Recaps

Jiang Yan Hai received his new uniform and official documents for the Logistics 9th Rapid Reaction Brigade, then discussed plans for the unit and a possible fleet with Fan Tian Lei and Master Kang. After spending two days with Li Ruo Bai, he left for the capital to attend university.

• Jiang Yan Hai examined the Logistics 9th Rapid Reaction Brigade and Dark Blade Unit patches, and Fan Tian Lei gave him his updated officer’s certificate listing him as a lieutenant colonel and training staff officer.
• Fan Tian Lei asked Jiang Yan Hai to prepare proposals for the unit’s composition, training base, and information unit over the coming months.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked about obtaining a Type 055, and Master Kang and Fan Tian Lei described a proposed small fleet that might also include a Type 095.
• Jiang Yan Hai proposed keeping the warships at their existing ports with Navy logistics staff while placing their training and joint combat missions under his command.
• Jiang Yan Hai spent two days with Li Ruo Bai, then boarded a plane for the capital while she stayed behind to continue her studies.

Jiang Yan Hai arrived at the National Defense University to register for the Joint Operations College’s Military Command program, surprising the officers there with his lieutenant colonel rank and young age. He also presented two advanced-study admission notices and hurried to a class beginning that day.

• Jiang Yan Hai entered the university and followed directions to the registration point outside Teaching Building No. 2.
• A major stopped lecturing when Jiang Yan Hai appeared, saluted him, and confirmed that the registration point was for Jiang Yan Hai’s program.
• The major checked Jiang Yan Hai’s admission notice and Officer’s Certificate, then helped him register and gave him the course list.
• Jiang Yan Hai presented two additional admission notices for six-month advanced studies, startling the major.
• The major directed Jiang Yan Hai to Classroom 12 in Teaching Building No. 3 for a class starting that day and told him to visit the principal afterward.

Jiang Yan Hai arrived late to his first class at the military academy and found himself studying alongside fourteen generals. After accurately answering the lecturer’s memory questions, he was asked to explain his own understanding of Military Thought.

• Jiang Yan Hai rushed to Teaching Building No. 3 and reported to class, where he discovered that his classmates were generals.
• Jiang Yan Hai introduced himself as a twenty-year-old lieutenant colonel from the 9th Rapid Reaction Brigade of Logistics, surprising the officers.
• Jiang Yan Hai sat beside a general and listened attentively to a lesson on Military Thought.
• The lecturer quizzed Jiang Yan Hai, who recited every answer accurately and said he had a good memory.
• The lecturer asked Jiang Yan Hai to explain what Military Thought meant to him.

Jiang Yan Hai explained his view that Military Thought grew from life’s struggle to survive and that humanity could achieve internal peace only under pressure from another civilization. Teacher Hu praised his reasoning, then dismissed the class and left the generals to consider whether such ideas were useful.

• Jiang Yan Hai defined Military Thought as a way of understanding war and defense, then argued that it began with life’s struggle against nature and other organisms.
• Jiang Yan Hai said humanity would never reach true peace without an outside threat, because competition and conflict were necessary to avoid stagnation.
• Teacher Hu praised Jiang Yan Hai’s answers, and the generals applauded him.
• When a general asked whether such ideas were useful, Jiang Yan Hai said the ideas alone were empty talk but that a mind capable of thinking them could be useful.
• Teacher Hu ended the class and told everyone to find out during the six-month training whether the ideas were useful.

After his first class, Jiang Yan Hai reported to Principal Zheng, received his room key and a secure tablet, and learned how he would be contacted for missions. He reviewed the packed course schedules and planned to master theoretical subjects early so he could leave time for research and design.

• Jiang Yan Hai asked Teacher Hu where to report for his six-month intermediate advanced training course, and Teacher Hu directed him to Principal Zheng’s office.
• Jiang Yan Hai reported to Principal Zheng, who reviewed his documents and gave him a key to his room.
• Principal Zheng told Jiang Yan Hai to go to the helicopter pad if he received a mission and gave him a secure tablet for course information and special orders.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked whether he could skip courses he had already mastered, and Principal Zheng said he could do so for some theoretical subjects if he passed the examinations.
• Jiang Yan Hai checked the courses on his tablet and decided to complete theoretical material early to make time for research and design.

