The sound of the fire control radar lock flooded the entire cockpit.
Chen Fei, seemingly oblivious, focused solely on the altitude meter, the speed meter, and whether there were any blue lines connected to the aircraft.
Danger lay ahead, the enemy behind, leaving no room for distraction.
Altitude 1800 meters!
Don't think that sea level at 0 meters is the ground.
On the contrary, at this altitude, the actual position is underground.
This is a mountainous area, where the highest peaks can reach up to 7000 meters, and the average altitude is generally over 200 meters. One must account for this difference beforehand, otherwise one second you're in mid-air, and the next you could be smashing into a mountain, instantly destroying both man and machine.
If visibility isn't clear, it's best to maintain sufficient altitude to ensure flight safety.
Several fine lines whizzed past the wings, but Chen Fei just gave them a glance, too lazy to care.
A few tracer bullets followed the fine lines with pinpoint accuracy, striking the ground and raising striking dust plumes.
The nearest blue line was less than a foot away from the turboprop aircraft, looking perilously close.
But that's just how it looks – scary. If it doesn't actually hit, it won't cause any damage. It doesn't matter if it's a foot or even a centimeter off; there's no difference.
Sometimes the blue lines representing the predictive trajectories do undergo dynamic changes, but the extent isn't too great, always affording Chen Fei some reaction time.
Actually, by focusing his attention, he could distinctly feel time slowing down. Bullets and missiles might be fast, but nothing is quicker than the human brain, right?
Without warning, a thick blue line shot from the front left, piercing through the wing of aircraft 211.
This time it was a missile!
Chen Fei could now distinguish whether the incoming threats were aerial machine-gun bullets or missiles, based on the thickness and number of blue lines.
He felt like cursing. The heart-stopping moments of dancing with missiles had arrived.
The enemy, disregarding honor, employed a pincer tactic: two jet fighters against a single turboprop – the latter should feel honored.
They were determined to take Chen Fei down, but thanks to the "Basic Optical Observer Level 2," which never cooled off, he had seen the MiG-28 circling around, preparing to outflank him.
One at the 10 o'clock position, another at 6 o'clock.
Still in high-speed dive, aircraft 211 faced the threat of a coordinated attack.
Irinei Rusios' voice, nicknamed "Devil Pepper," resounded in his ears again.
The radar clearly captured the dynamic positions of the three aircraft, making the perilous situation of aircraft 211 unmistakable.
It didn't help that Chen Fei was an actual rookie, it being his first mission, and a highly dangerous night operation at that. Aside from the two experienced enemy aircraft, the complex terrain below could claim the rookie's life at any moment.
What good would being a Metal Ability User do?
Smashing into the ground at such speeds with the aircraft, no one could expect a positive outcome.
Yet, the entire tactical plan had arrived at its most crucial step. The longer Chen Fei could survive, the more he could increase the chances for a turnaround opportunity for aircraft 212 and 216.
"Don't worry about me!"
Chen Fei saw a canyon below, and without hesitation, he pushed the control stick, diving aircraft 211 straight into it without reducing speed.
The bonus of trading altitude for speed was limited, and not much time was left. Once the temporary speed advantage over the jet fighters was lost, the "Big Mouth Monster" would immediately show its true colors.
Altitude 1200 meters!
The onboard terrain radar indicated the canyon was 500 meters deep, with sheer sides, and a winding stream intermittently flowing through it.
The A-39B "Big Mouth Monster" light turboprop attack aircraft plunged recklessly into the canyon, and the incoming combat bombs, finding nothing, soared over the canyon, pulled up high, then turned and dived down again.
Both parties were using programmable close-range combat missiles with a range of around 30 kilometers. Within a 5-kilometer radius, there were usually two attack opportunities.
Another thick blue line dropped from the upper left, piercing through the cockpit again. The returning missile targeted the "Big Mouth Monster" once more.
Fortunately, the two MiG aircraft didn't waste their missiles on the "Big Mouth Monster" as if they were free. They pressed Chen Fei's aircraft 211 into a corner with a methodical tactical rhythm, using cannons and missiles in turn.
