At this moment, the one under the most pressure was undoubtedly Zheng Congyu.
As thest topete, and each a squadron leader, none wanted to lose to the other, especially him, representing Air China - the stakes of losing to Mukino Airlines were unthinkable. Gender no longer mattered; it was a contest of dignity.
Ground control issued themands, and the squadron leaders simultaneously advanced their throttles, guiding their aircraft forward.
The crowd of onlookers fell silent, holding their breath. This contest tugged at their hearts more than any before, akin to a battle for industry supremacy.
"Takeoff," the ground controller announced over the channel.
A linear formation of aircraft took off from the runway, impressively coordinated.
Spectators in the stands nodded in approval, "True to their title as leaders, their reflexes outshine those of ordinary pilots."
Earlier groups had taken off at varying times and speeds, scattered and uneven. But this final group was synchronized as if drawn by a line.
Once airborne, they angled skyward, selecting their altitudes within the designated zone. Their unspoken agreement left everyone stunned.
"Such precision!" Left Yulei from Pine Airlines couldn''t help but be impressed.
Over at Mukino Airlines, a sense of pride welled up from within, "Incredible! Our Captain Madison may be young and a woman, but she doesn''t fall short of any other leader!" Charlie kicked the chair of the man who mentioned Madison''s gender, "So what if she''s a woman?"
The man corrected himself quickly, "No, no, no offense meant!"
In the sky, the scenario shifted.
Following ascent, the squadron leaders elerated rapidly, their nes nearly vertical, climbing at breakneck speed.
Then, reaching a simr altitude, they turned left in unison as if rehearsed, and began their...
Dive at full speed!!!
"Damn! Their speed, how can they all be so fast?" someone eximed, leaping from their seat.
"Have the squadron leaders always been this bold?"
"Can this go off without a hitch?"
Shock and concern echoed through the crowd.
The nes, nose-diving towards the sea with their bodies askew, resembled a controlled plummet, a breathtaking spectacle.
Having just gone through a simted crash, the audience knew that this speed meant the pilots were aiming for a lower distance to have enough thrust for liftoff. "They''re getting lower and lower!" someone shouted.
Amplified by the venue''s speakers, the ground control''s reminders came through, "Pilots, please be mindful of your altitude."
In just a couple of seconds, two nes had already pulled up from their dive, hovering around six or seven meters above the sea.
Inside her cockpit, Madison grappled with the difort of weightlessness, her eyes tinged with red.
Through the window, she could see Zheng Congyu on her left and Sha Zhi on her right, neither showing signs of stopping.
In a blink, they dipped below the five-meter mark!
A hair''s breadth from danger.
Four meters!
"Three meters! The rm''s going off!" someone yelled.
This rm was meant for nes dipping below five meters.
At this critical moment, the onlookers saw several nes abruptly change direction, fighting to ascend.
Sha Zhi was out.
Yang Zi too.
Their simted crash distances were 4.6 meters and 4.4 meters, respectively.
Only Zheng Congyu and Madison remained, not yet ascending.
At this point, there was no time to watch anything else; the audience saw two nes almost simultaneously change direction to climb!
The ne''s exhaust, due to excessive fuel injection and overworked engines, emitted plumes of white smoke trailing behind.
The white trails seemed to tear through the sky, connecting from their tail to just above the sea.
All eyes were glued to the giant screen.
What would the leaders'' scores be???
The squadron leaders gentlynded their nes, and Zheng Congyu was quick to disembark.
He looked towards Madison, who wasndingter.
After a moment, he shook his head, smiling.
Youth indeed had its advantages.
At least they had the courage to face death.
That split second...
Zheng Congyu calmly looked towards the giant screen.
Scores were being entered into the leaderboard on the big disy.
Sha Zhi and Yang Zi''s scores appeared first, ranking them in the middle of the top ten.
Then came the other leaders, not scoring as high.
But when Zheng Congyu''s score shed up, the venue erupted in exmation!
"Wow!"
"Amazing!"
Zheng Congyu''s simted crash distance was 3.58 meters.
A score that would put any pilot to shame.
Air China''s pilots promptly cast smug nces towards the Mukino Airlines formation.
The Mukino Airlines pilots chose to ignore them.
Zheng Congyu held the top spot.
"Brian, you yed it safe," Charlie remarked.Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org.
Brian smiled, "This isn''t my main battleground. My score is enough to subdue the other Air China pilots. As for thepetition among
squadron leaders, that''s up to little
Meng."
s?novel
If Brian had beaten everyone, there would have surely been voices iming that Madison was all for show, which wouldn''t be ideal.
Seeing the Mukino Airlines pilots unfazed, the Air China pilots grew more brazen.
"Look at them, all quiet after losing, huh."
"Team Leader Zheng is the man!"
However, before they could finish their crowing, the entire giant screen scrolled down.
Because...
In the blink of an eye, Zheng Congyu went from first ce to second.
The candidates below him also moved down one rank to make way for the true champion.
On the upper left corner of the screen, a red number initially read 2.8 meters.
That was Madison''s best record from thest training simtion, a standing record!
And in the blink of an eye, 2.8 meters shifted to 2.72 meters!!!
What did this mean?
It meant Madison''stest limit distance was 2.72 meters!!!
Almost a whole meter closer than Zheng Congyu!
The venue fell silent for a moment.
Then, everybody in the Mukino Airlines formation stood up and saluted in the direction of Madison, faces flushed with excitement and exhration.
Madison saw them and nodded with a smile, then patted the Mukino International emblem on her chest.
In that moment, she turned her gaze towards the Air China formation, as fierce as if walking through fire and brimstone.
The Mukino Airlines pilots didn''t
shout or break rank, excited though
they may be, their discipline was unyielding, earning nods of
proval
vel
from the Civil Aviation Administration officials in the stands.
Qin Hualin watched the woman d in ck, respect evident in his eyes.
To withstand such pressure, perform consistently, and break the record no wonder Mukino Airlines treasured her so much.
Director Wang suddenly asked, "Who held thest training simtion record?"