Chapter 608

Chapter 608: The Power of the "Abyss Nirvana" Ace Pilot (Part 2)

The King of Hell demands payment—collecting life!

Perhaps such words describe Colonel Jiang’s attacking style perfectly.

He was relentless and unforgiving.

With a loud explosion, a fireball erupted beneath the belly of Lin Mo’s aircraft, yet he still felt the shards of shrapnel hitting the underside, crackling and popping.

Without the Light Mirror Technique, Lin Mo couldn’t assess the damage to his aircraft; he just hoped that the missiles hanging under the wings wouldn’t detonate. Thank goodness!

He could feel the shockwave from the explosion push his J-8II nearly a meter off its original flight path. The simulator in the aerospace training center had accounted for even these minor details, proving to be an impressive training tool worth nearly a hundred billion.

Additionally, a large server performed simulations for these two giant simulators, allowing Lin Mo and Colonel Jiang to feel no delays at all. The immense computing resources easily maintained their operational calculations and environmental changes.

These two super gaming consoles were likely something no one in the world could afford to use.

Just as the tail radar spotted Colonel Jiang’s figure, tongues of flame continuously shot toward Lin Mo from behind, occasionally playfully leaving long scratches on the aircraft’s skin.

Things were looking grim.

There was a time when Lin Mo used similar methods to wreak havoc on weaker opponents. However, facing retribution, he found himself completely at a disadvantage, caught off guard by such tactics.

Fortunately, he was in a J-8II. If it were the J-6 with three 30mm caliber cannons, Lin Mo and his aircraft would have already been blown into a fireball.

Without the assistance of the Light Mirror Technique, Lin Mo had to rely solely on instinct, swaying the wings left and right to evade the rain of bullets.

Lin Mo was no pushover either; seizing a brief opportunity, he performed a small-radius turn, unexpectedly sliding out of the cannon’s attack envelope, beginning to roll and switch to an attacking position.

This was the J-8II’s strength. If it were a more advanced fighter, Lin Mo could have opted for all-aspect missiles, not needing to worry about being outmaneuvered.

But in the battlefield, there were seldom "what ifs."

Whoosh!

The aircraft jolted suddenly, and a hissing sound came from the right side.

Lin Mo gasped; a bullet had just grazed the cockpit canopy, nearly ripping his fighter open.

He swayed left and right, continuing to evade.

The J-8II wasn’t a J-11 or J-10; its performance didn’t allow for drastic pendulum maneuvers. Still, he refused to give up, desperately searching for a counterattack point amidst the chaos.

Even a chance of just 0.1 seconds could turn the tables on the suppressed disadvantage.

But Colonel Jiang’s J-8II pursued like a haunting ghost, relentlessly tailing Lin Mo.

One moment left, the next right, then up, then down—his movements were exceptionally erratic, yet the nose of his aircraft continued to point directly at Lin Mo, giving him no opportunity whatsoever.

Lin Mo was certain that Colonel Jiang also possessed the top-tier air combat skill of an Air Knight, able to "predict" tactics based on even the slightest movement from his opponent, thus adapting perfectly and keeping Lin Mo in a disadvantaged situation.

If this were a real combat situation, Lin Mo would have already activated the gold giant dragon enhancement for a combat boost, aiming for a swift victory.

But would that method work in a simulator?

The answer was clear. Just like the Light Mirror Technique, Lin Mo had no chance to cheat. Human technology could suppress magic in certain special circumstances.

Even if he could pull off such unscrupulous tactics, Lin Mo refused to cheat against an opponent he respected; even if he shot down his rival, it had to be with his own strength.

If he needed help from the gold giant dragon for such a challenge, it would be better to give up on participating in "Abyss Nirvana" altogether.

Colonel Jiang operated the J-8 with extraordinary skill, as if it had come to life; no matter how Lin Mo dodged, that same J-8II kept on its relentless pursuit.

Lin Mo also pushed his control of the J-8II to the limit. Weaving through the rain of bullets was his specialty, but without the Light Mirror Technique, he found himself at a disadvantage, constantly looking back and even activating the rear camera on his Dragon General tactical helmet to cover his blind spots.

“How does it feel? I flew the J-8II in ‘Abyss Nirvana’. Pilots who can participate in ‘Abyss Nirvana’ are never lacking in skill. There might be someone even better than me now, but you can’t fly like this.”

Colonel Jiang’s voice reached Lin Mo’s ears, yet Colonel Jiang showed no signs of holding back, relentlessly pursuing Lin Mo and occasionally firing more rounds.

“As long as I’m still flying in the sky, I haven’t lost.”

Lin Mo gritted his teeth, refusing to submit.

This came from a famous saying of the Air Knights: even with just a foot of altitude remaining, the battle is not over.

