Chapter 53

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Chapter 53: Airdrop, Airdrop!

The head of the cooking team glanced at Lin Mo and added, “Of course, Comrade Lin Mo’s meal is complimentary!” Suddenly, his expression turned serious and threatening. “If anyone has a problem with that, hmph, talk to Colonel Jiang!"

Everyone looked at each other, realizing they had stumbled into a tight spot and could only grit their teeth and comply, reluctantly emptying their wallets as the head of the cooking team firmly collected payment.

At the starting end of the runway, a medium-sized Y-8 (Yun-8) transport plane with four turboprop engines had just finished warming up its engines and was beginning to move into the takeoff area. Lin Mo’s luggage had already been packed and loaded onto the plane. This special flight was not just for Lin Mo; it also carried four or five retired soldiers, all on board this domestically produced transport aircraft modeled after the An-12, made by the Shaanxi Aircraft Company.

Once on the plane, Lin Mo was handed a parachute pack. Yes, in fact, he was just a passenger who would alight midway and wouldn’t be continuing to the final destination. After his luggage was loaded, it was placed in a specially designed airdrop box and secured with a parachute.

When the transport plane reached the designated altitude, it would drop the cargo, and Lin Mo would need to parachute out. Naturally, there would be someone on the ground to receive him.

For an air force pilot, parachuting was not as foreign as it would be for someone in a specialized parachute unit. One was for combat, and the other for survival; they could not be compared.

Among the retired soldiers were two from the guard unit and four from ground support who operated signal lights and communication. They sat in the cramped cabin, exchanging glances, eager to chat but needing to shout loudly to be heard over the noise.

The transport plane was noisier than a commercial aircraft, with the combined roar of the four propellers even louder than when Lin Mo piloted the J-10.

“Hey, Second Captain Lin, what time is it? Wow! That’s a nice watch! Is it a Rolex or an Omega?” retired soldier Peng Yong asked enviously, eyeing Lin Mo’s wrist. He had wanted to ask the time but got distracted by the watch.

Lin Mo glanced down at the sleek black watch that fit snugly on his left wrist, its smooth metal craftsmanship, intricate dial, and exquisite chain radiating a luxurious aura.

“It’s a knockoff; it’s broken and not accurate!” Lin Mo thought to himself, wanting to scream: Gold Coin, can you be any less flashy? You look so ostentatious it’s dangerous!

At least he could confirm that before coming to the base, Lin Mo had not owned a watch. It was undoubtedly the handiwork of that capricious gold giant dragon, transformed into a watch reflecting designs he had searched online. It could mimic a Rolex, Longines, or even a pocket watch at will.

Lin Mo wasn’t too pleased about it. Even though it looked stunning, there was nothing reliable about this so-called luxury watch; it was merely a pretty decoration that didn’t tell time correctly.

It felt as if the watch heard Lin Mo’s thoughts; suddenly, it started spinning wildly on his wrist as if to express some dissatisfaction, making him dizzy, as if time itself had sped up.

Lin Mo quietly twisted his wrist, turning the watch face away from others. His heart raced at the thought of being discovered; it would be like having a ticking time bomb on his arm. If only Gold Coin would honestly transform into a genuine gold coin instead of clinging to his arm.

“Wow! That’s a cool knockoff! Where did you get it? If you have spare time, help me buy one too!” Peng Yong stared at Lin Mo’s watch, wishing he could wear it himself.

“Someone gave it to me; I don’t know where it’s from. If I find out, I’ll let you know!” Lin Mo casually deflected. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to maintain contact with the outside world once he joined the ‘Night’ team, and he doubted Peng Yong could reach him after retiring.

“Alright, thanks, brother!” Peng Yong smiled, imagining himself wearing the same watch.

Just then, the cockpit door opened, and a person emerged, pointing at their watch while shouting, “Second Captain Lin! We’ll drop in five minutes, get ready!”

Lin Mo responded with an “OK” gesture, began to prepare, ensuring his parachute pack was securely strapped on. They would be thousands of meters in the air, and if anything went wrong, it would be a serious disaster.

The Y-8 transport plane was not as stable as a commercial jet, and the cabin swayed. If someone had a weaker constitution, they would likely already be sick. Lin Mo was used to it, moving with confidence. He unfastened his seatbelt and walked over to his luggage, pushing it towards the drop exit. The standard airdrop box was already secured with a parachute, and all he needed to do was push it out. When the parachute deployed, it would activate a beacon, making it easy for Lin Mo to locate his belongings after the drop.

