Chapter 32: Strategies for Sleeping on the Floor

The night descended like a vast sheet of black velvet, slowly enveloping the horizon. Inside the final assembly workshop, rows of bright lights illuminated the space, thick with the scent of technology. A massive, pitch-black drone stood silently, gleaming as if it were a giant iron bird about to spread its wings and take flight. Beside it, a long row of tables had been pushed together to form a makeshift conference room. The entire R&D team had gathered—female engineers from the flight control room, members of the assembly team, and various researchers. Old Jia scanned the group; there were over twenty people sitting in a circle around the tables, looking remarkably small and heroic against the backdrop of the colossal machine.

Old Jia consciously took a seat next to Master Wang, feeling that he and Master Wang belonged to the same generation. The youngsters were, after all, too young, and sitting among them might make them feel the pressure of having their elders present.

Dr. Yu Ying presided over the meeting. He stated solemnly, "Following arduous communication and coordination, and with the strong support of various relevant departments, the Chenlong A6000 drone has received the latest approval from the C Theater Air Force. It will take off from here at 12:00 PM tomorrow, the 10th, and fly directly to the Zhuao Jinwan Airport without any intermediate stops. The flight will traverse both the C and S theaters, covering a straight-line distance of approximately 1,200 kilometers, with a planned flight time of 2.5 hours. Now, let each department report on their preparations. First, let's hear from the ground support team regarding the situation in Zhuao."

On the projection screen behind the conference table, a handsome young man appeared via a Tencent video call. His background was an airport runway lit with countless multicolored lights, resembling a vibrant painting.

"Dr. Yu, everyone, good evening. I am Zhao Tianyu, and I am currently at the outdoor exhibition center. Behind me is Jinwan Airport. It is evening now, and the airport is extremely busy, with planes landing constantly. Four of us from the support team drove to the Zhuao Jinwan Airport airshow area the day before yesterday, carrying maintenance tools with us. However, due to traffic restrictions, vehicles without passes were barred from entering the exhibition area, so we had to carry the tools in on our backs. We have already fully coordinated with the airshow organizers, and all preparations are complete; we are ready to receive the drone at any time. Our booth has been finalized in the open area of Hall 13, about a kilometer away from the runway. Therefore, once the drone lands, we will need to use an electric tug to tow it to the booth. We have already brought the towing fixtures into the area and will simply rent an electric tug from the airshow organizers when the time comes."

A delicate female voice drifted over: "Dr. Yu, hello everyone, I am Li Xinyi from the support team. I am responsible for the logistics and daily needs for this trip to Zhuao. All the hotels near the airport are fully booked and incredibly expensive—even budget hotels are costing over 800 yuan per room, and our budget is very tight. To save money, we had to rent two four-bedroom, two-living-room residential units in the Vanke Garden community near Zhuao Jinwan Airport. They are 10-day short-term rentals and very affordable at 3,000 yuan per unit for the 10 days, fully furnished with appliances. The rooms all have large beds. The weather in Zhuao is very hot, around 27 or 28 degrees Celsius, and there are frequent showers lately, so everyone must bring summer clothes. Now, I need to confirm exactly how many people are coming and the breakdown of men and women."

Dr. Yu said, "As exhibitors, the organizers have given us 15 exhibitor passes. These passes allow entry and exit until the exhibition closes, but each pass must be bound to a specific person’s identity and cannot be shared. In addition, we were given 15 special-event passes, which can only be used once on any of the three days from the 12th to the 14th. We need to give some of these to our suppliers and relevant departments, but we still have a few left. The 15 exhibitor passes need to be divided among the logistics team, the maintenance team, and the flight control room, but since not everyone can go, each group needs to confirm who will be heading to Zhuao."

The room fell silent. With more people than passes, it was certain that some would be left behind. Everyone looked at each other in silence; no one spoke.

Dr. Yu turned to Old Jia and asked, "Chief Jia, how many days will you be staying in Zhuao? I'll give you an exhibitor pass so you can walk around more."

Old Jia waved his hand and said, "No, no need, Dr. Yu. Just give me one special-event pass; I'll only go for one day. These 15 exhibitor passes should all go to your team. I wonder if these passes can be swapped between people? We can ensure that no more than 15 people enter each day, and as for who we assign to enter each day, we can just re-register and report that to the organizers, right?"

Dr. Yu asked Zhao Tianyu on the screen, "Tianyu, is it possible to swap people? Can we have two groups take turns entering? Ask the organizers if this is feasible."

Zhao Tianyu replied from the other end, "Wait a moment, I’ll call to confirm right now." On the screen, he could be seen pacing back and forth while on the phone. The conference room was deathly quiet; everyone held their breath.

A moment later, Zhao Tianyu’s excited voice came through: "I’ve checked with the organizers; it’s possible. When we want to swap people, we just turn in the old passes, they issue new ones, and we can re-register our faces via the QR code on the new passes. Once the facial recognition is set, we can enter the exhibition area."

"That makes things much easier. We will divide the 15 passes between two groups taking turns. The entire exhibition lasts eight days, so we will rotate every four days. That way, everyone can go to Zhuao and see the world. How does that sound, students?" Dr. Yu decided excitedly.

"Oh yeah! Long live the teacher!" A cheer erupted from the students, followed by warm, enthusiastic applause.

"Dr. Yu, if that many people are coming in each group, we only rented two apartments, which definitely won't be enough, right? Should we rent a few more?" Li Xinyi’s timid voice came from the screen.

"Why rent more apartments! A single apartment costs 3,000 yuan—that’s enough for the travel expenses of six people. We’re all 'special forces' students; we’ll bring our own sleeping bags. The teacher and Master Wang can sleep in the rooms, and we can squeeze into the living rooms and dining rooms on floor mats. One apartment for the guys and one for the girls, how about that, everyone?" Long Wuyang took the lead, stirring up the crowd with a loud shout.

"That's right! It’ll be fun to squeeze in together. Why rent more when we’re only staying for a few days? We'll just bring our own sleeping bags."

"Or we could take those folding recliners from our office and fly them over on the Chenlong drone."

The students, both men and women, discussed it happily, as excited as if they were going on a spring outing.

Dr. Yu gestured for everyone to quiet down and said, "Then it’s settled. After the meeting, each group should compile a list of members for the two shifts and submit them to Li Xinyi, who will be responsible for coordinating the arrangements in Zhuao. Don’t bother with sleeping bags; it’s summer there and very hot. Long Wuyang, move a few folding recliners onto the plane tomorrow morning; that’ll add a bit of load for the flight."

"Yes, sir! Mission accomplished," Long Wuyang said, standing up and giving Dr. Yu a comical military salute, which sent everyone into fits of laughter.