Recaps

Li Zhi tried to land his malfunctioning fighter despite both engines developing problems, refusing to eject because the wreckage could help identify the cause and protect other pilots. After the tower confirmed his landing gear was down, he completed a three-turn maneuver and prepared to land as the left engine caught fire again.

• The right engine began losing power four kilometers from the base, and Xu Feng ordered Li Zhi to eject.
• Li Zhi refused to abandon the fighter, explaining that investigators needed to identify the malfunction; Xu Feng ordered him to eject if the right engine failed and caught fire.
• As alarms sounded and the flight controls malfunctioned, Li Zhi asked Chicken Coop to check his landing gear, and the tower confirmed it was fully down.
• Li Zhi began the three-turn landing procedure, unable to dump the fighter's excess fuel because of the low altitude and risk of another fire.
• During his fourth turn toward the runway, Xu Feng warned that Li Zhi's tail was on fire, and Li Zhi used the left engine's fire suppression system while preparing to land.

Li Zhi made a dangerous forced landing after both engines failed, stopping the damaged fighter just short of the runway’s edge. He survived and the aircraft was preserved for investigation, but the base was left with only two fighters that could fly.

• The right engine failed as Li Zhi was about to land, and he activated its fire suppression system when flames erupted from the exhaust.
• Li Zhi landed rear wheels first, kept the swaying fighter on the runway, and used the drag chute, speed brakes, and automatic brakes to stop it four meters from the edge.
• Firefighters sprayed the fighter, and its front tire burst while the rescue crew waited for the aircraft to be safe.
• Li Zhi could not open the canopy from inside, so ground crew forced it open and carried him to the infirmary for an examination.
• Xu Feng and the control tower crew applauded Li Zhi for limiting the accident’s damage, and the fighter was towed to a hangar for engineers from the Yuzhou Aircraft Industry Group to inspect.
• Xu Feng realized the base had only two fighters that could fly normally.

Xu Feng secured a promise that Chicken Coop Base would receive new aircraft within a month and brought in experts from Yu Aircraft Group to inspect its malfunctioning Eighth Master. Li Zhi completed his psychological assessment with Xia Chuxue, but he remained unable to fly until the evaluation cleared him.

• Xu Feng reported the base’s shortage of fighter jets to Lei Hu, who promised to prioritize it for new aircraft within a month.
• Lei Hu told Xu Feng to take good care of the Yu Aircraft Group experts, and Xu Feng went to collect them by helicopter.
• Xia Chuxue questioned Li Zhi during his psychological assessment and teased him about whether he had a girlfriend and found her pretty.
• Li Zhi answered that Xia Chuxue was “all right,” then left the consultation room after she declared his assessment over.
• Li Zhi worried that he could not return to flying until Xia Chuxue’s assessment cleared him.

Li Zhi answered Yu Aircraft experts’ questions about the Eighth Master’s malfunction, and Liu Xuelin decided to recommend grounding fighters from the same batch. While Li Zhi waited out his flying ban, Xu Feng came to give him a task, leaving him wary of the captain’s smile.

• Liao Yifei told Li Zhi that Yu Aircraft experts wanted to question him, and Li Zhi went to meet them.
• Li Zhi told Liu Xuelin that the left-engine warning came before any noticeable loss of power, that restarting the engine briefly restored it, and that he heard no unusual noise.
• Liu Xuelin concluded the malfunction might not have been an accident and planned to recommend grounding Eighth Masters from the same batch until the cause was found.
• Xu Feng escorted the experts back to Yu Aircraft headquarters, and the malfunctioning fighter was dismantled and shipped there.
• Li Zhi spent his enforced downtime reading and exercising while the other pilots and Xu Feng stayed busy.
• The day before Li Zhi’s flying ban was due to end, Xu Feng came to give him a task, and Li Zhi recalled that the captain’s inherited code name was Old Hen.

Li Zhi traveled to division headquarters to receive his merit medal before heading to Yu Aircraft to collect four Jiaolong 10Bs. Lei Hu presented him with the certificate and medal, and Li Zhi left understanding that his accomplishments would remain largely unpublicized.

• Xu Feng told Li Zhi to take a supply helicopter to division headquarters and then collect four Jiaolong 10Bs from Yu Aircraft.
• Li Zhi flew to division headquarters, where Lei Hu summoned him to his office.
• Lei Hu gave Li Zhi a red certificate and a red box containing his merit medal, explaining that the unit’s rules meant his achievement would not receive public attention.
• Lei Hu praised Li Zhi’s recent performance and considered his talent and potential, while resolving not to push his development too quickly.

