Chapter 44: Not a Model, It's an Actual F-22!

Inside the commander's office at the Qingcheng Garrison Command.

Night had fallen, and the lights across the military district were already illuminated.

Li Wenshan stood by the window, gazing out through the glass at the compound. Soldiers were either making the most of their time training on the grounds or had already returned to their quarters to conduct final training debriefings.

It was almost time for dinner, and as commander, it was time for him to call it a day.

It had been another uneventful day.

Li Wenshan thought to himself, feeling quite pleased.

In this peaceful era, an uneventful day was the best kind of day; it meant the country remained in a state of stability and implicitly demonstrated that the military might of their garrison command remained formidable.

With this thought, he returned to his desk, sat down, and began to review the documents he had signed and the tasks completed that day.

This was his routine check before leaving work, meant to prevent any mistakes in the day's operations and allow for timely remedies should any errors be found.

Thinking back over all these years, taking it one step at a time, and gradually climbing to his current position, he felt a wave of profound emotion.

Just as he was about to get up and leave for the day,

*Ring, ring.*

His personal cell phone rang, its screen lighting up. He was momentarily stunned, then picked up the phone to glance at the caller ID, his brows instantly knitting together.

Zhang Lin.

Why was he calling?

Zhang Lin had been a soldier under his command over a decade ago. Back then, the young man had just enlisted and performed exceptionally well, making him a prime candidate for key development. Li Wenshan, who was a regimental commander at the time, had noticed the young man during a competition and genuinely wanted to cultivate his potential.

In the end, however, Zhang Lin chose to leave the military and subsequently ventured into business. To his surprise, Zhang Lin possessed a high acumen for commerce, growing his company to a scale worth tens of billions within just over a decade.

Initially, Zhang Lin frequently invited his former commanding officer out to dinner, and the two maintained a very good personal rapport.

Later on, however, as Zhang Lin's business grew larger and Li Wenshan's rank rose higher, their interactions gradually grew distant. There was simply no helping it; if a commander of the Qingcheng Garrison Command were still regularly dining out with the owner of a multi-billion-dollar publicly listed company, it would easily become fodder for gossip and create a bad impression.

Even so, though their relationship seemed to have cooled, contact between them had never truly broken. They would still call to exchange greetings during the Lunar New Year and major holidays, and would occasionally share a meal if the opportunity arose—just not as frequently as before.

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since Zhang Lin last called him. As things stood between them now, they only ever contacted each other when something came up.

Answering the call, Li Wenshan sat back in his chair and said in an authoritative tone, "Zhang Lin, what is it?"

"Old Chief, I have a matter of utmost importance that I need to report to you immediately," Zhang Lin said, his voice urgent and his tone even more so.

Li Wenshan frowned again. Judging by Zhang Lin's tone, this matter might indeed be no small affair.

For something to be deemed a major issue by a man worth tens of billions, it certainly could not be trivial.

"Don't rush, take your time and explain," Li Wenshan straightened his posture.

Over the phone, Zhang Lin said, "Here is the thing, Old Chief. Yesterday, in a live-streaming room, I saw someone selling a model of an F-22 fighter jet for 300 million yuan. I liked it very much at the time, so I paid a deposit, and today I went to inspect the goods."

"What? And then you found out you were scammed? You should be going to the police for that sort of thing. What the hell use is calling me?" Li Wenshan joked.

Zhang Lin swallowed hard. "No, Old Chief, please hear me out first."

"When I went to inspect the goods, I found that whether it was the exterior or the interior, this F-22 fighter model was incredibly lifelike—just like a real F-22."

"The most absurd part came after that: the seller actually produced several precision instruments that should only exist in military research laboratories and tested the F-22's engine, aerodynamic controls, and various equipment! The final data obtained matched that of a real F-22 fighter jet down to the last detail!"

Li Wenshan narrowed his eyes. "So, you believe that the F-22 model sold by this vendor might not be a model at all, but a real F-22 fighter jet?"

"Exactly! I strongly suspect that this F-22 model is actually a real F-22!" Zhang Lin said urgently.

Li Wenshan chuckled. "Stop joking around. You do know that the F-22 is a primary active-duty combat aircraft currently in service with the United States, right? Let alone someone selling goods in a live-stream, even if the primary leaders of those Middle Eastern nations offered to buy an F-22, the U.S. military would never agree."

"I know, Old Chief, which is why I was only suspicious at first. But then, the seller offered to start up this F-22, and it actually started! Furthermore, the most crucial thing was that the blast wave, the sound, and everything else from this F-22 model were completely identical to a real F-22!" Zhang Lin said solemnly.

He then added, "Old Chief, you know me. Ever since I was a child, I've had an obsession with becoming a pilot. Even after retiring from the military, I frequently consulted reference materials and watched video footage of these fighter jets. Right now, I have a fifty percent certainty in suspecting that this F-22 model might genuinely be a real F-22!"

Listening to Zhang Lin's explanation over the phone, Li Wenshan neither laughed nor responded immediately.

Normally speaking, an F-22 fighter jet was impossible to find anywhere outside of U.S. military bases, let alone within the borders of Huaxia.

Even if the U.S. military were so short on defense funding that they were flat broke, it would be impossible for them to sell an F-22 fighter to Huaxia.

Moreover, the manufacturing cost of a single F-22 was 150 million US dollars, which translated to nearly one billion Huaxia yuan. The price offered by the U.S. military for external sales would never be lower than several hundred million US dollars.

For someone live-streaming and selling an F-22 fighter for only 300 million—if that were a real F-22, wouldn't that person be taking a massive loss?

Just thinking about it made it sound entirely unrealistic.

"Are you truly certain that it might be a real F-22 fighter jet?" Li Wenshan asked.

Zhang Lin hesitated for a moment. "Old Chief, I cannot be one hundred percent certain, but I will repeat: I have a fifty percent conviction that this might truly be an F-22 fighter jet."

"Fifty percent certainty..." Li Wenshan muttered to himself, his brow furrowing once more.

Based on his understanding of Zhang Lin, the man was not one to tell falsehoods, nor would he choose to deceive him with fake news. Most importantly, Zhang Lin had nothing to gain by lying to him.

Yet, for a real F-22 fighter jet to appear within the borders of Huaxia—and worse, in the hands of some live-stream shopping host—sounded utterly preposterous.

It was as absurd as the idea that the mastermind behind the U.S. military wasn't the U.S. government, but some random civilian.

"Old Chief, I've already paid the final balance on this F-22, and the deal is temporarily secured. I believe we can send someone to investigate. If it truly turns out to be just an F-22 model, then it was my misjudgment, and I will accept any punishment. But if that really is an F-22 fighter jet, the consequences of this matter are unthinkable! After all, an F-22 fighter is currently in the hands of a live-streaming salesperson."

Zhang Lin's tone was unprecedentedly grave and resolute.