Chapter 204
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Chapter 204: Even the Americans Have to Hide
The crew on Nurse 2 acted quickly, decisively cutting off the fuel hose, which was now sparking more fiercely as it detached and plunged into the sea.
“Team Knights, get into refueling position!” Lin Mo heard the call in his ear.
The last remaining A-5 strike aircraft, Snow Fox, had just finished refueling, and the two FC-20 fighter jets from Team Knights quickly connected. Nurse 2 released another spare fuel line from its rear, which was perfect for one of the FC-20s from Ghoul Squadron to connect up.
While the two Il-78 refueling aircraft moved away from the battlefield, they filled the fighter jets attached to the fuel lines with fuel, their hearts racing. Every extra minute they provided refueling increased their safety.
The Indian pilots had long spotted the Il-78 aircraft, knowing it was an easy target, but the three Pakistani fighter squadrons wouldn’t let them off the hook.
Especially the F-7 jets from Mihas Squadron, which utilized their lightweight, high speed, and excellent close-range capabilities, continuously engaged the Indian pilots at 1.8 times supersonic speed, not allowing a single Indian aircraft to escape.
The two missiles that shot down two A-5s from Wild Wolf Squadron earlier were purely coincidental; high-speed missiles weren’t easily intercepted. Often, before you even realized it, they had zipped past. If they came straight at you, it would be catastrophic.
When Azrael Squadron and Tiger Shark Squadron finished refueling, the Indians lost hope. They no longer wanted to engage, retreating back to their homeland. Continuing the fight over international waters meant they probably wouldn’t have enough fuel to fly back.
With only two Il-78s in the Arabian Sea supporting such a large fleet of fighter jets, it was indeed insufficient. At Fisher Air Force Base, two more Il-78s took off, fully loaded with fuel, to meet the returning large group.
At four in the morning, the airspace above Fisher Air Force Base was filled with fighter jets, waking residents within a twenty-kilometer radius. The thunderous roar of so many planes was impossible to mask, revealing the large-scale operation at the base. But what could they do? The mission had been accomplished successfully.
As soon as each fighter jet landed, tow trucks and ground crew rushed over to take them away. Before dawn, groups of mechanics, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately began inspections and maintenance. The fighters from Azrael Squadron and Tiger Shark Squadron experienced significant wear and tear after such long flights and combat, with even some damage to the airframes.
“How are Persian Cat, Night Hawk, and Caviar doing?”
Just after Lin Mo jumped out of the aircraft, he anxiously asked about his two comrades from Wild Wolf Squadron through Kua Fu’s helmet communicator.
“Don’t worry! A seaplane has already headed to the crash site. Their distress signal is operational, and they have deployed the life raft. They should be back soon.”
Hearing that his comrades were safe, Lin Mo and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After all the pilots landed, they immediately received orders to take a shower, eat a midnight snack, and then go rest. After dawn, they needed to quickly redeploy to fill the gaps at various bases. The temporary dispatch of refueling aircraft and combat squadrons had created weaknesses in other defensive lines.
Like a precisely functioning machine, once overloaded, they had to quickly return to position; otherwise, it would be easy for the unpredictable Indians to take advantage.
The civilian population in Bangalore suffered a night of worry and fear, but fortunately, the Indian police quickly mobilized to suppress the chaos. A suspected small nuclear bomb created panic across Bangalore and surrounding areas.
The production base of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited was reduced to ruins, causing a stir within India. Newspapers, televisions, radios, and swarms of reporters left the Indian government and military flustered.
This was not just blatant revenge; it reminded everyone of Asad Viyeri Khan’s earlier statement about “continuing to strive for the ceasefire agreement” after India unilaterally refused to sign the agreement during the new round of negotiations. When the world waited eagerly for this “effort,” it felt more like a massive earthquake.
Even when the two countries were at war, deep attacks were rare. After India’s failed attempt to bomb Meanwari Air Force Base, Pakistan avoided escalation and simply launched retaliatory attacks on the front lines in Kashmir. However, when Chinese volunteer pilots were attacked while visiting Peshawar, China’s anger was ignited.
