A Vengeful Spirit

Li Lu approached Wang Bicheng again and explained his plan.

Wang Bicheng frowned and said, "Sixth Brother, you know the conditions for a vertical dive to be valid."

"If it's not pilot control, two conditions must be met: first, the horizontal rudder must fail; second, the throttle must fail. The first condition is actually the control stick failing."

"It can cause these two systems to malfunction..."

He paused for a moment, then said, "The most likely cause is a malfunction in the hydraulic system."

Without hydraulic pressure, the pilot cannot move the control stick or press the rudder pedals, just like the brake pedal and steering wheel of a car when the engine is off.

Only a failure of the hydraulic system can cause the two sticks and two rudders to malfunction.

Wang Bicheng stated with absolute certainty, "The probability of a complete hydraulic system failure is extremely low; the hydraulic system of J-7E No. 03 is absolutely fine."

"unless……"

Li Lu hurriedly asked, "Unless what?"

Wang Bicheng looked at Li Lu and said, "Unless it is attacked and damaged."

The blurry black shadow immediately flashed before Li Lu's eyes. At this moment, in his mind, the suspicion of that mysterious black shadow rose infinitely.

"Sixth Brother, is this possible?" Wang Bicheng asked in a low voice.

After a moment's hesitation, Li Lu said, "Anything is possible, but one thing is certain: the cause of the accident has absolutely nothing to do with Hai Ge."

Wang Bicheng said, "That's absolutely true. Old Chen's flying skills are among the best in the entire Third Air Division. He has experience with several close calls in the air, he's very experienced!"

After a moment's thought, Li Lu said, "We haven't found the engine wreckage yet, and the black box data is incomplete. Do you think it's possible to reconstruct the situation through test flights?"

Wang Bicheng was startled and leaned back. "Simulating a malfunction of both control posts and rudders? That's too dangerous!"

That's fucking equivalent to no control, equivalent to suicide.

Li Lu said in a deep voice, "If there's no other way, we have to try."

Wang Bicheng was speechless. The regimental commander couldn't dissuade his sixth brother from making his decision.

Winter has arrived in the southeastern coastal areas, and it's quite cold, with outdoor temperatures around seven or eight degrees Celsius. The cold here is completely different from that in the north; it's a biting, icy cold.

Hong Lin and the others waited by the roadside for nearly an hour until someone from the depot brought them the car keys, at which point they were finally able to return.

It was impossible to continue inquiring about Chen Hai's family situation. After learning about Chen Hai's family situation, Gu Ya was unwilling to upset a pregnant woman who was eight months pregnant at this time.

Back at the station, Gu Ya reported the situation to her team leader.

The team leader said, "What's wrong with the 7th Air Regiment? Why didn't you say so earlier? Let's stop for now. The pregnant woman is the most important person. You've been working hard these past few days, go back to the guesthouse and rest."

Officer Zhang said angrily, "That Li Lu went too far. He explained the situation to me clearly. We're not heartless, but he just came up and took the car keys, leaving them stranded on the road in the cold wind for over an hour! It's simply banditry!"

Gu Ya glanced at Zhang, but she didn't say anything.

On the way back, she asked about Hong Lin's situation and learned about the close relationship between Li Lu and Chen Hai. Putting herself in Li Lu's shoes, she could understand Li Lu's feelings and sympathize with his overreaction.

The team leader waved his hand, "I'll talk to the 7th Air Regiment later. You guys go back and rest first."

Zhang, holding his breath, followed Gu Ya back to the guesthouse.

Back at the station, Hong Lin reported the situation to Fang Zhenwei, then immediately told his section chief and dashed off to hide in the family quarters.

He had barely left when Li Lu arrived.

"Is Hong Lin here?" Li Lu asked the head of the cadre section abruptly.

The section chief secretly gasped, thinking to himself, "Hong Lin, of all people to mess with, why did you have to provoke Li Lu, this devil incarnate?"

