Chapter 719: Chaos After the Battle

With over ten thousand points, Yasha flaunted wealth in front of everyone, gaining VIP service from the organizers who arranged a special lounge for him to process his rewards. Although China could only exchange for items from the intermediate tier and would need high-tier qualifications for truly valuable rewards, this was more than enough for the still-developing aviation industry in China, as aiming too high wasn’t a wise choice.

Fortunately, Yasha represented China; if it had been some other small nation, such a large number of points could have resulted in tragedy, where the survival of Yasha’s group would have been uncertain. The Chinese military had no intention of giving other hopeful participants from the intermediate tier any chances, directing Yasha to exchange the majority of the points while leaving only a few dozen for Lin Mo.

Regardless of whether Major Lin Mo continued to fight or chose to withdraw, he had successfully completed his honorable mission, and his superiors were indifferent to his next decisions. Up until now, Lin Mo’s performance had fully justified the military investment made in him.

China emerged as the biggest winner in this Death Team battle, and while there was some resentment that Australia had benefitted from many of the points, seeing so many valuable items about to be secured caused both the Chinese military and the National Defense Star, among other interested parties, to beam with joy—each earning a huge profit.

China’s aviation industry would leap forward because of this, with many high-ranking officials in China who were privy to the ongoing Abyss Nirvana news filled with excitement, as if they were receiving something for nothing.

How to transport the technical data and equipment back posed no concern for Yasha, for meticulous arrangements and protection would naturally be in place.

……

In war, fighter jets are consumables, but only pilots are invaluable; this is beyond doubt.

Warfare burns money, and the greatest costs in the air force don’t come from bombs or missiles, but from fighter jets plummeting from the skies like dumplings, exploding into countless fireballs worth hundreds of millions of yuan, both in the air and on the ground.

No matter how extraordinary or unimaginable the displays of wealth, they fade in comparison to the Abyss Nirvana.

Abyss Nirvana was, after all, a grand exhibition of the world’s most elite displays of wealth, power, technology, and human lives.

If it weren’t for the return of the X-1 Forward-Swept Wing Fighter Jet, Yasha would have been haunted by nightmares for life. The X-1, representing China in the Abyss Nirvana, was worth a fortune.

Yasha chose to selectively ignore that his participation was Lin Mo’s personal choice, while both the National Defense Star and the Chinese military were merely riding coattails.

To restore the severely damaged X-1 Forward-Swept Wing Fighter Jet, the Demon Hunter team and the newly arrived Bai Qi team mobilized all available manpower into exhausting labor, especially since they were all highly educated.

The two engineers from the National Defense Star began working around the clock, and three pilots of the Flying Wolf rotorcraft, including White Wolf, were also drafted into the effort.

Looking back, the initial three containers prepared by the National Defense Star and the Chinese military for Lin Mo’s participation were truly not excessive.

Repairing the heavily damaged X-1 Forward-Swept Wing Fighter Jet would take considerable time, as shown by the furrowed brows of Yan Yongping and Zhou Jun, the two engineers from the National Defense Star.

The loss of a cockpit cover became the easiest repair on the X-1, as replacing it with a brand-new spare was straightforward. However, the internal damage posed a greater challenge; while it involved disassembly and reassembly, fighter jets are not like cars; the intricate, precise components demand painstaking effort to rebuild, and even the slightest misalignment could lead to severe consequences.

Lin Mo’s aggressive tactics resulted in heavy damage to the X-1, which was riddled with bullet holes and had a broken airspeed tube at the nose. The active phased array radar was nearly rendered useless, with multiple parts of the aircraft suffering significant damage. Fortunately, the missile bay was nearly empty; the fragments shaken out from the empty chamber sent chills down the spines of the two engineers from the National Defense Star.

The cockpit, armored with bathtub-like alloy, endured several punishing impacts. Had this not been the strongest part of the entire aircraft, the pilot might have faced dire consequences.

The organizers of Abyss Nirvana could offer repair assistance through a points exchange, and their technical foundation could nearly fix most participating fighter jets. However, both the National Defense Star and the military preferred to fix it themselves rather than exchange for the organizers’ "efficient" quick repair service.

Moreover, the remaining points could only sustain operational needs, while the large surplus of points had long been exchanged for technologies and various advanced equipment.

……

Lin Mo’s neighbor, the Australian participant next door, was not so fortunate. Perhaps due to overexertion during combat, Yuri remained in a deep sleep, while his fighter jet was disintegrated into fragments by the aftermath of Lin Mo’s attack.

Yuri’s sponsors could not demand compensation from the Chinese; on one hand, they shared the same camp and wouldn’t be seen as backstabbing, while on the other, it was Yuri’s choice to engage without any retreat in such a perilous battle, even launching an all-out attack amidst friendly fire.

