Chapter 96: The Space Elevator Crisis Begins
"Brother Lu, I'm here." Before he finished speaking, a slender young man wearing sunglasses was running towards this side, his digital camouflage uniform glowing in the sun.
His face was full of smiles, and he held a bunch of bright roses tightly in his hands. The petals of the roses looked extremely dazzling in the sunlight, like burning flames.
"Wow, you are really good, you actually got the rose." Xu Yanbo glanced at the rose, then smiled and gently nudged Liu Peiqiang with his elbow, with a hint of teasing in his eyes.
"Hehehe..." Liu Peiqiang smiled shyly, lowered his head slightly, scratched the back of his head with his hand, and showed an embarrassed expression.
"Come over and take the flowers through security check first, and then leave the gun behind." Lu Mingfei stood aside, his eyes slightly narrowed. He looked at Liu Peiqiang with a silly smile on his face, and there was a hint of smile on the corner of his mouth.
"Got it, Brother Lu." Liu Peiqiang carefully placed the roses on the security machine nearby, fearing that the delicate flowers would be damaged.
After placing the flowers on the security machine, Liu Peiqiang neatly pulled out a Type 92 pistol from his waist and handed it to Lu Mingfei. At the same time, he secretly stuffed two packs of cigarettes into Lu Mingfei's hands, with a cunning look in his eyes.
Looking at Liu Peiqiang's silly smile, Lu Mingfei couldn't help but sigh in his heart. The young man in front of him reminded him of himself back then. At that time, he was also full of passion and anxiety, ready to confess to a girl, but... things did not go as he wished, so he sincerely hoped that the young man in front of him could succeed in his confession.
Lu Mingfei smiled as he looked at the Cosmic brand cigarettes in his hand, patted Liu Peiqiang on the shoulder, and said with a hint of expectation and blessing: "Han Duoduo is a good girl, I wish you success."
Han Duoduo, this name sounds friendly. She is the girl Liu Peiqiang likes. When eating in the cafeteria, Liu Peiqiang often can't help mentioning her.
Lu Mingfei had seen her several times. She was a Shanghai girl with short hair, a heroic look, but a gentle look in her eyes. Her temperament of being tough on the outside but gentle on the inside really made people feel good about her.
"Thank you, Brother Lu." Liu Peiqiang smiled widely, his mouth almost reaching his ears, his eyes full of expectations for the future.
He walked quickly through the security check, his movements briskly, even his footsteps light as if he was about to fly. He trotted towards the space elevator, wishing he could rush to Han Duoduo right away.
"If you succeed, remember to treat me and Brother Lu to a meal!" Xu Yanbo raised his voice and shouted at Liu Peiqiang's back.
Liu Peiqiang didn't look back. He stretched out his hand and made an "OK" gesture in the air, his movements relaxed and comfortable.
Xu Yanbo looked at Liu Peiqiang's back as he walked away, his eyes full of envy. He couldn't help but sigh: "Brother Lu, when can I find a girlfriend?" There was a hint of longing in his eyes.
Lu Mingfei smiled softly and looked into the distance. He reached out and patted Xu Yanbo on the shoulder, saying with a teasing tone: "Don't stay in the dormitory every time after your shift change. Go to places where there are more female colleagues. You should be able to find him soon."
Xu Yanbo was not bad in appearance, with handsome features and a body that was particularly strong and upright due to the high-intensity training. Now he had become a ranger, so it was definitely not difficult for him to find a girlfriend.
"No way. I can't just leave you alone in the dormitory and go out to find a girl. That would be too unbrotherly." Xu Yanbo's tone was righteous, as if he wanted to put brotherhood first.
"Okay, stop talking nonsense and pay attention to your surroundings. I don't know why I always feel something is wrong." Hearing Xu Yanbo's words, Lu Mingfei smiled but soon frowned again.
A bad feeling kept lingering in his heart. He knew that something big was going to happen, but he had no idea what was going to happen and could only wait for it to happen.
