The F-35B’s turbofan engine emitted a low roar deep within the cumulonimbus clouds. Leitao kept his eyes locked on the radiation warning indicator, which was pulsing erratically on the dashboard. The electromagnetic pulse from the explosion at the Shijiazhuang Air Base was still interfering with some of the fighter's sensors. He made a 15-degree adjustment to his course, and as the aircraft broke through a gap in the clouds, a metallic glint flashed across the snowy plains below.
Leitao’s pupils contracted. The infrared imager revealed seven armored vehicles covered in white camouflage netting deployed on the mountainside of Fenglong Mountain. The modified "Freya" radar antenna arrays mounted on their roofs were rotating slowly. More alarmingly, the half-track vehicle at the center of the convoy carried a mysterious device never seen before; its metal casing was densely packed with cooling vents, from which a faint, ghostly blue glow emanated.
The fighter suddenly shuddered violently as tracer rounds from anti-aircraft guns grazed the wings. Leitao pulled up sharply. A dense net of fire erupted from the clouds—three Type 96 anti-aircraft guns hidden in the woods were firing wildly, their muzzle flashes flickering in the twilight like the eyes of demons. He quickly activated the electronic warfare system, launching decoy flares that darted out like silver snakes, while simultaneously maneuvering the fighter into a barrel roll.
Chapter 476