Chapter 272

Chapter 272: Attention from Above

“Captain Lin Mo, this is the place. Feel free to take a seat.”

In a conference room of the Night Special Forces, there was no meeting table, just a few sofas, and a small tea table with some tea and snacks.

Of course, it wasn’t cluttered with cups.

Under the leadership of Colonel Xie from the Intelligence Group, Lin Mo glanced around the room.

A flat-screen TV on the wall was playing a comedy film, creating an atmosphere completely devoid of the oppressive feel of an interrogation room, and there was no glaring overhead light to dazzle his eyes.

The atmosphere was relaxed, perhaps even described as casual.

Soon, Colonel Feng Chenye, the commander of the Night Special Forces, and Colonel Ji, the head of the Staff Group, arrived almost simultaneously. The last to enter were two unfamiliar officers, one a colonel and the other a major.

There were no armed guards at the door, nor any concealed smart weapons in the corners.

The first "Night" base itself was highly secure and strictly disciplined. Moreover, Lin Mo was not regarded as a spy, but rather as someone to be simply questioned. Certainly, his experience was somewhat unique, which led to the presence of two officers from special backgrounds.

Captain Feng closed the door and smiled at Lin Mo, introducing the two officers: “Captain Lin Mo, let me introduce you to Colonel Qi Zhiqiu from the General Staff and Major Su Yuwen from the Foreign Affairs Department.”

The General Staff responsible for planning and the Foreign Affairs Department in charge of overseas intelligence were both involved, indicating that the superiors took Lin Mo’s experiences in Afghanistan very seriously. If it hadn’t been for the "Gem Valley" incident, they would have just asked him to write a report on his ejection process.

However, an unexpected turn of events in such a sensitive area had significant implications for the superiors, making it a crucial opportunity in Central Asia, hence the extra attention.

Old Pan had mentioned a psychological consultant, but Lin Mo didn’t see one; instead, he noticed several cameras placed discreetly in the corners of the room.

“Hello, Colonel Qi and Major Su! I am Lin Mo!”

Lin Mo saluted the two senior officers.

“Hello, Captain Lin!”

Both Colonel Qi Zhiqiu and Major Su Yuwen returned the salute simultaneously.

“Please, have a seat!” Colonel Qi Zhiqiu, who was of the same rank as Colonel Feng Chenye, was the highest-ranking officer in the room and waved his hand, signaling Lin Mo to relax.

“Don’t be nervous; we just want to understand a few things,” Major Su Yuwen said with a friendly smile.

As Colonel Xie and Major Su had indicated, this was not a formal inquiry; everyone relaxed their ranks and settled casually on the single sofas gathered in the center of the room.

“Let’s get started!”

Captain Feng, as an observer, exchanged glances with the two superior officers.

Colonel Qi and Major Su exchanged glances and nodded.

“Director Su, please go ahead,” Colonel Qi said, giving the first opportunity to Major Su Yuwen, who served as the director of the Foreign Affairs Department.

“Alright, I’ll start!” Major Su smiled broadly, took out a recording pen, turned it on, and placed it on the side.

Lin Mo remained silent, waiting for the questions.

“You ejected on the afternoon of May 15, correct?”

“Yes!”

Lin Mo’s response was concise.

“Did you eject because the missile hit or the aircraft sustained excessive damage?”

“Neither. The correct reason was an attack from an Electromagnetic Pulse Bomb, which caused the aircraft to malfunction, leading to my ejection. The black box is still with the fourth squad. Once they retrieve it, they should be able to access all the records.”

“After you ejected, your landing spot was a deep valley, right?”

In fact, the location where Lin Mo landed had already been reported, and everyone was very curious about how he managed to climb out of a place surrounded by cliffs over a hundred meters high.

“That’s correct; it wasn’t easy to climb out.”

While bouldering had its challenges, for a pilot’s physique, it wasn’t too difficult, especially with the parachute ropes available.

“Okay, how did you manage to contact these Pashtun people?”

Although Major Su asked just one question, it contained many inquiries.

“Well, I ran into them by chance. All communication devices were damaged by the Electromagnetic Pulse Bomb. I couldn’t reach the base and had to walk towards the border line without a clear direction. That area has bandits everywhere, so whenever I encountered one, I took them out. I had no choice; I had to find food in the remote mountains. Once, I came across a reconnaissance team from this Pashtun migration group, and they were going the same way. I borrowed a satellite phone from them that had good electronic shielding to make an emergency secret call.”

