UAAG CH96.2

Going up to the rooftop, Fu Cheng quietly looked down.

There were many more cigarette butts on the ground.

Fu Cheng: “You cried?”

Zhuo Huan’s body stiffened for a moment. “No.”

Fu Cheng: “Really didn’t?”

Zhuo Huan clicked his tongue lightly. “You’re so annoying!”

Fu Cheng nodded. “Then you cried.”

Zhuo Huan laughed angrily at him. “I said no!”

This time Fu Cheng wasn’t sure either. “…No? Your eyes are a bit red.”

Zhuo Huan: “Stayed up late. Find a mirror and look, your eyes are red too.”

Fu Cheng: “…”

Zhuo Huan took a cigarette from the case and asked before lighting it, “Smoke?”

Fu Cheng took the cigarette from his hand very naturally, casually took his cigarette case, stuffed the cigarette back in, and put it into his own pocket.

Zhuo Huan: “…”

Fu Cheng: “Do you know how lung cancer is contracted?”

Zhuo Huan laughed. “You smoke too.”

Fu Cheng: “But I don’t smoke fifty a day.”

Zhuo Huan: “Not fifty. Count them if you don’t believe me.” He pointed to the ground.

Fu Cheng: “Heh.”

Fu Cheng turned to leave. Zhuo Huan called out to him, “Hey, you’re just leaving like that?”

Fu Cheng looked back at him. “You didn’t cry anyway.”

Zhuo Huan: “Who said I didn’t.”

Fu Cheng was slightly stunned. “You yourself…” His voice stopped abruptly.

The man hugged Fu Cheng’s waist and pulled gently, pulling him into his arms.

“Zhuo Huan…”

“Shh.”

Burying his face in the young man’s warm shoulder, the man took a deep breath.

“Don’t look.”

“…Mn.”

Pausing, he wanted to comfort him, but Fu Cheng had never comforted anyone. He held it in for a long time and said, “It’s nothing, I’ve cried too, in front of you.”

Zhuo Huan: “…”

“Can you not mention the fucking breakup?”

Fu Cheng: “…”

“Then what do you want?”

Zhuo Huan: “Shut up.”

Silence for a long time.

Fu Cheng: “Actually, I quite want to see.”

Zhuo Huan: “Damn it, fuck you until you cry.”

Fu Cheng really stopped talking.

Because Zhuo Huan could really do such a thing.

Hugging this man, Fu Cheng looked up at the sky.

…Zhuo Huan really acted like a child.

Silly.

Childish.

Whatever, who let him like him.

The matter of Zhuo Huan and Levy Andrew reaching a private agreement, although not stated publicly, everyone guessed it might be related to the sudden arrival of McFly’s chief designer Thor Rayner.

Anyway, after Thor Rayner left, Levy Andrew continued to arrange for investigators to write the Rogue 318 air crash investigation report.

This investigation report spanned a full five and a half years, recording every detail of the air crash accident. When half written, it had already reached an astonishing 1031 pages. And at this time, eight days had passed since Thor Rayner’s visit.

It seemed a certain compromise had been reached.

Zhuo Huan allowed the NTSB to write the investigation report, and the NTSB also sent more investigators to help UAAG review McFly F485 related materials.

Nearly a hundred people queried all F485 flight data records from the past five years together.

On the ninth day, an NTSB investigator named Edward Ciccone found a piece of data.

He was a young investigator wearing glasses, said to have transferred from the airport ground crew. In the UAAG office, he was a bit nervous as he spoke about what he found: “January 13, 2017, Delta Airlines Flight 192… um, its model was McFly F485. Shortly after taking off from LaGuardia Airport in New York, this plane encountered strong high-altitude crosswinds. The plane experienced three minutes of turbulence. While stabilizing the plane, the pilot found the plane yawing 3 degrees to the right. At the same time, the pilot input commands into the flight computer, but didn’t receive immediate feedback from the plane for the first three seconds. However, three seconds later, everything returned to normal. The ground crew’s maintenance judgment was unstable electrical pulses caused by turbulence.”

