Chapter 1037: Test Flight and Custom Color Scheme
The thrust from his feet allowed him to freely fly upward, while the thrust from his hands let him adjust his forward and backward angle, preventing him from tumbling head over heels.
Zhang Zhibin carefully controlled the thrust from his hands and feet, his entire body beginning to drift aimlessly around the workshop.
This feeling reminded Zhang Zhibin of learning to ride a bicycle as a child—he constantly had to engage different muscles to find balance in the air, maintaining specific postures to ensure he hovered in place or slowly moved in a certain direction.
"Hey, wait, don't go that way! Come back, come back..."
Although Jarvis could hear him, the propulsion system of the armor didn't actually support voice control. Zhang Zhibin couldn't help shouting out loud simply because this sensation was truly amazing.
Like a baby learning to walk, it felt difficult at first—always stumbling and inevitably falling. But once he adapted to the feeling, it was like opening up a whole new world.
By the time Zhang Zhibin had spent half an hour finally managing to fly smoothly, he had already fallen in love with the sensation.
Jarvis controlled the mechanical arms to equip him with the full Mark 2 armor. The display inside Zhang Zhibin's helmet began showing the scene in front of him, offering a very wide field of view. Jarvis automatically started scanning the surrounding environment and displayed any information Zhang Zhibin cared about on the screen.
"Jarvis, check if I can do a test flight now." Zhang Zhibin felt he was completely ready.
Jarvis: "There is still a significant amount of computational work to be done before actual flight. I recommend..."
Zhang Zhibin interrupted him: "It's fine, let's just fly first."
After half an hour of practice, Zhang Zhibin had just mastered the technique of hovering, and he couldn't wait to try a real flight. Besides, even if something went wrong, so what? This was in the game—at worst, he could reload from a save point and start over.
"Whoosh..."
Zhang Zhibin felt the thrust from his feet and hands growing stronger and stronger. His body involuntarily leaned forward, and at that moment, the thrust from his feet instantly surged to an extremely powerful level!
The scenery in his field of vision began racing backward. Before Zhang Zhibin could even let out an excited shout, he had already flown out of the garage and was rapidly ascending into the sky.
"Thrilling! This is so thrilling! Woo-hoo!!"
Zhang Zhibin couldn't help letting out a monkey-like yell. He had thought actual flight would be difficult, but it was actually much simpler than he had imagined—at least easier than struggling to maintain a hover in the cramped garage.
It was like how many people find the road test easier than the closed-course test, because the closed-course test involves precise control of the vehicle, while the road test is driving on relatively open roads.
After soaring high into the sky, Zhang Zhibin truly understood what freedom and boundlessness meant. He could make any move he wanted—rolls, spins, acceleration, deceleration, climbs, dives... He just needed to make the corresponding motion, and Jarvis would control the armor plates and flaps on the suit to coordinate with his flight movements, flawlessly smooth.
He looked down and saw his seaside mansion, now reduced to an inconspicuous speck of light along the coastline. In the distance, the brightly lit city cluster looked like a brilliant sea of stars. The crisscrossing elevated highways and roads resembled glowing veins. Everything was identical to the scenes seen from an airplane in GTA, except... the city cluster appeared larger.
He flew over the amusement park at night. The nearly two-hundred-meter-tall Ferris wheel sparkled with multicolored lights. Jarvis automatically captured a close-up of a child on the Ferris wheel, opening a picture-in-picture window on the massive display in front of Zhang Zhibin, then continuously zooming in.
Zhang Zhibin saw the little kid staring dumbfounded at him as he streaked across the sky, even dropping the ice cream from his hand.
Through the clouds, soaring high, then flying over the urban area, watching the endless streams of traffic and pedestrians with astonished gazes, he finally skimmed across the sea surface, returned to his residence, and landed smoothly.
It wasn't until his feet touched the ground that Zhang Zhibin realized his legs were trembling uncontrollably.
As if he had flown for so long that he had forgotten how to walk.
Removing the full suit of armor, Zhang Zhibin grabbed a drink from the side.
Jarvis's voice sounded: "The previous flight data indicates that the main sensor may malfunction at an altitude of around 10,000 meters. The outer shell pressurization could also have issues due to icing. If you want to fly in space, further improvements to the exhaust valve system will be necessary."
Zhang Zhibin sat down in a chair: "Hmm, any suggestions?"
Jarvis replied: "I recommend contacting Sith Industries to refit the surface metal, using the gold-titanium alloy from the Angel tactical satellite to ensure power-to-energy ratio while enhancing the frame's strength."
Zhang Zhibin nodded: "Okay, arrange it as you said."
Jarvis: "Understood. Here is the concept render for the Mark 3."
Zhang Zhibin looked at the render displayed on the screen. The entire suit was a garish gold color, looking like an Oscar statuette, or a gleaming yellow... statue.
"That's way too yellow, isn't it?" Zhang Zhibin frowned.
Jarvis replied: "You can freely customize the color of any part of the Mark 3, or you can simply state a general preferred color scheme, and I will complete the specific render."
Zhang Zhibin looked at the Mark 3 concept render on the screen. Now he could directly tap any piece of armor with his finger, then select any color he wanted from the palette to paint it—essentially DIY. Alternatively, he could just state a color scheme, like "silver as the main color with some dark blue accents," and Jarvis would automatically complete the scheme. He could then fine-tune that scheme, saving a lot of effort.
If Zhang Zhibin wanted, he could even change the Mark 3's helmet to green. Of course, almost no player would actually do that.
Zhang Zhibin chose to adjust the armor's color scheme himself, just like customizing a character's face in most games.
"Black as the main color? No, too dark, too low-key."
"Silver is definitely better looking, but it still seems too plain. Add a little gold element as an accent."
"Maybe a bit of red? No, three colors seem too flashy. Jarvis, I want silver as the main color, with some red and gold accents—or maybe skip the gold. Help me create a basic color scheme."
"Okay." As Jarvis spoke, the Mark 3 armor on the screen was immediately painted with a new color scheme: silver as the main color, with relatively understated red accents on the body, arms, and legs. It looked very cool.
This color scheme was different from the classic Iron Man color scheme; it was entirely designed by the player.
"Starting automatic assembly. Estimated completion time: 5 hours," Jarvis said.
Zhang Zhibin checked his watch: "So I have to wait 5 hours?"
Jarvis said: "You might consider attending the party at the Disney Concert Hall tonight. Although you weren't invited, you should be quite welcome there."