In the distance, a low humming sound broke the silence in the air. Lu Mingfei and Xu Yanbo looked up almost at the same time, their eyes fixed on the distant sky.
Above the apron and hangar, a large number of Predator drones took off into the sky like giant black birds, circling densely in the air, like a group of hungry predators.
"Oh my god, so many! It looks like there are at least more than a hundred of them. Are they going to fight a tough battle? They are sending out all the drones at once!" Xu Yanbo widened his eyes with surprise. The scene in front of him made him feel uneasy, and a chill rose in his heart.
Lu Mingfei's eyes were fixed on the drones taking off into the sky, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and the ominous premonition became stronger and stronger, like a huge stone pressing on his heart, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.
The Predator drones, with their eight-meter-long bodies, gleam with a cool metallic luster in the sun, like giant steel beasts.
They are military unmanned aerial vehicles developed by America during the Solar Crisis. In addition to performing reconnaissance and monitoring tasks, they can also carry weapons for combat support.
The high-precision machine guns and missiles installed on the drones can easily carry out accurate strikes on ground targets, and they are equipped with self-destruct systems inside, which will immediately self-destruct if there is a danger of falling into the hands of the enemy.
These Predator drones are usually the main defense force of the Gabon base, but today, these steel behemoths seemed to have gone mad and turned their attention to the targets they were originally protecting.
The drones that were originally hovering in the air began to disperse and spread out in all directions like a black torrent. Then, a series of dense flames streaked across the sky, and the explosions were deafening.
The machine guns and missiles mounted on the drones mercilessly poured down to the ground, and the buildings were instantly riddled with holes. Huge flames and black smoke rose into the sky, and many drones began to fly towards the space elevator and planetary engine.
"Fuck! Brother Lu! Those drones are crazy! They are attacking us!" Xu Yanbo looked at the sudden change in front of him, his face turned pale, and his voice was filled with undisguised panic.
Lu Mingfei had already raised his gun and aimed at one of the drones. He pulled the trigger continuously and bullets shot towards the drone frantically.
The bodies of these Predator UAVs were very sturdy. A few bullets hitting their steel shells only created a few sparks, but were unable to shoot them down.
The propellers of the drone whizzed past their heads, stirring up a gust of wind that brought a feeling of oppression, as if the shadow of death was looming over their heads.
The door frame robot was of no use at this time. Since it was now performing a security mission, the machine gun on the door frame robot was removed and replaced with a Taser.
Lu Mingfei began to shoot at the propellers of the drone. After using up two magazines, he barely managed to shoot down a drone.
"Let's go! Go to the hangar! Get the electromagnetic gun there!" Lu Mingfei shouted to Xu Yanbo. They were in the center of the base. If enemy planes wanted to launch an air strike here, they would have to break through the numerous air defense systems on the periphery, so there were no electromagnetic guns installed here.
The hangar is an important area for preventing air raids, so it is equipped with a large number of electromagnetic guns.
The drones flying all over the sky were still attacking the ground indiscriminately. At this time, Lu Mingfei finally realized the horror of modern warfare. Although the missiles equipped on the drones could not carry out blanket bombing like in World War I, hundreds of machine guns strafing an area was something he had never dared to imagine before.
Lu Mingfei took Xu Yanbo and ran towards the hangar without looking back. The sky was filled with dense firepower. Bullets and missiles fell from all directions like raindrops. The explosions came one after another, and the earth seemed to be shaking.
The surrounding buildings were shattered in the successive explosions, fire and smoke spread rapidly, and the entire base fell into unprecedented chaos.
Countless ground staff and soldiers fell to the ground under the machine gun fire, blood flowing everywhere, and the screams mixed with the sound of explosions sounded extremely harsh.
Lu Mingfei and Xu Yanbo braved the hail of bullets and came to the hangar. The door of the hangar was open and the people inside were in chaos. The ground crew was urgently dispatching weapons and supplies to prepare for this sudden attack.
"Where is the electromagnetic gun!" Lu Mingfei rushed to a ground crew member who was sorting equipment and shouted anxiously, his voice almost drowning out the surrounding explosions.
