Recaps

Jiang Yan Hai escaped pursuing missiles by flying through a forest, then answered a call for help at the front line and attacked the monsters assaulting the troops. After destroying a massive Mechanical crab, he continued firing on the enemy forces.

• Jiang Yan Hai evaded the missiles by weaving through the rainforest, blasting a path through the trees, and escaping above the canopy.
• The Control Tower directed Jiang Yan Hai to the front line, where soldiers asked him to destroy a large enemy unit behind a hill.
• Jiang Yan Hai crossed the ridgeline and saw a battlefield crowded with wrecked vehicles and more than a thousand monsters in Protective armor.
• A Mechanical crab fired an energy sphere at Jiang Yan Hai, who dodged it and attacked the machine with rockets and Air-to-ground missiles.
• After the Mechanical crab exploded, Jiang Yan Hai acknowledged the soldiers’ thanks and began firing on the attacking armored monsters.

Jiang Yan Hai’s helicopter was shot down while he was fighting the enemy, and a rescue squad reached him under fire. As they retreated through a field of miniature tracking mines, he took up a rifle and destroyed one of the pursuing mines.

• Jiang Yan Hai used the helicopter’s autocannon to kill dozens of enemies before a pale blue beam destroyed its rotor and forced him to crash-land.
• Jiang Yan Hai stayed inside the cockpit until soldiers in exoskeleton armor arrived to rescue him.
• A second blue beam struck the cockpit, but Jiang Yan Hai jumped clear as the soldiers fired back and began withdrawing with him.
• A miniature tracking mine exploded beneath a soldier who tried to pin it down, and more mines began activating nearby.
• Jiang Yan Hai took an Assault Rifle and destroyed a pursuing tracking mine with a precise burst of fire.

Jiang Yan Hai helped a platoon destroy the spider tracking mines, then returned to the battered airport hoping to fly again. With no helicopters available, he persuaded the Control Tower to let him try an intact Phantom fighter and was sent to Hangar 18.

• Jiang Yan Hai accurately shot down twelve distant spider tracking mines while the soldiers cleared the nearby ones.
• Jiang Yan Hai followed the platoon back to the front line, where the captain thanked him and assigned Hai Zi and Old Liu to escort him to the airport.
• Jiang Yan Hai reached the airport and learned from the Control Tower that it was being abandoned and no helicopters remained.
• Jiang Yan Hai spotted an intact Phantom in Hangar 18 and convinced the Control Tower to let him fly it to Airfield 8.
• The Control Tower ordered the airport defense troops to take Jiang Yan Hai to Hangar 18.

Jiang Yan Hai repeatedly trained in the Phantom fighter jet after his first failed takeoff, then returned to the laboratory and completed a working assault rifle prototype. The chapter leaves him continuing his weapons experiment with a heavy, metal-built rifle.

• Jiang Yan Hai changed into a flight suit and boarded Phantom after the ground crew loaded its weapons.
• Jiang Yan Hai crashed while taxiing toward the runway, died, and reappeared inside Phantom's cockpit in the Illusion Simulation Combat System.
• Jiang Yan Hai died ten times while learning to fly Phantom and resolved to keep training.
• Jiang Yan Hai exercised, ate breakfast, and returned to the laboratory to finish his experiment.
• Jiang Yan Hai completed a working 5.8-millimeter Assault Rifle prototype that weighed around thirteen kilograms.

Jiang Yan Hai tested a homemade rifle at the shooting range with the Lone Wolf Commando Unit and found that its performance suffered from strong recoil and an imbalanced design. He left after the soldiers tried it and offered suggestions.

• Jiang Yan Hai brought his newly made rifle and ammunition to the shooting range, where Old Gao and the Lone Wolf soldiers gathered to inspect it.
• Jiang Yan Hai fired single shots and a burst at a target, then judged the rifle’s recoil too strong and its overall performance unremarkable.
• Old Cannon tested the rifle, struggled with its recoil at first, and then improved his aim with successive shots.
• Jiang Yan Hai invited the Lone Wolf soldiers to try the rifle and give him suggestions.
• The Lone Wolf soldiers each tested a magazine and shared their feedback, after which Jiang Yan Hai grabbed the rifle and left.

Jiang Yan Hai beat the Red Cell men at cards to win their help in his laboratory. The chapter left them operating machinery and hauling materials for his project, while Song Kai Fei wondered if he had been tricked.

