Chapter 45 Niu Dali

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The herb-gathering girl looked up warily at Li Lu, who was hanging in mid-air.

Seeing a girl with a ponytail emerge from the woods, Li Lu was overjoyed and quickly said, "Hello comrade, I'm an air force pilot, please help me!"

The herb-gathering girl scrutinized Li Lu carefully. His flight suit had no markings, yet she remained wary. She said, "You're a pilot for Chiang Kai-shek's army, aren't you? What are your intentions? Tell me!"

Li Lu explained with a wry smile, "I really am a pilot in our People's Air Force, wait a minute..."

He struggled to lift his left leg, painstakingly removed the chart board tied to his left thigh, estimated the distance between himself and the herb-gathering girl, and said, "The chart board has my organization's signature on it, which can identify me. I'll throw it to you."

Li Lu paused for a moment, then suddenly swung his left hand, sending the chart board spinning towards the spot where the herb-gathering girl was standing, landing precisely beside her.

The girl picking up the herbs examined them closely.

It was all lines and stuff that she couldn't understand at all, but she could understand the text. At the bottom, there was indeed the unit name and internal number.

Li Lu had no choice but to do this in order to prove his identity.

The people along the southeast coast have a very strong awareness of counter-espionage. In the past, when planes from the other side would often fly over to conduct reconnaissance, and were shot down by our army's surface-to-air missile units or fighter jets, the people would love to grab the parachuting pilots from the ground.

The herb-gathering girl breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at Li Lu, asking, "How can I help you?"

Li Lu quickly said, "Go and call for help, then go back and report."

He had barely finished speaking when his body suddenly lurched downwards.

The herb-gathering girl was startled. She put her chart board down and strode towards the tree trunk. "I'll pull you up!"

Li Lu was both amused and exasperated. "Young comrade, the equipment I'm carrying plus myself weighs about 170 or 180 pounds. You can't move it."

"It's too late to go back and call for help. Don't move, I'll try." The herb-gathering girl said, and with a light leap, she clung to the tree trunk like a monkey.

Li Lu watched as she effortlessly and easily climbed up the tree trunk.

That tree-climbing skill is amazing!

The herb-gathering girl paused briefly at the first fork in the road, carefully observing the spot where the parachute was stuck. Then, she slowly looked back, estimating whether the branch was strong enough to support the weight of two people.

"It should be fine," the herb-gathering girl muttered to herself, stepping on tree branches as she moved toward the parachute.

Li Lu could no longer see her movements, but he knew she was above him.

He quickly said, "If the branch breaks, two people will be injured. Go back to the village and call for help. I can still hold on."

The voice of the herb-gathering girl came from above, "Comrade, don't move around for a moment, I'll pull you up."

Before Li Lu could react, he clearly felt himself rising, ascending step by step.

"Hey! Hey! Hey..."

The herb-gathering girl called out softly and lifted him up slightly. Her gray cotton coat was patched, but her expression remained unchanged as she controlled her strength and steadily lifted Li Lu up.

Li Lu was completely stunned.

The girl looked delicate and frail, yet she was able to lift him vertically upwards with ease!

Airport control towers are usually oriented east-west to avoid direct sunlight; if they were oriented east-west, the visibility of the tower operators would be severely affected by the sunlight.

The airspace where Li Lu and Zhang Fei conducted their air combat training was located to the west of the airfield.

The plane had disintegrated and scattered in the air, leaving a huge wreckage on the ground, making it very difficult to find Li Lu based on the location of the debris.

The military's approach was simple—to mobilize the masses.

Relying on strong organizational capabilities, grassroots organizations within a 50-kilometer radius quickly received orders to search for the pilot. Under the strong organization and command of Party organizations at all levels, a large number of militiamen and civilians formed a massive search team and began a comprehensive search.

After Li Lu and Niu Jun returned to the village, the village had just received a search notice.

Upon learning of this situation, Li Lu instructed the village party secretary to promptly report the matter to higher authorities, emphasizing that it was crucial to report the fact that Niu Jun had rescued him.

In the afternoon, the troops received the news and quickly dispatched personnel to Niushan Village.

Li Lu sat at the village branch office, chatting casually with Niu Jun. Outside the door, crowds of villagers stared at Li Lu as if he were a monkey, finding him incredibly fascinating.

Several children crawled between the adults' legs, peeking out halfway. One of the boys, a chubby-faced little boy, asked loudly and curiously, "Uncle PLA soldier, are airplanes flown by people?"

Li Lu looked closely, smiled, and said, "Yes, airplanes need pilots to operate them for takeoff, flight, and landing."

The little boy asked, "Are you a pilot?"

"Yes, I'm a fighter pilot, I fly fighter jets," Li Lu said with a smile.

The little boy asked, "The airplane looks so small, about the size of my pigeons. How did you manage to get in?"

Many ordinary people looked at Li Lu expectantly, because they had the same question.

Li Lu explained, "The plane is very big. It looks small to you because the distance is relatively far. A large plane can carry dozens of people."

The little boy opened his mouth wide in surprise, as if he had discovered a new world.

Li Lu asked with a smile, "Young man, would you like to fly a plane?"

"Yes!" the little boy's eyes burned with desire.

"Then you must study hard and improve every day." Li Lu asked with a smile, "What's your name?"

The little boy squeezed out from between the adult's legs, head held high, and declared, "My name is Li Zhan, and I want to be a pilot when I grow up!"

Li Lu gave him a thumbs up.