Li Zhi received a third-class merit medal and learned that he would soon take delivery of four Jiaolong 10 fighters. At 201 Airport, he admired the aircraft before being called to complete the handover with Director Chen.

• Li Zhi received his third-class merit medal and a 50,000-yuan award, then struggled to fall asleep before his next day's flight mission.
• Lei Hu arranged for an orderly to drive Li Zhi to Yu Aircraft and privately regretted that Li Zhi's achievements had earned only third-class merit.
• Li Zhi arrived at 201 Airport, where the four Jiaolong 10 fighters assigned to Chicken Coop Base were being stored before delivery.
• Li Zhi tried to approach one of the fighters but was stopped because the aircraft had not yet been handed over and its details remained classified.
• A Yu Aircraft staff member told Li Zhi that Director Chen had finished meeting the guests and had fifteen minutes for the handover.

Li Zhi completed the paperwork to take delivery of four Jiaolong 10Bs and flew one from 201 Airport toward Chicken Coop Base. An Aseyan representative witnessed his short takeoff and admired the aircraft and pilot.

• Director Chen apologized to Li Zhi for being busy, signed the handover documents, and left to receive guests from Lanan.
• Li Zhi selected one of the four Jiaolong 10Bs, and the ground crew prepared it for flight.
• Li Zhi waited more than thirty minutes for a takeoff slot as aircraft from several countries arrived at 201 Airport.
• After an Aseyan passenger aircraft reached the jet bridge, Li Zhi received clearance and took off using the afterburner.
• Wu Qineier watched Li Zhi take off in under 350 meters and praised the Jiaolong 10 and Dragon Country's pilot.

Li Zhi avoided a flock of birds during takeoff, but his sudden maneuver prompted the airport to escort him to his division and investigate. The airport found pigeons near the runway, while Lei Hu summoned Li Zhi to learn what had happened.

• Li Zhi spotted several black dots ahead, sharply raised his angle of attack, and told the tower controller he had encountered a flock of birds.
• The controller ordered Li Zhi to fly toward the suburbs, and the airport sent two Jiaolong 10s to escort him to the 1st Aircrew Division.
• Wu Qineier and the vice president of Yu Aircraft mistook Li Zhi’s maneuver for a performance arranged for their visit.
• The airport suspended takeoffs and landings, activated its detection and bird-deterrent equipment, and spotted pigeons fleeing toward the family housing area.
• Lei Hu invited Li Zhi to his office after he landed, hoping to understand the incident and help him.

After a pigeon flock interfered with Li Zhi’s flight, the airport confirmed his account and Lei Hu promised to hold 201 Airport responsible. Li Zhi returned to Chicken Coop Base, reunited with Liao Yifei, and joined the pilots for a celebratory wild-game meal.

• Lei Hu learned that a flock of pigeons had interfered with Li Zhi’s flight and promised to demand an explanation from 201 Airport.
• Li Zhi returned to Chicken Coop Base and stopped Liao Yifei from touching his fighter, which Liao envied.
• Li Zhi fretted over the ground crew’s maintenance of his fighter until Xu Feng returned and assigned him the next morning’s patrol.
• Xu Feng announced that the base would celebrate Li Zhi’s achievement with rabbits caught by the ground crew.
• The pilots and other base personnel shared a rare meal of wild game.

Li Zhi toyed with a Peacock fighter pilot near the border, using clouds to evade him before descending below radar detection. He vanished from both the Peacock pilot’s and his own base’s radar, while Xu Feng prepared support in case the encounter escalated.

• Li Zhi reported that he planned to play with the Peacock pilot, and the control tower warned him not to go too far.
• Li Zhi plunged into the clouds, climbed above them unseen, and then repeated the maneuver to make the Peacock pilot lose track of him.
• After the Peacock pilot stopped following him, Li Zhi told the base he would disappear for a while and descended below radar and radio range.
• Xu Feng learned that Li Zhi had vanished and prepared support in case the Peacock side retaliated.
• The Peacock pilot realized Li Zhi was descending too far and hurried after him, but Li Zhi disappeared from his radar near the ground.

Li Zhi’s low-altitude patrol triggered a border alert before he returned to the designated altitude, easing tensions between Dragon Country and Peacock. Meanwhile, a Peacock fighter struck treetops and lost control; its pilot’s ejection system failed, leaving him unable to steer or contact his base.

