Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

"Lei Zi?" Old Tu was somewhat curious.

The planes produced by Factory 132 needed to be test-flown at the Flight Test Institute, and Old Tu was familiar with every pilot here, but he had never heard of anyone named Lei Zi.

"He was assigned here half a month ago and has been studying flight test theory for the past half month," Huang Dawei said. "Didn't you want a young test pilot? He's the youngest."

Soon, a young pilot ran over: "Lei Qiang reports for duty!"

Everyone looked over. The newcomer was of medium build, not even 1.7 meters tall in his leather boots. He had a buzz cut, a somewhat large face, and his skin was tanned dark. Some fuzzy, light-colored hair could be seen on his upper lip.

"Chief Qin, this Lei Zi's lip fuzz hasn't even fully grown in yet. Is he really going to be okay?" Old Tu began to back down.

"Reporting, I've flown the J-5 and J-6, and I've also flown the J-7 for over a hundred hours. My total flight hours are over a thousand, and my skill level is among the best in the entire army," Lei Zi said. "Please don't judge a book by its cover!"

Lei Zi looked indignant. Old Tu became serious: "Your flying is among the best in the entire army? How can you prove it?"

"The captain of the August 1st Aerobatic Team once approached me, but I didn't go. In my eyes, performing is boring; going to the battlefield is what's exciting."

In China, the August 1st Aerobatic Team has the best skills. They can fly six or seven fighter jets in the sky with a spacing of only one or two meters, like dancers on the tip of a knife. Being able to join the August 1st Aerobatic Team is an honor, but it was rejected by the Lei Zi in front of them!

"Have you been on the battlefield?"

"Before becoming a test pilot, I was flying on the southern border," Lei Zi said. "Unfortunately, I didn't encounter any enemy planes, otherwise, I would have definitely used my cannons to shoot them down!"

"Lei Zi, do you want to fire missiles?"

"Yes!" Lei Zi turned his gaze to Qin Yang, who was also young. He didn't know what this person's identity was, as long as he could fire missiles!

"Okay, this time I'm giving you a glorious and arduous task. We need you to fly a J-7 into the sky and fire an air-to-air missile."

"Yes, I guarantee to complete the mission!" Lei Zi's eyes were full of excitement.

Missiles are expensive. The entire army doesn't fire many in a year, and it's not his turn at all. Moreover, the hit rate isn't high. When he was on combat patrol on the border, he mainly used cannons. At that time, he heard that coming to the Flight Test Institute would give him the opportunity to fire missiles, and he didn't expect it to be true!

"Chief Qin…" At this time, Old Tu's heart was also wavering, but it wasn't good to deny Chief Qin's plan, so he could only change his words: "We still have to train before firing missiles, or else…"

"Train for what? This time, firing the missile doesn't require aiming. As long as our engine doesn't stall after firing the missile, it will be a great success. Lei Zi, do you still remember the procedure for restarting the J-7 fighter jet engine in the air after it stalls?"

"Of course, I remember. First step, adjust the aircraft's attitude and point it towards the airport. Second step, turn on the oil switch. Third step…" Lei Zi's mouth was like a machine gun, rattling off the eighteen steps fluently.

Natalie and a group of Israeli experts were all watching from the side, wide-eyed. Chief Qin chose the youngest test pilot to fire the missile. This test pilot looked too young! Was this reliable?

However, the missile was bought with the Easterners' money, and the plane was also theirs. The problem they encountered now couldn't be solved, so they could only try their luck. Chief Qin was very mysterious, maybe it could work?

"Lei Zi, if you can't successfully restart after the engine stalls in the air, there might be danger…" Old Wang, as the leader of the Flight Test Institute, began to chant like Tang Sanzang.

"Reporting, leader, I'm not afraid of danger!" Lei Zi interrupted him: "When I chose to become a pilot, I was prepared to shed my blood in the blue sky at any time! As long as the leader signs, I can fly at any time."

Although Lei Zi was young, he was impassioned at this time, making countless people feel his spirit of being willing to dedicate himself to the country and to flying at any time.

"Okay, let's try it once then."

"Yes!" Lei Zi was so excited that he almost jumped up. He first walked around the plane, looking at the missile on the wing pylon as happy as a child seeing a toy, and then climbed into the cockpit, listening to Huang Dawei explain the steps for launching the missile on the boarding ladder.

He had never fired a missile before; this was completely impossible! The Israelis had already given up.

Ten minutes later, the J-7 fighter jet was dragged out of the hangar again and flew into the blue sky with a roar.

"Chief Qin, this time, what exactly…" Old Tu didn't finish his words before meeting Qin Yang's contemptuous gaze, so he quickly changed his words: "This time it will definitely work!"

"Lei Zi's father was an old pilot, one of the first batch of flight students at the first aviation school in New China, and he also participated in the Korean War," Old Lin, who hadn't spoken all along, said. "Lei Zi has been cut out to fly fighter jets since he was a child. When he was at the aviation school, he was famous for being bloody and unafraid of death. He might really succeed this time."

Lei Zi was a local, born in June 1957. He grew up listening to the sound of airplanes. He enlisted in the army in August 1976 and directly entered the air force. Now he was already over twenty years old and had been flying for six years, but unfortunately, he didn't look old, so everyone felt that he was too young to be reliable.

However, Lei Zi didn't care about these things. All he knew was that he was going to fire a missile this time, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Climbing, continuing to climb, the J-7 fighter jet quickly flew to an altitude of six thousand meters, leveling the plane.

"008 reports, have reached the predetermined altitude, requesting to launch missile!"

"You can launch, pay attention, the engine may stall after launch, don't panic!"

Lei Zi took a deep breath, pressing his right thumb on the red launch button on the control stick.

Whoosh!

Below the wing, the PL-3 missile flew out with white smoke. At the same time, the entire J-7 fighter jet was lifted up like a leaf in a storm.

"Damn."

"Lei Zi, what happened?" In his anxiety, Huang Dawei even forgot to use the code name to call.

"008, 008, did the engine stall?" Old Wang also became anxious.

"008 reports, engine normal."

Normal, didn't stall?

Everyone present was surprised. A young pilot, firing a missile for the first time, actually solved the curse that caused the engine to stall every time an old pilot fired a missile? How did he do it?

Natalie looked at Qin Yang, her eyes complicated.

"008, is there anything abnormal with the plane?"

"008 reports, everything is normal with the plane, requesting to return."