Chapter 26

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Chapter 26: Flight Simulator Training

A bright beam of light swept over from a distance, followed by a soft screeching sound as brakes applied on the concrete takeoff and landing area.

“Hey, guys! Grab your things and get on the truck!” an officer jumped down from an electric transport vehicle, looking at the few poor souls carelessly left behind.

A long flatbed transport truck stopped nearby, and Lin Mo and the others quickly loaded their belongings and climbed aboard. The truck, typically used for transporting goods, had only temporary railings with no seats. Fortunately, it traveled at a steady pace, quickly taking Lin Mo and the others to a barrack not far away. Inside, the spacious room was filled with classic bunk beds that could accommodate over twenty people, but it was mostly empty. With guidance from the stationed soldiers, they each picked a vacant bunk to place their belongings and rest.

The next morning, Lin Mo, Chen Haiqing, and the other six students, like children in kindergarten, got led to wash up and have breakfast. Finally, they had the chance to survey the base they had flown to overnight by helicopter.

The building they had stayed in was a large collective-style barrack made of piled rocks, which looked like a warehouse from the outside. Seven or eight of these buildings were arranged in two rows, though most appeared to be unused.

Further back were a few small multi-story buildings, and in front of the barrack was an open view. More than a thousand meters away, they could see shiny aircraft parked, and keen-eyed Fan Dazhi was the first to recognize the several J-10 fighter jets lined up. Next to them were a straight runway and a huge hangar not far off.

“J-10! It’s the J-10! We’re not dreaming, right? I’m going crazy!” Lei Dong exclaimed, losing control of his excitement and almost running towards the planes. He quickly got pulled back by a nearby patrolling soldier. After all, fighter jets cost much more than Ferraris, and they couldn’t let this kid run around touching them.

This base might look inconspicuous, but it was buzzing with flying tasks. There were other pilots around, and every hour, four to five aircraft would roar as they took off or landed, indicating regular practice operations.

Lin Mo looked around; faint silhouettes of mountains appeared behind the misty morning fog. This base seemed to be nestled in a small basin. “This is a great place for an air force base!” Lin Mo thought to himself, hidden and spacious—ideal characteristics all around. As for contact with the outside world, the advanced communication technology could easily handle that, and supplies would be sent by air, leaving no room for worry.

“Are we really going to fly J-10s?! As fighter pilots?” Chen Haiqing and the other students exchanged glances, their eyes brimming with excitement. They had truly hit the jackpot this time.

For the wealthy Chen Haiqing, driving a BMW or Ferrari couldn’t compare to the thrill of piloting a fighter jet and breaking the sound barrier. This was one of the reasons he signed up to be a pilot; no matter how rich someone was, it was not easy to buy a plane and fly it for fun. Forget about air traffic control regulations; even flying a private jet required submitting complex paperwork and obtaining a flight clearance ahead of time, with no guarantee of having a flight route. The maintenance, airport, and runway rentals were all tightly controlled, unlike sports cars that could sneak onto the road without a license. If you tried to take off without clearance, you could become a target for a missile—a big firework in the sky, as the Second Artillery has much experience shooting down planes.

After breakfast, each of the six students received a thick manual on security and confidentiality regulations. Their only order at this moment was to memorize this document, which was even more detailed than the aviation school’s privacy rules, within a week.

“See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, and do no evil.” The level of confidentiality at this base exceeded the six students’ expectations. Every ten steps, there were guards, and every five steps, there were sentries. The entire base was equipped with various surveillance and detection devices, monitoring any slight movement within a twenty-kilometer radius. Failing to follow the security protocols and wandering around carelessly could land them in confinement for three days or worse, under military law, which superseded civil law.

In the days that followed, numerous newcomers arrived, and surprisingly, Lin Mo and his group became the seniors within a week. They met students from various places, including others from different aviation schools, and the total number of new arrivals exceeded a dozen, filling most of their dormitory.

The strict management surprised everyone. Chen Haiqing’s usual tendency to form cliques was quickly thwarted after a warning, and his small groups became a thing of the past. The base only recognized large military teams and did not allow the formation of small factions.

