Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
Without their planes, the idle pilots had to find things to pass the time. They studied, simulated formations on the ground, exercised such as running, and practiced shooting like Lin Mo. The base flight missions were canceled all at once. Without the roaring lullaby of night flights, many people were not used to the quiet night sky.
The firearms belonging to an Air Force base’s armory were not as complete as that of the Army, but because there were guards, all the essentials were there, and its equipment was not that much worse. Automatic rifles, grenades, light and heavy machine guns, and even sniper rifles could all be borrowed. After all, the base had not only ammunition training indicators but also indicators that were eliminated and updated. Since the pilots were idle, the ordnance logistics officer was never stingy with letting them practice.
A new batch of Type 95 Automatic Rifles had arrived on the base, and Lin Mo loved to play with them. The recoil of this special design structure was almost negligible for him, and it hit where it was pointed, making it a very suitable entry-level gun for beginners.
After the first ten shots or so, almost every shot hit the mark. The proper use of guns was even comparable to the power of magic, and the learning requirements were extremely low. As long as the trigger could be pulled, it would shoot, and even civilians could master it in a short time. If Lin Mo’s world had such weapons, the soldiers would not need to train battle aura, and even general heavy armor might not be able to resist them.
Lin Mo almost became a regular at the shooting range, firing hundreds of bullets a day, and his marksmanship was the result of his practice. In secret, he had practically included guns into the standard equipment list of Dragon Knights, equivalent to his Dragon Slaying Sword. However, he did not have permission to touch the anti-materiel guns, so he could only play with the popular Type 95 Automatic Rifle. Otherwise, he would not hesitate to choose anti-materiel rifles as his preferred weapon, which had longer range and powerful lethality. The air forces of both worlds weighed the standard of firepower almost exactly the same.
“Have you heard? Wang Jun has woken up!” Bang! The target in the distance was shattered by a ball of fire. Chen Haiqing slowly put down a Type 95 Automatic Rifle and loaded a Type 90 40mm grenade, as though nothing had happened. His news always came quickly, and it seemed to have not changed with the change of location. He had to give it to this rich scion for his many methods.
“…” Lin Mo looked at the target that he had been shooting at for a long time, but before he saw the results, Chen Haiqing had blown it into pieces with his bad shooting etiquette.
Chen Haiqing had been wanting to get close to Lin Mo. In his subconsciousness, this comrade might not be as simple as just having monster-like physical qualities on the surface, and he was curious about what kind of person Lin Mo was, so their relationship was getting closer.
“If not for your fast actions, Wang Jun would have died. He owes you his life. He was transferred to a military hospital the next day. He was fortunate, but he’s no good now. He can forget about flying for the rest of his life. He’ll probably be entitled to compensation and then be forced to retire and return to where he came from. We’re down one brother from those who came with us from the aviation school in less than two months. Being a pilot isn’t an easy line to be in. I heard the pilot with Wang Jun was called Han Xingmin, from Hunan. What a pity. His lover was crying pitifully when she rushed here.”
Chen Haiqing’s tone was deeply regretful and obviously low as he spoke. It was unavoidable for soldiers to die on the battlefield. Everyone knew that the Air Force belonged to a high-tech and high-risk military service, and as soon as they had arrived on the base, they had heard from the veterans that it was normal to see one or two planes fall every year and for lives to be lost.
It seemed that the accident was a shock to Chen Haiqing, who was far more knowledgeable than others. After all, he was still young and had not experienced life and death.
Even the veteran pilots had their hearts hang when flying. As youths, they had no fear and had not paid much attention to it. But having witnessed the crash right in front of them, no one could pretend that nothing had happened. In the hearts of the many cadets and his, this was the fate of a warrior.
Chen Haiqing aimed and launched another Type 90 grenade. It seems that he chose such a powerful weapon to vent his depression. The explosion caused the ears of all the people on the shooting range to buzz.
At the public security bureaus, the hand grenades thrown by ordinary people in semi-open military clubs cost twenty yuan each and were not as pleasant as firing grenades here. At least it was free here.
Chen Haiqing’s action drew the glares of the other comrades at the shooting range, but Chen Haiqing only blasted his and Lin Mo’s targets and did not vent his frustration on other people’s targets. The grass that was half the height of a man between the target and the shooting position became Chen Haiqing’s new target, just like a child holding a firecracker and blowing everything up. The grass scraps could pile up into a mountain.
“Have they found the cause?” Lin Mo took out the empty magazine that had contained dazzling 5.8mm bullets. Watching Chen Haiqing’s performance of using rifle grenades to hit the targets, how could others still play.
