 meters... at a height of seven or eight meters..." Laina said with a proud laugh, gesturing to illustrate how he flew at the time.

"You've made a glider," Tang Mo offered a very pertinent assessment—he instinctively used the term he already knew.

"... I knew it, you are a genius in this field! 'Glider'... this description is utterly precise," Laina was taken aback and then prostrated himself.

"And then? How did you solve the power issue?" Tang Mo asked curiously, a question that was somewhat embarrassing for Laina.

Laina rubbed his hands together awkwardly, "I wasn't able to solve the power issue... I have a Model T car, and I took the engine and transmission from that Model T and mounted it on the 'Flying Wing.' But they were too heavy, and I didn't have a complete way to control it, I still need to do more experiments..."

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That's it for today's two chapters.