Chapter 7

"Airspace 3000, 2100 cleared. Exercise procedures completed. Please proceed to the designated locations." The voice from the CIC came through the communicator, and after He Moming replied, he couldn't help but grip the control stick tightly.

He Moming was well-prepared for this assessment. However, reality played a trick on him—on the day of the assessment, he was suddenly informed that he would be taking a live simulation test, and the location was the airspace near Macross 1. He Moming had no choice but to sit in the assigned VF-1, resigned to his fate.

"Simulator 1, you have entered the designated exercise airspace. The assessment will begin in three minutes. Please prepare." The CIC's voice sounded again in the communicator, making He Moming's nerves taut.

He Moming looked around through the glass of the cockpit. The deep space, endless darkness, and the giant planet Jupiter, reflecting sunlight on his right. He Moming's position was just at the edge of Jupiter's rings. As he surveyed the surroundings, he made a judgment. He maneuvered the VF-1 to increase the distance from Jupiter's rings. In his mind, if there was a high probability, the target would emerge from the rings. Increasing the distance would give him more reaction time in case of an ambush.

As if reality was following He Moming's expectations, the radar emitted a series of urgent alarms. A target appeared within the radar's range, and its position, as He Moming had predicted, was within Jupiter's rings. The target was approaching him at an extremely fast speed. But since it had been detected, it wasn't an ambush anymore.

"Down you, and pass the assessment." Under He Moming's control, the VF-1 changed direction flexibly and headed straight for the target. He Moming watched the distance on the radar decrease, and the locking sound became increasingly urgent. Beep beep beep... a rapid electronic sound rang out.

"Right now." He Moming's eyes widened as he pressed the launch button. Eight missiles immediately roared out, rushing toward the target. At the same time, He Moming pulled the control stick, and the VF-1 performed a beautiful tactical evasion, entering a circling flight. The missiles hit the target accurately, and He Moming clearly saw a burst of sparks in the dark space.

"Target eliminated. Mission complete. Delta, requesting return to the ship." He Moming circled the now-debris-filled target and opened the communication to call.

"Mission confirmed. Return to the ship approved. Course 030, Simulator 1, return immediately." A strange female voice sounded in the communication channel.

"Course 030, Simulator 1, acknowledged. Returning now." He Moming replied after setting the course. After turning off the communication, He Moming couldn't help but wonder if the female voice was Minasa Hazuki, another main character from the original work. He had already met and developed a good relationship with Lynn Minmay. According to the data provided by AI Verus, their relationship was intimate and friendly. What did this mean? He Moming knew very well. However, in the original work, Lynn Minmay and Hikaru Ichijyo had a very close relationship, but they eventually broke up due to various reasons. One of the unstable factors was that Minmay's cousin and manager had mysteriously passed away early. This made He Moming feel a bit relieved. After all, a major obstacle had been removed, and the remaining issues shouldn't be too big of a problem. As for Minmay's personality issues, he could only take it step by step. In terms of relationships, He Moming didn't know much more than Minmay. The gap between them in this area was only a half-step.

"Simulator 1, please respond."

"Simulator 1 here, acknowledged." Just as He Moming was lost in thought, the communication sounded again.

"You have been assigned a reconnaissance mission. Mission area 2900, 1830. 8000 units away from your current position. Investigate the abnormal activity in the area. Please acknowledge."

"Mission confirmed. Proceeding to the target area." He Moming pressed the confirmation button, pulled the control stick, and headed straight for the mission area.

After about half an hour, He Moming had reached the outskirts of the target area. Just as he was about to open the communication to report to the bridge, AI Verus's voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

"Activate side mission. Investigate the target area and eliminate the abnormal activity. Gain the final approval of Captain Gloval and Captain Roy. Reward: D-class piloting skill. Reward points: 500. Failure: Deduct 500 points, and reset the relationship with mission personnel. Do you accept?"

He Moming's eyelids twitched. The week of hellish one-sided torture had only barely improved his piloting skills to the threshold of D-class. Now, a seemingly simple side mission offered D-class piloting skills directly. Although the failure penalty was severe, He Moming decided to take it. "Confirm."

"Calling the bridge. My aircraft has reached the outskirts of the target area. About to start the mission."

"Communication received. Please be cautious."

"Understood."

After turning off the communication, He Moming pushed the throttle to the maximum. The fighter jet, with the throttle wide open, turned into a white shadow and rushed straight into the target area. It was a cluster of numerous comets.

The originally distant comet cluster quickly approached as the fighter jet closed in. He Moming manipulated the fighter jet to perform a side roll and a large loop, and with the help of the auxiliary thrusters, gradually entered the near-orbit of one of the comets.

