Chapter 336

Chapter 336: The Magic of Spin

Colonel Wu kindly patted Lin Mo on the shoulder. "Captain Lin? Are you okay? Do you want me to call a doctor?"

"I’m fine!" Lin Mo shook his head. After the Gold Coin’s antics, his previous foul mood had vanished like smoke, and he felt much better.

"Are you sure? Someone on the deck just said you looked unwell and left the deck by yourself. Should I call Dr. Jin to check on you? Pilots must pass their physical exams to board the aircraft!"

Colonel Wu feigned a reproachful tone as he followed Lin Mo inside. It was his first time entering Lin Mo’s living cabin, and he glanced around, spotting several "Ember" modules on the desk. He chuckled, not finding it unusual, as soldiers often have quirky hobbies.

"Thank you for your concern, Colonel Wu! I’m feeling great!"

Lin Mo made room for Colonel Wu by the bed. There were no chairs or stools in the living cabin, so the bed was close to the desk, serving as a makeshift seat.

Aside from the conference room and the operations command center, there were rarely any movable stools and chairs on the aircraft carrier; most were fixed in place to withstand winds and waves.

"Don’t just say you’re fine; that’s an order! You need to go to the medical group for a check-up and a mental assessment. We pilots aren’t like ground troops—having a solid mental resilience is crucial to avoid major incidents. I’ll want to see your medical report later." Although he was the captain of the instructor team, Colonel Wu outranked Lin Mo, and his tone grew more serious at Lin Mo’s half-hearted response.

"Understood!" Lin Mo answered solemnly, standing to salute. Once it was framed as an order, he couldn’t brush it off.

"Good! Your health is the foundation of our mission. Your physical and mental wellness affects national security; it’s not just about you—it’s a valuable asset for the country and the military. Cherish and protect it," Colonel Wu maintained a friendly demeanor when not giving orders. Despite being a senior officer, he didn’t carry himself with airs in his off-duty time, like a very approachable uncle who genuinely cared for the younger soldiers both professionally and personally.

Compared to the civilian sphere, where relationships and connections are equally important and full of intrigue, the military is much more united internally. Commanders generally don’t betray their subordinates or colleagues lightly; the major difference in military politics is their reputation for protecting their own.

Colonel Wu and Lin Mo chatted for a long time until lunchtime began, and he confirmed that the young captain had returned to normal.

People are bound to have their tempers and personalities, especially since Lin Mo came so close to landing safely today, only to have fate intervene and take a tumble. An ordinary person might have spent some time in the seawater, getting salted, so it wasn’t surprising that an arrogant ace pilot might feel frustrated.

However, as an ace, he surely had his methods for self-regulating his emotions, so Colonel Wu finally felt at ease.

At the cafeteria, Lin Mo and Colonel Wu got their lunches and found an empty table just as a group of flight trainees surged into the dining area. By this time, there weren’t many diners left, so the trainees quickly grabbed a few favorite dishes and rice, bustling over to the empty table next to Colonel Wu and Lin Mo.

"Hello, Instructor Wu! Hello, Instructor Lin!" The flight trainees all saluted as they set their trays down. Even though Lin Mo’s military rank might not be higher, his status as an instructor and his proven abilities earned the trainees’ respect.

Colonel Wu and Lin Mo stood to return the salute.

"You’re back! How did the friendly match with the Vietnamese pilots go?" Colonel Wu recognized the trainees from the first and second training groups, who had just engaged in aerial combat with the Vietnamese.

"Ugh, don’t get me started! A bunch of useless cowards! They even had Su-35s, and they wasted them," a round-faced lieutenant said with a chuckle, clearly having enjoyed punishing the Vietnamese pilots.

Another lieutenant chimed in, "We encountered them over Huayang Reef. Their radar didn’t even react until we were visible to the naked eye! As soon as we met, they charged at us aggressively, yelling on the public channel. Some of them even claimed to speak Chinese, saying we invaded Vietnam’s airspace and provocatively attacked their pilots, which led to downing two of their aircraft—one pilot dead, one injured. They were even attacking Nanning Island! These Vietnamese are shameless, blaming us when they’re the fools! The operations command center had already informed us that Instructor Lin never even opened fire; their pilots were so incompetent they crashed into the ocean themselves! The one who died couldn’t even eject correctly! We were furious and directly illuminated them with our fire control radar, forming a team to chase them for half an hour before finally driving them back. They were still cursing as they left!"

