"Terry, another package for you," Jamie called out to the busy Terry as she walked in with a parcel.
"Okay, just leave it there. I'll get it in a second." Terry, who was fiddling with a Drone, waved his hand and immediately went back to work.
"They're perfectly fine when they arrive, but within three minutes of being in your hands, they're torn to pieces. Money shouldn't be wasted like that," Jamie said, somewhat dissatisfied.
Although she was only a part-time accountant, Jamie would come to help whenever she had time. Whether it was cleaning, picking up packages, or ordering boxed lunches, she was always very proactive.
Over time, as she grew familiar with everyone, Jamie's personality also became more cheerful.
Hearing this, the busy Nick looked up and smiled. "Don't mind him; I authorized this."
"Exactly, you're being too nosy. Just focus on ordering the lunches," Terry teased Jamie as he stood up from his cluttered, mountain-like desk and walked over.
"Pfft, I can't be bothered with you!" Jamie rolled her eyes and turned her head away.
Terry didn't mind. He picked up a utility knife to open the package. When he saw the small Drone inside, he tossed it onto the pile of Drone wreckage on his desk with a look of disdain.
"Boss, I'm almost done with the screening process on my end," Terry shouted to Nick.
"Oh?" Nick slid over on his swivel chair, opening a bottle of water as he asked, "Tell me, what are the results?"
Terry returned to his desk, picked up a Drone that had been stripped down to its frame, and walked back to Nick. "I bought about seven or eight brands, maybe a dozen Drones in total. I basically bought everything from Autel and Parrot, ranging from dozens to hundreds or even thousands of dollars."
"Although the price differences are quite large, the internal structures, principles, and even the components of these Drones are more or less the same. There's not much difference."
"Sometimes, it's the exact same internal components, but with a different shell and brand, the price triples or quadruples."
"So after looking around, I found that this 100-dollar drone has decent quality and is quite suitable for our use."
Taking the Drone from Terry, Nick examined it and asked, "Have you tested it yet?"
Terry nodded. "I have. The specs on this Drone say the maximum flight ceiling is 150 meters, the battery life is 27 minutes, it weighs 750 grams, and the maximum remote control distance is 200 meters."
"But the data I got is quite different. The maximum ceiling is only about 100 meters; it won't go any higher. The battery life is less than 17 minutes, the whole thing weighs 800 grams, and the furthest remote control distance is only a little over 100 meters. Any further and it loses control."
"Unscrupulous! Total scammers!" Jamie couldn't help but curse after hearing Terry's words.
"Haha, you can't really say that."
Terry said with a smile, "Actually, for ordinary users, these specs are close enough."
"Plus, their data is tested under ideal conditions. It's like how some phones are put directly into a refrigerator to get better benchmark scores—it's so-called 'ideal data'."
"For our field demonstration purposes alone, these specs should be sufficient," Nick said, sounding relatively satisfied.
Terry nodded. "Exactly. And it has a lot of unnecessary things, like cameras, decorative shells, and so on."
"After removing those, I can control the total weight to around 400 grams. The battery life could reach about 25 minutes, and the practical ceiling would also increase."
"However, some parts need to be modified, and according to our requirements, we might need to add chips and other electronic components."
Tossing a cigarette to Terry and lighting one for himself, Nick said, "How about this: first, follow the design plan we decided on before and manually build a few units using these parts. Our flight control program is also nearly finished. Once you're done, we'll run a test with a small formation."
"If we order in a rush, it's easy to overlook or mess something up, and it'll be a pain to fix later."
"After all, if we're going to buy them, it'll be hundreds of units. That's not a small amount."
"Alright, I'll get right on it," Terry replied with a nod.
Just as he finished speaking, the group, who were about to resume their work, heard Tyler's voice coming from outside.
"Hey, hey, everyone stop what you're doing. I have something to say." As he spoke, Tyler walked in quickly, out of breath, and shouted to everyone.
"What's wrong?" Nick handed him a bottle of water.
"I just got word that our Graduation defense will be held on May 30th at 10:00 AM. Those of you who haven't finished your Graduation thesis better hurry up," Tyler said seriously to Nick and Zack.
"Damn, how could I forget about that?" Zack slapped his forehead.
Hearing this, Nick frowned. "We've been so busy that I really did forget. Why are they only notifying us now?"
Tyler shook his head. "I'm not sure either. I heard it was a university-wide arrangement."
"The Counselor asked me to remind you not to forget; this is a major event concerning your graduation. Spend more time communicating with your Advisors during this period. If there are any issues with your thesis, fix them as soon as possible so nothing goes wrong."
"But we're so busy right now, where would we find the time?" Zack said with a bitter smile.
Nick also looked distressed. "We're at a critical stage right now; I'm afraid we really don't have time to worry about this."
At the same time, Nick was calculating in his mind what to do. A thought even flashed through his head: taking a leave of absence or simply dropping out to focus on the startup.
However, if he did that, he would truly have no way back. And even if he had the determination, the others probably wouldn't be able to make such a decision.
Although they were close, those two wouldn't be foolish enough to give up their studies like him, right?
"Stop, stop right there. There are only a few days left until graduation. Don't go pulling any stunts on me," Tyler said, seemingly sensing his thoughts.
Seeing the confused looks from the others, Nick shook his head with a bitter smile.
Tyler glared at him, then said to the two of them, "I know you're busy, but this is a major life event. Everyone needs to take it seriously. Also, if there's anything else, you can leave the errands to me as much as possible to save your time."
Hearing Tyler's words, Nick also nodded. "Since it's about everyone's graduation, I'll try to free up some time for you to work on your theses. Don't worry."
"No need, my thesis has been done for a long time. I'm just waiting for the defense," Terry said with a smile.
Zack also nodded. "I'm fine on my end; it won't take up much time."
"Alright, then everyone will have to work a bit harder for a while. If you have any difficulties, don't try to tough it out alone. Bring them up, and we'll solve them together."
Nick clapped his hands at everyone. "Back to work!"