Chapter 659

Chapter 659: Heart Like Dead Ashes

“Woman?”

“That’s right, a 23-year-old active female pilot from Ukraine, code name ‘Joan of Arc,’ at the same competition level as you—novice tier level seven, with four opponents shot down. She just needs one more to advance to the intermediate pilot group.”

Yasha noticed Lin Mo frowning. He too frowned, but not because Lin Mo’s next opponent was a woman. He worried that Lin Mo might hesitate, feeling it would be inappropriate to go all out against a female opponent.

Male chauvinism was prevalent in the military, which was not surprising, but it didn’t mean that many soldiers were good at harming women.

In aerial combat, the odds of survival were against them, and only one in ten could successfully eject. If Lin Mo went easy on her, Yasha would be concerned.

During the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, many Chinese soldiers had lost their lives for underestimating Vietnamese women. In Yasha’s unit, the more female the enemy, the more dangerous they became.

“Women should stay away from the battlefield.”

Lin Mo thought like most people; such a bloody and violent arena was not suitable for women. It would be better for them to handle logistics instead of rushing to the battlefield to meet their deaths.

Women’s physique wasn’t suitable for being pilots. Clearly, her determination was to help Lin Mo earn points with a death wish.

After easily taking out a few incompetent beginners in the novice tier, Lin Mo didn’t want to waste more time with these newcomers. This was purely wasting the precious fuel and cannon ammunition he had exchanged for using his hard-earned points.

Lin Mo and Yasha were unaware that the Ukrainian pilot with the code name “Joan of Arc” had sworn in the name of God to take him down.

Yasha stared intently at Lin Mo, reminding him, “That’s true, but ‘Number 13,’ you cannot give up!”

The unspoken message was that Lin Mo’s participation in the “Abyss Nirvana” was fully supported by the military and the domestic aviation industry, and he was not allowed to casually refuse the fight.

If everyone acted recklessly like him, fighting when they wanted and refusing when they wished, it would be a joke about military discipline and duty to follow orders.

Lin Mo said coldly, “Then let her give up!”

A girl in her twenties acting all tough.

He couldn’t help but glance towards Sally’s direction.

Sally, wearing a veil and carrying a scratched AK-47, remained vividly etched in his memory. What girl wouldn’t want to live a happy life with her Prince Charming?

Ukraine was not a place of chaos; it was a land where youth could still be wasted on dreams. Why would someone choose to go down such a dire path? The “Abyss Nirvana” was not a place for a girl of her age.

“Maybe it’s for money!”

Yasha spread his hands, indicating that he couldn’t meet Lin Mo’s demands.

Once she advanced to intermediate tier, she could begin to redeem items from the equipment and technology list of the “Abyss Nirvana.”

The competition points would become even more precious; originally worth one hundred thousand dollars per point, the black market price would soon skyrocket to one million dollars per point.

Except for those at the intermediate tier, everyone else was like ants; only those who reached above intermediate tier would see the fatal allure and immense benefits of the “Abyss Nirvana” competition.

The competition was fierce at the intermediate level, where five kills could easily turn any aspiring pilot into an ace.

That was why the intermediate group was also known as the ace group. Unless someone got incredibly lucky or had exceptional talent, the vast majority of beginner pilots had little chance of advancing to intermediate, and survival was rare.

“Then take her down!”

Lin Mo said coldly, though his words felt somewhat insincere.

Whether Qi Fei or Sally, the two girls close to him who had shared life-and-death experiences were stirring something in him. With their passionate hearts, through a mysterious chemical reaction Lin Mo himself didn’t even understand, the Dragon Knight’s historically icy heart began to show signs of thawing.

“Hmm!”

Yasha finally relaxed and nodded vigorously.

If he could take out one more opponent, Lin Mo would level up to the intermediate tier and be able to use the points he had accumulated. This was truly good news.

With that, this mission would be considered a great success, and the hard work of the people wouldn’t go in vain. His own efforts were nothing compared to that.

“I’ll go prepare dinner; let’s have a good meal tonight.”

Yasha didn’t think much about the Ukrainian female pilot and cheerfully went to get dinner ready.

Even the “Demon Hunter” team, consisting of outsiders, noticed during these battles that ordinary pilots posed no threat to Lin Mo.

It was brilliant of the higher-ups to sponsor “Number 13” for the mission in Syria’s “Abyss Nirvana.” This guy was undeniably a fighter ace, a real ACE. No, even those aces might not stand a chance against him.

…

“God is with me, Amen!”

With her emotions in check, Marina Ivanovna stepped out of the hangar in her best state, ready to board the aircraft. However, when she suddenly spotted her MiG-35, which had been pushed out of the hangar, she froze in shock.

