Chapter 104

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Chapter 104: The Final Blow of the Fighter Jet

Aircraft No. 09 was immediately enveloped in a cloud of milky-white sonic boom as it entered supersonic mode, escaping Lin Mo’s attack radius. It then executed a sharp turn, aiming to bite down on the tail of Lin Mo’s Aircraft No. 99. Zheng Han would not show any mercy just because Lin Mo had spared him.

Lin Mo, in that brief moment, had numerous chances to shoot down Aircraft No. 09. However, he wanted to validate his thoughts further. This live exercise was a rare opportunity for both sides, and he aimed to explore it a bit more.

"Not bad!" Lin Mo kept his fighter from entering supersonic mode. If he quickly entered the high fuel-consuming supersonic state, his fuel tank would soon drop to 20%. He would lose without a fight; in a real battle, the enemy wouldn’t give him a chance to refuel.

Even so, Lin Mo was already down to a standard 40% fuel, which was quite disadvantaged compared to the opponent, who had just taken off fully loaded. But there was no fairness in war, as Aircraft No. 14, Qin Ye, had already mentioned it was a dogfight.

What seemed like an accident was actually quite clever; even during an exercise, one had to use their wits. Adjusting the throttle and deploying air brakes, Lin Mo suddenly reduced the speed of his fighter. The nose of the aircraft lost power, entering a downward vertical turn, almost like using the opponent’s force against them in Tai Chi, allowing Aircraft No. 09’s super maneuverability to unwittingly fall into Lin Mo’s turning space.

Supersonic fighters calculated attack probability in milliseconds. One second equated to over 200 meters of distance. If in a supersonic state, even a few hundred meters of variation would mean any small error could put oneself into the opponent’s attack angle.

This guy wasn’t following textbook tactics; it was bizarre, possessing an imaginative combat creativity like a wild stallion. Although Lin Mo did not launch an attack directly, Zheng Han aboard Aircraft No. 09 still felt immense pressure, like a mouse being toyed with by a cat, knowing that once the cat was bored, it would be devoured.

But it was too late. The self-inflicted predicament of Aircraft No. 09 fell under Lin Mo’s fierce grasp. The Dragon Knight’s strongest suit of prediction had the radar alarm inside Zheng Han’s cockpit blaring without pause, even exceeding the three seconds that usually signaled an attack.

Attack after attack: this was the true essence of an air superiority fighter. Once an opportunity was seized, it mercilessly hammered on its opponent, providing no chance for them to fight back. Lin Mo unleashed a flurry of relentless punches, throwing caution to the wind.

This was the most terrifying aspect of a fighter jet: never give it a chance; otherwise, once it bites hard, it is deadly.

Zheng Han aboard Aircraft No. 09 completely lost sight of the exercise. It was as if he had fallen into a trance, endlessly maneuvering to evade Lin Mo’s lock-on, but the radar alarm remained constant, ringing in his ears without pause.

In a battle, the moment came when experts would seize chances—one strike would be fatal. The nearby pilots watching from Aircraft No. 14 were left dumbfounded, witnessing Lin Mo’s Aircraft No. 99 latch onto Aircraft No. 09 like a Wing Chun master. He relentlessly bombarded his opponent with a series of rapid punches, flawless and powerful, a seamless blend of stability, precision, and ferocity—even without firing air-to-air missiles.

"Cave Nine, Cave Nine! Stop the exercise! Stop the exercise! You have lost!" cried Qin Ye of Aircraft No. 14, noticing something was off with Zheng Han.

Having already achieved victory, upon hearing the judgment from referee Aircraft No. 14, Lin Mo willingly relinquished his attacking stance, and the alarm inside Aircraft No. 09 finally ceased.

“What happened? Was I shot down?” a bewildered Zheng Han finally responded after a moment, feeling his heart racing, as if he had been blown up in mid-air.

“Now announcing the exercise is over. Aircraft No. 99 wins. Cave Nine (09) has been thoroughly defeated, with pilot Lieutenant Zheng Han gloriously ‘sacrificed’! Congratulations Captain Lin Mo, you can add another star to your aircraft, even if it’s just a fellow’s,” came the joking voice from Jian Tower at Jianqiao Airport, accompanied by light laughter from the tower, marking the end of the temporary exercise.

After all, it was not the moment to reprimand Aircraft No. 09’s pilot; pilots needed a calm mindset. The atmosphere lightened considerably.

“Captain Lin! You truly have skills; I bow to you!" Zheng Han of Aircraft No. 09 was drenched in sweat, gasping heavily. In just a short time, he was completely exhausted, almost feeling a temporary “intellectual decline” due to the high-intensity combat, unable to process so much information. He was left a bit dazed.

