Changkong Fighter

Chapter 294: Upgraded!
Two air-to-air missiles were launched one after the other from the wingtip pylons, their eyes fixed on the target locked by the seeker, the Type 2 ship in the spherical space.

Two PL-10 missiles, the most advanced air-to-air missiles at Tokyo University, flew rapidly toward their target. Under planar imaging, the Type 2 thermal image was memorized by the missile's seeker and locked onto the target.

Then the opponent demonstrated its ability as an Ascended One: a beam of laser blocked the missile's path, followed by several pulsed lasers continuously firing at the incoming missile.

The attack completely covered the missile envelope. The high-energy laser dazzled the missile's seeker, causing the PL10 to enter inertial guidance. Then, one missile crashed into the laser beam and exploded with a bang. Meanwhile, another missile was hit by the pulsed laser on its control surface. After its aerodynamics was damaged, it went out of control and entered Brownian motion, crashing into the light curtain and exploding.

Liu Jun glanced at the light screen that the missile had hit. The explosion hadn't shaken the light screen at all. It was probably the same if the fighter jet had crashed into it. It was indeed a closed "hexagonal cage." Only one person from each side who entered this arena could leave alive.

The explosion and the missile launched by the other side disappeared almost at the same time, and the distance between the two sides closed to about 8 kilometers. At this distance, Liu Jun could clearly see the details on this Type 2 aircraft. Like the modified Type 2 aircraft he had encountered before, the weapons were no longer just simple cluster lasers, but also secondary gun pulse lasers. The firepower was increased by more than 3 times.

However, having encountered Type 2 opponents before, Liu Jun was well aware that their energy systems would inevitably be weakened due to the increase in weaponry.

Once within 7km range, Liu Jun glanced at the attack envelope of the airborne small-diameter missile. Although the two were flying face-to-face, he wasn't confident of a decisive victory at this distance.

Small-diameter missiles have a very short power section, with a range similar to that of man-portable missiles. They have to wait until the two sides are closer together. Then Liu Jun felt a throbbing sensation in his temples. This sense of crisis was something he had never felt before.

What does the other party want to do?
The next second, Liu Jun finally understood where this sense of crisis came from: this Type 2 aircraft was using a weapon that had never been used on the battlefield before—a kind of guided weapon.

Two slender crystals were launched from the Type 2 machine body, and then, like missiles of another form, they crashed straight into Liu Jun. Almost instinctively, Liu Jun released heat decoys and kept a close eye on the approaching missiles.

Should he dodge? Liu Jun immediately abandoned the idea of ​​changing his current course to dodge. If he rashly chose to enter the 39th line when the opponent's guidance method was unclear, he would lose his angle, and in combat, angle is sometimes more important than energy!

Moreover, he was unsure how the alien civilization's missiles were guided, and entering the 39th parallel might not necessarily allow them to evade the incoming missiles.

After quickly deciding not to let the angle slip, Liu Jun watched the crystal missiles getting closer and closer. They looked like some kind of modified Type 1 missile, only smaller and more maneuverable.

Heat source? Radar? Or laser?
After quickly considering the technology of extraterrestrial civilizations, Liu Jun felt that this weapon should be some kind of optically guided weapon, just like human infrared seekers, guided by images.

After initially determining the guidance method of the incoming missiles, the aircraft stabilized its flight attitude, the IRST detected the heat sources of the two missiles, and the cannon safety was released.

Connect! Connect! Connect!
The GSH30-2's cannon roared, followed closely by small-diameter missiles launched from the missile pods beneath the wing hardpoints.

Guided by the tracer rounds, the machine gun fired its bullets, which then dipped slightly after traveling a certain distance. It was this downward trajectory that allowed the machine gun to accurately hit the incoming crystal missile.

With a bang, the head of the crystal missile was shattered, revealing some wriggling things inside. As the aerodynamics were damaged, the missile's flight became unstable, and a subsequent small-diameter missile hit the crystal block, completely destroying it; another missile was also hit by the small-diameter missiles and shattered into large fragments that fell downwards.

The fragments crashed into the light screen below and shattered with a crash.

After actively intercepting the incoming crystal with a small-diameter missile, Liu Jun immediately abandoned the missile pod that had been fired into the air, glanced at the two missiles mounted on the rack below the air intake, and became cautious.

