Recaps

Jiang Yan Hai arranged compensation for the dead pilots’ families while the opposing commander accepted the outcome and ordered the recovery of the surviving pilots and bodies. The incident’s aftermath remained tightly classified, and the next day reports of the aerial battle spread across domestic social media.

• Jiang Yan Hai told Mabu Country that the money had arrived and proposed paying one million dollars to each dead pilot’s family.
• The opposing commander angrily received the compensation message, acknowledged it, and ordered helicopters to bring home their pilots and bodies.
• Jiang Yan Hai and his team stayed at Overlord Wolf’s base as the border lockdown and security protocols continued, while a special department escorted the passenger plane’s cargo to a secret research base.
• Domestic media reports made the incident a trending topic on Weibo, highlighting the loss of two F22s and eight F16s.

Jiang Yan Hai watched the United States and his own country publicly frame the fighter jet incident as a fight against terrorism, while the truth remained secret. He then met Ling Weifeng and Qiao Fangyuan at the Overlord Wolf base, where he confronted Ling over the base’s new place under his command.

• Jiang Yan Hai observed that the United States’ response signaled the incident was over, while the countries involved would keep what happened secret.
• Jiang Yan Hai met Ling Weifeng and Qiao Fangyuan, who saluted him as their commander because Overlord Wolf had been placed under his command.
• Ling Weifeng expressed discomfort at Overlord Wolf’s demotion to a subordinate base, and Jiang Yan Hai offered to submit a transfer request if Ling did not want to stay.
• Jiang Yan Hai warned Ling Weifeng to stop making barbed remarks, then corrected him that he was now a nine-star Ace Pilot.

Jiang Yan Hai rebuked Ling Weifeng for challenging his authority, listing his accomplishments and explaining why he had been assigned the base. Ling Weifeng and Qiao Fangyuan accepted him as their commander, and Jiang Yan Hai asked them to brief him on the base before making adjustments.

• Jiang Yan Hai told Ling Weifeng that the higher-ups had assigned him the base because of his abilities and Ling Weifeng’s unsatisfactory previous mission.
• Jiang Yan Hai listed his military, technical, and research achievements, then challenged Ling Weifeng to take on his responsibilities or request a transfer.
• After Jiang Yan Hai left, Ling Weifeng and Qiao Fangyuan acknowledged his authority and decided to report to him.
• Ling Weifeng and Qiao Fangyuan saluted Jiang Yan Hai and formally reported to him as the base’s commanders.
• Jiang Yan Hai welcomed them to Dark Blade, dismissed their earlier dispute as classified, and asked them to explain the base’s situation.

Jiang Yan Hai outlined plans to reorganize Overlord Wolf Base into a combat brigade and a centralized logistics brigade, supported by information systems and a future strategic transport force. Ling Weifeng and Qiao Fangyuan considered the base’s expansion needs as Jiang Yan Hai asked for a personnel list and ordered preparations for additional facilities.

• Jiang Yan Hai explained that the base would become two brigades: the combat-focused Dark Blade Special Mixed Brigade and the logistical 9th Rapid Reaction Brigade.
• Jiang Yan Hai described an information system to track equipment and supplies so the logistics brigade could coordinate maintenance and deliveries.
• Jiang Yan Hai proposed creating a strategic transport force that could eventually operate dozens of large transport planes and support other units.
• Ling Weifeng pointed out that the base would need more hangars and fuel storage as its aircraft capacity grew.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered preparations for a separate fuel reserve depot and asked Ling Weifeng and Qiao Fangyuan to provide a detailed list of base personnel for reassignment.

Jiang Yan Hai discussed the new base’s needs with Ling Weifeng and Qiao Fangyuan, then urged them to recruit experienced combat pilots for the unit. After spending nearly two weeks training at the base, he and the other participants received honors for their mission.

• Ling Weifeng and Qiao Fangyuan saluted Jiang Yan Hai after he called for a disciplined, powerful force and invited them to offer suggestions.
• Jiang Yan Hai urged Ling Weifeng and Qiao Fangyuan to recruit the combat pilots temporarily stationed at the base and provided files of pilots he wanted transferred.
• Jiang Yan Hai stayed at the base for nearly two weeks, studying and training in the J20.
• Ling Weifeng informed Jiang Yan Hai that the orders had arrived, and more than a hundred people gathered for the commendation ceremony.
• Jiang Yan Hai received First Class Merit, while Peregrine Falcon, Magpie, other pilots, and the Eagle Eye Early Warning Aircraft crew also received awards.

