Chapter 624

Chapter 624: Hornet’s Nest

Could it be an alien fighter jet?!

In the absence of any attack orders and merely sent to observe, the pair of J-10s appeared very curious. They had never seen a fighter jet with such unusual design, nor had they even heard of it.

Although the speed of that fighter jet was not fast, they had a nagging feeling that if it truly decided to speed up, the two J-10s would be left far behind, even losing sight of it entirely.

The notoriety of the “monstrous” fighter jet was limited to the Chinese aviation industry, primarily held by a few fighter design institutes and manufacturers like Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, and National Defense Star, which maintained the original design plans.

However, within the Air Force, it remained relatively unknown.

The optical military satellites in the sky clearly sensed something unusual. Thinking it might be a disposable drone or a cruise missile, they dispatched fighter jets to investigate.

The Air Force’s response was quite prompt; upon detecting an anomaly, they immediately entered emergency response mode.

“I say, ‘White 01’, I’ve never seen such tactical movements being flown!”

The J-10 wingman looked up, somewhat dumbfounded. The forward-swept wing jet at an altitude of over 1,000 meters darted left and right, forward and backward, up and down, as if it was wildly toying around in the air, seemingly practicing air combat skills.

One moment it felt heavy as a mountain, the next light as a feather. They couldn’t fathom what kind of fighter jet possessed such capabilities.

The two pilots sent for a close observation knew their J-10s could not perform such maneuvers; the structure of the aircraft couldn’t withstand such overload and stress.

They figured that if they encountered such an opponent, they would be swiftly eliminated in seconds. Those attacking maneuvers seemed very strange and utterly unpredictable.

“Not sure, I’ve never seen it either.”

The lead “White 01” pilot wore a similar expression beneath his aviation helmet. Suddenly, he received a message in his headset from the control tower: “‘White’ squad, your mission is complete; you may return.”

“Got it! ‘White’ squad acknowledges!”

The two J-10s that had been following the “monstrous” aircraft tilted their wings as if bidding farewell to Lin Mo, then both rolled their bodies and made a big turn in another direction.

“Captain, Major Lin Mo is returning.”

Old Pan and the entire Aircrew Group pointed at the black dot appearing in the sky, which grew closer, speeding toward the runway and then slowing down. Although the landing gear was deployed, it didn’t land but instead slowly moved off the runway towards the parking area.

Hiss! …

A collective gasp resonated from the members of the Aircrew Group outside the hangar on the parking area.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a model? How did it fly?! Had someone cast magic to make it come to life?!

Captain Feng Chenye, Intelligence Group Leader Xie Fengdao, Staff Group Leader Ji Konglin, Equipment Group Leader Sima Peng—all the high-ranking members of Night Special Forces gathered, each of them utterly shocked.

This fighter jet, capable of landing safely, had managed to fly back! What did this mean? This thing could actually fly and drop bombs on others.

This wasn’t a mere model; it was the sharpest weapon of war! In the country, it was hard to find a fighter jet that could surpass this one. Once it soared into the sky, it meant that a king had arrived.

Moreover, there were plenty of armed soldiers nearby, heavily armed, with snipers positioned around the top of the small valley, creating an atmosphere of being on guard against a formidable enemy.

Lin Mo’s “monstrous” model was well-known within the Night Special Forces, but the ongoing assembly of the “monstrous” fighter jet was hardly known, especially the two sets of F119-PW-100 vector thrust engines, which only the high-ranking officials of Night would be aware of.

When such a unique fighter jet landed steadily before them, the shock felt by everyone was unimaginable.

One man had built a fighter jet relying solely on his own resources and not external funding, and its performance was so exceptional that experts preliminarily assessed it to be at least on par with fifth-generation jets, possibly even at sixth-generation standards.

Was this a miracle or divine intervention? No one dared to hastily conclude.

The engines, radar, and other systems all came from America’s most advanced fighter jets. Numerous procurement orders and processing descriptions for parts proved that this fighter jet was not merely fabricated out of thin air. It consisted of various parts sourced from multiple countries including China, the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, and extensive calculations as well as records of the use of high-precision processing equipment at the Night base served as proof.

Every single part, every day of assembly, every calculation—all represented a methodical journey, a testament to unpretentious hard work.

This fighter jet did not come easily!

