Chapter 14 My First Ride in the "Big Iron Bird"
The roar of the helicopter sounded like a hundred cows bellowing in your ear.
The enormous propeller sliced through the swirling snow and carried the Lin family toward the unknown northwest.
The cabin wasn't as comfortable as I'd imagined.
These days, military helicopters are notorious for being "aerial tractors."
There was no soundproofing material or soft seating.
The metal shell rattled in the wind, and the vibrations traveled down the metal plate beneath my buttocks and into my very bones.
Lin Jianguo held Zhaodi and Dabao tightly, his arms like iron clamps, afraid that the children would be hurt by the jostling.
Da Bao is still a child, and it was his first time sitting in such a big thing. He was so scared that his face turned white.
He kept his eyes tightly shut, gripping his father's clothes with both hands, not daring to even breathe.
But Zhao Di is different.
That little brat is really something else.
Not only was she not afraid, she pressed her little face against the round windowpane, her eyes wide open.
"Wow--"
"Dad! Look! The clouds! They're like cotton candy!"
Zhao Di shouted excitedly, although her voice was mostly drowned out by the roar of the engine, but her excitement was undeniable.
Looking at his daughter's carefree attitude, Lin Jianguo finally felt a little relieved.
"Sit still, don't move around, or you'll bump your head."
Lin Jianguo shouted loudly, and casually turned up the collar of his military overcoat to shield his daughter from the cold wind that was seeping in through the gaps.
Commander Wang sat opposite them, looking at the family with a look of utter amazement.
This is a national treasure.
Don't let his runny nose fool you; his brain is as sharp as several divisions'!
"Sir, have some water."
The guard next to him handed him a military water bottle.
Commander Wang waved his hand and pointed at Zhao Di: "Give it to the child, don't let him choke."
At this moment, the arrogant system started popping up in Zhao Di's mind again.
[Host, don't press your face against the glass; it looks stupid.]
[And this glass has static electricity, which will attract your few blond hairs.]
Zhao Di completely ignored it.
She's busy looking at the outside world.
The houses on the ground were so small, like matchboxes.
It turns out that the mountains were just mounds of earth.
"Uncle Fairy, why does that needle keep dancing?"
Zhao Di suddenly pointed towards the cockpit and asked in her mind in a childish voice.
She is short, but her eyesight is excellent.
Through the gap in the front seat, she could see a long row of round dials in front of the driver.
It was covered with needles.
It's dizzying to look at.
The system initially wanted to retort, "What does a little kid know about dashboards?" but as a high-tech AI, it subconsciously scanned the area.
This scan almost caused the system's data stream to become garbled.
Holy crap!
Who did the maintenance on this crappy plane? It's practically playing with lives!
[The pressure gauge reading in the hydraulic transmission system is fluctuating abnormally! There are air bubbles in the oil circuit!]
Although it can still fly now, in half an hour, this plane will turn into an aerial pendulum swing!
The system is in a panic.
This is its host!
If the host dies, it's doomed too!
[Host! Quick! Play a game!]
See that red needle that's jumping the most happily?
[Point it out! Tell that big oaf who's flying the plane that Needle is sleepy!]
Zhao Di perked up immediately when she heard about playing games.
She turned around and stretched out her little finger, which was still covered in sugar frosting from eating candy.
"uncle!"
Zhao Di shouted at the top of her lungs.
The pilot was a young man wearing a flight helmet, staring intently ahead.
Hearing a noise behind him, he didn't dare turn around.
Commander Wang quickly came over: "What's wrong, Zhaodi? Do you need to pee?"
Zhao Di shook her head.
She laboriously leaned out of Lin Jianguo's arms and pointed to that inconspicuous corner on the dashboard.
"That needle, it won't listen to me."
"It wants to sleep and doesn't want to dance anymore."
Commander Wang and Chen Zhiyuan were both stunned.
What needle?
What about sleeping?
Chen Zhiyuan, being a mechanical engineer, was quick-witted.
He looked in the direction Zhao Di was pointing.
