Becoming a First-Class Pilot

After Hibiki Gousuke recruited Zhou Hong, he immediately abandoned the recruitment station and took him back to TPC Far East Headquarters to report in.

The various perks Hibiki Gousuke had promised had barely persuaded Zhou Hong to join the squad, but even now, he hadn't seen a single one of them.

After enduring a trial by fire and struggling through all that hardship, Hibiki Gousuke had practically been reborn.

To keep his talents from going to waste, Headquarters transferred him from the Security Bureau to Recruit Squad.

Recruit Squad had been formed to serve as an auxiliary unit to GUTS. If GUTS were ever wiped out, those in Recruit Squad who had already earned recognition would be sent straight to the front lines to fight the monsters.

There were ten such squads at TPC Far East Headquarters. The original plan had been to establish ten, but staffing had become the biggest problem.

After all, wherever there were people, there were factions. At this point, the doves held the majority, and they and Hibiki Gousuke, who had been labeled a hawk, just couldn't get along.

So Hibiki Gousuke's squad was the most pitiful of them all. He'd been all alone—well, now there were two of them.

But since it was a newly formed squad, this sort of situation was normal.

He wanted teammates, but TPC Headquarters was also constantly fretting over staffing, so they'd casually sent this troublemaker out to recruit people himself.

They put it nicely: "The meeting of people is guided by fate. Fate connects them, and in the end, they meet."

Hibiki Gousuke thought so too. He turned around and saw Zhou Hong lifting barbells up and down, one in each hand. The corner of his eye twitched.

He suspected he'd recruited someone who wasn't human. There was no way an ordinary person could do that!

But the guy wasn't hiding his behavior at all. He didn't look like an alien, no matter how you looked at it.

Whatever he was, he was my teammate, one of Hibiki Gousuke's men!

Hibiki Gousuke shook his head, clearing away the stray thoughts, and rhythmically punched the sandbag. His fists landed with a satisfying thud.

Zhou Hong put down the barbells and let out a long breath. That had been the limit of his strength.

His life form was gradually becoming more like a being of light, but he still had to build his strength through training.

"Captain, isn't there anything else we can do? We train every day." Zhou Hong picked up a towel and wiped the sweat from his body.

"No!" The sandbag thudded more heavily.

"The main purpose of Recruit Squad is to train and improve our abilities."

Hibiki Gousuke's enthusiasm did nothing to inspire Zhou Hong. He said helplessly, "Captain, when you recruited me, you promised the organization would find me a wife."

"Where's my wife? Where's the wife you promised me?"

Hibiki Gousuke's expression didn't change. "It'll happen, it'll happen."

Just keep putting him off. With a physique like a bear's, how could he not find a girlfriend?

You think I'd let such an outstanding subordinate slip through my fingers? I wouldn't even leave him a window to escape through.

Zhou Hong hadn't believed Hibiki Gousuke for a second. If TPC really arranged wives for people, Shinjoh would've been taken by now.

"But since you're tired of physical training, I'll apply to the higher-ups for flight training."

Hibiki Gousuke took off his boxing gloves and made the suggestion.

"Today's aircraft are designed to be simple and easy to operate. But becoming a first-class pilot is still very difficult."

"You have to calculate the airflow, predict enemy attacks, and aim your shots with precision."

Zhou Hong smiled disdainfully. He was already a first-class pilot.

"Physical strength alone won't do much against monsters over fifty meters tall." Hibiki Gousuke was very serious, and clearly displeased by Zhou Hong's casual expression. "Unless you're as tall as an Ultra Warrior."

"Flying skills are essential for us."

"If we don't meet the standards, Headquarters won't let us join the fighting."

As the only man in the hawk faction to have formed a squad, Hibiki Gousuke had secured plenty of resources for them, and his squad could use all of it.

After leaving the training room, Hibiki Gousuke led Zhou Hong toward the hangar.

"Everyone longs for peace. They'd removed all the machine guns from the fighter planes."

"But the monsters shattered that peace," Zhou Hong replied quietly.

Hibiki Gousuke's expression turned distant, as if he were reminiscing about the past. "Yeah. The monsters shattered it."

"To deal with monsters that might appear at any moment, some of the aircraft at TPC Headquarters are now equipped with live ammunition."

Hibiki Gousuke led Zhou Hong through a series of sealed corridors until they reached the hangar.

The most conspicuous aircraft inside was the yellow Guts Wing 1. The ground crew were carrying out its daily maintenance.

Just as Zhou Hong had suspected, there wasn't only one fighter in the GUTS Wing series.

Several yellow aircraft were parked side by side in the hangar. The lift platform had already been cleaned, and they were ready to be deployed at any time.

No wonder Shinjoh and the others didn't seem to care about GUTS Wing 1. With so many fighters, what did it matter if one or two were damaged?

Wait.

Zhou Hong counted carefully. There were fewer planes than there had been episodes in the TV series. So repairs were still necessary after all.

"We wouldn't normally use these GUTS Wings for training, but do you know who you're dealing with?" Hibiki Gousuke said proudly, patting his chest.

Maybe all the credit belonged to the politicians who had fought tooth and nail against the doves, but Hibiki Gousuke had been labeled one of their own, so what could he do?

"I'll take the pilot's seat up front. You'll assist me."

From the rear cockpit, Zhou Hong could watch the controls up front and learn a few things.

I've never flown a fighter before. I'll leave it all to you.

The security guard was an old acquaintance of Hibiki Gousuke's. After the two chatted for a while, Hibiki Gousuke came back carrying two oxygen masks.

"We don't have any GUTS helmets. Make do with these."

Sitting in the rear cockpit of GUTS Wing 1, Zhou Hong stared at the bewilderingly complex controls and decided he'd rather just let someone else do the flying.

"The pressure during flight is intense. The faster you go, the more your body and reflexes are put to the test. But I don't think those will be a problem for you."

Hibiki Gousuke spoke with great care, as if passing on his own lessons.

He went over every button and the emergency escape system, which he mentioned over and over.

According to one rumor, Shinjoh had joined GUTS because he was unrivaled at escaping from danger.

Zhou Hong thought he'd find some time to ask Shinjoh to teach him that skill.