He is Sixth Brother

The 7th Air Regiment has three flight squadrons, which are under the jurisdiction of nine flight squadrons. Li Lu is the acting squadron leader of the 6th Flight Squadron and is privately known as Lao Liu or Sixth Brother.

This regiment is special. Although it belongs to the 3rd Air Division, it is stationed on the southeast coast, 700 kilometers away from the division headquarters in a straight line.

The other two air regiments of the 3rd Air Division are all stationed on the eastern coast.

This is also why Chen Hai's batch of fighter jets had to make an emergency landing at the naval airfield when the weather conditions at the local airport did not meet the landing requirements.

In addition, due to its geographical location, the 7th Air Regiment has always been a combat-ready aviation unit of the military region's air force and is under the command of the military region's air force.

The rank-and-file soldiers of the 7th Air Regiment see the leaders of the Air Force of the Military Region far more often than they see the leaders of the division headquarters. Over time, the soldiers of the regiment got used to it. Sometimes, when the leaders of the division headquarters came to inspect, they even found it strange.

The requirements for the Air Force of the Military Region are very simple: be able to be deployed and win battles. Daily management is the responsibility of your direct superiors. However, the division headquarters are too far away, and leaders do not come down to inspect often. Managing by issuing documents is definitely not enough.

Previously, the division headquarters had also sent division leaders to lead command groups to the Donghai airfield for long-term stationing and management, adopting a rotation system. However, when the military region air force had something to do, it directly took command, and the military region air force headquarters took care of logistics and other matters directly, which made the position of the command group very awkward.

The Donghaichang station is located in the mountains, dozens of kilometers away from the nearest town, and it takes more than an hour to get there.

Firstly, many division headquarters leaders are unwilling to stay here for long, as they all have families to support, and their families' employment and children's schooling are major problems.

Over time, the daily management of the Seventh Air Regiment has become largely based on subjective initiative.

Fortunately, over the years, the 7th Air Regiment has never disappointed the division headquarters, even though it is the regiment with the most backward equipment.

Against this backdrop, the movement of officers in the 7th Air Regiment was very slow, especially in the flight detachments.

Li Lu is the acting captain of the sixth squadron. He is 24 years old this year, while Gao Cheng, the captain of the first squadron, is 34 years old, a difference of 10 years.

The slow turnover of cadres and their severe isolation from the outside world have led to the tradition of using the term "Lao Ji" as a euphemism for their positions.

Those of equal or higher rank referred to Li Lu as "Old Six" outside of work hours, and by his job title during work hours; others usually called him "Sixth Brother".

Wang Bicheng was a major, two ranks higher than Li Lu, but he was a "nanny," traditionally serving pilots and aircraft. Calling him "Sixth Brother" was a sign of respect.

Moreover, while others might not know, Wang Bicheng knew that Sixth Brother had a powerful background.

Countless times, the things Sixth Brother did before, if it were anyone else, they would have been torn to shreds by the regimental leaders long ago, but with Sixth Brother, the regimental leaders just tolerated it.

This is intriguing.

Li Lu walked through the window, pushed open the door, and came in.

"Old Wang, please sit down." Li Lu stopped Wang Bicheng, who was about to make tea.

Wang Bicheng slowly sat down, feeling extremely uneasy.

Li Lu got straight to the point: "You must remember the amount of weapons, ammunition, and fuel that the J-7E No. 03 carried when it took off."

Wang Bicheng replied without hesitation, "Of course I remember what I personally ensured!"

"Two hundred rounds of cannon fire, two and a half tons of fuel, exactly as advertised."

Li Lu asked, "Didn't you bring missiles?"

Wang Bicheng shook his head. "No, the order I received was 200 rounds of cannon fire and 2.75 tons of fuel."

Li Lu nodded slowly.

The dormitory fell silent.

Wang Bicheng was a major and battalion commander; he lived in a single room.