Jiang Yan Hai settled into his National Defense University accommodation, reviewed the campus facilities, and attended a Russian class for junior officers. After class, he planned to tell the teacher he would stop attending, but Xu Peng Fei asked the teacher the same thing first, drawing an unhappy reaction.

• Jiang Yan Hai reached his assigned villa, registered at the guarded entrance, and found a motorcycle waiting in its yard.
• Jiang Yan Hai arranged his registration and books, then visited the library and cafeteria before going to his Russian class.
• Jiang Yan Hai listened as classmates whispered about his young age and lieutenant colonel rank, then attended Teacher Liu's class.
• Xu Peng Fei asked Teacher Liu in front of the class if he could stop attending, and Teacher Liu's expression turned unpleasant.

When Xu Peng Fei claimed he was proficient in several languages to avoid Teacher Liu's class, Liu ZhiKuan challenged him and made him retract his request. Jiang Yan Hai then asked to skip the language classes, and a multilingual conversation convinced Liu ZhiKuan that Jiang Yan Hai was genuinely proficient in many languages.

• Xu Peng Fei claimed proficiency in English, Russian, and Japanese, but Teacher Liu challenged his knowledge of dialects and other languages until Xu Peng Fei apologized and agreed to keep attending class.
• Teacher Liu asked whether anyone else wanted to leave his class, and Jiang Yan Hai requested a test so he could skip language lessons for advanced courses.
• Jiang Yan Hai said he knew nearly all major languages, prompting Liu ZhiKuan to test him in Japanese and several other languages.
• Jiang Yan Hai conversed fluently with Liu ZhiKuan in multiple languages, convincing him Jiang Yan Hai was genuinely proficient and leaving the class astonished.

Jiang Yan Hai demonstrated his command of more than a dozen languages, then focused on studying materials and fighter jet design. During physical training, he challenged the instructor’s routine as too easy and began an intense burpee workout.

• Liu ZhiKuan learned that Jiang Yan Hai had mastered more than a dozen languages and excused him from future language classes except for exams.
• Jiang Yan Hai left class to study materials and fighter jet design, deciding not to use his abilities to access classified plans without permission.
• Jiang Yan Hai rose early to train on his own before joining the advanced-study class for morning physical training.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Lu Bing that the training was too easy and requested permission to train independently.
• Lu Bing challenged Jiang Yan Hai to demonstrate his preferred intensity, and Jiang Yan Hai began doing burpees with jumps nearly a meter high.

Jiang Yan Hai demonstrated extraordinary endurance during three hours of nonstop Physical Training, convincing Lu Bing to let him choose whether to attend daily training. He then proved his mathematics knowledge to the teacher and was excused from mathematics and other regular classes, leaving the trainees stunned by his shrinking schedule.

• Jiang Yan Hai completed five hundred Burpees, then continued Physical Training without resting for three hours as Lu Bing and the trainees watched.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked Lu Bing whether he had met the training requirements, and Lu Bing let him decide whether to attend daily training.
• Jiang Yan Hai claimed his logistics unit trained by carrying missiles, then hurried to the teaching building after showering and changing.
• Xu Peng Fei and other trainees discussed Jiang Yan Hai's physical abilities and wondered whether he would also excel in advanced mathematics.
• Jiang Yan Hai persuaded the math teacher to excuse him from class after demonstrating his expertise, and the teacher offered the same option to trainees who passed a test.
• Jiang Yan Hai stopped attending regular courses outside the military subjects, leaving the trainees resentful and bewildered by his sparse schedule.

After completing most of his courses at National Defense University, Jiang Yan Hai received an alert and was sent to a military airport to take charge of a J10 Qinglong fighter. He received upgraded flight equipment and met four female pilots, leaving before his patrol mission and new callsign were settled.

• Jiang Yan Hai studied military command courses at National Defense University after finishing most of his other coursework.
• Jiang Yan Hai responded to a red alert and flew by helicopter with Hong Ying and Apple to a military airport.
• Wu Zhenjiang assigned Jiang Yan Hai a J10 Qinglong, asked him to choose a new callsign, and ordered him to conduct a combat readiness patrol while testing the fighter's limits.
• Hong Ying, who introduced herself as Bai Yang, showed Jiang Yan Hai his dormitory and changing room.
• Jiang Yan Hai examined an upgraded Anti-G Suit and helmet before meeting Lu Xiaoran, Yi Dan, Wang Zheng, and Tian Jia.

