Old Zhao followed his instructions.

On the screen, the curve representing engine speed began to fluctuate.

However, the spikes on the vibration curve did not disappear; instead, they suddenly intensified in a certain speed range, and the amplitude increased several times in an instant!

"Whoosh, buzz!"

A deep, chilling metallic groan, as if a mournful cry came from the depths of the machine's skeleton, was clearly perceived by Lao Zhao through the machine's structure and transmitted back to the control tower via the highly sensitive in-cabin microphone!

Everyone's hearts were in their throats!

Wang Tiezhu's face was deathly pale, while Zhang Meng's fists were clenched so tightly that her nails almost dug into her flesh.

Worse still, almost simultaneously, several curves representing the parameters of the right engine suddenly and violently jumped!

"Right engine! Gasping! Sudden pressure drop! Abnormal temperature rise!" The technician in charge of power equipment's voice changed!

Engine surge at high altitudes and speeds! This is a more deadly killer than structural vibration!

Once out of control, the engine will be completely destroyed or even explode within seconds, tearing the fighter jet to pieces!

"Altitude! Speed ​​2.28! Right engine surge! Vibration intensifying!"

For the first time, Lao Zhao's voice revealed obvious tension, against the backdrop of the tooth-grinding creaking of the machine's structure and the unstable roar of the engine!

The control tower was deathly silent, filled with an atmosphere of despair.

The extreme test instantly turned into a life-or-death crisis! The double deadly threat was like a noose, tightly tightening around "Shadow's" throat!

"Ease off the throttle to 85%! Increase left engine thrust to 110%! Maintain pitch angle! Deploy spoilers for minor attitude adjustments!"

Mingzhao's voice was like an icicle piercing the stagnant air—fast, accurate, and ruthless! Without the slightest hesitation!

Her eyes were like a high-speed computer scanner, instantly synthesizing all the fluctuating data. The vibration frequency and the engine surge frequency formed a dangerous coupling at a certain point!

This dangerous resonance must be broken immediately!

Without the slightest hesitation, Lao Zhao's hands moved with lightning speed!

The right engine throttle was suddenly reduced, and the left engine thrust increased instantly! The nose dipped slightly, and tiny spoilers on the wings popped up and then retracted in an instant!

This seemingly contradictory action is like dancing on the edge of a knife!

Reduce the load on the right engine to alleviate surge, while using the left engine for greater thrust and attitude fine-tuning to maintain altitude and speed, and attempt to change the overall vibration mode of the aircraft!

On the screen, the pressure curve representing right-sided wheezing fluctuated violently a few times, like an electrocardiogram of a dying heart!

After reaching a terrifying peak, the amplitude began to slowly decline! And that fatal vibration curve, after the spoiler moved, was as if it were suddenly pinched by an invisible hand, and the amplitude suddenly decreased by more than 70%!

Although there are still slight residual fluctuations, they have changed from a deadly "sieve" to a tolerable "buzz"!

"The surge has subsided! The vibration... has decreased significantly!" Old Zhao's voice trembled with relief and disbelief. "Highly stable! Speed ​​maintained at 2.25!"

A suppressed gasp erupted from the control tower!

Wang Tiezhu slumped in his chair, his back soaked with cold sweat.

Zhang Meng let out a long, trembling breath, as if she were exhaling all the fear in her lungs.

Su Xuan was so excited that he punched his thigh hard.

The crisis is temporarily over! But the extreme test is far from over.

"The performance of the silent material is lower than expected, and residual vibrations are still at the edge of the permissible threshold."

Mingzhao's voice regained its absolute calm, as if the life-or-death situation had never happened. "Old Zhao, complete the high-altitude level flight and simulated tactical maneuvers as planned, and collect data. Closely monitor residual vibration and engine parameters."

"Understood!" Old Zhao's voice regained its strength.

The black "shadow," like a phantom reborn from the ashes, began to execute a series of highly difficult level flight, large-radius turns, and simulated evasive maneuvers in the inky blue sky near the edge of the atmosphere.

Mingzhao stared intently at the remaining vibration waveforms and engine readings on the screen, his fingertips gliding rapidly across the slide rule as he mentally calculated various parameter combinations. His brain, like an overclocked processor, analyzed every minute change.

She knew that the performance degradation of silent materials under extreme high-altitude environments was a new and serious challenge.

The dangerous coupled vibration just now also revealed a deeper, less-understood dynamic flaw in the design.

When "Shadow" finally finished its test and began its descent to return to base, the hearts of everyone in the control tower finally eased. The maiden flight brought the joy of success; this time, it was a relief of surviving a close call.

The fighter jet landed smoothly on the runway.

The hatch opened, and Lao Zhao, supported by the mechanic, stepped out of the cockpit. His flight suit was soaked with sweat, and his face was pale, but his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.

His first words to Zhang Meng and Su Xuan as they approached were, "It's done! She...she saved us again!"

The finger points in the direction of the control tower.

Mingzhao did not go to greet the triumphant pilots.

She remained alone at the data monitoring station, the screen frozen on the residual vibration waveform from the final stage of the test, during high-altitude level flight.

The faint yet persistent undulating lines, like those on an electrocardiogram, cast a cold reflection in her deep eyes.

She pulled up the temperature recording curve of the silent material installation location, and found that the material's temperature peak far exceeded the laboratory simulation environment during the period when the fighter jet was subjected to the highest heat load.

She picked up her pen and wrote a few words in her notebook:

Material thermal decay?

Is the coupled vibration source not completely eliminated?

Next to the notebook were several newly printed high-altitude thermal imaging photos.

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