All personal items like phones, laptops, PSPs, and iPads were confiscated for inspection. It was anyone’s guess whether these items would function when returned. It felt almost as if they were cut off from the world.

This isolation left Chen Haiqing and the others feeling more frustrated. Here in this desolate place, having wealth meant nothing. Even the richest second generation had moments when waving cash didn’t help. Forget about ATMs; cash was about as useless as hard toilet paper. All food and supplies were distributed as part of a single rationing system. There weren’t many opportunities to spend money, with the base’s small military store offering a meager selection—no cigarettes, no alcohol, just nearly identical brands of paper, pens, envelopes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, towels, uniforms, shoes, and basins. The only snack options available were compressed biscuits, luncheon meat, and a few special aviation treats, but even those were limited. The most extravagant indulgence was peanuts or Oreos.

The store was run by a retired couple who had previously worked in ground support. Now, they settled here, and their business could hardly be described as thriving; a regular army soldier earned about 500 yuan a month, while qualified pilots earned only about 2000.

Newcomers were even worse off, with only about 1000 yuan to last them. Out in the city, that wouldn’t even cover meals. In this grim base, at the end of the month, they could be left with a miraculous 900 yuan in cash. They couldn’t survive solely on luncheon meat poured from a can as snacks.

Once all the students had gathered, the head instructor at the base finally explained why they were all brought here. The air force selected elite students from various aviation schools for concentrated training, aiming to cultivate a group of qualified pilots capable of piloting new types of fighter jets and hopefully producing ace air combatants.

The students felt thrilled and of course had no plans to drop out—this was not like being assigned to fly helicopters, transport planes, or even commercial airlines; they were becoming true warriors of the sky, getting closer to the dream of soaring freely in the sky.

Beyond the basic theoretical courses from their aviation schools, each student at the base received a set of textbooks marked with confidentiality designations. These included military-themed subjects such as air combat geometry, offensive maneuvers, and defensive tactics. Even before classes began, most students couldn’t resist flipping through these textbooks. Even at night, when lights-out rang, some still hid under their blankets with flashlights, engrossed in reading.

Lin Mo was among them, reading with a small flashlight bought from the military store, fascinated by the tactical theories inside. Though the combat methods differed slightly, the essence remained similar. Many students had become accustomed to it and were even military enthusiasts, able to remember almost everything after just one read-through.

The students’ enthusiasm for learning reached unprecedented heights, and soon theoretical studies wrapped up. Yet, they still couldn’t climb directly into the jets; the actual flying operations would differ somewhat from what they learned. The subsequent flight simulators allowed the students to indulge their cravings, akin to getting a driver’s license, but much stricter, as pilots’ experience is measured by cumulative flight hours.

This base was surprisingly equipped with the most advanced simulators available domestically, despite being less compared to the USAF’s F-15 full-mission flight simulator. Each student got their hands on a pilot operation manual. Although slim, it clearly detailed takeoff, landing, and various flight maneuvers, along with necessary precautions. However, with only two six-degree-of-freedom flight simulators available, it was impossible to satisfy the many students all at once.

Next to the simulators was a computer room filled with dozens of high-performance computers equipped with various flight training software and games, but they could only look on in envy.

When Lin Mo first encountered a computer, he almost made a fool of himself, staring at the black screen without a clue on how to get started, nearly poking holes in the case. Finally, a fellow student who couldn’t bear to watch helped him power it on. However, the keyboard with 26 letters puzzled him. Though he had fused the language of this world with his own through soul integration, this new form of language made Lin Mo resemble an uncivilized savage.

The others clearly regarded Lin Mo as a computer beginner. In such a technologically advanced era, people like him were indeed not surprising.

A bunch of eager computer whizzes stepped up to offer free beginner tutorials. Lin Mo finally managed to awkwardly practice typing using the five-stroke input method on the keyboard. However, that was a far cry from the training he received to pilot the 737 back at the airport, where the plane was on autopilot. He had to take all precautions to avoid errors by using a streamlined procedure; otherwise, the plane’s lifespan might not withstand such sloppy handling.