After the award ceremony, Jiang Yan Hai returned to the capital base with his own J20 and resumed his studies, planning to develop an engine. While reviewing Phantom's stealth technology, he discovered its structural radar-absorbent material could make the aircraft nearly undetectable by every kind of radar.

• Er Dan told Jiang Yan Hai that his authority had reached 800 points, leaving him 200 points short of field-grade commander authority.
• Jiang Yan Hai received permission to return to the capital base in his own J20, while Lu Xiaoran transferred to the Overlord Wolf base to train with Wu Di and the others.
• Jiang Yan Hai returned to school in May and began intensive study of engine construction plans.
• Jiang Yan Hai remembered the Stealth Coating he had yet to submit and studied Phantom's technical documents in detail.
• Jiang Yan Hai discovered that more than seventy percent of Phantom's structure used a new structural radar-absorbent composite that could leave the aircraft nearly invisible to radar.

Jiang Yan Hai realized Phantom’s advanced composite could not be manufactured outside specialized national laboratories, so he set aside its full-speed design and focused on research that could be scaled. He then visited Li Yun Feng’s newly acquired aero-engine institute and presented his own engine blueprints, asking the researchers to build the design before judging it.

• Jiang Yan Hai assessed Phantom’s radar-absorbing composite and concluded that its demanding production requirements made the aircraft too costly and difficult to manufacture at scale.
• Jiang Yan Hai decided to rely on Stealth Coating for now and invest in research into full-body composite materials.
• Jiang Yan Hai went to the aero-engine research institute that Li Yun Feng had acquired and found that its researchers had been taken on as well.
• Jiang Yan Hai presented his engine blueprints and said he had already developed the necessary materials.
• Zhao Jianguo questioned whether Jiang Yan Hai was confident in the unconventional design, and Jiang Yan Hai asked the researchers to manufacture it according to his requirements.

Jiang Yan Hai handed Old Zhao and the research team complete blueprints for his unconventional vector engine, and they built a Phantom Engine in a little over a week. The chapter ended as Professor Zhao Jianguo’s team prepared to conduct its first startup test.

• Jiang Yan Hai gave Old Zhao the engine blueprints after stressing that they must remain confidential.
• Old Zhao and the research team reviewed the design, agreed to begin manufacturing, and learned that the necessary materials were already available.
• After a little over a week, the team completed a Phantom Engine, and Jiang Yan Hai considered how the design could be adapted for other aircraft.
• Jiang Yan Hai brought ordinary and specially formulated aviation fuel to the test facility while Professor Zhao Jianguo supervised preparations.
• The staff connected the fuel, equipment, measurement tubes, and sensors, then hoisted the engine into the test chamber and secured it to the stand.

Jiang Yan Hai and Professor Zhao oversaw the new engine’s first test run, which succeeded, then tested its maximum and dry thrust. The readings exceeded 177 kilonewtons at maximum thrust and 152 kilonewtons dry, while further endurance and destructive tests remained ahead.

• Professor Zhao ordered everyone to evacuate the test chamber before starting the engine.
• Jiang Yan Hai let Professor Zhao initiate the test, and the engine ignited with stable readings.
• Professor Zhao declared the test run successful, and Jiang Yan Hai ordered long-duration testing and production of additional engines.
• Professor Zhao began the maximum-thrust test, and the engine produced 177 kilonewtons while remaining stable.
• The operators measured 152 kilonewtons of dry thrust, then noted that the figure appeared below the projected target.

Jiang Yan Hai replaced the engine’s fuel with his specialized formula, and the test produced far greater thrust than the earlier run. Professor Zhao and the researchers celebrated the results as Jiang Yan Hai urged them to develop a whole engine series.

• Jiang Yan Hai told Professor Zhao that he had designed a specialized fuel formula to increase the engine’s thrust.
• Professor Zhao agreed to replace the fuel, and the team prepared and restarted the engine.
• The operator reported an intermediate thrust of 213 kilonewtons, stunning Professor Zhao and the researchers.
• Jiang Yan Hai took over Professor Zhao’s position as the team prepared to test maximum thrust.
• The operator reported a maximum thrust of 265.7 kilonewtons, and Professor Zhao praised Jiang Yan Hai for his achievement.
• Jiang Yan Hai said the team should develop the engine into a series for use in many aircraft.

