.“ Ladies and gentlemen, a very unfortunate incident has just happened, one of our participating planes crashed due to a technical failure, and the search and rescue pilot work is still in full swing. In the meantime, I hope that you will join us in praying for the pilot of the wrecked plane, Mr. Roman Rock Sherlist, and may God bless this brave young man......

On behalf of the organizers, I would like to remind all participants once again that they must carefully check their aircraft before departure, and none of us want to see similar tragedies happen again! However, the brave will never be intimidated by the difficulties ahead, and I believe that our air warriors will be able to adjust their condition to meet the challenges ahead! ”

When the announcer of the tournament broadcast the above series of messages in his characteristic American tone, the whole stadium was not as chaotic as one might think. A significant number of people rushed to see the search and rescue team search for the crashed plane and the pilot on it, and people hoped to see a miracle, even though they knew that the chances of the pilot surviving in that situation were slim.

"Well, now that the first batch of participating aircraft has completed the first stage of the competition, and that's what we're looking forward to the most – top speed, let's see what they do...... Oh, and I'm holding the top 20 contestants and their planes, oh, the numbers are amazing, I see a lot of triple digits starting with 6, oh! My God, I saw 7! Ladies and gentlemen, that's a brand new race record of 709.34 km/h, second only to last year's Schneider Cup Aircraft Race in Dublin! It's fantastic, let's take a look at the creators of this beautiful achievement...... Glen Fittel, American! ”

As the announcer uttered the last sentence "Glen Fittel, American!" The originally solemn atmosphere of the game scene has changed dramatically in an instant. The men and women in the VIP seats immediately stood up and applauded, and those on the beach, especially Americans, chanted "Long live America!" ”

"Although the competition is far from over, although there will be many good pilots to show their strength to everyone, I still have to say, Glen Fittel, congratulations. We are so proud of you! ”

The announcer's distinctly subjective words set off another cheer in the crowd, and people seemed to quickly put the misfortune behind them, and a record set by the Americans made them feel excited and proud, and if they could, they would rather the race end now, and the dilemma of the previous two editions of the American contestant and champion would no longer exist.

About 5 kilometers south of the beach where spectators gathered, there is a large area of ground with sand and gravel, which is the airport used by the contestants who used land-based aircraft. Like the Schneider Cup, the Americans don't have hard and fast rules about the type of aircraft that competitors use, and some people prefer seaplanes because of the ease of take-off and landing. In the event of engine stalling during the race, you can also glide and land on the water; There is a preference for the use of land-based aircraft. Because they felt that the large pontoons of the seaplane would affect the speed of the aircraft, the organizers of such aircraft competitions would always have at least two airports. One is on the water and one is on land. In the earliest days, it was very simple to prepare an airport for land-based aircraft, just find a relatively flat grass, but with the increase in the weight of the aircraft, the grass gradually became difficult to support their normal take-off and landing, so people began to tamp the sand into a special runway, and in some more formal standing airports, people also built a more solid and flat concrete runway.

"Lads. I just received a notice from the organizers that the competition has been postponed to 3pm! ”

A tall, lanky man in a black trench coat and small-rimmed two-cleo glasses walked up to the flight mechanics who were busy around the plane, not too old compared to the busy people, but with an aristocratic temperament from Europe that clearly distinguished him from them.

"Understood, boss!" Although the technicians wore relatively ordinary overalls, their neat and concise answers revealed a military temperament.

What these people are busy with is a strange-looking plane. Its cockpit is located in the middle of the fuselage, but there are engines on the left and right that are massively attached to the tail to make it look like there are two fuselages. The tail wing was definitely unconventional for its time, and its rather dull grey-and-white camouflage livery looked like a vicious and ugly hammerhead shark from a distance. It also has a very German name: Lightning Eagle.

Although the Lightning Eagle does not have the Iron Cross logo and numerical number on its fuselage, and is not equipped with machine guns, cannons, or rocket pylons, it is clear to the discerning eye that it is a modified aircraft based on the Henkel-Messerschmitt Type 303 fighter.

You must know that this fighter is currently only equipped with the Luftwaffe, and the equipment has been less than a year, and the number of equipment is less than 100, so it is not the real battlefield that makes it famous, but the 13th Schneider Cup held in Dublin last autumn, and the final victory and breaking the world record is the Heinkel-Messeschmitt 303 with the removal of airborne weapons, a high-speed fighter jointly developed by the famous Henkel design studio and the Mercedesschmidt design studio.

It is precisely because of this extraordinary background and experience that since the plane arrived at this airport, there have been no less than 100 participants who have come to "say hello" every day. However, these Germans, from the team leader to the ordinary mechanics, maintained the serious and unconversive style characteristic of the German nation, and people had to pay more attention to the unique shape of the participating aircraft. Somewhat surprisingly, the Germans did not refuse to allow visitors to take pictures of the plane or to take pictures with it. However, few people have found that although it has the same dual fuselage and tail support design as the Henkel-Messerschmitt 303, the wings and fuselage are much smaller than the latter, and the front space of the cabin is reduced, making the aircraft more conducive to pure flight rather than combat.

"Hans, you take half of the people to eat first, and come back in an hour to replace the rest!"

The black trench coat looked up and said to the blonde man sitting in the cabin.

"Okay, boss!" The blonde man in a gray flight suit climbed out of the cabin and then swooped down the short ladder to the ground, he was the pilot of this plane, Hans Nornster, the chief test pilot from the Prussian aircraft factory in Germany. I'm afraid that this flying genius has already gone to the Luftwaffe to fly fighters.

"Boss, it's all been checked, and there's no problem!"