However, Captain Feng watched Lin Mo, who leaped out of the cockpit with a front flip off the canards, and shouted angrily, “Lin Mo, what’s wrong with you? Why didn’t you notify us in advance? Don’t you know how much trouble your reckless flying could cause?”

“Uh!” Lin Mo clearly did not expect Captain Feng’s fury.

It seemed he had poked the hornet’s nest.

In the Night Special Forces, it was rare to see Captain Feng’s face filled with anger. In everyone’s impression, Captain Feng always wore a cold, serious expression, as unchanging as steel, always planning the next battle, or even a war.

“Captain Feng, this kid is really out of line. Should I put him on confinement for a few days to make him write a reflection? His lack of organization and discipline is unacceptable.”

As Lin Mo’s direct superior, Old Pan looked frustrated, feeling that this clueless kid couldn’t just take such a performance fighter jet out carelessly. Even if he didn’t think too much, if foreign forces caught wind of it, could they keep this under wraps?

They had heard that Boeing had lost its sixth-generation fighter experimental machine; it was incredibly bold for Lin Mo to take it out so casually. It seemed this incident had caused quite a stir—the local air defense forces almost launched missiles. Regardless of whether they hit or not, the responsibility would certainly fall on Night, creating a mess for the team.

“Captain, Old Pan! I succeeded!”

Lin Mo grinned, completely unconcerned about Captain Feng’s anger and Old Pan’s threats of confinement.

Whether he had to write a report or spend time in a small dark room, the completion of his “monstrous” fighter jet meant he had achieved a milestone in another professional field.

“You little brat, you won’t shed tears until you see the coffin!”

Old Pan felt the urge to tie him to the helicopter and throw him into the river to do a hundred dragonfly water dances.

Though he sounded fierce, he wanted to protect Lin Mo. In front of Captain Feng’s thunderous wrath, a few days of confinement was nothing.

“Quickly get the plane inside! Do you want to be photographed by the satellites up there? Major Lin Mo, follow me.”

Captain Feng shot a glance at Old Pan, understanding the Aircrew Group leader’s intentions, and coldly snorted.

“Yes, Captain.”

Lin Mo held his helmet, realizing that the captain seemed quite angry and the consequences could be serious.

Had he caused trouble? From Old Pan’s fierce glare, it was clear he really had gotten himself into trouble.

–

National Defense Star Aerospace Company.

At this moment, the company was engulfed in a frenzy of busy activity.

Busy, busy, busy! They were nearly overwhelmed.

Ever since the team returned from the international airshow in Paris, National Defense Star’s production plans had been extended all the way to the following year. Orders for the J-11 had exploded, and if it weren’t for Shenyang Aircraft Corporation helping to divert many orders, providing them with significant profit, the entire company would still be wondering when they could get orders and start generating revenue.

But now, those worries had been swept away by the massive influx of orders.

No one expected that National Defense Star, having just been established not long ago, would enter a profitable phase so quickly. The substantial profits gained were enough to alleviate any funding issues for a considerable time.

All this was thanks to one of their directors, although many had never seen this director and didn’t even know their name.

According to earlier estimates, it would take at least three years for National Defense Star to complete its technical accumulation and start receiving profitable orders to offset their daily expenditures. Which established military aircraft manufacturer didn’t have to endure hard times, sacrificing an entire generation of management and technicians to stand out in the fiercely competitive international market?

Not perishing in silence but erupting in silence.

Only seasoned aerospace veterans knew the hardships behind glamorous fighter jet production. Every classic fighter jet was born from a long, hard struggle.

At the National Defense Star fighter jet production line, they had to devote large quantities of parts daily, slowly installing them. Though it was called an assembly line, it was really just individual workstations where manual and mechanical efforts gradually brought the jets together. They could not produce fighter jets continuously like cars, where they just needed to keep loading materials.

Reaching a production rate of one aircraft a month was already a remarkable achievement; perhaps six months later, with additional equipment in place, they could achieve a monthly rate of two aircraft.

The two pilots responsible for deliveries were quite relaxed, only needing to fly one or two J-11s to designated locations, while Shenyang handled the packaging and shipping of the orders. Once an order was completed, they would either airlift or ship it to international clients, with a dedicated group of flight instructors and technical engineers providing support.

This was nothing like a consumer buying a household appliance, who could simply follow the manual to use it normally.