Chapter 22: The Family Genealogy Definitely Deserves Its Own Page

“Damn, Wei!”

Staring at the radar screen where the signal had vanished, Yang Hu was dumbfounded.

“Could it be that we actually shot down an F35?”

From the moment they detected the aircraft to when its signal disappeared, barely two minutes had passed.

In those two minutes, the adrenaline surge left him no time to think beyond action.

Just do it.

But after the deed, countless questions and exclamations were etched across his face.

Honestly!

That was an F35!

A world-class fifth-generation fighter jet with top-tier stealth capabilities.

And with a single missile from the HQ-9, the signal vanished instantly!

It all felt like a dream.

Beside him, Wei Xiu remained relatively calm.

“Be confident; you did shoot down the F35.”

“The signal has been transmitted back, confirmed kill.”

“Don’t worry, your family tree is about to have a new page.”

A victorious first battle.

Wei credited all the honor to Yang Hu.

After all, he was just a mechanic.

Although he had remained calm under pressure, strategically directing the crew to take down the target, humility was still necessary.

What mattered most was the performance of the vehicle.

Honestly, this was the first real combat test of the equipment he had repaired.

If ten was full marks, he’d rate it a hundred thousand and twenty thousand.

Remarkable!

Both the upgraded performance and the reliability of the equipment had seen a massive improvement.

He wasn’t sure about other aspects, but if it had been a standard HQ-9 here, the mission would have been impossible.

Just as Wei was basking in satisfaction, a military jeep suddenly roared up right in front of them.

The dust kicked up by its sharp turn obscured everything in a smoky haze.

By the time Wei and Yang reacted, two officers in plainclothes were standing before them.

“See? The family tree really is getting a new page!”

Wei pointed at the two men, thumbs raised high.

As expected of the military—they arrived fast.

They had just made the achievement, and without missing a beat, the jeep was right in their faces.

Given the feat of shooting down an F35, awarding a special merit wasn’t too much to ask, right?

Yang Hu caught on with a slight delay, smiling and saluting.

“Greetings, commanders.”

The newcomers were stern and unsmiling, cold eyes scanning Yang Hu.

“Were you commanding the 013 crew?”

Yang puffed out his chest. “Reporting, commanders! This is Yang Hu from the warzone aircraft repair company!”

“Executing repair tasks as ordered!”

“The 013 HQ-9 crew is temporarily under my command!”

The two officers exchanged glances, then flanked Yang from left and right.

Though they didn’t move to grab him, their stance was like a pincer.

“Come with us.”

“Yes, sir!”

Without hesitation, Yang stepped toward the jeep.

Wei Xiu frowned, feeling a bit put out.

This guy was a bit selfish, wasn’t he?

Here he was being modest, and the other actually tried to leave him out.

If they were awarding merit, Wei deserved recognition too.

Why did Yang want to get in the vehicle alone?

So he spoke up, “What about me?”

One officer turned his head. “You were involved too?”

Yang finally came to his senses and hurriedly explained, “Of course! Wei was the main force!”

Wei nodded inwardly—now that was more like it.

Not an ungrateful wretch.

The officer twisted the corner of his mouth. “So... you were the mastermind?”

“Not a mastermind, just contributed a bit.”

The officer’s expression remained stone-cold. “Very well, get in.”

Once both were seated, each officer sat beside one of them.

Yang was elated.

This felt great!

Serving was all about making merit.

Still, as a mechanic, frontline chances were slim.

Luckily, fate had granted him this opportunity.

Most importantly, they’d sent him someone like Wei Xiu—a prodigy.

Without him, Yang wouldn’t have dared dream of shooting down an F35.

This achievement—when the plaques arrived in his village, how proud his family and friends would be!

Thinking this, Yang asked, “Commander, will my family be informed about this?”

“Rest assured, after verification, they will be notified.”

The officer affirmed straightforwardly.

Then, from behind, he produced a pair of handcuffs.

“But there’s a process: after trial and conviction, the family will be informed.”

“Put these on!”

???

???

Yang was stunned, his mind blank and confused.

He couldn’t grasp the situation and looked at Wei Xiu innocently.

“Wei, is this the ‘new page in the family tree’ you were talking about?”

The officer sneered coldly.

“New page? No escape from that.”

“With this crime—”

“Your family tree will be cut out, placed in the shameful branch.”

...

...

Over three hundred kilometers away.

In a farmland, a raging fire had just been extinguished.

The air was thick with the scent of burnt smoke.

At the center lay a pile of charred black aircraft wreckage.

“Indeed, it’s an F35.”

Huang Han, the warzone commander who had arrived at the scene, confirmed without a doubt after a glance.

Having been in command, he recognized this fighter jet even when burned to ashes.

“What about the pilot?”

A staff officer quickly reported, “A body was found about six hundred meters from here, confirmed deceased.”

“Good. Secure the body properly and await further instructions.”

Witnessing both man and machine destroyed, Huang Han’s heart remained uneasy, suspended halfway.

Because now he faced a graver problem.

He had confirmed from multiple sources in the vehicle.

Neither the aircraft in the sky nor the ground’s air defenses had fired.

“Then what exactly shot down this plane?”

Zhang Mingrui squatted beside the wreckage, resolute. “Whoever did it, it wasn’t us.”

“Why?”

Zhang pointed to fragments of the debris.

“Look here, Chief of Staff.”

“The wreckage shows a vertical cross-section.”

“As if it was cut cleanly in half.”

Huang Han peered closely.

It was true.

Though the debris was scattered, imagining it pieced together, this was roughly the aircraft’s midsection.

The break was clear—a clean cut through the waist.

Zhang continued, “This means the object that destroyed the plane exploded in a ring shape.”

“From this, I can confirm it was a warhead with a dispersed rod structure.”

“This type of warhead, when detonated, forms a saw-like circular ring.”

“It covers a large area and has a high explosive efficiency.”

“Far superior to traditional explosives.”

Huang Han’s brow furrowed deeper. “So—whatever took down the aircraft is more advanced than the weapons we have.”

“That’s right.”

“Putting aside the extremely efficient warhead…”

“Who can detect and destroy a stealth aircraft at eight thousand meters altitude?”

Huang Han said nothing, quietly looking up at the sky.

As far as he knew, within a five hundred kilometer radius, the strongest combat forces were under his control.

If it wasn’t one of their own shooting, who else could it be?

The Trisolarans?

“Report to the commander!”

Suddenly, an officer came running.

“The implicated crew has been detained!”

“The main responsible individual is in custody.”

“Awaiting orders!”