Chapter 61

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 61: Sidelong Glances

The military weather satellite provided atmospheric data, and the aircraft could not fly in a straight line. As Lin Mo navigated toward the task coordinates displayed on his tactical tablet, he continuously adjusted his direction.

Lin Mo tuned the side-looking radar and camera, muttering to himself, “If I finish early, I can hurry home for dinner!”

The task coordinates were merely a reference, supplied by ground reconnaissance personnel or informants. The target was always on the move, and since only a broad range was provided, tracking was challenging. The complex terrain of the mountainous area made timely reporting difficult; deploying air force reconnaissance was the most effective method.

Using the twilight glow just before sunset, Lin Mo enveloped the entire aircraft with battle energy, recklessly absorbing light element energy while preparing to use the Light Mirror Technique. This world was not like the other realm with abundant elemental energy; he relied on the little battle energy he had left as a seed, gathering every bit he could.

Boom! A point of light suddenly converged in the cockpit, forming a small disc that displayed a clear image of a specific ground location. The Light Mirror Technique did not feel out of place in the J-10’s cockpit; instead, it added a touch of science fiction.

Lin Mo collected reflected photons from the atmosphere, assembling them into an image. The Light Mirror Technique acted like a cheat for search and tracking, as he operated it to continually scan the ground.

The tactical tablet clearly outlined the target’s characteristics: a horse team disguising itself as an ordinary commercial caravan, codenamed "Red Scorpion," which specialized in smuggling arms in exchange for poached goods and medicinal materials.

As a country with strict gun control, this smuggling group had severely crossed national red lines. Not only that, but it also mixed with ambitious separatists who occasionally created bloody events and chaos in the northwest.

Lin Mo was tracking a group of arms dealers, about thirty horses strong, specifically choosing mountain paths to cross the border in unmonitored areas where border troops were hard to intercept.

A half-worn AK, costing only two to three hundred yuan, could easily be swapped for rare medicinal materials and poached goods worth over ten thousand yuan in these desolate and chaotic borderlands. Although the journey was long, dangerous, and difficult, the profits could be maddeningly high—hundreds or thousands of times over. Furthermore, these arms dealers were extraordinarily dangerous; every one of them was a ruthless outlaw, well-equipped and experienced in combat, far outmatching ordinary police forces, with only elite combat units able to contend with them.

The J-10 descended below the cloud cover, becoming increasingly visible through the clouds as the Light Mirror Technique scanned quickly over rugged mountain terrain. The bare mountains were not ideal for hiding. In western China, near Central Asia, there were no large trees covering the peaks, only stones, sand, low grass, and rust-colored moss. Even finding a low shrub was difficult.

With the fighter jet’s speed combined with the Light Mirror Technique for wide-area scanning, Lin Mo’s pupils suddenly widened. “Found it!”

Only Lin Mo, equipped with the Light Mirror Technique, could spot the horse team moving slowly in the shadows at the foot of the mountains below eight thousand meters. In such terrain with almost no paths, even motorcycles could not traverse; they relied solely on livestock for transportation. Not to mention resupplying, this made detection extremely difficult. It was a needle in a haystack, but Lin Mo carried this confidence.

He noted the number of horses, personnel, and cargo characteristics, confirming them against the information on the tactical tablet. More importantly, these individuals carried guns; these outlaws would not hesitate to shoot anything that moved with the slightest disturbance.

The rumble of the fighter jet was not unexpected among the horse team members, but only from a vantage point could they see a small dot darting through the clouds above.

The ultra-long-focus camera immediately locked onto the horse team, and Lin Mo could clearly see the leader—in a beard and headdress—lifting his head and glancing carelessly into the sky before returning to lead the way.

It was entirely normal for an aircraft to fly overhead, but the horse team had no idea that a simple passerby was a technologically equipped observer scrutinizing them from above.

“Alright! All set!” In the moment the horse team leader looked up, Lin Mo took a close-up shot using the ultra-long-focus camera, deactivated the Light Mirror Technique, noted the horse team’s direction, and then traced a wide arc back toward the base.

The information collected by the side-looking radar and camera would be passed to the Intelligence Group for analysis. It was best to withdraw today and continue tracking tomorrow.

The reconnaissance by the fighter jet was brief and subtle, like a dragonfly skimming over water. If he persisted too boldly, it would be difficult to follow again later.

In western China, where the "Night" Team was located, night would usually fall around eight o’clock in the evening.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Lin Mo’s J-10 landed on a special runway nestled within a small valley, roaring as it returned. The news he brought reached Colonel Feng Chenye, the commander of the "Night" Team, without delay.

