Chapter 843

Chapter 843: Aliens!

Quietly following Lin Mo, Director Niu stood at a distance at Jianqiao Airport, watching the X-8 “monstrous” variable wings fighter jet being pushed out of the hangar and prepared for takeoff. He shook his head and smiled wryly, saying, “I just knew it, I just knew that amateurs would mess things up. Look at what this has become!”

This fighter jet, sporting a little tail, was probably the only one of its kind in the country.

The value of this long tail alone far exceeded that of the fighter jet beneath it. It was like cow dung with a phoenix feather stuck in it—what a mismatch!

However, Director Niu felt helpless. He could not explain the origin and value of the Longinus spear to Lin Mo and could only watch as this Air Force major treated a treasure so carelessly.

Had it not been for the indestructible material of the Longinus spear, Director Niu might have risked leaking information just to stop Lin Mo from doing this.

Hearing the instant weather data report from the Jianqiao Airport control tower, Lin Mo began to power up the engines. The fighter jet speedily rushed towards the runway.

With almost no pause, the variable wings fighter jet smoothly entered the takeoff runway and immediately let out a huge roar of engines. The overload peak on the instrument panel reached 6G in an instant, and the aircraft shot forward like a sharp arrow. Then, a lift-off occurred, and the tips of the wings and the Longinus spear quickly trailed three long white vapor streaks as the fighter jet soared through the air.

To Lin Mo’s surprise, the repulsion shield’s force field extended from the aircraft’s surface, covering the Longinus spear with a thin layer and truly merging this newly added "decoration" with the aircraft.

A blue dot flickered on the electronic map, while the green triangle representing the “monstrous” variable wings fighter jet constantly updated its coordinates, altitude, and speed, rapidly approaching the blue dot on the map.

A month later, an Air Force pilot training course was scheduled, and the air force base hosting this training course was located in Zhejiang Province.

After taking off from Jianqiao Military Airport in Hangzhou, Lin Mo flew his aircraft to report early.

The course materials had long been sent to the organizing team and compiled by professionals. Lin Mo was the fastest among the instructors in providing teaching materials for the training course, without exception.

His accumulation of knowledge, rich air combat techniques, and combat experience allowed Lin Mo to be a suitably qualified instructor, making him the youngest among the three instructors in the training class.

The “monstrous” variable wings fighter jet actively released its identification signal during the flight, accepting navigation commands from the control tower of Quzhou Military Airport, its destination.

If not for this, the aviation division stationed at Quzhou Airport would surely be startled by the sudden appearance of a fighter jet in the airport’s airspace.

Lin Mo’s variable wings fighter jet often caused headaches for the ground radar operators whenever it took off. Without an active signal, their radar system could never detect this stealth fighter’s trace.

Sometimes they could receive the active identification signal, but once the fighter jet accelerated, the ground radar simply could not keep up.

Often, the signal dot on the radar screen would flicker as if it had jumped through space before disappearing from the screen, escaping the reconnaissance radius of the ground radar station.

Due to this helplessness of radar systems against stealth fighter jets, countries invested enormous efforts in developing high-speed stealth fighters.

The distance between the Jianqiao and Quzhou air force bases was very short. As soon as it went supersonic, it would arrive in no time. Not long after the “monstrous” variable wings fighter jet took off, Lin Mo established communication with Quzhou Air Force Base.

This ordinary transit flight posed no challenges, so Lin Mo did not push for extreme speeds like he usually did, flying even slower than a regular passenger aircraft, leisurely cruising at an altitude of twenty thousand meters as free as a fish in water.

Quzhou Military Airport, affiliated with the Nanjing Military Region Air Force, was established in 1933 (the 22nd year of the Republic). During the war of resistance, Quzhou Airport was the focus of the battles in the southeast and currently housed a fighter division.

In stark contrast to the strong-attack division at Hangzhou Jianqiao Airport, which was still waiting for its aircraft upgrade, the fighter division stationed at Quzhou had made progress, having replaced its original J-6 and J-7 with the more advanced Su-30.

“Colonel Chen, the control tower says we’ll see Major Lin’s aircraft in two minutes. Once he lands, our instructor team will be complete.”

On the side of the runway at the parking area, an Air Force colonel put down his headset and shielded his eyes with his hand, gazing at the horizon and listening to sounds from a distance.

This wireless headset, specifically equipped for ground crew use, not only completely covers the ears to block out noise but also ensures excellent sound reception.

It can communicate over a radius of 600 meters on the flat ground, and through several signal relay nodes set up near the runway and parking area, it allows smooth communication throughout the airport’s open area. The colonel had temporarily borrowed it to stay in touch with the control tower.

“Flying in his own jet—what a character! Which aviation division trusts its pilots this much? Major Lin Mo should be a new talent that has emerged in recent years; I’ve never heard of such a figure in our Air Force system before.”

