Recaps

Jiang Yan Hai revealed that he had taken part in the Argentina Incident and was a former Wolf Fang special forces operative, then demonstrated the advanced Azure Dragon J10 to Owl and the other pilots. Sea Blue Mountain denied Owl’s request for an aerial combat exercise, and Jiang Yan Hai continued his transfer mission after inviting Owl to visit him later.

• Owl spotted three kill markings on Jiang Yan Hai’s fighter, and Jiang Yan Hai admitted that he had been involved in the Argentina Incident after training at Warrior School.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Owl and Sea Blue Mountain that he had served at the Wolf Fang special operations base.
• Owl noticed Jiang Yan Hai’s upgraded Azure Dragon J10, and Jiang Yan Hai demonstrated that it could reach supersonic speed without afterburners.
• Jiang Yan Hai told the pilots that the Azure Dragon could reach Mach 2.5, prompting lively reactions over the communications channel.
• Owl requested an aerial combat exercise, but Sea Blue Mountain denied the request because they were outside a training area near civilian flight routes.
• Jiang Yan Hai invited Owl to visit him for a flight later, then continued his transfer mission.

Jiang Yan Hai arrived at his air base and was placed on its combat readiness duty roster. The pilots learned about his three kills and his unusual way of learning to fly fighters, then persuaded Liu Hao Chen to treat them to a feast.

• Jiang Yan Hai entered the Eastern Theater Command’s airspace, checked in with Eagle’s Nest, and was assigned to combat readiness duty at his base.
• Jiang Yan Hai landed, had his fighter towed into its hangar, and went to his quarters, where all twelve pilots were waiting for him.
• Liu Hao Chen and the other pilots confronted Jiang Yan Hai about his three kills and asked him to explain his background.
• Jiang Yan Hai told the pilots that he had only flown helicopters before and had learned to fly a fighter by studying and mentally modeling it.
• A pilot convinced Liu Hao Chen that training Jiang Yan Hai was something to boast about, then got him to promise the group a feast.

Jiang Yan Hai flew his first solo night combat patrol and detected an unidentified stealth aircraft far beyond his fighter’s normal radar range. After alerting Eagle's Nest that he was investigating a possible radar issue, he accelerated toward the target, and Er Dan confirmed it was a stealth fighter.

• Jiang Yan Hai began combat readiness duty under Wu Di’s guidance, then took over the remaining shifts on his own at night.
• Jiang Yan Hai trained in daytime dogfights with the other pilots and found his new Azure Dragon fighter gave him a major advantage.
• While patrolling over the sea, Jiang Yan Hai received Er Dan’s warning of an unknown fast-moving target with a radar signature suggesting a stealth aircraft.
• Jiang Yan Hai changed course to approach the target from behind and told Eagle's Nest he was investigating a possible radar issue near the border.
• Jiang Yan Hai accelerated to Mach 1.5, and Er Dan confirmed the target was a stealth fighter.

Jiang Yan Hai refueled and returned safely to base while commanders staged the crash of an early J20 to disguise the wreckage of an advanced enemy unmanned fighter. The wreckage was being prepared for recovery as optical satellites watched the area.

• The theater commander ordered an early experimental J20 to be stripped of markings and sent over the battlefield.
• Jiang Yan Hai refueled from an H-6 Tanker, then returned to base after taking on about forty percent fuel.
• A J20 pilot ejected after steering his fighter toward the bombed area, and the aircraft crashed into the blaze.
• Commanders ordered troops and reconnaissance crews to remove distinctive components and compare images so the wreckage would appear to be a J20.
• Jiang Yan Hai learned that the staged crash was meant to conceal the nearly intact advanced unmanned fighter and preserve its research value.

Jiang Yan Hai devised a plan to conceal the crashed fighter from enemy surveillance by displaying debris, jamming Synthetic Aperture Radar, and covering the site with a camouflage net. Enemy analysts examined satellite images and concluded that the fighter had burned beyond research value, but they focused on debris scattered from the crash.

• Zhang Mingwu asked Jiang Yan Hai to assess the camouflage, and Jiang Yan Hai proposed arranging unidentified wreckage in the open, jamming radar, and covering the site with a large net.
• Zhang Mingwu reported the plan, and officials approved it and sent orders to the scene.
• An electronic countermeasures regiment began jamming radar while cranes raised a camouflage net over the covered area and firefighters continued dousing the flames with freshwater.
• Enemy Synthetic Aperture Radar images were ruined by interference, so optical satellites photographed the crash site after dawn.
• Enemy analysts concluded that the fighter had burned for hours and lost its research value, but they identified scattered components as a concern.

