Chapter 101: Aerial Combat

Two YF-23 fighter jets soared through the clouds, entering China's airspace.

"Steven, fly carefully; I don't want to get our tails bitten off," the wingman said.

"Relax, you should know that our aircraft can't be detected by their radar before we complete the mission," Steven replied.

"You're right, Steven. I was just lacking confidence," came the response.

The "Banana Ball" plan was designed to test China's radar detection capabilities and emergency response ability. Only the United States would have the courage to repeatedly test the patience of major regional powers by sending advanced fighter jets into their airspace.

In the blue sky, the silver-black painted jets roared by, and Liu A'dou could see them clearly through his True Sight Monocle. It was so arrogant. Liu A'dou felt a surge of anger and wished he could shoot down both planes.

Just as Liu A'dou gritted his teeth, four J-20s appeared from the clouds, clearly having detected the American military's provocation.

"You've entered Chinese airspace. Please follow our instructions," a voice in awkward English came from the J-20's radio.

"Steven, looks like we've been spotted. What do we do?" the wingman asked.

"Snake, we don't need to answer. Just go full speed ahead," Steven said.

"Got it. Let's see if the four planes behind us can catch up," the wingman replied.

Woooo~ Boom—

The YF-23's tail emitted a brilliant blue flame, breaking the sound barrier as it sped forward.

The J-20s closely pursued, still shouting, "Please identify yourselves. You've entered our airspace. Please follow our instructions."

The six planes began a speed race, and Steven cheered, "Now this is getting interesting. It's thrilling!" Both sides flew fourth-generation fighters, but clearly, the YF-23 was more advanced and faster.

The planes behind tried to split and encircle, forcing the YF-23 to descend, but they couldn't catch up. If this kept up, the intruders would soon exit the airspace.

Just then, Snake's plane suddenly slowed and rapidly climbed. This was a move to gain altitude before engaging in aerial combat.

"Sneak, what are you doing?" Steven barked, seeing the mission almost complete and not wanting any surprises. "Snake, reply!"

No answer. Snake had already reached altitude, and then, nose down, unlocked his weapons and began to attack. Two cannons spewed fire, hitting one of the J-20's wings, causing it to lose balance and quickly plummet.

"Calling, calling, Fox One is under attack. Requesting attack orders. Fox One is under attack. Requesting attack orders," the call reached the command center, causing an uproar. They hadn't expected the enemy to open fire. Were they insane? Initially, the command center thought this was just another American military drill in their face, not realizing it would escalate into a real combat situation, with the enemy launching the first strike. All eyes turned to the leadership. Shouldn't we retaliate???

"Sneak, respond quickly, what are you doing? I haven't received any attack orders. Snake?? Respond!" But there was complete silence on the radio. "Damn it!" Steven had no choice but to turn his jet around, hoping he could still stop his comrade.

Meanwhile, Snake had already locked onto the second fighter jet.

"Fox Two, this is Three, I'm locked on, requesting counterattack orders," the jet pilot called, trying to shake off the lock, but the enemy had gripped him too tightly.

"Command, requesting counterattack, requesting counterattack." Fox Two was still calling, but without orders, retaliating would violate military law. However, if they didn't counterattack soon, they'd be shot down.

The leaders hadn't made up their minds yet, and they had to ask their superiors, passing the decision up the chain of command, which would take time. This wasn't a small issue but a big one. After decades of peace, this was the first time they had faced such a declaration of war. If mishandled, it could lead to World War III.

Da-da—

Snake fired again, hitting Plane Three. Now only Fox Two and Fox Four remained.

"My God, Snake, what are you doing?" Steven was nearly dumbfounded. This was like declaring war on a major regional power; today might be the start of World War III. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Still no response. Steven contacted the fleet commander. "My God, Snake has gone mad. He's already shot down two planes. Sir, to ensure safety, I request permission to shoot down Snake." Though he hated the idea, to prevent further escalation, he had no choice. He was confident in his own skills and could target the engine, giving Snake a chance to eject.

"Agreed!" The order came from the fleet command.

Steven immediately reduced speed, preparing to face his friend in a dogfight.

Meanwhile, China had also issued their orders: "Fox Two and Four, return immediately. Search and rescue teams will be dispatched to locate Fox One and Three."

"Shit!!" Fox Four cursed, but it was an order, and they had no choice but to retreat. "Damn it!"

"Fox Four, this is an order. We are retreating!" Fox Two replied, "One and Three will be fine."

"They're already at our doorstep, and we're not fighting back? This is bullshit!" Fox Four's emotions were unstable.

Fox Two also felt frustrated, but they couldn't fight back yet. Their country wasn't prepared for war.

Liu A'dou, watching the entire "Banana Ball" plan unfold through his True Sight Monocle, furrowed his brow. This situation was beyond his expectations. Why did the American pilot suddenly slow down and launch an attack? He didn't believe it was the U.S. trying to start a world war—it made no sense. Even if they wanted to stir things up, they wouldn't do it themselves; they had so many pawns for that.

"What happened?" Liu A'dou thought, looking at the two YF-23s now fighting each other in the sky. His mind was full of questions.

"Sneak, answer me! What the hell is going on?" Steven hadn't given up on trying to wake his colleague.

But the only response was a missile.

Damn, Steven hadn't expected such ruthlessness. He quickly yanked the control stick to raise the plane's nose and launched infrared countermeasures.

Boom— the missile exploded in midair.

Steven broke into a cold sweat. This was a live missile—if it had hit, he'd be dead. Since they were being so merciless, Steven had no choice but to act. He performed a cobra maneuver, successfully pulling the plane behind his opponent. He unlocked the weapons, aiming.

Da-da-da—

The gunfire came, and Snake performed a roll to dodge the bullets, then dove into the clouds.

Both planes entered the clouds, and Steven muttered to himself, "Come out, Snake, darling. Just let me hit you with a couple of shots, and you can parachute out."

Unable to see his opponent, Steven's eyes scanned the space around him, moving rapidly as he muttered under his breath.

Whoosh—

Emerging from the clouds, Steven realized he couldn't spot Snake's plane. A sinking feeling hit him, and he tried to maneuver and dodge. It was already too late. Bullets hit his tail, damaging one of his engines.

Black smoke billowed from the plane, and its altitude dropped quickly. "Mayday, mayday, mayday. I've been hit by Snake. Descending, descending."

The ocean was getting closer, and Steven prepared to eject.

Liu A'dou couldn't bear it any longer. He had to see what kind of pilot dared to provoke a war.