Beside the colonel stood a straight-backed Air Force major who was also scanning the sky. They did not need binoculars because the ground radar could detect farther than what binoculars could see; just paying attention to the information from the control tower was sufficient.

Although they remained two minutes away, they still did not hear the roar of the fighter jet.

Colonel Chen and Major Cao Yueyang beside him had arrived as passengers on a civil airliner, not receiving such special treatment as to report in on their own aircraft.

“According to the introduction, he has rich combat experience in land, sea, and air, has been on an aircraft carrier, and even participated in the selection of astronauts. I am really looking forward to it!”

An hour ago, Colonel Cao Yueyang heard that a new instructor was about to arrive at the airport, so he immediately came to welcome him along with Major Chen Jun, who had arrived a week prior.

Approaching voluntarily was also to express a friendly attitude, ensuring a pleasant working relationship in the instructor team in the future.

The organizing team was still busy preparing, and the instructors needed to arrive a month early—first, to adapt to the environment; second, to get accustomed to the nearby airspace and weather conditions; and lastly, to merge their combat experiences and air combat skills into a valuable new air combat techniques guide.

“Only the best pilots are qualified to be on an aircraft carrier, Colonel Cao. It seems you’re also intrigued. But let me have the first try. If he is from an academic background, I doubt you would be interested.”

Major Chen Jun came to greet the new instructor because he wanted to assess the actual abilities of this major instructor, and he was eager to test his own skills against the newcomer.

The term “academic” refers to pilots who mainly train on simulators and through standard flight training, lacking significant real-life combat experience. Although they might have numerous flight hours, their ability to adapt to the harsh realities of war and combat situations is often inferior to that of “feral” pilots who have gained expertise through actual battles.

Neither the academic nor the feral pilots are superior; in fact, each has its strengths. The former is more suited for large-scale operations and inheritance of air combat techniques, while the latter excels in small squad raids and executing high-risk missions.

Once a large-scale war occurs, elite pilots comparable to the feral type will emerge from the academic ranks like bamboo shoots after rain, and the combat effectiveness of the feral pilots will also reach new heights.

True strong individuals stand at the pinnacle of the pyramid.

During their days at Quzhou Air Force Base, Major Chen and Colonel Cao frequently used the Su-30 from the fighter division to engage in simulation matches.

After several rounds of competition, Colonel Cao Yueyang held a slight advantage.

These simulation matches, closest to real combat, were beneficial for both pilots. Winning or losing was secondary; the greatest gain was the opportunity for both to validate their tactical ideas.

Among the various military branches, the rank of pilot holds considerable weight in quality, not merely based on seniority. Most of the time, rank often signifies strength.

“Since you are so eager, you can go first. We have two more months ahead—plenty of opportunities!”

Colonel Cao Yueyang smiled graciously. Although he would be instructing others, he also looked forward to discovering some shining points of expertise from the students.

“Oh? Two minutes have passed, and we still haven’t seen any signs. Could the tower be mistaken?”

Major Chen Jun looked towards the sky at the landing end of the runway.

Experienced pilots usually wouldn’t even need to circle the airport looking for a landing point. They would adjust their angle in flight to achieve the best landing parameters and land in one go.

But at this distance, there was not even a hint of the roar of a fighter jet’s engine.

The sun was shining, making him slightly sweat as he waved his hand like a fan, trying to bring himself some coolness. Just then, a cool breeze blew from behind, and Major Chen Jun displayed a comfortable expression, grateful for the timely arrival of the breeze.

Colonel Cao Yueyang also looked puzzled; it was indeed strange. Usually, two minutes meant two minutes. Surely military airport calculations couldn’t be less accurate than those of civilian flights.

However, reality was just as Major Chen suspected—there was still no sign in the sky.

“Wait, let me ask!” Colonel Cao Yueyang picked up a wireless headset used by the ground crew to contact the control tower. After asking a couple of questions, a strange expression suddenly appeared on his face.

“What’s wrong, Colonel Cao? What did the control tower say? Did they misread it?” Major Chen Jun looked at Colonel Cao Yueyang, whose expression had inexplicably changed.

Of course, there was another possibility that he didn’t even dare to think about—it could be a big event.

“No, the tower said that Major Lin Mo has arrived!”

Colonel Cao Yueyang was speechless at this explanation from the control tower.

“Today isn’t April Fool’s Day! Is it funny to make such jokes? Can military matters be a joke?”

“How is that possible? This is absurd! He didn’t fly here, did he take a car? Or was he on a commercial flight?”

Major Chen Jun could not comprehend how he could arrive by driving a fighter jet one moment and then switch to another mode of transportation. How could there be a change of means mid-air?

Suddenly, a soft sound came from behind them. Major Chen Jun and Colonel Cao Yueyang turned their heads in unison, looking at each other, not knowing what to expect.

On the Parking Area, two simultaneous gasps echoed.

“Aliens!”