Military volunteers went to battle, facing life and death, accepting whatever fate had in store for them; even sacrifices brought no international consequences. But such schemes could be tolerated to a point—this was intolerable. After provoking the smaller issues, they brought out the big ones. Although so far, no clear evidence pointed to any specific force being responsible, countless clues pointed towards India.
Wars and international conflicts often do not require evidence; if you can strike, are able to strike, and it benefits you, that is enough.
With the operations and support of the Chinese military, a fresh shipment of the latest SD-10 medium-range air-to-air missiles and launchers quietly arrived, directly refitting the F-16 fighters. This happened after Pakistan’s fighter jets swiftly resolved combat during India’s first round of intercepting jets, simply blowing HAL to pieces.
Even the Indians did not expect the Pakistani missiles to be so sharp, as all eight intercepting fighter jets were shot down without even lasting a round—this allowed two Pakistani squadrons to complete their missions without obstruction.
At dawn, Lin Mo and the others spotted Night Hawk and Caviar returning. To everyone’s surprise, Caviar was busy fishing while floating on the sea, holding emergency rations and survival tools—immediately after disembarking, he proudly showed off a string of seafood he caught, a successful haul that eased everyone’s worries about him.
When Azrael Squadron returned to Peshawar Air Force Base, they no longer had to hide, heading directly there. After being on standby like they were facing a great enemy for three days, the Indians seemed to have lost all morale after Pakistan’s long-distance bombing raids crushed their last shred of courage.
Official Indian news media continued to spar verbally with Pakistan, but this empty talk only served to fool the public.
The upper echelons of the Indian military were not naive; they had guessed that the Chinese military’s intervention brought sudden and terrible consequences. This strike severed India’s most critical aircraft supply enterprise, effectively eliminating that root cause.
However, they couldn’t openly mention this. The Indians thought about retaliation, but seeing the emergence of SD-10 missiles made it clear that their fighters were now equally matched with Pakistan.
Yet when facing colossal powers like China, America, and Russia, they were clearly lacking; after all, their aircraft manufacturing facilities were vastly inferior in both quantity and quality. Science and technology, industrial foundation, talent pool, and the quality of the population all stood in stark contrast. The Chinese military, leveraging Pakistan, delivered several hard slaps to India’s face, finally bringing them to heel.
Even if the Chinese military stopped intervening, with the current aviation industry foundation, when the war came down to resources, the balance would tilt towards Pakistan.
Under the watchful eyes of all, ceasefire negotiations resumed. No one could tell who proposed them first, at the usual place; near the western bank of the Jhelum River, at the old camp near the ceasefire line in Kashmir, which everyone thought was useless but had to be reconstructed again.
The public would no longer be deceived. Even while glued to televisions, they felt anxious. It wasn’t until the ceasefire agreement was finally signed that the citizens of India and Pakistan breathed a heavy sigh of relief. When the two countries went to war, it was the civilians who suffered.
Signing the agreement was one thing; genuinely ceasing fire was another. Countries neighboring Kashmir, including China, knew well that signing was no guarantee compared to the force of arms.
But now, the Indians had no choice but to bow their heads.
“Pack up your things. Prepare to withdraw in a week!” Captain Feng unexpectedly issued the latest orders from China to everyone.
They were really going to withdraw?!
After being on high alert for almost a month, constantly guarding against the unpredictable Indians, no one expected the Indians would actually back down. Many pilots, hoping to rack up more achievements and bonuses, felt disheartened.
“The United Nations will send a military observer team to oversee the ceasefire between India and Pakistan in the Kashmir region. If fighting resumes, the UN peacekeeping forces will likely deploy troops from China to the Kashmir region,” Captain Feng explained the situation to everyone’s confusion.
Although China was also one of the three ownership countries in Kashmir, China never took the initiative. No matter what, neither India nor Pakistan would harbor any thoughts about the piece of land belonging to China. Throughout previous conflicts over Kashmir, China rarely intervened, often acting as a neutral party and making subtle moves behind the scenes.
“…”
As one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, having nearby China dispatch peacekeeping forces would clearly sway the balance. Even a blind person could see that; the Indians would have to swallow their pride or risk retaliation.
Once the Chinese got serious, even the Americans would have to hide.
