These High-energy Guided Missiles were much closer to He Ao than to the Mecha Squad below. Moreover, it was apparent that these missiles were prioritizing He Ao as their target, traveling at an extremely high speed, appearing as huge silhouettes from the night sky almost immediately after He Ao had seen the glimmers of light. Generally, with high-risk weaponry like the Federation’s High-energy Guided Missiles, a specific code would be painted on them and a specific identity chip embedded to determine which unit, warehouse, or launch pad they had come from. However, the missiles He Ao saw were entirely black; if it weren’t for the fuming flames from behind, they would have almost blended completely into the nighttime sky, as all markings had been wiped clean from their surface. A severe howling sound came from behind, and the Mecha Squad not far behind the Floating Warplane was rapidly closing in while swiftly adjusting their cannon barrels. He Ao shifted his gaze, continually syncing the data analyzed by Eve with the Mecha Squad. Simultaneously, he took his seat in the pilot’s chair and fastened his seatbelt. Through the front windshield, he clearly saw the missiles speeding up as they neared the target. Even though Eve had detected these missiles ahead of time, the time actually gained was minimal, not even enough for the Mecha Squad to move next to the Floating Warplane or for him to directly jump from a height and escape. There were no gliders or parachutes on this Floating Warplane; obviously, Fren had no idea that they would be attacked and had followed instructions strictly, without any preparations for escape. Without these items, once He Ao ejected, he could only rely on freefall and the rescue by the Mecha Squad behind him, losing all maneuverability. From the current situation, with such high-speed missiles, the chance of survival if he jumped was almost nonexistent, whereas the Floating Warplane could still provide him with some speed and maneuverability, giving him a chance to evade the missiles. He grasped the flight control stick of the warplane. The control method of this Floating Warplane was somewhat similar to that of a Mecha, but was much simpler. Linen had also piloted similar Floating Warplanes during his service in the Central Army. Vian, while developing the mobility unit for Adam Model 1, had also studied this type of Floating Warplane. If he remembered correctly, the engine used in this warplane was designed with some redundant power. However, this redundant power wasn’t stable, couldn’t last long, and using it beyond its limit risked damage or disintegration, so it was locked down through the core electrical control programming when shipped from the factory. "Engine power lock disengaged, beginning to overclock." Eve’s voice echoed in He Ao’s ears at this moment. As her voice sounded, He Ao, watching the quickly enlarging missiles in his field of view, suddenly pulled the control stick. The tail of the Floating Warplane spewed surging fiery flames; originally somewhat stabilized, the Floating Warplane pitched upwards again, tilting the belly upwards, cutting across the sky in a horizontal ’U’ shaped arc, changing its direction from forward to backward. The missiles, having locked onto the Floating Warplane, swiftly pitched upwards, pursuing the warplane. They were much faster than the Mecha, almost instantly catching up to the warplane from behind. By this time, all the Mecha had readied their cannons; beams of light shot out from the Mecha coming from behind, but only hit one missile slightly from behind, while the remaining missiles continued to pass through the surging flames, chasing after He Ao. He Ao glanced at the control panel for data sent by the Mecha Squad and the continually updated targeting data by Eve. Intercepting these missiles was not easy; even though the Mecha had locked onto their exact positions thanks to He Ao’s warning, these specific locations had to be continuously adjusted with the movement of the missiles and the Mecha. The precision aiming of the Blazing Angel Mech, difficult for humans to control, relied on the Mecha’s own auxiliary aiming systems for adjustments, which were struggling to keep up with the distant, high-speed moving missiles. "Mr. Linen, the missiles are too fast, our auto-aiming system can’t keep up, we need to close the distance, please come immediately behind us!" The voice of the Mecha Squad leader echoed inside the Floating Warplane, and in He Ao’s view, the Mecha Squad was also rapidly approaching them. He Ao scanned the data on the control interface again. According to the current situation, if he escaped to behind the Mecha Squad, it was highly probable that he would be safe, but this Mecha Squad would inevitably suffer casualties, with the worst-case scenario being none surviving. It seemed General Corvey had issued a kill order on them. Even though he didn’t hide behind the Mecha Squad, allowing the Mecha Squad to attack after the missiles entered the targeting range, with the high speed of these missiles, even if some were not intercepted, the Mecha Squad would still suffer casualties, and he would be in danger too. Countless thoughts flashed through He Ao’s mind. Accompanied by the intense maneuvering of the warplane, more blood soaked through the bandages, staining his inner pure white shirt. However, at this moment, He Ao no longer had time to worry about these things as he grasped the control stick, took a slight breath, and then pulled the control stick again. In that instant, the Floating Warplane swiftly turned a right angle in the midst of the cascading rain, and plummeted almost vertically. Under this violent maneuver, the chasing missiles paused momentarily as if they had temporarily lost their target. But soon, they dipped their heads and relocked onto their target. Thus, these missiles began to tilt downward sharply, their motion transitioning from nearly horizontal to a steep downward angle, chasing after the warplane below. "Mr. Lin En, what is he doing?" "Is he using himself as a lure to draw away those missiles?" "Is he protecting us?" A brief silence fell over the communication channel, followed by the squad leader’s voice cutting off all conversation, "Accelerate forward! Close the distance!" Under gravity’s influence, the downward-flying Floating Warplane’s speed further increased, far exceeding the maximum speed designed for this warplane, causing the entire aircraft to