"Over there! Go quickly!" The ground crew member pointed to several boxes of weapons and equipment in the corner with an anxious look on his face.
Lu Mingfei and Xu Yanbo immediately rushed over and quickly took out the electromagnetic gun from the box. Their quick movements were entirely due to muscle memory formed through high-intensity training.
There were also many ground crews in the hangars around, shooting at the drones with electromagnetic guns, but they were ground crews after all, and their shooting skills were not very good.
"Are you ready?" Lu Mingfei looked up at Xu Yanbo while checking the gun.
"Ready!" Xu Yanbo had already pointed his gun at a drone in the sky. His face was full of tension, but there was a hint of madness in his eyes.
“Let’s get started!” Lu Mingfei growled, raised his electromagnetic gun, and quickly aimed at the target in the sky. The energy waves at the muzzle began to gather, emitting a faint blue-white light.
Accompanied by a low explosion, a blue-white electromagnetic pulse shot into the sky and accurately hit the Predator drone.
The drone was hit instantly, and a dazzling electric light flashed on its surface. It then began to smoke and lost its balance. It swayed a few times in the air, and finally fell weakly with a loud bang, hitting the ground not far away, exploding into a flame.
"Beautiful!" Xu Yanbo couldn't help but shout when he saw the drone being shot down, and continued shooting excitedly with the electromagnetic gun.
With the electromagnetic gun, it was much easier to deal with those drones. Lu Mingfei held up the electromagnetic gun and started shooting at the drones in the sky. Soon he shot down two of them.
But these drones were not stupid. Their built-in AI quickly realized the threat posed by Lu Mingfei. Several drones suddenly changed their flight paths, quickly took off and flew out of the range of the electromagnetic guns. They then began to dive from high altitude, frantically sweeping the ground with missiles and machine guns.
"Damn it! Xu Yanbo! Hide!" Lu Mingfei grabbed Xu Yanbo and quickly rushed to the bunker nearby. The firepower of those drones was too fierce, and they could not continue fighting in the open hangar area.
The missile exploded behind them, the huge explosion was deafening, the debris flew everywhere, with flames and black smoke, and the surrounding buildings were blown to pieces. The electromagnetic gun could no longer threaten these high-flying drones. Lu Mingfei knew that they could not resist these crazy machines alone.
At this moment, a hoarse shout came from a distance.
"Liu Peiqiang! Liu Peiqiang!" A sturdy man was standing not far away, shouting at the top of his lungs. His voice was filled with anxiety, as if he was looking for someone important.
"That looks like Zhang Peng!" Xu Yanbo narrowed his eyes and recognized the man.
Zhang Peng is Liu Peiqiang's master and one of the pilots who reinforced them in the peacekeeping mission. Lu Mingfei is no stranger to him. They often meet in the cafeteria, eat together, brag, and talk about their respective missions and experiences. Zhang Peng's generous personality and humorous conversation left a deep impression on Lu Mingfei.
"I'll go pull him over!" Lu Mingfei made a quick decision and rushed out from behind the cover.
The drone bombing still did not stop, the sounds of machine gun fire and missile explosions continued one after another, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder.
A missile landed not far from Zhang Peng, scaring him and making him shrink back. But when he found that he was not injured, he began to shout Liu Peiqiang's name loudly again.
"Let's go! Find a place to hide!" Lu Mingfei pulled Zhang Peng and ran to a corner.
"Xiaolu! Have you seen Liu Peiqiang?" Zhang Peng's face was covered with sweat and anxiety. He asked in a thick northeastern accent, his voice trembling with nervousness.
"Liu Peiqiang is in the space elevator now, you should save your own life first!" Lu Mingfei turned his head and shouted. He knew that now was not the time to explain, he had to pull Zhang Peng to a safe place first.
Lu Mingfei continued to pull Zhang Peng with all his strength without stopping. The explosions and bullets around them were like the whistles of death, which could take their lives at any time. Finally, they ran to a relatively safe corner and temporarily avoided the firepower of those crazy drones.
