Chapter 26
The plasma beams did not reach their target.
They were blocked by a ship.
Indeed, another plane caught all the energy beams and became the sacrifice for Kynon's D-Link plane.
Fortunately, the plane that sacrificed itself is only graded C. However, its speed is graded as B. If it has great firepower as well as astounding defense, overall, it might have been graded B.
Meanwhile, the anxious Kynon of the Bullseye Angels breathed a sigh of relief.
However, he did not know who saved him and Wolf.
"Whoever you are, thank you. I will repay this favor someday," Kynon said deep in his heart, and he meant it.
Meanwhile, the Midnight Hunters' reaction is contrary to Kynon's reaction.
Their mouths are wide open while blankly staring at the explosion made by the collision of the plasma beams and the mysterious plane.
"Is that an accident?" Scarlet is the one who broke the silence.
Whoosh!
"Evade!"
Right after Scarlet spoke, a whooshing sound was heard at the same time as Smith yelled evade. There is a missile heading toward them.
Fortunately, Parker, the gunner as well as the copilot of the plane controlled the plane to avoid the missile. And, at the same time, hit the missile.
Meanwhile, the way Parker piloted the plane made Scarlet stumble inside in a funny matter. That is too sudden for Scarlet and she is unable to brace herself.
"Let me pilot the ship."
Smith walked towards Mad Hat Camile and volunteered to pilot their ship, which Mad Hat Camile did not hesitate to accept.
"Okay. But please take care of the ship. The damage is already severe. Any more damage and we might end up like the D-Link plane of the Bullseye Angels."
While saying that, Mad Hat Camile stood and let Smith take over.
"No need to remind me, Camile. I will do my best for us to survive," Smith said.
His words are clear at the same time not. Smith will put all his efforts to save them. However, he did not say that he will take good care of the plane.
Well, of course, Smith will not be harsh with their D-Link plane. After all, that is their only ride. If they lose that, they will be done for.
Meanwhile, Mad Hat Camile stood from the ship without saying a word. But there is no need for it. Her eyes tell everything.
There is worry in her eyes, at the same time, affection.
Meanwhile, Smith navigated their plane. But before that, he already has a rough idea of the location of the enemy planes.
He made a short scan before he took a seat. But he will not be doing that again as that may expose their location.
However, on the other hand, their location is already exposed since the enemy knew where to block their plasma beams.
"Parker, focus on the Phantom Cannons."
Meanwhile, everyone is silent, and the D-Link plane had a tense atmosphere.
Well, who would not be tensed? They are dealing with an unknown enemy. And, for sure, their enemy will not care about the cost in order to stop them. In other words, their enemies are nouveau rich ass bastards out there.
"Whose targeting us?" Parker asked.
He is sure that they had not offended any of the nouveau rich ass bastard young masters out there.
Unfortunately, Parker is not Smith.
Aside from having the rough location of the enemy planes, Smith also has an idea of who is targeting them. And that is none other than the…
"The federation."
"…"
Once again, there is silence.
"Why would the federation target us?" Mad Hat Camile asked. "They can't target us, we did not do anything wrong. We always comply with the missions that they give us," Scarlet said while seated on the back.
"Simple, it is because of me. However, I will think of a way that you will be redeemed on this." Smith said.
Ding!
⌈Autopilot locked. ⌋
"What does that mean?" Mad Hat Camile asked as she heard the notification from the system. "Autopilot locked?"
Not only Mad Hat Camile but also the others… they wanted to hear an answer from Smith. However, no words came out of Smith.
"Smith! Tell us something!" Mad Hat Camile called Smith by his name which stunned the others.
They are not aware that the one occupying Meta's body is Smith. After all, they had not yet met Smith. And perhaps, they will never meet him.
"You know all along?" Smith asked.
"Do you think I am a fool?" Mad Hat Camile replied.
At the same time, Parker and Scarlet are also enlightened. 'No wonder, Meta is acting strange.'