"Well, don't be too nervous, the accident in the morning was mostly caused by technical reasons, and sometimes it's not a good thing to have too much imagination! But Hans, you should be careful when you are in the enclave in the afternoon, and don't neglect safety for the sake of speed! The black trench coat walked up to the blonde Hans. whispered: "I heard that several high-level figures came to watch the scene in person, and they behaved well!" ”

"Yes, Lord, I see!" There was a hint of joy on the blonde Hans's face, but he didn't delve into what kind of big man he was, which was definitely not something he should know. He looked around at the technicians around him and ordered two of the groups to join him for dinner.

"The rest!" The black trench coat said to the people who stayed: "Check the oil pipeline and the circuit again!" ”

At this moment, in the luxurious villa on the other side of the beach, because the game was temporarily suspended, Chen Tian and the others had to sit around the coffee table and play cards boredly.

"Guess which country's contestant will win the championship this time. If you don't think it's fun to just guess. You can also make a bet! ”

After taking a stinky hand, Chen Tian looked at Rupresit on the other side with a spring breeze, this guy seemed to have got the third good hand in a row. That being the case. Chen Tian can only try to disrupt the opponent's mind by constantly talking, which is a trick he usually uses at the poker table, but it doesn't work every time, and it basically has no effect when he encounters the kind of guy who can multitask.

"What is Your Majesty going to bet on? We can't afford to gamble too much! Antoinette on the right hand side is very lucky, but his words are sharp.

Chen Tian looked at Juliana and said with a smile: "In order to show justice, the bet will be said by Her Royal Highness the Queen, and I will definitely accompany you!" ”

"Really?" Antoinette tilted his head sideways and thought for a moment, "If Your Majesty wins, we will send Your Majesty the fastest plane in Britain." If Your Majesty loses, give us the fastest flying German plane, Britain, it's a fair bet! ”

"Hehe, that's a real bet...... Fair enough, very fair! Watching Rupresit play the strong card, Chen Tian shook his head helplessly, "Don't follow!" ”

"Don't follow? Didn't Your Majesty just say......" Antoinette was surprised.

"Oh, I'm talking about the cards on the table! Your Majesty's card luck is so good, it seems that I bet with His Highness to lose nine out of ten games! Chen Tian said with a smile. It's rare that Your Highness is so interested in our German-made aircraft that no matter what our gamble is, I'll give the British royal family the fastest airliner in my private capacity! ”

Antoinette didn't notice that Chen Tian had secretly changed the concepts of "airplane" and "passenger plane", and hurriedly clapped: "Then it's a word!" Your Majesty is not allowed to go back! ”

Chen Tian smiled and said nothing, and Rupresit on the other side spoke at this time:

"Don't worry, it's just a passenger plane, with the financial resources of the German royal family, Your Majesty will never regret it!"

At this moment, Antoinette finally heard the meaning of the words, but before she could regret it, Chen Tian said loudly:

"Aha, Your Majesty knows me best! By the way, Your Highness hasn't guessed which country will win! ”

"Guess!" Antoinette shook her head slightly, "It must be Germany!" ”

"Ahem, a friendly reminder, due to the war, we in Germany did not send a national team to participate in the competition this time!" Chen Tian reminded very kindly.

"Oh? Are you sure? Antoinette was obviously indifferent to these things, and took it for granted that Germany would naturally send a team to participate in a competition of this magnitude, not to mention that the Kaiser himself was present in person.

Rupresit nodded silently.

"Great! I won! Juliana said coldly, Chen Tian and Antoinette looked at each other, it turned out that between their words, Juliana had successfully played the last hand, and Rupresit, who seemed to be very strong, still had several cards in his hand at this time.

"I heard that the landlings have a plane reward for winning?"

Juliana clapped her hands, and the other three were stunned for a few seconds before laughing.

More than three hours later, as the plane and its pilot were found and recovered from the water, the search and rescue efforts on the organisers' side were over, and the postponed race was able to continue, with the American pilot still the best of the 31 individual competitors who had completed the race, a feat that had not been surpassed by the Germans and their Henkel-Messerschmidt 303 until they took off.

"Race No. 79, take off in 3 minutes! Get ready for take-off! ”

Dressed in a blue vest, the starter holds a small, brightly colored flag in his hand, and the timekeeper holding his watch moves his gaze back and forth between the control tower and the participating aircraft.

As soon as one of the participating planes left the ground, the "Lightning Eagle" slowly entered the runway area using its own power, the propellers on the engines on both sides of it were spinning at high speed, and Hans, wearing a special flight cap and full flight gear, smiled and waved to the crew not far away. By this time there were already many people gathered on the runway, who had either sent off their pilots and the plane's competitors, or who were still far behind the queue to take off, these people did not know each other, they had different skin colors and different languages, but they were here today for two purposes: to see the Germans set a new record in this Michigan, and to expect the Germans to make a fool of themselves or be surpassed.

"No. 79...... Let's go! ”

The starter waved the small flag in his hand violently, and under the drive of two Enke high-horsepower engines, the two sets of propellers rotated wildly, pushing the clumsy and ugly-looking body of the "Lightning Eagle" to slide forward, and the roar of the engines quickly drowned out the cheers and boos coming from both sides of the runway. As the nose of the plane lifted upwards and the blue sky unfolded in front of Hans Nornster, the young test pilot took a deep breath, the challenge had just begun.

An hour later, the same American announcer announced to the hundreds of thousands of viewers in a slightly dejected tone: "Ladies and gentlemen, the German pilot Hans Nornster has just broken the world record with his 'Lightning Hawk', let us remember this name and his great record: 730.88 kilometers per hour!" ”

In the luxurious villa by the beach, everyone present stood up and applauded the German pilot, and only Chen Tian knew in his heart that this so-called world record was only for international open competitions, and in the secret research institute of the Luftwaffe, this speed had been surpassed for a long time.