Chapter 31

In a roar, the somewhat aged helicopter took off shakily, and even when it was about twenty meters above the ground, it gave a hard jolt.

Peng Donghai, who had been staring up at the helicopter with his heart pounding, felt his little heart almost jump out of his chest.

Damn, one really dares to sit, another really dares to fly! Actually, Peng Donghai still overestimated Old Zhou's courage.

When Liu Xiaotian piloted the helicopter in midair, performing a series of maneuvers far beyond what an entry-level pilot could do, such as a 360-degree flip, Old Zhou's regret was beyond words.

Actually, Liu Xiaotian's current level is still far behind Old Zhou's piloting skills.

With his current flashy maneuvers, Old Zhou could have surpassed him fifteen years ago.

But the more this happened, the more Old Zhou felt afraid.

The reason is simple.

Look at those world-top doctors, especially those who wield a scalpel.

When they perform surgery, it's like a chef chopping vegetables—just a snip-snap, and in no time the patient is up and jumping about.

But if he had appendicitis and needed surgery…

He would definitely be the most timid one.

Why?

His skill level is there; to him, everyone looks like an amateur.

It would be better to have his own people operate on him—damn, how could he not be afraid?

Old Zhou is feeling exactly that now.

Damn, he could have pulled up a second earlier, but this kid insists on waiting until the nose is vertical before pulling up—how much wind resistance does the plane bear then? If mishandled, it could easily fail to climb!

You say it's scary? When the helicopter finally managed to land on the parachute base's tarmac, Old Zhou's first words upon disembarking were:

"Liu Xiaotian, if I ever ride in your helicopter again, I'll be **!"

Fortunately, Old Zhou's tolerance is much stronger than Peng Donghai's—at least he didn't get airsick.

Liu Xiaotian didn't mind, just gave a hehe smile and turned to head for Zhou Tianzuo's dormitory.

By the time one reaches Zhou Tianzuo's rank of enlisted soldier, the dormitory is no longer shared with ordinary soldiers.

Even as a first-class master sergeant and a national treasure-level aircraft mechanic, he still rates a private dorm.

Entering Old Zhou's dorm, Liu Xiaotian said nothing, sat down at the desk, pulled out some paper, and wrote down all the data and formulas that had appeared in his mind earlier.

However, he now only knows that those numbers relate to the driving speed of the Type 99 tank he just piloted, but he doesn't know exactly how to apply them.

But in Zhou Tianzuo's eyes, those few sheets of densely written paper were priceless; indeed, after picking up the several sheets of densely written notes that Liu Xiaotian had spent over an hour writing and looking at them for a few minutes, he didn't leave a word for Liu Xiaotian and turned and ran out.

Perhaps he was too excited; he even forgot that the dorm door opens inward and crashed straight into it.

Fifteen minutes later, a helicopter flew low and straight into the Wolf Fang Special Forces Brigade's camp.

If Zhou Tianzuo hadn't, after hastily taking off, told the ground command center he was heading to brigade headquarters, it's hard to say whether he would have come under attack.

Never mind that the Wolf Fang Special Forces Brigade is a special forces unit; even an ordinary second- or third-echelon unit wouldn't just let you fly your helicopter into their compound!

It must be said, Zhou Tianzuo's piloting skills are truly beyond what Liu Xiaotian can match now; landing a helicopter on a basketball court is not something just any pilot can do.

When Zhou Tianzuo rushed into He Zhijun's office, Fan Tianlei was discussing with He Zhijun whether to move up the schedule for forming the Red Blood Cell Group.

After returning from the exercise site, Fan Tianlei had been pondering whether to advance the planned formation time of the Red Blood Cell Group.

But if they were formed early, the emotions of those who didn't make the cut would surely be affected, which would impact training.

The original intention of organizing this Red Blood Cell Group selection training was, besides selecting a few soldiers to join the Red Blood Cell Group, for He Zhijun and Fan Tianlei to also use the opportunity to cultivate a batch of soldiers with outstanding comprehensive qualities.

But yesterday's exercise made Fan Tianlei feel that the few young men he and He Zhijun had taken a liking to should be brought to brigade headquarters ahead of time, so they could get acquainted with Chen Shanming, Gong Jian, and the other two team members Xu Tianlong and Song Kaifei.

Another reason is that the appraisal result of the warhead He Chen Guang brought back from the border jungle has come out.

The pattern engraved on the warhead was made by a single hand! That means the Scorpion, which had been silent for years, is back.

This means that although the Red Blood Cell Group hasn't been formally established yet, it could be dispatched on a mission at any moment!

The two were discussing how to better resolve the current contradiction when the office door was burst open.

Yes, it was burst open.

Zhou Tianzuo stood panting at the doorway, holding the few sheets of paper Liu Xiaotian had written, his eyes wide as bells.

"Old Zhou, what's this…?"

He Zhijun had just opened his mouth when the soldier who had chased Zhou Tianzuo upstairs caught up, standing at the doorway and giving He Zhijun a sharp salute:

"Report to the Brigade Commander! Class Monitor Zhou… parked the helicopter in front of the basketball court… I… couldn't stop him!"

He Zhijun and Fan Tianlei exchanged a glance, each seeing helplessness in the other's eyes.

Zhou Tianzuo has had a short temper since youth, even daring to glare at his platoon leader over maintenance matters.

Later, as he grew older, he appeared much steadier.

But they both know that character isn't so easily changed—as the ancients said, 'It's easy to change the rivers and mountains, hard to change one's nature,' and those words aren't just idle talk.

Before He Zhijun and Fan Tianlei could speak, Zhou Tianzuo rushed over, snapping the few sheets of paper in his hand with a rustle: "Talent! No, genius—this is a genius!"

He Zhijun knew he had just been with Liu Xiaotian, and seeing him now in this frenzied state, his first thought was that this probably had something to do with Liu Xiaotian.

But Fan Tianlei had no idea what was going on; he stared at Zhou Tianzuo in shock and asked, "Old Zhou, what got you riled up? Did your son get into college?"

If there's one thing Zhou Tianzuo is most reluctant to mention, it's probably his son—that kid really doesn't take after him at all.

Since elementary school, Zhou Tianzuo has never seen his son's homework score exceed fifty.

As for exams, he has consistently been rock-bottom last, and that hasn't changed to this day.

Fan Tianlei's remark really hit Zhou Tianzuo where it hurts.

"Fan Tianlei, what do you mean? Want to fight?"

He Zhijun quickly reached out to stop Zhou Tianzuo, saying repeatedly, "Okay, okay, Old Zhou, Old Fan is just trying to provoke you; let's talk business first, and later I'll help you deal with him."

Only then did Zhou Tianzuo relent, taking a deep breath and waving the few sheets of paper in his hand as he said, "Hurry up and report to the military region, have them contact the technical department of the defense industry!"

(End of chapter)