Chapter 603

Chapter 603: As Long as There is Life, There is Fighting

Colonel Jiang’s expression turned serious, as if something deep within him had been triggered. He did not take lightly the keyword Lin Mo had mentioned.

Hearing Colonel Jiang’s words, Lin Mo completely confirmed that the other party had indeed participated in ‘Abyss Nirvana’ as an old pilot, and was one of the few who returned alive from those batches of pilots.

From the information obtained from Colonel Xie, it was clear that the country had no choice but to send out excellent pilots like Colonel Jiang to participate in ‘Abyss Nirvana.’ Air combat had always been about technical warfare, representing the strength of a nation, pushing forward with fierce determination; if you don’t advance, you retreat.

By experiencing real battles firsthand and recording the flight characteristics and tactics of various enemy fighter jets in the black box, along with obtaining technology or samples through the intelligence department’s infiltration actions, the country organized skilled technical experts to hold large-scale technical conventions for assessment and reverse engineering.

With China’s solid technical and talent foundation, they only needed an inspiration or direction to make a giant leap in the equipment and air combat skills of the Chinese Air Force, saving a large amount of experimental costs. China really can’t match America’s spending of tens of billions of dollars, especially since fighter jets are particularly expensive to develop.

After all, a fighter jet requires more than a decade, sometimes even twenty years, of research and development, with resources spent reaching astronomical figures.

Investing a massive amount of funds may not yield any returns, much like how China’s large aircraft project failed midway due to excessive costs.

Just the time involved nearly equates to a talented pilot’s growth cost, and for China, spending heavily on sending people to ‘Abyss Nirvana’ was great, but the gains were equally immense. The new types of fighter jets recently released in the country no longer showed Russian influences and began to display distinct Chinese technological characteristics.

"It wasn’t ordered from above; I volunteered. I took out the Lockheed family members. They couldn’t handle me, so they gave me a ticket to ‘Abyss Nirvana.’ Half a month ago, the commander of the U.S. 1st Squadron issued me a challenge, so I wanted to see what it was like."

"Why do you care about them? That’s not something you should get involved in."

Colonel Jiang clearly did not believe that the country would send many excellent seed pilots to ‘Abyss Nirvana’ for the sake of accumulating ace pilots like a few other countries might do. If the domestic public found out, there would surely be an uproar. Now, with only one child per family, it’s much harder to fool people than before.

Only countries like India, Japan, and North Korea would engage in such cruel exchanges, trading lives for ace pilots.

Since the Soviet Union collapsed, due to constant economic decline, the physical fitness of the Russians has declined, and they no longer quickly accumulate ace pilots through such means.

Now, only occasionally do the Americans send their pilots for some training, but even that is just a mere taste.

After all, not every pilot is willing to throw themselves into a hellish battlefield of death.

"I want to learn from the true experts in this world."

In addition to external motivations, Lin Mo felt that he was finding it hard to meet worthy opponents.

Most of the time, he executed ground attack missions or intimidated armed helicopters, and bullying rookies and defenseless ground troops brought him little satisfaction.

He didn’t want to keep being supported by the country, especially since other combat squadrons often had missions while he felt like he was idling around. If it weren’t for the unfinished fighter jet, he would probably be rotting away in the aircrew group’s hangar.

The India-Pakistan war had calmed down, and it was uncertain when he could again enjoy a thrilling air battle.

The scale of air combat in this world is quite limited. Once the air force is deployed, it means the war escalates and could spiral out of control. After two world wars, governments worldwide are unwilling to witness any wars getting out of hand. If there are signs of it happening, they would immediately send in troops to intervene and crush one side.

For example, the United States is fond of doing this, while China often prefers to suppress neighboring countries like India, Pakistan, and Vietnam.

"You don’t understand how brutal this competition is; it’s not suited for you."

Colonel Jiang fell silent for quite some time, appearing to struggle with terrifying memories from ‘Abyss Nirvana,’ where one comrade after another lost their lives in battle, perishing alongside their aircraft in explosive wreckage, with no place to be buried.

Colonel Jiang didn’t want to see a highly talented pilot become a pawn in meaningless competitions among the powerful.

"I understand!"

Lin Mo’s tone was resolute. The prolonged war between the Su Lan Empire and the Texi Empire had already made him deeply realize the horrors of large-scale warfare.

The military efforts invested by the Two Emperors’ nations were comparable to the Sino-Japanese War in this world, with slaughterfields filled with cold weapons, magic, and battle energy. It would be an understatement to say that the ground was littered with corpses.

