Chapter 43: The White Emperor of the Southern Heaven

Lao Jia arrived in Zhuao on the 12th and chose to stay near the Zhuao High-Speed Railway Station. Because a severe public safety incident had occurred in Zhuao just the day before, Lao Jia figured that security checks for the airshow might be tightened. Consequently, early on the morning of the 13th, running on an empty stomach, he boarded the earliest intercity train at 6:36 AM and rushed to the Zhuao Jinwan Airport.

He arrived at the airport at precisely 7:15 AM. Due to his exceptionally early arrival, there were almost no people inside the terminal. To Lao Jia's surprise, however, the airshow organizers had already allowed spectators to enter the venue by 7:00 AM! The originally scheduled entry time was 9:00 AM, which meant Lao Jia gained two extra hours of viewing time compared to a normal schedule. He felt that arriving early was even better than arriving at the right moment—today was a total win. At this thought, Lao Jia could not help feeling rather smug about his own wise decision.

Although it was just past 7:00 AM, the exhibition area was already quite crowded. The vast majority of people had black passes hanging from their chests; they were staff members of the exhibitors. Lao Jia had already noticed many young people wearing these passes on the train over. Following suit, Lao Jia hung his own green professional-access pass around his neck while still on the train, and with his chest puffed out, he blended into the stream of exhibitors. Passing smoothly through checkpoint after checkpoint of facial recognition security screening, he entered the venue with almost no wait.

Lao Jia walked along the main thoroughfare of the exhibition area, looking around in wonder. The exhibition grounds were massive, with indoor pavilions lining both sides of the road one after another. There were 14 pavilions in total. Lao Jia remembered reading in the guide that the exhibition area covered 450,000 square meters. With such a vast space, it was certainly impossible to see everything in a single day. Lao Jia decided he must rationally and scientifically budget his time and physical energy: he would focus exclusively on aircraft, and the other defense equipment pavilions would simply have to be skipped. Seeing a restaurant, Lao Jia resolutely walked in. The dining hall was enormous, capable of accommodating over a thousand people simultaneously, but it was currently empty, with no one eating yet. Lao Jia ordered two breakfasts and ate his fill, figuring he probably wouldn't have time for lunch later.

Lao Jia walked along the main road all the way to Pavilion 13, where he saw the Mythical Bird standing quietly on the tarmac outside the pavilion. Because he had arrived so early, Dr. Yu and her team probably hadn't arrived yet, and there were hardly any people around, leaving the scene pristine and clear. Thus, Lao Jia happily snapped a few gorgeous photos all by himself. While he was enjoying himself immensely, he suddenly noticed a large crowd gathering ahead near Pavilion 14, everyone discussing something animatedly. Driven by curiosity, Lao Jia walked over toward the crowd.

Squeezing into the crowd and taking a look, he discovered that this aircraft was none other than the legendary "White Emperor" fighter jet. The design of this fighter was inspired by the Western White Emperor from the Chinese classic *The Classic of Mountains and Seas*. Its unique shape featured a duck-billed nose, streamlined upper sections, and a flattened underside—a classic waverider design. This configuration allowed the "White Emperor" to cruise at supersonic speeds in space for extended periods, making it virtually uninterceptable. The canopy adopted an opaque, dark, multi-faceted design, helping to minimize the aircraft's radar reflection signature and providing exceptional stealth performance. The nosecone of the "White Emperor" jet fighter featured a sharp, rounded-tip design that enabled it to fly with minimal resistance, and it was viewed by the outside world as China's most mysterious space fighter.

"So the legendary Nantianmen Project is actually real!" Lao Jia muttered to himself, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

"Is this a real aircraft or a model?" Spectators chatted and argued all at once. Lao Jia himself was so astonished by the science-fiction fighter before him that he could hardly believe his eyes.

Just as everyone was arguing heatedly, a slight mechanical sound was heard. The "White Emperor" fighter actually opened its opaque canopy, prompting another wave of cheers and excitement from the crowd. Unfortunately, nothing inside the cockpit could be seen. A few individuals attempted to climb over the barrier, only to be politely blocked right back by the soldiers stationed nearby. Regardless, this was the real deal! The genuine, legendary "White Emperor" fighter! Its pitch-black exterior and completely opaque cockpit clearly indicated that this was a space fighter capable of traveling back and forth between the sky and outer space.