• Old Cannon praised Jiang Yan Hai’s record and his improvements to the Type 10 Sniper Rifle as the soldiers returned to training.
• Jiang Yan Hai challenged the Red Cell men to Fight the Landlord and agreed to call Landlord every round.
• Jiang Yan Hai won enough rounds to clear his seven-day laundry debt, using his memory and observations to predict the others’ cards.
• Jiang Yan Hai proposed another bet, and the Red Cell men agreed to help him in his laboratory if he won.
• Jiang Yan Hai brought the men to operate machinery and move raw materials, prompting Song Kai Fei to complain that he had been scammed.

Jiang Yan Hai continued designing advanced firearms while his comrades helped him, despite their complaints about losing their vacation. He began producing a modular rifle blueprint that could adapt to different ammunition and roles, including use as a designated marksman rifle.

• Wang Yan Bing, He Chen Guang, and Song Kai Fei complained that Jiang Yan Hai had made them work on his weapons during their vacation, while Jiang Yan Hai argued that his research would help them survive and earn promotions.
• Song Kai Fei questioned why Jiang Yan Hai's weapon designs kept changing, and Jiang Yan Hai's comrades recalled how he had completed a 1,300-piece jigsaw puzzle after studying its picture for just over thirty seconds.
• Jiang Yan Hai's comrades recognized that he was using the designs to test ideas and build technology for a future with powered exoskeletons, where weapon weight would matter less.
• Jiang Yan Hai began making a difficult blueprint that required some alloys to be smelted by hand, so he had asked his comrades to help.
• Jiang Yan Hai designed a modular 5.8-millimeter rifle that could use different ammunition, accept a scope, and serve as a designated marksman rifle, with an effective range of up to eight hundred meters and performance he rated about 80% above the Type 95 rifle.

Jiang Yan Hai assembled a new assault rifle that impressed He Chen Guang and the others with its design and handling. While they tested it, he began wondering whether the Phantom’s blueprints could also be reproduced in reality, then awkwardly claimed he had been thinking about shooting down a fighter jet with a gun.

• Jiang Yan Hai assembled the assault rifle from its manufactured components, and He Chen Guang and the others admired its design.
• Song Kai Fei handled the unloaded rifle and praised its feel, magazine placement, and other features.
• Jiang Yan Hai considered whether the Illusion Simulation Combat System’s Phantom blueprints could be built in reality.
• He Chen Guang called Jiang Yan Hai back to test the rifle’s shooting performance, but Jiang Yan Hai said he had been thinking about a fighter jet.
• Jiang Yan Hai claimed he had wondered whether a gun could shoot down a fighter jet, leaving He Chen Guang and the others dumbfounded.

Jiang Yan Hai brought a new rifle to the shooting range, where its low recoil and strong accuracy impressed the Lone Wolf team. After testing it, he wondered whether its blueprint had come from the first Illusion Simulation Combat System, and the chapter left him facing his comrades’ questions about how he had designed it.

• Jiang Yan Hai arrived at the shooting range with He Chen Guang and the others and showed the Lone Wolf team his new rifle.
• Jiang Yan Hai tested the rifle’s controlled bursts and sustained fire, finding its recoil low and its handling easy to control.
• Jiang Yan Hai mounted a Sniper Scope and hit a target at six hundred meters, then confirmed the rifle remained accurate at eight hundred meters.
• Jiang Yan Hai considered whether the rifle’s blueprint had been a hidden reward in the first Illusion Simulation Combat System and wondered what the laboratory might have contained.
• Song Kai Fei and the others tested the rifle while Old Gao praised its performance and Jiang Yan Hai said he had designed it by summarizing his experience using firearms.

Jiang Yan Hai’s new assault rifle impressed Fan Tian Lei and passed extensive firing and field tests, leading Fan Tian Lei to prepare a confidential report on it. The rifle’s production remained uncertain because Jiang Yan Hai lacked manufacturing capacity and the Li Family’s military-industrial applications had not yet been approved.

• Fan Tian Lei tested Jiang Yan Hai’s rifle and ordered further trials while keeping the project confidential.
• Jiang Yan Hai fired tens of thousands of rounds through test barrels, finding the rifling nearly worn away at 15,000 rounds and completely smooth by about 20,000.
• Jiang Yan Hai produced sixty rifles, and Fan Tian Lei sent them to classified special operations teams for testing.
• Soldiers across the teams praised the rifle’s practical design and requested that the Type 95 be replaced.
• Fan Tian Lei prepared to submit a report and noted that the Li Family had applied to establish several high-end military-industrial enterprises.