As soon as these words fell, the faces of everyone at UAAG changed immediately.

Zhuo Huan: “Continue.” Pausing, he asked, “Anything else?”

Zhuo Huan had no hope at all, just asking casually. Unexpectedly, Edward Ciccone nodded and said, “Yes. September 16, 2018, Lufthansa Flight 550 encountered a small ocean cyclone while flying over the Atlantic. It had reached cruising altitude, and the pilot turned on the autopilot system. The plane automatically deviated to the right to avoid the cyclone. This was all normal, but afterwards, a stewardess on board said she called the cockpit at the time to ask if the turbulence had any effect, but her first call didn’t go through; the cockpit only received her call the second time. After landing, the ground maintenance team concluded it was a temporary loss of communication signal caused by severe weather…”

Edward: “Uh, that’s it. Just this much.”

Zhuo Huan looked grim and didn’t make a sound.

Edward Ciccone’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t know if he was overthinking or did something wrong. Just as he was uneasy, in the next moment, Zhuo Huan suddenly took out his phone and made a call. However, soon, a busy tone came from the phone.

Zhuo Huan: “Fuck, he fucking blocked me!” He turned to Fu Cheng and said, “Lend me your phone.”

Fu Cheng handed the phone over.

Zhuo Huan quickly dialed a number. A few seconds later, the call was picked up. From the other end of the receiver came a loud and powerful voice: “Hello?”

Zhuo Huan opened his mouth and said, “If a McFly F485 doesn’t receive immediate feedback after inputting commands, what could be the reason?”

Mr. Rayner: “…”

Zhuo Huan: “Don’t hang up!”

Mr. Rayner: “Fuck off!”

Zhuo Huan: “If this McFly F485 simultaneously experiences a cabin call to the cockpit, but the communication equipment in the cockpit doesn’t ring. What could be the reason?”

Mr. Rayner: “…What do you mean?”

Zhuo Huan: “There are many reasons. Setting aside coincidence, electromagnetic pulse interference is also possible.”

There was a long silence on the other end. Mr. Rayner: “What exactly do you want to say?”

Zhuo Huan didn’t speak for a long time either.

Zhuo Huan: “What do you think?”

Mr. Rayner: “…”

With a long sigh, he said, “Check the fly-by-wire system.”

Zhuo Huan: “Mn.”

Hanging up the phone, Zhuo Huan looked up at his companions. His gaze swept over Old Joseph, Su Fei, and Lina one by one, then glanced at Edward Ciccone and nodded to him. Finally, he looked at Fu Cheng.

Zhuo Huan: “Fly-by-wire system. That is my judgment too, and this is our next investigation direction.” He said to Lina, “Go notify the NTSB.”

Fu Cheng suddenly said, “Wait.”

Zhuo Huan: “Hmm?”

Frowning, Fu Cheng quickly opened his computer and found a document he had just read last week. After checking it carefully, he printed this document and handed it to Zhuo Huan. Fu Cheng looked solemn: “January 28, 2019, which is half a year after you resigned as McFly’s chief designer, the FAA released a new aircraft standard requirement.”

Zhuo Huan raised an eyebrow. “Of course I know. The main requirement was to add 3 items of black box data, plus some minor specification adjustments.”

Fu Cheng: “When I was looking at the materials before, I found that before this industry-wide adjustment for US airliners, inspections of the angle of attack limiter frequently appeared in the maintenance records of the McFly F485. But after this, inspections of the angle of attack limiter suddenly decreased significantly.”

Zhuo Huan’s eyes opened slightly, and he began to flip through the materials. He looked up abruptly. “McFly changed the fly-by-wire system?”

The aircraft’s fly-by-wire system, distinct from the old hydraulic control system, has many advantages. One very significant point is that it can quickly calculate the maximum usable angle of attack based on the aircraft’s high angle of attack aerodynamic characteristics, using the angle of attack limiter to facilitate pilot operation.