The complexity of the canyon terrain could provide some cover, but it also limited the "Big Mouth Monster" turboprop aircraft's low-altitude advantage.
A moment's carelessness could result in a crash into the cliff without even needing missiles or aircraft cannons.
Chen Fei had thought about striking back, but the two MiG-28s flown by the enemy were piloted by veterans who gave him no chance to retaliate; they continuously pressured him with attack patterns, forcing him to be on the constant run for cover.
"Rookie, are you still there?"
The moment Aircraft 211 dove into the canyon, the ground-based radar at Aircrew Base lost its position, leaving only the communication channel open, which made "Devil Pepper," Irinei Rusios—who was trying to climb as fast as she could—frantically worry.
"'Devil Pepper,' I'm still here!"
Chen Fei glanced left and right, staying alert.
The combat bombs that descended from the sky finally followed the blue predictive trajectory into his field of vision, barely grazing the "Big Mouth Monster" before colliding with the side of the canyon.
A fireball erupted amidst flying debris but failed to even touch the tail of Number 211.
"Cyclops," disappointed with the wasted combat missile, had hoped for a different result.
The expression of "Titan," the commander of the "Zero Point" squadron, grew even more serious.
This rookie pilot's erratic flying had no rhyme or reason, yet he managed to evade attack after attack.
If it was just luck, then this luck was far too good.
"Cyclops" suggested, "Let's dive down too!"
"No! He has to come out eventually."
Under the cover of night, "Titan" reckoned that even with superior skills, he wouldn't dare to rashly follow into this unfamiliar canyon.
He even secretly hoped in his heart that the "Big Mouth Monster" would accidentally crash and be destroyed—it would save ammo.
"One more minute, we're almost there."
"Devil Pepper" Irinei Rusios glanced at the altimeter, 6700 meters.
The turboprop aircraft couldn't climb as efficiently as a jet fighter; without gaining a potential energy advantage through altitude, trying to ambush two jet fighters with two turboprops was a very precarious bet.
Seeing the rock wall ahead, Chen Fei knew the canyon was coming to an end. He pulled the control stick with all his might and shouted, "I'm doing all I can!"
One must not rely too heavily on onboard electronic maps and satellite positioning; map recognition is one of a pilot's basic qualifications.
Whether it was from laying out WIFI signal relays from Aircrew Base to Teacher Shen Fei's Patan Elementary School, or following Chekhov Big Bear on a raid against Aircrew Base 897, Chen Fei had spent much time poring over the high-resolution terrain maps near Aircrew Base.
He had determined the direction and position of the canyon near Aircrew Base 911 and its overall structure upon first discovering it.
This was his main battlefield for tangling with the two MiG-28 jet fighters.
As Aircraft 211 reached the end of the canyon, it climbed with all its might, using up the last of its dive's potential energy. Two thin blue lines approached from both front and back like a huge pair of scissors crossing each other and coming in for the "bite."
Aviation cannon bullets, with their conspicuous tracer colors, arrived as expected, turning the blue lines into a deadly red trajectory of doom.
Yet the turboprop aircraft seemed to dance in the rain of bullets, performing a flip maneuver, rushing out of the canyon, and then immediately turning back.
The barrage of cannon fire fell empty, striking the steep slope at the end of the canyon into a cloud of dense dust.
"Zero Point" squadron's "Cyclops" was so frustrated he wanted to twist his control stick into a crutch.
"There's a 'Big Mouth Monster' approaching, bearing 120, two of them, altitude 3200 meters."
"Titan," the commander of "Zero Point" squadron, immediately noticed the enemy and friendly identification targets that appeared on the radar screen.
Two small markers were closing in at a velocity not at all inferior to that of the jet fighters.
Estimated time to arrive, within 30 seconds.
"We've been locked on!"
"Cyclops" exclaimed in alarm,
As he spoke, the markers representing missiles appeared on the radar screen.
One, two, three, four... Four missiles were closing in at high speed.