Chapter 243: Flying Dragon Missile, Launch!

The Frontline Commander-in-Chief stood there, tears sliding down silently; he had experienced countless life-and-death moments, yet had never been so moved.

"Well done... well done..." he choked out, repeating it over and over into the empty radio.

Zhao Gang walked gently to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder, but could not say a single word of comfort.

Li Mingyuan kept his head lowered, tears dripping onto the ground. He felt an unprecedented sense of guilt and pain: if the Flying Dragon-2 had been completed sooner, perhaps Wang Wei would not have had to sacrifice himself...

The silence lasted for who knows how long, until the Communication Soldier's voice pulled everyone back to reality:

"Report! Enemy aircraft continue to advance toward our position, only 40 kilometers left from the front line! The B-29 Bomber group has already begun adjusting into bombing formation!"

The Frontline Commander-in-Chief suddenly looked up, wiping the tears from his face; his eyes were bloodshot, but his gaze was like a torch:

"All anti-aircraft positions, prepare to engage! We must not let Wang Wei's sacrifice be in vain!"

He turned to Li Mingyuan: "Xiao Li, how is the situation with the Flying Dragon-2?"

Li Mingyuan took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down: "The final calibration is complete; it can be deployed immediately."

"Good!" The Frontline Commander-in-Chief slapped the table, "Launch the Flying Dragon-2 immediately, and shoot down these Di Guo animals' planes for me! Avenge Wang Wei!"

Li Mingyuan nodded, turned, and rushed out of the command post, hurrying toward the missile launch site.

"Quick, deploy the radar antenna!" Li Mingyuan shouted as soon as he arrived at the scene, "Target data has been transmitted, calibrate the radar parameters quickly!"

The technicians worked against time, adjusting the radar antenna to the optimal angle and inputting the calculated parameters.

"Report to the Chief Engineer, the radar has been calibrated, we can begin searching for targets!"

Li Mingyuan sat down at the radar console himself, skillfully operating the various switches and knobs.

On the radar screen, the green scanning beam rotated slowly, searching for targets in the sky.

"Target group detected!" he shouted excitedly, "Distance 38 kilometers, altitude 9500 meters, heading 210 degrees, quantity... at least 40!"

Other technicians immediately recorded the data and input it into the Missile Guidance System.

"Missiles one through four, ready!" the launch controller reported.

Li Mingyuan walked up to the four massive Flying Dragon-2 surface-to-air missiles; these "big guys" lay quietly on the launch racks, waiting for the moment to release their destructive power.

Each missile was 10.8 meters long with a diameter of 70 centimeters, the silver-gray metal surface shimmering with a cold light under the sun.

Their heads were hemispherical radar seekers capable of capturing signals reflected by ground radar to precisely guide the missiles to hit their targets.

"Turn on the missile power and perform a final check!" Li Mingyuan ordered.

The technicians pressed the power switches, the electronic equipment inside the missiles began to operate, and various indicator lights lit up in sequence, showing the system was normal.

The ground radar continued to track the enemy aircraft, with data updating constantly. The enemy group was approaching rapidly, seemingly completely unaware of any abnormality on the ground.

"Target distance 30 kilometers, about to enter optimal attack range!" the Radar Operator reported.

Li Mingyuan nodded, his hands trembling slightly.

At this moment, he was not only nervous about the technical success, but also felt a heavy responsibility for Wang Wei and the other fallen comrades.

"For Wang Wei, for all the fallen heroes..." he whispered to himself.

"Target distance 25 kilometers, altitude 9200 meters, speed 800 kilometers per hour!" the Radar Operator continued to report, "Now is the optimal launch time!"

Li Mingyuan took a deep breath, looking firmly at the enemy flight path ahead, his finger resting on the launch button.

"Flying Dragon-2, number one, launch!" he shouted, slamming the button.

Amidst a massive roar, the first Flying Dragon-2 surface-to-air missile soared from the launch rack, trailing long flames and white smoke, piercing straight into the clouds.

The missile's speed was extremely fast, breaking the sound barrier in the blink of an eye and racing toward the enemy formation.

"Flying Dragon-2, number two, launch!"

"Flying Dragon-2, number three, launch!"

"Flying Dragon-2, number four, launch!"

Four massive surface-to-air missiles rose into the air one after another, drawing four majestic white lines in the blue sky, like four giant dragons pouncing straight at the enemy planes.

Inside the ground command post, Li Yunlong stared fixedly at the radar screen, his heart filled with both anticipation and prayer.

"Wang Wei, do you see this?" he said softly, "This is our revenge... this is the power of Long Country..."

……

The four Flying Dragon-2 missiles trailed long white smoke plumes, piercing straight into the clouds.

Like four angry silver dragons, they drew beautiful yet deadly arcs in the sky.

High above, the enemy aircraft formation was advancing steadily.

The B-29 Bomber group was closely protected by F-86 Fighters, the pilots looking relaxed.

Just moments ago, they had successfully swarmed Long Country's "mysterious fighter," shooting down at least one.

Although the cost was not small, this operation seemed to be a guaranteed victory.

"Estimated arrival at the bombing zone in five minutes, all crews prepare to drop bombs." Commander Major Smith instructed over the radio, his voice carrying undisguised smugness.

Just then, the Radar Operator suddenly screamed: "Sir! An unidentified object has appeared on the radar! Speed is extremely fast! It is approaching us!"

"What?" Major Smith was startled, "Is it that new type of fighter from Long Country?"

"No, it's not a plane!" the Radar Operator's voice trembled, "The target's speed exceeds Mach 3, the rate of climb is astonishing... My God, they are coming straight for us!"

"Mach 3?" Major Smith was incredulous, "Impossible! No plane can fly that fast!"

"Alert! Missile incoming! Evasive maneuvers! Evasive maneuvers immediately!" the co-pilot suddenly shouted hysterically.

But it was too late.

The first Flying Dragon-2 missile, at a terrifying speed of Mach 3.5, precisely struck a B-29 Bomber in the formation.

A massive explosion bloomed in the high altitude; the bomber was instantly torn into fragments, and burning wreckage fell like raindrops.

"My God!"

"What the hell is that?"

"Evasive maneuvers! Evasive maneuvers!"

Chaotic shouts filled the radio channels, but faced with missiles traveling at over three times the speed of sound, any evasive maneuvers appeared futile and laughable.

The second, third, and fourth Flying Dragon-2s hit their targets in succession.

Each explosion was like a small Taiyang shining briefly in the sky.

"It's following me!" an F-86 pilot shouted in despair, "No matter how I fly, it keeps up! This is impossible!"

He piloted the fighter jet to perform an almost impossible sharp turn, the G-force so great it nearly made him faint.

But the semi-active Radar seeker of the Flying Dragon-2 kept the target firmly locked, completely unaffected.

"Boom!" Another loud noise, and the fighter jet turned into a fireball.