• Li Zhi flew below radar coverage, prompting Peacock to scramble fighters and Dragon Country to prepare its border forces.
• Xu Feng activated satellite communications and ordered Li Zhi to return to the designated altitude; Li Zhi obeyed, reappearing on both sides’ radar.
• Both countries began reducing their airborne forces after confirming Li Zhi remained in Dragon Country’s airspace.
• A Peacock pilot flying low while searching for Li Zhi struck treetops with his fighter’s right wing, knocking off two missiles and destabilizing the aircraft.
• The Peacock pilot tried to eject, but the mechanism failed; although the fighter regained a normal attitude, its controls stopped responding and he could not contact his base.

Sangji Ayi was trapped in a Peacock fighter whose safety system had locked its controls, while Peacock and Eagle Country tried to locate and contact him. After Li Zhi and Xu Feng were ordered back toward the border to monitor Peacock's unusual movements, Sangji Ayi broke down over the radio and begged to be rescued.

• Sangji Ayi failed to break the fighter's canopy after his ejection attempt triggered its safety lock, and Peacock noticed that the fighter had not returned.
• Li Zhi rejoined Xu Feng, and the two chatted with One-Eyed Wolf before Lei Hu ordered them to stop their return and watch Peacock's movements.
• Peacock obtained Eagle's authorization, located the fighter near the border, and established satellite communications with Sangji Ayi.
• Sangji Ayi told Peacock that he had hit a tree, could not control the fighter or eject, and did not want to die.
• Peacock ordered Sangji Ayi to climb and doubted his claim that the fighter was out of control.

Peacock Country shot down Sangji Ayi’s out-of-control fighter as it approached Muhante City, while Dragon Country withdrew its aircraft and Li Zhi returned to base. Eagle Country seized the fighter’s black box and blamed the crash on a failed ejection seat and Peacock’s modifications, leaving Peacock publicly exposed.

• The Peacock commander ordered close-in defense to shoot down Sangji Ayi’s fighter before it could reach Muhante City, and the aircraft exploded.
• The commander ordered Peacock’s fighters to land to avoid escalating tensions with Dragon Country, and Lei Hu withdrew Dragon Country’s aircraft as well.
• Lei Hu and other senior officers traced the incident back to Li Zhi’s provocation but did not blame him.
• Li Zhi returned to Chicken Coop Base with Xu Feng and was ordered to write a detailed report, while his fighter was taken for inspection.
• Eagle soldiers seized the fighter’s black box from Peacock’s military and announced that Sangji Ayi’s breakdown resulted from a failed ejection seat and Peacock’s modifications.

Li Zhi learned that a Peacock fighter jet he had taunted three days earlier had been shot down by its own side after its pilot lost control and headed toward a city. Though Liao Yifei and Xu Feng praised Li Zhi for his part in the incident, they said he probably would not receive a reward because Dragon Country could not claim responsibility.

• Li Zhi returned from patrol frustrated that the wary Peacock pilot had refused to engage with his tricks.
• Liao Yifei hinted that Li Zhi had taken down a Peacock fighter, but Li Zhi did not understand what he meant.
• After taking care of a stomachache, Li Zhi went to the aircrew mess, where Liao Yifei and Xu Feng explained what had happened three days earlier.
• Xu Feng told Li Zhi that the Peacock pilot had lost control, flown toward a city, and been shot down by Peacock Country.
• Liao Yifei asked whether Li Zhi would receive a medal, but Xu Feng said Dragon Country could not acknowledge the incident.

Li Zhi received a special allowance after earning merit, while the military’s repeated payments alarmed his parents until they learned he was safe. After half a month of rest, Li Zhi and Liao Yifei were assigned a low-altitude patrol, with Li Zhi leading and told to familiarize himself with the terrain.

• Liao Yifei urged Li Zhi to paint a kill star on his aircraft, but Li Zhi refused because he had not shot the enemy aircraft down himself.
• Xu Feng told Li Zhi that the higher-ups had granted him a special allowance along with his salary to compensate him for his recent achievements.
• Father Li and Mother Li grew frightened by the military’s transfers, traveled to Li Zhi’s alma mater, and learned through the dean that Li Zhi was safe.
• Li Zhi began a quiet afternoon combat-readiness watch as Peacock stayed subdued after losing aircraft and pilots.
• After half a month of rest, Xu Feng assigned Li Zhi to lead a low-altitude patrol with Liao Yifei and told him to learn the terrain.