Jiang Yan Hai returned to Wolf Fang after Fan Tian Lei asked him to help deal with arrogant new recruits. He arrived by fighter jet and learned that several recruits from reconnaissance units were so skilled that Wolf Fang’s usual training could not challenge them.

• Fan Tian Lei told Jiang Yan Hai that the space program had considered him as an astronaut, but they had already accepted his refusal.
• Fan Tian Lei invited Jiang Yan Hai back to Wolf Fang to help handle capable, arrogant recruits during the annual recruitment.
• Jiang Yan Hai agreed to return, and Zhang Mingwu let him fly a fighter jet to Wolf Fang.
• Fan Tian Lei picked Jiang Yan Hai up at the airport and explained that several recruits from reconnaissance units had exceptional combat skills.
• Fan Tian Lei said Wolf Fang’s usual training did little for the recruits, leaving Jiang Yan Hai to face the challenge.

Jiang Yan Hai returned to the training camp to deal with the new trainees who were challenging their instructors. He asserted his authority over Yu Fei, but several trainees questioned whether they had to obey unreasonable orders.

• Fan Tian Lei told Jiang Yan Hai that the new trainees were difficult to control and that Red Cell was training them at the isolated mountain camp.
• Jiang Yan Hai changed into his Training Uniform, drove to the camp, and found the trainees undergoing physical training.
• Yu Fei challenged the instructors and demanded that they prove themselves before he would approve of them.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered Yu Fei to do one thousand push-ups, and Yu Fei obeyed after Jiang Yan Hai reminded him of a soldier's duty to follow orders.
• A Second Lieutenant and several other trainees said they could complain about unreasonable orders, so Jiang Yan Hai took a notebook and demanded their names.

Jiang Yan Hai eliminated four soldiers he judged unfit for Wolf Fang and confronted Wang Hong when he rejected the dismissal. After Wang Hong defied his order to stop, Jiang Yan Hai fired a live round that knocked off his helmet and left the training ground stunned.

• Jiang Yan Hai crossed Wang Hong, Qi Yuan, Zhao Pengfei, and Qian Baifu off the list and declared them eliminated.
• Jiang Yan Hai explained that the four had poor assessment results, formed a clique, and were trying to exploit the dispute to enter Wolf Fang.
• Wang Hong challenged Jiang Yan Hai’s decision, but fell silent when Jiang Yan Hai threatened to strip him of his uniform.
• Wang Hong slammed his gun down and tried to leave, ignoring Jiang Yan Hai’s order to pick it up and stand at attention.
• Jiang Yan Hai checked Wang Yan Bing’s rifle, fired at Wang Hong’s helmet, and warned him not to take another step.

Jiang Yan Hai disciplined Wang Hong and proved his strength by completing fifteen hundred push-ups before fighting and defeating Yu Fei. Shi San Ba began his own push-ups while the recruits watched.

• Jiang Yan Hai ordered Wang Hong to stand at attention with his weapon in his teeth for an hour, then sent three soldiers away with the Wolf Fang soldiers.
• Shi San Ba challenged Jiang Yan Hai's order and promised to match however many push-ups Jiang Yan Hai could do.
• Jiang Yan Hai completed fifteen hundred push-ups without stopping, and Wang Hong silently resumed his punishment after dropping his weapon.
• Shi San Ba began doing push-ups, while Jiang Yan Hai challenged Yu Fei to fight after Yu Fei finished his own set.
• Jiang Yan Hai threw Yu Fei to the ground and pinned him until he surrendered, then told the recruits to sit and watch Shi San Ba.

Jiang Yan Hai discovered that Yu Fei, Shi San Ba, and Tian Tao were Wolf Warriors soldiers who had come to assess Wolf Fang after hearing their unit might be merged under a new commander. He left the remaining recruits in Chen Shan Ming’s hands and challenged anyone still dissatisfied to compete with him.

• Jiang Yan Hai recognized that Yu Fei, Shi San Ba, and Tian Tao had come from another Special Forces unit and confronted them about their motives.
• Yu Fei revealed that the three were from Wolf Warriors and explained they had come to check out Wolf Fang after hearing it would take over and merge their brigade.
• Yu Fei said their former squad leader, whose name he used on his military ID, had died in the line of duty, while their former commander was away on a special mission.
• Jiang Yan Hai told the recruits that Wolf Fang would not keep troublemakers who lacked ability, then handed training back to Chen Shan Ming.
• Jiang Yan Hai challenged any unconvinced recruits to compete against him.

