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墨書 Inktalez
"Dear Trainees, instructors, and staff, I sincerely apologize for not being able to accompany you on the upcoming journey."
"A few days ago, I received Superior Orders, commanding me to arrive in Kiribati by January 0, 2007, to assume the position of Fourth World Commander. The highest command of The Other Shore will be taken over by the former First Officer, Guo Xinhua, and the adjustments to other positions will be decided by your department."
"I had hoped to walk through this winter with you all, but it seems that is no longer possible. I have been busy with handover matters these past few days and have neglected you all. For this, I extend my deepest apologies."
"The main matters have been announced, and now the new captain, Guo Xinhua, will address you."
Chen Rui's projection slowly faded away as another projection emerged. It was hard to believe that such a high-ranking official would step down so quietly.
But if it was truly low-key, then why gather everyone?
"Don't think too much about it; it was my order to assemble!" Guo Xinhua said sternly as he looked at the assembled formations in the projection.
"Now I will announce the following points of attention..." Guo Xinhua took out a document and began to read aloud.
"Effective immediately! All of the above are orders from Guo Xinhua, the second captain of The Other Shore! You are dismissed; normal training will resume tomorrow!"
After Chen Rui transferred command authority to Guo Xinhua, he exited the Central Command Room. This scene was witnessed by only a handful of staff members—less than twenty—inside the Central Command Room.
Guo Xinhua swallowed hard and faced Chen Rui's departing figure, shouting loudly, "Everyone, stand up!"
With a swift motion, the dozen or so staff members with military backgrounds quickly stood up and faced Chen Rui's back alongside Guo Xinhua.
"Salute!"
Chen Rui stepped into the elevator on the deck, and the guard casually activated it. Above on the deck, a Gulfstream that had been waiting for some time was ready at the rear.
Under the moonlight, three familiar faces smiled at Chen Rui. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was his long-lost friends, Wang Bolin, Qiaoqin, and Xia Hao.
"What are you doing here?" Chen Rui approached Wang Bolin and extended his right hand to shake hands with this friend he hadn't seen in a while.
Seeing the surprised expression on Wang Bolin's face, Chen Rui realized he had really messed up. He awkwardly smiled and instead punched his fist lightly against Wang Bolin's chest.
Wang Bolin casually accepted Chen Rui's punch, smiling wryly. "You don't have to force it. If you can greet me, that's great; if not, it's fine too. We're just here to escort you back to Kiribati."
"Escort? Why do I need an escort? Is someone really trying to take me out?" Chen Rui joked.
The three exchanged glances, their expressions turning serious.
Chen Rui suddenly noticed that the deck was brightly lit, with a large number of Ground Crew and maintenance personnel present, clearly not just for servicing this Gulfstream.
At the same time, several other elevators were continuously bringing aircraft onto the deck. However, those aircraft were not business jets like the Gulfstream but rather a fleet of J-45s, currently the most advanced carrier-based fighter jets in the world.
"Eight J-45s? Now that's impressive! This must be a setup where even a light aircraft mothership team couldn't bring me down."
Chen Rui continued to joke, but as he watched the Ground Crew directing those fighter jets for takeoff, he felt a twinge of nervousness.
Wang Bolin patted Chen Rui on the shoulder and laughed. "I'll be flying; you should feel more at ease! Although this Gulfstream can't perform a Cobra maneuver, its emergency evasive actions are top-notch!"
Chen Rui paused at those words; it felt like someone had said something similar to him years ago. Yet, despite searching through his memories, he couldn't find any related recollection.
"Brother Chen! Come up here!" Xia Hao shouted at Chen Rui, who was standing by the ladder.
Chen Rui snapped back to reality and realized that while he had been searching the memory bank, Wang Bolin and the others had already boarded. He quickly entered the cabin, found a seat near the front, and fastened his seatbelt.
Since the Escort Formation had been deployed, it was clear that this was not a trivial matter. The flight would likely not go smoothly, so it was best to prepare now. He didn't want to be thrown against the wall by inertia if Wang Bolin had to make an emergency stop and the plane was fine.
The first four J-45s took off ahead of them, their four catapults swiftly launching them into the sky. The Gulfstream couldn't use carrier-based catapults, but fortunately, The Other Shore's extended runway was long enough. After being turbocharged, this modified Gulfstream could reach takeoff speed by the end of the runway.
Once all the J-45s were airborne, the formation shifted from 414 escort to 5 escort, with two in the vanguard and two in the rear, while the rest maintained a certain distance behind the Gulfstream.
Soon, a tanker aircraft that had taken off from Jakarta joined the Escort Formation to ensure that the fighter jets had sufficient fuel.
In the deep of night, Chen Rui was awakened by Xia Hao. Although still groggy, he could see from Xia Hao's terrified expression that something serious had happened.
Chen Rui rubbed his face to shake off the drowsiness and asked, "What's going on? Are enemy aircraft attacking?"