The initial missile "wave exchange" between the two sides was actually just a test to see what the other side could do. Now that both sides have passed the missile "judgment", they will naturally move on to the next stage, the dangerous WVR.

Liu Jun observed the opponent's spatial position and proactively chose to enter a position slightly below the opponent, preparing to "open from below"; of course, if he chose to enter above the opponent, then it would be "open from above".

As the two sides drew closer, entering a dangerous 5km distance, he adjusted the nose of his aircraft and quickly fired more than 30 machine gun shots. He then pulled back the stick to enter the defensive barrel roll. Almost the instant he entered the barrel roll, the laser shot by the opponent flew past. Due to the characteristics of the weapon, the Type 2 dodge was slightly delayed.

In those fractions of a second, one of the fragmentation rounds from the series of machine gun fire fired by Liu Jun struck the Type 2 aircraft, which was preparing to dodge, with a bang. The fuse was activated, and the internal explosives detonated, scattering the pre-formed shrapnel in all directions. The Type 2 aircraft was hit by the shrapnel, and large craters were torn into its otherwise intact fuselage.

Suddenly, the light screen flickered, and the alien octopuses watching the [Ascension Ceremony] seemed to become restless. Liu Jun could clearly feel their emotions—a naked killing intent towards the weak!
Now, both sides are in a spherical space. Liu Jun is on the lower side. If the opponent tries to force a downward adjustment, he is likely to crash into the light screen below due to excessive speed. Therefore, Chang Kong predicts that the opponent will definitely climb upward. At the moment of the impending intersection, Liu Jun adjusts his aircraft attitude in advance, pulls up slightly, and prepares to make a "leading turn" maneuver in advance to further gain the angle.

At a speed of 0.85 Mach, both aircraft pulled up almost simultaneously at the moment of their intersection. The J-15T's nose quickly pointed at the other aircraft. Because Liu Jun made a "leading turn" and the distance between the two aircraft was one plus one of angle and distance, Liu Jun was able to cut into the inner circle of the Type 2 aircraft at the moment of his pull-up and pull the trigger.

Connect! Connect! Connect!
The GSH30-2's cannon roared, firing a series of shots that created a "segment" of tracer bullets that flew upwards. The Type 2 aircraft, which was just a few steps away from pointing its bow at the GSH30-2, seemed to sense its own danger and desperately tried to dodge to the side.

The Type 2 aircraft gradually dodged to the side, and one segment of the "segment" fired by Liu Jun made contact with the Type 2. The visible tracer rounds were fine, but the semi-armor-piercing grenades and fragments that were "invisible" to the naked eye were the real killers.

The fragmentation rounds cratered the surface of the Type 2 shell, piercing the skin with fragments, and then the semi-armor-piercing grenade penetrated its interior and exploded, destroying it from the inside out.

A series of attacks struck the Type 2, causing severe damage. Then, under Liu Jun's watchful eye, the Type 2 lost control and crashed into the light curtain below. As it fell, Liu Jun hovered in the air, watching its demise.

Type 2 continued to disintegrate, and the escape pod that could be ejected at will before did not eject at all this time. It was unclear whether the mechanism was damaged or "Octopus Brother" did not want to eject, but neither mattered. Liu Jun just watched the other fall and finally crashed into the light screen below the spherical space. With a bang, he was shattered into fragments by the vibration of the photon floating shield.

After taking down the Type 2, he glanced at the fuel level and found it had reached the mission alert line. However, the spherical space did not open, the light screen was still lit, and the Type 3 and Type 2 silently hovered in the air around him, as if they were scrutinizing Liu Jun.

This scene was also observed by the command center at the rear. The entire process was recorded by drones and satellites. Watching Liu Jun easily shoot down the opponent, the command center felt both gratified and somewhat worried. After all, the fact that this UR could eliminate the opponent so quickly fully demonstrated the strength of human "individual combat power," so the opponent would have to think twice if they wanted to start a war; however, if the opponent wanted to harm Changkong...
Just as the higher-ups were worried, a new unexpected event suddenly occurred inside the hexagonal cage.
In the center of the space, a new barrier reappeared, dividing the entire space into two areas. At the same time, a passage opened behind Liu Jun, and another entrance appeared on the other side.

A Type 2 alien civilization entered through the entrance, but Liu Jun keenly noticed that the entrance behind him was not closed. At the same time, inside the cockpit, the mark embedded in the cockpit flashed and its color became even deeper.

