Chapter 87: The Zhang Family Wedding

The Hawk Mark I test aircraft shot skyward and streaked north in a flash, its destination this time the North River Base.

The senior leadership at Hope Base had taken precautions in advance, seizing this test as an opportunity to send the stealth-capable Hawk Mark I in close to gather intelligence on North River Base.

In a small single-story building beside the test field, Liang Jingyang stared gravely at the data reports on the screen.

"Director, the test aircraft has now reached six Mach and is about to stabilize at eight Mach. Estimated arrival at the destination in seven minutes," a researcher seated at the communications monitoring console reported briskly.

"Good. What are the pilots' vital signs and mental thresholds?" Liang Jingyang's eyes held a faint, unreadable depth. He had pushed hard to make this test happen; originally, it had been scheduled for a month later.

Another researcher hurriedly answered, "Pilot One and Pilot Two are both in normal physical condition, and their mental thresholds are within the normal range."

"Keep a close watch on them at all times. If anything looks off, tell me immediately."

The researchers in the observation room all felt how much Liang Jingyang valued this test, and every one of them straightened up with renewed focus.

Inside the Hawk Mark I test aircraft, the two pilots sat in their seats, both hands moving across the holographic control panel before them as they guided the aircraft.

The second pilot was a man in his early twenties. The look of astonishment on his face had not yet faded, and he still had not fully adjusted to the fact that he was flying such an advanced fighter.

"Xiao Wu, focus! This test concerns whether our base's air force can get off to a smooth start. Do you understand?" The older pilot, a steady veteran of Hope Base named Zheng Shanglong, spoke with calm authority.

Xiao Wu quickly collected himself and turned his attention to the controls.

"Understood, Captain Zheng! Our speed has reached the stable value of eight Mach. Four minutes and twenty-three seconds remain until we reach the destination."

Zheng Shanglong nodded in satisfaction and turned to bring up several panels on the control board.

"Three-dimensional scanner status check... normal, set to standby."

"High-definition imaging system status check... normal, set to standby."

Zheng Shanglong activated all the intelligence-gathering instruments into standby mode, then said with a smile, "The power of technology is truly beyond imagination. Xiao Wu, check the weapons status."

"Yes, sir! Main weapon electromagnetic cannon activated to standby... secondary weapon gatling cannon activated, secondary weapon missile system activated, standby mode complete."

The moment his voice fell, a series of beeping alarms sounded in the cockpit.

"Radar detects enemy patrol aircraft approaching from ahead. Prepare yourselves. This is the first simulated mission of this test aircraft: destroy the enemy fighters and survive."

At the warning from the rudimentary AI's mechanical voice, Zheng Shanglong and Xiao Wu immediately entered combat mode.

"Xiao Wu! Watch the front—four enemy fighters are closing in. Contact in fifteen seconds!"

"Yes, Captain!" Xiao Wu brought up the combat display and locked onto one of the aircraft ahead.

"Enemy fighter locked. Requesting gatling cannon attack!"

"Granted! You will handle the next attack command on your own," Zheng Shanglong replied. Then he rolled the aircraft and climbed sharply, because radar had warned that missiles had locked on.

"Attack!" Xiao Wu issued the command with excitement. As the neural signal reached the aircraft's gatling cannon control unit, two furious tongues of flame burst from the simulated panel and shot straight at one of the enemy fighters.

"Beep-beep-beep! Hit enemy left wing. Hit rate: thirteen percent. Estimated damage: low-level." The intelligent combat assistance system returned its assessment.

Xiao Wu cursed under his breath in frustration, then steadied himself and continued fighting.

Zheng Shanglong glanced over and said, "Stay calm, Xiao Wu. I believe this AI won't make things as easy as our usual training."

"All right."

Xiao Wu nodded. Under Zheng Shanglong's control, he aligned his own vision and mental perception with the entire battlefield.

Soon he spotted his advantage: the enemy fighters were slower than his own. Seizing an opening, he predicted their movement, locked onto an enemy craft in advance, and launched an air-to-air missile.

"Beep-beep-beep! Hit enemy rear section. Hit rate: one hundred percent. Enemy fighter destroyed."

Yes!

The second page.

Xiao Wu let out a quiet breath of relief, and Zheng Shanglong looked at him with satisfaction. It seemed his teammate did have his strengths.

Inside the test field's monitoring room, the large screen showed the combat between the two of them and the virtual enemy fighters. When they destroyed an enemy aircraft that could be counted among the world's finest, cheers erupted all around.

"Report to Director: the pilot's condition remains normal."

"The aircraft's overall condition is good. Simulated combat status is good!"

A stream of reports came in, all indicating that the fighter's initial training results were excellent.

"Good. Continue training. Keep it up," Liang Jingyang said with a satisfied nod. This was only the beginner level; the virtual enemies were all modeled after the strongest forces in the real world. He thought of Wang Ji's demand: every weapon under development had to be capable of facing enemies at least three times stronger than the current highest level on Earth.

"Die!" Xiao Wu locked onto the last enemy fighter and destroyed it with the gatling cannon, then exhaled deeply.

Such high-speed battlefield reactions had raised both Xiao Wu's and Zheng Shanglong's mental thresholds considerably. They exchanged a glance and felt the true weight of the pressure ahead.

"Calling headquarters! Test Vehicle One has completed the first round and is continuing to the destination."

Liang Jingyang picked up the microphone. "Received. Well done. Proceed with the mission."

"Yes, sir!"

The Hawk Mark I test aircraft drew a half-circle in the sky, then turned again toward North River Base.

At that moment, in the wealthy inner district of North River Base, the air was thick with festivity. Lanterns and decorations were everywhere, utterly unlike the plain people's district on the outskirts; it was clearly the scene of a grand wedding.

