Great Power Long Sky

A dark shadow flashed through a gap in the clouds at great speed, heading towards the no-fly zone.

This large-scale live-fire military exercise has designated a no-fly zone, prohibiting other aircraft and ships from entering. The Su-27 that the 9th Air Regiment previously diverted was responsible for guarding the No. 3 airspace and ensuring its safety.

Li Lu's first reaction upon seeing the dark shape was that it must be a high-speed fighter jet!

Li Lu steered and turned the stick, chasing after the dark figure that had flashed by.

"Command tower, this is Dongguai. Suspicious target detected in airspace number three. Requesting guidance!" Li Lu called the command tower.

The command staff in the control tower were stunned.

The commander looked toward the radar station.

"Airspace number three is clean!" the radar staff reported.

Ground radar detected nothing.

The commander frowned.

He replied through the microphone, "Dongguai, the radar is clean, keep an eye on it."

Li Lu's first reaction was, "Impossible!"

That fleeting black shadow must be an airplane.

He asked again, "Control tower, this is Dongguai. Are there any friendly aircraft in airspace number three?"

If the radar cannot detect the target, it cannot provide target instructions, and therefore cannot guide the fighter jets in combat.

The current operational method still relies on ground guidance combined with pilot visual observation.

The commander replied, "There are no friendly aircraft near your location."

"clear."

Li Lu asked for instructions, "I need to perform a sector search. That's all."

The commander agreed.

Although the radar did not detect it, Li Lu still believed it was an aircraft.

The exercise airspace has been closed to air traffic for more than ten days, so no other non-military aircraft will fly over Airspace No. 3.

If that dark figure were an external machine, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The ground radar is not responding, which is strange.

Li Lu relied on his senses to turn around and visually search the coastline. His flight path was a fan-shaped edge, which then reversed to form an "S"-shaped search area.

Of the same length and width, the circle has the largest area.

As he was preparing to turn right, a tiny black dot flashed past in the clouds directly ahead.

It's that! It's an airplane!

Li Lu immediately resumed level flight and once again activated afterburner to accelerate and catch up.

The dark figure flickered between the clouds.

If Li Lu chased after it for a little longer, he would be able to see clearly what kind of plane that dark shape was.

Just then, he saw the dark figure suddenly increase its speed, accelerate very rapidly, and then make a sharp turn, changing its course to due east.

It's going to run away!

Li Lu pushed the accelerator pedal all the way down, but was surprised to find that the distance between him and the black dot was getting farther and farther until it was completely invisible.

What kind of plane is that? It accelerates so fast and has such a high speed.

"Command tower, Dongguai reports, I can confirm it's an enemy aircraft! It's very fast! It's fleeing east! Give me its location!" Li Lu quickly reported to the command tower.

At this moment, the command center was somewhat bewildered.

After repeatedly checking, the radar operator still found nothing.

The commander replied, "Dongguai! No radar feedback! Please confirm again!"

"clear."

Li Lu accelerated his pursuit in the direction the dark figure disappeared, and the chase lasted for nearly ten minutes.

The commander suddenly called out, "Dongguai! The center line is ahead of you. Be careful not to cross it."

Li Lu had no choice but to pull the lever to climb and slow down, looking at that line that never existed but had become an insurmountable obstacle for the People's Air Force, feeling both frustrated and angry.

The fuel gauge needle was approaching the return route.

The J-6 uses technology from over forty years ago, with the most primitive instrument panel. Before taking off, the pilot had to calculate the minimum fuel requirement for the return flight based on mission requirements and fuel load, and then draw a return route on the fuel gauge.

When the pointer approaches the return route, you must return to base; otherwise, there is a risk that you will not be able to fly back.

Continuous afterburner flight caused the fuel consumption of J-6 No. 07 to exceed the plan, and the distance also exceeded the plan by more than 30 kilometers.

Li Lu had to call the control tower: "Dongguai calling, my fuel alarm is on, I need to return to base immediately, over."

The commander replied, "Dongguai is ready to return."

The J-6's combat radius is only a few hundred kilometers. Li Lu used afterburner twice over a long period of time, which greatly increased fuel consumption and caused the combat radius to drop sharply.

From takeoff to return, the entire process takes no more than an hour.

Such performance is worlds apart from the current mainstream third-generation fighter jets in the world.

Guided by ground control, Li Lu established a return flight path. After passing the navigation station on the mountain by the sea, he descended, turned, and went into the mountains. After two turns, he came into view of the airport and then made a slight adjustment to align the nose of the plane with the runway.

At this point, the fuel gauge had dropped to the bottom.

Fortunately, the weather improved, the heavy rain turned into light rain, and the crosswind intensity also decreased.

When the landing gear tires of J-6 No. 07 touched the runway, Li Lu clearly felt that the power of the two engines was rapidly declining, which was a sign that the fuel was running low.

"Tower, I'm out of fuel, I need a tow truck," Li Lu reported to the tower.

Xu Hailiang immediately dispatched a tow truck to the runway and towed the J-6 No. 07, which was parked in the middle of the runway, back to the arched parking apron.

"This Li Lu is always walking a tightrope," Xu Hailiang said helplessly.

At this moment, Fang Zhenwei, the political commissar of the regiment, walked in.

"Old Xu," Fang Zhenwei called out from near the door.

Xu Hailiang turned his head and gestured for the deputy commander to take his place. He then strode to the door.

Fang Zhenwei's expression turned serious as he turned and walked towards the door.

Xu Hailiang followed them out, sensing that something must have happened.

As if what I feared most had come to pass. Fang Zhenwei said in a low voice, "Chen Hai's plane hasn't returned."