“What?! He found it?!” Colonel Feng’s tone clearly reflected surprise. He had expected Lin Mo would need at least two or three days to truly locate the target after ground personnel had validated the coordinates at least once or twice.

Could Lin Mo really have a gift for high-altitude reconnaissance?! Colonel Feng secretly thought that he might have uncovered a valuable asset this time.

“Did we obtain any data?” Colonel Feng, still skeptical, pressed for information.

“The Intelligence Group has reviewed the images and terrain scan data sent back. It’s verified—this is indeed the ‘Red Scorpion!’”

With the documents gently placed on the table, Colonel Feng, who usually maintained a serious demeanor, began tapping his index finger on the surface. Now it was time for him to issue commands.

“Get the First Squad in charge of the ‘Red Scorpion’ situation. The Aircrew Group will take them over. Tell the Staff Group I want to see the combat plan before ten o’clock tonight.” Colonel Feng decisively knocked several times on the table, determining they had to deal with these arms dealers swiftly. They were like a festering wound, secretly supplying arms to discontent groups within the country; it was best to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

Combat units could not rely solely on words to eliminate enemies.

“Understood!” The communications officer saluted and turned to deliver Colonel Feng’s orders but was interrupted by Feng’s voice calling out, “Wait! Make sure to tell Captain Huang that I want the ‘Red Scorpion’s’ key members alive. I want to see where their supplies come from.”

“Understood!” The communications officer saluted again, noted Colonel Feng’s words, and turned around. Slowing his pace for a moment, he ultimately heard no more from Colonel Feng, so he hastened to leave.

Having finished a bowl of pork chop noodles in the canteen, Lin Mo cheerfully returned to the Aircrew Group hangar. The hangar had almost become a second home for him; aside from sleeping, he spent most of his time there, and a brand-new J-10 was at his disposal. Such opportunities were rare, and in the "Night," Lin Mo not only served as a fighter pilot but also took on the duties of a maintenance technician. Although not formally trained, he had learned enough about repair from dozens of thick manuals sent with the aircraft and from his time at Base 7759. This made him a makeshift mechanic who could at least handle a J-10 without major issues.

Maintenance personnel did not necessarily need to understand a product’s principles and structure better than its creators and designers. They just needed to follow the manual, identify malfunctions, and understand assembly details.

While wiping his mouth, Lin Mo contemplated whether to modify a certain component, considering replacing the electrolytic capacitors with supercapacitors. He treated the fighter jet like a personal project, squeezing out every bit of performance.

A fighter jet was merely an industrial product manufactured in bulk. Unless it was a prototype, a balance between performance and cost was unavoidable, leaving ample room for improvement.

For this reason, he had extensively searched for study materials, even sending dozens of emails to the manufacturer’s secret mailbox to verify his modification ideas. He was practically a high-value customer.

The former gold giant dragon had not been idle either; at the very least, this creature, who depended on Lin Mo for snacks, could now serve as an alarm clock and radio. By integrating a military-grade SIM card issued by the base, it could also function as a phone. With a TF card tucked inside it, it occasionally played small games; it did not even need to recharge the battery, as its natural ‘Void Magnetism’ ability allowed it to convert physical principles into a stable power source. The recently simulated supercapacitor could store energy for unexpected needs.

This creature, having lost its draconic appearance, had never imagined it would evolve into such a complex structure with so many uses.

After leaving Base 7759, Lin Mo still had to consider the gold giant dragon’s food expenses. There wasn’t much scrap metal available here, but the leftover bullets and casings from training barely sustained it; otherwise, it would have to face the tomorrow’s breakfast dilemma, just like the lyrics of "Panda Mimi" sang.

“Quickly! Get the two Mi-17s ready, fill them with fuel, and bring the fuel drums. Be careful not to crash on the way back, and mount the machine guns; everything must be ready by eight. You have only one hour left to prepare!” Captain Pan shouted, gesturing wildly while glancing at the checklists on his tactical tablet. The members of the Aircrew Group were bustling around.

Lin Mo looked at his tactical tablet, noting that no task had been assigned to him; he remained on standby. He approached Captain Pan to say hello. “Captain Pan!”

“Captain Lin! Tonight we have…” Captain Pan began to speak, but was interrupted by the heavy thudding of boots and a synchronized chant of “One, two, one!” as a large group of fully armed soldiers rushed in.