Chapter 276

Chapter 276: South China Sea Domination

The sky is free for birds to fly, and the sea is vast for fish to swim, just like what Lin Mo is doing now.

Compared to the busy air traffic restrictions overland, the airspace above the South China Sea has almost no route limitations. As long as Lin Mo avoids the altitudes of a few international flights, the entire South China Sea is basically wide open for him; he can climb, descend, or fly at angles. As long as he has enough fuel and doesn’t stray too far off course, no one will mind.

If someone thinks they can take advantage of this seemingly lax airspace management to defect to another country, they are terribly mistaken. Not to mention the long-range Surface-to-Air Missiles in Hainan, the warships patrolling the sea, and the nuclear submarines lying beneath the ocean are enough to deter any defector.

The entire South China Sea has always been under tight surveillance, with external freedom and internal strictness.

Lin Mo didn’t pull the P-51 Mustang up into the clouds; on the contrary, he flew almost at sea level, taking advantage of the wing effect to easily generate lift from the surface of the sea, conserving fuel as much as possible. Who knows how much fuel there is on the aircraft carrier? It’s best to save what he can for now.

Of course, this kind of flying is also filled with risks. If he doesn’t react quickly enough, he might crash into the waves or suddenly lose lift, causing a stall, which would be disastrous.

However, Lin Mo still enjoyed the fun of flying close to the ocean. The endless blue sea stretched out before him; the P-51 Mustang sliced through the air like a knife, creating waves in its wake.

“There is a metal response below! So much! So strong! So big!”

Gold Coin had exclaimed this many times along the way, practically turning into the most effective metal detector.

The gold giant dragon was eager to dive into the water to search for metal treasures to feast on. The resources in the ocean were even richer than those at sea, driving Gold Coin wild. This world was definitely not comparable to the other metal-poor world; it was truly a paradise for dragon kin.

Ever since Gold Coin joined Lin Mo and saw all the metal everywhere, he had completely abandoned the thought of returning to the other world.

Would a rat that falls into a rice barrel still want to return to its rat hole?!

“I know, I know! You’ve said it countless times! You’re driving me dizzy. Maybe you should become a parrot instead—it’s so annoying!” Lin Mo, while focusing on satellite positioning and flying the Mustang smoothly, retorted, “It’s manganese nodules from the seafloor and modern shipwrecks. You’ll have your fill to eat; what’s the rush? You’re a noble dragon kin, not someone’s pet cat or dog. Keep your dignity; don’t eat like a pig.”

Sometimes Lin Mo would use the dignity and image of the dragon kin to discipline this greedy creature. After all, there was metal everywhere in this world. If he didn’t keep a close eye on him, he surely would invite disaster.

Suddenly, a jet aircraft appeared in the cockpit’s display, drawing Lin Mo’s intense attention.

“RC-135 electronic reconnaissance aircraft! Here come the Americans again! When will they ever learn?”

Lin Mo felt a wave of irritation and reached over to turn off the radio equipment on the dashboard, opting for radio silence to avoid being spied on by them again.

For pilots, visually identifying aircraft is a basic skill. Although he didn’t have a radar scanning and identification system, Lin Mo quickly recognized this reconnaissance aircraft known as "Joint Rivet."

He knew all too well the power of electronic reconnaissance aircraft. Back when he was in Pakistan, after the Chinese military assistance sent in the "Tiger Shark" electronic warning aircraft, which hadn’t fired a single shot, its attack capabilities were no less formidable than those of a fighter jet.

If possible, the high-power radar loaded on electronic warfare planes could directly kill pilots with its intense illumination, though that was a joke; it required specific distance and exposure time to achieve, akin to directed energy weapons.

Since the last incident where the American EP-3E Aries electronic reconnaissance aircraft crashed into a Chinese J-8II and sustained severe damage, leading to an emergency landing at Hainan Lingshui Military Airport, before being dismantled on-site.

But the thick-skinned Americans still failed to learn from their mistakes, regularly dispatching more advanced reconnaissance planes to spy, especially intercepting pilots’ voiceprint signals.

Never underestimate their actions; they aren’t in vain. Once a conflict arises, Chinese pilots would find that their every move, flying habits, and even personality weaknesses have long been grasped and analyzed, making them vulnerable in high-stakes dogfights.

Lin Mo’s P-51 Mustang drew the attention of the Americans when it appeared over the South China Sea.

The electronic devices added to the cockpit began to flicker on the main LCD screen, indicating the functions of the communication system and radio signal firewall, as if responding to some signals.

Lin Mo smirked. One of the signals was a radio call access request pretending to be Hainan Lingshui Airport’s tower, while several others represented various equipment signal probes.