Inside a hotel room belonging to the Zhang family, Zhang Tingfang sat before the vanity mirror while a woman bent her head and touched up her makeup.

The room was so quiet that the still, heavy air felt like the oppressive humidity of summer itself, and the woman doing the makeup scarcely dared breathe.

After a while, Zhang Tingfang glanced at the mirror and gave a faint nod of satisfaction.

"That's enough. You can go."

The woman seemed to have been granted a great pardon. She hurriedly bowed her head in response and quickly left the room.

Then a soldier came in from outside. It was Li An, the company commander who had once gone with her to Hope Base and helped rescue Cao Muhua during their trouble there.

Another person, with a sack over his head, was thrown to the floor by Li An, where fearful muffled whimpers could be heard.

"He’s here, Tingfang. How do you want to handle it?"

Li An stepped forward with a smile and wrapped an arm around Zhang Tingfang's waist.

Zhang Tingfang did not avoid him. Instead, she gave a seductive smile and said, "Oh? You were pretty efficient."

"Didn't you order it? How could I be anything but efficient?" Li An's hand moved restlessly over her.

Zhang Tingfang gently pressed him back and glanced at the sack. "The trouble hasn't been dealt with yet."

Li An, however, could no longer hold back his excitement. Seeing Zhang Tingfang dressed in a wedding gown had set him ablaze, and he let out a low growl.

"Forget her. I'll send her on her way in a little while anyway."

After a startled cry, the room filled with a burst of noisy commotion, mixed with terrified whimpering.

...

As the Hawk Mark I approached North River Base, the rudimentary AI sounded another warning. This time, eight fighter craft were coming to intercept, their strength doubled.

Zheng Shanglong and Xiao Wu had to break through them while also evading the low-angle anti-aircraft fire launched by the base in the simulated live exercise, all while completing intelligence scans and high-definition imaging of key locations.

"Approaching attack range! Xiao Wu, get ready."

"Yes, Captain! Two enemy fighters locked. Preparing missile strike."

The words had barely left his mouth when Xiao Wu launched two missiles, sending them head-on toward the enemy fighters. At around a hundred meters from the target, just as he saw the enemy beginning to evade, he detonated them early.

The explosion came with rolling smoke and thick mist. The enemy fighters were not destroyed, but both had sustained different degrees of damage, leaving their maneuverability at a disadvantage.

The third page.

Zheng Shanglong seized the opportunity, and with Xiao Wu's precise cooperation, he dealt with them swiftly.

Six enemy fighters remained.

The fighter Zheng Shanglong was flying moved and dodged with difficulty under their encirclement.

In the AI's simulation, whenever the aircraft sustained damage, its real-time functions were reduced by the same degree.

"Beep-beep-beep! The aircraft's left wing has suffered twenty-four percent damage, reducing roll, climb, and turning capability by thirty-seven percent."

As the simulated gatling fire concentrated on the left wing, the difficulty of flying the aircraft rose sharply. Zheng Shanglong's face went pale, and he focused all his mental power on evading the enemy's attacks.

"Report to Director! Pilot One's mental threshold is nearing the upper limit of the normal range!"

Liang Jingyang did not respond. He kept staring at the combat on the screen. Zheng Shanglong, while bearing the damage, created an opening for Xiao Wu, and together they shot down three more enemy fighters.

Three remained.

"Director! The aircraft has sustained thirty-five percent overall damage in the simulation. Should we stop the test?" another researcher asked.

Liang Jingyang glanced at the cockpit, at the grave expressions on the faces of Zheng Shanglong and the other pilot, and tightened his fist.

"Wait a little longer."

"Beep-beep-beep!"

Suddenly, the detection system let out a piercing alarm.

"Director! The mental thresholds of both pilots have crossed the warning line!"

Liang Jingyang's heart clenched. In the screen, the Hawk fighter suddenly shuddered, and its flight path fell into chaos at once.

"Stop..."

Before Liang Jingyang could finish, Zheng Shanglong's voice came through the communications channel.

"Don't stop! I can do this!"

Immediately afterward, Zheng Shanglong's status bar on the screen recovered as if with a tide, and after him, Xiao Wu's condition also slowly stabilized once Zheng Shanglong had recovered.

At the radar monitoring post in North River Base, a soldier looked doubtfully at the instruments before him.

After a moment, he muttered, "What was that? Am I seeing things? It looked like a signal warning flashed just now."

Once stabilized in the air, Zheng Shanglong became like a fierce tiger descending from the mountains. In addition to flying, he devoted most of his attention to commanding the attack, and within minutes he completed the second round of the test.

"Reporting to headquarters: second round of live combat testing completed. Please advise."

Although the people in the monitoring room did not know what had happened, they all let out a long breath.

"Proceed in stealth mode and continue with the intelligence-gathering mission."

"Yes, sir!"

Down below, the people at the base were still celebrating the wedding in high spirits, completely unaware that a massive aerial battle for life and death had just taken place overhead.

At that moment, Zhang Tingfang stood beside the wedding stage with Cao Muhua, receiving the blessings of everyone below.

With a smile on his face, Cao Muhua said in a low voice, "Is Xiao Yan with you?"

Zhang Tingfang's expression did not change. She accepted a gift from one of the rich guests as usual, then lowered her head against Cao Muhua's side like a loving wife.

"That little slut? I had her hacked to pieces and fed to the dogs long ago. Cao Muhua, don't think that just because my father made you a division commander, you can climb over my head."

"I'm the daughter of the Zhang family. And you're only the Zhang family's dog. You'd best know your place, understand?"