Lin Mo expressed his helplessness about the situation. He felt like a man walking into his own death, where he couldn’t let them go see their God either. Afghanistan shares a small border with China, and with communication down, he had no idea when the rescue team would arrive. Staying put would lead to a dead end, so Lin Mo thought about returning to China along the Hindu Kush Mountains.

His reasoning was sound. Afghanistan is called the country that has fought a hundred battles; every country has fought here, leading to chaos everywhere, especially in the mountainous areas. The bandits often act in groups, comparable to warlords, with hardly any governance. To survive, even the kind-hearted villagers armed themselves. As for the unfortunate bandits Lin Mo encountered, they were not considered by the Chinese military; they were neither good people nor Chinese citizens. To the military, they were just ants, not even seen as human beings.

As for Lin Mo’s combat ability, it had been assessed; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been sent to the "Night," the gathering place for kings of soldiers, where dealing with a few bandits would be seen as picking on the weak.

“Well, tell me about these Pashtun people.”

“I communicated with some of them who could speak English. They are civilians from northern and central Afghanistan who, in order to escape from the Taliban and other organizations’ wars and plundering, united several villages for half a year, bought vehicles, accumulated supplies and weapons, and hired mercenaries for protection. They were searching for a secret valley inherited from one of the former village chiefs called Mica Village. Honestly, the feng shui of that valley is quite good, which explains why so many forces congregate there. Of course, it includes the Taliban, Jamaat al-Tableeg, the Holy Army, and our old opponent, the World Uighur Congress. I just heard them talk; I had no means to verify it, so I don’t know if what they said is true or false.”

“They probably are telling the truth. We have investigated, and there is indeed a Mica Village. The village chief is called Mude Zariyev, and there is a girl named Sally. Nearby villages, including one called Morijas, have completely lost track of everyone and everything in just one night. The surrounding, uninformed villages were terrified, so what they say should be credible.”

In fact, in just a day or two, the Foreign Affairs Department gathered quite a bit of rich information, even more than Lin Mo knew.

“Captain Lin! I’m curious, where did you get your ‘Wild Horse’? It’s quite impressive!” Colonel Qi Zhiqiu took over Major Su’s questions with a smile. He knew Lin Mo was not like many pilots who returned in disgrace after ejecting; on the contrary, this ace pilot from "Night" had been thriving outside, with experiences that could fill a fascinating novel.

“That’s a genuine World War II original. The previous owner was Major Klen Hiller from the U.S. Air Force’s Eagle Eye squadron. I’m not sure how it ended up in that valley, but he died here. I put in quite a bit of effort to repair it.”

“Oh?! You can fix planes? Aren’t you a pilot?”

“Let me interrupt!” Colonel Feng Chenye leaned slightly forward and said, “I can attest to this. When Captain Lin was with Team 7759, he developed a keen interest in aircraft maintenance and repair. He self-studied a lot of information on this and has good mechanical skills. Later, he learned about aircraft design from retired expert Yan Guoqiang at 611 Institute, even designing and building planes himself. We all witnessed this, and there’s a half-finished aircraft parked in the hangar of the Aircrew Group that can attest to Captain Lin’s skills.”

It was an undeniable fact that Lin Mo was an ace pilot, but being an excellent mechanic and designer too would raise many eyebrows. To preemptively address the inquiries from the superior investigators, Captain Feng laid the groundwork.

“Is that so?”

Colonel Qi and Major Su exchanged surprised glances; this pilot was indeed extraordinary.

“Indeed! I’m very interested in aircraft and have self-studied a lot about them,” Lin Mo smiled slightly, showing no signs of pride despite embodying three prestigious roles in the air force. If it weren’t for needing to feed the giant dragon on his left wrist, he wouldn’t have stumbled into this path of development.

“Captain Lin truly has a limitless future!” Colonel Qi’s surprise was evident, and Major Su nodded in agreement. It was rare to find such a curious pilot with such survival skills—it was hard to imagine, but it made sense in a team like "Night." All their warriors survive in the wild, using various environments and items to arm themselves, especially elite warriors who could turn even a chopstick into a lethal weapon.

“I heard those Pashtun people in Gem Valley offered you a Lapis Lazuli mine in exchange for your assistance.”

“Yes.”

Lin Mo nodded, surprised at how quickly the word spread; he hadn’t even mentioned it, yet the higher-ups already knew.

Captain Feng, Colonel Ji, and Colonel Xie all showed astonished expressions. The ace of the Aircrew Group managed to return with such a massive wealth after a heist; even a small Lapis Lazuli mine starts at over a million yuan in value.