Chapter 006: Maritime Rescue

While the Zhi-20 hovered in the air and launched torpedoes, Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō ordered the artillery to fire in a concentrated barrage at the airspace where the helicopter was located. The shells spun out of the barrels and exploded in mid-air, scattering lethal shrapnel like raindrops around the helicopter. Due to the lack of precision in the artillery, Admiral Tōgō ordered multiple guns to fire simultaneously, and eventually, several pieces of shrapnel struck the helicopter's tail rotor

Before long, the Zhi-20 flew over the "Langsu" ship, swooping towards the flagship "Matsushima" at the front of the formation. Tōgō Heihachirō immediately ordered the ship's cannons to elevate their angles and switch to timed-fuse shells, preparing for a simultaneous barrage

When Tōgō Heihachirō listened to the account of his observers, he began to sense that this leap was imminent. Therefore, he ordered all observers to closely monitor the skies in addition to keeping an eye on the opposing Beiyang Fleet.

After the explosion of the battleship "Fusō," the observer on the "Nagasaki" reported to Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō what he had witnessed: "A flying object approached the 'Fusō,' and from beneath that object, two things flew out at an extremely high speed, colliding with the 'Fusō,' which was followed by its explosion." Although Tōgō Heihachirō had never seen an airplane, his long military career endowed him with a level of analytical ability beyond that of ordinary individuals. He was a diligent naval officer, eager to learn new knowledge, having studied in the United Kingdom for eight years during which he read a vast number of military books. Through relentless study, he realized that advancements in military technology often occur in seemingly ordinary fields, such as the stirrup or the three-stage firing method of matchlock guns. He pondered what advancements in military science and technology might be present in his time. Naturally, Tōgō Heihachirō thought of the sky; if someone could create a flying object, it would represent a tremendous leap in military technology. However, he was merely a soldier, not a scientist or an engineer, and he could not transform this seemingly impossible idea into reality.

Everyone present was taken aback, not understanding why Lin Yuan would issue such an order. Lin Yuan then issued an even stranger command: "Deploy another rescue helicopter, equipped with the best snipers on board"

There is no time for him to think about these matters in detail. He is striving to control the helicopter, knowing that the only outcome is a crash. The only thing he can do is to slow down the descent of the helicopter. Fortunately, the helicopter's rotor has inertia, which prevents it from falling freely like a fixed-wing aircraft, thus resulting in a slower landing speed compared to fixed-wing aircraft. However, helicopters do not have equipment for pilots to parachute to safety. During the development of the Zhi-20, relevant units considered adding an ejection escape system. However, the rotor above the pilot's head resembles a giant meat grinder; if it is not removed before ejection, the pilot would be shredded by the high-speed rotating metal blades. Consequently, the design department referenced Russian design concepts and added explosive devices to detonate the rotor before the ejection seat is activated. However, due to the technical difficulties involved, the design department opted to adopt American design principles, which involved adding cushioning devices to the bottom of the fuselage, hoping to protect the pilot during the helicopter's descent.

Lin Yuan suddenly thought of something. He picked up the communicator and calmly asked, "What combat equipment do you have on your plane?"

The position of the observer is generally at a high point in the ship's tower. To strike helicopters in the distant sky, guidance from the observer is essential. Once the observer is taken out, the entire warship is as if it has been blinded.

At this moment, the communicator emitted the voices of the Zhi-25 aircraft tasked with the rescue mission. Captain He Di's voice sounded unusually anxious: "Captain, this is Rescue One. The attacker has fallen and we are heading to the rescue"

The position of the helicopter is precisely in the blind spot of the warship's artillery. In this era, there are no aircraft, and naturally, the warship does not consider air defense issues, so there are no artillery pieces capable of engaging aerial targets from this angle. To minimize losses, the observer has no choice but to evacuate the observation position

Ling Xiao felt the helicopter spinning violently. Years of flying experience made him realize that the tail rotor of the helicopter had been destroyed. However, he could not understand how this group of people, who had never even seen an airplane, could shoot down their own helicopter.

The helicopter quickly tilted and crashed onto the water's surface, the immense impact causing Ling Xiao to lose consciousness instantly. In contrast, Wang Rui on the other side fared much better; he remained conscious for a moment as he hit the water. He hurriedly unfastened his seatbelt and, while there was still time before the seawater filled the cabin, leaned over to Ling Xiao's side, intending to unbuckle his seatbelt and bring him out of the cabin.

