Chapter 7 The First Race of the Dragon Country Drone Championship
The seventh Dragon Country Drone Championship's first race was straightforward: a hundred-meter straight sprint followed by a series of turns, testing the fundamental skills of each team.
As the starting gun fired, the Black Wolf team's drone instantly surged past all others, taking a commanding lead and reaching the first turn. The drones from other teams, consciously controlling their speed, remained tightly bunched.
At this moment, cheers erupted in the Dongyang City Zunshan Sports Stadium.
"The race has just begun, and the Black Wolf team has taken the lead. However, this might not be good news. Ahead are the turns, and they are a series of winding, S-shaped bends. Normally, to navigate a turn smoothly, one must reduce speed."
"The Black Wolf team's drone is going too fast. To slow down to a speed that allows for safe passage through the turn, there's a high probability of losing balance, flipping over, allowing other teams to overtake, or even sustaining severe damage to the drone, making it impossible to continue the race."
In the stadium's audience seats, a heated discussion broke out regarding the Black Wolf team's actions.
"They really are a rookie team participating for the first time, not even understanding speed control."
"Being fast on the straight isn't truly fast; being fast in the turns is what matters. The championship involves ten laps, so what's the point of leading at the start."
"Waiting for a crash..."
At this moment, Zheng Mao, the lead pilot for the Black Wolf team, sat in the contestant's area. Through his FPV goggles, he viewed the approaching turn from the drone's perspective. Instead of slowing down, he pushed the joystick up another notch, increasing the drone's speed.
"What is he doing?"
The commentator's excited voice rang out, "Live stream viewers and everyone present, facing the intricate series of turns, Zheng Mao from the Black Wolf team, instead of reducing speed, has actually increased it."
"At such high speeds, the drone is virtually uncontrollable. Has he given up on himself?"
"Oh, no! A perfect drift around the corner! He has astonishingly simulated a racing car's maneuver with the drone! It's important to remember that drones have latency; this requires extremely precise calculations from the pilot."
Drone races, of course, don't have just one turn. Whether it was the live audience, viewers in the broadcast, or fans of other teams, their attention was now captivated by the Black Wolf team's drone.
Some hoped to witness even more astonishing maneuvers, while others eagerly anticipated seeing it crash into obstacles due to control failure, exploding into a brilliant fireworks display.
Straight turns, side turns, S-turns, consecutive hairpin turns...
Unlike car race tracks, which are limited to forward, backward, left, and right movements, drones can fly up and down, adding two more dimensions. The difficulty of the course escalated another notch.
One lap, two laps, three laps...
The Black Wolf team's drone widened the gap with other teams. The drone from the last-place team appeared in front of the Black Wolf. The Black Wolf team was about to lap another competitor in a professional match!
The pilots of other teams, unwilling to be defeated by a rookie team like this, began to accelerate in unison.
Accelerating wasn't difficult, but doing so rashly in a turn, with speeds they couldn't master, made accidents highly likely.
"Boom! Boom!"
Under everyone's gaze, two teams' drones, due to operational errors, collided with the obstacles on the sides of the turns and exploded into two brilliant fireballs.
Several other teams' drones, due to insufficient turn angles or excessive wing pressure during turns, deformed and were unable to continue flying, forcing them to abandon the race.
The seventh Dragon Country Drone Championship, as a national-level competition, naturally didn't have just one event.
Faced with the Black Wolf team's irresistible and absolute dominance, the Broken Sky team wisely chose to hold back, not using their secret weapon, and instead secured a steady second-place finish.
The Golden Eagle team followed closely, and then the drones from other teams...
After all the drones had crossed the finish line, the commentator's voice resounded.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the first round of the seventh Dragon Country Drone Championship has concluded. The judging panel is currently verifying the results. We are now entering a half-time break."
"Please enjoy the song 'Soaring Through the Sky' performed by the Magic Ball band."
As the foremost rock band in Dragon Country, the Magic Ball band's music was very energetic. However, the various teams participating in the drone competition had no inclination to enjoy it; they were intensely discussing their tactics.
The coach of the Broken Sky team surveyed the area sternly, finally focusing his gaze on the engineers: "The skill level of the Black Wolf team's pilot isn't particularly high. Their victory and dominance are mainly due to the excellence of the drone they are using."
"Master Li, can you modify our drone to be like that?"
"I'm sorry, I can't," replied Li Chong, the engineer for the Broken Sky team, his voice low as he pointed to a screenshot of the Black Wolf team's drone.
"At such speeds, a full 180-degree turn would put immense pressure on the drone's wings and bearings. At best, they would warp, and at worst, they would disintegrate. Yet, it passed through smoothly."
"To achieve this requires not only top-tier materials but also highly sophisticated modification techniques to evenly distribute the stress caused by rapid turns across the entire airframe."
"Only the top engineers in international teams can accomplish this, and I am far behind them..."
Next to the Broken Sky team, the engineer from the Golden Eagle team roared loudly.
"How is this possible! At such high speeds, to have such precise control ability, how did he react so quickly? What about the latency, the signal delay?"
Unlike the hysterics of other teams, the Black Wolf team's lounge was filled with joy.
Head coach Chen Yuanshan patted Zheng Mao's shoulder, beaming, "Well done. Taking first place in your first national competition."
Zheng Mao scratched his head, "It has little to do with me. The main reason is the excellent quality of the drone modified by Master Jing. The other teams simply don't have the capability to compete with me."
"Don't be so modest. Even the best drone needs a pilot. You did well. The next event is the weighted obstacle course. Prepare yourself properly."
After a brief rest, the second competition officially began.
The pilots from each team went to the preparation area to select the weight their drones would carry. The commentators took this opportunity to explain the rules.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the following event is the weighted obstacle race. Each pilot needs to control their drone, carrying a certain amount of weight through a series of obstacles to reach the finish line."
"This competition uses a dual-track scoring system. The weight carried and the finishing position are equally important. For specific competition rules, please refer to the official competition website."
"In simple terms, if you finish first but carry too little weight, your score won't be high. If you carry a lot of weight but finish last, your score also won't be high."
"This is a comprehensive assessment event. Most teams have now selected their weights. Let's see what their choices are?"