The First Day on the Aircraft Carrier

After chatting briefly with his apprentice to get a preliminary understanding of Liu Jun's situation, Zhang Peng's gaze settled on the soot-blackened skin of the aircraft, his mind replaying Liu Jun's record—having experienced actual combat as a trainee, even if it was just sinking a few speedboats, it was still a decent start.

If Liu Jun wanted, he could indeed have his kills painted on his aircraft, but he probably wouldn't want to have a few speedboats etched onto his plane—he'd be laughed to death by the other pilots.

Zhang Peng took Liu Jun on a walk around the hangar to familiarize him with the environment and the ground crew workflow; pilots also had to coordinate with ground crew for aircraft inspections. Once his apprentice had stripped off his anti-G suit in the locker room, Zhang Peng led Liu Jun out of the hangar.

"Our quarters are over there."

After passing through the corridor and climbing the stairs into the quarters on one side of the hangar, they arrived at the pilots' dormitory, where all the carrier-based aircraft pilots lived.

"The room's empty now—you'll be staying with me here."

After Liu Jun noted down his room number, Zhang Peng continued, "You just came aboard today, so get some good rest. At noon, I'll come find you to head to the mess, and then we'll go to the medical bay for a checkup."

"Understood, Master."

"Not that I'm interfering with your personal life, but keep things confidential."

Zhang Peng reached out and patted Liu Jun on the shoulder, then turned and left. Liu Jun pushed open the dormitory door and walked in, setting down his personal belongings before taking a look at his living space.

Pilots had it pretty good—the quarters were fairly spacious, though only relatively so, just a bit bigger than the average crewman's berth.

The quarters were very close to the flight deck and hangar, making it convenient for emergency launches when not on combat duty.

With a rustle, he unzipped his backpack and took out his personal items one by one—just some books and notebooks. He quickly tidied up his space and sat down on the hard bunk.

He was aboard now; his life as a carrier pilot had begun. His master wouldn't be back for a while, so Liu Jun thought for a moment, pulled out a book, and started flipping through it.

As a pilot, he had to take good care of his eyesight, but people still needed entertainment, and his way of unwinding was reading, occasionally listening to music. He rarely used computers or phones—even his phone was a black-and-white e-ink screen.

Time ticked by minute by minute. Just before mealtime, the cabin door opened, and Zhang Peng's round face appeared behind it, grinning. "Hungry, right? Come on, I'll take you to eat!"

Liu Jun picked up a bookmark, placed it in the book, closed it, and put it in the cabinet. He stood up, walked out of the cabin, and followed Zhang Peng toward the ship's mess.

The carrier had a huge crew, and there was more than one mess hall, with staggered meal times. When Liu Jun entered the mess, a rich aroma of food filled the air, and cooks in white uniforms bustled behind the counters.

"It's no different from on land—all buffet-style. Grab whatever you want."

Zhang Peng led Liu Jun through the line, watching him pile various foods onto his tray. Liu Jun thought it over and chose some relatively easy-to-digest items, steering clear of beans entirely—too many beans and you'd get bloated.

After getting his food, he sat down with his master and ate bite by bite. The chef's cooking was excellent, and he quickly finished everything on his tray, while Zhang Peng was still wrestling with a chicken leg.

"Huh? Done already? Not getting seconds?" Zhang Peng asked, the chicken leg dangling from his mouth.

"No, I'm full."

Hearing that, Zhang Peng shoved the whole chicken leg into his mouth, pulled it out in one smooth motion, stripped the bone clean, chewed a few times, and swallowed. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, stood up, and placed his tray in the designated spot. "Come on, the medical bay hasn't eaten yet—let's go get you checked out."

The checkup was just height, weight, blood pressure, and the like—recorded onboard. Blood sugar and such would have to wait until tomorrow morning on an empty stomach.

Following the corridor signs, they reached the medical bay. Zhang Peng led his apprentice inside and said to the military doctor who was making notes, "Heh heh, busy, Second Lieutenant Li? This is my apprentice."

Hearing this, the doctor looked up. A medical mask covered most of her face, but her striking eyes left a strong impression. She glanced at Liu Jun and gave him a nod.

"Not busy. Over here." The female doctor gestured for Liu Jun to sit across from her.

He slipped his arm into the blood pressure cuff, and they measured his blood pressure, then his height and weight, before recording Liu Jun's information.

Zhang Peng, bored on the sidelines, struck up a conversation with another older military doctor, though from his expression and tone, it was almost entirely smug—after all, taking on an outstanding apprentice was something worth bragging about.

"All done."

After recording the information, the doctor said softly.

"Thanks."

"Heh, no need to be so polite."

The female doctor spoke gently, stood up, and removed her mask, revealing a pleasant face. She switched shifts with another doctor and quickly left the medical bay, heading toward the mess.

Liu Jun watched her leave, then suddenly felt someone beside him. Turning his head, he saw Zhang Peng also watching her go.

"Not bad, huh?" Zhang Peng squinted, wearing an expression that was both greasy and serious.

"Huh?" Liu Jun looked at his master, confused.

"That young lady's name is Li Lingwei. If you've got your eye on her, you'd better move fast—there's plenty of competition on the ship."

"..."

Liu Jun listened helplessly to his master's rambling, but the corner of his mouth twitched up slightly. His master really did care about him—after all, pilots hardly had time to find girlfriends; it was all organized matchmaking events and internal hookups.

But! A sigma male doesn't fall into a woman's trap. Liu Jun had no intention of looking for a girlfriend right now.

What's a girlfriend? Can it compare to flight experience?!

After the checkup, the afternoon was spent following Zhang Peng around the Liaoning, familiarizing himself with the compartments and layout—this was crucial. Inside a fully enclosed carrier, lighting relied entirely on artificial light, and if the ship was hit and lost power, the compartments would be pitch black.

In that situation, if you weren't familiar with the ship's structure, you could easily get trapped and die in the darkness.

After dinner, Liu Jun and his master returned to their quarters. After a quick wash, he lay on the hard bunk, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, replaying the carrier's compartment layout in his mind.

Then, Zhang Peng slapped the light switch off and flopped onto his own bunk. "How's your first day on the carrier?"

"Pretty good," Liu Jun answered honestly.

"Haha, good. I was worried you might not adjust. Get some rest early—don't stay up too excited. Training starts tomorrow."

"Got it, Master."

Liu Jun closed his eyes and soon fell into a deep sleep. His first day on the carrier passed quietly, just like that.