Chapter 384

Chapter 384: Returning a Favor

“… Don’t scare me; I’m not very brave.”

The J-18 aimed to surpass the F-22, and its aerodynamic design did resemble that of the F-22. Those who had never seen a J-18 might mistake it for America’s current main battle aircraft, as both had similar stealth capabilities.

However, under the watch of optical military satellites and synthetic aperture radar in space, the J-18, with its signal source activated, was completely under military control, without any risk of losing control due to its stealth features exceeding many domestic airspace monitoring devices.

“I was just joking!”

Hearing the J-8 pilot “Tabby Cat” nearly losing his mind, Lin Mo couldn’t help but end the joke.

“So what is it?”

“Classified!”

“Uh… Alright!”

Suddenly realizing he might have asked too many questions, “Tabby Cat” fell silent.

“From now on, maintain radio silence. Keep at an altitude of 21,000 meters, and we will resume radio communication in fifteen minutes!” As the lead pilot, Lin Mo conveyed orders over the channel.

“21,000 meters? Isn’t that too high? The J-8 can only operate at 19,000 meters.”

“Tabby Cat” hesitated on the channel. The J-8, transitioning from the second generation to the third generation, was gradually being phased out. Although its design considered high-altitude and high-speed performance, it still couldn’t compare to the J-10 or J-11.

“That’s just the operational altitude, not the maximum altitude. The J-8 can fly higher. How long can your oxygen supply last?”

“30 minutes!”

“Well then, that works.”

The “Dragon General” multi-purpose tactical armor possessed a highly integrated oxygen module, which could work longer when paired with the fighter’s oxygen system.

Even at 20,000 meters, where the outside temperature had dropped to well below zero, in high-altitude high-speed flight, thermal buildup from air friction, combined with the cockpit’s insulation system, kept the temperature steady. This was unlike second-generation or earlier fighters, where pilots had to endure overloading, hypoxia, and low-temperature suffering.

The cockpit temperature was 25 degrees Celsius, suggesting that Shenyang Aircraft Corporation had also used a thermoelectric two-way reversal function to gather excess heat and release it to control temperature levels.

“Uh! Alright!”

The communication channel light turned from green to yellow signifying silence, and “Tabby Cat” thought that this “Dragon Knight” seemed to know a lot about fighter performance.

As a fourth-generation supersonic fighter, Lin Mo did not increase the engine to supersonic cruise mode while waiting for the wingman J-8; the two turbojet-13A engines of the J-8 could not compare, not even by a little bit, to the WS-15X.

In the high sky, the two aircraft left long white trails of condensed air behind them, flying along the river’s path while avoiding densely populated areas. The cloud cover below effectively concealed their presence.

On the way, they spotted other fighter jets conducting routine patrols, likely dispatched by the military’s Air Traffic Control Bureau. However, as soon as they entered radar detection range, those fighter jets automatically flipped their bodies to evade detection.

Fifteen minutes later, radio silence ended.

“Dragon Knight, we have arrived!”

The electronic map in the cockpit displayed the coordinates of the two aircraft gradually aligning with the mission coordinates, a location near a seldom-visited border, with sprawling mountains below.

“Let’s begin a clockwise spiral search at an altitude of 5,000 meters.”

The two aircraft turned their bodies and began their descent.

In reality, with 9.6 million square kilometers, whether along land borders or maritime borders, establishing dense military outposts along the extensive borders was impossible. They could only set up border stations along important traffic routes to prevent large-scale invasions. In rugged, sparsely populated border areas, they relied on satellite scans and aerial patrols from fighters.

For example, in Kashmir, many Chinese citizens believed there were only disputes between Pakistan and India over a small piece of land. In reality, China was the one occupying most of the Kashmir region, with minimal armed presence; the terrain was extremely desolate, making it nearly impossible for ordinary people to cross.

Not to mention the long, lofty mountain ranges along the snow line of the Himalayas, where even birds and beasts could not reach.