Jiang Yan Hai arranged testing for the Phantom Engine and began designing the Phantom’s internal systems while the engine underwent endurance trials. He left the research institute before the 150-hour test was complete, with security tightened and wind tunnel testing planned as the next step.

• Jiang Yan Hai and Professor Zhao agreed to begin comprehensive testing of the Phantom Engine, including a 150-hour endurance run.
• The researchers began testing the engine, examining its components, thrust levels, and thrust vectoring during continuous operation.
• Jiang Yan Hai notified Hound before leaving the institute, and security around the facility was raised while the engine test continued.
• Jiang Yan Hai started planning the Phantom’s wind tunnel tests and designing its internal circuitry, electronic systems, instruments, and fuel tanks.
• Jiang Yan Hai intended to complete the Phantom’s design while waiting for engine test results and progress on the composite materials.

Jiang Yan Hai considered collaborating with Li Ruo Bai on improved fighter electronics while awaiting the Phantom Engine’s endurance-test results. Fan Tian Lei brought him a box and updated him on the imminent formation of the information forces, but left without explaining what the gift was about.

• Jiang Yan Hai noted that Li Ruo Bai's institute was developing stable, interference-resistant military chips and other electronic systems.
• After returning to school, Jiang Yan Hai resumed studying and waited for the results of the Phantom Engine's 150-hour endurance test.
• Fan Tian Lei visited Jiang Yan Hai, handed him a large box, and reminded him that the information forces would be ready in about half a month.
• Fan Tian Lei said 110 outstanding graduates had been gathered and that the theater command had provided an old command center with dedicated high-speed defense fiber-optic lines.
• Jiang Yan Hai agreed to handle the remaining personnel, then called after Fan Tian Lei to ask what was in the box, but Fan Tian Lei drove away without answering.

Jiang Yan Hai realized Fan Tian Lei had given him a model to remind him of Li Ruo Bai’s upcoming birthday, then received excellent results from the engine’s 150-hour endurance test. He agreed to arrange further testing, including a high-altitude test at the Taihang facility.

• Jiang Yan Hai opened Fan Tian Lei’s box and found an intricately made J20 model, then used Er Dan to learn that Li Ruo Bai’s birthday was only a few days away.
• Jiang Yan Hai realized Fan Tian Lei had intended the model as a reminder to prepare a birthday present for Li Ruo Bai.
• Jiang Yan Hai waited for the engine’s 150-hour test to finish and received no calls during the test.
• Professor Zhao told Jiang Yan Hai that the engine passed the test with excellent results and could potentially last 6,000 to 8,000 hours.
• Jiang Yan Hai agreed to coordinate long-term, destructive, and high-altitude testing, including contacting the Taihang side about its test facility.

Jiang Yan Hai told Old Liu that his newly developed engine had completed its test run, with a thrust-to-weight ratio of 27. Principal Zheng summoned him to a secure conference room, where aviation experts began reviewing the engine’s preliminary test results.

• Jiang Yan Hai celebrated the engine’s successful test run and contacted Old Liu to report it.
• Jiang Yan Hai gave Old Liu the engine’s preliminary figures: 21.7 tons of military thrust, 27 tons of maximum thrust, and a thrust-to-weight ratio of 27.
• Old Liu hung up and contacted Principal Zheng, who ordered Jiang Yan Hai to come to his office immediately.
• Principal Zheng brought Jiang Yan Hai into a secure room and started a video conference with several professors.
• Old Liu introduced Professor Qian Hongming, who questioned the reported thrust-to-weight ratio, and Jiang Yan Hai confirmed that testing had verified the figures.

Jiang Yan Hai presented his engine design and test results to a group of senior aviation-engine professors, who were stunned to learn it had passed a 150-hour endurance test. After Professor Li recalled the country’s long struggle to improve engine lifespans, Professor Qian invited Jiang Yan Hai to bring the engine to Taihang for high-altitude testing.

• Jiang Yan Hai sent the professors the engine’s design materials and detailed test results, including its 150-hour endurance test.
• Professor Li and the other professors reacted with excitement, while Jiang Yan Hai asked Principal Zheng to ensure their health and safety.
• Professor Li recalled that the country’s engines had once lasted only 300 hours, then reached 800 hours, and said she was relieved to witness the nation finally catching up.
• Professor Qian asked Jiang Yan Hai where he had tested the engine and offered Taihang’s research institute for the high-altitude test he lacked.
• Professor Qian told Jiang Yan Hai to send the finished engine to Taihang and promised to make room for it among the other engines.