If the angle of attack limiter changed, it is extremely likely that the aircraft’s fly-by-wire system itself changed.

Old Joseph said in surprise, “I really didn’t know when McFly updated the fly-by-wire system. Eh, Reid, even you didn’t know?”

Zhuo Huan was extremely irritable. “I’ve had nothing to do with McFly for a fucking long time; would they tell me?”

Everyone fell silent.

Zhuo Huan stood up and walked a few rounds. He took Fu Cheng’s phone again and went out to make a call.

When he returned, his expression wasn’t good.

Zhuo Huan: “I want to rebuild McFly’s fly-by-wire system from five years ago.”

Lina contacted Levy Andrew as quickly as possible. When this NTSB Deputy Director heard Zhuo Huan’s speculation, he was silent for a long time and said, “I’ll book a flight to Seattle immediately.”

The NTSB investigation report had been written to over 1500 pages, but now, everything stopped.

Rebuilding the fly-by-wire system of an ultra-long-haul large wide-body airliner was not an easy task.

McFly provided technical support, and the investigation headquarters was moved to Los Angeles to carry out the design work of the new system in McFly’s laboratory.

Zhuo Huan knew the McFly F485 like the back of his hand; nearly half of the innovative designs in this aircraft’s fly-by-wire system came from him.

Aircraft design is never a one-man job.

Thousands of McFly designers provided various ideas, and these ideas converged to construct a legendary aircraft.

Now, it seemed to return to ten years ago.

Designers from two experimental groups, led by Zhuo Huan, rebuilt the old fly-by-wire system of the McFly F485.

They spent a full three months to perfectly replicate the McFly F485 system from three years ago. Installing it on an actual aircraft would take another week. However, this time, Zhuo Huan pondered for a long time and stopped this decision.

“No actual flight test experiments.”

Fu Cheng asked in surprise, “Zhuo Huan?”

Zhuo Huan: “It has nothing to do with you. The probability of this malfunction occurring is too low. From the first flight of the McFly F485 in 2016 to the update of the fly-by-wire system in early 2019, it only happened three times.” He thought for a moment and made a decision: “Conduct laboratory simulation experiments.”

Top supercomputers were connected to the McFly laboratory, providing computational conversion of meteorological data from the cloud. At the same time, dozens of McFly experimenters worked day and night, inputting data again and again, waiting for results.

Then, nothing was found.

Just like that, another month passed.

September 7, 2022. McFly laboratory conducted the 1197th experiment, ending in failure again.

Fu Cheng talked to Regiment Commander Nie on the phone, confirming that regardless of the investigation result, he would officially return to the military next year. As soon as he turned around, he saw Old Joseph standing by the window, leaning against the railing, waving at him, smiling. “Going back to be an Air Force pilot, Fu?”

Fu Cheng was stunned. “Mn. First back to the Air Force, wait for retraining for a while, then back to the aircraft carrier.”

Old Joseph sighed with emotion. “It’s good to be young. After this ends, is Reid also leaving UAAG to go to your China’s COMAC?”

Fu Cheng didn’t hide it. “Yes.”

Old Joseph’s eyes were full of envy. “That’s really good.”

“Old Joseph.”

“By the way, Fu, Reid seemed to be looking for you just now.”

Fu Cheng paused. “He was looking for me?”

Old Joseph: “Yes, right at McFly E1 warehouse.”

Fu Cheng: “Okay, thanks, I’ll go check.”

Halfway there, Old Joseph’s voice came from behind. “Fu.”

Fu Cheng turned back.

Old Joseph leaned against the window, smiling and waving. “You are still young. The past is past; the future is the vaster place.”

Looking seriously at Old Joseph, Fu Cheng nodded gently and smiled. “Okay.”

The sun set in the west, and the moon rose in the sky.

Fu Cheng left the McFly laboratory building and walked towards McFly E1 warehouse located in the southwest corner.

When he first came here a year ago, Fu Cheng saw these rows of warehouses. But at that time, he didn’t go in, just watched from afar.

