Chapter 152
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Chapter 152: F119: Fifty-Fifty?! Alright then!
“Don’t act rashly; let’s find the warehouse!” Lin Mo felt a strong desire for the F-22s. If the Night had a squad here, he wouldn’t hesitate to make a move. Unfortunately, outnumbered, he could only pass by.
In fact, Lin Mo’s true goal wasn’t the F-22s. Seeing them reminded him of another place: a depot. Yes, a depot! Every fighter jet would have ample spare parts, especially engines, where there would be an entire backup set apart from the ones installed. That’s what Lin Mo aimed for.
Since he was here, he couldn’t leave empty-handed. Lin Mo decided to uphold the tradition of self-reliance and hard work to earn some compensation for his troubles. Right, the gold giant dragon needed some compensation too. After all, it dug and burrowed; it couldn’t do all that for nothing.
Trusting Gold Coin’s ability to detect metals, Lin Mo navigated through the base, avoiding several monitoring zones. He blended into a wall, and no one in the base would suspect that even a bomb-proof alloy wall could serve as a backyard for a gold giant dragon. No matter how complex the alloy composition was, it was a mere gift for the dragon—precisely a gift.
Gold Coin enveloped Lin Mo with its body and, utilizing its natural affinity for metals, treated the alloy wall as nonexistent. It executed a metal-phasing technique, allowing Lin Mo to effortlessly enter the storage area. Though the guards outside remained vigilant, they had no idea someone had sneaked into the depot without lifting a finger.
“Light Orbs!” Lin Mo silently cast the spell, and a dozen or so orbs of warm white light appeared beside him, quickly rising above his head and spreading outwards.
The heavy equipment storage area spanned nearly three thousand square meters over two stories, with supermarket-like shelves arranged in an impressive grid. Rows and rows of missiles, rockets, and cannons lined the shelves, along with brand new, unopened armed helicopters, armored vehicles, and tanks. It felt like a gigantic assembly zone preparing for war.
Lin Mo found himself momentarily stunned. In truth, he had never set foot in an arms depot before. The sight of countless weapons filling his view was quite overwhelming.
“Ha ha! Impressive, right?!” The gold giant dragon slipped from Lin Mo’s wrist and quickly zoomed through the storage area, observing that there weren’t many monitoring devices. Perhaps feeling quite confident, only a few areas had security cameras.
This was one of the rare times the gold giant dragon showed its true form without restraint in this world. The metallic giant dragon, about the size of a J-10, appeared next to Lin Mo. Stretching its arms and flapping its wings, it accidentally crashed into an M113 armored personnel carrier, which then became stuck to Gold Coin’s body and disappeared with a swipe of its tail, taking a four-barrel anti-aircraft gun along with it.
The arms depot resembled a cafeteria for the gold giant dragon. After having experienced it once, the dragon feasted without shame. It didn’t chew ominously large chunks, as the noise could attract attention. Instead, it simply swiped its tail over different items, making them vanish.
“Mmm, this stainless steel is great! The specifications should be above 530, not bad, nice chewiness!”
“A cobalt alloy barrel? Rarely seen! Excellent! Oh! This one still has a peppery aroma. Can metal really taste like chili? How bizarre! Uh, it’s depleted uranium armor! Tasty, tasty!”
The gold giant dragon wandered through the depot, behaving as if no one else existed, devouring its favorite metallic products. Various weapons appeared like exquisitely crafted dishes, stimulating its appetite. It hadn’t enjoyed a meal like this in a long time. The dragon now loved going on trips with Lin Mo because it could indulge in higher quality food. It seemed even the black iron rations provided by the Dragon Knight Corps of the Su Lan Empire couldn’t tempt it anymore. The high-quality, uniquely composed metals of this world provided varying distinct flavors.
In another area, Gold Coin was cautious not to indulge too much. As a gold giant dragon, its movements could unintentionally create sparks. If it accidentally chewed through a metal casing, any resulting gunpowder might ignite, and that would mean trouble. Having previously suffered from missile mishaps, Gold Coin dared not get carried away, unless it intended to use them directly. Old habits die hard, so it instinctively kept its distance.
The mischievous dragon wasn’t idle; it secretly tinkered with the structure, just in case it ever faced threats. One could never be too certain; who knew when things might go haywire, leading to explosions or chaos?
One person and one dragon conducted their own business in the warehouse, not bothering each other.
Lin Mo navigated the aisles, searching for his desired items, indifferent to the dragon’s unauthorized snacking.