Jiang Yan Hai received the upgraded J10S Azure Dragon, chose the codename Gyrfalcon, and took off on a combat readiness patrol along the border. After testing the fighter’s powerful engine, he opened his tactical tablet and was startled by what it displayed.

• Jiang Yan Hai arrived at the hangar and found the J10S Azure Dragon ready, with new equipment and six missiles mounted.
• Jiang Yan Hai inspected the fighter, signed for it, and learned from Dong Kejiang and Zheng Ling that its engine had been upgraded.
• Jiang Yan Hai chose Gyrfalcon as his codename and received clearance to patrol southward along the border from Zone Z6.
• Jiang Yan Hai took off in Azure Dragon and pushed the fighter into supersonic flight to test its performance.
• Jiang Yan Hai opened his tactical tablet at the Control Tower’s request and widened his eyes at the information displayed.

Jiang Yan Hai tested the Azure Dragon’s new supersonic cruising performance and reached Mach 2.8, drawing attention from a border radar station. During his combat-readiness patrol, Er Dan warned him of an approaching incident, and Jiang Yan Hai headed toward it after Control Tower authorized him to investigate without opening fire first.

• Jiang Yan Hai accelerated the Azure Dragon to Mach 2.8, and a radar station contacted him to check his status.
• Jiang Yan Hai slowed down and continued his patrol, while Er Dan assessed the fighter’s electronic systems.
• Er Dan warned Jiang Yan Hai of an unusual situation, and Jiang Yan Hai called Control Tower.
• Control Tower told Jiang Yan Hai he could make his own decisions but could not fire first, and said J11s Bee and Wasp were heading to the area.
• Jiang Yan Hai turned sharply and dove toward the destination to investigate.

Jiang Yan Hai flew Azure Dragon toward two Korean F16C fighters in the overlapping air defense identification zone, while Bee and Hornet escorted them and traded rapid English warnings over the radio. He left the story after blasting through the formation at Mach 2, startling the Korean pilots with a sonic boom.

• Bee and Hornet approached the two Korean fighters and Bee spoke faster than their pilots over the shared communications channel.
• The Control Tower ordered Bee and Hornet to cooperate with an approaching fighter codenamed Sea Eagle.
• Jiang Yan Hai locked onto the Korean fighters with Er Dan’s assistance and approached from behind at around Mach 1.5.
• Jiang Yan Hai accelerated Azure Dragon past Mach 2 and shot through the Korean formation, shaking both fighters with a sonic boom.

Jiang Yan Hai confronted Kimchi and Beef after they entered the air defense identification zone, using several dangerous close passes to intimidate them. After Beef spotted Jiang Yan Hai’s four kill markings and the ground Control Tower ordered them back, Kimchi and Beef left for their own airspace.

• Jiang Yan Hai warned Kimchi and Beef to leave the air defense identification zone, then flew back toward them at supersonic speed.
• Kimchi and Beef pulled their fighters vertical as Jiang Yan Hai passed between them, shaking all three aircraft with the turbulence.
• Jiang Yan Hai stabilized his fighter, climbed while inverted, and caught up with the opposing pilots from above.
• Beef spotted four kill markings on Jiang Yan Hai’s fighter and told Kimchi, who recalled the East China Sea incident and fell silent.
• The ground Control Tower ordered Kimchi and Beef to return to base, and the two pilots broke away from Jiang Yan Hai and headed toward their own airspace.

Jiang Yan Hai completed a patrol after a tense encounter with two opposing pilots and told Bee and Hornet about the J10S Azure Dragon’s supercruise ability. After he returned to base, a photo of his fighter’s four kill markings spread through the pilots’ group chat, and several female pilots rushed to tell Lu Xiaoran the news.

• Jiang Yan Hai outmaneuvered two opposing pilots, then returned to normal flight as they switched channels and headed back toward their airspace.
• Bee and Hornet spotted the four stars on Jiang Yan Hai’s cockpit and spoke with him about the East China Sea incident and the local patrol routine.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Bee and Hornet that his J10S Azure Dragon could supercruise, then left to continue his patrol.
• Jiang Yan Hai completed his two-hour patrol and returned to the airbase, unaware that a photo of his fighter’s four gold stars was circulating among the pilots.
• Several female pilots rushed into Lu Xiaoran’s dormitory to announce huge news.