In fact, there wasn’t much in the box. It contained the laptop issued by the base, personal items, odds and ends, and a large stack of books that took up nearly half the space—a maximum of half a cubic meter.

At that moment, the rear door of the cabin made a loud noise and swung open. The plane jolted violently, and chaotic gusts of wind rushed into the cabin, making it hard to breathe despite the plane dropping altitude.

The retired soldiers inside clung tightly to their seat belts, one hand trying to shield themselves from the gusts that rushed into their lungs, waving their hands at Lin Mo to bid farewell. At that moment, trying to say anything would likely be swept away by the wind.

A red light on the cabin ceiling started flashing, and the airdrop box moved down a conveyor belt towards the cabin door. When the red light turned green, the clamps on the conveyor released, and the airdrop box was immediately swept out by the rapid wind outside. The plane flung it far away, and a white parachute blossomed open.

The advantage of a subsonic aircraft’s airdrop became clear; all it took was tossing it out. If it had been a supersonic aircraft, without a powerful ejector, it might have been pressed tight against the aircraft by the airflow.

Lin Mo waved goodbye to the others in the cabin, took a few running steps, and jumped out of the plane.

It felt like riding a giant dragon again, wearing the mystic steel armor of the Dragon Knights that shielded him from the turbulent winds at high altitudes. Previously, he wouldn’t have dared to jump out alone, fearing that that pesky Gold Coin wouldn’t care at all until he turned into a puddle of mush. It would rather see him take such risks, but now, with a parachute, he didn’t have to worry about landing safely. The two worlds had completely different ways of handling things, Lin Mo thought.

In this world, they spoke of adrenaline flowing quickly. Wearing a breathing mask and goggles, Lin Mo reveled in the thrill of freefalling, spreading his limbs to catch the airflow that would carry him toward his airdrop box. Even a tiny miscalculation overhead could result in a significant distance on the ground.

“You’re crazy! You’re looking for death!” Gold Coin’s voice reverberated in Lin Mo’s mind through their soul contract. The luxury watch on Lin Mo’s wrist suddenly began to morph and stretch, as if trying to transform into the shape of a dragon to stop his reckless descent.

In the other world, Gold Coin was eager for its knight to make such na?ve changes, wanting him to drop dead quickly so it could become a free dragon again. However, after being frightened by the weaponry of this world, it couldn’t bear to lose Lin Mo, who was a valuable source of sustenance. Although the people in this world were weak, they possessed terrifying wisdom far beyond that of beings in the other world, having developed highly destructive weapons combined with an aggressive nature that only seemed to increase. Gold Coin didn’t dare challenge radar and missiles again; this cursed world was driven by metal, making it painfully obvious as a gold-element dragon, leaving it deep in regret for not being of another element.

“Haha!” Lin Mo burst into laughter as his body was suddenly pulled upward, and his descent slowed instantly as the parachute deployed.

“You, you, you!” Gold Coin, who had begun to morph, froze. The dragon head it had just formed widened its eyes, staring at Lin Mo’s parachute above his head. Such a thing existed in this world! It had heard of ejection parachutes in fighter jets, but it never connected that to the parachute Lin Mo was currently using. With this, was there still a need to worry about falling from the sky? The Air Knights practically had an extra life!

Earlier, Gold Coin had thought of throwing Lin Mo from the sky, but with this, that seemed even harder now.

“Read more books! Haha!” Lin Mo laughed heartily.

Shockingly, Gold Coin immediately condensed back into the watch form at lightning speed, the strap tightening. How humiliating it was that the pride of a dragon was belittled by mere humans. Hmph… just wait and see!

Lin Mo didn’t care about Gold Coin’s frustration; he continued to laugh uncontrollably. For him, this opportunity to see the proud giant dragon humbled was truly rare. Coming to this world meant he had to desperately learn all kinds of knowledge, spending more time interacting with this world than Gold Coin. That was the difference—the gap in knowledge.

At that moment, the Y-8 transport plane roared away into the distance, leaving no trace in the sky.

Controlling his parachute, Lin Mo descended slowly, landing about fifty meters from the airdrop box. He tore open his parachute pack, pulled out his tactical dagger, and cut the straps of the parachute, rolling it up as it had no value for reuse, and did the same for the parachute attached to the airdrop box.

The airdrop box’s corners flashed with beacons, sending flickering orange lights. The bright yellow box stood out against the barren landscape; Lin Mo’s drop zone was on a dry, yellow prairie, showing no sign of green. It was now January, and the Siberian cold winds from the north bit into everyone, making it feel as if he had fallen into an icy cave.