Seeing Li Lu's constantly changing expression, Wang Bicheng couldn't help but say, "Sixth Brother, I've reviewed everything repeatedly over the past two weeks. My maintenance team completed the maintenance according to regulations 100%, and there's nothing wrong with the plane!"

Li Lu suddenly came to his senses, realizing that Wang Bicheng had misunderstood. He let out a long breath and said, "Give me a cigarette."

Wang Bicheng quickly handed the gray wolf over and lit it for Li Lu.

After smoking half a cigarette, Li Lu slowly said, "I saw a dark shape in airspace number three; it should be an F-22."

"F-22!?" Wang Bicheng stood up instinctively, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

Li Lu nodded and said, "Yes, I occupied the best attack position. It was impossible for other US fighter jets to get away in such a short time, except for the F-22."

Wang Bicheng was utterly shocked.

In an era when the F-16 was admired from afar, the F-22 seemed like a futuristic, science-fiction fighter jet.

Li Lu flew a J-6 fighter jet up there, so how did he run into an F-22?

"I came to you for two things. First, to confirm the payload of J-7E No. 03 when it took off. Second... I trust your maintenance team," Li Lu said in a deep voice.

After saying that, he got up and left.

Wang Bicheng watched Li Lu leave. After a long while, he let out a long sigh, slowly walked to the bed, lay down, and soon began to snore.

The investigation team has been anchored in the field maintenance hangar for more than half a month, and the progress is more than halfway complete.

Li Lu reported for duty and asked the deputy team leader, An Min, for a progress report.

Anmin glanced at Li Lu, gesturing for him to step aside to speak, and then made a famous hand gesture, saying, "Captain Li, the plane was flying at cruising speed when it suddenly dove vertically downwards, and entered a spin as it approached the sea surface, causing the plane to crash onto the water."

He paused, then looked at Li Lu and asked, "From your perspective as pilots, if a pilot loses control of the aircraft, would it exhibit such maneuvers?"

Li Lu's face turned cold, and he asked, "What do you mean?"

An Min said in a deep voice, "The black box has been analyzed. What I just described was the flight path of the J-7E fighter jet No. 03 before it crashed into the sea. It was also at this time that the ground radar lost the aircraft's signal."

"The plane broke apart on the sea surface, and many parts have not yet been found."

Li Lu glared at An Min, his voice icy cold. He said, "You believe Chen Hai crashed the fighter jet into the sea?"

"We're only doing data analysis from a technical perspective," Anmin said in a low voice. "The investigation team is going to investigate Chen Hai's recent state of mind and will be interviewing his family members; they just left."

Li Lu understood.

"Thanks."

He threw down a sentence, turned around, and rushed out.

Several 212 jeeps were parked outside the maintenance hangar to support the investigation team's commuting. A few soldiers from the airfield huddled together chatting quietly.

Li Lu jumped into the driver's seat of a car.

"Captain Li...where are you going?" A first-term sergeant ran over from the truck.

Li Lu started the car, accelerating and shifting gears as he said, "I'll drive it back for you in a bit."

The car's tires slipped and it went off.

The sergeant from that cohort chased after him a few steps and shouted, "Captain Li, this is against regulations..."

A third-term sergeant walked over and said, "Alright, stop shouting. Sixth Brother needs the vehicle, and the regimental commander can't stop him."

The first-term sergeant, a newly transferred comrade, complained indignantly, "This Captain Li is going too far! Don't officers know they can't drive vehicles? Who's responsible if something happens?"

The third-term sergeant laughed, "It can't be you. He must have had something extremely urgent to attend to, didn't you see it?"

"No, squad leader, who exactly is this Captain Li? The flight regiment can't control him, and neither can our airfield. He's just a junior lieutenant!" The first-term sergeant couldn't help but complain.

The third-term sergeant glanced around and said in a low voice, "I heard his dad's a high-ranking officer. What's a regimental commander compared to him? What's a station commander compared to him? Haven't you noticed that everyone calls him Sixth Brother in private?"

