Chapter 592

Chapter 592: The Lost "Mustang"

"Xiao Miao, look, I’m giving you a ride home in this car. Not embarrassing, right?"

A shiny brand-new Maserati GT parked in a rest area along G6 Highway, very eye-catching.

A man stood beside the car, wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, and boasted about his new vehicle. After much effort, he finally convinced his parents to donate a large sum of money, quickly sold his old Porsche, and bought this ultimate chick-magnet car. It seemed he had indeed landed a beautiful, cultured, and educated girlfriend, making all his hard work worthwhile.

They often said women would rather cry in a BMW than smile in a less prestigious car, and that was certainly true. Who would want to sit in a mediocre car and not feel blue? Today’s girls were very practical; silly girls who wanted love without money had long disappeared.

The man was sending his girlfriend home for vacation and had boasting in mind, hoping to impress her future father with his wealth. Her family wasn’t exactly working class; they were part of the local upper-middle class, which explained why his parents had agreed to his flashy new car purchase.

The pure white Maserati GT parked confidently in the rest area, turning heads everywhere, drawing envious gazes from others.

“I don’t really understand cars; as long as it has four wheels and can drive, that’s good enough for me,” the girlfriend said, rolling her eyes at him. Though she acted unimpressed, she secretly felt pleased. She had asked her girlfriends before, and they had told her that this model started at least at 2 million.

Compared to an average family, 2 million in first- or second-tier cities in China was no small matter; it could buy a small apartment.

The girl didn’t let her satisfaction show and pretended to be aloof, not wanting the greedy guy to take advantage of her. A man should never be overly pampered. It was best to push him forward like a horse with a little whip, so he would understand the importance of effort.

The guy, shocked by his girlfriend’s ignorance, widened his eyes as if he had just missed hitting a target. He became flustered and said, "This is a GranTurismo, a Maserati, not a cheap car! I spent 2.5 million on the luxury fully-loaded version."

"Two and a half million? Hahaha!"

The price of the car was so funny that the girlfriend couldn’t help but laugh hard, shaking her head. She rolled her eyes again at him, expressing her disdain. "If you’ve got money, go buy a plane. Whoever buys a plane, I’d marry him right away!" Raising her chin, she thought that she should not spoil him. If they got married, it would be hard to rein him in when his true nature came to light.

The guy’s eyes nearly popped out at her words. Who would buy a plane just for fun? To dismiss her abnormal thoughts, he quickly replied, "Buy a plane? No way! Who would buy a plane to fly it? That’s beyond just having money and power; that’s…" His voice trailed off, becoming weak and stuttering.

"What’s wrong? My goodness!" The girl was puzzled as to why her boyfriend suddenly went silent, then screamed as she followed the direction he pointed at with his finger.

A camouflage-patterned propeller plane strutted confidently down the highway, seemingly oblivious to anyone around. It entered the highway rest area, blinding all the staff, drivers, and travelers there.

They were likely witnessing a plane drive into a highway rest area for the first time in their lives, heading straight for the refueling station operated by China National Petroleum. Was this plane racing on the highway? Incredible!

"Xiao Miao, you’re not really going to marry that guy, right?" The guy looked like he was about to cry, struggling to believe if his girlfriend was joking with him.

Was her statement a curse? It felt like whatever she said came to be.

The sight of the aircraft, even if it was a propeller plane, made him feel an urge to smash his Maserati.

Meanwhile, Lin Mo maneuvered the "Mustang" closer to a refueling aircraft. He opened the cockpit, jumped out, and as he brushed past a stunned refueling worker who looked as if he had turned to stone, he dropped a quick order: "97-octane! Fill it up!"

Pressing a button on his remote key, a beep echoed like a car’s locking sound, pulling the fuel worker back to reality. He stammered, "9, 97-octane?"

Lin Mo, fully clad in tactical armor, certainly startled him.

"That’s right. Pour in a couple of bottles of good cleaning solution as well. I’ll go settle the bill." Lin Mo didn’t look back as he walked into the convenience store at the gas station.

“Sure, sure!" As the worker regained his senses and looked at the aircraft with the automatic refueling hatch popping open, he realized he was about to refuel a military aircraft for the first time in his life, leaving him quite flabbergasted. He hurriedly grabbed the 97-octane fuel nozzle and walked towards the plane.

The turbo-prop engine used by the new Mustang typically ran on aviation kerosene and a gasoline blend, but it could also utilize the special fuel brought by the Special Forces. The leftover fuel in the tank mixed with 97-octane civil gasoline would allow it to fly, albeit only at low altitudes and low speeds up to 1,000 meters. Using non-standard fuel would produce carbon deposits and wear down the engine’s lifespan, but with the cleaning solution, the carbon buildup was temporarily managed, leaving the wear and tear issues to be handled by Gold Coin.

