Chapter 99

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Chapter 99: The F-14 Tomcat Falls!

“Alright! It’s settled then!” The gold giant dragon calculated a bit, transforming some ordinary metal from within into parts, pretending they had been blown apart to replace these delicious, rare metals. It was still quite a bargain because he could always eat more steel to make up for it later. Anyway, he had feasted well this time and didn’t mind losing a little bit.

Lin Mo merged the two Light Mirror Techniques in the cockpit. He no longer needed to worry about the Twin Stars and Yakov’s escape team; they must have arranged everything beforehand and could undoubtedly evade the “Red Scorpion” ambush. The merged massive Light Mirror Technique scanned for refracted photons far ahead of the plane, gathering images that revealed a large caravan carrying fully armed soldiers and supplies, along with armored vehicles and cannons. With the support of two helicopters, they were heading toward the “Red Scorpion” hideout. If they maintained this speed, they would reach Aysulu by dawn.

The soldiers approaching from this direction were likely from the Merland tribe. They had probably heard news of the chaos in the “Red Scorpion” lair and wanted to take advantage of the situation, possibly even capturing Aysulu directly, which would be a great idea.

The mission plan provided by the “Night” Intelligence Group, while unrealistic concerning Lin Mo’s part and full of traps, was thoroughly genuine regarding the other aspects. The twin sisters of the Twin Stars were indeed executing it as planned, providing Lin Mo with the most reliable basis for his actions.

Lin Mo couldn’t help but admire the abilities of the Twin Stars. So far, aside from his own part, everything had progressed step by step according to the script of these twin sisters.

In terms of reconnaissance details, the Light Mirror Technique proved more effective than radar, which was Lin Mo’s experience. He had adopted this small technique as an essential airborne spell for flight. He surveyed the Merland tribe’s forces from the air and was somewhat astonished. It was clear that the number of troops this tribe sent far exceeded the original mission plan’s estimates.

Currently, nearly half of the “Red Scorpion” forces had been diverted and were engaged in fierce combat led by Colonel Yahann Frank with the “Holy Mercury Mirror,” unable to extricate themselves. The remaining forces at the “Red Scorpion” headquarters had also been significantly reduced by Lin Mo and the Twin Stars, especially since Lin Mo alone had nearly wiped out half of the “Red Scorpion” Elite Guard. Even without interference from other powers at the borders, the “Red Scorpion” would still be severely weakened. However, the Twin Stars’ plan was not merely to injure the “Red Scorpion” but also to leave them seriously diminished.

The Merland tribe was essentially putting its entire force into action now, and their advancing military power could easily swallow the current strength of the “Red Scorpion” in one go.

Too much can be as bad as too little; balance is key. The ultimate goal of “Night” was balance. They didn’t intend to let the Merland tribe profit from this trip at the “Red Scorpion’s” expense. The “Red Scorpion” still had a purpose for existence; a weakened “Red Scorpion” was far better than a stronger power that emerged after absorbing them.

“Gold Coin, be ready for a crash landing at any moment. Make sure to pick me up quickly!” Lin Mo called out as he began to lower the altitude of the F-14, not having considered returning. He certainly wouldn’t calculate fuel consumption for this mission.

However, he couldn’t allow the Merland forces to grow strong enough to devour the “Red Scorpion.” Without consulting others, he took the initiative to weaken their forces.

The F-14 controlled by Gold Coin followed closely behind. The two “Red Scorpion” pilots onboard had completely become mere decorations; their F-14 was now on autopilot with remote control tracking. They were already terrified, unable to even scream for help. Abla and Yanker had gone into a state of panic, overwhelmed and unable to make sense of the situation.

All remaining onboard air-to-ground weapons were fired by Gold Coin. Conducting air raids while controlling the F-14 was exhilarating, and the channel was filled with the excited howls of Gold Coin.

However, the F-14 required two pilots to operate effectively in combat. Lin Mo could only use the cannon to target the marching route of the Merland soldiers. As he unleashed a barrage, a line of blood and flesh erupted across the battlefield.

Seeing the bad situation, the two Merland helicopters turned to flee. Helicopters stood no chance against a supersonic fighter jet, and Lin Mo, a trained air force pilot, was not about to let such targets escape easily. He fired the cannon, earning himself the title of "fighter jet sniper." He took aim at one helicopter and initially hit its main rotor, causing a few ricochets. But ultimately, the damaged rotor could not withstand further hits. More bullets tore through the blades and struck the fuselage, leading to a massive explosion as the helicopter ignited and fell into the vast, sandy ground.

