Chapter 31: Overseas Astonishment

Looking at the live stream comments and the grim expressions of the staff in the warehouse, it was easy to sense their deep disgust toward the trolls in the chat. The F-22 fighter jet model was right there in front of the audience, yet these trolls refused to believe it, insisting it was fake. The staff felt like storming into the live stream and tearing those trolls' mouths apart. However, until Wang Yang gave the word, they simply had to focus on their own tasks.

"Actually, it's not that I don't want to prove it," Wang Yang said, raising his hand and clenching his fist. "But the surface of the F-22 is covered in stealth coating that reflects radar waves, and it requires special products to wipe down during routine maintenance."

"After all, this coating is quite precious. It's very possible that a punch like this could knock the coating off. Forget it, if you don't believe me..."

As he spoke, Wang Yang decisively raised his fist and landed two solid thuds on the nose of the F-22.

*Thump.*

*Thump!*

Two crisp, yet dull, sounds—clearly the impact of a fist hitting steel—echoed through the live stream. It was only because of Wang Yang’s height advantage that he could reach the fighter jet; a shorter person certainly wouldn't have been able to.

"Now, you should believe me, right?" Wang Yang laughed.

The comments in the live stream flew by.

[Holy sh*t! Holy sh*t! What did I just hear? I heard a fist hitting an F-22 fighter jet!]

[No way, Brother Yang, are you for real? This is actually an F-22!]

[Impossible, absolutely impossible! An F-22 cannot appear in the Nine Provinces, and the U.S. would never agree to ship an F-22 to the Nine Provinces. Even military exhibitions wouldn't use a real one. This must be a fake, it's definitely a model!]

[Exactly! Even if you can prove it's not a projection, these two F-22s must be hollow shells—just models with an exterior but no internal equipment.]

[Haha, in order to shut us trolls up, Wang Yang spent nearly half a year building two F-22 models. I have to say, he's really dedicated.]

[Dedicated my foot! He still can't prove it's a real F-22. Plus, as a big influencer, he has no way to get his hands on a real one, so it has to be a fake, just a model.]

[Forget whether it's a model or not, just tell me, is this an F-22 or not?]

[Haha, if this counts as an F-22, then if I build a Lamborghini shell, does that mean I'm the chairman of Lamborghini?]

Wang Yang promptly stopped the viewers from arguing further. "Alright, alright. I've given you the proof you wanted. These two F-22 fighter jets are physical objects, as you've seen. Of course, expecting me to take them for a spin is impossible; I've already said I don't know how to fly this thing."

"Besides, today's live stream is mainly about selling products. I ask you trolls to stop now and stop interfering with my sales."

...

Meanwhile, in the United States, at Lockheed Martin.

Micas had arrived early at the company to handle the day's business. As an arms dealer and the chairman of a Lockheed Martin subsidiary, he had a lot to deal with every day. Just as he was about to get into his work, his assistant knocked on his office door and walked in holding a tablet.

"Mr. Micas, please take a look at this video," the assistant said, handing over the tablet.

Micas looked puzzled, tapped on the video, and saw a familiar face: Wang Yang. The businessman from the Nine Provinces who had come to him half a year ago to purchase F-22 wreckage.

Curious, he watched the entire video. He looked up at his assistant with a mix of confusion and astonishment. Because the video was in the language of the Nine Provinces, he couldn't understand a word, nor did he know what Wang Yang was doing; he only saw Wang Yang seemingly introducing the F-22s behind him.

Moreover, the two F-22s in the video looked brand new, identical to the original aircraft, with no apparent differences. Micas didn't doubt Wang Yang's ability to restore them to their original appearance—just as Wang Yang had said, if he could buy the pile of scrap metal, he could fix the exterior. He had to admit, Wang Yang was quite talented and capable. But these two F-22s were undoubtedly hollow shells, meant only for display.

"This Mr. Wang Yang is selling these two brand-new F-22 fighter jet models, claiming they are brand new, fully functional, and ready for combat," the assistant explained.

Hearing this, Micas was stunned for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter.

"This Wang Yang is truly interesting. He buys the wreckage of two F-22s, does some simple restoration, and dares to call them brand-new F-22s? And says they can be used for combat?"

"Not bad, not bad. He is a truly shrewd businessman who knows how to use gimmicks to get these viewers to pay up. People from the Nine Provinces are indeed very clever," Micas remarked sincerely.

The assistant frowned. "Mr. Micas, this video has been posted on Tumblr, Imgur, Facebook, and other sites, drawing quite a bit of attention. The military has already contacted us, asking why we sold these two F-22s to Wang Yang."

Micas waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. When the military authorized me to sell the wreckage, there was no rule stating the buyer couldn't be from the Nine Provinces."

"Besides, these two F-22s are just empty shells. All their internal components were stripped out long ago. They are essentially just large models."

"Tell the military not to worry; all procedures were followed. Besides, those military folks are just going through the motions anyway."

The assistant nodded. "Understood, Mr. Micas."

"By the way, if you see any netizens uncovering the fact that we sold the wreckage to Wang Yang, be sure to issue a statement immediately. Make it clear that we sold him empty shells, which do not have the combat capabilities he claims in his live stream." Micas cautioned.

Netizens these days were like a pack of mad dogs. If they saw something they didn't like, they would launch a cyber-mob attack. He was worried that this incident would negatively affect Lockheed Martin, and he had to prevent that from happening.

"I understand, Mr. Micas."

The assistant left the office and thoughtfully closed the door.

Micas sat in his chair, continuing to reflect on the video. When he saw Wang Yang standing in front of that F-22, he had momentarily felt like it was a real, operational fighter jet. But he knew Wang Yang didn't have the means, nor was it possible, to turn that scrap metal into a real F-22. If that were truly the case, then the massive military budget the U.S. invested every year would be a joke.

Still, Wang Yang was quite impressive—a very smart businessman. If there was a chance, he might consider working with him again.

"I wonder what I should sell him next..."