begin shaking violently. He Ao tightly gripped the control stick with one hand while the other hand reached out, touching the data displayed on the screen. These were the potential interception points calculated by Eve—Eve couldn’t guarantee the accuracy of each position, so it was up to He Ao’s combat instincts to make the judgment. The reason many genius mechanical drivers were irreplaceable was because their keen combat instincts were often even more accurate than the predictions made by artificial intelligence. He Ao glanced again at the missile images on the streaming rear-view media, then quickly selected several options from the data provided by Eve. Eve swiftly converted this data into targeting coordinates and sent it to the Mecha Squad at the rear. In that moment, He Ao reconnected to the Mecha Squad’s communication channel. This time, he didn’t wait for the squad leader to speak and immediately said, "Switch to full manual mode targeting with the data I just provided, and input the data." There was a brief silence on the other end of the communication, and then they immediately replied, "Okay," Then the tone changed, "Everyone, switch to full manual mode and input the data Mr. Lin En has sent." Raindrops struck the windshield of the Floating Warplane as He Ao had already caught up with the continuously falling raindrops. His field of view, passing through these scattered raindrops and the quiet, dark ground, as well as the sporadic lights on the ground, rapidly ’flew toward’ the Floating Warplane. Indistinctly, He Ao could already see children looking up at the sky from the muddy ponds in those narrow streets. He Ao gripped the control stick, took a gentle breath, and a tiny voice came through the communication, seemingly indicating that the data had been input. Before the squad leader could speak, He Ao quickly said, "Switch to the squad’s internal channel, follow my command, three..." A soft click was heard by his ear, the sound of the communication channel switching. He Ao’s voice was steady and clear, ensuring that everyone could hear his words. The thick ground was getting increasingly closer, close enough that the Floating Warplane seemed almost able to touch the tall buildings below. The aged hand suddenly pulled the joystick, and the floating warplane abruptly lifted its nose, turning another right angle and flying close to the ground towards the direction from which the missiles were coming. The surging blast swept across the streets on the ground, creating shallow crests on the muddy rainwater and making the rusted shack creak. People standing at the intersection instinctively raised their heads, watching the high-speed mechanical object slicing through the sky. With this maneuver, the missiles in the sky were momentarily "stunned." Simultaneously, a calm and steady voice echoed through the communication channel of the Mecha Squad. Brilliant radiance swept across the night sky, evaporating the curtain of rain and striking the rows of blazing shells. Intense explosions resounded in the sky, and a surging blaze mushroomed, blanketing the firmament. The flowing rain seemed to momentarily freeze, each droplet evaporating into mist. An exclamation came through the communication channel. Then another voice, "It’s not completely destroyed!" Almost at the instant that voice sounded, black missiles pierced through the fire cloud, changing direction and diving vertically toward He Ao below. He Ao quickly pressed new data on the control panel. The aged voice spoke again, "Still in manual mode." A questioning voice arose in the communication channel. He Ao looked up at the missiles continually approaching overhead. Initially, those behind and above him were now almost directly above as he flew backward. So the missiles were almost diving straight down, getting alarmingly close, "Follow my command, three." Uniform responses came through the channel. The floating warplane skimmed the ground, speeding through the night air right below the missiles. The missiles in the air began to realign. He Ao once again pulled the joystick, and the floating warplane sharply ascended vertically, "Fire!" Countless lights burst forth again in the sky, striking all the remaining missiles. The surging flames lit up the rain once more, the fireworks merging together, igniting a brilliant glow. "This time it’s all the missiles." "Was Mr. Linen just hit by the missile?" "Mr. Linen, Mr. Linen, are you still there?" Intense calls filled the communication channel. But the only response was silence. The steady rain pelted the shell of the Blazing Angel Mech, and in the face of the burning flames in the sky, no one could find joy in their hearts. The towering Mechs lowered their heads. They were originally unrelated to that distinguished individual, merely following orders to protect him, but it now felt as if an invisible sadness enveloped the night. A fierce wind howled instantaneously in front of the Mechs, and the streamlined floating warplane, like a sharp blade cutting through the night, burst through the surging flames, appearing in front of the towering Mechs. The aged voice sounded in the communication channel, "The explosion just interfered with the signal a bit, looks like there are no more missiles." A slightly suppressed but joy-filled voice resounded in the channel. He Ao sat at the control panel, looking at the cracks all around the floating warplane, rubbing his temples, "Have you discovered anything else?" The response came through the communication channel, "We thought just now that you..." A faint cough from the Mech Squad leader interrupted, he slowly spoke, "We’ve already reported the news, this area still belongs to South City, General Corvey should send someone to investigate the missile fragments. There are limited individuals who can access such high-energy guided missiles, maybe we’ll find some clues." His voice maintained calm and steady, but deep within, there seemed to be a hint of relieved joy. He Ao nodded slightly, "Please thank General Corvey for me, and pass on my regards." The leader immediately responded, then asked, "Mr. Linen, where do you plan to go next? The South City Command Center should be safe, if you don’t mind..." He Ao shook his head gently, fitting the wristband fixed on the console back onto his wrist, then glanced back at the body of Fren, now curled up in the corner due to the intense maneuvering, "I need to return to the Mayor’s Mansion."