The fiery tail of the F-14 lashed out at another helicopter, resulting in yet another bright fireball in the sky.

At that moment, the Merland soldiers, finally reacting, began their counterattack. Gunflames on the ground quickly flickered like stars, and Gold Coin screamed, “I’m hit! I’m hit! I’m going down!”

Clearly, this fellow was eager to get moving.

Gold Coin’s F-14 belched black smoke, wobbling as it plummeted into the distance. Upon passing over a sand dune, the Merland soldiers saw a huge fireball and a massive column of smoke rising into the sky, leading them to erupt in cheers.

“Morin, according to your plan, I’ve completed the crash, and those two little bugs are taken care of. They’re definitely dead, no way to verify the evidence,” Gold Coin’s playful voice came through the channel. It was clear that he had also made sure to eliminate the witnesses. The two “Red Scorpion” pilots, who had watched all the drama unfold, were now paying the ultimate price for their ordeal. Lin Mo and Gold Coin would not spare them, come what may.

“Come pick me up right away, you old clunker!” After Gold Coin completed the crash as planned, the pressure on Lin Mo significantly increased as ground forces began launching shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. Clearly, the Merland forces had adequately prepared against the “Red Scorpion’s” aerial strength. After the initial chaos and losses, they quickly organized an effective counterattack.

The old F-14, a third-generation early supersonic fighter, was significantly outclassed by Lin Mo’s J-10. He struggled to control it, akin to suddenly switching from a Ferrari to a tiny Alto while climbing a 30-degree slope. The sluggish structure lagged behind Lin Mo’s nerve impulses, making aerial maneuvers increasingly difficult. If Gold Coin didn’t arrive in time and his plane was hit by an anti-aircraft missile, the consequences could be disastrous.

The Merland forces clearly lacked the resources to equip high-end weaponry like the Pioneer-4. They launched outdated SAM missiles, which appeared to be relics from who knows where. One missile narrowly missed Lin Mo’s cockpit, startling him into a cold sweat!

Lin Mo had no confidence in surviving a fighter jet’s explosion without protection. He continued to perform extreme maneuvers, the structure of the aircraft creaking under stress. If he didn’t sacrifice the F-14, it would still likely say farewell to the skies after landing.

Suddenly, when Lin Mo felt a jolt, he realized he had been hit. The left wing had several large holes, but thankfully, it was just anti-aircraft machine gun fire and hadn’t struck a critical spot. As the shaking intensified, he heard Gold Coin’s familiar deep voice, “Morin, I’m here!”

“Gold Coin, it’s all up to you now!” Lin Mo completely released the controls, handing full authority over to the gold giant dragon. After dodging the relentless rain of bullets and anti-aircraft missiles, he had exerted nearly all his efforts to survive until Gold Coin arrived.

To keep things realistic, the F-14 even took a hit from a Merland SAM missile, simulating an inability to evade, leading to a spectacular explosion. Debris from the aircraft rained down like scattered flowers.

Almost engulfed in the flames from the explosion, the gold giant dragon Gold Coin tightly enveloped Lin Mo’s cockpit. The shockwave launched them far away, and as they landed in the desert, Gold Coin transformed into a suit of mystic steel armor from Lin Mo’s alternate world. His back prepared the form of a Type 95 Assault Rifle. While there were no bullets remaining in stock, the giant dragon could still leverage Void Magnetism to simulate electromagnetic cannon principles to launch metal projectiles. However, each projectile separated from Gold Coin would deplete its essence, which wasn’t cost-effective and could only be used in emergencies.

After shooting down two F-14s, the Merland soldiers regained order, leaving a hundred men to clean up the battlefield while the others rushed toward the crash site. They sought to collect the wreckage as evidence of their victory and spoils of war, but they could only see the genuine bodies of two “Red Scorpion” pilots.

Meanwhile, Lin Mo and the gold giant dragon Gold Coin had already left the scene, entering the vast sandy sea.

The first golden rays of sunlight crested over the sand dunes, illuminating the entire Kyzylkum Desert. Amongst the rolling dunes that resembled an ocean, a black dot suddenly flashed, mysteriously appearing and disappearing between the undulating mounds.

The desert doesn’t rain, but it certainly has wind. The dry yellow sand is highly mobile, even more fearsome than water; the treacherous quicksand can swallow anything daring enough to tread upon it.

A long triangular object stood upright, moving quickly across the sand, darting over the tops of the dunes before surging up again, repeatedly leveraging momentum and wind to climb to the heights of other dunes.