As the event continued, more and more of the audience with machinery experience had picked up on the fact that Xia Fei and Constantine were both not repairing that Samurai-class light combat drone but were, instead, using all the parts available to create a new one.
While there was no way to understand just what the two’s final creation would be like, the audience was certain that it would be an unmanned drone, except that it would not be the same model that everyone often saw. It would not at all be the same as any of the known models seen in the Alliance.
Because the two were building their own drones at the last minute, their creation would surely be a grade weaker than the original Samurai-class in terms of firepower or defense. However, that was hardly important. What mattered was that the two had done it despite how lacking the parts were. They had managed to construct a usable combat drone by using all the spare parts available through their craftsmanship.
This was by no means a simple task. This was not in any way easy like putting building blocks together. They were first required to plan out each and every subsystem in the drone before arranging for the circuitry input and output ports, making adjustments to its firepower and mobility accordingly.
Xia Fei would surely have an easier time if he had a powerful smart engineering software to aid him, but it was unfortunate that the tournament did not allow the use of computers. Everything had to be completed with their minds, meaning that the amount of calculations needed was huge; few could even grasp the inherent complexity of such a task.
A distance away, Li Mo, who was taking into consideration the actions that Xia Fei and Constantine had taken, and suddenly realized where he had gone wrong. He had always thought that today’s event was testing the participants’ proficiency at removing intractable parts, only realizing at this point that its real purpose was to evaluate the participants’ creativity and ability to adapt under difficult circumstances.
Li Mo’s forehead quickly broke out in a sweat as he hurriedly tried to disassemble the Samurai-class drone; if he continued to fit in more parts, although the appearance of the drone would be restored, it would still be unable to achieve flight. Though he was unwilling to admit it, he decided to follow Xia Fei’s idea of reconstructing a drone anew.
Now, the biggest problem was his lack of time, and the electronic timer indicated that they only had seventy-nine minutes left.
…
Inside the honorary members lounge of the Association of Machinists, several senior machinists were becoming more and more interested in this event. Because they were the judges for this tournament, every action that the participants took and every choice they made was clearly shown to them, only requiring a few clicks with the computer in front of them to see it all.
“Between Xia Fei and Constantine, who do you all think has the better approach?” asked the overall in charge, Years of Floating Light.
The fat, old man Blackened Vessel quickly commented straightforwardly, “Xia Fei forwent a defense system and devoted everything toward his combat drone’s firepower, while Constantine went for a more balanced approach, considering every aspect of the drone. I think Constantine’s design is slightly better.”
An old man with a goatee beside him retorted, “Old Vessel, you can’t say that. Though Xia Fei’s design has indeed lost a portion of defense, the firepower revision he installed to his drone makes it around the standard of a brand-new drone. Look, he’s even intentionally modifying the speed of its blasters. If he succeeds, that combat drone of his may even have a better firepower than the new ones. You specialize in defense systems, so of course you’ll lean toward Constantine, but from the standpoint of someone who dabbles in fire control and hopes to achieve the greatest firepower output like me, I’m of the belief that Xia Fei’s design is more outstanding, able to push its firepower to the limit despite limited constraints. Not everyone can achieve what he’s doing now.”
The fatty coldly harrumphed, muttering to himself, “If a drone lacks any defense, what’s the use of having a powerful attack power?”
“What did you say?!” The goateed man got agitated hearing that, standing up as he yelled sternly, “The best defense is a good offense! Haven’t you heard of that saying?”
“I’ve heard of it,” Blackened Vessel retaliated, unperturbed, “but that’ll only work for a single wave. Whether it can last a sustained battle will depend on its defensive performance.”
These top experts of the Association of Machinists were each the peak expert of various systems; their different viewpoints naturally meant that there would be some disagreement. The issue between defense and offense had long since been debated ad nauseam for tens of thousands of years among their ranks, and they had yet come to a fixed conclusion.
Even the universe’s strongest warship had trouble maintaining a balance, for the relationship between the shield and spear was like the chicken and egg paradox; no one was able to category prove it.
