The Mysterious Soldier of the Anti-Japanese War

Chapter 309: Hunting in the Clouds: Tracking Type 0 and Strike the Japanese Lair

Lei Tao, piloting his F-35B fighter, plunged into the clouds like a streak of black lightning. In the blink of an eye, the aircraft was tightly enveloped by the dense, inky clouds, obliterating all trace. The fighter's fire control radar locked onto the fleeing Zero fighter, continuously emitting precise lock signals.

"Humph, thinking you could just get away so easily? You're just daydreaming!" Lei Tao murmured, his voice filled with undeniable confidence. His hands firmly gripped the joystick, his movements calm and practiced, as he hovered far behind the Zero fighter in an extremely stealthy position. He knew full well that by following the Zero's flight path, he would undoubtedly find the Japanese airfield. Then, he could deliver a fatal blow, completely destroying their air power.

During the flight, Lei Tao stared intently at the constantly flashing data on the instrument panel. Just then, a crack suddenly appeared in the clouds below the fighter plane, and the tragic scene of fierce fighting on the ground suddenly came into his sight. Lei Tao's eyes froze, and without hesitation, he pressed the button on the control panel, activating the AN/APG-81 active phased array radar.

In an instant, the radar sped into action, its invisible electromagnetic pulses spreading like a dense, vast net, blanketing the vast expanse of earth below. Each rapid scan was like a meticulous "perspective" on the ground. With the radar's terrifyingly powerful detection capabilities, the ground scene was gradually analyzed into countless complex data points.

As the radar continued scanning, an unusual fluctuation suddenly appeared on the screen. Lei Tao's nerves instantly tensed. He stared at the screen intently, his hands rapidly manipulating the control sticks, conducting further in-depth analysis of the signal. Soon, the display clearly showed two groups on the ground engaged in a fierce battle.

Soldiers from both sides engaged in close combat, the action ferocious and brutal. Lei Tao narrowed his eyes, observing closely, and saw a group of anti-Japanese guerrillas engaged in a thrilling, desperate struggle against a Japanese force several times their size. The guerrillas' weapons were crude, but facing a ferocious Japanese force several times their size, they showed no sign of retreat, relying on their tenacious will to persevere through the hail of bullets. Men continued to fall under the enemy fire, their blood staining the ground beneath their feet, but the remaining men held their ground.

Lei Tao's heart lurched, a powerful urge washing over him. He yearned to dive down immediately to support these brave guerrillas. But his mind relentlessly warned him that exposing his whereabouts now would not only jeopardize his carefully planned pursuit plan, but also put even more allies in irretrievable danger. His hands unconsciously gripped the joystick, his knuckles turning white from the strain, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Within him, two voices seemed to clash fiercely: the desperate guerrillas, desperate for support, their lives slipping away; and the crucial pursuit plan, which hinged on the entire battle. Only by locating the Japanese airfield could the enemy be effectively defeated. Ultimately, he gritted his teeth, his mind triumphing over his emotions. He slowly released the joystick, preparing for a dive, and remained aloft, his eyes filled with reluctance and determination.

Like a black falcon sensing mortal danger, the Zero fighter's fuselage shuddered violently, its speed increasing dramatically. Its engines emitted a sharp, piercing roar, seemingly ripping the oppressive sky apart. Then, it began a series of highly erratic maneuvers, sometimes soaring like an arrow, sometimes plunging like a falling meteor. Its fuselage traced strange and dangerous arcs through the air, attempting to escape the shadowy pursuit behind it with these complex movements.

In the cockpit, Lei Tao stared closely at every move of the Zero fighter in front of him. There was no panic on his stern face. Instead, he smiled with a hint of sarcasm and snorted coldly: "You little Japs are quite cunning. I let you fly 30 kilometers first. Today, you can't escape even if you have wings!" After that, he pulled the joystick slowly, and the roar of the F-35B engine gradually weakened. The speed of the fighter also gradually slowed down, as if it was a lurking beast, temporarily restraining its edge.

