Chapter Summaries

Li Zhi discovered that the armed drone near his fighter was not a training target but an intruder, and he shot it down after Xu Feng ordered him to attack. The drone’s operators escaped the wreckage as the base prepared to search for them.

• Liu Lei and Liu Xin used a buyer-supplied armed drone to scout the military base and film Li Zhi’s training, and Liu Lei tried to lure Li Zhi away when the fighter spotted them.
• Li Zhi disrupted the drone with a close pass, but Liu Lei fired its weapons, nearly hitting him.
• Li Zhi contacted Xu Feng and learned the drone was not sent by the base; Xu Feng ordered him to shoot it down and reported the intrusion to Lei Hu.
• Li Zhi made repeated attack runs and shattered one of the drone’s propellers, sending it into a tree before its self-destruct program ignited it.

After Liu Lei and Liu Xin stole classified footage and information about the base, a large force hunted them through the forest while Li Zhi helped coordinate the response. With the brothers still at large after nightfall, Xu Feng ordered Li Zhi to fly a nighttime mission to retrieve special equipment.

• After the drone crashed, Liu Lei and Liu Xin took their copied data and fled into the forest, hoping to sell the footage and the base’s location.
• Lei Hu sent more than two thousand troops to surround the area, jam signals, and search for the brothers.
• Li Zhi returned to base after searching from the air, and Xu Feng thanked him for discovering the leak.
• Liu Xin panicked as helicopters passed overhead, while Liu Lei urged him to keep fleeing; the brothers repeatedly evaded nearby search teams.
• Frustrated by the delay, Lei Hu ordered Xu Feng to borrow high-altitude night-vision equipment so the brothers could be caught that night.
• Xu Feng asked Li Zhi to retrieve the equipment by fighter, and Li Zhi agreed to fly at night.

Li Zhi flew to 201 Airport to have an infrared night vision pod installed on his fighter, then took off again to join the nighttime search. He returned to Chicken Coop Base’s control and tested the pod over Yuzhou, where the city’s many heat sources overwhelmed its display.

• Li Zhi took off in darkness and flew to 201 Airport under tower guidance.
• At 201 Airport, technicians installed an infrared night vision pod on Li Zhi’s fighter and explained how to operate it.
• Li Zhi took off from runway L02 and switched back to Chicken Coop Base’s radio channel.
• Chicken Coop Base directed Li Zhi to join the search and sent him the identification friend or foe module.
• Li Zhi tested infrared mode over Yuzhou and found that the city’s heat sources filled the display.

Li Zhi used the fighter’s night-vision system to locate and capture the Liu brothers before confirming they had not transmitted the stolen intelligence. After the base completed its investigation, Li Zhi received a commendation within the military region rather than a third-class merit award.

• Li Zhi spotted the Liu brothers with the night-vision system and reported their coordinates to Chicken Coop.
• Li Zhi fired the autocannon ahead of the fleeing brothers, causing them to surrender to the ground troops.
• Li Zhi searched the cordoned-off area while the Liu brothers were interrogated, and the search continued until daybreak.
• Xu Feng left for division headquarters as Zeng Yuan temporarily took his place and Li Zhi and Liao Yifei shared patrols.
• After three days, investigators confirmed the Liu brothers had not transmitted the intelligence, Xu Feng returned with a commendation order for Li Zhi, and Li Zhi accepted it without much concern.

Li Zhi’s routine patrol turned into an emergency when his fighter’s left engine repeatedly lost power, caught fire after being shut down, and then failed completely. He continued toward the base, watching for signs that the fire might spread to the right engine.

• Li Zhi took off on patrol and headed toward the border, hoping to provoke Peacock’s pilots after they had recently stopped challenging Dragon Country’s aircraft.
• The flight control system warned that the left engine’s power had dropped, so Li Zhi restarted it, ran a self-check, and reported the issue to the base.
• The tower canceled Li Zhi’s patrol and ordered him to return to base, but the left-engine warning sounded again as he turned back.
• When the left engine’s power dropped once more, Li Zhi shut it down and continued flying on the right engine.
• The shut-down left engine caught fire, and Li Zhi activated its fire-suppression system to extinguish the flames.
• The flight control system reported left-engine failure, leaving Li Zhi unable to monitor it as he watched for the fire to reignite or spread to the right engine.

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.