Zhang Peng was breathing heavily, but his eyes were still looking around, obviously he was still thinking about Liu Peiqiang.
"Liu Peiqiang is in the space elevator. It's useless to look for him now." Lu Mingfei explained breathlessly, then looked around vigilantly, and only breathed a sigh of relief after making sure it was temporarily safe.
Just then the hangar's broadcast suddenly sounded.
"All fighter jets, take off! Shoot down the drone!"
Zhang Peng was stunned for a moment when he heard the voice, then he immediately reacted and slapped his head: "Yes! I have to take off! Xiaolu, follow me! I'm flying the J-20C and need a weapon operator. I remember I got full marks during the shooting training, you can come too!"
As a pilot, he had to take off immediately in this situation. His vehicle was the J20C, the world's most advanced heavy twin-engine, two-seat fighter developed by China. The pilot in the front seat was responsible for all flight controls, while the weapons officer in the back seat was responsible for controlling various onboard weapons and operating unmanned wingmen. The front and back seats had the ability to exchange operations of some systems and could assist each other when necessary.
Originally, the position of weapons officer should have belonged to Liu Peiqiang, but Liu Peiqiang was now trapped in the space elevator, so Lu Mingfei had to be pulled up.
Zhang Peng said as he started running towards the hangar. Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment and quickly followed him. After all, the main threat from drones came from the air. Staying on the ground was just waiting to die. It would be better to fly into the sky and directly fight those predator drones.
Inside the hangar, ground crews were already busy loading bombs, refueling, checking aircraft systems, and all preparations before takeoff were completed in just a few minutes.
At this time, Lu Mingfei and Zhang Peng rushed into the hangar, and someone immediately came forward to put on anti-gravity suits for them.
The anti-gravity suits tightly wrapped around their bodies, helping pilots prevent loss of consciousness due to gravity during high-speed maneuvers, while also providing some protection. The moment he put on the anti-gravity suit, Lu Mingfei could feel the pressure, and his heart beat vigorously with the rhythm.
"Don't be dazed, get on the plane quickly!" Zhang Peng yelled to Lu Mingfei, and then he quickly got into the cockpit and started the fighter.
J-20C, China's most advanced two-seat heavy fighter, has excellent flying capability and stealth performance. It is equipped with the most advanced weapon system and can cope with complex air combat environments. Its streamlined fuselage exudes a cold luster in the sun, like a falcon ready to take off, waiting to hunt its target.
Lu Mingfei sat in the back seat and quickly checked the weapon system on the console according to Zhang Peng's instructions. The weapon system of this fighter was very complicated and completely different from the propeller planes he had flown before.
Although he had Zhang Peng's guidance, he still felt some pressure. However, having experienced countless battles, he quickly adapted to this new position.
The ground crew was busy around the fighter jet, quickly completing the final check. Lu Mingfei saw through the transparent cover of the cockpit that the sky in the distance was still densely covered with drones, a dark mass, like a group of bloodthirsty crows hovering over the base.
"Ready, take off!" Zhang Peng's voice came through the communication system in the cockpit.
The J-20C's engine made a low roar, and flames shot out from the nozzle in an instant. The plane left the ground at an extremely fast speed and soared into the sky. Lu Mingfei could feel the huge thrust pressing him firmly into the seat, and the anti-gravity suit also began to work, helping him to resist the huge gravity.
The runway around the hangar was bombed into potholes and could not take off normally, but the J-20C had the ability to take off and land vertically and did not need to rely on a runway at all. As the powerful twin-engine nozzles sprayed out blue and white tail flames, the aircraft took off steadily and rushed straight towards the group of drones.
The moment of taking off, Lu Mingfei saw the destroyed base below through the cockpit glass. Most of the buildings had been reduced to ruins. Flames and black smoke were swirling over the base, like a scene from hell. Countless soldiers and staff were fleeing in all directions, trying to avoid the death attack from the sky.