“Vladimir? Is this the support crew you supervised?!”

Marina Ivanovna pointed at the ready MiG-35, and a surge of anger rushed to her face, making her tremble with rage.

“Oh, my little ‘Joan of Arc,’ what’s wrong? Isn’t everything alright? Nothing is missing.”

Vladimir, a short and plump man who had rushed over, looked around the MiG-35, checking it out. Everything seemed fine; the wings were all there, and the wheels were intact. What could the Ukrainian girl be unhappy about?

The MiG-35 on the parking area was a combat test machine provided by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Aircraft Manufacturing Company, and it had two black boxes prepared.

Vladimir, with panda eyes from a sleepless night, waited in vain for the Ukrainian girl to fully indulge herself, which had kept him awake all night.

“You, you, you are committing murder!”

Marina Ivanovna shouted, pointing at the empty belly and under-wing of the MiG-35, where three auxiliary fuel tanks should have been standard. Instead, there was only one in the belly.

As a fourth-generation fighter, the MiG-35 was known for its fuel consumption. Even with three fuel tanks, it could only fly 3,100 kilometers, which was thirty percent less than the J-11’s maximum range.

Missiles?!

Oh my God!

Only a single close-range air-to-air combat missile dangled lonely under the left wing, while the right wing was completely bare.

Is this preparation for a one-shot mission?

This weapon configuration was utterly ridiculous.

Vladimir chuckled awkwardly, seemingly ignoring Marina’s furious expression, and casually replied, “Murder? How could that be? It’s not like you’re charging into battle naked. Don’t worry; the cannon ammunition is full. For you, about to meet God, that should be enough. Just a little pain, yes, just a little, and you’ll enjoy the pleasures of heaven.”

The fat old man repeated the teasing words he used on Marina Ivanovna two days ago.

Anyway, the boss had already bet on “Number 13” winning, so the Ukrainian girl was of no real value anymore. Why not make a final contribution?

No one expected the girl to defeat the ace from China.

That’s right; everyone had already faced off with the intermediate tier “Yuri.” If he wasn’t an ace, what was he?

As for that modified MiG-35, which cost only 30 million dollars, compared to the boss who had drained his entire fortune and borrowed a massive sum of money to scrape together 1.5 billion dollars, it was hardly worth mentioning.

“You, you…”

Marina Ivanovna was so furious she could barely speak. For the past couple of days, she had relied entirely on sleeping pills to force herself to sleep; otherwise, she wouldn’t have had enough strength and energy to face today’s battle. Despite the fact that such medications would affect a pilot’s nervous system and were usually strictly prohibited, she couldn’t afford to think about that anymore.

On one side were her family, crushed under heavy debts, and on the other was her unwillingness to be manipulated like this. She had initially planned to give it her all but never imagined that Vladimir would resort to such deadly tactics to ensure that his organization made a profit.

With just a single close-range air-to-air combat missile and a 30mm cannon, even with a full load of ammunition, there would only be 150 rounds. Such a simplistic combat configuration was almost no different from being unarmed in battle; even self-defense capability was questionable.

The opposing advanced forward-swept wing fighter not only had a complete set of cannon and missile systems but also equipped with laser weapons (Marina Ivanovna clearly mistook the X-1’s Gauss electromagnetic cannon guiding laser beam for a laser cannon; the speed at which the metal electromagnetic shells left the barrel was so fast that the reconnaissance plane couldn’t capture it).

With such obstacles, how could she possibly win? Already filled with confidence and ready to fight to the death, Marina Ivanovna was completely crushed by the harsh reality.

Time was running out.

Her employers on one side, and that opponent named “Number 13” on the other, it felt like the whole world wanted her dead.

Oh God, have you abandoned me?

Struck by such despair, the color of life drained from Marina Ivanovna’s pupils in an instant, leaving her feeling like a soulless husk.

If Vladimir tried to take advantage of her now, she would likely be too numb to remember to dodge or resist.

“Sergei, why are you still standing there? Hurry up and get our little ‘Joan of Arc’ onto the plane! Ah, the lovely little ‘Joan of Arc,’ may God bless you!”

The plump old man Vladimir smiled coldly, looking forward to saving the auxiliary fuel tanks and ammunition, as well as the remaining points; every little bit counts, after all, and he could gain quite a bit for himself.

Cry all you want, child!

It would be best if you fell shortly after taking off. That would save him trouble. If you die, your family would receive a hefty payout and no longer worry about debts, and the boss would also make a great profit.

Silently, the tall and taciturn Sergei picked up the despondent Marina Ivanovna with one hand and strode toward the MiG-35.