Arriving at the warehouse door, Fu Cheng looked around but didn’t find anyone. He took out his phone and called Zhuo Huan. A low vibration sound rang from inside the warehouse.

Fu Cheng paused slightly.

Zhuo Huan didn’t answer the phone.

He looked at the slightly ajar small door on the side, walked over, and pushed it open.

In the dim and quiet warehouse, only the small windows on both sides let in weak light, barely providing some visibility.

Fu Cheng had excellent vision, but suddenly entering such a dimly lit environment, he couldn’t adapt immediately. Squinting for a long time, he gradually saw things clearly.

In this spacious and huge warehouse, pitch-black colossal monsters were parked one by one.

He recognized them.

He recognized every single plane.

There was the US military C18A “Poseidon” transport aircraft, and the V-81 “Falcon” anti-submarine patrol aircraft.

There was McFly’s most classic F435 airliner, and the McFly F485 hailed as a masterpiece.

Every aircraft designed and produced by McFly was quietly parked here. Like beasts in hibernation, the coldness of machinery and the fragrance of fuel roughly integrated, permeating the air with the dominance and cold-bloodedness of the steel will of the great industrial age.

Standing in the center of the planes, Fu Cheng was as insignificant as a grain of dust.

But this grain of dust did not dissipate quietly with the wind. Instead, he stubbornly raised his head and looked not far away, at the man standing under the McFly F485 airliner, looking up.

Moonlight penetrated the window sill, striking right at his feet, reflecting a bright and clear color.

The man had his hands in his pockets, head slightly raised, looking at that cold and beautiful plane.

Zhuo Huan turned his head and looked at Fu Cheng.

Four eyes met.

He extended his hand.

Fu Cheng walked up and held it.

Zhuo Huan’s voice was very tranquil. He said gently, “Have you flown it?”

Fu Cheng: “Flown the simulator.”

Zhuo Huan raised an eyebrow. “Not the real plane?”

Fu Cheng thought for a moment. “Last year, does that test flight count?”

Zhuo Huan: “Oh, what do you think of it?”

Fu Cheng told the truth: “Masterpiece.”

Zhuo Huan laughed. “It’s a masterpiece, what about the person who designed it?”

Fu Cheng said seriously, “Mr. Rayner is indeed a genius.”

Zhuo Huan: “Hmm?”

Fu Cheng looked at him. “Hmm?”

Zhuo Huan: “Huh? That’s it?”

Fu Cheng: “What else. Oh, you count as a genius too.”

“…Count as?!”

The man stared wide-eyed, face full of disdain.

Fu Cheng couldn’t help laughing. He leaned on Zhuo Huan’s shoulder. “Trying to give me a birthday gift?”

He wasn’t stupid. Being busy for so many days, Zhuo Huan wouldn’t suddenly call him here for no reason.

Zhuo Huan immediately felt it was boring. “Can’t you be a bit stupider?”

Fu Cheng: “What gift?”

Zhuo Huan: “Guess?”

“Not guessing.”

“Guess.”

“Not guessing.”

Zhuo Huan lifted his chin, face cold, staring at him, saying word by word, “Guess or not?”

Fu Cheng: “…”

This person is so childish.

Fu Cheng: “Watch?” Looking at Zhuo Huan’s face, he continued, “Seem not. Tie, cufflinks?” Fu Cheng suddenly thought, “You aren’t giving me a plane, are you?”

Zhuo Huan: “…”

“You want a plane?”

“…I was just saying.”

“Oh, then talk about it next year.”

“…”

Zhuo Huan: “Guess again.”

Fu Cheng was thoroughly subdued by the capitalist’s wealth and said helplessly, “Can’t guess.”

Zhuo Huan: “Results came out.”

Fu Cheng didn’t react at once. “What results?”

Zhuo Huan looked down at him, the corner of his mouth hooked into an imperceptible arc, his voice lazy but carrying a trace of unconcealable joy: “Are you stupid, what other results. Rogue 318, laboratory experiment 1199, results came out.”

