Chapter 520: Core Soul-Forging

Li Mingyuan gazed at the massive "Kunpeng" and smiled slightly. This was his proudest work since he had transmigrated, fusing all the theories and technologies regarding Ground Effect Vehicle from his past life, plus some improvements born from his wild imagination.

"Alright, everyone go back and rest. I'll handle the rest." He spoke suddenly, his voice not loud but filled with unquestionable authority.

Department Head Zhang was stunned: "Lao Li, are you serious? So much precision equipment..."

"The more precise it is, the more it requires doing it myself." Li Mingyuan patted Department Head Zhang on the shoulder lightly, "Don't worry, it's just installing a 'heart' for it."

"But..."

"There are no 'buts'. It's my own child; I will give it its final lesson myself." Li Mingyuan waved his hand, "Go, tonight I will make it come completely alive."

Faced with Chief Engineer Li's insistence, the engineers present withdrew from the Final Assembly Workshop one after another. Department Head Zhang was the last to leave; as he left, he looked at Li Mingyuan as if wanting to say something, but ultimately just closed the main door.

Only Li Mingyuan remained in the Final Assembly Workshop. He flexed his wrists, a sense of excitement surfacing on his face like when he used to tinker with old cars in his garage in his past life. However, this time, what he was assembling was not some old car, but a "beast" capable of changing the world's landscape.

"Come on, baby, let Daddy see your heart."

Li Mingyuan walked familiarly toward the special entrance at the bottom of the "Kunpeng" and pressed the palm print recognition device; a narrow hatch slid open silently. This entrance was specially designed by him; only his own palm print could open it, leading to the "Kunpeng's" core Power System cabin.

Climbing into the cabin, Li Mingyuan crawled inward along the narrow passage. The interior of the "Kunpeng" was more complex than it looked from the outside; dense pipelines and control systems spread throughout the entire huge airframe like blood vessels and nerves. Li Mingyuan moved through them skillfully and finally arrived at the "heart" of the entire "Kunpeng"—the core Power System cabin.

This was a spherical space with a diameter of about ten meters, surrounded by thousands of precision pipes and countless flickering control panels. In the center was a suspended spherical device, its surface covered with a special alloy, with a void inside waiting for its final "soul."

Li Mingyuan took a deep breath and took out a sealed container from his specially made backpack. He opened the container cautiously, and a piece of special material emitting a faint blue light appeared before his eyes—this was the super energy core he had spent countless efforts to design using the "Pangu System" and process through the "Fuxi-Juling."

"You know, in my era, this thing was called a micro-nuclear fusion reactor, but in this age, let's keep a low profile and just call you 'Dragon Heart'." Li Mingyuan talked to himself, the image of Iron Man installing the arc reactor in the science fiction movies of his past life appearing on his face.

He carefully took the "Dragon Heart" out of the container and walked toward the central spherical device. While approaching, he took a micro-controller out of his pocket and pressed a few buttons lightly; the protective layer on the surface of the spherical device opened, revealing the precision interface structure inside.

"Pangu, activate the intelligent auxiliary system." Li Mingyuan commanded softly.

A response came from the micro-communicator worn on his ear: "Activated, Chief Engineer Li. Intelligent auxiliary system ready, starting core installation procedure."

Li Mingyuan carefully aligned the "Dragon Heart" with the interface and then began the final debugging at a dazzling speed. His fingers danced on the control panel like playing the piano, while he continuously issued commands, working in coordination with the "Pangu System" to perform micron-level precise calibration.

"Adjusting the third quadrant interface, deviation 0.003 millimeters... calibrating... calibrating... locked!"

"The fourth group of energy transmission pipelines preheating complete, temperature stable at 1273 Kelvin... perfect!"

"Guiding coil magnetic field strength adjusted to 108.5% of the standard value... continuing to monitor... values stable!"

Fine beads of sweat seeped from Li Mingyuan's forehead, but his hands remained as steady as a rock. This was a race against time and precision; any tiny deviation could lead to catastrophic consequences. With the assistance of the "Pangu System," every one of his movements was accurate to the micron level, and every parameter adjustment was just right.

"Final step, preparing to activate the 'Dragon Heart'..." Li Mingyuan took a deep breath, his fingers hovering above the final start button, "Pangu, countdown."

"Five, four, three, two, one, activate!"

Li Mingyuan pressed the button decisively. The "Dragon Heart" was instantly embedded completely into the central sphere, a flash of faint blue electric light streaked across the interface, and then the entire sphere began to rotate slowly, emitting a low and powerful humming sound.

At first, it was just a slight vibration, but soon, the entire power cabin began to resonate, and the humming sound gradually increased, changing from low to surging, as if an ancient beast was waking up. Li Mingyuan felt the floor under his feet trembling slightly, and the air was filled with an indescribable energy fluctuation, making one's hair stand on end while feeling heart-pounding excitement.

"Power output rising steadily... 20%... 40%... 60%..." the Pangu System reported calmly, "80%... 90%... 100%! Core operating stably, all parameters normal!"

Li Mingyuan let out a long breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and a gratified smile appeared on his face: "It's done!"

He knew that at this moment outside the Final Assembly Workshop, those engineers must have felt the energy fluctuations emitted when the "Kunpeng" woke up, and perhaps those agents hiding in the dark were also palpitating because of this unknown power. But only he understood what this meant—Long Country was about to possess a power system that transcended the era, a power sufficient to change the entire Cold War landscape.

"Lao Li! Lao Li!" Department Head Zhang's voice came from the communicator, "What happened? The whole base felt the vibration, and..."

"Everything is normal, Department Head Zhang." Li Mingyuan replied calmly, "The 'Kunpeng's' heart has started beating; it's alive."

A sound of gasping came from the other end of the communicator, followed by Department Head Zhang's trembling question: "This... this kind of energy... what kind of technology is this?"

Li Mingyuan looked at the "Dragon Heart" emitting faint blue light before him and replied softly: "The future."

One week later, inside a strictly sealed bay on the east side of Penglai Base.

At five o'clock in the morning, fog shrouded the sea, adding a layer of mystery to this secret operation. The bay was covered with guard posts and camouflaged Anti-aircraft Gun, and several "Sea Eagle" fighter jets circled in the sky to ensure nothing went wrong.