He Moming looked around cautiously. All he saw were comets floating in the void and the gas streams they emitted. After turning on the high-power search radar, he opened the communication to call. However, before he could start calling the bridge, a series of flashes passed by on the right, and the fighter jet, which had been stable in the near-orbit, was enveloped in the explosion's sparks. He Moming, inside the cockpit, was pressed firmly into his seat by the explosion's shockwave.

Before he could see the attacker's face, He Moming continuously performed various tactical maneuvers, dodging the cannon fire and missiles in the comet cluster. He didn't know where the attacker was, but the fire chains seemed to come from all directions. Every time He Moming thought he had escaped danger, the next moment, the cannon fire would explode in a place he couldn't react to.

The right wing of the aircraft was already damaged. Fortunately, in the space environment, the only loss was some of the auxiliary thrusters on the right wing. The system repeatedly issued damage control alerts, and the ear-piercing alarms filled his ears.

"Help! Help! Under attack! Under attack!" He Moming's voice trembled as he shouted.

"Received! Support dispatched. Please hold on!"

"Damn reconnaissance mission. I knew it wouldn't be good!" He Moming gritted his teeth and performed evasive maneuvers repeatedly. There was no time for counterattacks; the aircraft was equipped with mostly blank ammunition for the exercise, and the only live ammunition—eight missiles—had already been used. He Moming endured the shockwaves and searched the system for usable weapons. After a close-range missile explosion, the aircraft was hit by debris and groaned. Finally, He Moming found what he was looking for—a live ammunition clip and a combat knife. Why was there a live ammunition clip on the aircraft? He Moming didn't know, but he didn't care. He was about to counterattack!

The auxiliary thrusters at the front of the VF-1 burst into flames, and the powerful thrust changed the aircraft's posture from a horizontal to a vertical position. The aircraft then disappeared into the shadow of a comet. He Moming skillfully maneuvered the aircraft through the shadows, left and right, up and down. The radar lock alarms gradually decreased and disappeared.

"You had your fun just now, now it's my turn." Under He Moming's control, the aircraft weaved through the shadows. Finally, the onboard radar locked onto the target—a standard Zentraedi combat pod. Although he had found a lone Zentraedi, He Moming didn't dare to underestimate it after being bombarded one-sidedly. He repeatedly weaved through the shadows behind the comets, using maneuvers to close the distance with the enemy. The combat pod, having lost its target, only performed small-scale maneuvers around its original position. In this situation, he had to create an opportunity—only one chance.

The radar lock sound gradually changed from a slow to a fast rhythm, and the enemy's silhouette became visible. He Moming held his breath, watching the enemy perform small-scale maneuvers repeatedly, waiting for the opportunity. In that instant, the enemy's back was exposed to He Moming due to a maneuver change.

"Opportunity!" He Moming shouted, pushing the control stick. The powerful thrust turned the aircraft into a white shadow, crashing into the enemy with lightning speed. Before the enemy could react, the impact of the mecha collision sent the combat pod flying. The inertia slammed the combat pod into a comet, raising a large cloud of dust. After the dust settled, He Moming saw the combat pod covered in sparks. Raising his gun, aiming, and firing, the only live ammunition clip emptied into the combat pod. The bullets fiercely penetrated the combat pod, which, already covered in sparks, could no longer maintain its form, bursting into a bright light and flames. Another Zentraedi died at He Moming's hands. He Moming silently watched the smoky debris for a while before opening the communication.

"Calling Delta. Please respond."

"Delta here. Please hold on. Support is close. Hold on."

"Combat over. Requesting return to the ship." He Moming suddenly felt a bit tired. When would these days end?

"Ah, oh. Course 041, return to the ship approved. Wait. Combat over? You eliminated the enemy?" The female voice in the communication suddenly exclaimed.

"Yes. Details will be available in the aircraft data upon return. I just want to return to the ship and rest now." He Moming didn't want to say anything more.

"Okay. Support is approaching. You can hand over control to the support team and rest in the cockpit for a while." The communication channel quickly made the arrangements.

He Moming said thank you and soon fell into a deep sleep.

On the bridge.

The bridge, silent due to He Moming's astonishing performance.

"Captain, was this assessment your arrangement?" A young woman with beautiful brown hair, dressed in a white uniform, put down her headset and turned to face Captain Gloval.

"Though I approved it, the suggestion came from Captain Roy." Captain Gloval picked up his pipe and put it in his mouth.

"This wasn't a normal assessment." The young woman said firmly.

"This was a normal assessment. Don't worry. It's over, isn't it?" Captain Gloval exhaled a puff of smoke and turned to leave the bridge. The young woman's gaze followed him until he disappeared.

Captain Gloval, leaving the bridge, met Roy, who was standing by. Their eyes met briefly, and they turned and walked away in different directions.

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