"Are they getting ready to fight Star Wars? Where are the aliens?" A lively wave of discussion erupted within the crowd.

Disregarding everything else, Lao Jia mustered all his strength to squeeze his way to the front of the barrier, handed his phone to a nearby spectator, and hurriedly said, "Quick, take a picture for me, please. Thank you, thank you."

Just as he was speaking, the crowd saw a female reporter granted access past the barrier. She climbed the boarding ladder on the side of the "White Emperor" fighter directly into the cockpit. Holding a micro-camera in one hand, she began live-streaming the scene. Everyone stopped talking and held their breath to listen to her broadcast: "The interior of this fighter is extremely minimalist. Directly ahead in the cockpit is a large screen, and on the left, right, and front sides of the pilot's seat are sporadic control sticks and corresponding buttons. The canopy seamlessly blends into the fuselage, forming a continuous, low-drag contour optimized for high-speed maneuvering and stealth. This not only minimizes the radar cross-section but also protects the pilot from infrared and laser targeting systems."

The number of onlookers continued to grow. Those on the outer edges had no idea what was happening inside, and the rising noise made it impossible to hear the female reporter's voice anymore. With a smile of triumph, Lao Jia squeezed his way out of the crowd and shifted his battleground elsewhere.

The exhibition area was starting to fill up. Looking at the sea of bobbing heads, Lao Jia decided to explore by himself for the morning, contacting no one, and quietly take a thorough look at the aviation exhibition area. He decided to head first to the runway to see the static aircraft displays, and then tour a few aviation pavilions, which would be just about right. In the afternoon, Lao Jia planned to return to Pavilion 13 to check out the Mythical Bird drone exhibition.

When Lao Jia arrived at the runway in front of Pavilion 1st Hall, he found it already lined with a wide array of military aircraft and drones. Russia's Russian Knights aerobatic team and the August 1st aerobatic team were also parked there, filling the space to capacity. The engines of these military aircraft were roaring, likely warming up in advance to prepare for the morning flight performance.

The military aircraft displayed on the runway were divided into two major categories: manned and unmanned. Among the manned aircraft, the Chinese Air Force showcased advanced fighters including the J-20, J-35A, J-10C, J-16, J-16D, H-6K, and Y-20, while the Chinese Navy exhibited carrier-borne and anti-submarine types such as the J-15T, J-15D, Z-20J, Z-9F, and Y-8 anti-submarine patrol aircraft. The aircraft models displayed by Russia included the Su-57, Su-35S, and Il-76 transport aircraft. Meanwhile, the drones were dazzlingly diverse, primarily featuring the Feilong, Feihong, Twin-Tails Scorpion, Jiutian, Rainbow series, Wuzhen series, Wing Loong series, Cloud Shadow series, and Whirlwind series, among others.

Lao Jia had attended two previous editions of the Oriental Airshow, but this time around, he distinctly noticed two differences. First, there were an extraordinary number of young people attending the exhibition. Second, among these young people, there were an exceptional number of beautiful women, and every single one of these beauties was holding a DSLR camera, looking thoroughly professional.

Lao Jia muttered to himself, "Could it be that these young girls nowadays prefer military might over feminine finery?"

Lao Jia watched attentively as a tall, slender, pretty girl holding a DSLR camera kept taking pictures of the belly of the Navy's Y-8 patrol aircraft. This patrol aircraft had one side of its belly specially opened up, generously exposing the anti-submarine torpedoes mounted inside to the audience.

This beautiful woman said to another tall man beside her, "I never expected that the Y-8 anti-submarine patrol aircraft could also carry anti-submarine torpedoes! The rumors online have finally been confirmed."

The man replied, "This is a lightweight torpedo, the Yu-7, with a caliber of 324 millimeters and a range of up to 15 kilometers. It uses active/passive acoustic homing and directional explosion technology, allowing it to effectively strike submarines operating in littoral waters or at great depths. In addition, the Y-8 also carries depth charges, which are presumably mounted on the other side of the fuselage belly."

Lao Jia stared at the two of them in astonishment, thinking to himself, "Are all the spectators in the professional sector this professional?" Realizing that he was just an ordinary onlooker who had sneaked into the professional zone to gawk, Lao Jia felt rather ashamed and quickly slipped away quietly.