Colonel Jiang had been an ace pilot longer than Lin Mo and knew the J-8II better, which was only natural.

In addition to being suppressed by the experienced Colonel Jiang in his previously most skilled fighter, the limitations of the J-8II’s performance further weakened Lin Mo’s combat effectiveness. Even with the Dragon General supplementing a bit, the age difference between the two might not be the best combination. The limitations of the J-8II somewhat hindered the full potential of the Dragon General’s features.

“Then let’s continue.”

Colonel Jiang considered Lin Mo his sworn enemy, fiercely chasing him down.

Lin Mo maneuvered the fighter downward rapidly, exchanging altitude for speed. Rising would mean depositing cash into a bank, accumulating resources slowly to strike efficiently. However, this accumulation was very limited. If he couldn’t turn the situation around before exhausting that energy, he would fall into an irretrievable abyss.

At an altitude of five thousand meters, the clouds loomed like an endless sea. Two Silver Swallows dove almost simultaneously, disappearing into the clouds from the cerulean sky.

“Not bad, utilizing the environment well.”

Colonel Jiang’s voice crackled through the headset, a rare compliment. He struggled to shoot down Lin Mo, who was clever enough to dodge narrowly despite being targeted by cannon fire.

If it weren’t for the outdated performance of the PL-4, and if they had upgraded to PL-8 or higher air-to-air missiles, Lin Mo might have already been shot down.

As Colonel Jiang’s pursuing fighter dove into the clouds, it became like a ghost, disappearing from Lin Mo’s view.

With the timing and terrain, utilizing the clouds during this tense combat showcased a commendable level of combat instinct.

Transforming impossibilities into possibilities, Colonel Jiang had already acknowledged Lin Mo’s qualifications as an ace pilot in his heart.

Surrounded by thick clouds, Lin Mo’s Dragon General tactical helmet lost its effectiveness.

Being in a simulator, he couldn’t even use the infrared detection equipment of the Dragon General to track the enemy’s tail flame.

Everything had to rely on intuition and radar; perhaps in the next moment, Colonel Jiang’s reconnaissance firepower would bring him down, or the two aircraft might collide head-on.

Lin Mo forced Colonel Jiang to play a game of Russian roulette with him as they maneuvered in the thick clouds, only able to faintly see each other’s tail flames and the flashing collision-warning lights on their aircraft.

Dogfighting in the clouds was even more exhilarating and perilous than in the open sky, with uncertainty in position making it more terrifying than blind flying.

All Lin Mo wanted was a brief moment of respite. The dense clouds obscured both fighters’ view, drowning the sounds of the engines in a gray haze where distinguishing up from down became impossible.

Beep! The alarm suddenly blared in the cockpit.

Not from an enemy aircraft, but… a mountain.

A towering mountain that reached into the clouds. Humanity had long considered such dangers, and collision-avoidance systems had almost become standard equipment for every aircraft.

Lin Mo quickly yanked back on the control stick, seeing gray rocks whiz by beneath his belly. The aircraft was barely skimming the ground, but he knew he had narrowly avoided smashing into a steep, nearly vertical cliffside.

The collision alarm rang in his ears, and the anti-collision system activated automatically.

“That was a close one!” He shot up into the sky, a burst of light flooding the cockpit as bright sunlight poured in, followed quickly by a barrage of bullets.

The wings erupted with multiple holes, metal fragments flying everywhere; the aircraft shook violently, with thick black smoke swirling around the wings.

Colonel Jiang had appeared outside the clouds unbeknownst to Lin Mo, patiently waiting like an old hunter watching for prey, ready to deliver a lethal strike at just the right moment.

The hunter in the sky.

Would the Dragon Knight become the prey?

Lin Mo felt neither joy nor sorrow; even as his aircraft creaked from the bullets, his expression remained unchanged. He quickly maneuvered the fighter, forcing it to turn.

With the belly to the sky and the cockpit facing the ground, the mountain loomed behind him.

Executing the Immelmann turn, the simulator accurately replicated the intense G-forces exceeding 9G.

But Lin Mo didn’t blink; he knew this was his only chance, his last shot.

Beep! The lock-on alert sounded like heavenly music.

Another PL-4 air-to-air missile launched, spewing white smoke as it left the wing and darted toward Colonel Jiang’s approaching J-8II without hesitation.

Almost simultaneously, the 23mm cannon roared to clear the way for the air-to-air missile.

“Very good!”

Colonel Jiang praised silently, surprised by Lin Mo’s performance. In such dire straits, he had maintained his composure and refused to give up on counterattacking, embodying the finest qualities of an Air Knight.

Despite the praise, he pressed the missile launch button.

The distance between them rapidly closed, and the two missiles launched at each other simultaneously, pulling both pilots into a perilous situation.