Chapter 0176
Covering her face, she mumbled incessantly, “I used to be so confident. I thought I was the best and most exceptional. Whenever I entered a competition, I never expected to lose. Until…”
As she rambled on, the three women beside her showed no reaction, but at the word “until,” all three turned to look at her simultaneously.
Yu Lulei clenched her fists so tightly they trembled subtly, her face etched with a look of intense frustration laced with anger.
“Until I participated in the civil aviation performance contest and met Madison. She utterly shattered my self-esteem, my confidence!!! Now, whenever I’m involved in such events, I’m terrified of losing.”
Madison, whose name was brought up, looked somewhat bewildered: “I didn’t mean to hurt your self-esteem.”
“You haven’t?!”
Yu Lulei nearly screamed in response, “Have you forgotten our simulator crash-landing competition? You looked me in the said, ‘I graduated from the premier flight academy, and now I’m Mukino Air. My name is Madison.’ At that moment, I felt my
confidence shatter.”
“…then your self-confidence must be quite fragile,” Madison concluded weakly.
Charlie quickly nudged her, whispering, “Stop talking, or she’s going to start crying.”
But it wasn’t only Madison who had the gift of gab.
Kou Mei slowly patted Yu Lulei’s shoulder, “Aside from the few of us, you truly are one of the better female pilots in the country. Don’t lose heart, don’t be apprehensive, just stay composed.”
Yu Lulei: …Sister, you might as well have not comforted me at all.
Amidst their sporadic chatter, they soon arrived at the assessment
site.
A sea of uniforms.
As the women stepped out of the vehicle, they immediately caught the attention of numerous international male pilots.
In terms of stature, female pilots were not short, and their uniforms accentuated their figures to optimal perfection.
“I’m going to get in line,” Kou Mei waved to the others.
Pilots from each airline needed to queue together, waiting to be
called by group numbers for their assessments.
The boundless outdoor site bustled with seated spectators, watching planes resembling colossal eagles in the sky not far away.
Five planes stood in a row, uniform in model, with assessors from various countries, each very skilled.
Two of them even held the title of Meritorious Pilot of a Lifetime Achievement, now invited to act as judges for the event.
Mukino Air’s pilots whispered among themselves, “What exactly will we be tested on? Why hasn’t anyone given us a heads up?”
“That’s to ensure fairness; they won’t tell us in advance. The first batch is a bit unlucky.”
Meanwhile, pilots from other countries were also speculating.
“That woman is the champion of the international aerobatics
competition.”
The leader of the team that had narrowly lost in the previous contest, Lek, watched Mukino Air’s contingent closely.
Ever since losing to a woman from team Z, Lek had spent much time self-reflecting.
He hoped to encounter her again one day for a rematch.
It was Madison who made Lek no longer underestimate female pilots.
“Is that her?” Lek’s colleague exclaimed, “Extraordinarily beautiful!”
Lek candidly stated, “Her abilities are even more beautiful.”
However, a spirited female pilot from Lek’s company was a touch incredulous, “She looks so young; it makes me question her capability.
Lek glanced at her: “All I’ll say is, if you’re lucky enough not to face her in any events, then hope you never do.”
Because once this woman was in the mix, her excellence could make the rest of the pilots in her group seem utterly foolish.
“Hmph,” the blonde woman scoffed, not taking Lek’s well-intende warning to heart.
Amidst the chatter, a voice echoed over the field, silencing the nearly thousand people gathered. They sat up straight, all eyes fixed on the distance.
They noticed that nearby, professional drone equipment had begun to take flight.
Everyone’s heart leaped at this moment.
Though it was merely a rating examination, no one in this profession
wanted to be second best.
Even Shihua, at this moment, was devoid of any other thoughts.
The gigantic screen to the left had lit up, displaying sections marked S, A, B, and C. Below, nationalities and names would later appear.
Everyone hoped their name would feature under the S category by the end of the final round.
The announcement in the international common language came through the speakers-
“Group 1, the five pilots, please take your places.”
“Group 2, the five pilots, please take your places.”
“Group 3…”
Ten groups were called in one breath.
Fifty individuals stood up among the crowd, a mix of men and women with eyes of varying colors, including those from Mukino Air.
“Good luck! Don’t be nervous!” Colleagues cheered on the three pilots making their way out.
Nervousness was evident in their appearances.
Even Madison felt the tension.
BBrian, sitting in the front row, looked back and commented, “Lucky
you’re in the twenties, not so rushed, you can observe for a while.”
Field personnel had verified the identities of the rating pilots, preventing any possibility of imposters or switch-outs.
Thousands of eyes were transfixed on the distant spectacle.
AAfter the ground controller’s flag signal, fifty planes across several rrows roared to life simultaneously, a majestic sight that reverberated
through everyone’s soul.
The first step was to maneuver around physical obstacles on the
ground, coated with a paint-like sticky substance, leaving marks at the slightest touch.
The pilots yet to compete were shocked at the sight:
“Damn, those obstacles are packed so tightly? And they’re so small?”
“How is it possible not to touch them?”
“Exactly.”
“No wonder they say getting an S rating is tough.”
Compared to the planes, the obstacles truly seemed as insignificant as ants to elephants. Pilots naturally have blind spots for ground objects, demanding high skill in estimating distances.
“There must be ten obstacles. How confident are you?” Charlie frowned, her expression grave.
Madison shook her head, “Too small. You’d need to estimate the distance between each obstacle before even boarding the plane.”
Nearby pilots nodded in agreement.
Over at Pine Airlines, Yu Lulei was almost ready to curse.
“Is this a pilot assessment or a driver’s license test? Why in the hell is an aviator being tested on ground obstacles? The person who set this is an idiot, right?”
“Keep your voice down…” The squadron leader from Pine Airlines pulled at the matriarch.
Yu Lulei, irked, tugged at her tie, “What’s there to fear? Those with green eyes can’t understand a word I’m saying.”
Just as her words faded, a few pilots from a neighboring country, just
three meters away, simultaneously spoke in Chinese: “No, we
understand perfectly.”
Yu Lulei: “…”