Everyone watching this exercise understood that the result of this engagement was nearly indistinguishable from a real combat experience. The pilot of Aircraft No. 09, Zheng Han, would likely be grounded for a month, needing psychological intervention to stabilize his emotions before he could fly again.

Ultimately, it was the pilots who decided victory, which did not diminish the advantages of the J-10B’s improvements.

“Hehe, you were impressive too!” Lin Mo smiled in the channel, his breathing still calm, which made the pilots from Aircraft No. 09 and Aircraft No. 14 feel a notable difference. Could it be that pilots with actual combat experience were indeed that formidable?

Academically trained pilots who had not endured the harsh realities of war could only follow the textbook, lacking adaptability. Even those who acted recklessly should consider if their beloved aircraft could handle such bold moves; a fighter jet wasn’t cheap.

Only Lin Mo was an exception. With the support of the gold giant dragon Gold Coin from another world, he effortlessly stabilized the aircraft’s structure and lifespan. No matter how much he overloaded, the aircraft remained in perfect condition, even surpassing theoretical limits without issues or metal fatigue—meaning Lin Mo had an indestructible J-10, allowing him to fully exploit his flying skills with abandon.

The three J-10s returned to their flight paths, and this battle was greatly beneficial for all three pilots. Those who relied on luck in battle would never match up to seasoned veterans; fortune was not something everyone enjoyed. Lin Mo reveled in the experience of piloting, feeling as if he had become one with the machine. It was a thrilling activity, an adrenaline rush as he made the fighter jet move according to his will, executing various maneuvers, yielding an intense feeling of enjoyment.

Like a man who loves driving, one would never touch an automatic car; only the feel of a manual transmission could captivate someone.

A little over ten minutes later, the three J-10s landed sequentially at Jianqiao military airport. Lin Mo spotted several Q-5 fighters from the 83rd Division and several JH-7 fighters parked along the runway, with a few J-10Bs. It appeared they were gradually transitioning to the JH-7 fighters while practicing on the more agile medium fighters like the J-10B. The J-10, being a versatile model, was more than suitable for transitional training.

The three J-10s taxied to the parking ramp, shut down their engines, and ground crew members locked the front wheels with a tow truck. Once the engine temperatures dropped, they would be towed into the hangar. Lin Mo’s J-10 received the same temporary storage treatment at the base.

Lin Mo jumped down from his aircraft and saw the pilots of Aircraft No. 09 and Aircraft No. 14 walking towards him, clearly eager to make friends with Lin Mo after their encounter.

When Lin Mo removed his helmet, the pilots of Aircraft No. 09 and Aircraft No. 14 widened their eyes in surprise—he looked so young!

“Captain Lin! How old are you this year?!” Zheng Han’s slightly hoarse voice, which Lin Mo recognized instantly, made it clear that the one beside him was definitely Qin Ye of Aircraft No. 14.

“Hehe, I’m 24 years old!” Lin Mo smiled lightly. If it weren’t for his combat experience as a Dragon Knight in another world along with the aid of the Gold Coin, his flying skills would hardly match up to these seasoned pilots to boot.

As they walked toward the personnel transport electric car destined for the command post, Lin Mo’s jet would be towed into the hangar for thorough maintenance.

“Truly young! How many hours do you have in the cockpit?” Zheng Han and Qin Ye exchanged glances; at just 24 years old, he should still be flying the J-8. It was rare for someone that young to jump to the J-10 stage, known for higher overload capacity and maneuverability, which demanded more from pilots’ skills and physical attributes.

“About 300 hours, I’d say!” Lin Mo answered honestly, a figure that corresponded to a pilot’s experience and couldn’t be fabricated.

Gasp! Zheng Han and Qin Ye couldn’t help but take a deep breath. Just 300 hours of flying could achieve so many tactical maneuvers and even shoot down Zheng Han. Talk about flying talent! Simply the ability to handle intense overloads was enough to make anyone envious.

“Which unit are you from? Truly impressive!” Zheng Han couldn’t help but ask. Losing to a pilot so much younger was honestly hard to swallow.

“Well… I’m sorry, but I must adhere to confidentiality regulations,” Lin Mo chuckled, as both the "Night" Special Operations Team and Team 7759 were highly confidential and forbidden to speak of to unauthorized personnel.

“No worries, no worries!” Both pilots hurriedly waved their hands, thinking, as expected! Unless sourced from unique groups, there was no way someone so skilled as a fighter pilot with real combat experience could emerge; this guy had definitely seen blood.

The tower, code-named "Jian Tower," witnessed the exercise.

The commander of the Air Force 28th Fighter Wing, Xu Muhu, who had just arrived at the tower to review the live exercise recordings, looked at the screen displaying the airspace. Three triangles shifted their positions, showing their aircraft numbers, altitudes, and maneuvers, as the onboard computers synced flight data back to the tower, creating the most valuable exercise recordings.