The first-term sergeant gasped, "Such a powerful background? Which high-ranking officer is he?"

"How would I know?" the third-term sergeant comforted him. "Chen Hai, who had the accident, is Captain Li's mentor and a brother of Tie Gan. It's normal for him to be anxious. Try to understand."

So the first-term sergeant gave up the idea of ​​reporting to his superiors, figuring that if the sky were to fall, the tall ones would hold it up.

The air regiment and the airfield are two independent units, both at the regimental level.

Simply put, the airfield is the great caretaker of flight operations. The communications battalion, guard company, airfield service company, four-station company, fuel section, parachute room, ordnance section, aviation materials section, missile squadron, meteorological station, etc., are all components of the airfield.

The maintenance squadron and the flight medical unit belong to the flight regiment and follow the flight regiment around; they are like personal caretakers.

The airfield is fixed, but the flight regiment's location is not necessarily fixed. They may be rotated to other places. Normally, they will be stationed and trained in different places according to orders, and the maintenance team and the flight medical unit will have to go with them.

The first-term sergeants aren't stupid. There are nearly a thousand people in the flight regiment and airfield combined. For Li Lu, the acting flight squadron leader, to be so "famous," he must either be exceptionally capable or have a very strong background.

It's not worth reporting this to the station.

Li Lu drove his 212 jeep out of the camp gate. If the guards had been even slightly slower, Li Lu might have crashed into the barricade. He didn't slow down at all.

Chen Hai settled down in the county town, where his wife stayed home to prepare for childbirth, and was cared for by his parents-in-law.

There is only one county-level road from the station to the county seat, which is only a little over six meters wide. If you don't slow down when passing other vehicles, it is easy to have a collision.

Li Lu didn't care about any of that. He floored the accelerator and honked the horn wildly as he chased after the county town.

Five kilometers from the county seat, Li Lu saw a Cheetah with military license plates ahead, passed it, and then braked sharply to stop it.

The driver of the cheetah was startled and immediately slammed on the brakes. Major Gu Ya, who was sitting in the back seat, was caught off guard and bumped her head against the headrest of the passenger seat, her head buzzing.

The officer in the passenger seat was Hong Lin, a political officer from the 7th Air Regiment.

Who's so bold as to intercept a military vehicle?

Li Lu jumped out of the car and strode over, patting the driver's side window. "Turn off the engine and get out."

Hong Lin saw clearly and asked in surprise, "Sixth Brother? What's he doing here?"

He turned to Gu Ya and another member of the investigation team in the back row and introduced, "This is Comrade Li Lu, the squadron leader of the Sixth Flight Squadron."

Before he could speak, Li Lu opened the driver's side door, reached in and pulled out the car key, then turned around and got back into the car without saying a word.

"What is he doing?" Gu Ya was stunned.

Hong Lin quickly got out of the car and ran over. "Captain Li, what are you doing?"

Li Lu placed his hand on the steering wheel, turned to the side, and questioned, "Tell me what you're going to do first."

"Me?" Hong Lin laughed angrily. "What am I supposed to do? Lead the investigation team to investigate Chen Hai's family situation. What else can I do?"

Li Lu suddenly grabbed Hong Lin by the collar of his spring/autumn uniform, his eyes blazing with anger. "Don't you fucking know Lin Yanna is pregnant and about to give birth?!"

Hong Lin, who was about to explode in anger, froze and stared blankly at Li Lu.

When Li Lu released him, he shoved him hard and said coldly, "Take those two people back to the station, I'll come find you later."

Upon hearing this, Hong Lin broke out in a cold sweat.

Before he could react, Li Lu turned around and headed straight for the station.

The car keys are still with Li Lu!

Hong Lin took off after it, shouting towards the 212 Jeep, "Sixth Brother! The car keys! The car keys!"

Li Lu's response was the taillights of a car gradually disappearing into the distance.

Gu Ya, who witnessed the whole thing, was dumbfounded. What was going on?