Surely, even arriving in this world after witnessing that, the Two Emperors’ nations would have been gravely weakened due to the devastation caused by two great forbidden spells, unable to continue their battles.

As long as this world did not erupt into World War III, Lin Mo would not experience any shifts in mindset; as long as humanity existed, there would always be conflict.

As long as there is life, there will be fighting.

"Then come on."

Colonel Jiang let out a deep sigh again. Every pilot is a stubborn person; pilots understand pilots, just as aces understand aces.

To command a fighter jet soaring through the skies, one needs unwavering dedication and a spirit of adventure to truly call themselves an Air Knight.

For many, sacrificing their lives for their country signifies honor, but for Colonel Jiang Renbin of Team 7759, who participated in ‘Abyss Nirvana,’ it meant not only responsibility and sacrifice but also a heavy burden. If it weren’t for Lin Mo bringing it up today, he probably would never want to recall those past experiences.

Chen Haiqing’s patrolling J-10 quickly found Lin Mo after passing the new route audit. Had Lin Mo not activated the special signal automatic response device, the J-10’s active phased array radar would have struggled to detect the WZ-12.

Of course, the terrain played a part as well. 7759’s base is located in the deep mountains, so one should not expect the WZ-12 to fly too high; even the phased array radar has directional limitations when it comes to illuminating targets. Powerful performance does not allow it to penetrate the mountains.

There are also some technological lag factors. The later-developed WZ-12 has outstanding stealth capabilities, and its aerodynamic layout is designed with invisibility in mind after all, as it is a military helicopter akin to the RAH-66 Comanche reconnaissance attack helicopter.

Spotting the roaring J-10, Lin Mo used the Light Mirror Technique to see Chen Haiqing sitting in the cockpit. Although he wore a helmet, Lin Mo could tell from his flight posture that he was now far removed from the rookie status and had participated in real combat, becoming a mature and excellent fighter pilot capable of flying solo.

With the flight simulator available at the National Defense Star factory, Young Master Chen must have developed some impressive air combat skills by now.

The J-10 circled around the WZ-12, shaking its wings to signal Chen Haiqing to lead the way.

Chasing after a jet fighter was quite challenging for a helicopter. The J-10’s speed was over four hundred knots and could not slow down any more without risking a crash, while the WZ-12’s maximum straight-line speed only reached 245 knots, slower than the J-10’s takeoff speed, forcing Chen Haiqing to often make turns.

As Lin Mo once again approached the familiar mountain basin where Team 7759 was based, he spotted the control tower nicknamed “Chicken Coop.” Under the signal stick command of the ground crew, Lin Mo’s WZ-12 slowly landed on the helicopter pad.

After shutting down the helicopter, Lin Mo stepped out of the cockpit, and he saw Colonel Jiang standing straight like a javelin, having waited a long time for him.

Many, including Colonel Jiang, were taken aback by Lin Mo’s tactical armor—it looked so futuristic. They didn’t have access to such high-tech tactical gear that only appeared in science fiction movies.

However, Chen Haiqing, rushing over from the jet fighter’s landing area, was unfazed. He had long since become accustomed to Lin Mo’s eye-catching equipment, which made it seem like he was always ready for a fight.

Lin Mo’s watch transitioned from shining silver to a low-key matte finish, as if it sensed a rival nearby.

This guy wouldn’t learn his lesson until he got a good beating. Maybe it wouldn’t be easy for a fighter jet to knock him down again, but the memory of those hard lessons was still fresh in his mind; it was this Colonel Jiang who nearly cost him his life.

Once bitten, twice shy. Lin Mo didn’t expect Gold Coin to be another one that looks formidable on the outside but is actually empty inside.

“Captain!”

Lin Mo felt like the new pilot of Team 7759 again, taking off his tactical helmet and saluting Colonel Jiang.

“Ah, Major Lin!”

Colonel Jiang already knew about this pilot’s swift promotion, which was almost as fast as a supersonic fighter.

Hearing Colonel Jiang address Lin Mo as Major, the other nearby pilots and ground crew members automatically saluted as well; strict military hierarchy required junior officers to salute their superiors first.

“Follow me!”

Facing the ambitious new challenger, Colonel Jiang had no more words; he turned around and walked toward the office building not far from the runway without looking back.

“Sit!” Colonel Jiang pointed to the solid wood sofa in the office, then turned to grab two drinks from the fridge against the wall. “Since you know about ‘Abyss Nirvana’ and found me, the higher-ups must have agreed to your participation. Is your vehicle ready?”