Defense expert Blackened Vessel and the fire control expert goateed man argued endlessly, and soon the other authorities in their fields each joined in, too. The most important VIP lounge of the Association of Machinists had instantly turned into a fish market, with everyone arguing incessantly among themselves, expletives and swear words freely thrown around.
“Enough!” called Years of Floating Light in a commanding voice. As the figurative emperor supreme of the Association of Machinists, as well as the eleventh consecutive overall in charge and chief referee of the Golden Finger Cup, the influence that Years of Floating Light went well beyond his field, and this one word from his lips was enough to get everyone to go silent, returning to their respective seats as they held in their emotions toward one another.
“It’s not like none of you are unaware that there is no definite answer to the question over firepower or defense. You won’t be able to get a satisfactory answer even if all of you argue for ten thousand years, so why don’t call both Xia Fei and Constantine over once the event is over and let them explain their design concept to us, giving full marks to whoever can give a more reasonable argument?” Years of Floating Light proposed.
This was not a bad idea, and hearing what either participant thought would be far better than having the uninvolved debate. All of them nodded in concurrence, though they were evidently all in agreement to that proposition, and none of them cared to talk to one another anymore.
…
Seven minutes and forty seconds before the event ended, Xia Fei was the first to complete his work. Due to his speed ability, even his hand moved at a faster rate than most, and while his unmanned combat drone was a lot more complex in design than Constantine, he spent less time on it.
Avril nervously got up from her seat. She could see from the display screen that Xia Fei had not completed that Samurai-class drone but something strange, instead.
Avril asked for Pang Xing’s opinion in hopes of finding out just what Xia Fei had assembled, but it was unfortunate that Pang Xing had no knowledge of machinery, either, much less anything about combat drones.
…
It had to be mentioned that Xia Fei had quite the strange taste; this last-minute assembled drone ended up looking very ferocious, much like a huge black cactus, with hardened spikes all over its body that gave it a very ugly appearance.
Seeing all the other participants had assembled a Samurai-class drone just like the original, yet Xia Fei’s was a monstrous mess, Avril could not help feeling very worried. She did not wish to see Xia Fei losing in this event, especially if it meant losing to Li Mo and that unremarkable Constantine.
Actually, there were plenty of people who thought that the drone Xia Fei had assembled looked very ugly. There were millions of messages on the interplanetary internet livestream criticizing the look of Xia Fei’s creation, with almost everyone agreeing that his drone lacked any sense of aesthetic appeal, rather finding it grotesque looking.
Some nosy people had even started a poll to pick the ugliest creation in the history of the Golden Finger Cup, and Xia Fei’s cactus-shaped drone obtained 99.9 percent of the votes.
Xia Fei had no idea that people were criticizing his creation, but even if he did, he would not change his initial thoughts; a combat drone was not born to be beautiful. Such a type of machine existed for combat purposes only, and Xia Fei simply did not care to put any thought into any other aspects of the drone aside from that.
Lighting a cigarette, Xia Fei did a quick inspection of his drone. At the end of the day, this was something he had cobbled together at the last minute and did not undergo any simulation test. He was not completely confident about its performance.
On the other hand, Li Mo was already flustered to the point he was sweating buckets. Though he had also copied what Xia Fei did and constructed a drone anew, not only did he make this decision later than Xia Fei, he did not even have that superhuman speed Xia Fei possessed. As a result, he had only completed around fifty-five percent of the work in all that time, only having but a handful of minutes to complete everything else that remained.
Two minutes and seven seconds away from the end of the event, Constantine managed to finish his drone. Compared to that fierce looking cactus that Xia Fei made, his drone was a lot more conventional. It was like a rectangular metal box, simple, with well defined corners and edges.
Countless audiences watching the tournament were in an uproar again. Constantine’s final product was slightly more law-abiding than Xia Fei’s, yet it definitely could not be considered attractive in any sense of the word, which resulted in his drone quickly getting the second place on the ugliest creation leaderboard.