Li Ruo Bai told her mother she intended to study fighter aircraft design and build a laboratory, despite the danger of loving a soldier like Fan Tian Lei. At Wolf Fang Special Operations Base, Fan Tian Lei received an emergency order and summoned Jiang Yan Hai and the Red Cell members bound for Warrior School.

• Li Ruo Bai told her mother she wanted to study aircraft design and lead a laboratory so she could help develop fighter jets.
• Li Ruo Bai's mother warned that Fan Tian Lei's dangerous missions could leave her grieving, but Li Ruo Bai insisted she believed in him and would pursue their love.
• Li Ruo Bai's mother and father agreed to support her decision, though her mother worried about the hardship ahead.
• Fan Tian Lei received an emergency call and agreed to assemble his team immediately.
• Fan Tian Lei ordered Jiang Yan Hai and all Red Cell members heading to Warrior School to assemble for an emergency mission.

Jiang Yan Hai and his unit received an emergency order to protect a cargo ship carrying China’s first export-model J10 Improved Variant fighters and five ace pilots to Argentina. During the flight, Jiang Yan Hai learned that twelve armed Marine Corps members and secret materials were hidden in the cargo hold, and the unit landed at Yongshu Reef to continue the mission.

• Jiang Yan Hai rushed to assemble with He Chen Guang and the others after receiving orders to depart immediately and secretly protect a cargo ship.
• Jiang Yan Hai and his unit boarded a Yun-20, where a colonel briefed them on the ship’s five J10 Improved Variant fighters and five ace pilots bound for Argentina.
• The colonel gave Jiang Yan Hai a confidential document revealing that twelve armed Marine Corps members and secret materials were hidden in the cargo hold and would disembark near the African coast.
• Jiang Yan Hai memorized the document and returned to his seat without telling the others what it contained.
• Jiang Yan Hai and his unit landed at Yongshu Reef, where they prepared to continue their mission in the hot South China Sea climate.

Jiang Yan Hai and the others boarded a bulk carrier at Yongshu Reef for a thirty-five-day voyage to Africa, where their mission was to protect the ship. After changing into civilian clothes, they met the five pilots traveling with them.

• The group loaded their equipment aboard the freighter and met chief mate Lu Yan, who explained the crew arrangements and voyage.
• Lu Yan said the trip to their destination would take close to thirty-five days and that they would make few stops.
• Jiang Yan Hai wondered what secret cargo the freighter was carrying and why he had been told about the mission's secret when Gong Jian and Chen Shan Ming had not.
• The group settled into their cabins, changed into prepared civilian clothes, and gathered in the dining hall.
• The lead pilot, Zhang Yan, introduced himself to the group.

Jiang Yan Hai and the others settled aboard the cargo ship and surveyed its deck while discussing the risks their security mission might involve. Jiang Yan Hai concluded that the main danger could come from attackers with helicopters, not ordinary pirates.

• Lu Yan welcomed the group and agreed to show them where their equipment was stored after lunch.
• Gong Jian asked Zhang Yan whether the ship's crew could be trusted, and Zhang Yan assured him they had long worked with the military.
• Li Er Niu excitedly admired the ocean as Jiang Yan Hai explored the deck and familiarized himself with the ship's layout.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Gong Jian discussed how a large cargo ship would be difficult for pirates to board, but vulnerable to helicopters because the deck offered little cover.
• Jiang Yan Hai noted that their destination was still far away and that the crew would handle the route while his team focused on protecting the ship.

Jiang Yan Hai asked Captain Lu Da about the ship’s weapons and secured permission to visit the bridge to learn how to operate the vessel. After discovering his Ground Driving Skill could not control a ship, he began studying navigation and oceanography with the crew.

• Gong Jian asked Captain Lu Da about the ship’s weapons, and Lu Da explained that it carried firearms sealed in hidden compartments.
• Gong Jian asked the crew to help defend the ship in an emergency, and Lu Da agreed on behalf of the retired soldiers aboard.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked to visit the bridge and learn to operate the ship, and Lu Da readily agreed.
• Jiang Yan Hai tested his Ground Driving Skill at the controls but found it could not operate the vessel.
• Jiang Yan Hai began studying ship operation, ocean data, currents, and navigation with the crew and pilots.