"Hong Lin, he... he wasn't feeling well and went home to rest," the section chief hurriedly said.

Li Lu said, "Please tell him to come find me. I'll be waiting for him in the duty room of the Second Brigade."

He threw down a sentence and turned to leave.

The staff in the cadre section looked at each other, instinctively becoming cautious.

The section chief shook his head helplessly and could only send a soldier to find Hong Lin.

Upon receiving the notification, Hong Lin was filled with anguish.

He knew he could hide for a while, but not forever. There were investigators at the scene, so Li Lu couldn't easily deal with him, but he would definitely come after him later.

But he dared not not go; would he still be able to work in the 7th Air Regiment?

Left with no other choice, Hong Lin went to the duty room of the Second Flight Squadron to see Li Lu.

"Captain Li, Sixth Brother, I really didn't know about Lin Yanna's pregnancy. I was just following orders..." Hong Lin explained with a bitter face.

Li Lu walked over step by step, and Hong Lin's heart raced with fear.

Will I get beaten up?

That's for sure!

Squadron Leader Zhao Chaoyang of the Second Flight Squadron arrived just in time and stepped forward to block Li Lu, saying, "If you don't want to go to solitary confinement, calm down."

Li Lu glanced at Zhao Chaoyang, then his gaze fell on Hong Lin's face, and he said, "If Lin Yanna has any winter melon tofu, I'll contact you again."

Hong Lin was almost in tears. He hurriedly explained, "Sixth Brother, I brought the investigation team back, but we didn't see Lin Yanna. You can't put all the blame on me."

Zhao Chaoyang looked at him and said, "Alright, alright, now you're scared? Why didn't you think before you acted? Hurry up and get out of here!"

He then waved his hand as if shooing away a fly.

Hong Lin then realized that the other pilots in the duty room were all staring at him, looking as if they wanted to tear him apart.

He shrank back and quickly went back to his office.

The section chief called him over and criticized him, "Look at you! The political commissar sent you to assist the investigation team. The investigation team doesn't know the situation, and neither do you?"

Hong Lin argued, "Section Chief, I really didn't know Lin Yanna was pregnant."

"Don't you know how to ask for instructions and report? Before the investigation team asked you to lead the way, did you report to me or ask the political commissar?" The section chief's words silenced Hong Linxun.

"If you had consulted and reported before setting off, would any of this have happened? I don't think Li Lu did anything wrong. If he hadn't stopped you in time, can you imagine what the consequences would have been?"

"If Lin Yanna is upset and it affects the fetus, how can you live with yourself?"

"You should thank Li Lu; if it weren't for him, you would have been in big trouble!"

Hong Lin looked up at the section chief. No, I was scolded like a dog by him, and I should thank him?

But upon closer reflection, it's true; if Li Lu hadn't stopped it in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable...

"You don't need to go to the investigation team. I'll ask the political commissar for permission to send someone else."

The section chief nudged Hong Lin with his finger and then hurriedly went to ask the political commissar for instructions.

Hong Lin returned to his desk, sat down dejectedly, and felt completely lost.

In the duty room of the Second Flight Squadron, Zhao Chaoyang pulled Li Lu to sit down and whispered, "Shouldn't you go see Yan Na? I'll go with you."

Li Lu lowered his head and thought for a while, then slowly shook his head and said, "I won't go for now. I'll figure out the situation first."

He was worried that he wouldn't be able to hide his thoughts and that Lin Yanna would find out.

After taking a few deep breaths, Li Lu rallied himself. "Zhao Da, I'm going to the investigation team. Please keep an eye on Sister Yanna's situation and Brother Hai's hometown. Let me know if anything happens."

Zhao Chaoyang said, "Don't worry, the entire Second Brigade is backing Chen Hai's family."

We cannot question Chen Hai's family for the time being. We've done all the technical analysis we could, and the nature of the accident remains undetermined. The investigation team's work has come to a standstill...