Chapter 41: As Long as There is Altitude, Don’t Give Up Easily

A fighter jet that had only been seen on television spiraled down from the sky, clearly out of control. The roars of its descent thundered near the ground, almost deafening, creating a buzzing sensation in the air.

Many villagers watched in horror as the aircraft neared the ground, feeling anxious at the sight of the pilot inside the cockpit. For an unknown reason, the pilot didn’t eject like they had seen on TV; perhaps he feared crashing into houses or hitting people.

Village Chief Cao stood frozen in shock, unsure of what to do as he watched the fighter jet descend toward the freshly harvested cornfield in the village, seemingly destined to crash. Just before hitting the ground, it suddenly slowed down as if caught by an invisible hand. The aircraft twisted its body, nose pointing upwards and tail pointing down, creating a ninety-degree angle with the ground. The flames from its tail sent smoke, dust, and corn stalks flying through the air.

In the final moment, the jet resembled a graceful swallow, with its tail just a meter off the ground. Just as it seemed about to touch down, the fiery exhaust propelled it skyward, roaring and blazing, quickly disappearing from Village Chief Cao’s sight.

"My goodness! What, what is happening?!" Village Chief Cao murmured, standing by the cornfield, his Hongmei cigarette dropping to the ground as he remained stunned.

The villagers saw the plane stabilize and began climbing vertically with its nose pointed towards the sky. They clearly saw the pilot in the cockpit giving a thumbs-up, which prompted a round of cheers from the locals.

“Good job!”

“It’s flying again, fantastic!”

“Impressive!”

“Well done!”

Everyone on the ground cheered and responded with thumbs up at the J-10 shooting straight up into the blue sky. No one noticed that the maneuvers they had just witnessed were beyond what any fighter jet could typically perform—not even third-generation, let alone fourth or fifth-generation fighters.

“Cursed! Notify Colonel Jiang and Commander Ma, Lin Mo’s crash!” The moment the tower "Chicken Coop" lost Lin Mo’s J-10 from the radar screen, the tower supervisor yanked off his heavy headset, gasping for breath as he slumped into his chair. He was deeply frustrated, pounding his fist against his head. It was yet another disastrous incident—this time in a densely populated area, and no one knew how severe the consequences might be.

“Advisor Yan! Aircraft 11 is still connected to the satellite!” A staff member in the tower suddenly shouted; Aircraft 11 was the identifier for the J-10 Lin Mo was flying.

“What?!” Supervisor Yan Guoqiang shouted in surprise, leaping to his feet. They heard a beep, and the once-empty radar screen displayed the signal from the J-10 again. “What’s happening?” Advisor Yan rushed to the radar to see the aircraft’s altitude climbing rapidly while the latitude and longitude showed minimal changes, clearly indicating it was ascending vertically at high speed.

"It probably dropped too low during the recovery to maintain radar detection!" the radar operator explained. Radar isn’t infallible—it has blind spots and can easily miss aircraft flying too close to the ground.

But everyone wondered how Lin Mo managed to pull the aircraft back up from such a low altitude, as it should have crashed by all accounts.

“Gold Coin calling the tower! Gold Coin calling the tower! Successfully recovered!” Lin Mo activated his microphone and headset again to report to the "Chicken Coop."

“Great! Please report your aircraft status immediately!” Supervisor Yan pressed the microphone urgently, his tone anxious.

“All systems are good! No alarms currently!” Lin Mo checked the instruments, all the previously erratic readings now stable, and the flight altitude had climbed back to 6,000 meters. However, Lin Mo kept his hands off the control stick, as if the plane were flying itself, needing no pilot assistance.

It felt almost magical, but Lin Mo felt a surge of confidence. Just like in the other world, the gold giant dragon Gold Coin’s innate ability, "Void Magnetism," countered any turbulence. It allowed him to fly without flapping wings or pushing air for lift. With Gold Coin available, Lin Mo felt at ease.