"What? What do you mean?" Xu Hailiang was taken aback.

Fang Zhenwei said in a low voice, "Chen Hai's batch was supposed to make an emergency landing at the 16th Naval Aviation Regiment's airfield, but Chen Hai's plane lost radar signal in airspace number three. The division headquarters just called to inform us of this news."

Xu Hailiang stared wide-eyed and said, "Losing radar signal? How could this happen?"

While aircraft are flying in the air, ground radar must constantly detect and track them. Commanders adjust deployments and direct air operations based on the aircraft's actual position. Similarly, ground radar must continuously track aircraft as they travel to mission airspace and return to their base, and ground air traffic controllers must guide their flight.

This is the current training method of the Air Force.

There are generally only two situations when ground radar loses the signal of an aircraft: first, the aircraft is outside the radar's detection range; second, the aircraft has crashed.

In short, it's all a very bad situation.

Fang Zhenwei shook his head and said, "The specific situation is still unclear. The higher authorities have already activated the emergency plan, so we need to be mentally prepared."

Xu Hailiang quickly asked, "What about the radio? Is there any response?"

Fang Zhenwei shook his head. "The control tower and air traffic control have been calling us, but there has been no response."

He paused, then said, "The specifics will be investigated. Right now, there's something I need you to do. You know the relationship between Li Lu and Chen Hai. If that kid finds out about this..."

Xu Hailiang quickly calmed down.

Yes, what will Li Lu's reaction be once he finds out this news?

Given the relationship between that kid and Chen Hai, and given that kid's temper, who knows what kind of trouble he'll cause!

Fang Zhenwei added in a low voice, "Chen Hai's wife is eight months pregnant..."

Xu Hailiang calmed down completely. If this matter wasn't handled properly, it could become very troublesome!

"You trained both Chen Hai and Li Lu, so you need to work on Li Lu's mindset. We need to find him alive or dead; anything is possible until we get to the bottom of things," Fang Zhenwei said seriously, staring into Xu Hailiang's eyes.

Xu Hailiang trembled, his lips quivering, and he managed to utter a few words, "Political Commissar, do you think Chen Hai flew to the other side?"

"No, I trust our comrades, but as I said before, anything is possible until we find out the truth." Fang Zhenwei said before leaving the control tower.

Xu Hailiang stood there motionless for a long time.

Those who work in this line of work are mentally prepared to give their lives for their country from the moment they put on their uniforms and swear an oath before the military flag.

Especially for them, the moment the landing gear tires leave the runway, it is a battle that walks on the edge of death. Countless takeoffs and landings, countless times wrestling with the King of Hell, are commonplace.

Even when the worst-case scenario actually occurred, Xu Hailiang still found it hard to accept.

He handed over the command of today's takeoffs and landings entirely to the deputy chief of staff and quickly returned to the inner airfield headquarters building.

Li Lu must know about Chen Hai's disappearance, and he must be informed immediately.

Having made up his mind, Xu Hailiang immediately sent someone to fetch Li Lu.

Upon receiving the notification, Li Lu strode into the chief of staff's office. As soon as he entered, he raised his hand in salute and began speaking rapidly, like a machine gun.

"Chief of Staff, I spotted an enemy aircraft in airspace number three. It accelerated incredibly fast, its turning radius was extremely small, its airspeed loss was minimal, and its maneuverability was outstanding. On the way back, I kept thinking about what kind of aircraft it was."

He clapped his hands, his eyes gleaming, and said, "Chief of Staff, I suspect that's an F-22! The Americans' newly commissioned fourth-generation stealth fighter! The F-16, F-14, and F-18 don't have this kind of maneuverability!"

Xu Hailiang, whose emotions were still reeling from the devastating news of Chen Hai's disappearance, couldn't help but be drawn to this.

He frowned and said, "F-22? Are you sure you saw it clearly?"

"I didn't see it clearly. It was too fast. I wanted to push the throttle all the way to the fuel tank, but I still couldn't catch up. If I were driving a J-7, I might have had a chance, but unfortunately I was driving an old J-6..." Li Lu said with a regretful expression, shaking his head. "However, there was no feedback from the ground radar, but it definitely entered the No. 3 airspace."

"After being exposed, they made a very decisive and extremely fast escape; I only saw a black dot."

"Besides the F-22, I can't think of any other aircraft that can do this."

A black dot indicates that the distance is close to visual range, which is about 20 to 30 kilometers.

Xu Hailiang nodded slightly. "The US Air Force has deployed F-22s in Guam, so an encounter is only a matter of time."

He pointed at Li Lu and said, "Sit down first, I have something to tell you."

Li Lu sat down, took the warm water Xu Hailiang handed him and gulped it down, then habitually rubbed his nose.

To his surprise, Xu Hailiang actually took a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from the drawer and placed it in front of Li Lu, along with a lighter.

"You can smoke if you want, but you can't leave this room," Xu Hailiang said.

Li Lu looked at Xu Hailiang in surprise, then smiled and tentatively asked, "Chief of Staff, what are you up to? Are you trying to trap me?"

Xu Hailiang didn't say anything, picked up a cigarette, opened it, skillfully took out one, lit it, and placed the remaining cigarette and lighter in front of Li Lu.

This time, Li Lu didn't hesitate. He swiftly grabbed a cigarette and a lighter, took one out, put it in his mouth, lit it, took a puff, and exhaled the smoke—all in one smooth motion.

"There's some news I need to let you know immediately," Xu Hailiang said in a deep voice.

Li Lu saw the sadness in Xu Hailiang's serious expression, and his smile slowly froze.