Lu Xiaoran and the female pilots learned that the handsome newcomer was Jiang Yan Hai, callsign Haidongqing, and went to find him. At the anti-G training room, they saw him controlling the stick under 11 Gs, astonishing Lu Xiaoran and the watching pilots.

• Wu Yan showed Lu Xiaoran a photo of Jiang Yan Hai boarding a fighter with four kill markings, and the female pilots admired him.
• Lu Xiaoran led her team to the male soldiers’ dormitory to meet Jiang Yan Hai, but learned he had gone to overload training.
• Lu Xiaoran and the female pilots went to the anti-G training room, where the male pilots made way for them.
• Lu Xiaoran saw Jiang Yan Hai steadily control the stick under 11 Gs without passing out, a feat no one at the base had managed before.

Jiang Yan Hai stunned Lu Xiaoran and the other pilots by completing 11-G overload training without Anti-G Pants. Lu Xiaoran resolved to file a report and pursue her dream of becoming a fighter pilot as Jiang Yan Hai left for other duties.

• Jiang Yan Hai emerged from the training machine after enduring 11 Gs without Anti-G Pants and walked steadily, shocking Lu Xiaoran and the pilots.
• Lu Xiaoran asked Saker Falcon to teach her tactical maneuvers, but Jiang Yan Hai explained that his studies at National Defense University left him little time.
• Lu Xiaoran decided to file a report and became determined to prove herself as a fighter pilot.
• Jiang Yan Hai encouraged Lu Xiaoran, praised her courage, and left the group.

Jiang Yan Hai returned to campus to visit a materials research institute and received notice of Battle Command Confrontation Training. At the airbase, Lu Xiaoran submitted an application to transfer from the flight demonstration team to become a regular fighter pilot, though approval remained uncertain.

• Jiang Yan Hai left the airbase, while pilots there gossiped about whether Lu Xiaoran had taken an interest in him.
• Lu Xiaoran told Yi Dan she planned to apply to become a fighter pilot because she felt the battlefield suited her better.
• Lu Xiaoran presented her transfer application to her superior, and the colonel agreed to accept it but said approval was not up to him.
• Jiang Yan Hai returned to campus by helicopter and planned to visit a nearby materials research institute to test adjusted formulas.
• Jiang Yan Hai received a notice about Battle Command Confrontation Training and wondered how the simulated exercise would work.

Jiang Yan Hai arrived at the Materials Laboratory to take charge and prepare it for his research. He recruited the staff’s cooperation with generous bonuses while Er Dan secretly scanned their information and the laboratory’s security systems.

• Jiang Yan Hai left campus and was driven to the Materials Laboratory by a trusted contact arranged through Fan Tian Lei.
• Liu Hao welcomed Jiang Yan Hai and explained that Laboratory One and seven or eight researchers had been assigned to assist him.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered Er Dan to scan the laboratory staff’s phone signals and identities and hack into the surveillance systems.
• Jiang Yan Hai introduced himself to the researchers as Jiang Xiao and told them to follow his instructions without compromise.
• Jiang Yan Hai promised the researchers bonuses of at least one million if they cooperated, and they agreed to give the work their full effort.

Jiang Yan Hai conducted an initial experiment at the laboratory, then drafted plans for an information warfare unit and a specialized logistics brigade. After Fan Tian Lei reviewed the proposals, he called Master Kang to arrange a meeting about the work ahead.

• Jiang Yan Hai began a trial experiment at the laboratory and found that the first results were poor.
• Jiang Yan Hai tasked his driver with gathering files on the laboratory staff and asked for information about information-related crimes across the country.
• Jiang Yan Hai wrote and sent Fan Tian Lei a proposal for an information warfare unit, then drafted a plan for a professional logistics brigade.
• Fan Tian Lei told Jiang Yan Hai that he would submit the information warfare proposal and asked him to ensure the unit maintained cybersecurity discipline.
• Fan Tian Lei finished reading Jiang Yan Hai's reports and called Master Kang to arrange a meeting the next day.

