Flight

After the monster subjugation, Daigo tried to enter the training room for three whole days, but he was rejected every time; they wouldn't even open the door for him.

To avoid him, the rookie squad hadn't set foot in the training room for three days either.

They were all flying the same fighter jets, yet even after Shinjoh's GUTS Wing 1 crashed, he never reeked like this. Daigo, however, had picked up this foul stench from somewhere unknown.

According to Hori, this odor would take at least seven days to dissipate.

Even after those seven days had passed, the others remained traumatized, staying in the training room only for brief periods to perform basic physical conditioning before returning to flight drills.

Well, it wasn't hatred—it was just disgust.

Piloting a spare GUTS Wing 1, Zhou Hong streaked across the azure sky.

Perhaps it was due to the flight techniques imparted by Nexus, the dreams passed on by The Next (Shunichi Maki), or simply a breakthrough after a brief period of accumulation, but Zhou Hong's flying was becoming increasingly fluid.

He executed high-difficulty maneuvers, weaving through the clouds and performing impossible aerial feats, from emergency stops mid-sprint to accelerations that pushed the engines to their absolute limit.

Such brutal piloting was enough to significantly shorten the service life of any fighter jet.

The orange-yellow streak danced like a bolt of lightning through a barrage of lasers, spinning to dodge every training shot while occasionally firing back to strike the opposing craft.

As a fellow rookie with a natural talent for flight, Yumimura Ryo clearly understood the difficulty of those techniques; it required more than just skill.

It required a powerful physique, dynamic vision and reaction speeds bordering on the monstrous, and perfect control over precision.

She could even sense the distress of Captain Hibiki Gousuke, who was sitting in that GUTS Wing 1, through the comms.

He let out a series of weak groans.

But she wasn't doing too badly herself; though a rookie, her talent for piloting fighter jets was already shining through.

"Such powerful talent. I think these guys are already capable of joining GUTS to carry out missions," Munakata said softly as he watched the training.

Because Daigo and Shinjoh frequently visited the rookie squad, and for other reasons, GUTS was currently paying extremely close attention to this detachment.

"Training is training, and combat is combat."

Megumi Iruma watched the screen, observing the fighter jet flying with such abandon, weaving at will like an unrestrained gale. Her eyes were filled with nostalgia. "This style of flying reminds me of Hayate."

Shinjoh was known as an ace pilot, but if one counted the man who had been sent to the Moon Karou Base among the pilots, then Shinjoh was in trouble.

That man had graduated from pilot to astronaut; if not for that, Shinjoh would never have been able to hold onto his title.

Commander Munakata had also had some contact with Hayate, and he knew exactly how formidable that man was.

"Too green, compared to that genius."

It was an unbiased assessment; compared to Captain Hayate, who utilized pure flight technique, these skills were still raw.

However, if they were to face off, the outcome would be hard to call. Perhaps Hayate would be stunned by the sheer ferocity of the assault, or perhaps his superior technique and experience would leave Zhou Hong with no opening to exploit.

Zhou Hong was well aware that his current flight technique relied entirely on his strong physique to force results.

Such high-speed flight was something those with weaker physical constitutions simply couldn't endure.

Even though he was now accustomed to piloting the GUTS Wing 1, he was still a bit unrefined, unable to launch attacks while flying with total fluidity.

And if one were to fight as a pair?

Hibiki Gousuke, who looked like he was about to vomit in the front seat, was the best example of that.

"Too weak, Captain!" A smirk tugged at the corner of Zhou Hong's mouth.

"Damn it."

Hibiki Gousuke's physical fitness was actually not weak at all; he trained regularly, which kept him quite strong.

But compared to someone superhuman, there was still a gap.

It was inevitable that he would feel some discomfort during such brutal piloting.

As Yumimura Ryo struck the final opposing drone, the special training session came to an end.

Meanwhile, in the GUTS command room, they received bad news.

"Dr. Mizuno's aircraft has lost contact. It's been an hour since we received the report," Yazumi announced, and the command room fell into a heavy silence.

Research aircraft did not communicate directly with the GUTS command room, and by the time the news reached GUTS after such a long delay, everything was likely already over.

Megumi Iruma remained silent. Hori had a close bond with his mentor, and she feared he wouldn't be able to accept this news.

"Tell Hori the news first."

She trusted her team member to be able to walk out of this nightmare.

"Regardless, we must first confirm the exact status of Dr. Mizuno's research aircraft."

"Shinjoh, Daigo..." Megumi Iruma paused, pondered for a moment, and then pressed the communication button.

"Deputy Captain Zhou, Dr. Mizuno's aircraft has lost contact. Could I trouble you to head to the coordinates on the map and confirm the doctor's situation?"

"Shinjoh and Daigo will provide immediate support."

The rookie squad belonged to the Security Bureau, and GUTS technically had no authority to deploy them.

But sometimes, regulations were not absolute.

Since training missions are still ongoing, we might as well add a reconnaissance task to the mix.

Zhou Hong, who was currently heading back to headquarters, didn't hesitate for a second as he yanked the control stick. The fighter jet performed a graceful drift in the air, and with the formation of a sonic boom, the GUTS Wing 1 transformed into a bolt of straight lightning.

Only then did Zhou Hong's reply ring out across GUTS.

"Understood."

For the sake of safety, Daigo and Shinjoh prioritized stability, as most pilots did; however, this burly man preferred a rougher approach—he was quite the expert at pushing a jet to its limits.

It must have been Gazort that caused Dr. Mizuno to meet his end.

Because the screen time for Gazort was about the same as that of the Kyrieloid, Zhou Hong still retained the memory even now.

Gazorts lived in the high atmosphere and possessed the ability to disrupt aircraft communications.

This led Zhou Hong to keep the altitude of the GUTS Wing 1 within a lower range.

Hibiki Gousuke was never a man to ask too many questions; he was well aware of the mysterious nature of his vice-captain and spent the flight adjusting his own state of mind.

In no time at all, they arrived at the location where Dr. Mizuno had lost contact.

Within their line of sight, a black cloud mass was floating in the distance.

"Nothing discovered. There are no traces of Dr. Mizuno's ship."

Zhou Hong slowly reduced the speed of the GUTS Wing 1, inching closer toward the cloud mass of the Gazort.

"The sensors are detecting various scattered metallic reactions located within the black cloud ahead."

Zhou Hong's report caused the last shred of hope in Megumi Iruma's heart to dissipate.

"I'm sorry to trouble you. Leave the rest to us."

ps: I beg you all, please give me some votes.