Jiang Yan Hai returned to Wolf Fang after stopping the recruits’ challenge and explained his actions to Fan Tian Lei. He then asked about Fire Phoenix’s training and proposed that Red Cell help train the unit.

• Jiang Yan Hai ordered the soldiers to resume training and left the recruits to speak with Chen Shan Ming and the others.
• Fan Tian Lei criticized Jiang Yan Hai for firing at a comrade, and Jiang Yan Hai said he had only been testing the soldier’s courage.
• Fan Tian Lei explained that he did not know why the three War Wolf members had been sent and praised Jiang Yan Hai for preventing Wolf Fang from losing face.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked about Fire Phoenix, and Fan Tian Lei said the unit’s second phase was nearly complete and newly trained members were close to finishing.
• Jiang Yan Hai suggested using Red Cell to train Fire Phoenix and help solve the bachelor problem within their ranks.

Jiang Yan Hai and Fan Tian Lei discussed recruiting Fire Phoenix and other special forces soldiers to train the Special Forces 1st Battalion, then turned to the development and production of Jiang Yan Hai’s firearm. The chapter ended with Jiang Yan Hai beginning work in his secured laboratory.

• Jiang Yan Hai asked Fan Tian Lei to arrange Fire Phoenix and a platoon of special forces soldiers to help train the Special Forces 1st Battalion, and Fan Tian Lei agreed to seek approval.
• Jiang Yan Hai promised to arrange parachute training so Fire Phoenix could experience airborne operations.
• Fan Tian Lei told Jiang Yan Hai to handle the firearm’s follow-up work and coordinate with Northern Arms Group on standardization and production.
• Jiang Yan Hai identified the hangar’s security systems, and Fan Tian Lei worried that advanced detection technology could make special forces soldiers obsolete.
• Jiang Yan Hai reassured Fan Tian Lei that technology could be countered and began working on the firearm’s plans and data in his protected laboratory.

Jiang Yan Hai explained how his Virus-style Firewall used ball-python mutation patterns to defend systems, destroy intruders, and alert the Electronic Warfare Combat Program. After finishing the program, he received orders to fly his J7 to Rongcheng for an important mission involving his computer-cracking skills.

• Jiang Yan Hai described how his Virus-style Firewall replicated across system permissions and countered intrusions with anti-tracking and virus-elimination programs.
• He explained that the firewall could destroy databases if it faced an intrusion it could not stop and could send real-time alerts to the Electronic Warfare Combat Program.
• Jiang Yan Hai noted that the firewall could be stored in the Electronic Warfare Simulation Combat Program and connected to nearby devices when needed.
• Fan Tian Lei received a serious phone call and passed it to Jiang Yan Hai.
• An old man asked whether Jiang Yan Hai was skilled at cracking programs and ordered him to fly his J7 to the Rongcheng airport for an important mission.

Jiang Yan Hai arrived at a secret base to help senior aircraft designers crack the systems of the recovered fighter. After learning about the possible built-in warning measures, he requested powerful computing equipment and a comfortable workstation to begin.

• Jiang Yan Hai handed Fan Tian Lei an encrypted hard drive containing data and blueprints, then left by helicopter to retrieve Seventh Master.
• Jiang Yan Hai flew Seventh Master to Rongcheng Airport and transferred by helicopter to a heavily guarded secret base.
• Jiang Yan Hai met Professor Liu, Academician Yang, and other leading aircraft experts in the hangar where the fighter was being examined.
• The experts asked Jiang Yan Hai to crack the fighter’s system, fearing its software contained automatic warning measures.
• Jiang Yan Hai requested a supercomputer, monitors, input systems, high-speed network lines, a comfortable swivel chair, and a properly sized desk.

Jiang Yan Hai prepared the supercomputer and began infiltrating the Stealth Fighter Jet’s drone operating system using his own firewall. He discovered hidden Super Virus bombs attempting to infect the supercomputer and began responding to them.

