Chapter 385

Chapter 385: The Rookie’s First Tune

Lin Mo assessed the terrain. If ground soldiers approached, it would take them at least two full days to deal with the enemy occupying a defensive position that was hard to attack. However, if fighter jets were assigned, it would only take a few minutes to strike effectively.

“Really? That’s great!”

The Tabby Cat exclaimed with excitement.

“Have you ever killed anyone?” Lin Mo turned his head and shot a sideways glance at the J-8 cockpit, which was 30 meters away.

“Killed? Killed someone?!” The Tabby Cat’s eyes nearly popped out—what did that mean?

“Another rookie!”

Lin Mo shook his head. He had trained newcomers before, but domestic rookies often had a very rigid mindset. Perhaps because they were new to the job, they were overly cautious about safety and terrified of damaging expensive fighter jets. Their mindset, filled with textbook rigidity, hindered both operation and adaptability.

On the other hand, aerial knights from another world didn’t have such constraints. With a long history of aerial combat tactics to draw from, they had plenty of strategies to use. Besides tactical movements, the strength of their air beasts and the battle energy of their knights became the keys to victory.

As Lin Mo anticipated, his superiors, considering cost factors, were unwilling to risk lives tackling that challenging terrain, so they assigned the attack mission to Lin Mo and the pilot known as the Tabby Cat.

It was best to save ammunition. Each time combat personnel were dispatched, not only did it put a heavy strain on equipment supplies, but dealing with casualties also became a headache. It was much more efficient for fighter jets to drop a couple of bombs and wipe everything out—at least bombs were cheaper, especially high-explosive ones made purely of TNT.

“I need cloud explosive bombs, not high-explosive bombs.”

As soon as Lin Mo returned to the base, he rejected the weapon list sent to his tactical tablet.

After completing the reconnaissance mission with the Tabby Cat, they immediately received combat preparation orders from their superiors. Naturally, they returned to their respective bases to reload.

“Cloud explosive? Are you planning to blow up a mountain? It’s just rocks; can cloud explosives even do that? You’d need at least a 500-kilogram bomb.”

Old Pan shouted to Lin Mo over the roar of the J-18’s massive engine near the wings.

Pilots rejecting weapon lists was quite rare, although it wasn’t without precedent. All that effort to secure a few bombs would be wasted, and with the arms depot not far away, Old Pan felt quite helpless, realizing he would have to make another trip.

“What’s the use of blowing up rocks?! I want cloud explosive bombs, at least two of them! Those are essential!” It seemed Lin Mo had a particular fondness for cloud explosive bombs, whose power rivaled that of a small nuclear bomb. The massive explosive shock wave and combustion effect were astonishing, and they were even more destructive to buildings than conventional bombs of equivalent yield.

“Can you even hit the target?” The Aircrew Group leader had the authority to check the assault target information. However, Old Pan saw that the area was filled with jagged rocks, and the terrain looked very complex. If they accidentally deviated by several meters, the attack would surely be wasted. Without personnel on the ground to provide laser guidance, accuracy would be compromised.

“No problem! Just watch me.” Lin Mo, still in the cockpit with the engine running, gave a thumbs-up to Old Pan.

“You’re such a pest; you won’t be content until you give me a hard time.” Old Pan could only process a return on his tactical tablet before looking up at Lin Mo and saying, “You’ll need to wait fifteen minutes!”

“Not an issue!” Lin Mo made an ‘OK’ gesture, shutting down the engine to save fuel, thinking he might fry an egg with the residual heat later. If one day he ended up with a muddy brick behind him, that would be really something.

The two 500-kilogram cloud explosive bombs were loaded beneath the wings. Although there was an internal weapon bay for combat munitions, it couldn’t accommodate such large bombs.

As Lin Mo piloted the J-18 to the rendezvous area, he saw that the Tabby Cat’s J-8 was also fully armed.

“Tabby Cat, report your weapon loading status!”

“Copy! Two air-to-ground missiles, two 250-kilogram laser-guided bombs, one 500-kilogram laser-guided bomb, and two Rocket Pods, totaling 12 rocket bombs.”

“Uh, that’s quite a conservative ammo loadout!”

Lin Mo shook his head. The air-to-ground missiles were acceptable and would at least be useful, but those three laser-guided bombs were going to waste; just like he had said, they would just be random blasts relying solely on their explosive power.

“Tabby Cat, wait up. I’ll guide your fire; you go first, and I’ll cover you!”

Lin Mo said in a low voice over the radio.

“Uh, okay, thanks big brother. Wait, what do you mean ‘cover’?” The Tabby Cat initially felt thrilled that Lin Mo had allowed him to take the first attack but quickly realized the implication of Lin Mo’s last statement.