Jiang Yan Hai and his team inspected the heavy weapons issued for their mission and continued their long voyage while Jiang Yan Hai studied ships, aviation, and fighter tactics. After fourteen days at sea, the group was only a dozen hours from reaching Africa.

• Jiang Yan Hai opened his case and found an improved Type 10 sniper rifle, other weapons, ammunition, and specialized equipment.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Gong Jian discovered Qianwei-3A air-defense missile systems, Type 08 rocket launchers, and Type 95 squad automatic weapons in the extra crates.
• The team organized its weapons and stored the heavy equipment in a compartment near the deck.
• Jiang Yan Hai spent the voyage studying ship operations and fighter tactics with the pilots, whose discussions with him grew increasingly serious.
• Fourteen days passed, and the team neared the African continent.

Jiang Yan Hai and the others learned that their ship would enter the Somali Sea Area, lose communications, and anchor for three hours, leaving them vulnerable to pirates. Meanwhile, a mercenary leader named Old Man accepted a contract to seize the ship, and his men began preparing for the attack.

• The captain briefed Jiang Yan Hai, Gong Jian, Chen Shan Ming, and the pilots' captain on the communications blackout and planned stop in the Somali Sea Area.
• Jiang Yan Hai agreed to protect the ship, while he and Gong Jian refused Zhang Yan's request for weapons and told the pilots to stay out of the fighting.
• Gong Jian and the others planned their defensive assignments and prepared to rest before setting up the battlefield after nightfall.
• In Somalia, Old Man negotiated a contract to seize the Chinese cargo ship and secured half the payment in advance.
• Old Man ordered Cockroach to ready their men for the attack, while more than thirty armed men waited at their base.

Jiang Yan Hai and the others prepared to defend their cargo ship as pirate speedboats approached, while Jiang Yan Hai suspected the attack was connected to the mission’s cargo. The pirates’ leader, Old Man, waited with helicopters nearby and planned to send his men into the fight first.

• Jiang Yan Hai, He Chen Guang, Gong Jian, and the others set up missile defenses and firing positions aboard the ship as night fell.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Gong Jian that the pirates might have learned about cargo known to both sides, though their team had not leaked the operation’s details.
• Jiang Yan Hai spotted at least six speedboats approaching and alerted the crew as the captain turned the cargo ship broadside and prepared to stop.
• Jiang Yan Hai switched to armor-piercing explosive rounds while noting that the expected helicopters had not appeared near the boats.
• Old Man ordered two helicopters to prepare and told his men to let the speedboats lead the attack before they moved in.

Jiang Yan Hai and the others defended their cargo ship as six pirate speedboats approached, and Jiang Yan Hai’s long-range shot accidentally detonated an RPG and destroyed one boat. The surviving pirates scattered, and the battle continued as He Chen Guang opened fire.

• Gong Jian ordered the snipers to suppress the approaching pirates while the others took defensive positions.
• Jiang Yan Hai fired at a speedboat from nearly three thousand meters away and killed a bandit at its bow.
• Jiang Yan Hai’s bullet set off an RPG strapped to the bandit, blowing up the speedboat and startling both sides.
• The remaining five speedboats scattered after the explosion, while He Chen Guang fired at the attackers.
• A bandit on another speedboat stood up with an RPG and prepared to return fire.

Jiang Yan Hai and He Chen Guang attacked the approaching pirate boats, slowing and frightening the enemy before three helicopters approached from above. Jiang Yan Hai then heard the Red Star Engine speak and wondered if it had come alive.

• Jiang Yan Hai shot a pirate and fired on the approaching boats, while an enemy rocket fell short and exploded in the sea.
• Jiang Yan Hai told He Chen Guang to split their fire across the boats and keep the pirates from charging straight at the ship.
• Old Man ordered the pirates to advance and sent three helicopters in from high altitude to attack the snipers.
• Jiang Yan Hai and He Chen Guang continued firing, damaging boats and forcing the pirates to maneuver, while one boat circled and stopped approaching.
• The Red Star Engine warned Jiang Yan Hai that three helicopters posed a fatal threat and asked whether to mark them.
• Jiang Yan Hai recognized the Red Star Engine's voice and wondered if the engine had come alive.