• Jiang Yan Hai selected his chair and desk, then arranged six independent input units and twelve screens connected directly to the supercomputer.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered the supercomputer’s outside network connections physically disconnected, and the engineer confirmed it was in exclusive-use mode.
• Jiang Yan Hai logged in and integrated his firewall into the supercomputer while the professors watched.
• Jiang Yan Hai began cracking the Stealth Fighter Jet’s drone operating system without using the Electronic Warfare Program.
• Jiang Yan Hai’s virus triggered hidden Super Virus bombs in the drone system’s firewall, which attempted to invade the supercomputer, and he moved to another input unit to counter them.

Jiang Yan Hai cracked the viruses protecting the captured stealth drone’s system and copied its operating program. He confirmed that the system included an autonomous combat program, leaving the professors eager to study it while he advised keeping the supercomputer offline.

• Jiang Yan Hai used the supercomputer and his Electronic Warfare Program to isolate and analyze the viruses attacking the drone system.
• He explained that the viruses attempted to steal data, alter drone programs, and damage hardware, then left the supercomputer to crack them.
• After two hours, Jiang Yan Hai finished cracking the viruses and gained access to the drone’s operating program.
• He copied the operating system and removed its copy restrictions before starting the lengthy transfer.
• Jiang Yan Hai told the professors that the system contained an autonomous combat program driven by sensors across the fighter, and advised them to keep the supercomputer disconnected from the outside world.

Jiang Yan Hai oversaw the copying and dismantling of the captured unmanned stealth fighter’s control system, revealing an extraordinarily powerful computer built with ten 100 GHz graphene CPUs. The inspection left the engineers confronting how advanced and secretive the American aircraft program was.

• Jiang Yan Hai told the professors they could dismantle the aircraft after its programs had been copied, and the data transfer took about four hours.
• After the copying finished, the engineers began dismantling the aircraft’s core control section and uncovered its computing system.
• Jiang Yan Hai identified the system’s ten CPUs as likely mature 100 GHz graphene models, far more powerful than mainstream computer processors.
• The engineers carefully preserved the components as Jiang Yan Hai reflected that the unmanned stealth fighter had escaped detection despite routine satellite surveillance.

Jiang Yan Hai waited as experts processed the captured stealth fighter’s data, then attended a meeting where they thanked him for preventing its explosives from endangering them. The scientists had learned from the aircraft’s flawed autonomous combat system, and Old Liu told Jiang Yan Hai that they could not provide him with a fighter jet for now.

• Jiang Yan Hai considered the value of Skunk Works and the chance to obtain useful information, but left the experts to decide what to do with the captured aircraft.
• Jiang Yan Hai remained at the site for a week while his programs finished processing and the computers and related equipment were removed.
• Old Liu and the other experts applauded Jiang Yan Hai and thanked him for helping prevent the fighter’s self-destruct system from killing them during dismantling.
• Old Liu explained that the fighter’s autonomous combat system had flaws but offered valuable lessons for China’s research and development.
• Old Liu told Jiang Yan Hai that the fighter had been scrapped before reaching 100 flight hours and that they could not provide him with another fighter jet for the time being.

Jiang Yan Hai asked to fly the J20, but Old Liu arranged for him to train in a J10C until the J20 was ready for mass production. He then proposed using a virus to infiltrate Skunk Works and steal data, and the discussion turned to how isolated research networks handled data transfers.

• Old Liu explained that the J20 was still undergoing refinements and could not yet be made available, and he offered Jiang Yan Hai a J10C for training.
• Academician Yang said the experience from the recent mission could help bring the J20 to official mass production soon.
• Jiang Yan Hai proposed modifying the virus found in the enemy’s virus bomb to infiltrate Skunk Works and send its data back.
• Jiang Yan Hai argued that the virus’s transmissions would reach a computer in Area 51, and that misleading data could prompt researchers to verify it using a supercomputer.
• A knowledgeable official described how Chinese research institutes isolated their local networks and used intermediaries and encrypted drives to transfer data.

Jiang Yan Hai explained a stealthy virus strategy for stealing files from enemy supercomputers, leaving Old Liu and the others to consider whether to approve it. He then received orders to fly a half-month mission in the northeast, where his newly decorated fighter jet made keeping a low profile difficult.

