With a violent explosion, thick black smoke temporarily obscured both aircraft. The other American pilots watching this spectacle were beside themselves with joy.
"We hit it!"
"Such a perfect angle of approach, we'll at least take off one of its wings this time."
"More than just a wing, with an explosion that intense, I'd wager that Dragon Country's aircraft is completely scrap!"
It wasn't just the pilots who were overjoyed; the new American President, Smith Lunen, and the American Six-Star General, Saloyan Pulimo, were ecstatic.
This was not only the elimination of a traitor, but more importantly, they had finally shattered Jing Mingqiu's undefeated myth.
Although much information had indirectly proven that Jing Mingqiu was a god meticulously crafted by Dragon Country at all costs, there had never been sufficient direct evidence to confirm it.
With Jing Mingqiu's reputation growing, and him subtly leading Dragon Country to snatch the mantle of the world's foremost technological power from America, Saloyan Pulimo and his colleagues were burning with anxiety.
After all, high-tech weaponry was the most lucrative business, and its buyers would only purchase from the nation with the highest technological standards.
To disrupt someone's livelihood was akin to murdering their parents! Now, with the fighter jet personally built by Jing Mingqiu destroyed by an American SLT fighter, it was equivalent to completely shattering Jing Mingqiu's aura, proving with facts that American aircraft were more advanced than Dragon Country's.
Just as everyone was in raptures, preparing to pop champagne to celebrate, the situation took a sharp turn. Urgent distress calls echoed through the headsets.
"Aircraft severely damaged! Control systems completely paralyzed!"
"Requesting to bail out! Requesting to bail out!"
In that instant, everyone was stunned.
At the same time, as both aircraft were traveling at high speed and the thick smoke had largely dissipated, everyone finally noticed that the Dragon Country fighter piloted by Jing Mingqiu was completely unharmed.
In contrast, the American SLT fighter piloted by Rustar was shattered into pieces, its wings broken, its nose cracked open to reveal a mangled cockpit, and its tail section had long since vanished.
Tes Rense, the commander of the First Flying Squadron of the American Air Force, upon seeing this, couldn't help but curse loudly, "Rustar, what the hell were you doing! Didn't I teach you many times to approach from the rear, not to ram head-on?"
Rustar also felt wronged, "Captain! I followed your method exactly. That plane had a problem, it was too tough! I couldn't cut through it!"
"Idiot," Tes Rense spat angrily, "You bail out first. I'll personally demonstrate what a precise and efficient aerial scalpel looks like."
"Apologies, Captain, for disappointing you!"
Rustar apologized as he pressed the red button on the side of his seat, preparing to eject.
"Click, click!"
Rustar pressed it several times, but the ejection device hidden beneath his seat remained unresponsive. Seeing the aircraft plummeting rapidly, he panicked completely.
"Captain! Help me! My ejection seat is malfunctioning! I'm stuck!"
Tes Rense wanted to help, but they were fighter jets, not rescue aircraft. Faced with a large fighter jet rapidly descending, they could do nothing even if they approached.
In the end, they could only watch helplessly as their comrade, with whom they had shared so much, was trapped within the broken fighter, plummeted from the sky, crashed violently to the ground, and was reduced to a pulp mixed with mechanical debris.
Smith Lunen was the first to recover. He cast a mocking glance at Saloyan Pulimo and said, "Your Excellency General, your aircraft's quality is rather poor, isn't it? It can't even outperform a cobbled-together Dragon Country plane. How much kickback must have been involved?"
"Before anyone else notices this, perhaps you should prepare yourself on how to deal with the anti-corruption bureau's investigation?"
The American high command was far from united. Moreover, Smith Lunen had been forced into his position, reluctantly becoming a scapegoat, a sacrificial lamb of an American President.
Facing Smith Lunen's sarcastic jab, Saloyan Pulimo's brow furrowed, his voice rough and uneven.
"Don't celebrate too soon! That was just an accident. The SLT fighter utilizes the latest SUTT alloy, with a hardness seventeen times that of conventional steel. The dorsal fin was also extra reinforced for impact."
"Rustar's failure was due to his insufficient training and poor control, failing to use the most suitable posture with his hardest dorsal fin to strike the Dragon Country fighter's vulnerable points. Instead, he exposed his own vulnerable areas to the Dragon Country fighter, which resulted in such a dramatic outcome."
"Mr. President, Captain Tes Rense of the First Flying Squadron just sent a communication. He will personally take action next to perform surgery on the Dragon Country fighter to avenge their fallen comrade."
"Next, we just need to wait and witness the fireworks of the Dragon Country fighter's explosion."
Smith Lunen could no longer count how many times he had lost to Jing Mingqiu. After the failure of the first collision, the last shred of hope in his heart was shattered. From then on, he completely abandoned the idea of defeating Dragon Country and making America great again, and began to consider his own escape route.
After all, capitalists have no borders. Smith Lunen, as a typical capitalist, had no intention of perishing with America.
To appease Saloyan Pulimo and prevent him from noticing his change of heart, Smith Lunen maintained his mocking demeanor, giving him a dismissive glance.
"In that case, I will give you one more chance. If you fail again, I will have no choice but to abandon this operation and submit a proposal to Congress to investigate the military's corruption issues, led by General Saloyan Pulimo."
"After all, someone must be held accountable when America's dignity is challenged like this. As a nominal President with no military authority, I cannot bear such great responsibility."
Seeing that Smith Lunen had successfully shifted the blame, Saloyan Pulimo did not want to become the scapegoat himself. He quickly relayed all his analyses to Tes Rense.
Not only did he repeatedly instruct him to bring down Jing Mingqiu at all costs, but he also forced him to sign a military pledge, making him solely responsible if the plan failed.
A higher rank always trumps a lower one. Faced with a shameless superior, Tes Rense had no choice but to reluctantly agree.
To avoid mission failure, Tes Rense abandoned his plan to attack alone and devised a new attack strategy.
"All listen up! I will lead the charge next, and we will conduct a joint surgical strike against the Dragon Country fighter!"
"This Dragon Country fighter's fuselage is suspected to be reinforced with special materials. Do not attack its belly. Focus on attacking its wings. Approach rapidly, then use your dorsal fins to scrape against its wings."
"This way, even if its wings are exceptionally tough and are not severed, they will lose balance due to our continuous impacts and eventually crash out of control!"
"Understood?"
"Understood! Captain!"
The men responded in unison, their voices resounding with power.
Jing Mingqiu had long since decrypted the American military's internal channels. Upon hearing their upcoming attack plan, he couldn't help but chuckle.
"If you were to directly launch missiles, it would be a bit troublesome for me to handle. But if you want to knock me down, that's truly seeking your own demise."
Jing Mingqiu turned his head to glance at Williamster and his adjutant. "You two quickly find a place and secure yourselves with ropes. We're about to start ramming, and I'll show them what a high-level bumper car player looks like!"