"Good job!" Colonel Wu gave a thumbs-up to the trainees from the first and second training groups. Facing the enemy without showing fear and fighting back is the mark of a good soldier.

No matter the branch of military service, the first thought upon encountering an enemy is usually to grab their weapons; that’s what makes a qualified soldier.

"Thanks for the praise, sir!" The trainees were energized by Colonel Wu’s compliment, their excitement rising to the level that they could barely eat their food. They eagerly recounted their encounters with the Vietnamese, practically pulling the triggers with their words, boasting about how they had chased the enemy fighters as if they were frightened dogs.

Colonel Wu listened, nodding as he enjoyed their tales while pointing out their strengths and areas to improve. At that moment, the unfortunate Vietnamese had become living target practice for the Chinese carrier-based pilots, and they weren’t even getting paid for it!

"Instructor Lin, can you tell us how you managed to bring down the Vietnamese fighters without firing a shot? Was it an accident?"

After chatting for a while, the trainees turned their eyes toward Lin Mo, who had been quietly focused on his meal.

"By utilizing wingtip vortices to create a spin. As long as you understand the aerodynamic layout of the Su-27, you can achieve this too." Lin Mo smiled mysteriously, succinctly revealing the key technique he’d used to bring down the two Vietnamese Air Force Su-27s earlier that morning.

"Wingtip vortices! Spin?" The trainees exchanged astonished glances, bewildered by what appeared to be a meteorological disaster—how did Instructor Lin use aerodynamic layouts to accomplish that? What was this incredible technique?

Lin Mo’s words also caught Colonel Wu’s attention. If one Su-27 spinning and crashing could be called an accident, then the second was definitely no coincidence but a true display of masterful piloting skill.

Simply relying on the "Dark Sabre’s" mechanical power and aerodynamic characteristics to disrupt the enemy planes’ airflow separation to completely lose lift—what kind of skill was that?

That was bordering on magic!

"Could you elaborate for us, Instructor Lin? Please!" The trainees, still mastering the art of dogfighting, pressed for more details, while Colonel Wu also displayed a keen interest, pausing his meal and eagerly staring at Lin Mo, hoping for a revelation of this secret technique.

Lin Mo knew this wasn’t mere coincidence; it was a systematic attack method. Wow! This was truly powerful—bringing enemy aircraft down without cannons or missiles was akin to a form of soft confrontation. If Chinese pilots mastered this technique, no foreign aircraft would dare to act nonchalantly near China’s fighters!

"Well! Let’s wait until I recover my ‘Dark Sabre’ from the ocean. I can only explain it in detail once I retrieve the flight data from the plane!" Lin Mo contemplated before admitting reluctantly that explaining would take a long time. This technique wasn’t from this world’s dogfighting tactics; it was a blend of aerial knight tactics from another world with the combat aircraft of this world.

Combining the aerial knight tactics from two worlds was something Lin Mo had been striving to accomplish. Although there were clear differences in aerial combat styles between the two worlds due to the nature of the mounts, they were still largely similar—one principle connects many.

Even though the aerial knights from another world have their own advantages and limitations due to magical properties, shared wisdom of aerial knights and their mounts had led to many adaptable techniques. Lin Mo’s tactic of creating a stall and spinning to down foes was inspired by the wind element’s aerial knight’s tactics.

In contrast to the effortless execution by the wind element aerial knights, achieving similar effects with other element aerial knights took considerably more time and effort, but it was still a very effective and surprising form of aerial combat tactic.

Lin Mo had no plans to keep it a secret, but explaining it would be time-consuming and complex, and generally, pilots would need extensive training to master such techniques, which also demanded high physical standards.

"Oh!" The trainees let out a chorus of disappointment. Upon returning after landing, they had barely gotten off the aircraft when the deck crew informed them about Instructor Lin’s "Dark Sabre" falling into the sea. However, the miraculous landing of Instructor Lin on the flight deck became a topic of interest for the officers and soldiers for a long time. Yet, the pilots had no intention of trying to learn his trick; none were brave enough to practice by crashing their aircraft. The chances to apply such a maneuver were rare, and should they find themselves in that situation, they preferred to wait in the seawater for rescue.