Sky-cracking Rider

From the Northern Weapons Industry Group exhibition area, the advanced fighter jet "Canglong" dived headfirst into the hangar of the "Genuine Fragrance" Combat Flight Squadron, gliding at a low altitude the whole way. As soon as the landing gear touched the ground, Chen Fei, who was piloting it, immediately shouted at Xiao Ming, the long-awaiting maintenance chief, "Big Brother, get all kinds of oils, right now!" It took off from the exhibition booth through the effects of a Magic Array but could not accomplish real high-speed, high-mobility flight. The Magic Array on the aircraft could only assist in flying, so further evolutionary adjustments were needed to switch propulsion modes, requiring various lubricants, hydraulic fluids, and aviation fuel. Xiao Ming, pushing a cart, hurried over in three steps and two strides, ramming each fluid container already prepared into a row of intake ports that appeared on the surface of the fuselage. Triangular, circular, square, diamond, pentagonal, hexagonal—all kinds of fancy irregular shapes, matched the shape of the container openings to avoid pouring the wrong fluid in the rush. With several firm thuds, the "Canglong" was no longer just a conceptual shell, but a real combat aircraft. Sponsored by National Defense Star Aerospace Company, AIM-290D long-range missiles were delivered into internal bomb bays and external hardpoints, and the AI "Adam" immediately recognized these missiles in the fire control system compiled for "Canglong". Then came the machine gun ammunition belts, especially composed of tracer incendiary rounds to enhance the visual spectacle of the duel. Boom!~ The "Canglong" advanced fighter jet burst into a real roar of its engines. "Are we all set?" The voice of Boss Hana came through the data link into Chen Fei's tactical helmet. Although she always maintained a composed and calm queen-like demeanor, she still held some concerns that she couldn't show due to her status as the Boss. As Boss, she was the support and reliability for everyone and had to remain strong till the end. During their past drinking sessions, Chen Fei was the only one who saw this woman, dubbed "One-Eye She-Devil" by her peers, drunk to a stupor, crying and babbling for hugs and comfort. It was unimaginable for outsiders and even for her own people at Jiu Defense to see this vulnerable side of Boss Hana. Since the establishment of Jiu Defense, the private image of Boss Hana in front of Chen Fei had become increasingly aloof as colleagues forcibly pushed her into the role they least wanted to see her in. "Everything's OK!" Chen Fei gestured to the ground crew outside the cockpit. "'Peanut Butter' in position!" "'Devil Pepper' in position!" "'Fragrant Orchid' in position!" As a trainer aircraft, ease of control and accessibility were the minimum design requirements. Even with short exposure, Chekhov and his team had already mastered this combat trainer that was about to participate in actual combat. Though its payload wasn't as large as that of a professional combat aircraft, it was enough to give the "Horned Eagles" of Hanuman Airborne Group a hard time. "'Rookie,' good luck!" Teacher Shen Fei's voice interjected. The aviation headphones, equipped with active noise reduction, were perfect for the current environment, automatically filtering out noise while selectively amplifying human voices, making conversation clear even in noisy surroundings. "Ten-minute countdown, both fighting teams prepare to enter the apron, 'Genuine Fragrance' squadron take off five minutes early." A notification came from the control tower. Everyone was about to enter the aerial arena, offering the spectators on the ground a real and brutal duel. "'Genuine Fragrance' squadron, strike!" Hanna Gagel stood at the hangar door and gestured outside. The air hoses disconnected, and three L-22s released from their landing gear restrictors slid out one by one. The fresh, still hot "Canglong" advanced fighter jet closely followed behind them. "...'Genuine Fragrance' Combat Flight Squadron, consisting of three L-22 advanced trainer aircraft, emerges from the hangar, with the last one being the still-experimental conceptual machine 'Canglong,' a support-type fighter..." Chen Fei turned on the public broadcast channel and immediately heard the endless introduction by the host of the "Abyssal Gladiatorial" event. He had hoped to hear some mention of the Hanuman Airborne Group but only caught the tedious warm-up chatter. "Repeat the tactical plan, 'Peanut Butter' lead 'Fragrant Orchid,' 'Rookie' lead 'Devil Pepper,' stick together and don't fall behind," When it came to professional matters, the Big Bear Squadron Leader never dropped the ball. "You three take off first, I'll follow!" Though he was treated as the leader of the second flight team, Chen Fei had no intention of rushing to the front. His "Canglong" still obediently followed behind the L-22 of Vice Squadron