"This is?"

Liu Jun first glanced at the mark, then looked at the entrance behind him, and seemed to understand something. He then controlled the fighter jet to fly towards the passage behind him, and as he expected, he successfully flew out of the hexagonal cage.

After he flew out of the enclosed space, the Type 3 behind him deactivated the light barrier, while the Type 2s that had not activated their optical camouflage also hovered in the air, watching Liu Jun leave.

Liu Jun looked at the alien civilization in the rearview mirror, lost in thought, while the Eastern Warplanes that had been roaming around him quickly approached him, escorting him towards Guam.
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Dongda University, Command Center.

It has been upgraded from a war zone to a command center that controls the entire Western Pacific. Its scale has also expanded considerably, with the number of personnel doubling. It is responsible for the defense of the entire first and second island chains, from Guam to the eastern coast, to resist attacks from alien civilizations.

Now, with humanity's first complete observation and participation in the unique "ascension ceremony" of extraterrestrial civilization, the personnel in the command center are even busier.

This incident, in a sense, has completely overturned humanity's current understanding of extraterrestrial civilizations.

Instead of immediately attacking the human aircraft, they followed their traditions and had Changkong, a human, participate in the ceremony.

After their victory, they did not attack the victor; instead, they gave Liu Jun two choices: leave or continue the challenge.

"They're actually quite fair."

One expert said coldly, "This is not funny."

Fair yet ruthless, the winner takes all, the loser loses everything, and has no chance to escape. Experts even suspect that if Octopus were to be ejected during the ascension ceremony, he would be killed by his own people.

"Therefore, Changkong's victory this time is an opportunity for us. I'm afraid other countries will soon try to participate in the upgrade ceremony as well."

After all, the University of Tokyo had just publicly demonstrated its "upgrade ceremony" to other countries, so it would be strange if they didn't try to test the waters.

"Then let them go."

The old leader said nonchalantly, "Chang Kong has the mark, while other countries may not, especially since it's a mark that 'Rupa' has verified."

"However, according to the air situation, while Comrade Chang Kong was attending the upgrade ceremony, the alien civilization did not stop its offensive against us. They continued to launch offensives against the East Pacific and pressure the United States' Hawaii defense line. If we do not take measures, there is a possibility that we may have to retreat to our homeland."

One expert said with concern, "Geographically speaking, Hawaii is an exclave, far from the continental United States. Its long supply lines can only be transported by sea and air, and both of these modes of transport could be cut off by extraterrestrial civilizations."

Once the supply line is cut off, the Hawaiian defense line will become a dead end. Of course, the same applies to Guam and Okinawa on the other side of Tokyo, but the difference is that there is Dongfeng Express on this side!
Tokyo University's anti-ship ballistic missiles cover the entire first and second island chains, something the United States doesn't possess.

"At the same time, we must also be aware that extraterrestrial civilizations are more dangerous than we imagine; some of them already possess missiles!"

In this "upgrade ceremony," the crystals used by the alien civilization that could automatically locate enemies were the prototype of missiles. And the technological explosion of a civilization in war is often very rapid.

Humans have used missiles for so long, it's normal for extraterrestrial civilizations to learn from them. Although we don't yet know the power of this crystal, this is the first time an extraterrestrial civilization has used guided weapons on the battlefield!
This also proves that in the future, it is not impossible for the two sides to engage in a war of missiles with different technologies.

"However, thanks to this battle, we were able to discover their weapons ahead of time."

If the other side hadn't used the "Crystal Missile" during the upgrade ceremony out of fear of failure, and had instead used it in battle, humanity would likely have suffered a great loss, as optically guided missiles are not so easy to jam.

"Our proactive defense measures should also be implemented as soon as possible; we are already prepared for this."

As missiles become more advanced and intelligent, conventional chaff and flares are no longer effective in interfering with them. Therefore, a more advanced defense method is needed – active defense.

Fighter jets carrying active defense weapons can also be considered a form of wave countermeasures, as they can deliver hard kills to incoming missiles.

"Sir, since the upgrading ceremony has served a purpose, what should we do next?"

As the expert's voice rang out, everyone turned to look at the old leader sitting in the main seat, waiting for him to announce the superior's arrangements for the next steps.

(End of this chapter)