This giant dragon could easily ensure that the modified "Mustang" could reach the nearby air force base for standard fuel. With this gold element dragon by his side, Lin Mo could have an engine that never wore out.

When Lin Mo finished paying and stepped out, travelers and drivers crowded around. They lifted their phones and digital cameras to snap pictures of Lin Mo and the aircraft.

Lin Mo smiled and didn’t stop their futile attempts. Both the aircraft and the "Dragon General" activated their anti-camera features; all they captured were black screens, and nothing else.

Such digital shielding devices were common in many important departments and institutions, leaving civilians completely unaware that the tiny digital chips within their devices were fully controlled and rendered ineffective.

Lin Mo directly shut off the leaking auxiliary fuel tank. The wing mounting points had special locking valves that could be closed manually or with a low electrical current, preventing fuel from flowing back from the main fuel tank inside the aircraft.

The "Mustang" boldly drove out of the rest area and directly onto the highway, quickly lifting its nose and soaring into the sky.

In China, any straight stretch of highway could serve as a temporary runway for fighter jets. In case of war, any section of highway could transform into an airport.

As Lin Mo’s "Mustang" ascended once again, the highway reopened for traffic, and soon after, numerous legends spread about the appearance of a mysterious fighter jet in the highway rest area. However, no one could provide photographs as proof.

…

Inside the hangar of the Night Special Forces’ Aircrew Group, Lin Mo stood beside the damaged "Mustang."

He looked helplessly at the tactical tablet in his hand, realizing that his aircraft wouldn’t be completely repaired anytime soon. Upon returning to the base and using professional equipment to conduct a check-up, he discovered that the actual damage was worse than he had imagined. Although his "Mustang" could still fly, it had lost its attacking power and wouldn’t be combat-ready for at least a short time.

The Special Forces team in the adjacent area pounded their chests and promised full reimbursement for the fighter jet’s repair costs, as long as Lin Mo presented the invoices.

It wasn’t about the money; Lin Mo ordered parts from several suppliers, but he was told they were out of stock. They had previously sold him sample stock, and to produce more, he would have to wait for the next batch, which could only be manufactured when supplying parts for domestic propeller training aircraft. Otherwise, the manufacturing lines could only churn out hundreds of units, making it impossible to produce just for Lin Mo.

The most critical issue was that many of these aviation parts suppliers had shifted their production capacity to the J-11. All relevant aviation suppliers nationwide were hurrying to fulfill orders for the Paris International Air Show, leaving no manpower or production lines available. Even laboratories and technical centers were working round the clock to provide custom parts for big clients.

This order was crucial for domestic aviation manufacturing companies; fighter jets are not civilian products that can be produced at will. Even now, China’s aerospace industry still operates under a planned economy, allowing production only when the government issues targets.

In other words, Lin Mo brought this upon himself; the Paris orders were entirely his doing.

Now those manufacturers were too busy to even pay attention to Lin Mo’s aircraft. Unless the Ministry of Defense issued a special authorization for him, that was impossible.

Asking other air force bases for parts was nearly impossible.

Everyone knew that parts were the lifeblood of a fighter jet; the more parts, the better. Even a newly supplied jet fighter came almost as a complete aircraft, alongside a third of the body parts, including a new set of engines.

Requesting aircraft parts from others was only voluntary; otherwise, it felt similar to stealing someone’s wife.

The Iranian Air Force was currently suffering from a severe shortage of F-14 parts, causing this excellent fighter jet to underperform. It could occasionally use the AWG-9 on-board radar to engage a small warning aircraft, but compared to the original purchase quantity, very few were even able to take off now.

What a headache!

All he could do was wait patiently, hoping that several domestic air force bases would organize a group purchase together. However, that was not something a junior major pilot like Lin Mo could decide.

Lin Mo was out of options. Many parts were not made from all metal materials, using complex composite materials instead. No matter how powerful the gold giant dragon was, it couldn’t create a single glass fiber. As for the non-metallic materials like high molecular plastics, nano carbon fibers, special ceramics, nylon, and Kevlar, Gold Coin had no way to help.

He had originally hoped to take the "Mustang" and meet more aerial knights in the world, exploring undisclosed fighter jet technologies, but he ended up stumbling over a minor task.

The damaged "Mustang" was cleaned thoroughly and covered with a layer of hard wax, then pushed back to its designated spot and covered with a protective cover.

Given the circumstances, it seemed impossible to rely on the aircraft, so Lin Mo could only let out a sigh.

"What are you sighing about? Come on! Join us for the Special Forces military competition! Don’t sulk here," Old Pan, the aircrew leader, said as he wrapped his thick arm around Lin Mo’s shoulder and gave him a hearty squeeze.

"What? A Special Forces military competition?" Lin Mo looked confused, having never heard of such a thing.

"You didn’t know?" Old Pan exclaimed in surprise.

Lin Mo shook his head.