Chapter 46

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Chapter 46: Special Order

A sudden command from the base, "Chicken Coop," made Lin Mo’s heart race: "Special order." It felt both familiar and strange. During training at the base, they had been told that the base would occasionally receive one or two secret flight missions throughout the year, and nearly all were highly classified combat missions. Just like the last time when Gold Coin was shot down, Lin Mo never expected this "special order" to be assigned to him. It seemed his experience wasn’t enough for such tasks.

However, a soldier’s duty is to obey orders. No matter the type, a soldier simply executes commands. There is no difference whether in the Su Lan Empire or in China; the protocol remains the same.

“Copy that! I’ll execute immediately!” Lin Mo gestured to the cockpit of aircraft number 9 not far away: Bro, you’re off first!

In the cockpit of the J-10 numbered 9, Chen Haiqing seemed to have received the notification from the tower that Lin Mo had another task. He turned his head and gave Lin Mo a thumbs up, clearly wishing him good luck!

Lin Mo pulled the stick to the left and engaged the airbrake, rapidly reducing engine power. The J-10 darted away from the formation as if blown backward by the rushing wind, maneuvering in a curve towards another direction.

“Wow, taking off from the highway! The secrecy level is incredibly high!” Lin Mo mumbled to himself. This secret mission was surely not just for enjoying the aerial views. He had no right to refuse; it was time to showcase Lin Mo’s abilities.

“Temporary verification code: K85AW5!” Lin Mo adjusted the radio parameters and established the connection for verification. This temporary channel, combined with encryption and a time verification code, provided three levels of security. To completely crack it, one would need to steal the entire encryption-decryption system.

The static echoed briefly, and the communication light switched from red to green, confirming the connection.

"Mobile station calling Gold Coin!" A raspy male voice came through Lin Mo’s headset, mixed with noticeable wind sounds.

"Gold Coin received!" Lin Mo replied tersely.

"Coordinates are east longitude ×× degrees, north latitude ×× degrees. The G315 highway section will clear a temporary two-way route for ten kilometers in 30 minutes, expected to resume traffic in 45 minutes." The raspy voice continued, as if reading, "200 rounds of ammunition chain, two sets of rocket pods, and two LT-2 laser-guided bombs. However, we do not have dedicated loading personnel; I will arrange for someone to assist Second Captain Lin with the loading."

No dedicated loading personnel? Lin Mo’s mouth twisted slightly. Are they acting like delivery services, just delivering and signing for it? With rockets and missiles, what on earth are they planning to do? That amount of firepower is enough to level a small village!

The J-10 flew above the desolate stretches of the G315 highway, which was isolated and empty, unlike the busy coastal roads that have traffic even at midnight. The highway connecting Xining to Kashgar was easy to seal off, with not a single car in sight for half a day, only eight police cars blocking the ten-kilometer stretch.

At that moment, thunderous sounds filled the air as Lin Mo approached with the J-10. The chosen segment of the road was indeed suitable for aircraft takeoff and landing. It was a straight, ten-kilometer stretch with four lanes in each direction, typically built for military readiness. Even large passenger planes could easily take off and land.

Unlike a regular airport runway with proper guiding lights, the highway had no streetlights, but there were people waving signal lights to indicate the landing. Perhaps someone was using a flashlight to beam onto the road, and every so often, a light spot barely illuminated the surface.

This was indeed challenging; the only point of reference was the reflective paint on the road. Lin Mo turned on the landing lights of the undercarriage. He widened his eyes; he had attempted the Light Mirror Technique multiple times, but it always failed. In this world lacking magical elements, gathering light energy at night was extremely difficult.

Asphalt roads are certainly not the best option for aircraft landings. The flexibility of the asphalt base can cause vibrations if the grains are too large, leading to bouncing upon landing. The J-10 had emergency braking parachutes that can ensure landing within 100 meters, but Lin Mo was reluctant to use them.

Boom… The J-10 roared with a deafening whistling and fierce airflow, charging onto the G315 highway’s northern runway. The intense gust of air sent the people illuminating the road tumbling, raising clouds of dust. Light spots on the road became a chaotic mess, even blinding Lin Mo’s cockpit momentarily. Fortunately, Lin Mo had already positioned himself for landing, gripping the stick tightly. He fully deployed the airbrake and rushed past 300 meters, before finally slowing down and coming to a stop right in the middle of the road—another perfect landing.

A truck chased up from behind the J-10, stopping five to six meters away on the hard shoulder. Seven or eight soldiers either carried or lifted the standard munitions for the J-10 over. Once Lin Mo halted the aircraft, he pushed open the canopy and began directing the loading.

The J-10 had a twin-barrel 23mm cannon located beneath its intake, with an effective range of 1,000 meters. While its dogfighting performance was average, its ground attack capabilities were formidable. Two sets of six-barreled rocket pods were loaded with orange rockets, alongside two LT-2 laser-guided bombs.

Lin Mo led a dozen people, and with so many hands, they completed the loading in under 20 minutes, ahead of schedule by a dozen minutes.

The truck even had a simple refueling device, completely filling the J-10’s fuel tank.

Lin Mo officially received his combat orders. Under the LED flashlight’s beam, he clearly saw his mission: to raid a suspected terrorist camp at the China-Kazakhstan border. China had already dispatched a special operations team, and to guarantee that the extermination mission was successful, they had requested air support from the air force. This air support task dwindled down to the base nicknamed "Chicken Coop". Coincidentally, Lin Mo and Chen Haiqing were the closest available members, and due to the high level of secrecy, it helped prevent any international incidents. The military took this matter extremely seriously, temporarily selecting Lin Mo to carry out the operation, aiming to weaken the enemy’s strength.

"This is the China-Kazakhstan border!" Lin Mo held an A3-sized colored satellite image in his hand, clearly showing the terrorist camp. The imaging quality and clarity were top-notch, and there were color annotations estimating the number of personnel and weaponry.

Despite claims that decades of peace had followed the Second World War, who could have imagined that behind this peace lay numerous hidden war fronts? Many citizens were unaware that their country still faced gunfire and battle scenes.

"They even have Arrow-2M portable air defense missile systems. Where did these come from? They have that kind of equipment and mortars. Are you sure they’re not a military unit? Strong attack aircraft should be sent to handle this!” Lin Mo thought, feeling overwhelmed. Fighter jets are occasionally used to deal with small criminals, but dealing with a fully equipped ground unit of nearly 200 armed personnel would likely require there to be dedicated ground support and firepower. Moreover, based on the domestically modified Q-5 fighters, it’s been decades since they had an updated product. This highlighted that the Chinese army is second to none, even managing without air support.

“The target remains confidential. You’ll find out more in time; just focus on harassment and fire suppression, while the ground troops handle the final combat. Besides the Arrow-2M, there isn’t any decent air defense, so as long as you stay cautious, there won’t be any issues.” The person providing Lin Mo with the information was exactly the same person who had communicated with him on the secure channel, although Lin Mo never had the chance to see his face clearly, as it remained shrouded in darkness behind the flashlight.

Once the ammunition was loaded and fuel topped off, Lin Mo coordinated the timing with the raspy-voiced man, climbed back into the plane, and the J-10 taxied for four hundred meters before charging into the night sky. Meanwhile, the G315 highway that had been stopped by police was reopened for traffic. The trucks loaded with soldiers and ammunition now seemed just like regular civilian trucks, departing from some station along the road, as if nothing had happened. The drivers passing over G315 were completely oblivious that a fighter jet had just taken off and landed.

Attack time: 3 AM!

Attack coordinates: East longitude XX degrees, North latitude XX degrees!

Combat method: Firepower assault!