Aerial Sniper

Liu Jun banked left and observed the target distribution, then mapped out his attack route.

His index finger rested on the depressed trigger as he stared through the HUD at the pirate speedboats on the sea, waiting for them to enter the effective range of his forward-firing weapons.

The targets were close! Closer!

He leveled the aircraft, pushed negative Gs, and used his left hand to throttle back. The engine's roar placed indescribable pressure on the pirates, sending them scattering in every direction. Yet compared to the fighter overhead, those speedboats moved as slowly as ox carts.

As he entered the attack angle, the ballistic computer displayed the lead indicator on the HUD. Liu Jun, however, did not look at the ballistic guidance. Instead, he made slight adjustments to the control stick and corrected the cannon's trajectory.

The enemy was making S-shaped evasive maneuvers. He aimed the nose slightly left of the speedboat. The target would be there in the next second!

His index finger squeezed the trigger.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Amid the distinctive roar of the GSh-30-1 cannon, a burst of shells fired from behind and to the right of the cockpit.

The shells fired by a fighter did not merely possess their own muzzle velocity; they also benefited from the aircraft's speed. With those two forces combined, the 30 mm rounds streaked toward the sea like lightning.

AP-T (armor-piercing tracer)/HEFI (high-explosive fragmentation incendiary)/APHE (armor-piercing high-explosive): the three 30 mm shells fired from the general-purpose belt could be seen clearly, guided by the tracer's path, racing straight toward the turning speedboat before the two instantly overlapped.

The airflow kicked up by the AP-T round instantly tore the pirate at the helm into a cloud of blood. Blood splashed over his companions as the round blasted a huge hole through the bottom of the speedboat. Before seawater could flood in, the following high-explosive shell, carrying roughly seventy-five grams of TNT, detonated inside the cabin. Lethal fragments sprayed in every direction, and before the pirates aboard could react, shrapnel punched through them, scattering blood mist and chunks of flesh everywhere.

Finally, the APHE's delayed fuse activated and blew apart the entire bottom of the speedboat. Seawater rushed in, and it sank into the ocean with a gurgle.

Liu Jun did not even look at the speedboat he had hit. He slightly adjusted his nose direction and lead angle, then fired at another speedboat.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Boom!

The locked-on speedboat's fuel tank was struck by a high-explosive incendiary round and erupted into a fireball, swallowing the pirates aboard in the explosion.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Crack!

Another speedboat shattered, and the pirates aboard fell into the water with the wreckage.

It was like shooting at stationary targets. Along his planned attack route, he mechanically locked on and fired! Locked on and fired!

After the J-15 flew over the last speedboat, Liu Jun pulled up, banked right, and circled once above the battlefield. He visually inspected the sea below to assess the damage from his attack and determine whether a second strike was needed to finish off the speedboats.

As his gaze swept over the speedboats below—some burning, some broken apart, and some already beginning to sink—Liu Jun suddenly noticed that his Flight Experience had increased.

Huh? Destroying ground or sea targets could earn experience too? What kind of good deal was this?

Liu Jun looked at the two fleeing speedboats and narrowed his eyes. This meant he had no choice but to hit them hard!

At that moment, the pirate leader had forgotten all his earlier "grand ambitions" and pushed the speedboat's engine output to the maximum!

Only one thought remained in his mind: Run! Run as fast as possible! As long as they could reach that place!

But to an aircraft in the sky, speedboats on the sea were nothing more than snails desperately wriggling across the water.

The J-15 easily caught up to the speedboats. It then lowered its nose and entered a dive-attack path, its pilot's finger resting on the trigger.

The engine's howl echoed across the sea. At that moment, the pirate leader felt death approaching. His smug expression vanished, leaving only terror, distortion, and endless regret on his monkey-like face.

Of course, it was not because he knew he had been wrong. He merely knew that he was about to die!

Just as Liu Jun was about to fire, a ship suddenly appeared on the distant sea and rapidly approached. The Coast Guard had arrived.

His index finger lifted from the trigger, and he used another finger to push it back up. With a click, the mechanical safety engaged.

Though he wanted the Flight Experience, the Coast Guard's arrival meant the situation was under control. Handing the pirates over to the Coast Guard was protocol. Between discipline and experience, Liu Jun chose discipline.

Whoosh!

The J-15 streaked over the sea, its engine roar leaving the pirates on the speedboats dazed.

"Ah! A ship! A ship!"

One of the monkeys saw the patrol vessel in the distance and babbled in Monkey language. At that moment, he no longer cared which country the ship belonged to. As long as it could save them, that was enough!

"Quick! Head over there!"

"Yes!"

They turned the wheel and drove toward the Coast Guard vessel. It was not as though the pirates had never considered fleeing, but whenever they strayed off course, the howl of engines would come from overhead, immediately crushing any thought of escape. The King of Hell was watching them from the sky!

Like wolves herding sheep, the two surviving speedboats were driven toward the Coast Guard vessel. With escape impossible, the pirates frankly put down their weapons and raised white flags.

As the Coast Guard vessel slowly approached, its weapons trained on the pirates. Several speedboats belonging to the Coast Guard were lowered into the sea. Coast Guard officers rode the waves with the national flag raised high, while soldiers aimed rifles at the speedboats flying white flags. Once close enough, they boarded without hesitation, handcuffed the pirates aboard, and left them to face the judgment of the law.

Seeing that the pirates had been brought under control and receiving a message from the Coast Guard thanking him for his assistance, Liu Jun looked toward the Coast Guard vessel's bridge and rocked his wings from side to side in reply before preparing to leave.

He pushed the throttle forward. The engines blasted out scorching exhaust, propelling the J-15 up into the sky.

For a fighter aircraft, altitude and speed were everything. Descending to low altitude was an extremely risky move.

After returning to his planned altitude, he flew toward the waters where the Number One Ship was located. He glanced at his fuel gauge. After all that trouble, the fighter had consumed quite a bit of fuel. He needed to land soon.

Liu Jun left, but the Coast Guard vessel was left with quite a headache.

The Coast Guard captain stood on the bridge, holding binoculars as he looked over the distant sea. More than a dozen pirate corpses—and parts of them—floated on the water, along with burning speedboat wreckage, debris, and fuel. The surface of the entire area had been dyed pale red with Monkey blood, and some carnivorous fish had already been drawn over.

"Prepare to clean this up, then send a message to the Navy. I hope they'll commend that pilot," the captain said as he lowered his binoculars. If the Navy had not helped and the pirates had boarded the Drilling Platform, causing property damage or even casualties, they would have been stuck writing reports and facing disciplinary action!

And that was only a minor matter. The real trouble was the kind of public opinion this might stir up online.

"Understood."