Still, there is the shock in them knowing that it is Smith that they are speaking to.
They are not oblivious that Smith is the one whom Scarlet is dealing with.
"Well, you're indeed not a fool. However, you cannot stop me."
After Smith said that, he pointed his Armageddon at Parker. Then, in the next second, Smith did not hesitate to hit the man completely stunning Scarlet and Mad Hat Camile.
Beep!
Then, as the rudder opened, Smith jumped.
"…"
Still, Scarlet and Mad Hat Camile are silent. However, their hearts are raging.
Mad Hat Camile's tears fell like a river while Scarlet is biting her lips.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Their heart beats fast and loud. And their soul is clouded with grief and disappointments.
And… even with that, their D-Link plane continued to fly towards the autopiloted destination that Smith set, which is the headquarters of the World Federation.
Meanwhile, after Smith jumped from the rudder of the D-Link plane, Smith did not hit the ground. Instead, he used the thruster hidden on the back of his body. Indeed, as of now, Meta's body had truly become his.
He did not want to admit but it has been his in the first place, that is because – firstly, it was given to him. Then, secondly, it is because Meta is his avatar in the real world while he stays in the electronic world.
However, since both the avatar and the real body are in the real world, there is no need for the avatar.
Meanwhile, the thrusters that are supposed to only thrust once in a while are thrusting at a speed that Meta is unable to use.
Supposedly, the thrusters would only burst once which will give a burst in speed. However, this time, the thrusters are bursting at an insane frequency of three bursts per one hundred microseconds.
That may not be the fastest, but that is only right for Smith to hover and at the same time fly.
"Nice, thrusters. Good work, Apollo Tech."
Smith could not help but praise the Apollo Tech.
The only ones that could use this are the advance A.I.s. Those that are underrated cannot use this.
"Now, let's see what you got."
Zoom!
Smith's gained an unprecedented speed that will not lose to the D-Link planes. However…
"What a terrifying consumption."
Well, that is to be expected.
However, that is not a problem since Smith had over three million Energy Units and a third of that is stored in Smith's body.
While the others are on the credit system.
After thirty seconds of flying, Smith finally got a view of the enemy planes.
"Fighter V?"
There are two Fighter Vs. But although there is only two Fighter V, they are more troublesome than three D-Link planes combined. Well, the difference is far apart.
The Fighter V is the same as the D-Link plane. It is also graded B. It could be said that it is the upgrade of the D-Link plane.
It has three Phantom Cannons and Sunlight Armor 3.0. And it is operated by two pilots. One copilot and the main pilot.
To properly operate the three phantom cannons, the Fighter V is equipped with an automated shooting system that can shoot the target with great precision. The pilots only need to choose the target that the plane will shoot.
Of course, there is also manual shooting.
Then, for the Sunlight Armor 3.0. It is no longer stealth armor. Instead, it is upgraded to scatter the compacted energy of the plasma beams rendering them useless to it. However, it had lost its stealth feature.
Well, to some extent, it could avoid detection. However, it is no longer as effective as the original Sunlight Armor of the same rank.
"Badass plane. But let's see."
As a businessman focusing on weapons, Smith knew all the details regarding the Fighter V. But that did not stop him from speeding up to them.
"Stealth!"
And to no surprise, the Phantom Cannons of the Fighter V pointed towards him. However, they had lost their target in the next second.
Or rather, the sensors of the phantom cannons could not find Smith.
"Shit! Where is he? Why wouldn't shoot?"
The pilots of the Fighter Vs knew that if the sensors could not find Smith, then they would have no choice but to shoot manually. However, their performance would not be good since they can only use one Phantom Cannon on one Fighter V.
Well, the main pilot and the copilot could use one each. But that depends on the likes of the pilot because the Fighter V is not easy to maneuver. After all, it has the size of twice the D-Link plane and has a wingspan thrice wider.