Chapter 3, Plane Crash

Ron felt as if an entire century had passed, though he did not know how long it had actually been. The snake gradually lowered its body and lay down. Ron let out a long breath, slowly lowered his gun, and casually engaged the safety. It seemed that the National Geographic Channel was right

Skydiving is a dangerous activity, and it is said that Japanese pilots often shoot at parachutes without any sense of chivalry. Furthermore, being near the front lines, even a slight breeze could send him into the ranks of the Bataan Death March.

However, this time luck seemed to be on his side. After walking for more than half an hour, Ron encountered neither the Japanese army nor any ferocious beasts. Thus, he sat down in the shade of a large tree covered in vines by the stream, facing the direction from which he had come. On one hand, he needed to rest and recover his strength—navigating through the jungle was physically exhausting; on the other hand, he needed to tend to the wound on his left arm. In the hot and humid rainforest, the speed at which wounds could become infected was astonishing. If not treated promptly, an inflamed wound could quickly cost him his life.

Ron’s movement startled the snake, which half-raised its body and flicked its tongue in Ron’s direction. Its body, dragging on the ground, also coiled up. Ron knew that this would make its next move quicker and more powerful. However, Ron was still unaware of what its next action would be. Thus, the man and the snake faced each other.

Originally, due to Ron's influence, the comrades in the flight squadron knew that when being pursued by a Zero fighter, they should roll to the right, pull the stick sharply, and dive to escape. However, this maneuver requires a considerable altitude, and during ground attack missions, not only is there a lack of altitude, but to ensure the effectiveness of ground strikes, speed cannot be increased either. "Sometimes I fly slowly, but I must always fly high; sometimes I fly low, but I must always fly fast. Except for takeoff and landing, I will never allow myself to fly low and slow, because that means if I am attacked, I won't even have the energy to evade or retaliate." This was advice given to Ron by a senior pilot when he first started flying fighter jets online. Ron's experiences in virtual combat online repeatedly confirmed the truth of this statement. He had more than once found himself in a low and slow state, exhausting energy while evading enemy attacks, leading to a stall and crash. He had also forced enemy aircraft to crash without firing a shot, losing both altitude and speed. When a P-40 executing ground attack missions is attacked by a Zero fighter, it often cannot escape due to the lack of both altitude and speed. Just like now.

Ten minutes later, a squad of Type 38 rifles appeared near the large tree

"Miki-kun, look over there!" a Japanese soldier shouted, pointing to a certain spot in the treetops. Amidst the green shade, a faint white object could be seen swaying in the wind.

In that instant, Ron suddenly pulled open the cockpit cover and jumped out of the fighter jet, which had already gone out of control.

Just as Ron had completely relaxed, the python suddenly raised half of its body again. ... Ron instinctively pulled the trigger towards it ... . ... The gun did not fire, no matter how hard Ron tried, the trigger remained completely still— the safety was still on.

He is currently too high above the ground. Although there is a thick layer of soft soil made from decayed twigs and leaves on the rainforest floor, cutting the parachute straps and jumping down directly is still very dangerous. If he were to injure his leg, not only would he be unable to escape, but even if he wanted to surrender, the Japanese would probably not want him, as he would be unable to work, leading to a direct "dead, dead" situation.

"Now!" Ron suddenly lowered the landing gear and simultaneously deployed all the flaps that could be opened. The speed of the aircraft plummeted, and to the eyes of the Japanese pilot, it seemed as if the plane had suddenly stopped in mid-air. Rat-a-tat-tat, a series of 20mm shells struck the air. "How cunning! But isn't he left with nothing but a stall and crash?" thought someone as they flew past the fighter.

A pure white umbrella flower blossomed at a height of over 100 meters above the ground, and just a moment later, it disappeared into the dark green rainforest

This error salvaged the previous one. The python did not spit venom in Ron's direction this time; its head was pointed towards another direction—towards the direction from which Ron was approaching. Before long, Ron also heard the sound of splashing water coming from that side, seemingly mixed with the sound of a dog barking, indicating that the Japanese were also tracking him along the stream.

Ron quietly retreated into the dark shade of the trees, anxiously looking around. Meanwhile, the large python silently slipped into the stream.

1, 2, 3, 4... The wind whistled past Ron's face, and the dark green earth was rushing towards him. "It is not yet time to open the umbrella, not yet... The Japanese still have the height to shoot at me..."

Ron is wading upstream in a stream commonly found in the rainforest (the Japanese army is by the seaside, downstream), navigating through dense foliage, with specks of sunlight filtering into the dim jungle. These spots of light dance with the swaying of the branches, resembling will-o'-the-wisps. The choice to move upstream is motivated by two reasons: first, there are few vines and thorns in the stream, allowing him to advance without needing to clear a path with a knife, thus saving time and energy; second, he is concerned that the Japanese may have military dogs. The flowing water will wash away his scent, making it difficult for any potential military dogs to track him.

