Adolph’s expression suddenly darkened as he muttered, “It’s the customs air defense alert.”
Ryan replied sternly to Cobra, “Pick up the pace. We need to resolve this from a safe distance.”
Cobra immediately acknowledged him and began issuing a series of commands.
Even though they had connections with the Defense Department and upper management, it didn’t mean they were in touch with everyone.
Customs air defense fell under the jurisdiction of the Defense Department. Given that they were openly crossing the maritime boundary, they had the authority to shoot down any threats and report back.
Besides, even if they notified the Defense Department, they wouldn’t intervene; after all, it was their territory, and some matters couldn’t be discussed publicly.
“Who are you? If you don’t identify yourselves immediately, we’ll open fire.” The cold, aggressive shout made Ryan and Adolph furrow their brows.
Suddenly, there was a commotion on the radar. Ryan and the others looked at the display and saw that the coastal air defense base had activated its defenses, with artillery all pointed in their direction. The patrol ships were also quickly heading their way, and the targeting systems on the military vessels locked onto the planes as they approached Australian territory.
“Move faster,” Adolph ordered in a low voice.
The remaining two planes were all his men, while the already controlled aircraft had slowed down and were circling in place. Only those two planes continued to push forward.
“Warning, warning! Hazardous materials were detected nearby. Hazardous materials detected nearby.” On Cobra’s plane, the automated tracking and scanning sensors were continuously reporting. Through the communication channels, Ryan, Adolph, and the others heard everything clearly.
“Get closer,” Adolph suddenly commanded.
In an instant, the plane that had been lagging behind sped up to position itself next to the transport aircraft. Adolph readied his state-of-the-art sniper rifle and aimed through the window at the chaotic scene inside the transport plane.
Bang!
A soft sound rang out as Adolph’s bullet penetrated the high-strength glass, hitting the pilot. The pilot’s head exploded, and the transport plane quickly began to plummet toward the sea below.
“Boss, we have control,” came the report.
Before the transport plane could hit the ground, it stabilized and began ascending rapidly. Adolph knew his men had taken control of it.
“Get all the transport planes to turn back,” Adolph quickly ordered over the internal channel as he made a swift U-turn to head back to a safer area.
“Last warning! Last warning! Will you retreat or advance?” The customs alert seemed to realize there was a dogfight happening above, but they couldn’t figure out what was going on, so they issued another warning.
“Retreat,” Ryan commanded coldly.
The transport planes quickly regained control and headed toward Hawk, who was waiting at the designated spot to prepare for their flight to the Middle East. The disguised fighter jets were still airborne, while the last plane continued to wobble as it flew forward.
“Notify Panther to send over the latest fighter jet from headquarters. We’ll meet in Central Asia,” Ryan said coldly to Tiger as he surveyed the situation in front of him.
Thankfully, they had manufactured an extra jet, so even though one was destroyed, they could still recover. But they couldn’t afford to lose this one; he was out of stock. That was why he hadn’t left yet-he couldn’t take that kind of loss.
When they made these high-spec jets, they only produced them based on the number ordered. The pricier the jet, the stricter the production controls, since each one represented a significant investment. The Dark family had deep pockets and typically produced one extra for themselves. Beyond that, they wouldn’t make any more, so while Ryan could afford to lose one, he couldn’t afford to lose more.
“Prepare to fire,” came the cold command.
Ryan and the others furrowed their brows. They would be safe at a distance, but the fake fighter that had already entered the warning zone was in the line of fire.
A nearly invisible white streak shot toward the plane in the sky at a speed too fast for the eye to catch. The radar indicated it was about to be hit when suddenly, there was a flash of fire and a massive explosion echoed in the sky.
Cobra, who was flying at the front, realized they were in trouble. He aimed at the incoming missile and fired back to intercept it in midair.
Bright colors erupted in the sky as signals lit up the radar like stars, and Ryan and Adolph exchanged worried looks.
This defensive move from Australia was a blatant challenge. Numerous aircraft were gearing up for takeoff, and a flood of signals indicated they were treating every hovering plane in the sky as an enemy.
“I’m giving you ten more seconds. If you don’t resolve this, I’ll blow you out of the sky,” Ryan said, his tone icy and commanding as he sent a final ultimatum to Adolph’s team on the front line.
“Ryan, you…” Adolph began, realizing Ryan didn’t have many options left.
Adolph quickly called out, but seeing the cold, resolute look on Ryan’s face, he swallowed his words. At this moment, questioning Ryan’s decisions or authority was not wise. If Ryan was willing to give that order and destroy the fighter, he must have a plan to handle whatever came next.
“Six seconds, five seconds, four seconds…” The countdown echoed in the tense silence, and everyone held their breath, their eyes glued to the increasingly erratic fake fighter.
“The other side has taken off,” Tiger reported, watching the Australian Customs response closely, his expression serious.
“Prepare to return,” Ryan ordered coldly.
Instantly, all the circling planes turned to fly back, aligning themselves with Ryan’s aircraft, ready to return at his command.
“The other side is within three seconds of firing range,” Adolph said, his face serious.
“Two seconds, one second, ready…”
“Control established, returning now,” an urgent voice suddenly broke through.
The fake fighter, which had been leading the charge, made a sharp turn and sped toward Ryan and the others just as Ryan’s hand hovered over the launch button.
“Return!” Ryan commanded firmly.
In an instant, all the planes sped away in the opposite direction from Australia.
Meanwhile, Australian Customs, who had already launched but hadn’t fired yet, watched as the invading planes that had been circling suddenly turned and flew off in the last second.
“Chase them…”
The order from Australian Customs wasn’t even finished before commands from both the Ministry of Defense and National Security came flooding in, strict and cautious, forcing the fired-up customs officers, who were ready to pursue the daring invaders, to quickly retreat. They could only stand by and watch as the planes disappeared as mysteriously as they had arrived.
On the plane, Ryan leaned back into his seat, tightening his arm around Echo. He slowly closed his eyes as he felt the wet sensation on his leg spreading. The black pants couldn’t absorb much moisture, and the dampness began seeping through, dripping onto the cabin floor.
“Boss, your leg…”
“Boss is injured…”
Amid the chaos, Ryan, still holding Echo, slowly drifted off to sleep.
Just before he had jumped off the plane, a bullet had grazed his leg during the gunfire.
How many years had it been since he last got injured? It was rare for him to get hurt like this.
Seeing Ryan injured, Tiger, Bill, and the others looked more surprised than scared. They knew how often Ryan had been hurt in the past, but over the years, his reputation and skills had grown so much that almost no one could land a hit on him. This injury took them by surprise, but not enough to cause panic. They calmly and efficiently went about handling the situation, organizing everything for cleanup.