009 San Francisco Incident (3)

Even ordinary citizens of San Francisco, who were witnessing the situation, could tell that the UFO was more toying with America's military pride—its fifth-generation fighter jet, the F-22 Raptor. The adversary had not launched an aggressive attack. It was like a lion with energy to spare, toying with two wheezing, scrawny dogs. Some spectators were thrilled, others were surprised and afraid. There were also those who nervously fretted, for although the UFO had not demonstrated any aggressive tendencies at the moment, who knew what its purpose for coming to Earth was.

Sean felt sweat was about to form inside his helmet. He anxiously shouted to his lead pilot, Frazer, "Lead-1, you're too close to it, I can't shoot!"

"Damn it, you think I want to be this close to this thing? I can't shake him off!"

At this moment, Frazer dared not make any drastic maneuvers. He was probably no more than three meters away from the UFO; any reckless move could cause a severe collision. Since it was directly above him, it meant that even if he ejected, he would not be able to survive. Furthermore, this was a low-altitude situation over the downtown area of San Francisco; even if he successfully parachuted down, there was no guarantee he would survive unharmed, let alone without disability.

And at that moment, Commodore Connell issued an order to Sean, "Lead-2, fire at the target immediately! Repeat, fire at the target!"

It has to be said that it was an excellent shooting window. Frazer was below the alien fighter, not daring to make any exaggerated movements, only daring to fly straight and level, while the alien fighter simply sat atop the F-22 like a little imp, also not making any maneuvering movements. For Lead-2, the wingman that was accompanying in flight, it was nearly a stationary target.

Connell was willing to disregard everything; this situation could no longer be resolved in a low-key manner. Aliens might invade Earth at any moment, and America, as the hope of humanity, could not stand idly by. Connell felt that he harbored the burden of the survival of the entire human race; even if it meant sacrificing an excellent U.S. Air Force pilot today, even if it meant the loss of a fighter jet worth hundreds of millions of dollars, even if it led to damage in the densely populated area of San Francisco. As long as the wreckage of this UFO could be obtained, and some useful intelligence could be analyzed from it, America might find a means to deal with these aliens.

Even if the aliens had advanced technology, they must also have weaknesses that could be exploited. People at the Pentagon and places like the CIA and the White House all believed this. When Connell knew the truth, he thought the same. It must be said that this was also influenced by the myriad Hollywood movies about fighting off alien invasions. In these films, no matter how powerful the aliens were, humans always managed to find one or two weaknesses to exploit or used their extraordinary intelligence to ultimately defeat the enemy. In "Independence Day," the lone hero pilots seized an alien fighter jet, then used a Trojan horse tactic and a computer virus to annihilate the aliens; in "The Darkest Hour," a few minor protagonists found ways to combat energy body aliens with backyard-level weapons; in "Battle of Los Angeles," the aliens, besides being capable of interstellar travel, had weaponry not much stronger than Earth's, unable to penetrate a steel helmet and severely lacking in intelligence, they came all this way to Earth to engage in street battles with humans, even though they were after water resources, and no one bothered them at sea...

In short, aliens either had unknown weaknesses or they were not as smart as humans on Earth. As long as the necessary intelligence was obtained, humanity was sure to win. Oh no, it was the brave and robust American soldiers who once again saved the world, saved humanity, and upheld democracy, freedom, and peace, worthy of the great title of the beacon of light nation.

After all that reasoning, for the sake of humanity and America, the death of one Frazer wasn't much to consider, nor was the loss of an F-22, it wasn't as if they hadn't lost one before, as long as it didn't fall into the hands of those counterfeit-crazy nations.

Frazer also heard Connell's order and was dumbstruck. Although the U.S. military also preaches the willingness to sacrifice, being betrayed so blatantly by his own superior infuriated him. On the other hand, Sean hesitated and called out, "Tower, the target hasn't shown any aggression, shooting will harm our own people!"

As lead and wingman pilots, Frazer and Sean were old friends and comrades-in-arms for many years, and Frazer was even the godfather of Sean's daughter. Sean was absolutely unwilling to fire upon his friend, for any reason.

While Connell kept pressing Sean coldly to act, Frazer regained his composure. He knew that no matter what, he was not going to end well today; either he would be shot down by his comrade, or he had to choose to die. Being killed by a comrade was utterly frustrating. If possible, he preferred to bravely take down the UFO himself, at least to defend his country.

A country that sent him to his death.

Or more precisely, a country managed by people who sent him to die and profited from his death.

Frazer was fuming with rage at this moment, as America's top F-22 pilot, he had once humiliated the ace pilots of NATO allies in the Red Flag military exercise, an undefeated aerial combat ace who could take on seven opponents at once. If he had been in the Chinese cultural sphere, he surely would have earned a nickname like "Skies' Zhao Zilong" from the mouths of characters like Brother Bao and West Peace Brother. In the fight against this alien aircraft, he was always outmatched, teased until he was all temper. Even if he couldn't win honorably, even if it cost him his life, Frazer was determined to bring down this alien fighter.

——Cut to another scene——

Bai Zhongqi still couldn't find what he considered a good hiding spot on the ground; after all, this wasn't like some famous cities back home, where civil defense facilities could be found everywhere. Bai Zhongqi also didn't dare to head into the subway stations, because if anything went wrong, those would likely be sealed off, and he might end up trapped, starving to death inside.

Indeed, Bai Zhongqi suffered from anxiety, as well as doomsday delusions; he always made preparations for all sorts of disasters, even if they were tiny, inconsequential ones. At least by doing so, his anxiety would be somewhat alleviated.

Now, unable to find a place to hide, Bai Zhongqi became particularly uneasy. Just as his breathing quickened and he began to feel chest tightness and shortness of breath, a cry of alarm suddenly rose from the crowd.

"Look quickly!"

Bai Zhongqi swiftly lifted his head to see, and there it was: the F-22 that had been "mounted" by the UFO suddenly activated its pitch control surfaces and twin-vectoring nozzles at the same time, pulling the entire nose up and back in a rough and fierce maneuver.

This was clearly a suicidal attack tactic! The F-22 pilot, having no way to shake off the UFO, chose this way to demonstrate his indomitable spirit.

At least, Bai Zhongqi felt a certain admiration for this pilot when he saw this. He didn't know that in reality, if the pilot didn't do this, he would still be shot down in the end.

Whether Sean would comply with Commodore Connell's orders was not the point; the US military had already moved anti-aircraft guns into the San Francisco city area, and these old-fashioned weapons proved more useful than missiles that couldn't lock on to their targets. Even if Sean did not take the shot, over a dozen different caliber anti-air guns would fire at Frazer. At that time, it was certain that he would be the first to be shot down from below.

In just a matter of mere meters, Frazer's desperate and relentless attempt put forth, could the alien fighter evade?