A good portion of participants had assembled the Samurai-class combat drone, but not one of them looked triumphant, for they knew deep down inside that their drones were purely for display. Forget engaging in combat, they could not even fly.
Xia Fei felt that there were no major issues after examining his final product once, so he walked out, at the same time lifting his head to flash a smile to Avril. When Avril saw the self-confident look Xia Fei had, her heart was finally at ease, waving back at him as she blushed.
Similarly, Constantine soon followed and made his way out. Looking at Xia Fei’s drone and then his own, he could not help but reveal a prideful smile
“The time is up! May all participants stop their work in the next ten seconds and leave the venue or risk being disqualified.” That cool and emotionless female voice could be heard over the announcement system—the same that all computers shared, seemingly carved out from a mold and lacking in any freshness.
Xia Fei made his way past the electronic gate and stopped by the side as he waited to see his own score. However, several seconds passed, yet the screen remained unchanged. Constantine was the same as well. The two of them looked at each other, puzzled.
What followed was every other participant getting their score, yet all of them were given a big fat zero.
The audience present was in turmoil. Seeing so many participants scoring zero was far too unimaginable, and it was in the eyes of all these laypeople that Xia Fei’s cactus drone ought to have received zero, not all the other participants who abided by what was set out.
Li Mo followed the crowd and made it to the electronic gate, his heart palpating as he sweated profusely. He hesitated for quite some time beyond the entrance before he gritted his teeth and stepped through as if he was about to make a heroic sacrifice.
“23 points.”
“Finally, someone got some points.”
“That’s not right; Li Mo didn’t even finish the event, so how did he get points?”
“That’s right, so many of these participants clearly completed their task requirements yet got zero, while Li Mo’s was only half completed. How did he score any points?”
“The man is from the great Li family. Perhaps he bribed the judges; who knows? ”
Seeing the audience present and the internet commentators viewing the tournament discuss this, it was apparent none of them understood what was happening with today’s event. Aside from the host of zeroes, there was also the fact that Xia Fei had not even been given a score yet.
The human imagination was so vivid that it would deter other living creatures. In those few seconds when Li Mo received his score, plenty of rumors and chatter filled the livestream, with some claiming that Li Mo had likely bribed the judges while others saying that the smart surveillance system must have malfunctioned. There were even some who thought that this peculiar chain of events was somehow linked to the insectoids and other such conspiracies; these few viewers were convinced that some aliens had infiltrated the Pan-Human Alliance to cause this sabotage intentionally.
Li Mo flashed a smile that withheld his evil intentions as he strolled by Xia Fei and Constantine, intentionally circling around them once, as if mocking them for not even having been scored yet.
That was when a staff member called to the two, “The committee has requested for the two of you to head to the evaluation center immediately.”
Xia Fei was somewhat surprised, uncertain just why they would seek to have him over. Constantine also shared his sentiments.
Waving goodbye to Avril, Xia Fei and Constantine were led away by that staff member. Li Mo did not leave, for he was extremely interested in the committee calling away Xia Fei, wondering just what could be the reason behind this summon.
Riding an elevator up to the sixth floor, Xia Fei arrived at the clubroom where those old men were reposed. Inside were a total of nine men, and a medal of honor from the Association of Machinists was pinned on each of their chests. Each of them was dressed in a green uniform that only the Association’s elders could wear, except that they were all in their old age, and many were potbellied, losing their graceful bearing from when they were younger.
“Please be seated.” Years of Floating Light smiled. “I’m the chief referee of this Golden Finger Cup, Years of Floating Light. Seated here are all elders from the Association, and we have some questions we hope to be answered.”
Xia Fei responded, “Ask away.”
Years of Floating Light nodded. “Constantine, what was the focal point of that drone you built today for this event, and just what’s your goal for such an assembly?”