The Americans were clever, impersonating a Chinese military radio channel to trick him into opening communications and capture his voiceprint, while secretly devising nefarious plans to invade his onboard computer system.

There was no way he would fall for it so easily. Lin Mo knocked on the cockpit wall and called out, “Gold Coin, wake up and get to work.”

Gold Coin’s programming capability had significantly increased; all the electronic control programs on the P-51 Mustang were crafted by him. Unlike the standardized systems of the Chinese military, it wasn’t easy to hack into.

“Hey, do you want me to devour it?” Gold Coin clearly noticed the modified Boeing 707 electronic reconnaissance plane above the clouds at an altitude of 7000 meters. This was a substantial target he had never tried before. He wondered what it would taste like.

“A dragon always has unlucky creatures that appear at the right moment,” was a saying among the dragon kin in another world.

“If your appetite doesn’t bring me trouble, I wouldn’t bother!” Lin Mo replied, annoyed. This guy was becoming increasingly hard to satisfy, with an ever-growing appetite.

“I know, I know, it’s just an annoying fly. Watch how the Great Dragon drives it away.”

As Lin Mo entered the cockpit, Gold Coin seamlessly integrated with the P-51 Mustang’s body.

Learning from the previous lessons, the gold giant dragon had selected several of his “fire source” modules and tossed them into Lin Mo’s backpack, allowing easy access to electronic components as needed.

“Gold Coin, load the Void Magnetism; let’s go play with it!” Lin Mo pulled back on the control stick, causing the P-51 Mustang to sharply raise its nose and quickly climb into the skies.

Just as it ascended to fifty meters, it suddenly seemed to be pushed forward invisibly, increasing speed by two or three times. This was beyond the Mustang’s normal climbing speed of 15 meters per second, reaching 20 meters per second in an instant.

Void Magnetism is the innate power of the gold giant dragon; when applied to a fighter jet, it can effectively reduce the aircraft’s weight by half.

This isn’t true weight reduction; the mass hasn’t changed, but it counteracts half of the earth’s gravity, which is a more accurate description.

As the P-51 Mustang’s climbing speed increased, two white vapor trails emerged from the wingtips, swirling upward like two ethereal ribbons stretching longer and higher.

The RC-135 electronic reconnaissance aircraft hiding above the clouds was clearly intimidated by the newly discovered P-51 Mustang.

They realized they had been spotted and saw the Mustang charging directly toward them without hesitation, its speed far from slow.

The P-51 was, after all, a standard fighter jet. They understood that the electronic interference patterns available would have little effect on this World War II relic; it simply didn’t have enough electronic equipment for them to disrupt.

Although the advantage of technological generational differences was evident, there was a limit. If the gap was too wide, it would render them powerless.

“Trying to run away? It won’t be that easy!” The several light mirrors in front of Lin Mo firmly locked onto the enemy—this was a reconnaissance tactic that even the electronic jamming system could not affect.

The Light Mirror Technique had long been one of Lin Mo’s onboard magical series for his fighter jets; it was a minor spell rarely applied in the other world but bore unexpected results in this one.

The RC-135 strategic reconnaissance aircraft had been deployed for coastal reconnaissance around Asia-Pacific nations, regarded as one of America’s most vital reconnaissance tools of the 21st century, on par with next-generation military surveillance satellites and long-range drones. Its performance was superior to that of the EP-3.

This strategic electronic reconnaissance aircraft, modified from a Boeing 707, was equipped with HF, VHF, and UHF radio communications, radar, and advanced navigation systems including Doppler/GPS/INS. The greatest advantage during reconnaissance missions was the ability to operate without entering or getting too close to enemy airspace, functionally conducting reconnaissance in public airspace.

Since it didn’t need to penetrate into sovereign borders, the RC-135 also wasn’t equipped with weapon systems. However, when this bold aircraft collided with an invulnerable Dragon Knight and the Mustang, tragedy struck for it immediately.

Although not takeoff for combat, the P-51 Mustang still had ammunition loaded in its gun bay. Even with just 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun bullets, it was enough to make the RC-135 strategic reconnaissance aircraft regret ever coming into this world.

From the RC-135’s recently exposed flight direction, it appeared to be coming from the U.S. base in Okinawa, conducting routine coastal reconnaissance along the continental shelf.

“Target acquired, model confirmed: P-51! Mustang? How is that possible? Why would they use this model?”

“Look, it’s coming straight at us! It’s so fast; quickly evade!”

“Target altitude at 1000 meters, rapidly climbing. If we don’t change course soon, a collision is expected in two minutes. We need to get out of here.”