Jiang Yan Hai joined Pantheon and was invited to store his identity information in its secret database so the group could help him if he faced danger. After verifying the server, he began entering his information and considered including details about Jiang Ling.

• Jiang Yan Hai logged into Pantheon’s chatroom and spoke with Zeus about joining the group.
• Zeus explained Pantheon’s evaluation periods and invited Jiang Yan Hai to store identity information for emergency rescues.
• Jiang Yan Hai accepted and received a one-time password and link to Pantheon’s secret server.
• Jiang Yan Hai used the Electronic Warfare Program to verify the server and began entering his information, considering whether to include Jiang Ling’s details.

Jiang Yan Hai joined the Pantheon under the codename Great Sage Equalling Heaven, while concealing his identity behind a fabricated profile. The Pantheon members voted to inspect his information, and Zeus opened the file Jiang Yan Hai had left on their server.

• Jiang Yan Hai deleted Jiang Ling's information and submitted a profile claiming he was a twenty-year-old Chinese near-ace pilot with four confirmed kills.
• Zeus welcomed Jiang Yan Hai to the Pantheon on a six-month probation and invited him to choose a codename.
• Jiang Yan Hai chose Great Sage Equalling Heaven, and Odin suggested calling him Sun.
• Jiang Yan Hai disconnected but secretly arranged to be alerted if anyone accessed his profile.
• Athena, Anubis, and Odin argued that the Pantheon needed to verify Ghost's identity, and the members voted to inspect his file.
• Zeus opened the profile Jiang Yan Hai had created and displayed it to the others.

After Pantheon members read Jiang Yan Hai’s planted profile, they debated whether he knew they had accessed it and recognized that he was demonstrating his capabilities. Jiang Yan Hai then searched Pantheon’s data for domestic hackers and narrowed thirty-two candidates down to nine potential recruits.

• Pantheon members read Jiang Yan Hai’s profile and his message that they owed him a favor, then Zeus revoked access to the file.
• Anubis, Odin, Athena, Gabriel, and Zeus discussed whether Jiang Yan Hai had planted the information to demonstrate his strength and whether they would admit to reading it.
• Jiang Yan Hai laughed, saying he had expected them to look, and had Er Dan search Pantheon’s records for hackers likely to be in China.
• Er Dan found thirty-two likely candidates, and Jiang Yan Hai filtered out people with legitimate jobs, families, and no criminal records, leaving nine.
• Jiang Yan Hai reviewed the nine candidates, including four prisoners, and considered recruiting them through forced reform.

Jiang Yan Hai arranged surveillance on nine potential recruits and went to meet Black Hawk, using a carefully prepared encounter at Red Star Kindergarten. The chapter ended with Black Hawk stunned when Jiang Yan Hai demonstrated that he knew a private detail about his daughter, Tiantian.

• Jiang Yan Hai ordered Er Dan to gather information about the nine people and decided to recruit the information-warfare expert known as Black Hawk.
• Jiang Yan Hai skipped class and traveled with Hound, asking him to monitor the nine people for any laboratory information leaks.
• Jiang Yan Hai directed Hound to buy a McDonald's kids' breakfast with several packets of ketchup before they reached Red Star Kindergarten.
• Black Hawk arrived carrying his daughter, Tiantian, and Jiang Yan Hai greeted them as an old friend.
• Jiang Yan Hai offered Tiantian her favorite ketchup, and Black Hawk stiffened because only he and his wife knew about her unusual fondness for it.

Jiang Yan Hai approached Tang Jian, a government information security official known online as Black Hawk, and tried to recruit him for the military. After revealing his credentials and unsettling Tang Jian with a speech about his unfulfilling routine, Jiang Yan Hai left him to consider the offer.

• Jiang Yan Hai gave Tang Jian's daughter breakfast and asked Tang Jian to talk with him privately.
• Jiang Yan Hai listed Tang Jian's personal history and threatened that his family could be in danger, but Tang Jian refused to betray his country.
• Jiang Yan Hai clarified that he wanted Tang Jian to transfer from the police force to the military and showed him his Officer's Certificate.
• Tang Jian remained suspicious and tried to leave, but Jiang Yan Hai questioned whether he felt alive in his repetitive daily routine.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Tang Jian to think about the offer, then asked Hound to arrange business cards because people did not believe them.