The costly operational technology verification aircraft, a knockoff "Raptor," only salvaged critical components like the engine and black box, with everything else reduced to ashes. The Australian team had no second fighter jet to allow Yuri to continue participating in the battle.

This highlighted the weaknesses of an underdeveloped aviation industry—when the winds blew harshly, it became hard to continue.

If Australia wanted Yuri to keep fighting and advance to a higher tier, it would need to acquire new fighter jets as soon as possible.

Maybe spending a significant amount of money to procure active fighter jets from other countries is a good idea, but their combat power would certainly be greatly diminished.

Looking at the current condition of pilot Yuri, he didn’t seem well off, almost as if he had been rendered useless.

This man was sleeping soundly and had no idea he was on an IV drip. Although he had earned a large number of points and was just a step away from the high tier, his state now seemed incompatible with continuing in the Abyss Nirvana.

Even though there was Lin Mo’s Light Healing, which, strictly speaking, was for enhancing health rather than being a medicinal treatment and had not been FDA certified, it could only help Yuri slowly recover his vitality during deep sleep.

The intermediate tier had no authority to exchange the complete list; truly valuable items were reserved for the high and special tiers. As for swapping pilots to participate again, that would mean starting from scratch, and with the Abyss Nirvana nearing its end, Australia might be in deep trouble.

Ultimately, warfare boils down to who can hold out the longest.

While the higher-ups in China reaped abundant rewards, the smaller players below were also enjoying their share of the pie.

The Dragon Knights from Moonlight Tribe, after a chaotic battle, may not have ascended to the high tier, but they successfully found themselves in a position where they could gamble freely. Even the tiniest amount of capital, with one bet after another, could turn into quite a significant sum.

Lin Mo was regretting not participating in the Abyss Nirvana earlier.

As expected, Dragon Knights weren’t particularly good at managing finances or possessing an economic mindset. During an unintentional international pilot death match, Lin Mo capitalized on simple, straightforward betting without any technical skills, allowing him to earn a fortune he had never earned in his entire life in a short time.

Perhaps this wealth could enable Lin Mo to create a “monstrous” aircraft.

Gambling truly is the fastest way to lose and gain money—Lin Mo’s bank account suddenly exhibited a figure with eight extra zeros in dollars, while the gold giant dragon seemed the happiest of them all.

Grandpa Dragon wanted to open a mining operation! To dig tungsten, to dig uranium, to extract manganese nodules—all kinds of mines were necessary.

Grandpa Dragon wanted to build a smelting plant! To refine steel, to refine copper, to refine magic silver; no color metal or heavy metal could be left out.

Grandpa Dragon wanted to establish a steel mill! He needed square, round, and long strips—to eat like pancakes, to eat like noodles; any flavor was necessary.

Grandpa Dragon wanted to build a blast furnace! The taller the chimney, the better! The larger the smelting scale, the better! With this kind of factory in hand, he would never have to worry for the rest of his life.

Bah! Grandpa Dragon would never eat the poor-quality food from the Su Lan Empire’s shabby iron smelters again. In this world, with advanced metal smelting technology, enjoying life was a must.

Gold Coin harshly downgraded the black iron food squeezed from the already tight mineral reserves of the Su Lan Empire, bringing it down to the level of pig food.

In these two years, as the world flourished with high-quality food, the gold giant dragon had become accustomed to a diet of pure metal ingredients, rather than rough, impure scraps of copper and iron.

With such immense wealth suddenly before him, the gold giant dragon couldn’t help but dream grandly, thinking it had every reason to claim a piece of it. The watch on Lin Mo’s left wrist kept vibrating inexplicably.

The National Defense Star and the military didn’t care about Lin Mo’s newfound wealth. Even if he added another zero, it would hardly count as anything significant for investments into China’s aviation industry, far from enough to even cover the cost of developing a fighter jet. Moreover, this money was hard-earned by Lin Mo at the price of his life, and no one would dare to challenge military authority by coveting this fortune; that would mean crossing a dangerous line.

When Lin Mo wasn’t sure how to spend this money wisely, if not for Sally’s guidance, this money might have been whimsically used by Gold Coin to open a smelting plant.

What can over a hundred million dollars do?

According to Gold Coin’s thoughts, he might not even acquire the startup indicators for a steel mill in China that would require tens of billions of Chinese yuan, perhaps only slightly better than the shabby iron smelters of the Su Lan Empire.

So, in truth, the gold giant dragon was merely a glutton.

The female boss of the Dragoon Consortium personally activated the golden opportunity for the Dragon Knight.

Gold Coin was furious!