Li Zhi and Liao Yifei flew a low-altitude reconnaissance mission along the border while two Peacock fighters monitored them. They reached the Great Snow Mountain without shaking off Sanjay, then climbed and ended the surveillance encounter at the mountain.

• Li Zhi and Liao Yifei took off together and agreed to practice a simulated low-altitude penetration near the border.
• Two Peacock pilots recognized Li Zhi and split up, with one staying high while Sanjay followed the Dragon Country fighters down.
• Li Zhi and Liao Yifei flew low enough to disappear intermittently from radar, while Sanjay tracked them by sight and struggled to maintain the pursuit.
• Sanjay snapped at his high-altitude teammate for repeatedly asking whether the Dragon Country fighters had appeared on radar.
• Li Zhi and Liao Yifei climbed as they approached the Great Snow Mountain, ending Sanjay and his teammate's surveillance mission at the border.

Li Zhi and Liao Yifei used repeated ultra-low-altitude flights to evade Peacock pilots Sanjay and Xiaerdi, who failed to locate them. After Peacock sent four fighters as backup, Li Zhi and Liao Yifei revealed their position and returned to base with low fuel.

• Li Zhi and Liao Yifei turned back over the Great Snow Mountain and vanished from radar during another low-altitude penetration.
• Sanjay sent Xiaerdi to search for them, but Xiaerdi searched the wrong area because he misjudged their speed.
• Sanjay and Xiaerdi searched at low altitude but could not find Li Zhi and Liao Yifei, so Sanjay reported their disappearance to Muhante.
• Commander Sunak dispatched four Peacock fighters as backup while Li Zhi and Liao Yifei tracked Sanjay and Xiaerdi on radar.
• Li Zhi and Liao Yifei climbed into view more than two hundred kilometers from the mountain, then ignored the six Peacock fighters and requested permission to land.

After a day and a half of rest, Li Zhi learned from Xu Feng that he had a confidential mission in two days. Dragon Country was preparing to reclaim territory seized by Peacock decades earlier, and Li Zhi’s mission would support the operation if Peacock escalated.

• Li Zhi and Liao Yifei returned to a heroes’ welcome after tricking Peacock pilots, while Xu Feng warned them not to stir up trouble.
• Xu Feng announced a day of maintenance and rest, and Li Zhi spent the break reading about air-combat maneuvers.
• Xu Feng privately told Li Zhi to rest and avoid missions for two days, then revealed he had an important assignment for him.
• Li Zhi guessed the mission involved Peacock, as Dragon Country had spent a year preparing to reclaim territory seized decades earlier.
• Dragon Country planned to avoid an outright war, but Li Zhi and other fighter pilots stood ready in case Peacock retaliated.

Xu Feng sent Li Zhi alone to provoke Peacock’s fighters and keep them occupied without firing first, while nearby bases prepared to support him. Li Zhi approached the border under radio silence and low altitude, then emerged from a radar blind spot, startling Peacock’s command center.

• Xu Feng ordered Li Zhi to stir up trouble, stay safe, and not open fire first so he could buy time for Dragon Country’s ground forces.
• Li Zhi prepared his armed Jiaolong 10 with extra drop tanks and ammunition, then took off from Chicken Coop Base in poor weather.
• Li Zhi requested radio silence and flew at extremely low altitude toward the border, evading Peacock’s radar.
• Li Zhi turned and climbed near the border to make himself detectable, and Peacock’s air force command center in Muhante was alarmed by his sudden appearance.

Li Zhi provoked Sanjay and Xiaerdi by locking onto their fighters, then lured them into following him at ultra-low altitude. In a hilly area, he illuminated Xiaerdi again and held the lock long enough to gather attack parameters.

• The Peacock controller reported Li Zhi’s brief disappearance from radar to Commander Sunak and sent two fighters to investigate.
• Sanjay and Xiaerdi spotted Li Zhi, who locked onto each of them with his fire-control radar before diving low to evade their pursuit.
• Xiaerdi chased Li Zhi, and Sanjay followed despite suspecting something was wrong, while both pilots avoided crossing the border.
• Li Zhi led the Peacock fighters into hilly terrain and turned to illuminate Xiaerdi with his fire-control radar again.
• The warning alarm in Xiaerdi’s cockpit grew more urgent as Li Zhi maintained the lock for over three seconds.