Breathing became rapid in an instant; it seemed a second passed, also seemed a year passed.

Fu Cheng held his breath and asked, “…What is the result?”

Zhuo Huan: “…”

“How the fuck did I fall in love with an idiot… Mmph…”

The young man’s hot and intimate kiss sealed all the man’s sounds. Fu Cheng tilted his head slightly, encircled this person’s shoulders, opened his lips and tongue. In the next moment, the man’s tongue probed in, kissing him feverishly. The ambiguous clicking sound of saliva echoed in the spacious warehouse, panting and breathing merging together.

Fu Cheng heard his own heart beating rapidly.

His body was numb, impacted by this huge joy, washing away all reason, even his fingertips were trembling.

Lips kissed until numb, the two pressed their foreheads together, looking at each other.

Zhuo Huan’s voice was hoarse: “Want to fuck you.”

Fu Cheng panted: “Mn…”

Zhuo Huan: “Want to love you more.”

Fu Cheng slowly raised his head.

Zhuo Huan: “Love you, for a lifetime.”

A warm and gentle kiss landed on the cold forehead.

December 3, 2022. UAAG released the accident investigation report on the Rogue 318 air crash, totaling 2315 pages.

Most air crashes in the world are tragedies caused by countless coincidences, and Rogue 318 was no exception.

A frontal wave air mass that wasn’t severe caused Rogue 318’s cruise control system to undergo corrective yaw; the pilots’ shift system, as well as sudden physical discomfort, prevented them from discovering the plane’s turn and controlling the plane immediately.

Dark night, ocean, were also among the reasons for this tragedy.

Invisible external environment, no suitable reference objects, increased the difficulty for pilots to discover anomalies.

…

And beyond these various coincidental reasons, it was because of the special design of the McFly F485’s wings. When it turned on the cruise control system, there was a one in ten thousand probability that external factors would cause disorder in the fly-by-wire system, generating internal electromagnetic pulse interference, thereby leading to failure of the fly-by-wire system.

However, this fly-by-wire system disorder design fault had already been improved in 2019. Whether by coincidence or destiny, McFly updated the fly-by-wire systems of all its airliner models, and this extremely unlikely malfunction could no longer happen.

This generated huge public opinion externally.

Why would McFly suddenly make such an update and improvement to the fly-by-wire system for no reason?

Did they really know nothing?

With so many years of continuous research and experiments day and night, did they really not discover this design loophole even once?

No one noticed that in early 2023, McFly Laboratory dismissed 3 designers, and McFly PR Director Johnny Berkeley and an executive also suddenly resigned. At the end of the same year, McFly’s chief designer Thor Rayner also submitted his resignation.

When interviewed by Time magazine afterwards, this top American aircraft designer said: “I am old.”

…

A full six years, five months, and twenty days.

He entered the darkest hell, saw the blackest evil eagle.

Like knife cutting flesh, like bone-eroding heart gouging.

But in that most desperate abyss, just when he lay barefoot on knives, covered in cuts and bruises from pain, suddenly, he heard that person’s voice.

Then, riding steel wings, with fire and flames as wind, crossing the cliff where thunder gods cry long, arriving at the city flowing with milk and honey.

I have seen that star.

I fell in love with him—

I held him.

-[End of Full Text]-

__

Author’s Note:

Thank you for your company during this time~ UAAG is officially finished! Many sighs, many regrets, but more gains. I like RIP and Chengcheng very much; they are both very good, and I hope you can like them too.

Then, the next novel plans to be an e-sports novel, the gong is Zhuo RIP’s younger brother~

Zhuo RIP: Huh? I’m a fucking only child, where did this thing pop out from?

Fuwa (Author): Let’s just say he’s yours and Fu Chengcheng’s son [not really]

Fu Chengcheng: …Cold knowledge, men cannot give birth.

Zhuo Xi: Heh, son? Dream on.

Zhao Luo: …

Wait, who are you two???

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