Suddenly, Lin Mo halted, a smile spreading across his face. “Ha, I found it!”
Several aluminum alloy boxes stood about two meters tall, labeled with the words F119-PW-100. They were the unopened jet engine spare parts for the F-22! If Lin Mo hadn’t received a complete set of J-10 items, he might not have thought to look for spare parts directly.
Inside the boxes were intact F119-PW-100 thrust vectoring engines, protected by a unique suspension balance mechanism, shock-resistant and impact-proof. Their pristine packaging could even withstand fire and water. Nearby were some important disposable parts and special installation tools.
Lin Mo felt thrilled, like a mouse in a rice barrel, and had to resist the urge to laugh out loud as he rushed to the boxes, hoisting one over his shoulder. His muscles glowed faintly as points of light flowed through his veins. Enhanced by Battle Energy, the hefty F119-PW-100 thrust vectoring engine came up easily. After weighing it in his hands, he frowned; its size made it a challenge to carry out.
“Gold Coin, come over and analyze this quickly!” Lin Mo called out to the gold giant dragon, which was delightfully indulging itself, appearing quite full of pride as it floated about like it was at a buffet, picking and choosing.
“Wait a minute! It’s not every day I get a hearty meal with Dragon Lord; don’t rush me!” The gold giant dragon flew nearby in the not-so-high storage space, rolling an M1A3 tank in the air, enjoying its meal. Filling its belly was one thing, but contacting the metals wouldn’t allow it to truly savor their unique flavors; it needed to eat them to experience real delicacies.
Disdainful of the less appealing items, it casually swiped its tail, ignoring the noise as it grabbed and gobbled up what looked appetizing, crunching through the metal effortlessly. Its sharp dragon teeth sliced through anything like a hot knife through butter, tearing everything apart in just a few bites.
If the base commander were present, he would surely cry out in despair, having just witnessed the gold giant dragon consume over two hundred million dollars’ worth of military supplies in an instant.
“There’s something delicious! The F-22 engines! Quickly help me analyze them, and the electronics too! Remember, only six can be consumed; leave the rest for me!”
Lin Mo began to entice the dragon.
“F-22? Where? Where?!” Gold Coin quickly pressed the main battle tank it had been hugging into its body as if it had vanished into water, making the tank completely disappear.
A gust of wind blew, and the fully transformed dragon version of Gold Coin appeared beside Lin Mo.
“Look, those six boxes! Give the engines inside to you. Make sure to analyze them thoroughly; I’ll take the remaining six boxes.”
Lin Mo’s eyes shone with excitement, his mind fixated on one single thought: robbery!
His “monstrous” fighter jet wasn’t even a skeleton yet. If he could fit two F-22 engines, the effect would be fantastic! Although it couldn’t compare to the original design specifications, having something was better than nothing. It would definitely be far superior to the J-10’s power. He didn’t want to leave the base with any spare parts. Bringing six back, giving four away, and keeping two seemed reasonable, considering their immense value.
The F119-PW-100 was also a thrust vectoring system. Only Russia and the United States had mastered mature thrust vectoring technology. Even China’s vectoring capabilities remained rudimentary, only functioning at the nozzles. Curiously, despite a few other countries having considerable technology prowess, they showed little interest in thrust vectoring; it was only the Asian countries that appreciated it.
Not every U.S. F-series fighter was necessarily more powerful or had superior performance compared to the latest F-35. Among them, the F-22 was the most focused on thrust, making it the newest air superiority fighter.
Before Lin Mo secured the latest and most sophisticated engines, two F119-PW-100 thrust vectoring engines would suffice for initial installation and could be replaced with more advanced fighters in the future.
The mythological J-20 had even stronger engine performance. However, given Lin Mo’s rank and privileges, those were just dreams, akin to his stepmother’s daughter complaining about driving hundreds of Ferraris in the sky.
The core components of the aviation industry are unimaginably costly. Even as a pilot, Lin Mo wouldn’t randomly take a military engine apart to tinker with it. Even with decommissioned aircraft, no matter how old, the engines must be dismantled for recycling.
“Fifty-fifty?! Alright then!” The gold giant dragon raised its fierce head and scratched its chin. Lin Mo’s suggestion was quite tempting, perfectly aligning with the five essential principles of human-dragon coexistence.
Like tearing a banana, the sharp claws effortlessly ripped open the packaging box. It handled the engine as if it were a watermelon, removing it from the central suspension mechanism, squinting its eyes to savor the moment before directly biting off half of it.
