Chapter 44 Damn it! How many mechs does the enemy have?
Eight fighter jets flew toward the Air Force Base.
Watching their retreating figures, the generals on the viewing platform felt an unprecedented sense of shock deep within their hearts.
"It's only been a few minutes, and an entire aviation squadron has actually been shot down just like that?"
"This First-generation Mecha's weapon system is beyond our expectations, especially that massive beam of light from earlier. Fortunately, it was a simulated launch; if it had been live ammunition, wouldn't we have lost an entire aviation squadron right then and there!"
"This mecha also has impressive combat power; it really is a weapon of war. I heard its developer is a student—that's truly absurd!"
...
The expressions of these generals grew increasingly shocked.
Meanwhile, the pilots in the air were now somewhat fearful of the First-generation Mecha's weapon system!
However, they felt they had found an opportunity for victory!
Although they had lost eight fighter jets just now, they had forced out the First-generation Mecha's most powerful attack!
They speculated that the mecha must be running low on energy!
This was the perfect opportunity for them to strike!
As long as they swarmed it, engaged in close-range aerial combat, and used their cannons to restrict its movement, they might just be able to take it down in one fell swoop!
However, as good as this idea was!
Very quickly, they discovered that the First-generation Mecha suddenly accelerated at full power!
It disappeared before their eyes!
The First-generation Mecha instantly increased its speed to Mach 3!
This left the Fifth-generation fighters behind, making it impossible to track its movements visually!
However, they could still lock onto the mecha's position by capturing its communication signals!
Then, the fleet of fighter jets pursued it based on the acquired position!
Unfortunately, the opponent's speed was too fast; even at full acceleration, they couldn't catch up!
But they were not discouraged!
Instead, they were excited!
According to news from the Command Center, they detected that the energy fluctuations within the First-generation Mecha were becoming smaller and smaller!
The difference compared to the previous energy fluctuations was immense!
It meant that its energy was about to run out!
Even if the opponent had a solar charging system, it couldn't replenish it in time!
This was the perfect opportunity to surround it!
Wang Feng was extremely excited!
It seemed he could finally wash away his previous humiliation!
However, just as they were getting further and further away from the Command Center, the radar suddenly flickered.
A scene they couldn't accept appeared!
The mecha's position on the radar had suddenly disappeared!
"Command Center, what is going on?"
"How did the enemy mecha just disappear?" asked Captain Zhao Kuo, leader of the first squadron.
At this moment, the Command Center was also dumbfounded!
The target had indeed disappeared from the radar!
Commander-in-Chief Wei Jiantong analyzed, "Could it be that the opponent cut off their communication signal?"
"Or is it that the mecha's energy has been completely exhausted, causing the signal to cut out!"
Commander-in-Chief Wei Jiantong thought for a moment; the latter was the most likely possibility.
Thinking of this, he hurriedly urged the pilots to continue the pursuit and conduct a carpet search at the location where the mecha last disappeared!
Victory seemed to be right before their eyes!
...
However, none of them expected that at this moment, the First-generation Mecha had already arrived at their own Air Force Base without anyone noticing.
The mecha landed slowly, its heavy frame causing a slight tremor upon the ground.
The research team, who had been staring intently at the battlefield monitoring screen with their hearts in their throats, were suddenly stunned to see the mecha return!
"What's going on?"
"Has the live-combat test already ended?"
Su Chen grinned, "How could it be?"
"The battle has only just begun!"
These brief words struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer!
Their recently relaxed mood was instantly filled with tension again.
Commander Liu Chengzhi and Professor Ma Zhiqiang also rushed over!
They asked about the situation!
It turned out that Su Chen had been testing the limits of the weapon system earlier and hadn't controlled the output well!
He had poured out ninety-nine percent of the energy!
According to the simulation system's algorithm, Su Chen's mecha was now in a state of near-depleted energy!
BT had also engaged power-saving mode!
It had cut off all non-essential power-consuming systems!
This included the communication system!
In reality, the First-generation Mecha hadn't consumed much energy at all, but since this was a live-combat exercise, they had to follow the rules!
And according to the rules, both sides were allowed to replenish energy when it was about to run out!
"Please replace my energy source!" Su Chen said.
As soon as he finished speaking, staff members immediately brought over a high-energy solid-state power source!
Following the previously rehearsed procedure, they successfully replaced the First-generation Mecha's energy source with a new one!
Su Chen checked the time.
The time taken to replace the energy source was only thirty seconds!
This was a terrifyingly fast speed!
This meant that even if the mecha ran out of energy during a future war, it could replenish it in the shortest possible time!
It possessed the capability for sustained combat!
Su Chen felt that this live-combat test was truly meaningful!
Various situations that might occur on a real battlefield could basically be experienced in this test!
For him, this was also extremely valuable experience!
Once the new energy source was replaced, Su Chen piloted the mecha to take off again!
The powerful roar of the engines instantly broke the silence of the base!
The First-generation Mecha, like a steel eagle spreading its wings, soared into the vast sky.
During the ascent, the airflow around the mecha was violently stirred, forming visible vortices.
Su Chen's consciousness merged perfectly with the mecha.
He could feel every subtle change as the mecha streaked through the air, the flexible rotation of every joint, and the surge of energy at every point.
He was becoming increasingly proficient in piloting the mecha!
Meanwhile, the pilots who had lost their target were still anxiously searching for traces of Su Chen's mecha in the vast sky.
Originally, they had been very excited!
Thinking the mecha had run out of energy and was waiting for them quietly ahead!
But as they arrived at the location where the mecha had disappeared and searched repeatedly!
They found no traces of the mecha at all!
This made them gradually realize that something was wrong!
The mecha had clearly cut its signal right here!
Why couldn't they find it?
Was it playing a trick on them?
Logically, its energy should have been exhausted; how would it have the energy to play tricks on them?
The more they couldn't find the opponent, the greater the pressure in their hearts became!
After all, the enemy was in the dark while they were in the open, and the enemy possessed terrifying combat power!
What were they to do?
They were now like travelers groping in the dark, filled with confusion and anxiety.
Flying their jets back and forth through the airspace, their eyes fixed tightly on the instrument panels and the scenery outside, they didn't let any corner where the mecha might be hiding escape their notice.
Various commands from the Command Center came through their headsets, but until they found the target, these commands seemed hollow and powerless.
At the Command Center, Commander-in-Chief Wei Jiantong was also furrowing his brow!
They were closely monitoring the pilots' search situation while analyzing the movement patterns of Su Chen's mecha.
They knew deeply that this battle had become increasingly complex, and the mystery and power of Su Chen's mecha made them feel unprecedented pressure.
And just at this moment.
The radar suddenly flickered.
This slight fluctuation was like the first light of dawn in the darkness.
Commander-in-Chief Wei Jiantong clenched his fists: "Has it appeared?"
At the same time, these elite pilots also discovered the slight flicker on the radar!
This meant that the mecha was nearby!
Just as they turned their direction and headed toward where the radar had flickered, they suddenly saw a friendly fighter jet flying toward the base!
At the same time, the voice of the pilot came through the communication system!
"I've been hit!"
Everyone was dumbfounded!
They hadn't even seen where the opponent was!
And another friendly fighter jet had been shot down?
And wasn't the opponent supposed to be out of energy?
Captain Zhao Kuo couldn't hold it in anymore and couldn't help but curse:
"Damn it!"
"How many mechas did the opponent actually deploy?"