Chapter 814 - 814: Better than 160th SOAR
WHOOSH-WHOOSH-WHOOSH!!
The night sky transformed into artificial daylight.
Dozens upon dozens of burning flares scattered outward beautifully like falling stars.
At the same time, the helicopter dove violently.
Low.
Extremely low.
Very dangerous.
Its belly nearly scraped the rooftops as it tore across the district at terrifying speed.
Several missile trails missed behind it by mere meters.
The aircraft twisted sideways aggressively between buildings before climbing again.
The downwash alone shattered rooftop tiles and blew debris across nearby streets.
Even plumbing pipes burst apart from the vibration shock.
Ahmin stared upward in disbelief.
"How the hell are your pilots doing that?"
Tang Ziyi remained silent.
Because the "pilot" wasn't human.
Athena had already predicted the launch trajectories before hostile fingers fully squeezed their triggers.
The reaction speed difference between AI and humans bordered on unfair.
Especially in aerial combat.
Another missile trail suddenly emerged from farther south.
Again, another Virgin-2 reacted instantly.
In a similar fashion.
More flares erupted.
The helicopter rolled sharply while dumping altitude aggressively.
The missile barely missed the aircraft before detonating harmlessly in the distance.
The militia commandos openly cheered this time.
Even the exhausted fighters couldn't suppress their amazement at watching such absurd maneuvering.
Tang Ziyi, however, noticed something else.
Athena wasn't merely evading.
She was baiting launch positions.
Sure enough, seconds later—
BRRRRRRRT!!
Virgin-1 immediately annihilated the suspected MANPADS origin point with overwhelming firepower.
Problem solved.
Tang Ziyi almost pitied the militants.
Almost.
"No, wait a minute. Your pilots are awesome, sure. But how on earth do the militants possess advanced MANPADS? One is understandable, but it seems they have more." Ahmin beeped out a few words in her language that drew rolling eyes from her subordinates.
After all, even in her entire ethnic army, it was doubtful anyone owned them.
Tang Ziyi didn't bother trying to comprehend the meaning and shrugged.
With the insurgency's systemic backing, she wasn't too shocked.
But she gave an excuse.
"There are Government S forces here too."
"Oh, right." Ahmin nodded, accepting the explanation and relaxing her expression.
At least she was comforted that the ISIS militants weren't the culprits.
"Final unit approaching hill crest," Athena reported calmly.
The last containment team finally emerged from the lower terrain and crossed behind friendly lines.
Safe.
At last.
Tang Ziyi slowly released the tension she hadn't realized she was maintaining.
She wasn't worried about Spirit Fox. Their capabilities and outrageous protections guaranteed absolute safety.
The militia commandos were her liabilities here.
She didn't want them to suffer under her command, jeopardizing the future relationship even if it wasn't her fault.
Now came the most vulnerable phase.
Extraction and landing.
Every veteran understood helicopters attracted enemy fire like magnets during static operations.
One mistake here—
And tonight's success could still become a disaster.
Fortunately, the entire formation was accompanied by Virgin-2s in the sky, hunting prey like owls.
Far ahead, the rotor sounds deepened.
The Virgin-1 helicopters finally broke formation and began descending toward the designated extraction zone beyond the ridgeline.
Dust immediately erupted everywhere from the rotor wash.
The landing zone lights remained dark intentionally.
Only infrared markers guided the pilots.
Or so it seemed in the eyes of the militias.
Meanwhile, the Virgin-2 gunships continued circling farther outward aggressively.
Protective angels.
Relentless, aggressive, and merciless.
Their autocannons periodically swept suspicious roads and open spaces to discourage any final desperate militant attacks.
Tang Ziyi rose slowly from cover.
"Everyone maintain spacing and security until wheels-up."
Nobody relaxed.
Not even now.
Especially not now.
The final stage had arrived.
Everybody hustled according to their teams' organization and leadership.
Tang Ziyi, Ahmin, and her team entered the same aircraft.
One operator responsible for the captive tossed him into the cabin and woke him from unconsciousness.
His shout elicited no reactions.
After Tang Ziyi counted all her subordinates, she shouted pretentiously while gesturing toward the cockpit.
"Everyone's aboard."
The hologram pilot, who had her head tilted toward the cabin while watching the team, nodded in response.
Virgin-1 rose gently and gained altitude.
The rear and side hatches gradually closed, enclosing the interior.
Thud.
The dim lights lit up the darkness.
Tang Ziyi saw several militia commandos hugging Spirit Fox operators and fist-bumping, celebrating tonight's success.
One aircraft after another lifted off from the extraction point and followed theirs.
Ahmin gazed at the scene they left behind through a porthole.
Swaths of fireballs and explosions erupted in contrast to the silent hum inside the cabin.
She didn't know why the fighting had turned so fierce at the end.
In fact, Athena had blasted every weapon at her disposal as much as possible.
First, to frighten and pulverize the enemy.
Second, logistical handling was easier since manufacturing replacements was far easier and more energy-efficient than safely disarming explosives.
As all the Virgin-1s left the zone, the Virgin-2s quickly trailed behind and escorted them.
For the return trip, no helicopter cared about nap-of-the-earth maneuvering.
A speedy withdrawal was the focus.
Ahmin wowed several times nonstop as she elbowed Tang Ziyi and jerked her chin toward the helicopters.
The latter understood that Ahmin was paying tribute to the pilots and praising them.
Tang Ziyi chuckled helplessly as Ahmin moved near the cockpit as if to speak with the pilot.
"Damn, you girls are far better than the 160th Night Stalkers," Ahmin shouted.
If not for the separate compartment barring any physical interaction, Tang Ziyi expected even more childish antics from the militia leader.
As for whether those words were true, Tang Ziyi believed they were, though she would have to ask for the details later, since Ahmin had worked alongside the 160th SOAR in the past.
She almost laughed out loud when the pilot flashed a thumbs-up.
Really, Athena knew how to pretend.
Then Ahmin collapsed onto the floor and stretched, probably tired and finally relaxing after realizing they were in a safe environment.
Several minutes passed as the formation returned over the heated frontline below.
Though no one could see it with their own eyes, Tang Ziyi observed through Athena's means and "saw" their comrades on the ground cheering for them.
Particularly the militias.
Yes, news of their snatch-and-grab mission's success had already spread.
Meanwhile, at the headquarters, everybody was hugging one another.
For the second time that night, after hearing of the safe extraction.
By now, they had also received reports that the units on the ground had sighted the returning formation.
Of course, everyone agreed on one important point—
Never allow Ahmin to play around like this again.
Tonight, they regained their initial ground and set the stage for future operations in their favor, while also raising their prestige among fellow militia groups.
Not to mention, the operation had likely wiped out much of ISIS's leadership as well.
They would need to wait a few more days to confirm those speculations.