Special forces soldier demobilization: Starting from the county government compound, a meteoric rise

"shadow".

On the private jet back to the capital, Liu Ming kept pondering those two words in her mind.

Outside the porthole was a towering 30,000 feet in the sky, where white clouds resembled a raging sea, but none of them could compare to the turbulent emotions surging within his heart at that moment.

The farewell letter left by his mother was like a rusty key, forcibly inserted into a lock labeled "Top Secret." Although he hadn't turned it yet, he could already smell the nauseating stench of decay and betrayal emanating from behind the door.

Luo Binwang, a high-ranking official, was greedy and ruthless, but he lacked the courage and power to sell the core superconducting mineral data of the Dragon Kingdom in a complete package to the foreign intelligence agency "Aegis".

This level of betrayal requires an "insider" who can control everything and arbitrarily tamper with customs data and military approval processes.

At the higher levels, those who can do this can be counted on one hand.

"Boss."

The man sitting opposite him, Ghost Hand, took off his headphones, breaking the silence in the cabin. His expression was more serious than ever before, and even carried a hint of barely concealed panic.

"We've made progress on the code name you asked me to investigate."

Liu Ming suddenly opened her eyes: "Speak."

"Too clean." Ghost Hand took a deep breath, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the keyboard.

"I used high-privilege access to search for the word 'Shadow' in the top-secret database on the intranet. The result... apart from some desensitized materials about the covert front in the early days of the People's Republic of China, all information about this code name in the last thirty years has been physically destroyed."

"It's not electronic deletion. It's physical destruction, like throwing the entire server hard drive into a furnace."

Liu Ming's eyes instantly turned extremely cold.

This is what they call "protesting too much"—the cleaner the place, the more suspicious it is.

"Since we can't find it domestically, let's investigate the overseas fund flows." Liu Ming's voice was as cold and hard as ice. "Go through those overseas accounts that Luo Binwang vomited up before he died. Follow the 'Aigis' financial chain and climb up the chain. Even if we have to trace it to under the US president's bed, we have to dig this rat out for me."

"Understood." Ghost Hand's ten fingers flew across the screen as he plunged back into the cyber battlefield where no smoke of gunpowder could be seen.

Sitting on the other side, Lone Wolf wiped the sniper rifle parts in his hands. He looked up at Liu Ming, his tone carrying the keenness of a veteran.

"Boss, this trip back to the city might not end well. The Grand Secretary was in such a hurry to summon you, could it be because he's sensed something?"

"It's hard to say."

Looking at the clouds outside the window, Liu Ming said, "This game is far too big. The advent of the 'Dragon Abyss' chip and the victory in the naval battle have completely thrown some people off balance. They're now desperate and capable of anything."

Just then.

Suddenly, the red warning lights inside the cabin began flashing wildly without warning! A piercing buzzing sound instantly pierced everyone's eardrums!

"What's going on?" Tank grabbed the heavy machine gun next to him and stood up like a startled brown bear.

The cockpit door was flung open, and the captain, drenched in sweat, rushed out, his voice trembling with tension: "Sir! The plane has been locked on!"

"Locked on?" Liu Ming's eyes sharpened. "What's the radar showing?"

"Not surface-to-air missiles." The captain swallowed hard. "They're...they're two stealth fighters without IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) signals! They've cut off our communications channels and activated their fire control radar! They're less than ten nautical miles away!"

"Damn it! This is domestic airspace!" Lone Wolf cursed.

A military aircraft was locked onto by unidentified fighter jets in domestic airspace? This is no longer a simple assassination. This is... a military-level decapitation strike!

"Stay calm."

Liu Ming instantly displayed the absolute calmness befitting a "Shura". He strode to the cockpit and looked at the two red dots on the radar screen that were approaching at an alarming speed.

Did the other party shout anything?

"No, radio silence. They're coming for us!"

"A ghost hand!" Liu Ming turned around abruptly. "Could we hack into their fire control system?"

"No way!" Ghost Hand was sweating profusely. "The equipment on this plane is too rudimentary! And they're using the latest frequency-hopping encryption. Give me ten minutes, and I can crack it. But now..."

"We don't even have ten seconds left."

On the radar, the two red dots had approached the optimal range for missile launch. The next second, the piercing lock-on sound turned into a long whistle, and two air-to-air missiles, trailing blazing tail flames, hurtled straight toward the transport plane like the scythe of death!

"Release the decoy flares! Extreme maneuver!" Liu Ming roared at the captain.

The massive transport plane suddenly flipped over in mid-air, and countless infrared decoy flares burst into bloom like fireworks.

"Boom!" The first missile was deflected off its trajectory by the decoy flare and exploded less than fifty meters from the right wing of the aircraft. The violent shockwave instantly overturned the seats in the cabin, and everyone was thrown violently against the cabin wall.

"There's no way to dodge the second one!" The captain closed his eyes in despair.

At this critical moment.

"Whoosh—!" "Whoosh—!"

Two silver lightning bolts suddenly shot out from the clouds below!

Those were two brand-new J-20 fighter jets painted with the August 1st Army emblem! They pulled up at an incredible angle, and two interceptor missiles precisely met the deadly threat.

"BOOM—!!!"

A huge fireball exploded beneath the transport plane, narrowly escaping death.

Immediately afterwards, a cold and authoritative voice came through the public channel.

"This is the 'Falcon' Squadron of the Chinese Air Force. Unidentified aircraft, you have violated our airspace. Identify yourself immediately and make an emergency landing, or you will be shot down!"

Seeing that their attack had failed and their location had been exposed, the two unidentified fighter jets ignored the warnings and immediately made a high-angle maneuver, fleeing towards the high seas at supersonic speed.

"Don't pursue a cornered enemy; escort the leader's plane to a safe landing."

A high-level command came through the channel.

Inside the transport plane, everything was in a mess. Liu Ming got up from the ground, dusted himself off, and looked out the window at the two J-20 fighters that were flying alongside him. His eyes were as cold as if he were looking at a dead man.

"Boss, are you alright?" Tank rubbed his head, which had a big bump, and came over.

"I'm fine."

Liu Ming turned his head, and the murderous intent burning in his eyes made these veteran soldiers feel a chill run down their spines.

"To be assassinated in your own backyard by someone flying a fighter jet."

"It seems that the 'shadow' in the upper echelons can't wait for me to die."

Liu Ming clenched the letter her mother had left her tightly in her hand. Her knuckles had turned white from the force.

He looked in the direction of the capital, a wild and bloodthirsty smile curving his lips.

"He's getting anxious."

"This proves that we are only a thin layer of paper away from the truth."

Liu Ming turned and walked towards her seat in the cabin.

"Get your gear ready. Once we land, activate the Level 1 combat contingency plan immediately."

"It seems the capital city is about to be turned upside down again."