Chapter 74: Landing

The Il-76 Transport Aircraft took off from the field airport amidst a roar, then formed a flight formation with five J-11 heavy fighter jets waiting in the sky, flying towards the southeast.

Trapped in the cargo hold of the transport aircraft, Zhou Liming, who was flying for the first time, felt all his hairs stand on end. As a military transport aircraft, there was no concept of comfort; during takeoff, the entire cargo hold shook like an earthquake, causing discomfort.

Even after taking off successfully, his ears were filled with the roaring noise of the aircraft engines throughout the flight.

Looking through the window next to him, he could see the escorting J-11 fighter jets flying horizontally alongside. In the sunlight, he could clearly see the pilots flying the fighter jets.

Obviously, among the thirty-five people on the transport aircraft, except for Zhou Liming who was a rookie, everyone else was used to all this and was resting with their eyes closed. To fly from City A in Chongqing to City B in Guangdong, at the cruise speed of the transport aircraft, it would take nearly three hours to reach the airspace above City B in Guangdong.

It was currently around 10:15, and they would arrive in City B in Guangdong at noon.

Experienced people had already expected this to be a tough mission. No one knew what would happen. Going deep into the heart of the Fierce Beast Occupied Area would make everyone extremely tense, and they might even be swallowed by an ocean of Fierce Beasts, making rest a luxury. Taking advantage of the time now to rest and recover energy was very crucial.

Zhou Liming, flying for the first time, started to look around like a curious baby after the transport aircraft reached a slightly smoother flight at cruise speed.

The structure inside the cargo hold was very simple. In the center were three ZBL-09 wheeled Infantry Fighting Vehicles in a row, and on both sides were rows of seats for soldiers to sit. The entire X Squadron, with its thirty-five members, felt a bit empty in a cargo hold that could carry one hundred and fifty people.

Actually, once the novelty wears off, things become boring. Zhou Liming had this feeling now. After being curious for half an hour, he found it uninteresting and could only sit on the chair, doing nothing. The only thing he could do was to appreciate the ZBL-09 wheeled Infantry Fighting Vehicles in front of him, an Infantry Fighting Vehicle system that made his blood boil with excitement.

Seeing that everyone else was resting with their eyes closed, Zhou Liming finally leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

About an hour into the flight, the crew broadcasted a reminder that they were entering the Fierce Beast Occupied Area.

To avoid Flying Fierce Beasts, the transport aircraft flew at its maximum altitude of twelve thousand meters at cruise speed. At this altitude, there were currently no signs of Fierce Beast activity, keeping it within the theoretically safe altitude. This was the reason why an Il-76 Transport Aircraft was dispatched.

Two hours later, they finally arrived in the coastal province, though he only knew it after the crew notified him.

Here, the five escorting J-11 fighter jets broke formation and began their return trip. Through the window, Zhou Liming could see a pilot in one of the fighter jets give a “good luck” hand gesture to the transport aircraft, then pull up the nose of the jet and disappear into the sky.

Fighter jets have limited range. Escorting them this far was already their limit. From now on, the transport aircraft would have to rely on itself. Without the protection of fighter jets, if they encountered Flying Fierce Beasts, the fate of the transport aircraft, which had no ability to resist, would be unimaginable.

The first crisis of the mission appeared after the fighter jets left.

However, there was no sign of panic in the X Squadron. Everyone had their eyes closed, as if whether there was fighter jet escort or not had nothing to do with them.

“Attention, we will arrive above City B in Guangdong in half an hour. The transport aircraft will descend.”

Only when this broadcast came did the people sitting still show some emotional fluctuation. They opened their eyes one by one and began to check their parachutes and equipment without needing anyone to remind them, demonstrating their high quality. Zhou Liming naturally followed their example and checked everything to ensure it was intact, using the knowledge he had learned before.

A few minutes later, the transport aircraft began to sink, reducing its altitude to nine thousand meters.

At this altitude, through the window, one could already see the distant mountain ranges like an ink-wash painting, as well as various lakes and rivers appearing below. Occasionally, towns and cities and highways would appear. In the fields, one could see the golden rice was ripe, stretching out in continuous patches, giving a sense of connecting heaven and earth.

The entire transport mission was not managed by the X Squadron but was the responsibility of the rear command center. The entire process was monitored by military satellites to scout every move around the transport aircraft.

The destination of the transport aircraft was not directly City B in Guangdong. If it arrived above City B in Guangdong, the transport aircraft would definitely be shot down and destroyed by Fierce Beasts. Therefore, when coming here, the Special Operations Command Center had analyzed everything. The plan was to land on the highway connecting City A in Guangdong and City B in Guangdong, spend five minutes unloading personnel and equipment, and then the transport aircraft would take off immediately, climb to an altitude of twelve thousand meters in the shortest time possible, and return.

The feasibility of the plan was very high, and the continuous monitoring by spy satellites would further increase the success rate.

When the transport aircraft descended to five thousand meters, Zhou Liming’s sharp eyesight allowed him to see large Fierce Beasts in the fields or cities below. They were foraging in the fields or running in the cities. Cars on the streets were often used as toys by some Fierce Beasts, thrown back and forth.

The huge roar of the transport aircraft was felt by the Fierce Beasts below at this altitude. Many chased after it, but unfortunately, compared to the speed of the transport aircraft, they were left behind on the horizon in an instant, and only their roaring sounds could be heard.

Although human civilization traces could be seen everywhere in the cities in view, no people were seen.

Seeing the different types of Fierce Beasts below, Zhou Liming suddenly felt like he had entered a wildlife park. He could see different Fierce Beasts playing, Fierce Beasts fighting over territory, and even Fierce Beast couples strolling together. Putting aside their deadly nature, it was completely a natural animal world.

“Hic… hic…” A Flying Bat Beast soared up from a mountain, an unexpected event outside the surveillance, which made everyone break out in a cold sweat.

However, for some unknown reason, this Flying Bat Beast had no interest in the transport aircraft. It just flew under the belly of the aircraft and drifted away, until it disappeared into the sky.

Zhou Liming breathed a sigh of relief. He had really been nervous just now. If this Flying Bat Beast had launched a sonic attack, the result would have been hard to say.

Soon, guided by spy satellites, the transport aircraft flew over the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway and began to look for a landing spot.

The Il-76 Transport Aircraft does not have high requirements for landing and takeoff. A simple field airport was sufficient for it to land and take off, so the conditions of the Guang-Shenzhen Expressway were enough for it. But it couldn’t land just anywhere. The arrival of the Fierce Beast disaster had left many abandoned cars on the expressway, blocking the landing of the transport aircraft.

Zhou Liming was seeing the Yue Province, known as the Chinese Miracle, for the first time. Below, the expressway was almost surrounded by continuous buildings on both sides. Everything in view was endless buildings, making it seem like half of Yue Province had merged into one city. In fact, in Yue Province, the concepts of city and town were very blurred. Cities connected to cities, merging into one entity long ago.

Soon after, the transport aircraft finally found a suitable landing spot and began to descend slowly.

Suddenly, the entire body shook, and the screeching sound of tires rubbing against the expressway surface made everyone breathe a sigh of relief. At least they didn’t have to conduct airdrops. Otherwise, if they airdropped, the team members would scatter, and with Fierce Beasts everywhere, casualties might occur before the mission even began.

Just over a minute later, the transport aircraft finally successfully stopped on the expressway.