Chapter 49: Cicada Listening to the Wind

After the midday hour, the crowd around the exhibition grew progressively larger. A group of people approached from a distance, chatting animatedly and creating a lively atmosphere. In the center of the crowd was a middle-aged man with a receding hairline, dressed in a blue short-sleeved shirt, being escorted forward. Old Jia squinted to observe the group closely. The half-bald man's voice drifted over, carrying a faint Henan accent. Old Jia gave a sudden start; the voice was so familiar. He picked up his binoculars and peered through the gaps between the heads of the surrounding crowd. Sure enough, the middle-aged half-bald man was none other than the renowned military blogger on Bilibili known as "Cicada Listening to the Wind." With over ten million followers on the platform, he enjoyed an exceptionally high reputation among military and international politics enthusiasts for his unique professional insights and accessible analyses. At that moment, escorted by the crowd, he was walking directly toward the Mythical Bird UAV.

The post-rain sunlight spilled across the diverse aircraft, casting dappled, colorful spots of light. Cicada Listening to the Wind pushed his way through the crowd with some effort and walked straight up to the Mythical Bird UAV exhibition booth. His arrival immediately sparked a low murmur of excitement, but soon, his focused gaze and professional demeanor hushed the surrounding commotion.

Old Jia stood up to welcome him and said warmly, "What an absolute honor to have Mr. Cicada Listening to the Wind visit our Mythical Bird UAV booth! I am also your loyal follower, constantly pestering you for updates! Though I must admit, I never buy the wine or tea you endorse!"

"Oh, why is that?" Cicada Listening to the Wind asked with an amused smile, curiosity in his voice. "Are you worried about counterfeit goods?"

"Not quite. It's mainly because I don't drink alcohol, and the Pu'er tea you recommend happens to be produced by the exact same tea factory I've always been drinking from. Unless you buy out that tea factory, I suppose I'll have to keep drinking your tea, haha!" Old Jia said with a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha," everyone around burst into laughter.

Amused by the remark, Cicada Listening to the Wind turned to the surrounding fans and said, "How about we crowdfund among our fan community, buy out that tea factory, and name this tea 'Cicada Listening to the Wind'?"

"Sounds like a plan! Ten yuan per person, with ten million fans that makes one hundred million—that should be nearly enough to buy a tea factory!" someone in the crowd immediately chimed in with a mischievous suggestion.

"Right, if each of us pitches in ten yuan, Teacher Cicada, you just need to reward each contributor with a one-year subscription card for audiobooks." Another person pushed their luck, as an audiobook annual pass cost ninety-nine yuan.

"Alright, alright, that's not a bad idea. I'll discuss it with my partners when I get back and strive to launch our own brand of Pu'er as soon as possible—focusing on affordability, specially tailored for military enthusiasts to drink! That way, if you guys get too hot-blooded after listening to my show, you can quickly take a sip of Pu'er to calm down, preventing my fans from typing reckless things in the bullet comments and compelling me to leak more military secrets, forcing me into making mistakes. That's actually a way of protecting me! Hahahahaha!" Cicada Listening to the Wind said loudly and cheerfully to those around him, and everyone joined in the laughter.

Turning his gaze toward Long Wuyang and the others, Cicada Listening to the Wind pointed at the nearby Mythical Bird UAV and asked, "This tilt-rotor UAV was developed by Yuyuan University, right? It seems to be called 'Mythical Bird'—such an imposing name!"

"Yes, it was researched and manufactured by our Yuyuan University. We've already secured our Type Certificate, and for this air show, we flew it directly here from Jiangcheng," Long Wuyang said proudly.

"Ah, remarkable, truly remarkable! I am Cicada Listening to the Wind, a retired veteran dabbling in military popular science on Bilibili. My follower count is decent, around ten million or so. The knowledge I popularize is sometimes a bit too cutting-edge, so the platform often restricts my traffic under the pretext of confidentiality. I'm very pleased to meet you all today. It's a great opportunity for me to learn about this tilt-rotor technology, and I hope you won't hesitate to share your expertise!" Cicada Listening to the Wind smiled, extended his hand, and shook hands with everyone one by one. Then, with a look of immense admiration, he added, "My goodness, your team is so young—all post-2000s generations, unlike us old folks. Your generation is truly a blessing for China! It's a pleasure to meet you all!"

Old Jia smiled back and replied, "Mr. Cicada's great reputation precedes him. Being able to hear your opinions and guidance is also a tremendous honor for us."

