Chapter 626

Chapter 626: Pilot Execution Machine

“Damn it! A country bumpkin is still a country bumpkin. Can you just land on a runway with only one strip?”

Lin Mo mumbled quietly. In this simple airport with just one runway, there usually weren’t many planes taking off or landing, so the management system had become lax. If this happened in Team 7759, anyone daring to use the runway in such a non-mainstream way would be stuck in confinement for half a month and would have to submit a ten-thousand-word deep reflection paper.

The “monstrous” aircraft flew low over the airport, sweeping the ground for any dangerous items or obstacles and found none, nor any planes preparing for takeoff.

Clear!

Turning the nose of the aircraft back, Lin Mo easily identified which end was for takeoff and which was for landing. He didn’t want to easily expose the “monstrous”’s vertical takeoff and landing capability, so he decided to land using the traditional gliding method.

After all, vertical takeoff and landing was a specialty of a few fighter jets and would definitely attract attention.

Well, if planes only took off and landed a few times a year, the folks in the tower were no different from rookies; he couldn’t expect them to guide Lin Mo for the landing.

After all, it was a fighter jet he had built for himself, and its operation habits and functionality suited his own style perfectly. Even though it was his first takeoff, Lin Mo didn’t feel the slightest unfamiliarity, as if he had piloted it countless times before.

If it weren’t for finding a complicated excuse, Lin Mo wouldn’t have been able to slip away from “Night.” Perhaps Captain Feng would consider the gravity of the situation and decide to lock up Lin Mo’s “monstrous” aircraft, even though it was his personal property.

It was one thing if he hadn’t been in the air before, but as soon as he flew, it caused a tremendous stir in the military. It seemed no one could independently equip a fighter jet with capabilities surpassing those of the military.

Of course, there were also suspicions that this fighter jet might have drawn inspiration from Boeing’s experimental sixth-generation fighter jet, the F/A-XX, or perhaps, maybe, the lost F/A-XX was somehow related to Lin Mo.

After all, this “Dragon Knight” had a history; his list of fighter jet parts included high-performance parts that were obtained through shady means. How ridiculous! This troublesome thing had actually been created. The big shots secretly following Lin Mo must have been laughing in hiding, as they had gone mad over this.

As the leader of the Night Special Forces, Colonel Feng Chenye certainly didn’t want the strategic doomsday base he guarded for his country to turn into a showcase with people coming and going. They were kings of soldiers, but not bodyguards and servers for experts.

If a horde of experts came down for a technical evaluation meeting, the Night Special Forces wouldn’t be able to do their job, which would seriously affect their workload and even their year-end bonuses.

At this special forces military competition, the other teams that had been tricked by the Night would surely laugh at Captain Feng and the Night’s soldiers, or jokingly suggest that the Night should simply switch to fighter jet development. They had experts, equipment, and technology, maintaining good relations with several domestic aerospace systems, and excellent order-snatching capabilities, making it clear they were poised to become a future brand-name fighter jet manufacturer.

They feared that some foolish big shot above would whimsically decide to change the Night’s career path. Such things had happened often in China’s history. To gain control, they could forcibly acquire the company on the stock market and switch from civilian to military—such cases were numerous.

An internal unit like the Night that couldn’t possibly go public found it even easier. They could parachute in a few leaders and technical experts from the industry, hire a batch of workers, and quickly make the transition, swiftly locking in Lin Mo as their high-performing blue-chip asset.

As for the soldiers, most would likely be reassigned to other operational divisions of special forces, ensuring that these valuable soldier resources wouldn’t go to waste. In fact, the worth of a special forces unit might not hold a candle to that of an excellent fighter jet.

Seeing Captain Feng’s expression, Lin Mo realized he might have gone too far or simply didn’t foresee the unexpected chain reactions this would trigger. He immediately contacted Chen Haiqing, planning to take the aircraft to find a place to avoid the storm.

Captain Feng, like sending off a plague god, nodded in agreement without hesitation, half-pushing, half-urging Lin Mo to relocate the “monstrous” to the National Defense Star Aerospace Company’s location, effectively diverting the upcoming storm.

As a special forces unit, it was better to stay low-key; Captain Feng certainly wouldn’t gamble with the Night’s future.

Thus, before the relevant departments and units realized what was happening, Lin Mo quickly slipped away with his personal possession.

People in the tower and those near the runway almost simultaneously exclaimed, “Is that really the X-1?! No, it looks very similar. No, no, what on earth is going on?”

The aircraft that looked quite familiar lowered its landing gear and confidently rushed up the runway, continuously decelerating.

