The party marched down the road. It was still snowing, and it was getting heavier. In a few minutes the snow covered the ground with a thick white blanket. A few hours ago, the field in the distance had been green. Now it had been painted white. Rebecca looked at the snow on her body with surprise and wonder.
"The last time I looked this beautiful was two years ago!" She cried.
"So we'd better get there as soon as we can to have you refitted." William quickened his pace, while the others followed closely. Half an hour later, they arrived without incident. During this time they passed checkpoint 11 and 12, where they got 1.5% and 2% of their energy, respectively.
Although the town was quieter than usual, yet the street where the party was was still bustling. The stores were brightly lit and stood out against the darkening sky. The people on the street were not angry or sad about the snow. On the contrary, some people stopped for a few minutes and just silently watched the snow fall. Some children were making snowmen by the side of the road.
Rebecca's eyes lit up when she saw the sign for Woodford Refitting Factory. So she cried, "Look! Here we are!"
The party walked quickly. At first people did not notice Rebecca, but they soon recognized her. "Former champion!" Cried a child who was building a snowman.
The crowd began to shout, "Here comes the former champion!" The applause rang through the air.
Rebecca was a little shy. She thanked them profusely and moved on. However, she knew that the "former champion" was only the champion of the tryouts, and that she was called that out of respect. Attentions had shifted to the party of William. "We haven't seen them before." People whispered, "Are they from another planet?"
"You won't guess it." Thought William, chuckling.
They entered Woodford Refitting Factory. The owner was sitting in front of the door. He was surprised and delighted to see Rebecca coming. "Hello, regular customer!" He laughed, "Why? Why would you be motivated to refit?"
"Thanks to these friends." The plane smiled as she looked at William and his party, "I even thought about quitting flying endurance altogether, but their encouragement gave me confidence again."
"Come in and sit down." Woodford led the party into the room. William was immediately struck by the layout. All he could see was a dense mass of shelves. The shelves were covered with tools such as wrenches, screwdrivers and drill bits, as well as engines, propellers, landing gears and main and tail wings. But the parts had already been partially 3D-printed, so the assembly should not be too complicated. It looked like a professional refitting factory. But to William's confusion, he saw a shamrock pattern on Woodford's chest.
"What does this mean?" He thought.
"It's unbelievable! Two years later you still want to race." Woodford said.
"Maybe this will be my first and last main draw." Said Rebecca, "I'm really satisfied with what I've done in the tryouts, so I don't think I'll continue to race in the future."
"Oh? That sounds a little sad. Such a performance monster may only get one chance to appear in main draws. I bet your fans will be sad."
"I expected it. But I think there are a lot of good new planes out there, too, and the senior players have to learn to give up chances to those who need them. So, probably this really is the last race."
"You didn't think so when you came here last time." Woodford exclaimed, "Well, now that this is likely to be your first and last performance on the field, I'm going to make you almost perfect. Only in this way can you have a happy ending."
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
"Thank you very much!"
"You're welcome. It's your honor to win, and it's mine to help you win." With that, Woodford began to refit. He was about to take down a huge piston engine when William stopped him.
"Do current race rules allow airplanes to use turboprop engines?" He asked.
"Yes, certainly. However, Rebecca was designed to be equipped with a piston engine. If you do replace it, it will take a little more time for the shape to be properly adjusted. Are you really going to do this?"
"I must. We must do whatever it takes to make it easier for her to win the championship. She said there was a chance she would never race again, so if she didn't get a good result this time, she would be sad for the rest of her life."
Woodford was stunned. He couldn't believe that an alien -- he actually had no idea that William and his party were from another planet -- would do this to a racing plane he'd never met. This strengthened his pursuit of perfection. He paced the room and caught a glimpse of a suitable ceramic turboprop engine. He operated a robotic arm on the roof to take it down. He then took Rebecca's engine and propeller apart and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not difficult to use her original propeller to match the new engine. After about 20 minutes of work, the transplantation was completed.
The next step was to optimize the aerodynamic shape. Because Rebecca herself was highly streamlined, Woodford only had to adjust the shape of the body around the hood. It was not a complex job.
Natalie walked over to Rebecca and looked at her carefully. Her face lit up with a triumphant smile. "You must be the champion," She smiled. Rebecca looked at her shape, felt more perfect, and smiled shyly too.
Over the next hour, Woodford made a few minor changes, such as optimizing the landing gear structure, replacing the propeller hub with a better one, and positioning the exhaust pipes properly. Then he paused his work and turned to ask the others,
"You must be a little sleepy, so I don't think it's a good idea to let William fly a little later. You know what? You guys take a break first, and all I have to do is to upgrade the flight control system. Do you think I should do it at night, or tomorrow morning?"
"It depends on Rebecca's opinion." Ranran said, "If she agrees, and you have enough energy, you can sacrifice some of your rest time."
"Is it OK if I sleep?" The plane asked.
"You bet. It's not a hardware makeover, and I won't let you feel it." Woodford said.
So Woodford rested half an hour later than the others.
The next morning, as soon as he got up, William wanted to test fly Rebecca. Woodford had to agree. William jumped into the cockpit, started the engine and taxied to a nearby runway.
"Request instructions." He radioed to Woodford.
"Cleared for take-off."
"Roger that." He stepped on the gas and Rebecca sped off the ground. William skillfully retracted the landing gear and closed the flaps. "Ready to start testing. Request instructions for maneuvers."
At low altitude and high speed, Rebecca flew past like a flash of red lightning. Then came a sharp turn. With her main wing at a 70-degree angle, William pulled up the elevator and she swung nimbly around. She also performed well on the climb and dive.
Rebecca landed smoothly and came to a stop in front of Woodford. The results were even better than two years ago. "You've created wonders!" Said Woodford. He had never had a bigger smile on his face.
"No, it's not all my work. I think William's contribution is also essential. I might not have done so well if he hadn't suggested that I switch to a turboprop engine, and he was so skilled at it." She tapped William on the shoulder with a blade of her propeller. "It means gratitude and love," She laughed.
"There's one thing I still don't understand, though." Said Woodford, "Don't you really want to make the most of your performance now that it is almost top notch?"
"Oh, sorry, I told them but did not tell you. I always wanted to be the racing plane that won the endurance championship back-to-back; now for me, all I really want is such thrilling feeling. I stood out in the tryouts because I made full use of my excellent performance. It's just that now I'm stronger and I have to race in more competitive races. The ultimate ambition of any racing plane on this planet is to become an endurance champion. I know who I am. I'm not as competitive as some performance monsters. Even if I am the last place, I won't be as upset as I was two years ago, because I know it's more important for me to take part than to win. This is a perfect opportunity to prove that I am powerful, so I will do my best. After that, er... I don't know what I'm going to do after the race. Maybe I'll just fly in the sky once in a while."
The party applauded. Rebecca smiled shyly.
"You have been reborn." Woodford said, "Both physically and mentally."