• Jiang Yan Hai described how a virus could copy and disguise fragments of files, spread through connected computers and portable drives, and potentially carry stolen data back to its creators.
• Old Liu and the others considered using the same principle against enemy supercomputers, but said they needed to discuss the plan and decide how to design the files before approving it.
• Jiang Yan Hai returned to his unit and discovered that his J10C had been painted with four stars, putting him one star short of the recognized five-star Ace Pilot title.
• Zhang Mingwu ordered Jiang Yan Hai to fly to the northeast and carry out a mission there for half a month so he could keep a low profile.
• Jiang Yan Hai took off as Falcon to patrol the border, refuel near the target area, and land at an Air Force Base under the Northern Theater Command.

The author thanked readers for their support after the novel reached fifth place in the monthly votes and reported writing 650,000 words over the month. She planned to reduce her daily output to rest and address her pain, while promising bonus updates and asking readers for one last round of monthly votes.

• The author thanked the Brotherhood Leaders and other readers whose votes had helped the novel reach fifth place in the monthly rankings.
• The author said she had ignored accusations of vote rigging and credited the results to readers' support.
• The author reported writing 650,000 words in thirty days and described back pain and cramping fingers from her intensive schedule.
• The author said there would be five updates that day and that she planned to write about seven updates daily next month so she could rest more.
• The author promised extra updates on the first of the month, kept the existing bonus-update rules, and said she owed nine bonus chapters before the final vote tally.
• The author asked readers to cast monthly votes on the last day of the month.

Jiang Yan Hai patrolled the northern border, met the Russian pilot Double-headed Eagle, and then landed at an unfamiliar airfield. There, a young trainee challenged his instructor’s claim that pilots his age could be better than him.

• Jiang Yan Hai met Double-headed Eagle near the border, and they exchanged greetings and chatted over the radio.
• Double-headed Eagle’s superior interrupted their conversation, and the two pilots said farewell before Jiang Yan Hai resumed his patrol.
• After reaching his fuel safety threshold, Jiang Yan Hai turned east and followed Xing'anling Control Tower’s instructions to an unfamiliar airfield.
• A veteran instructor addressed a formation of about twenty young pilots, and one trainee insisted that no pilot his age was better than him.

Jiang Yan Hai arrived at the Northern Spring City airfield, where Golden Eagle introduced him to a formation of new pilots as an example of exceptional achievement. The trainees learned that Falcon was only nineteen, had four air-to-air kills, and had flown the flight record they had assumed was impossible.

• Jiang Yan Hai landed his J10C and revealed four kill markings to the astonished trainees.
• Golden Eagle introduced Jiang Yan Hai, who gave his age and described his rapid path through military and aviation training.
• Golden Eagle told the trainees that Jiang Yan Hai had shot down an unmanned fighter in the East China Sea and flown the flight record they had thought was fake.
• Golden Eagle listed Jiang Yan Hai's merits and accomplishments, then warned the trainees against arrogance as they prepared to begin training flights.

Jiang Yan Hai attended PLA Aviation University under a vague assignment and decisively defeated four trainee pilots in a dogfight. Principal Tang hinted that the school’s publicity surrounding him had a purpose, but Jiang Yan Hai had yet to learn what it was.

• Jiang Yan Hai spent his afternoons at PLA Aviation University, where students increasingly recognized and greeted him.
• Jiang Yan Hai faced four newly qualified trainee pilots in a group aerial confrontation and took down all four in twenty minutes.
• Hundreds of trainees watched the confrontation and cheered Jiang Yan Hai as Peregrine Falcon.
• Principal Tang asked Jiang Yan Hai whether he had noticed anything about his time at the school, then began explaining the reason for the publicity around him.

Jiang Yan Hai rejected Principal Tang’s praise, insisting that fallen comrades were the real heroes, then received orders and left to carry out his next mission. After planting a disguised virus in a bait supercomputer and giving Old Liu’s group firewall software, he found a virus on his own computer and began trying to isolate it.

• Principal Tang called Jiang Yan Hai a hero, but Jiang Yan Hai said the comrades who could no longer see the blue sky were the real heroes and noted that he was not a student at the school.
• Principal Tang gave Jiang Yan Hai his orders, then saluted the door after Jiang Yan Hai left and reported to the Old Commander that Jiang Yan Hai was mature and trustworthy.
• The Old Commander approved raising Jiang Yan Hai’s rank to major, and Jiang Yan Hai drove to the airfield to continue his proposed mission.
• Jiang Yan Hai logged into a bait supercomputer, released his disguised virus among the technical data, and gave Old Liu and the others modified firewall software.
• Jiang Yan Hai scanned his computer with his virus firewall, found one virus, and activated isolation to search for it.