Leader "Devil Pepper" Irinei Rusios. "Permission granted, everyone be careful, don't get careless, 'Fragrant Orchid,' follow me!" "Peanut Butter" Chekhov pushed the throttle, his L-22 advanced trainer aircraft, equipped with an auxiliary fuel tank and missiles, accelerated powerfully from the start of the runway. After darting out over five hundred meters, it lightly lifted its nose and soared into the sky. Following closely on the side was "Fragrant Orchid" Carlos Silva Lane, the two L-22s maintaining a twin-aircraft formation as they ascended in sync, with little change in the distance between them. Although not exactly stunt flying, it was still the proficient experience of veteran pilots. Following was Irinei Rusios' L-22, nicknamed "Devil Pepper." She did not hurry Chen Fei, because the L-22 had notable performance differences from "Canglong," and, considering the "Rookie" had both Metal Elemental Psychic Power and Magic Array, it wouldn't have been surprising if anything spectacular happened. The third L-22 took off alone, while the last remaining "Canglong" advanced fighter jet was still on the ground, showing no intention of hurrying to catch up, leaving everyone wondering what was being planned. The spectators inside and outside were collectively baffled, unable to comprehend what was wrong with the conspicuously lagging "Canglong." "Gaga gaga gaga, as expected of an experimental jet, it must have freaking broken down!" Through the live broadcast feed, Laimen Hoffman, the leader of the Hanuman Airborne Group, laughed uncontrollably like a duck. Isn't it quite normal for immature aircraft to malfunction anywhere, anytime? Sticking to the ground, unable to fly—that's the norm for experimental jets, isn't it? However, in the next second, his laughter abruptly stopped. On the large projected screen, the "Canglong" advanced fighter jet that had remained at the starting end of the runway slowly started to rise from the ground. Vertical takeoff! WTF!!! Laimen Hoffman's duck laughter sounded as if someone had just squeezed a duck's neck. Although not a new advanced technology, vertical takeoff was very convenient and unspecific about the takeoff and landing environment, but it definitely wasn't mainstream. Because its advantages were quite clear, but so were its disadvantages, which led to a sheer waste of valuable carrying capacity. After the "Canglong" advanced jet had ascended more than ten meters, its surface suddenly unfolded multiple indeterminate aerodynamic flaps, and a long flame tail burst out from the back. Boom... The sound as thunderous as a sudden clap of thunder on a clear day, recklessly invaded everyone's ears, even drowning out the continuous commentary of the host. What terrifying presence that was! The hovering fighter jet surged into the sky with a very apparent acceleration. "...9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14..." Crack!~ The moment Chen Fei quietly counted to 15. The sound barrier was instantly shattered. "Eh!!!" Nangong Chengyu, the deputy chief designer of the project team, was still pondering over those strange aerodynamic surfaces on the aircraft body while watching the "Canglong"'s premiere at the Northern Weapons Industry Group's special area, when he was suddenly startled by the shocking sound. This...this isn't right!!! The design goal for the "Canglong" advanced fighter jet was to be a support fighter, its main engine thrust shouldn't be this fierce, even the top active duty main fighter jets only match up to this level. If it performs like this, you're putting the main fighter jets in shame. "Dad...I screwed up!" Just at that moment, Young Master Nangong came back from the exhibition area with a gloomy face. Both Richie were inhumane, their conscience must have been eaten by cats. When the "Canglong" was still on display, they didn't show any explicit stance without seeing the rabbit and not throwing the eagle, but after it was taken away by someone with the surname Chen, facing the empty display space, Richie started to tremble, clamoring for sponsorship, for orders, is that even reasonable?! I've never seen such customers before, speaking a totally different language from each other, definitely not on the same page, and Nangong Ruiyang, who was acting as the liaison officer, really had a hard time! He didn't even know how he managed to get rid of those two Richies. "Eh? Ruiyang, your face!" Nangong Chief Designer saw his son's face was red and swollen. What happened? Did he have a conflict with Chen Fei who borrowed the "Canglong," and got hit by him?! "Ah, this? I hit myself!" Mentioning this made Nangong Ruiyang even more upset. The attitudes of the two clients were like night and day, thinking it was a dream, he involuntarily slapped himself twice in an attempt to wake up. As a result, he woke up, but at the cost of a swollen face, with clear finger imprints on his cheeks! It really wasn't Chen Xiao'er's fault!