That's an auxiliary pressure gauge for a hydraulic system.
This thing doesn't usually attract much attention, as long as the main table is normal.
But at this moment, that tiny pointer is frantically probing the edge of the red line at an extremely strange frequency.
One moment it leaps up suddenly, the next it hangs down limply.
It was like... he was really dozing off.
"not good!"
Chen Zhiyuan's expression changed instantly.
Although he doesn't repair airplanes, he understands mechanical principles.
This shaking is definitely not normal!
"Pilot! Check the hydraulic pump! Abnormal pressure in the auxiliary oil circuit!"
Chen Zhiyuan shouted with all his might.
The pilot was startled by the shout and instinctively looked down.
Upon seeing this, I instantly broke out in a cold sweat.
The wind and snow were so strong and the air was so turbulent that he had been staring at the attitude gauge and altimeter and hadn't noticed the auxiliary gauge in this corner at all.
The magnitude of the needle's fluctuations indicates that air has entered the oil system or there is a leak!
If it flies any longer, the hydraulic power steering will fail, and the helicopter will go out of control!
Damn it!
The pilot frantically began to operate the controls.
"Activate the backup pump! Cut off the main oil circuit backflow!"
"Calling tower! Calling tower! This is Falcon 3! Requesting descent! Requesting alternate landing site!"
The atmosphere in the cabin instantly shifted from the previous warmth to a deathly tension.
Commander Wang's hand had already reached for the holster at his waist—though it was of no use.
Lin Jianguo pressed the two children down on his body, using his back to brace against the cabin wall.
It's instinct.
If the plane crashes, he will be the human cushion.
"Sizzle—"
With a series of maneuvers by the pilot, the wildly fluctuating needle finally stabilized.
The plane's vibrations also decreased.
The pilot let out a long breath; the back of his flight suit was soaked with sweat.
He turned around and, through his helmet, looked at the little girl who was still sniffling with the eyes of someone looking at a deity.
That's amazing!
Such a small watch, hidden among so many instruments.
Even he, who flies planes every day, didn't notice.
How did the child spot it at a glance?
And can it even tell that it's "abnormal"?
"Reporting, sir! The fault has been resolved! It was a minor leak in hydraulic line number one; we have switched to the backup system!"
The pilot's voice trembled slightly.
"Thanks to this little girl... otherwise we would all be dead here today!"
After hearing this, Commander Wang slumped into his chair, panting heavily.
He looked at Zhao Di with a very complicated expression.
This is no child.
This is clearly a living radar, a lifesaver mascot!
"Mr. Chen...you're right."
Commander Wang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice hoarse.
"This kid's brain is worth more than an atomic bomb!"
"If anything had happened just now, I, Wang Tiezhu, wouldn't have enough heads to chop off even if I had a hundred!"
At this moment, Zhao Di had no idea what a huge thing she had just done.
She just felt a little sleepy.
The plane swayed gently, like a giant cradle.
"Uncle Fairy, Zhenzhen is going to sleep, Zhaodi needs to go to sleep too."
Zhao Di yawned, her little head nodding.
The system gave a haughty snort in its mind.
[Go to sleep, you idiot host.]
In other words, this system is fast.
However… this little girl does seem to have a real talent for capturing dynamic visual information?
It seems this system's development plan needs some revision.
Zhao Di nestled inside Lin Jianguo's tattered cotton-padded coat, which reeked of blood and tobacco, and fell into a deep sleep.
In my dream.
She saw many, many big white steamed buns, with wings, flying in the sky.
She chased and chased, and finally bit the biggest one.
"Smack."
Zhao Di smacked her lips, and drool dripped onto Lin Jianguo's clothes.
Lin Jianguo looked down at his daughter's peaceful sleeping face, his eyes stinging with tears.
He had no idea how dangerous things had just happened.
But he knew that as long as his daughter was there, the sky wouldn't fall down.
The plane continued westward.
Passing through the clouds, crossing the snow-capped mountains.
Heading at full speed toward that mysterious place that will determine the fate of the nation.
...
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