The Escort Formation was currently at an altitude of fifteen thousand meters, and some countries along their flight path lacked the capability to strike such high-flying objects quickly from the ground. So if there was a problem, it must be due to enemy aircraft.
Xia Hao shook his head and pulled out a military parachute pack from under the sofa for Chen Rui to strap on. He also retrieved goggles and a watch from the side of the pack and handed them to Chen Rui. "The situation is unclear, but you should prepare for a parachute jump."
"Hey! What exactly is going on?"
Xia Hao did not respond but quickly darted into the cockpit.
At this moment, in the cockpit of the Gulfstream:
"Report to headquarters, the high-speed flying object ahead has not responded to identification signals! Unable to determine the identity of the target! Contact expected in ninety-three seconds, over!"
As the red dot on the radar drew closer, Xia Qin's voice became increasingly agitated.
"Received! Escort Formation, pay attention! Escort Formation, pay attention! Unit 0, continue to protect Unit 01; Units 08 and 09, maintain rear guard status; Units 04 and 05, accelerate forward and join up with Units 06 and 07!"
"Units 01, 0, 0, and 10, reduce speed and take evasive action, disengage from the current flight path!"
"The remaining escort Fighter Jets, accelerate forward and prepare for engagement, over!"
Inside the Gulfstream Cabin:
Although the messages from the cockpit were inaudible, the Gulfstream continued to climb noticeably. Through the window, it was evident that only two of the four Fighter Jets that had been flying alongside the Gulfstream remained.
Whether it was instinct or data processing in her mind, she sensed that something was about to happen at high speed, and once it did, there would be no doubt that lives would be lost.
Vanguard Escort Formation:
The four J-45s maintained their combat formation. All auxiliary fuel tanks were jettisoned, and the air-to-air missiles on the sides and underside of the fuselage were activated and ready for launch.
"This is Unit 07 of the escort aircraft, this is your final warning! Please identify yourself, or we will engage!"
"Command Center! The Vanguard Escort Formation is being illuminated by the enemy's fire control radar; preparing for engagement!"
"Command Center! My fire control radar is locked on; requesting permission to attack!"
"This is the United Nations Escort Formation. The previous communication failure has been resolved. We are here to take over the escort duty, and the identification code has been sent!"
"Received! Identifying now!"
"The identification code has been recognized! It is the incoming Escort Formation! Vanguard Escort Formation! Immediate evasive maneuvers!"
The four J-45s of the Vanguard Escort Formation immediately began to climb. Less than three seconds later, eight dark shadows flew past their previous position...
Inside the Gulfstream Cabin:
Chen Rui felt the Gulfstream noticeably lower in altitude, seemingly returning to the previous flight level. Xia Hao calmly walked up to him.
"Is it over?"
Chen Rui asked tentatively. Since he was in the cabin and not in the cockpit, he had no way of knowing if a battle was occurring ahead. However, since he was still alive, it meant that the enemy must have failed. After all, there were four J-45 heavy stealth fighter jets in the Vanguard, which already stood at the pinnacle of air combat power in the world.
"It hasn't started!" Xia Hao exhaled. "Fortunately, it hasn't started yet; we almost engaged with the incoming Escort Formation. The air-to-air missiles of the Vanguard Escort Formation had already locked onto them."
"How could this happen? Was there no communication?"
Chen Rui was puzzled. Since it was an incoming Escort Formation, why hadn't their own people received any handover signals?
"I don't know; it seems there was a communication failure."
"A communication failure?!"
Chen Rui set aside the umbrella bag and adjusted the sofa back into a reclining position. He retrieved a box of sleeping pills from the armrest of the sofa. Without the aid of these pills, he feared he would not be able to sleep at all that night.
Upon opening the box, he found only a single white pill inside. Chen Rui swallowed it with a bitter smile.
Why was Wang Bolin so afraid I might commit suicide? Was it just because it would be hard to explain?
On January 0, at noon local time in Kiribati, a Gulfstream aircraft, escorted by eight J-45s and eight F40s, finally landed at Kiribati International Airport. Although it wasn't as sensational as the arrival of a head of state, the convoy that came to pick him up still left Chen Rui quite astonished.
Four modified Black Chevrolets escorted the Cadillac that Chen Rui was in toward Giant Tower. Upon arriving at Giant Tower, the first person Chen Rui saw was the world's richest man.
"Did you bring me here again?"
Chen Rui boldly sat down across from Li Li and poured himself a bottle of pure water from the desk.
"Yes."
"Why go through all this trouble? I'm not going anywhere."
"No, bringing you here is solely for your safety, and this is not my personal decision!" Li Li clasped his fingers together and sighed helplessly. He pulled out a leather belt from the desk and pushed it toward Chen Rui.
Chen Rui opened the belt, and a pile of photographs came into view.
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