Jiang Yan Hai explained that his new engine required specially formulated aviation fuel and had been designed for a Mach 4 stealth fighter. After revealing his lightweight stealth composite materials, he gained the professors’ support and was named chief designer of the Phantom Fighter Jet.

• Jiang Yan Hai said the engine reached its strongest performance with new aviation fuel that cost about the same as conventional fuel but required a separate refueling system.
• Jiang Yan Hai revealed that he had designed the engine and fuel for a stealth fighter with a maximum speed of Mach 4 and sustained cruise speed of Mach 3.
• Jiang Yan Hai explained that the Phantom would use stealth coating and structural composite materials to reduce its empty weight and withstand the heat of high-speed flight.
• Old Liu offered to work under Jiang Yan Hai, and Professor Li said the professors would help him design the fighter.
• Jiang Yan Hai named the aircraft Phantom, and Professor Li declared him its chief designer.

After Jiang Yan Hai’s engine passed its test run, senior professors told him to organize his fighter design files and take a short break while they reviewed the plans. He learned that national support could accelerate Phantom’s development and asked Li Yun Feng to contact Chengfei, who offered to mobilize up to forty-two billion in cash.

• Jiang Yan Hai told the professors he would organize and send the design files, and Old Liu instructed him to begin engine testing arrangements and rest while they reviewed the plans.
• Old Liu suggested that Li Yun Feng contact Chengfei and said production could go to his company, with competing manufacturers involved if the design passed verification.
• Principal Zheng granted Jiang Yan Hai a week of leave and told him to remain in contact.
• Jiang Yan Hai reflected on how the professors’ decision had brought Phantom’s development forward far sooner than he expected.
• Jiang Yan Hai called Li Yun Feng, who agreed to contact Chengfei and said he could raise twelve billion in cash immediately and roughly thirty billion more within a week.

Jiang Yan Hai completed and submitted the Phantom’s blueprints, setting off a nationwide effort to develop the aircraft and its Composite Materials. With work temporarily out of his hands, he traveled to Jiangcheng to visit Li Ruo Bai and prepare a birthday present for her.

• Jiang Yan Hai told Professor Zhao that the engine had received official approval, and Professor Zhao arranged for an engine to be tested at a high-altitude test bench.
• Jiang Yan Hai finished the Phantom’s blueprints and transmitted them to a secure server, then informed Old Liu.
• Old Liu organized researchers across the country to review the blueprints, especially the Composite Materials designs.
• Jiang Yan Hai considered visiting Pishkov and realized he needed to make up for missing Li Ruo Bai’s birthday the previous year.
• Jiang Yan Hai confirmed that Li Ruo Bai was in Jiangcheng and traveled there with the things Fan Tian Lei had given him.
• Jiang Yan Hai used Er Dan to find a jade jewelry company and bought an uncarved piece as a possible birthday gift for Li Ruo Bai.

Jiang Yan Hai secretly prepared a carved jade gift and roses for Li Ruo Bai’s birthday, then surprised her at her home just before midnight. They reunited passionately, and Li Ruo Bai told him that he was the only gift she wanted.

• Jiang Yan Hai spent his leave carving two tiny jade figurines for Li Ruo Bai and bought her roses.
• Jiang Yan Hai waited near Li Ruo Bai’s home and messaged her until he called shortly before midnight.
• Jiang Yan Hai used Er Dan to open Li Ruo Bai’s villa door and quietly entered while talking to her.
• Jiang Yan Hai surprised Li Ruo Bai in her bedroom, and she ran to him and kissed him passionately.
• Jiang Yan Hai wished Li Ruo Bai a happy birthday, but she said he was the best gift and nothing else mattered.

After celebrating Li Ruo Bai’s birthday, Jiang Yan Hai visited Ivan, who had settled with Natasha in China and wanted to see him. Jiang Yan Hai joined them at home after seeing how well they were doing.

• Li Ruo Bai sent Jiang Yan Hai away so she could focus on a critical project at the electronics research institute.
• Jiang Yan Hai decided to visit Ivan, who was working at a research institute near Rongcheng.
• Jiang Yan Hai waited outside Natasha’s school and greeted Ivan and Natasha when they came out.
• Natasha told Jiang Yan Hai that her leg had recovered, and Ivan thanked him and invited him home.
• Jiang Yan Hai accepted Ivan’s invitation and chatted with Natasha as she practiced speaking Chinese.