Constantine answered, “My line of thinking was simple: Construct a combat drone that is as balanced as possible. It’s feature lies in the armor. No matter how great the firepower it possesses, a combat drone will be useless if it doesn’t have a sturdy defense. Survival is key on the battlefield; only then can it defeat enemies.
“That is why I used 15mm alloy steel plates to reinforce its armor while making the necessary adjustments to its interior—all in an effort to increase the survivability of the combat drone.”
The fat, old man Blackened Vessel was very satisfied with Constantine’s answer. As someone who specialized in the study of defensive systems, it was only natural for him to be biased toward the defensive capabilities of a combat drone.
Years of Floating Light nodded. “What you said has some sound reasoning to it, but the combat drone you built lacks sufficient propulsion and has a very slow speed as a result. It has no way of chasing after high speed targets, while the Samurai-class combat drone has blasters fitted to it with a very short range. Why didn’t you modify the range of this weapon, so that it could attack enemies at a greater range?”
Constantine helplessly shrugged. “It’s because I didn’t have enough time and materials to do so; plus, that’s the limit of what I could do.”
The judges present were still very satisfied with Constantine’s answer: a measured and reasonable explanation that did not attempt to make any exaggerations.
Years of Floating Light next asked Xia Fei. “The appearance of your drone is very strange. Of course, that hardly matters. What we are curious to learn is why you boosted your drone’s firepower so crazily without any consideration for its defense?”
Xia Fei chuckled. “That’s because I don’t think such a combat drone has any other use aside from being an output for firepower on a battlefield.”
Everyone was curious about this statement, and it was the quick-mouthed Blackened Vessel who spoke. “How could there be no other uses for it? A drone is capable of drawing distance and circling the enemy in flight to avoid enemy fire. It will also need anti-strike capabilities after being struck, immediately capable of re-establishing contact with the command system if its signals are interfered with by an enemy’s electromagnetic bomb. It’s not just used for shooting.”
Xia Fei simply replied, “What you’re talking about is a normal and functional combat drone. The drone that I assembled is only for attacking. A reckless attack.”
“Why would you think like that?” Years of Floating Light asked with a raised eyebrow.
Xia Fei answered, “Constantine already explained moments ago how he fitted his drone with 15mm alloy steel plates in order to increase its survivability. While those steel plates did indeed increase its defense, what could those 15mm steel alloy plates really do in a real fight? Do the enemies have lances?”
“A 15mm steel alloy plate is too thin. Having those extra plates barely provide any use and, instead, just hamper the drone’s speed. I did my careful calculations and came to the conclusion that there’s no way to increase a drone’s defensive capabilities using the materials we were provided.”
“You may all think I’m wrong, and that it’s possible to increase a drone’s resistance by ten percent if all the parts are properly used, but what I’m trying to say is that this is just a pile of scrap in the first place, so is having a ten percent defensive performance that important? No matter how you strengthen it, the enemy will still kill it in one shot, so there’s no reason to waste limited resources on its defense.”
Everyone was rendered speechless. Xia Fei did indeed give them a very good reason. A single piece of paper would easily be punctured with a light poke, and having two pieces of it would hardly give a different result.
“My goal was simple: Make that last-minute, cobbled-together drone and treat it as disposable. Gather all the best materials and devote them all toward offense to better bite back at the enemy before it gets destroyed so that they will feel the pain even with its dying breath.
“Since I was using all those materials to create a combat drone that can barely qualify as one, I decided I’ll just make a certified mad dog. If it can’t get the enemy, then so be it, for its performance is as plain as day and is barely ten percent of a brand-new drone, but as long as it manages to bite the enemy, it will most definitely cause them to bleed.”
“Also, as for its appearance you mentioned earlier, the reason why I attached so many metal spikes all over its body is, in the case that none of its shots land on the enemy, it can directly slam itself right into the target, taking them down with it.”
Everyone was stunned. Xia Fei’s idea of sacrificing something for a cause rather than losing it for nothing was a bit crazy. Phantom had once given Xia Fei a very appropriate name for this logic.
The mad dog logic.