Jiang Yan Hai learned that the Red Star Engine had activated its warning assistance, then used it to track three approaching enemy helicopters. As the helicopters closed in on the ship, Jiang Yan Hai waited for a firing opportunity and shot at one despite machine-gun fire striking the rooftop.

• The Red Star Engine told Jiang Yan Hai that his captain-level permissions had activated its warning assistance and marked three approaching helicopters.
• Jiang Yan Hai warned the team, and Gong Jian assigned the soldiers to defend against the helicopters and the pirates approaching by sea.
• Jiang Yan Hai tracked the helicopters as they descended and asked Gong Jian to let them come within 1,000 meters before taking cover.
• The helicopter pilots spotted Jiang Yan Hai and opened machine-gun fire on the rooftop as their aircraft entered range.
• Jiang Yan Hai stayed still under fire and fired his rifle at the helicopter.

Jiang Yan Hai and Gong Jian’s team attacked three Black Hawk helicopters with a sniper rifle and their last air-defense missiles. Jiang Yan Hai damaged the helicopter he had already shot and then fired into another helicopter’s open cockpit, leaving its crew’s fate unclear.

• Jiang Yan Hai’s first armor-piercing shot penetrated a helicopter’s windshield, severed the pilot’s left arm, and wounded him with fragments.
• Gong Jian ordered the attack, and his team launched three Man-Portable Air-Defense Missiles at the helicopters.
• The helicopters evaded the missiles, and one deployed infrared decoys that drew a missile into an explosion.
• Jiang Yan Hai identified the helicopters as Black Hawks and targeted the one whose pilot he had wounded.
• Jiang Yan Hai shot the damaged helicopter near its rotor, setting off an explosion and sending black smoke from the aircraft.
• Jiang Yan Hai fired into another helicopter’s open cockpit, and an unclear half-body appeared to fall from it.

Jiang Yan Hai and the others destroyed the attacking helicopters and disabled the pirates’ speedboats, leaving the fleeing pirates stranded in the sea. The chapter ended with the pirates swimming toward a distant shore as Jiang Yan Hai continued firing at them.

• Old Man ordered a retreat as Jiang Yan Hai shot down his helicopter by destroying its tail rotor, then Old Man jumped into the sea before it crashed.
• Gong Jian and the others launched three anti-aircraft missiles at the remaining helicopters while Xu Tian Long used a machine gun to disrupt their maneuvers.
• The remaining helicopters exploded, and their crews jumped into the sea as they tried to escape.
• Wang Yan Bing fired a rocket at a fleeing speedboat and blew it apart, while Jiang Yan Hai and the others shot at the pirates aboard it.
• Jiang Yan Hai destroyed the engines of the six remaining speedboats, leaving the pirates stranded and swimming toward shore twelve nautical miles away.

Jiang Yan Hai drove the surviving pirates away with warning shots after Gong Jian stopped him from shooting them. He then named the Red Star Engine’s support program Er Dan and learned the limits of its Active Warning System.

• Jiang Yan Hai kept shooting the pirates until Gong Jian intervened and warned him not to become like them.
• Jiang Yan Hai stopped targeting the pirates and fired into the water around them, terrifying them into swimming away; He Chen Guang supported his approach.
• Gong Jian ordered everyone to stay alert, then left to find the captain after Jiang Yan Hai stopped firing.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked the Red Star Engine about its identity and named its support program Er Dan.
• Er Dan explained that its Active Warning System could scan enemy weapons and vehicles within three kilometers without obstructions, but could not detect hostile intent or nonmilitary lethal weapons.

Jiang Yan Hai tested Er Dan’s limitations, then joked with his comrades about earning a star and challenged Song Kai Fei to a helicopter match. The group remained safe for the night, while Song Kai Fei learned Jiang Yan Hai had already received an Army Aviation flight license.

• Jiang Yan Hai discovered Er Dan could schedule program functions but could not answer questions about the illusion simulation combat program or the Red Star Engine.
• Song Kai Fei checked in with the team, and everyone reported that they were safe.
• Jiang Yan Hai joked about painting a star on an attack helicopter and challenged Song Kai Fei to compete in the air after they returned.
• Gong Jian teased Song Kai Fei by suggesting he paint his star on a missile while Jiang Yan Hai painted his on a sniper rifle.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Song Kai Fei he had an Army Aviation Flight License, and Gong Jian urged Song Kai Fei not to back down from a future challenge.