Chapter 61: That Voice Doesn't Sound Right

Li Wenshan nodded thoughtfully.

He thought to himself that as expected of a professional, the flaws were spotted at a single glance. When he first saw these two fighter jets, he had mistakenly thought they were real F-22 fighters, whereas anyone with a discerning eye could tell at a glance that they were fake.

Indeed, professions are worlds apart.

Lieutenant Wen smiled and interrupted in a timely manner: "Alright, we still need to run tests to determine the performance of these two fighter jets."

"Chief Li, we have also brought some precision equipment this time, specifically for testing. We will need your men to help us unload them."

Li Wenshan laughed heartily: "No problem, Lieutenant Wen, I'll send men over right away."

Soon, under the direction of the two, the precision instruments and most of the preliminary preparations were completed.

Next came the phase of test-flight inspections.

"Chief Li, this is Liang Shaoke, our General Military Region's ace fighter pilot," Lieutenant Wen introduced.

Liang Shaoke had a rugged face with a somewhat tan complexion, but his expression remained stern. His eyes were filled with seriousness. He turned toward Li Wenshan, raised his hand, and saluted: "Good day, Chief."

"Hello," Li Wenshan nodded. "Before we begin, I must remind you in advance that since we have no way of determining the performance of this fighter jet, it is initially suspected of using outdated technology. You must be extremely careful when piloting it."

"Please rest assured, Chief, I will bear it in mind," Liang Shaoke said solemnly.

He had already been informed of this matter beforehand and had a clear mental preparation regarding this fighter jet; he would definitely exercise one hundred percent caution.

After all, he also knew that this fighter jet was most likely assembled privately by civilians.

Of course, this fighter jet was definitely capable of taking off. According to the preliminary tests conducted by the two scientific research experts, it at least proved that the overall structure of this fighter jet and the distribution of various components met the qualified standards of a fighter jet.

Therefore, he did not need to worry about the flight itself. He only needed to focus his energy, and after the fighter jet took off, cooperate with the commands of the two research experts on the ground to test the basic performance of the fighter jet.

"Alright, without further ado, let's start the test as soon as possible and not waste any more time," Lieutenant Wen said immediately.

"No problem."

Li Wenshan turned around, looked at the staff members who were making their final preparations, and said loudly, "Everyone, prepare as quickly as possible. We will begin the first test flight in half an hour."

"Yes!"

Accompanied by a chorus of responses, Li Wenshan and Lieutenant Wen walked over to the nearby control console and waited for the test to begin.

Meanwhile, Liang Shaoke had already changed into an air force combat uniform and followed the staff to the outdoor runway.

Standing in place, he looked at the fighter jet with an exterior closely resembling an F-22 parked not far away on the straight runway, and couldn't help but let out a light chuckle, sighing with a trace of emotion.

How wonderful it would be if this were truly an F-22 fighter jet. Although the J-20 was more powerful, he still hoped to personally experience a real F-22 fighter jet.

After all, only by truly trying it could one know the strengths and weaknesses of the F-22 fighter jet, and only by knowing its strengths and weaknesses could one be invincible in future battles.

Only then would one know how to counter the F-22 fighter jet.

But unfortunately, this was nothing more than a defective product, or rather a shell product, that possessed the exterior of an F-22 fighter jet without any of the internal components.

As the staff approached the F-22 fighter jet, he stepped up the boarding ladder and entered the cockpit.

Glancing at the buttons on the control console, he gently raised his hand to stroke them. He had to admit that these buttons were exquisite; they didn't look shoddy at all, resembling instead products manufactured by some high-precision mega-factory.

He had to admit that the person who built this fighter jet was a true talent—a genuine talent—who could replicate an F-22 fighter jet to such a degree, cloning even the buttons on a one-to-one scale and making them look so lifelike.

Moreover, the most important thing was that the moment he sat in the cockpit, he felt as if he were truly sitting in the cockpit of an F-22 fighter jet.

It felt as though what he was about to start was also a real F-22 fighter jet.

This sense of realism could not be described in words, yet it constantly lingered in his heart.

At the same time, he was also supremely sober-minded: this was not an F-22 fighter jet, and he must never fly it the way he flew the J-20. Leaving aside the fact that its performance would certainly not match the J-20 or the F-22, the driving experience, the sensation once airborne, and so on, must be completely different.

Next, he only needed to obey orders: accelerate when told to accelerate, bank when told to bank, and do whatever was commanded, as long as the test was successfully completed.

Gathering his thoughts, Liang Shaoke sat inside the cockpit and began to inspect the various buttons and the overall condition of the cockpit.

Once his inspection was complete, he immediately turned on the fighter jet's communication channel.

[Pilot 001, Pilot 001, this is the control tower, this is the control tower. Can you hear me?] Lieutenant Wen's voice came through the communicator.

Liang Shaoke immediately replied: "001 received, 001 received. Inspection complete, ready for takeoff at any time."

[Control tower received, please stand by for takeoff command,] Lieutenant Wen responded.

Liang Shaoke took two deep breaths. He felt no nervousness whatsoever, and his mood was exceptionally calm. After all, this was just an ordinary fighter jet, which he frequently piloted in past training sessions; there was nothing to be nervous about.

This test was not even as demanding as his usual training difficulty.

He was merely adjusting his state of mind, wanting to greet the upcoming test in his best condition.

Soon, the control tower transmitted orders once again: [Pilot 001, you are cleared for takeoff, cleared for takeoff!]

[Your flight route for this mission has been planned: take off from the Qingcheng Garrison Area, fly toward the Jiuzhou territorial waters and circle around once. Note, at most fly to the open sea, and absolutely do not enter the airspace of other countries.]

Qingcheng was close to the sea to begin with, and flying toward the airspace above the ocean from here was a good choice, as it could also avoid being detected by other military regions.

For this test, General Zhang Yuan of the General Military Region also chose to maintain strict confidentiality and did not notify other military regions. After all, the performance data and other specifications of these two fighter jets had not yet been tested, making it impossible to determine their performance or assess their potential hazards.

"Understood, 001 received," Liang Shaoke replied.

Then, he took another deep breath and pressed the start button on the control console.

Boom!

The moment he pressed the start button, a massive roar erupted. The fighter jet he was piloting began to vibrate, and all sound in his ears vanished, completely overtaken by the roar of the fighter jet starting up.

In that instant, Liang Shaoke froze in his seat, utterly stunned, even forgetting to prepare for taxiing.

Judging by the sound when this fighter jet started up, why did it feel somewhat off?

Why did the sound of this engine feel somewhat familiar?