Clouds
“Nice, Lin Chucheng! Surely we’ll be awarded this time!” Alice shouted, not letting the ascension go to waste.
Lin Chucheng didn’t reply since he couldn’t hear anything, and his mind was blank. He was focused on climbing back up as well as dealing with a gut-turning feeling. When he could see the sky, ocean, fleeing ship and flying bullets through his windows, his brain kicked into overdrive. He felt as if he grew wings.
The remaining ship opened fire desperately after Lin Chucheng took back to the sky. He could seemingly feel the bullets against his shield. Once he climbed high enough and was back into position, he swooped back down to the remaining ship, then dropped a bomb along a curved trajectory into the side of the ship. The survivors jumped into the waters after the ship was immobilised sideways, praying for rescue or awaiting death.
Lin Chucheng soared back up and hesitantly reached for the gun button for he wasn’t sure if he should open fire on those in the water. He was a noble, the descendant of a hero. Killing defenceless people wasn’t valiant conduct, but they were enemies. In the academy, his instructor taught them to kill as many people as they could.
Alice heaved a pent-up breath once she heard the gunshots cease. She tapped Lin Dongqing’s seat and urged, “Let’s go. Don’t worry about them. I don’t want to kill people in the water since they’re unlikely to survive anyway.
“Yeah, you’re right. We don’t have much fuel left, either.”
Lin Chucheng removed his headset to find his cheeks drenched in sweat. He reached his shaky hand into his pocket, but nothing was there, reminding him he wasn’t the type to keep a handkerchief on them. He, therefore, opted to wipe his sweat on his sleeve. Howbeit, Alice seemingly cast foresight magic and slipped a handkerchief into his field of view.
“Th-”
“Nine o’clock! Above us! Three of Troy City’s fighter jets incoming!” Alice suddenly cried.
Lin Chucheng hastily looked to his right. He could tell they had him in sight and were charging at him with a vengeance from three sides.
“Run!”
Alice was more than aware her machine gun couldn’t stop the incoming trio. Since the three fighter-jet pilots failed their escort mission, they were determined to shoot down the dive bomber.
Lin Chucheng slammed his accelerator. Fighter jets were bound to be faster, nevertheless. His allies had returned to base, meaning he had to somehow last until reinforcements came. As long as the fighter jets clung to his tail, it was only a matter of time his aircraft would fall. Worst of all, he couldn’t swim…
Alice opened fire on the fighter jet to their left. Lin Chucheng ascended whilst swerving to evade enemy gunfire. Since dive bomber aircrafts weren’t designed for flying at high velocities, the abrupt ascension had the wings suffering a bout of epilepsy.
Escaping into the clouds was the best way for him to escape the jets tailing him. Thing is, it took experience to navigate in the clouds. The fluffy clouds were pilots’ worst nightmare because all there was in them was darkness and water drumming on the windows. Without vision, paranoia and impulses took over. It wasn’t uncommon for pilots to find themselves upside down and diving headfirst to ground once they exited the clouds. Lin Chucheng didn’t have another means of escape, though.
As the plane rocked in the clouds, Lin Chucheng clenched his teeth and desperately tried to stay steady. He fixed his eyes on his surveyor’s level and height as his intuition wasn’t trustworthy. His rationality shouted the correct course of action, but a sick feeling visited his guts.
“Am I going to high? I want to get out of here already,” Lin Chucheng repeated in his head, fingers feeling sweaty and cold.
“Lin Chucheng, surveyor level is normal! Don’t change the aircraft’s position! You’re already angled excessively!”
Alice thumped the back of Lin Chucheng’s seat hard, snapping him out of his fear and returning his eyes to the dashboard.
“Calling TF-6, calling TF-6! Where are you now?! Where are you?!” Oraina called over the radio
Breathing laboriously, Lin Chucheng resisted his urge to barf to reply, “I am in the clouds. I cannot confirm my location. I will report back when I am out of the clouds.”
“Return to the hangar now! Our small fighter team is heading out to pick you up!”
Lin Chucheng let out a breath of relief, albeit still breathing heavily. His height wasn’t the only thing to come down; his blood pressure also dropped. Alice didn’t say a word as she also needed to expel the adrenaline that flooded her system…
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