Ron is now in serious trouble. While passing through the treetops, his left arm was scratched by a branch, and his parachute got caught in a very tall tree. Now, Ron is dangling several meters above the ground. He knows he must leave this place immediately, as the spot where he lands will be closer to the Japanese positions. Those Japanese who saw him parachuting will surely come looking for him

It is a parachute! That beautiful beast definitely hasn't run far!

With his teeth, Ron bit down on the bullet head of a .45 caliber round, carefully sprinkling a bit of gunpowder onto the wound. He then stuffed a piece of wood he had scavenged into his mouth, took out a lighter, struck the flint, and cautiously directed the flickering yellow flame towards the wound.

Most snakes are extremely insensitive to stationary objects, meaning that as long as you remain still, they can hardly see you. A voice echoed in Ron's mind, "Thanks to the National Geographic Channel, oh God, oh Buddha, fortunately, I am downwind, so it cannot smell me... It can't be one of the few, can it?"

With a soft "whoosh," a wisp of pale blue smoke slowly rose. Ron spat out the stick from his mouth, tore off a piece of silk from the parachute, and with the help of his mouth, tightly bandaged the wound, tying a knot. Just as he let out a silent sigh of satisfaction, raised his head, and prepared to continue on, his eyes suddenly froze—on the ground just seven or eight meters in front of him, a python was crawling toward the stream. Its body, covered in patterns, was brightly illuminated in some places by patches of light, while in others it was hidden in darkness, making it difficult to discern its exact length. But just by its thickness, it was easy to judge that it must be quite long.

However, this approach is not without its dangers. Firstly, the area near the stream has the best lighting and the least cover, making it easy to be discovered. Moreover, many animals come to the stream to drink water, including leopards, sun bears, and perhaps even the longest python in the world—the water python. Ron holds an M1911A1, with .45 caliber rounds already chambered. However, Ron knows that unless absolutely necessary, he should not fire his weapon. Although he does not currently see any Japanese soldiers, they are surely not far away.

Ron instinctively recoiled sharply, his back crashing heavily against another tree. He gripped the pistol with both hands, aiming it directly at it. Although he did not dare to pull the trigger, holding the gun at least allowed him to calm down more quickly. "Heavens, it's at least six or seven meters, possibly even longer"

Ron carefully tugged at the strap of the umbrella, securing it tightly. He then pulled on the strap with force and began to climb upwards. Soon, he disappeared into the dense canopy of trees

Ron originally intended to hide the parachute well, but after only partially concealing it, he noticed the approaching Japanese troops, and thus had no choice but to flee immediately

An officer, holding a low-quality command sword (some Japanese army officers come from samurai families, and they often use authentic Japanese swords passed down through generations, while those low-ranking officers from commoner backgrounds can only use mass-produced swords made from steel plates, which are of far inferior quality), raised a telescope to look ahead

On Christmas Day in 1941, the Japanese Navy's Marine Corps landed on Mindanao Island. Due to the island's large size and their relatively small numbers, they initially remained holed up in several coastal strongholds. Now, having received reinforcements, they have become much more active and are continuously applying pressure on the American forces. The Japanese troops have advanced from Davao to the area north of the Demont Airport in Cagayan City. Currently, Demont Airport is under tight defense by the Army, and the Japanese have not yet been able to breach the airport. However, Ron knows that they cannot hold out for long. As the Japanese approach, the number of ground missions has begun to increase, posing greater dangers for the pilots. On one hand, the Japanese have secured more airfields in the Philippines, eliminating range issues for the Zero fighters taking off from there. Due to the Zero's long range, their loitering time near Demont Airport is even longer than that of the P-40s that have just taken off. Fortunately, the Japanese are not particularly keen on suppressing the airport; otherwise, the remaining air power at Demont Airport would have been wiped out long ago. However, with the increased likelihood of encountering Zero fighters during ground missions, the level of danger has significantly risen.

However, considering these matters now seems somewhat untimely; the most important thing at present is to survive. As for Badan, we can think about it later.

A Zero fighter once again swooped down, and the P-40 was clearly finding it increasingly difficult to evade. The Zero also began to utilize its two 20mm cannons more frequently. Although these cannons had a slow rate of fire and low muzzle velocity, using them against a fighter was akin to using a rifle to shoot at a dragonfly, the enemy aircraft was no longer a nimble dragonfly; it was a clumsy, wounded duck. The pilot in the Zero was confident that he could turn it to shreds with the 20mm cannons in this attack.