“I heard that wind shear seemed to be the main cause. But this wasn’t the only problem. There were aging mechanical parts, and the domestic alloy formula is not up to standard. The accessory suppliers are going to have to compensate a lot!” Chen Haiqing blew the gun barrel. The Type 95 Automatic Rifle that fired the Type 90 grenade had less than satisfactory heat dissipation performance, and white smoke was emitting from the heated and volatilized gun oil at the opening of the shell.
There are two types of low-altitude wind shear: vertical wind shear and horizontal wind shear. The sudden descending airlift caused the aircraft that was preparing to land at an altitude of three hundred meters to suddenly stall, leaving no time for the aircraft to make adjustments, causing the crash. It could be considered a natural disaster and difficult to avoid. No one could predict this kind of weather disaster. The aging machinery was just a good excuse, and the manufacturer was purely unlucky.
“Isn’t China’s smelting technology very high? Why would there be such problems?” The metal smelting level in this world had already made Lin Mo feel that it could not get better. In his mind, the vast country he was in had exceptionally advanced smelting standards.
“Investment in R&D is insufficient. Everyone just copies from each other, so their standards are similar but far behind foreign countries! Cold heat treatment, forging and rolling, and other processes, all the small differences added up are significant.” Chen Haiqing was knowledgeable and hit the nail on the head.
“When will the base let us resume flight training?” Lin Mo was most concerned about this. His jet fighter operating skills had just entered a new level, and not being able to hold the control stick for a few days was making his hands itch. In addition to participating in flight training, he usually learned all kinds of knowledge in this world, complementing the incomplete knowledge system after the fusion. He relied on the cadets who had come together to inquire news.
Six rifle grenades were fired in succession, blowing up the wild grass on the shooting range, causing it to look like it had dysentery. There was the vaguely visible figure of a hare fleeing in a panic. Chen Haiqing stopped despite still wanting to fire more and replied to Lin Mo, “After the accident appraisal report is out and the problematic parts are replaced, we can fly again. It should take at most a week. After all, the pilots can’t just idle on the base.”
Chen Haiqing suddenly seemed to recall something. “At the end of the month at the latest, a few of the cadets can leave the ‘communal bunk’ and become pilots with a military rank.”
The ‘communal bunk’ was the nickname for the dormitory for the cadets, and it did not have the slightest privacy. Everyone wanted to have a separate room for themselves.
“That’s great. Go for it! I’m waiting for them!” Lin Mo nodded with an encouraging look. Kacha. He loaded the gun with the magazine. This was the only good news that he had heard in the past few days.
“Hey! What a coincidence! Lin Mo, Chen Haiqing, you guys are playing with guns too!” Lei Dong and a few others came over with a few guns and magazines and greeted them.
“Yea, I just emptied two magazines!” Lin Mo smiled and gestured. He was just about to aim, but his face soured as Chen Haiqing blew up his target.
Looking at the two targets on the shooting range and then at what Chen Haiqing was holding, the others exchanged knowing glances and laughed out loud. “Let’s go to another position and compete. Whoever loses will treat us to dinner tonight.”
“Why don’t we compete?!” Chen Haiqing raised the gun in his hand, removed the empty magazine, and inserted a magazine with live ammunition.
“Who’s scared of who?!” Lin Mo rolled his eyes, kacha, and pulled the bolt without showing any weakness.
The sound of gunfire on the shooting range was endless again. Compared to the indoor shooting range, which had a target reporting system, the open range was one hundred meters and had no dedicated reporter looking at the shooting target. Thus, they could only go for the hit rate on the targets and not for the bullseyes. Some cadets volunteered to use binoculars and report the count for Chen Haiqing, Lin Mo, and the rest. The others watching even started making bets.
In the end, Chen Haiqing won marginally. In everyone’s eyes, the serious Chen Haiqing looked completely like a wily veteran. He was extremely skillful with the Type 95 Automatic Rifle in his hands and held the gun stably. The shots rang out in rapid succession, and almost every shot was on target. His shooting posture was textbook standard.
In contrast, although Lin Mo’s hit rate was very high, he was slightly unfamiliar with it. When shooting, it was not as simple as aiming for three dots in one line, but you also take into consideration your physical strength and the wind speed. Although you did not have to be as good and accurate as a sniper, it still required considerable experience.
The big meal by Lin Mo in the evening made a hole in his pocket and used up two months of his military salary. Although luncheon meat stewed cabbage did not cost much, it amounted to quite a bit with the numerous people who took advantage of it.