The alarm at the base was still in effect, but a heavy, almost suffocating oppression hung over everything.

The joy of the maiden flight was shattered by this sudden and cruel reality.

Wang Tiezhu slumped into a chair, covering his face with his hands. Su Xuan slammed his fist against the wall, blood seeping from his knuckles.

Just then, a logistics staff member responsible for cleaning the data room pushed a cleaning cart, head down, and quickly walked through the somber corridor.

Taking advantage of everyone's attention being focused on the control tower and the danger in the air, he moved very naturally toward the slightly ajar door of the data analysis room.

His gaze swept quickly across the room; the technicians were either urgently called to support the control tower or concerned about Li Jian's dangerous situation, and the room was empty.

His gaze landed precisely on a corner of the control panel, on a thermal drawing that recorded the waveform of the "Shadow" tremor.

Next to the drawings, there were also several handwritten drafts with preliminary analysis conclusions.

His heart suddenly raced, and a greedy glint flashed in his eyes.

Without a moment's hesitation, he slipped inside like a ghost, swiftly grabbed the crucial thermal paper and several manuscripts, and stuffed them into the large inner bag of his workwear without even glancing at them. The whole process took less than ten seconds.

He had just left the data room and was casually pushing his cart toward the other end of the corridor when he almost bumped into Jiang Feng, who was rushing over from the control tower.

Jiang Feng's face was gloomy, his eyes as sharp as a hawk's, as he was about to check the specific malfunction report of Li Jian's mobile phone.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Captain Jiang!"

The logistics staff hurriedly lowered their heads, their voices carrying just the right amount of fear.

Jiang Feng paused, his sharp gaze sweeping over the other person's lowered face and the unremarkable cleaning truck.

A professional sense of alertness made him take another look.

The other person seemed to carry a very faint, peculiar scent that didn't belong to cleaning agents.

It's very faint, like... the smell of some kind of thermal paper after it's been heated?

Moreover, although the person had his head down, the brief eye contact just now seemed too calm, unlike the reaction of an ordinary worker when encountering a security supervisor.

"fine."

Jiang Feng suppressed his doubts; Li Jian's safety was more important now. He waved his hand and said, "Go on with your work."

Without stopping, he headed straight for the technical archives room.

The logistics staff, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, quickly pushed their carts and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Inside the large work clothes, the thermal paper recording the deadly hidden dangers of "Shadow" was silently exuding an aura of danger.

Squadron Leader Li Jian, piloting the damaged J-8II, miraculously made an emergency landing on the grass at the edge of the alternate landing zone with astonishing willpower and skill.

The fighter jet was severely damaged, but the pilot survived and was rushed to a medical station.

The gloom hanging over the base did not dissipate; instead, it transformed into a heavy, urgent force due to the vulture's renewed success and the near-death experience of his comrades.

This power was poured into "Shadow" without reservation.

The laboratory door finally opened.

Mingzhao came out, her face showing a hint of fatigue, but her eyes were still clear and sharp.

She held several newly synthesized composite sheets in her hands, which had a strange matte finish and were slightly warm to the touch, with a soft and elastic texture.

"The special damping material has been completed."

Her voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable weight: "The core layer is embedded with specially treated stardust derivative microstructures that can rapidly convert into heat energy and dissipate under high-frequency vibrations. Installing it according to the blueprints will solve the vibration problem."

There was no applause, no cheers. Everyone knew this was just the first step.

The real test lies in sending this thin sheet to the extreme altitude to verify whether it can suppress the fatal resonance under extreme conditions.

The vulture's provocation added a tragic, do-or-die atmosphere to the test.

Time was of the essence. Damping plates were quickly installed at critical connection points on the rear frame of the "Shadow" engine compartment.

Test pilot Lao Zhao once again donned his gear and took to the field. His eyes were even more solemn than during the maiden flight, for Li Jian, and for all his comrades who had been humiliated by the vultures.

"Shadow" glides back onto the runway.

This time, the atmosphere at the base was somber and oppressive.

Inside the control tower, Zhang Meng, Su Xuan, Wang Tiezhu, and others held their breath in concentration.

Jiang Feng personally oversaw communications from the control tower to ensure that the communication channels between Mingzhao and Lao Zhao remained completely open.

Mingzhao was in charge of the flight data monitoring station, with dozens of real-time sensor curves displayed on the screen in front of him.

She was like an ice sculpture, only occasionally tapping her fingertips on the keyboard to access more detailed data views.

With its engine roaring, "Shadow" pierced the sky like a dark gray arrow.

The ascent was exceptionally rapid and smooth, yet its signal remained as faint as a ghost on the ground radar screen.

"Altitude...!" The altitude reading device kept jumping.

Old Zhao's voice came through the encrypted channel, steady yet slightly tense: "Report, flight status is stable, no abnormal vibrations."

Mingzhao's gaze was fixed on several key curves representing the vibration of the mid-section structure.

On the screen, the lines are as smooth as if drawn with a ruler. The silent material performs its function perfectly at normal height.

"Continue climbing. Target altitude: meters. Target speed: Mach 2.3."

Mingzhao issued the order in a calm and even voice.

"Understood! Begin accelerating the ascent!" Old Zhao's voice was resolute.

The "Shadow" engine unleashed even greater thrust, propelling the machine upwards at a near-vertical angle.

The altimeter spun wildly, and the speed pointer steadily approached the red zone.

Inside the control tower, the air seemed to freeze. Everyone knew that this altitude and speed had approached, or even exceeded, the limits of the "Shadow" design theory, and represented a forbidden zone that domestic aviation had never truly ventured into before!

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