The day of the first, true, manually piloted test flight dawned bright and clear, the sky a perfect, cloudless, and inviting, canvas of blue. The hovercar, which they had decided to name the "Cloud-Piercer," sat on the peak of Mt. Aocang, its new, comfortable seats and its polished, glowing dashboard a silent, beautiful promise of the adventure to come.
But this was a momentous occasion, a historic, and slightly terrifying, event. And it required an audience.
Using the communication sigil, a formal, and very excited, invitation was sent.
Ganyu arrived first, soaring in on her qilin-themed hoverboard, her face a mixture of profound, sisterly pride and barely-suppressed, anxious terror. She was followed, a few moments later, by Shenhe, who had simply… appeared, a silent, silver-haired shadow at the edge of the peak, her glacial-blue eyes fixed on the strange, new, flying machine with a look of quiet, profound curiosity.
The family was assembled. The test could begin.
Ren, his heart a happy, thrumming drum of pure, unadulterated excitement, was the designated pilot. They had, of course, made a few, small, but crucial, modifications for their first, and currently only, driver. Xianyun had crafted an elegant, wooden extension for the brake pedal, ensuring that his small, ten-year-old legs could comfortably, and safely, reach it.
He climbed into the pilot's seat, the comfortable, silk-flower-padded cushion a perfect fit. He buckled the seatbelt, its soft, sturdy strap a reassuring presence. He placed his hands on the familiar, intuitive, and wonderfully real, steering wheel.
He looked over at Xianyun, who was standing by, her face a mask of a scientist's calm, focused observation. He looked at Ganyu, who was wringing her hands with a worried, but proud, smile. He looked at Shenhe, who simply gave him a single nod of encouragement.
He took a deep breath. And he pressed the button.
Vvvvvvvvvvmmmmmm…
The Cloud-Piercer came to life with a low, powerful, and beautifully, stable, hum. The car lifted from the ground, smoothly, gracefully, and rose to its default, three-foot, hovering altitude, and then held there, as steady and as unmoving as the mountain itself.
A collective, awestruck sigh went through the small, powerful audience.
Ren gently pushed the lever at his side forward. The car responded instantly, gliding forward with a silent, beautiful grace, the new gyroscopic and propeller-tilt systems working in perfect, flawless harmony. It was as level, and as stable, as a ship on a sea of glass.
He turned the wheel, and the car banked into a smooth, elegant turn, circling the mountaintop. He flew it around the familiar stone table, he soared over the crystal-clear pool, his control over the vehicle as natural and as intuitive as if he had been driving it his entire life. It was a perfect, triumphant, and utterly, wonderfully, successful, maiden flight.
After a few, joyous minutes of this slow, graceful, and completely safe, flight, he guided the car back to its starting point and, with another press of the button, the Cloud-Piercer began its slow, gentle, and fully automatic, landing sequence, settling onto the ground with barely a whisper.
He had done it. They had done it.
He unbuckled his seatbelt and hopped out of the car, his face alight with a grin so wide it felt like it might split his face in two.
"It works," he breathed, his voice a mixture of awe and pure, simple joy. "It actually works."
But the engineer in him was already thinking, already analyzing. "But," he added, his mind already moving on to the next, logical, and necessary, improvement, "we should add another pedal. A 'thrust' pedal. For when you want to go a little faster. The lever is good for forward and reverse, but a pedal would give the driver more… nuanced control over their speed." He then looked at Xianyun, a thoughtful look on his face. "We'll still need a maximum speed limit, of course. A built-in governor, to make sure no one can go too fast and lose control."
He then looked at his beautiful, new, and completely intact, creation. He looked at the proud, happy, and deeply relieved, faces of his family. And a mischievous, playful, and slightly wicked, twinkle entered his glowing azure eyes.
"So," he said, with a perfectly straight face, "who wants to help me test the accident cushions?"