Wang Rui quickly realized that unfastening his seatbelt was not so easy, as the recent impact had distorted the anchor point of the seatbelt, causing it to become tightly jammed. The only option was to cut the seatbelt with a knife, but Wang Rui did not have a knife at all. As seawater rapidly filled the cabin and Ling Xiao remained unconscious, it was clear that if this continued, Ling Xiao would surely die

The facts did not differ significantly from what Lin Yuan had imagined. After the J-20 launched a missile that struck the "Fusō" ship, everyone, including the commander of the Japanese fleet, Rear Admiral Itō Yūhen, believed that the "Fusō" had not been attacked by the enemy; rather, they were more inclined to think that an explosion had been caused by a boiler accident on the "Fusō" itself. However, one person remained very clear-headed: the captain of the "Naniwa" ship, Colonel Tōgō Heihachirō.

As the lifeboat, carrying fully armed Japanese soldiers, approached the downed helicopter, Wang Rui was still troubled by how to unbuckle Ling Xiao's seatbelt. He saw the rescue helicopter, the Z-25, hovering in the distance. Although he did not understand why it did not come closer, he had no intention of blaming it, for he knew that even if the Z-25 were right above him, it could not help him unbuckle the seatbelt.

Lin Yuanzhi issued these two commands because he suddenly realized something. From the moment he learned that the aircraft carrier had returned to the past, he developed an illusion that this battle would be won no matter how it was fought. This feeling arose because he believed he came from the future of hetushucom.com, possessing the most advanced military science and technology of humanity, which led him to underestimate his opponents. The crash of the Zhi-20 served as a wake-up call, pulling him out of this baseless confidence. He then realized that the opponents across from him were the finest naval soldiers of this era. They may not have seen airplanes or missiles, but that did not mean they did not know how to strike against aircraft.

Lin Yuan furrowed her brows and said decisively: "Do not come too close, this is an order!"

Such a long distance, striking an observer on a warship with a sniper rifle sounds truly incredible, at least that is what the observer on the "Langsu" believed. Just as one observer was preparing to report the position of a helicopter, a bullet pierced through his forehead

Upon receiving this news, the command room erupted in thunderous applause. Lin Yuan's tense face finally revealed a hint of a smile. At this moment, a piece of news that made everyone extremely anxious arrived: the flagship of the Beiyang Fleet, the "Dingyuan" ship, fired its first shot at a distance of 5,300 meters from the Japanese fleet

He Di paused for a moment and then said: "The only combat equipment is a 12.7 mm machine gun"

In a moment of desperation, Wang Rui quickly took out the handgun he carried with him. Since becoming a pilot, he had not used a gun for a long time. He aimed the gun at the seatbelt and fired a shot. The bullet severed the seatbelt and embedded itself in the cushion of the pilot's seat. Fortunately, the cushion was very soft; otherwise, at such a close range, the bullet ricocheting off a hard object could have been lethal.

Lin Yuan watched as the signal from the helicopter disappeared from the command screen, and he immediately thought that something must have happened to the aircraft. However, neither Lin Yuan nor any of the advisors present could believe this. Deep down, they could not accept that the group of Japanese soldiers, who lived in the 19th century and had never even seen an airplane, could shoot down a helicopter.

The "Beijing" aircraft carrier is equipped with a Marine Corps company to respond to various potential situations, composed of outstanding soldiers selected from the Marine Corps brigade of the military district. Upon command, the snipers in the Marine Corps company immediately boarded the aircraft and headed to the crash site.

At this time, Tōgō Heihachirō had not yet attained his later illustrious reputation. More than a decade after the First Sino-Japanese War, in 1905, Tōgō Heihachirō, then commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy Combined Fleet, led his fleet to defeat the seemingly invincible Russian Pacific Fleet and Baltic Fleet, earning him the title of "God of War" among later Japanese military personnel

Tōkyō Heihachirō immediately ordered the warships to move towards the downed helicopter and dispatched two lifeboats, determined to capture that flying creature with a person inside at all costs

The Battle of the Yellow Sea, which ended in the disastrous defeat of the Beiyang Fleet, was about to erupt, while the aircraft carrier "Beijing" could only watch helplessly as its compatriots were slaughtered

At this moment, the "Langsu" ship was slowly approaching the fallen helicopter. Lin Yuan was concerned that the helicopter might also be hit by the enemy ship, which is why he did not allow the rescue aircraft to get too close. Meanwhile, the helicopter carrying the snipers arrived in the nearby airspace, and Lin Yuan immediately issued the order: "Rescue No. 2, you hover above the enemy ship and strike their observers"

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the initial rescue helicopter arrived above the site of the downed helicopter and rescued Ling Xiao and Wang Rui