"Xiaolu, fire!" Zhang Peng shouted to Lu Mingfei.
Zhang Peng took off in the J-20C. Lu Mingfei turned on the radar locking system according to Zhang Peng's instructions. However, there were no red dots on the radar as Zhang Peng said. Instead, the screen was full of green dots.
"Damn it! Can't lock on! Can't lock on! They are all friendly forces!" Zhang Peng obviously noticed this situation and began to report to other fighter jets that took off around him through communication equipment.
Pilots from other countries also kept reporting on their communications equipment that they were unable to lock onto the target.
The air force of the Gabon base is a mixed group of countries, with about 30 fighter jets, 10 aerial refueling aircraft and several transport aircraft responsible for the construction and transportation of the base.
"Stop talking nonsense, I've been locked on and can't get rid of it! Charlie! I need you!" A Russian shouted in the communication channel, and the words were transmitted to Zhang Peng's ears through timely translation.
The Charlie mentioned here is the code name of Zhang Peng's aircraft.
The aircraft number is named with letters + numbers. For example, China uses C, America uses A, and Russia uses R. If the first letters are the same, the first two digits are selected and then a number is added. So China's aircraft code is Charlie or something like that.
"Nov, hold on! I'll be there soon! Xiaolu, start visual attack!" Zhang Peng first shouted into the radio, then spoke to Lu Mingfei, and then the plane accelerated suddenly.
Lu Mingfei activated the visual attack according to Zhang Peng's instructions. He gripped the joystick and felt as if he was back in the sky above the Somme River.
"Zhang Peng, fly close to those drones!" Lu Mingfei shouted while holding the joystick.
Word Spirit: Kamaitachi Expand
After this period of recovery, Lu Mingfei discovered that the detection range of the kamaweasel had returned to one hundred meters, but at an altitude of several thousand meters, one hundred meters was just a negligible distance.
So Lu Mingfei began to expand the Kamaitachi's territory again and asked Zhang Peng to get closer to those drones. Any aircraft without a heartbeat in the Kamaitachi's territory would be his target of attack.
When Zhang Peng heard Lu Mingfei's words, he did not hesitate to slightly push down the nose of the J-20C, then suddenly pulled the joystick, and the aircraft drew an extremely sharp arc in the air, flying close to the Predator drones. The huge acceleration pushed the two men back into their seats in an instant, and the anti-G suits began to take effect, and their bodies gradually adapted to the high-G pressure.
"Hold on tight, Xiaolu! We're going to risk our lives!" Zhang Peng gritted his teeth and pulled the joystick, his eyes fixed on the front, quickly approaching a group of SU57 point drones that had been chasing him.
Lu Mingfei did not have any extra time to think. They were now walking on the verge of life and death. He gripped the joystick tightly and turned on the fighter's visual attack mode. This mode directly locked onto the target through the pilot's vision and did not rely on radar or other automatic locking systems. It was very suitable for the current chaotic battlefield.
"Are these drones...trying to destroy the space elevator?" Lu Mingfei stared through the cockpit glass at some drones approaching the space elevator.
The detection range of the Word Spirit·Kamaitachi slowly expanded, like an invisible net spread in the air around them. As the range expanded, Lu Mingfei could clearly sense the trajectories of the drones flying in the air. They had no heartbeats, no fluctuations of life, and they mechanically and indifferently executed the order to destroy everything.
The mechanical hum of each drone's propeller was amplified in the sickle-weasel's territory, as if they were hovering right next to Lu Mingfei's ears.
"Start shooting!" The J20's hidden machine gun extended out, making a deafening roar, and the dense artillery fire swept towards the drone group like a steel storm.
Lu Mingfei's sight was fixed on a drone. He aimed, fired, and hit. The whole process was done in one go. The drone was instantly pierced by the machine gun. The flames of the explosion flickered in the sky, and the wreckage fell to the ground like raindrops.
As Lu Mingfei continued shooting, the drones chasing the SU57 began to fall from the sky like dumplings.
(End of this chapter)