Everyone sat gathered in the rest area on one side of the booth, with the sleek, high-tech Mythical Bird UAV serving as the backdrop. Cicada Listening to the Wind's gaze lingered on the drone for a moment before he turned to the group and said modestly, "I've looked over the data for your Mythical Bird UAV, and the performance metrics are stunning. I didn't expect China to master tilt-rotor technology so quickly, and I am genuinely excited. I am extremely interested in this tilt-rotor technology. Would you mind introducing it to me? I feel deeply honored to have such an on-site opportunity to observe and learn!"

Long Wuyang took out a promotional brochure and began his introduction: "The Mythical Bird UAV is benchmarked against the American Osprey, so its initial design purpose was to meet diverse military and civilian demands, particularly the flight transportation capability in complex terrains and volatile environments. Its tilt-rotor technology allows it to switch smoothly between vertical takeoff and landing and high-speed flight, which is especially crucial across China's vast and complex geography. Additionally, we developed it adhering to the philosophy of 'safety, ease of use, and low cost.' It combines the dual advantages of a helicopter's vertical takeoff and landing and a fixed-wing aircraft's high-speed cruise, achieving a flight speed of 550 kilometers per hour and a flight range of 4,000 kilometers without needing an airport runway."

Cicada Listening to the Wind listened attentively, nodding from time to time: "Indeed, this kind of technology has broad application prospects in fields such as emergency disaster relief, urban counter-terrorism, and border patrol. But what I'm more curious about is what design modifications and innovations Mythical Bird has made compared to America's Osprey? After all, the Osprey frequently suffers accidents; it still has inherent design flaws."

Cui Yinuo took over the conversation: "Exactly. The primary reason for the Osprey's frequent failure rate lies in its design complexity, which leads to performance instability. Therefore, we made bold and innovative designs to address this issue. Although both adopt a tilt-rotor design, Mythical Bird has optimized the details. By tilting only the propellers rather than the entire nacelle, we reduced mechanical complexity and thus enhanced flight reliability."

"Is that so? That's fantastic! This is precisely China's advantage of coming from behind!" Cicada Listening to the Wind slapped his thigh excitedly and said loudly to those around him. Infected by his enthusiasm, the crowd echoed his sentiment and broke into applause.

Smiling, Cui Yinuo continued, "We not only optimized the layout of the rotors to improve flight efficiency and stability, but most importantly, Mythical Bird adopts an unmanned design. Eliminating the cockpit frees up space, eliminating the need to account for airflow disturbances caused by engine rotation. This avoids the complex and demanding aerodynamic requirements of the Osprey, elevates flight reliability, and makes it better suited for high-difficulty flights in complex environments. Furthermore, Mythical Bird possesses autonomous flight capabilities, whereas the Osprey relies entirely on the pilot's flying skills and experience."

Long Wuyang added, "We also made bold experiments in material application. The fuselage and rotors of the Mythical Bird extensively utilize carbon fiber composite materials, which not only reduce weight but also enhance structural strength and corrosion resistance."

Sun Mengjie chimed in, "As for the control system, Mythical Bird adopts the latest fly-by-wire flight control system, which makes the drone much smoother during flight mode transitions while also boosting operational precision and stability."

Cicada Listening to the Wind pondered for a moment before speaking slowly: "Having heard about these innovative designs of yours, I think they are exceptional. Moreover, these designs have been fully demonstrated on this prototype of yours, proving their reliability. I suggest that in future variant designs, Mythical Bird might consider adopting even more advanced propulsion systems, such as hybrid power or electric rotors, to further enhance efficiency and reduce noise while simultaneously shedding weight to increase range. After all, China's technology in the pure electric drive sector already leads the entire world."

Sun Mengjie's eyes lit up, and she said with pleasant surprise, "That is a very forward-looking and feasible suggestion. Hybrid power and electric rotor technologies are indeed among the directions for our future research and development. Aside from improvements to the propulsion system, we also plan to apply more advanced sensor technologies to Mythical Bird, including AI technology, enabling human-machine separation. Even if communication signals are jammed and human control is lost, it can rely on its own AI perception capabilities to independently navigate complex environments and complete assigned missions."

As the discussion deepened, time slipped away unnoticed, and the surrounding crowd listened intently, showing not a single trace of fatigue.

"Today's exchange has been thoroughly enjoyable, and I've gained a much more comprehensive understanding of Mythical Bird. I believe it is bound to become the next generation of viral drones," Cicada Listening to the Wind said as he stood up, shaking hands with everyone to say goodbye. "I will share the content of this exchange on my platform so that more people can understand and utilize Mythical Bird."

Everyone stood up as well. Old Jia said, "Thank you for your recognition, Mr. Cicada. We look forward to your sharing. The development of Mythical Bird cannot do without the support and promotion of professionals like you. We hope more customers will adopt Mythical Bird, and we also hope Mythical Bird can step out of China to provide premium flight services to clients worldwide!"