However, people near the hangar turned to look into the half-open hangar, where the National Defense Star’s self-produced forward-swept wing fighter jet, the X-1, remained quietly in its position, still locked in place with the wheel locks and static devices.

No one could figure out who was the genuine article and who was the knockoff.

“No, it’s a prototype!”

Director Ma watched the forward-swept wing fighter jet approaching the hangar.

Director Ma had earned his position at the airport department for a reason; he quickly recalled a certain rumor circulated among the top brass and technical department in the company.

“Prototype? What’s that? Isn’t it the X-1?”

Many at National Defense Star viewed the X-1 as their prototype, but this fighter jet’s exterior differed from the X-1 and was even somewhat larger—how could it be a prototype?

Seeing the puzzled expressions on others, Director Ma stated firmly, “That’s right! The real prototype is the original X-1. Our X-1 is a replica, a counterfeit. The aircraft that just landed is the true prototype! I can’t believe I’m able to see it fly in the sky; I always thought it was just a legend on paper. If the radar couldn’t scan it, I wouldn’t even dare to confirm it was what everyone claimed was the prototype.”

Naturally, many people couldn’t be privy to the blueprints locked away in the safes of National Defense Star and various aviation moguls. Despite Director Ma’s explanation, many still felt confused.

“Calling NDS, this is ‘Three Yellow Chick,’ I’ll arrive in fifteen minutes.”

“Hey, I’m NDS; your signal is received, landing permission granted.”

“Am I the first? How long until the ‘Dragon Knight’ arrives?”

“The ‘Dragon Knight’ has already arrived and completed landing.”

“Already? Alright, I’m on my way!”

In the cockpit, Lin Mo had already seen the incoming J-10 speeding towards him at supersonic speed through the Light Mirror Technique, and although he didn’t use the radio, he recognized it was Chen Haiqing.

It appears Young Master Chen quickly received permission from Colonel Jiang to leave.

Moments later, a J-10 fighter jet roared in, its landing gear kicking up a trail of smoke as it landed smoothly on the runway.

“‘Three Yellow Chick’! You may be close, but I’m still seventeen minutes ahead of you!”

Although the Dragon General tactical helmet was in hand, the tactical armor’s collar still had a communication system available. Lin Mo shouted greetings to the approaching J-10 from the tip of the "monstrous."

The “monstrous” wings could easily support Lin Mo and even two elephants without issue; the wing structure’s strength far surpassed that of all current fighter jets. This was not only due to the Special Alloy Formula provided by the gold giant dragon but also because it assisted in designing a high-strength internal frame.

“Are you cheating? How could you be so fast?”

Chen Haiqing, naturally skeptical, noted that the J-10’s high-altitude speed could reach 2.2 Mach. Although it couldn’t maintain that cruising speed consistently, that was still impressive.

However, when calculating Lin Mo’s speed in comparison to his own, it was clear Lin Mo was almost double Chen Haiqing’s speed, likely cruising at supersonic levels the entire time, which allowed him to arrive at the National Defense Star a full seventeen minutes early.

Supersonic cruising was no pressure even for the “monstrous,” which lacked the golden giant dragon gold coin’s enhancement. The aircraft’s aerodynamic design was exceptionally good, and the vector thrust engine applied from the F-22 could unleash even greater performance.

In the cockpit, Young Master Chen inspected the “monstrous” next to his J-10, his eyes glued to it, unwilling to look away even for a second. Looking at his own J-10, what he initially thought was decent now seemed terribly rudimentary—it was truly a case of comparison yielding disappointment.

Even the J-14 and J-20 in the hangar couldn’t compare to the “monstrous.” The experimental aircraft, the X-1, which was a collaboration between National Defense Star and other supporting factories, looked clearly like a counterfeit next to this genuine article. One look and you could tell this was a case of appearances without substance.

“Hey, can I borrow this plane for a few days?”

Chen Haiqing unfastened his seatbelt, jumped out of his aircraft, and directly approached the “monstrous.” It was solidly built and seemed to feature complex assembly design. He was one of the few who had seen the “monstrous” blueprints, and examining the lines and seams made his heart race.

“Borrow? Just a heads up, the ‘monstrous’ has an actual maximum overload higher than what’s stated in the blueprints; it can reach 26 Gs.”

Lin Mo smiled at the mesmerized Chen Haiqing, who was admiring the “monstrous.” In fact, after the initial test flight, he realized the aircraft he built exceeded the original performance parameters in many aspects, and that was without the gold coin’s assistance.