"Vulture" Logan piloted "Eagle Falcon" like a raptor breaking free from its cage, speeding away from Chinese airspace.
The orange-red exhaust from the afterburner left a glaring scar against the azure sky.
Inside the cabin, the excitement brought by adrenaline had not completely faded, but a subtle gloom quietly crept into my heart.
Those two MiG fighters just now made a desperate dive to intercept...
Especially that last suicide mission where the aircraft used its fuselage to block artillery fire...
That kind of madness and determination made even this veteran, who was used to seeing life and death, feel a slight chill.
This wasn't his first time visiting China for "sightseeing," but his previous opponents were more like mechanical machines following a set routine. This time, however... it was like a pack of wolves forced into a corner, baring their fangs!
He shook his head, trying to dispel the unpleasant feeling.
The victor should not have this kind of emotion.
He connected to the encrypted channel with the command center at the rear, his voice regaining its usual ease and arrogance:
"Vulture calls for eagle nest, safe escape. Shot down two bees, disperse two others. Mission complete. Over."
"Well done, Vulture! Data recorder recovered. Preparing for return. Over."
Approving responses came from behind.
Logan adjusted his course, preparing to return.
Sunlight streamed through the canopy, and as his relaxed gaze swept across the vast area below, shrouded in the shadow of the massive mountains, a faint, fleeting metallic glint, like a ripple on water, flashed across the edge of his vision!
That reflection...it's very peculiar.
Unlike exposed rocks or snow under the sun, and unlike any known ground facilities in China.
It has a... restrained, cold, and muted texture that seems to devour light.
And the location... is deep within that mountain range that is strictly marked as "possibly prone to unusual activity"!
Logan narrowed his eyes sharply and subconsciously adjusted the focus of the airborne high-magnification optical reconnaissance pod, aiming it in that direction!
The view zooms in instantly! Layer upon layer of mountains rush past in the lens, covered in vegetation, a desolate scene.
The faint reflection that had just appeared vanished as if it were an illusion.
"illusion?"
Logan frowned, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the joystick.
Top pilots who constantly walk the line between life and death have absolute confidence in their senses.
That's no illusion! There's definitely something wrong deep within those seemingly peaceful mountains!
He searched the area again carefully, his camera panning over every suspicious valley and ridge.
It was nothing but desolation. There were no large buildings, no runways, and no obvious military facilities.
But that lingering feeling, as if being watched from the shadows, grew stronger and stronger.
“The vulture calls to the eagle's nest,”
Logan's voice took on a serious tone, "Target area southeast, coordinates XXX, XXX. Detected... brief unidentified metallic reflection, abnormal characteristics. Request further optical and electronic reconnaissance of the area. Over."
He transmitted the coordinates and the anomaly report back simultaneously.
---
Base, canyon test field.
The enormous wind tunnel began to roar again, its deep, persistent rumble echoing through the tunnel.
This time, what was fixed in the test section was no longer a simple model, but the huge wing section of the "Shadow" prototype covered with part of the "Black Feather" radar-absorbing skin!
A powerful airflow pounded against the wing surface at near-sonic speeds, producing a dull roar.
The atmosphere inside the control room was heavy.
On the huge screen, besides the wind tunnel's airflow parameters, what's even more striking are the two sets of data displayed side-by-side:
Left side: Just transmitted synchronously from the "HawkEye" command center, some of the extreme flight parameters recorded by the US "Falcon" reconnaissance aircraft (F-15 prototype/improved version) during this intrusion flight, including altitude, speed, and maneuverability overload...
Right side: This shows the theoretical maximum speed, rate of climb, and stability overload boundary that the "Shadow" wing section can achieve under current wind tunnel testing conditions...
The two sets of data stand like two cold, towering mountains on the screen, creating a shocking contrast!
Speed: The theoretical limit of "Shadow" is less than the cruising speed of "Falcon"!
Climb rate: The theoretical value of "Shadow" is approximately 60% of that of "Falcon"!
Stable Overload: "Shadow" Boundary < "Falcon" Combat Overload!
Each cold, hard number was like a resounding slap across the face of everyone present!
Having just experienced the grief and indignation of losing a comrade-in-arms, this stark performance gap chilled me to the bone!
"The gap... is too big!"
The deputy chief engineer in charge of aerodynamics stared at the glaring data comparison, his voice bitter, "Even if the Shadow can become invisible... what's the use if we can't catch up or hit it?! Are we just supposed to passively take hits and wait for the enemy to come to us?!"
Academician Zhang Meng's face was ashen, her eyes behind her glasses fixed on the data on the screen, her nails digging deeply into her palms.
The invisible "ghost" is a spear, but the shackles of speed have trapped it behind a shield!
Wang Tiezhu huddled in the corner, staring at the disheartening data discrepancy, a look of "I knew it" grim on his face, but dared not utter another sound.
The lesson learned last time was too profound.
Just then, Mingzhao's clear, cold voice rang out in the deathly silence, like a stone thrown into an icy lake:
"The reason is a lack of motivation."
All eyes immediately turned to her.
She stood in front of the control panel, her gaze not on the disheartening data comparisons, but through the wind tunnel observation window, landing on the wing section inside, which was being battered by the violent airflow.
Her eyes, like the most precise scanner, captured every minute tremor of the skin under extreme airflow.
“The current engine… thrust redundancy… less than 15%.” She stated a cold, hard number.
"Unable to support...theoretical aerodynamic shape...limit performance."
Less than 15%! This means that the design potential of the "Shadow" is being strangled by its outdated engine!
"What should we do then?!"
Su Xuan couldn't help but ask urgently, "Change to a more advanced engine? We don't have one! We don't even have time to copy it!"
Mingzhao's gaze slowly swept over the anxious, desperate, and bewildered faces in the control room, finally landing on Academician Zhang Meng.
Her voice remained calm and even, yet she presented a groundbreaking plan:
"Integrate... the Starfire Energy Core."
boom!
It was like a thunderclap exploding in the control room!
Everyone was stunned! They thought they had misheard!
"Starflame... an energy core?!"
Zhang Mingyuan exclaimed, his voice trembling, "That...that's the prototype of a miniaturized fusion reactor! The heart of an energy weapon! A national strategic asset! How could...how could it be installed on an airplane as an engine?! This...this is insane!"
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