The Mysterious Soldier of the Anti-Japanese War

Chapter 473: Mountain City Secret Order: Falcon Game Behind the Bounty

The atmosphere in the military conference room in Chongqing was tense and serious. Chiang Kai-shek and Dai Li stood in front of a huge battle map, their eyes full of anxiety and worry. Chiang Kai-shek's pen moved quickly on the map, accurately marking the possible flight routes of the fighter planes. His brows were furrowed, as if he was thinking about something important. At this moment, the phone rang suddenly, breaking the silence in the conference room. Dai Li quickly walked to the phone and picked up the receiver. A hurried voice came from the other end of the phone, reporting that the Japanese air force base in Tangshan had been destroyed. Dai Li's face rarely showed joy. He listened carefully to the content of the phone and nodded from time to time.

After Dai Li hung up the phone, he immediately reported to Chiang Kai-shek: "Chairman, news has arrived from Tangshan: mysterious fighter planes have raided the Japanese Tangshan Xiaoguanzhuang Airport, completely destroying it and downing all 18 Japanese Zero fighters." His expression was tinged with excitement, yet also with caution. Upon hearing this news, Chiang Kai-shek paused with his pen, then his gaze sharpened, revealing a hint of relief and appreciation. He nodded, acknowledging the importance of the news.

Chiang Kai-shek immediately ordered: "Immediately notify the First and Second War Zone headquarters to strengthen the deployment of air defense firepower to ensure our air defense security. At the same time, send a letter to the Aviation Commission, offering a reward for collecting intelligence on this mysterious fighter. I want to know everything about this fighter, including its origin, performance and the background of the pilot." This shows that he attached great importance to this emergency.

Dai Li sprang into action, quickly drafting a concise and clear telegram conveying Chiang Kai-shek's orders. He knew time was running out and needed to dispatch the telegram quickly so all parties could respond promptly. The atmosphere in the conference room grew tense. Everyone knew the appearance of this mysterious fighter plane could have a significant impact on the entire war. They had to go all out to ensure they had the upper hand in this invisible battle.

Yoshijiro Umezu stood in the First Army's operations room, staring at the massive battle map on the wall, his face sullen. Last night, two airfields in North China had been attacked, over forty Zero fighters destroyed, armored trains damaged, and fuel and ammunition depots exploded. His fists clenched, his knuckles white, and his nails scratched the edges of the map.

"General, new intelligence." Kobayashi Asazaburo walked over quickly, handing over a telegram, his voice calm. "According to intercepted communications, that 'Phantom Fighter' may be equipped with some advanced electronic countermeasures system capable of suppressing our radar and communications."

Umezu Mijiro snorted coldly, "It's just another Western gadget! Call General Watanabe from the Air Headquarters, and the technicians—I want to get to the bottom of this plane!"

Ok, here are the edited contents:

Soon, Lieutenant General Watanabe of the Air Headquarters arrived at the headquarters, accompanied by several of Japan's top aviation technology experts.

"General, according to current intelligence, the speed and maneuverability of that 'Phantom Fighter' far surpass our Zero fighters," Lieutenant General Watanabe said solemnly. "It also appears to be equipped with advanced weapon systems, and its explosive power is immense. Clearly, it's no ordinary bomb."

Umezu Mijiro's brows furrowed even tighter. "Are you saying this fighter jet comes from some force we don't know about?"

"It's hard to tell right now," Lieutenant General Watanabe shook his head. "But judging by its nighttime capabilities and electronic warfare capabilities, it likely possesses very advanced technology."

Umezu Mijiro clenched his fists again. "No matter where it comes from, we must find a way to deal with it! Watanabe, your technical team must analyze its combat patterns and weaknesses as quickly as possible. Kobayashi, strengthen intelligence gathering, especially any unusual developments in North China."

"Yay!" Watanabe and Kobayashi Asazaburo responded in unison.

Michijiro Umezu narrowed his eyes. "Whatever it is, as long as it appears in the airspace of North China, it is our enemy!" He grabbed the phone and contacted the air defense commander of the North China Front Army directly: "Mobilize all anti-aircraft artillery and anti-aircraft machine guns, and strengthen nighttime vigilance! Add air defense shelters to all airports, and Zero fighters must take off and patrol at all times!"

Lei Tao piloted an F-35B fighter jet across the night sky, trailing a trail of blue flames as it quickly disappeared into the clouds. After escaping Japanese pursuit, the fighter jet flew southwest, its target being Handan Lincun Airport. Having successfully bombed two airports tonight, Lei Tao felt the threat wasn't enough, so he set his sights on this one. He flew the fighter jet at a sustained speed of Mach 1 for 20 minutes, reaching his target over 160 kilometers away.

Lei Tao's finger traced an arc across the touchscreen, and the F-35B's AN/APG-81 active phased array radar activated. A spiderweb of scanning ripples suddenly appeared on the sapphire-like holographic screen. The fighter jet soared steadily at 8000 meters, its radar waves piercing the night fog like invisible tentacles, spreading toward Handan Lincun Airport.

"160 kilometers from target, full-spectrum scan initiated." The instant the electronic synthesized voice sounded, a dense mass of red dots popped up on the screen. Lei Tao's pupils shrank slightly—the supposedly pitch-black airport area now lit up like a hornet's nest, lit up by dozens of heat sources: Type 96 anti-aircraft gun emplacements arranged in a circular pattern, each housing at least three linked guns; more than twenty Zero fighters were parked in newly constructed reinforced concrete bunkers on either side of the runway, the outlines of their underwing ammunition clearly visible; and, more crucially, a strange green light flickered from the tops of the three tower-like buildings; it was the rotation of the antennas of the newly acquired German Freya radars.

"Radar density increased by 400%." ​​The system automatically marked the threat level, marking the Freya radar site with a red skull. Lei Tao pulled the joystick to the right, and the fighter plane carved an elegant arc through the night sky. At the same time, the AN/ALQ-239 electronic warfare pod activated, releasing full-band jamming to the ground. However, the Freya radar spot on the holographic screen only blurred briefly, quickly re-locking on the fighter's trajectory—the Japanese had apparently installed anti-interference filters on the radar.

"Interesting," Lei Tao licked his dry lips and reached into the side pocket of his seat to pull out a compressed biscuit. The crisp crunch of the biscuit mixed with the hum of the radar. His gaze fell on the thermal imaging section in the lower left corner of the screen: three abnormally high-temperature areas were pulsing in the underground fortifications northwest of the airport, most likely hidden fuel or ammunition depots. Even more alarming was the presence of an armored train parked at the south end of the runway. The outline of the carriage roof revealed a newly deployed Japanese 128mm anti-aircraft gun, its barrel pointed straight into the night sky.

Suddenly, the heat sources of the Zero fighters on the radar screen flickered collectively—the Japanese pilots had been alerted and were filing into their cockpits. Lei Tao quickly calculated his attack window: a Zero fighter would take three minutes to prepare for takeoff, while the Freya radar's scan cycle was 45 seconds. He had to complete the penetration between scans, otherwise the dense anti-aircraft fire would put his fighter plane on the defensive.