Divisive organizations abroad often take advantage of this loophole, spending enormous costs to transport operational supplies into China to support their terrorist activities. Domestic strict controls on firearms mean that these armed organizations typically store weapons, drugs, and other contraband in remote areas. Once intelligence personnel obtain information about secret arms depots or transfer stations set up by foreign organizations within China, they will follow the clues, conduct covert searches, and, after identifying the locations, hand them over to the Combat Unit for elimination. This reconnaissance process is not only filled with danger but can also be very lengthy. Hearing about something today, tracking it tomorrow, capturing it the day after, and eliminating it the day after that is purely a joke, existing only in imagination. Conflicts between foreign forces and domestic security departments have not occurred for just one or two years; the enemy is not only cunning but also extremely cautious, gradually transporting operational supplies through inconspicuous routes, often requiring half a year or even longer to capture a line of secret intelligence from foreign forces, like fishing for a needle in the ocean. Intelligence personnel have gone to great lengths to pinpoint a foreign force’s arms depot near the Chinese border, and the reconnaissance mission has coincidentally fallen upon “Night” and a certain air division, finally deciding whether to deploy a large ground troop attack or send a small team from the Special Operations Team to eliminate the target. “Dragon Knight, do you have any findings?”

“Not at the moment!” Lin Mo activated the Light Mirror Technique in the cockpit.

“Hey! What is that in your cockpit? Does the canopy have a display function?”

It was obvious that the “Tabby Cat” had surprisingly sharp eyes, managing to catch a glimpse of the thin light layer in Lin Mo’s cockpit.

Not wanting to tell the truth, Lin Mo made up a story: “No, it’s a two-dimensional virtual projection!”

The Light Mirror Technique, rarely used in another world, shone brilliantly on the fighter jet in this world. The more Lin Mo relied on the Light Mirror Technique, the more he faced the danger of being discovered.

He found it hard to explain this magical light element magic from another world to others. So far, Lin Mo had only heard about legends of magic in this world but had not seen anyone else with the ability to cast spells; everyone lacked a seed, while Lin Mo, who had fortuitously arrived from another world, had fortunately retained this precious seed. The high technology in this world included equipment with effects similar to the Light Mirror Technique, so it seemed he needed to find a way to acquire projection equipment to disguise himself in the cockpit and use the Light Mirror Technique without reservation.

“Wait a minute, I think I see something!” The Light Mirror Technique revealed a cave, and near the entrance, several armed personnel moved about in the shadows.

Sure enough, they were quite cunning. The arrangements at the cave entrance were carefully disguised, looking like a large rock from above, but appeared in full view before the Light Mirror Technique; a cave remained a cave, with no conditions available for it to turn into a large stone.

Underneath a giant rock nearby were several gray tents, blending in with the surrounding color. The sparse vegetation looked very desolate—a mix of mosses and lichens—with occasional shadows of mountain creatures like ibex appearing nearby.

Some armed militants carrying AK-47s seemed to be preparing lunch, lighting a smokeless alcohol stove. A small creek flowed five kilometers away; if they stocked enough supplies, they could still survive.

Perhaps hearing thunder rumbling in the sky, they peered outward from the shadows, seeming to notice the fighter jet passing overhead, but they showed no signs of panic, maybe knowing that, in such terrain, as long as their movements were not too noticeable, especially with several towering rocks for cover, it would be hard for a pilot’s naked eye or optical reconnaissance equipment to detect them in the shadows.

After all, optical systems struggle to shine light perfectly into blind spots, making it difficult to detect abnormalities in such stark brightness and darkness contrasts.

However, these details mattered nothing to the Light Mirror Technique.

“Where? Where?” Hearing Lin Mo’s voice, the J-8 pilot “Tabby Cat” looked down, but despite having an excellent view and minimal airborne dust, he found nothing.

“Don’t rush! Stick close to me. I’m starting to locate it now, so don’t alert them.”

Lin Mo began to perform what looked like a casual large-scale spiral maneuver with the J-8 while activating the laser ranging system.

The target was at an altitude of 3,000 meters; it was quite absurd to have constructed a depot at such height. They probably discovered and utilized this hidden cave—it was no wonder they only found out about this place right under their noses now.

“Okay, I’ve got it! Now I’ll share it with you. Can you see it?”

“Ah! I see it, but it seems a bit blurry, just a vague outline. If you hadn’t marked it with a circle, I honestly wouldn’t have known there was something here.”

“Not much I can do; the onboard optical equipment isn’t precise enough. With 40 million pixels and 200x zoom, the resolution should be sufficient, but the ISO sensitivity is disappointingly low.”

“You have such good eyesight; you could rival an eagle.”

“Bad eyesight doesn’t qualify you to be a pilot, right? Yours isn’t bad either!”

Indeed, if “Tabby Cat” could spot Lin Mo’s Light Mirror Technique, then he was the first to notice something unusual in Lin Mo’s cockpit.

“Tabby Cat, we’re heading back. On the way, send the reconnaissance data we collected, and then wait for the next orders from above. I suspect they won’t send combat personnel to handle this; it will definitely be our task.”