Although he had narrowly escaped disaster, Lin Mo remained deeply worried. He was no longer piloting the J-10; he was more like a gold giant dragon resembling the aircraft. He pondered how to explain this to the base leaders. If he returned the temporarily piloted J-10 without resolving the issue with Gold Coin, it would surely draw attention from mechanics. It would be a disaster if it reverted back into an egg shape. The base would have one less J-10, and the consequences would fall on him.

Following navigation directions, Lin Mo’s flight went smoothly with no further incidents. Piloting the J-10 merged with Gold Coin made the experience much less stressful; he no longer needed to worry about instrument panels. It was as if he had regained the feeling of being a Dragon Knight, focusing solely on tactical command and operations.

As Lin Mo guided the J-10 back to the base’s apron and slid it toward the hangar, he started worrying about how to deal with the Gold Coin consuming the aircraft ordeal. He couldn’t just shrink down and hide in his pocket like some kind of coward; how could he continue living like that?

Lost in thought, Lin Mo suddenly noticed a bulge forming on the cockpit wall. A gleaming, golden-beaded object appeared, growing rapidly from the size of a soybean to that of an egg. It rolled off and plopped into Lin Mo’s pressure suit pocket, defying gravity as it settled quietly, leaving no sound as it returned to the same spot it emerged from.

Lin Mo stared in shock. Gold Coin typically only entered metals but seemed to have successfully merged and could revert back without issue. Why hadn’t it displayed this ability before? If he had known, he wouldn’t have needed the mystic steel armor or the Dragon Slayer sword. With Gold Coin’s merging capability, he had all the weapons and armor he could desire and could change styles daily, all while being the best.

“Gold Coin, why didn’t you tell me you could do this sooner?” Lin Mo turned off the cockpit’s power, ensuring the black box ceased operation. Anger swelled within him unexplainably; this skill could have greatly boosted his combat power as a Dragon Knight. Yet Gold Coin had never utilized it before, leading him to believe the gold giant dragon could only enter metals and not exit.

“I hate Dragon Knights and hate being ridden even more!” Gold Coin responded to Lin Mo’s anger with its usual indifference.

Lin Mo rolled his eyes in exasperation—this was getting ridiculous.

“Captain Lin Mo! Why didn’t you follow the command to eject?!” Supervisor Yan stormed over, approaching Lin Mo, who had just climbed down from the J-10.

“As long as there’s altitude, I can’t give up easily!” Lin Mo quoted a motto from his days in the Dragon Knight Legion in the other world.

The value of a pilot exceeds that of a fighter jet by far; often, the training costs for an excellent pilot rival the worth of the aircraft itself. Once the production line for a jet starts, they can be manufactured endlessly. However, the process of growing, selecting, and training a qualified pilot, especially one for a fighter jet, can take decades. It is no easy task to cultivate a skilled pilot. Thus, ejecting was an order; soldiers exist to obey commands. While Lin Mo had the authorization to parachute to escape, his act of disobedience, which aimed to avoid civilian casualties, clearly violated orders.

As expected, after successfully completing the seafood mission in Dalian, he received no rewards and was quickly handed a week of confinement. What a misfortunate situation! He had saved a J-10 worth nearly 200 million yuan, preventing major civilian casualties, and perfectly fulfilled the task Colonel Jiang had assigned, yet ended up locked in the confinement cell for a week. The unfairness left him speechless. Despite the base valuing pilot safety and wanting to care for Lin Mo, those feeling sympathy for him couldn’t speak out either.

The confinement room contained only a small window, a light, and a restroom. With just the basics, it was like a closed entertainment spot. No television, of course, but policies often had loopholes. To endure the grueling seven days, Lin Mo’s comrades found ways to send him amusing items.

Chen Haiqing secretly slipped Lin Mo a notebook and, along with Lei Dong and others, set up a wireless access point nearby for Lin Mo’s internet use. Other friends also brought magazines, gaming consoles, and even some Playboy magazines during meal deliveries.

Lin Mo hadn’t actually committed a serious offense, so no guards monitored the confinement room. The meal providers turned a blind eye to the smuggling behavior, indicating that such acts were common. Therefore, Lin Mo’s week of confinement wouldn’t be too lonely after all.