Xiaerdi used Sanjay's fighter to escape Li Zhi's fire-control lock, but Sanjay later crashed while flying too low and ejected. After the fighter exploded, Commander Sunak questioned Xiaerdi about the loss and his failure to report the radar lock.

• Xiaerdi put Sanjay's fighter between himself and Li Zhi, causing Li Zhi to switch his lock to Sanjay.
• Sanjay descended to evade the radar lock, but his fighter struck a tree and became unstable.
• Sanjay collided with another tree, lost half his right wing, and successfully ejected before the fighter crashed and exploded.
• Xiaerdi called Muhante for support as Sanjay's automatic ejection signal reached the command center.
• Commander Sunak demanded to know why Sanjay had ejected and berated Xiaerdi for not reporting Li Zhi's fire-control radar lock.

After Li Zhi drew Peacock’s fighters away to give Dragon Country’s ground forces an opening, Xiaerdi’s fighter lost control after Li Zhi repeatedly illuminated it with his fire-control radar. Peacock’s command center sought help from Eagle, while Xiaerdi warned that he would have to eject if they could not fix the problem before he reached Dragon Country.

• Li Zhi reported the enemy fighter’s crash, and Lei Hu ordered the operation to begin as Peacock focused its air power on the incident.
• Li Zhi stayed in the area as a beacon to draw enemy fighters away, while Xiaerdi avoided confronting him.
• Li Zhi locked onto Xiaerdi but did not fire, and Xiaerdi’s fighter’s flight-control system then locked him out of the controls.
• Xiaerdi told Sunak that he could not control the fighter and that its course would take him into Dragon Country in about ten minutes.
• Peacock urgently contacted Eagle for an explanation and a solution, but Eagle gave vague answers and could not fix the problem remotely.

Li Zhi discovered that a Peacock fighter jet had become unmanned after its pilot, Xiaerdi, ejected, and it was still flying toward Dragon Country with missiles aboard. He punched holes in both wings to drain its fuel and tried to preserve the aircraft, leaving it soaked in fuel and dangerously vulnerable to a spark.

• Li Zhi noticed the Peacock fighter jet kept flying toward the border without responding to his radar lock, while Liao Yifei arrived with two other Dragon Country jets.
• Xiaerdi panicked and ejected from the fighter jet, which continued flying normally across the border.
• Li Zhi reported the unmanned jet to Xu Feng and Lei Zhan, then inspected it and saw its missiles and working instruments.
• Lei Hu ordered Li Zhi to bring the jet down while trying to keep it intact.
• Li Zhi fired cannon rounds into both wings to drain the fuel, then stayed at a distance as fuel soaked the aircraft.
• When Lei Hu asked why the jet had not been shot down, Li Zhi said he was trying to keep it intact.

Li Zhi brought down a Peacock fighter intact by striking its canopy with a jettisoned drop tank, then returned to Chicken Coop Base to refuel and rearm before heading back toward the border. Meanwhile, Dragon Country forces pushed back Peacock soldiers near Great Snow Mountain.

• Li Zhi used his fighter’s drop tanks to knock the damaged Peacock fighter into a forest without destroying it.
• Li Zhi reported the intact enemy aircraft to Lei Hu, who promised to recommend him for a commendation.
• Xu Feng and the other two continued toward the border while Li Zhi returned to Chicken Coop Base to resupply.
• The ground crew refueled and rearmed Li Zhi’s fighter in under five minutes, and he took off again.
• Dragon Country ground forces drove the unprepared Peacock soldiers back near Great Snow Mountain.

Li Zhi fought two Peacock fighters over the Great Snow Mountain while Dragon Country ground troops secured the area below. Steppe Wolf arrived to relieve him, but the Peacock pilots received no support and the air battle continued.

• Peacock sent two fighters to respond to activity near the Great Snow Mountain, while Dragon Country dispatched Li Zhi and a Wolf's Lair pilot on separate routes.
• Li Zhi engaged one Peacock fighter and evaded the other's attacks, keeping both occupied as Dragon Country troops cleared the remaining Peacock soldiers and set up air defenses.
• Steppe Wolf arrived and forced the Peacock fighter behind Li Zhi to break off its pursuit, leaving Li Zhi free to attack the other fighter.
• The Peacock pilots called Muhante Base for support, but no fighters were available because the rest were facing Dragon Country's fleet near the border.