Jiang Yan Hai visited Ivan and learned that Ivan had chosen Chinese citizenship and wanted to contribute his expertise to their homeland. Ivan gave Jiang Yan Hai a USB drive containing a next-generation fighter aircraft decoy design, leaving Jiang Yan Hai speechless.

• Jiang Yan Hai chatted with Natasha while Ivan welcomed him into the villa and offered to cook.
• Jiang Yan Hai helped Ivan in the kitchen, where Ivan said he felt safe in China and valued the life he and Natasha had found there.
• Ivan told Jiang Yan Hai that he had chosen Chinese citizenship and intended to contribute his expertise to the country.
• Ivan gave Jiang Yan Hai a USB drive containing a next-generation fighter aircraft decoy design, saying Jiang Yan Hai could hand it in and earn merit.

Ivan gave Jiang Yan Hai research materials for a compact electronic decoy that could disable nearby radar and electronic systems, explaining its capabilities and limitations. Jiang Yan Hai accepted the device and considered how it might protect against missiles.

• Ivan told Jiang Yan Hai that the decoy was his late partner’s research and offered it without asking for anything in return.
• Ivan explained that the small device released powerful microwave and electromagnetic waves that could permanently damage nearby radar and electronic components.
• Ivan said the decoy’s range could not be increased proportionally and that it could not stop inertially guided missiles or mechanically triggered explosives.
• Ivan warned Jiang Yan Hai that the waves could also cause irreversible damage to the human body.
• Jiang Yan Hai accepted the research materials and considered using the decoy to blind tracking missiles and gain an advantage in combat.

Jiang Yan Hai examined Ivan’s new radar-disrupting decoy material and sent its designs to Old Liu for testing. He then set out to recruit four imprisoned hackers, whose backgrounds and criminal skills were outlined as the chapter ended.

• Jiang Yan Hai asked Er Dan to analyze the USB’s material, and Er Dan confirmed that it could damage radar systems while exposing people to dangerous microwaves.
• Jiang Yan Hai explained the new decoy to Old Liu and sent him its designs so the team could begin testing it safely.
• Jiang Yan Hai decided to abandon his vacation and proceed with recruiting the four hackers.
• Hound reported that the four men had been placed in the same prison and that three had made contact, while Qiu Xiao Fei had not.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered Hound to prepare Black Hawk and the others for a visit to the prison, and the chapter described the four men’s online identities and criminal histories.

Jiang Yan Hai reviewed why Hou Li, Gan Yu, Wei Zhao, and Qiu Xiao Fei had been imprisoned and decided how to handle them. He had arranged a trap in prison, leaving them to choose whether to fall into it while he kept them under control.

• Hou Li had been arrested after scamming a woman and falling for her trap at a hotel.
• Gan Yu had received a sentence for crippling his girlfriend’s lover, while Wei Zhao had been arrested after stealing and uploading a television drama’s master copy.
• Qiu Xiao Fei had been sentenced to fifteen years after stabbing his wife and her lover to death, then calmly telling investigators he did not regret it.
• Jiang Yan Hai judged Hou Li and Wei Zhao to be the main targets for punishment, while viewing Gan Yu and Qiu Xiao Fei as different cases.
• Jiang Yan Hai left a pit for the four prisoners and planned to keep them under his control.

Hou Li, Gan Yu, and Wei Zhao debated using a hidden cellphone and a wealthy inmate’s escape plan to get out of prison, while Jiang Yan Hai arrived in Su Province. Jiang Yan Hai went to meet Qiu Xiao Fei, who was surprised that someone had finally come to see him.

• Hou Li found a smuggled cellphone and discovered that an inmate planned to escape overseas with help from a hacker and more than a hundred million dollars in an anonymous account.
• Hou Li recruited Gan Yu and Wei Zhao to discuss using the phone to alter medical records and seek medical parole, but Wei Zhao and Gan Yu doubted the plan.
• Jiang Yan Hai arrived at the prison, where the three men still had not decided whether to take part in the escape scheme.
• Jiang Yan Hai reviewed Qiu Xiao Fei’s prison surveillance footage and sent Officer Zhang to tell him that someone wanted to meet him.
• Qiu Xiao Fei asked Officer Zhang who had come, then relaxed when he learned the visitors were from above.