Covering fire means I’m not hitting my target! An ineffective attack calls for covering fire, which is rather insulting.

“Not a big deal, just in case!”

Lin Mo aimed to leave the Tabby Cat with some dignity.

“Alright, alright! Live fire targets are nothing new for me! Don’t worry; my bombing accuracy is 90%!”

The Tabby Cat seemed to be boosting his confidence.

“Start preparing for the attack. In one minute, I will activate laser-assisted guidance. It’s all up to you then.”

The two fighter jets formed a duo formation once again above the target area, and Lin Mo adjusted the nose of the aircraft, initiating a slight dive.

A bright green beam shot out. Even though the fighter jet continued to move at high speed, the light projected into the shadow beneath the boulder only quivered slightly, remaining astonishingly stable.

The advanced onboard equipment of the J-18 “Red Eagle” proved to be exceptional. The dynamic auto-compensation locking device maintained a high level of stability even in unstable conditions, assisting the optical reconnaissance system in acquiring stable images and helping guide the laser beam to accurately locate the target.

This green laser abandoned lethality but enhanced its penetration capability, able to ensure a range of 2,000 meters in low-dust environments. The tiny beam hitting the ground was only as small as a teacup.

The excellent guidance technology from the Dragon Knights impressed the Tabby Cat, who lowered his altitude to begin correction, preparing for the drop.

“First bomb, a 500-kilogram aerial bomb is ready! Hahaha!”

The Tabby Cat shouted while controlling the J-8.

Although both aircraft belonged to the same number series, the J-8 had limited capacity and couldn’t compare with the J-18, which was loaded with powerful weaponry.

It was reasonable for higher-ups to consider such a weapon list. Based on previously gathered intelligence and reconnaissance feedback, this supply station, referred to as Number 11 by foreign organizations, contained a large amount of weapons and ammunition, as well as food and survival supplies.

It could even support an armed group of nearly a thousand people, posing a significant threat to China’s homeland security, making its elimination necessary. Even if they were using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, the extra effort was warranted for safety; they had to make use of this sledgehammer.

“Aircraft! It’s morning aircraft! Boss, they might have spotted us.”

Nuka, the leader of a small armed group under the World Uyghur Congress, was stationed in this unnamed valley to guard an arms depot belonging to the congress. Similar depots existed in China, but they were very well hidden.

This morning, just like before, two Chinese military fighter jets passed through the sky. Everyone had long been accustomed to this, perhaps just a normal transit or possibly for reconnaissance purposes.

However, even for reconnaissance, they typically returned empty-handed, as the camouflage setup in conjunction with the terrain was impeccably executed.

Unless someone observed from close up, it was challenging to notice anything unusual, even from the large rocks above. Taking pictures from several thousand meters above, even with radar scanning, would not reveal their presence.

Close observation? Finding them among the towering mountains was like fishing for a needle in the ocean—a ridiculous notion. Without a dedicated guide, even their own people couldn’t find this place.

Nonetheless, a subordinate suddenly shouted and pointed at the sky, grabbing Nuka’s attention. It was those two earlier aircraft. To prevent the Chinese from conducting aerial reconnaissance, they had a lookout assigned to track any passing fighter jets with binoculars and avoid being ambushed.

It seemed this long-standing arrangement had finally paid off today.

However, Nuka was far from eager to put this arrangement to use, as it meant they would soon be attacked—definitely not good news.

In the shadow of a massive boulder just steps from the barracks, a green dot the size of a teacup drew Nuka and his men’s attention.

Hiss! Nuka took a sharp breath, recalling frightening memories.

“Deploy all anti-aircraft weapons, including anti-aircraft machine guns and Stingers!” Nuka resolutely refused to sit idle while waiting for his fate. He immediately ordered his subordinate, waiting for the command, to retrieve the defense weapons; they were running out of time.

His decision was undoubtedly correct, though a bit late. Suddenly, a dark shadow accompanied by a piercing shriek fell from the sky.

Boom!

It was as if an earthquake and tsunami rolled through; the tents and everything inside were torn apart by the shockwave, with countless fragments and smoke thrown into the sky.

“Uh! Damn! I’m still alive!” Nuka was the first to flee upon noticing the green dot, running as far as he could, only to be thrown several meters away by the explosive shockwave.

In such a complex terrain, the bomb’s explosive power did not diminish; indeed, its lethality within the blast radius was even greater. However, the range of destruction was severely affected.

Despite the formidable power of a 500-kilogram bomb, it could not displace the mountains and the several-meter-thick rock.