The F-35B fighter, like a well-trained and experienced beast, temporarily subdued its aggression, but its piercing eyes remained firmly locked on its prey. Lei Tao was well aware of his aircraft's strengths; the F-35B's unparalleled maneuverability was his most lethal trump card. He deftly pressed the button on the dashboard, activating the fighter's optical tracking system. Instantly, a striking red halo locked onto the Zero's outline on the cockpit's display. Even as the clouds thickened and the airflow grew more turbulent, the tracking light remained unwavering, like a hunter staring intently at its fleeing prey, determined to capture it.

Lei Tao leaned back in his chair, his eyes as sharp as a hawk's, staring intently at the screen, thinking to himself, "Let's see what tricks you can pull. You can't get rid of me today. Just lead me to your lair. Once I find it, it will be the end of you!"

At this moment, the Japanese pilot flying the Zero fighter felt that the feeling of being monitored seemed to gradually weaken. A smug smile appeared on his face, and he thought that he had completely escaped danger. His face flushed with excitement, and he even hummed a tuneless military song. From time to time, he reported "safe return" to the airport tower through the communicator, and his voice was full of relief and pride in surviving the disaster.

Above the clouds, Lei Tao's F-35B fighter jet followed silently like a ghost. He set his fighter to automatic tracking mode and, using its advanced jamming system, quietly intercepted the communication signals between the Japanese pilot and the control tower. From their conversation, Lei Tao learned that the Japanese had deployed anti-aircraft artillery positions near the airport and had several backup fighters on standby, ready for action.

"Hmph, you little Japs, you're quite well prepared. Once I find your airport, I'll give you a surprise and let you know that our Chinese cities are not so easy to capture!" Lei Tao muttered to himself.

Several Zero fighters approached from different directions, quickly forming a formation and continuing their return flight. Lei Tao watched this scene with a sneer in his heart: "These devils have a strong sense of ritual, but this also makes it easier for me to capture them all in one fell swoop." Ahead appeared a rolling mountain range, its peaks towering into the clouds, shrouded in mist. Lei Tao's heart tightened, fearing that the Japanese airfield was hidden within this mountainous area. The complex terrain would undoubtedly make tracking and subsequent attacks extremely difficult. As he continued to follow the Japanese Zero fighters at a distance at high altitude, gradually approaching the mountains, his radar began to show some unusual signal fluctuations. The frequency was completely different from normal communication waves, very likely the output of some hidden radio station nearby.

Lei Tao immediately became alert and quickly adjusted his fighter's electronic reconnaissance system, devoting all his efforts to analyzing the signals. As the analysis progressed, intermittent Japanese messages appeared on the screen. While they couldn't be fully pieced together, they could roughly determine that the Japanese were conducting encrypted communications related to preventing aerial reconnaissance. This made Lei Tao even more certain that the Japanese airfield was nearby and that they were already alert.

Gradually, Lei Tao flew his fighter plane closer to the Hankou Airport occupied by the Japanese army. Through the window of the fighter plane, he saw a miserable scene shrouded in flames of war.

The Jianghan Plain beneath their feet was flat and boundless, with no mountains to shelter them. The airport lay exposed to view, completely exposed. The surrounding land was scorched black by the smoke of war, the once lush green vegetation thinning and withering. Vast tracts of farmland had been ruthlessly overrun by war and military installations, leaving only devastated, charred earth and tangled gullies.

Simple defensive fortifications dotted the airport's perimeter. Sandbag bunkers surrounded the runway, and dark gray machine gun emplacements stood abruptly from the ground, their black muzzles warily scanning the sky, as if ready to unleash deadly flames. Several makeshift hangars were scattered around, and beside them were parked various aircraft, including Zero fighters and Type 97 bombers.

Ground crews crisscrossed the crisscrossing runways like busy ants, moving ammunition and fuel with a hurried look on their faces. Trucks hauling heavy supplies raced along the runway, kicking up clouds of dust. Not far away, several barracks stood neatly arranged, their plaster flags on the roofs fluttering in the wind. Japanese soldiers patrolled the perimeter, their rifles drawn and loaded.

Further away from the airport, the outline of Hankou city can be seen. The once prosperous and bustling streets are now full of ruins. The streets that were once crowded with people are now only a ruin. Lei Tao looked at all this and secretly vowed to destroy this airport when he returned.