Chapter 83 - Be The Wind.
Inside the bunker, some tables were placed. On the tables lied, some bags and jumpsuits. Victor smiled and said, “You guys, select whatever suits you like.” then walked aside.
Everyone chose a suit, but Yang Dao was still standing aside. His eyes skimming through the tables, searching for a suit that he liked. Then he said, “Well, Looks like will have to make sister Yun spend money again.” although the mumble was low everyone behind him still caught wind of it. They all smiled and shook heads.
They thought it was because of the quality of these suits. But the thing that he disliked was the designs. So, he fished out one randomly, put it over his uniform. Victor nodded and said, “Let’s go, you guys will now take your parachutes and gauges.” as he pointed at another table with 50 parachute bags lined up on it.
Victor personally demonstrated how to open a parachute to them once more. In the past month of training, he did give these guys proper training for the drop stance, reading gauges, and all. That is why the kids were calm enough to handle the anxiety inside.
After they were all suited up, Victor led them to the plane that was already warming up the engines and was ready to leave the tarmac. Victor led the kids inside the belly of the metal beast. Lin was here to keep the scared ones in line. The cadets inside the plane sat down on the planks on the side and tied up their safety belts. Victor spoke something in the microphone. And the hatch closed slowly as the plane started to move.
As the hatch closed the loud noise of the rotors lowered as well. Victor spoke loudly, “Goggles on.”
The cadets replied, “CHECKED”
Victor spoke again, “Check gauges.”
The cadets tapped on the gauges attached to their parachute bags, they replied, “CHECKED”
The instructor nodded, nobody in the plane spoke a word. Yang Dao glanced at everyone and said, “Probably you guys are too nervous? I just want to say one thing. Being nervous and scared is good, it helps you stay cautious and alert but don’t let it overwhelm your hearts, your spirit. Your emotions are meant to be controlled by you. Not the other way around.”
His voice was calm and low, yet everyone felt his words resonating on the inside of their body. As if thunder, his voice shook off their anxiety and fear. Victor nodded and thought to himself, ‘This kid is a natural.’
The plane suddenly shook, and the instructor yelled, “Stay calm, just the usual turbulence.”
It was as if the heavens chuckled sensing his thoughts and said, ‘YEAH SURE HE IS A NATURAL.’
The plane stabilized after a few seconds. Fifteen minutes passed in a blink, a red bulb near the hatch turned green. Victor shouted, “Get ready.” as he undid his safety belt. Then he stood up holding the support straps hanging from the ceiling of the place. He pointed to the railings above the heads of the cadets as he said, “You guys, stand holding that and move forward one by one after the hatch door is open.”
The cadets gulped, Yang Dao replied, “Sir, yes, sir.”
His words were followed by everyone. Victor came to the open hatch door and gestured for the cadets to jump. The guys gulped and Icarus, who was at the front, took the initiative. He ran over the hatch plank and jumped as she screamed, “GERONIMO” his voice vanished as the figure flew away at a very high speed.
Following him, all the guys jumped. The girls were still waiting for some boost. Yang Dao said, “After the jump, I take you guys to my place for a meal. All of you, I mean.” his words were meant for all the guys and girls.
The girls were happy but they did not have any over imagination, well, probably only Kiya did. So they jumped off after a short run. Yang Dao was about to jump when Victor extended his hand to signal him to wait.
He spoke in the headset, “Climb to 30,000 feet.” ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
The altitude increased and Victor said, “You are now a member of the special forces. You will jump off from 30,000 feet.” soon the wind outside turned colder. Victor said after he got a signal from the pilot, “Go.”
Yang Dao did not hesitate and ran out on the hatch door plank. He jumped off in a heartbeat. The cold wind brushed his body, for the first time in his life he felt cold and shivered. This feeling made him feel a strong adrenaline rush. This was a sensation he had never experienced. His eyes closed as he was immersed in the cold caress of the wind against his face.
He held his breath, the pressure outside made it too hard for him to breathe. He did not panic, after a few seconds the pressure resided and Yang Dao fell under the 25,000 feet ceiling. He inhaled, a cold current filled his lungs. The boy was now facing the sky, it was the wrong way to dive but one could at least breathe.
Yang Dao was immersed in this feeling of wind surrounding him. He felt as if he was in a warm embrace. This feeling was radiating from nature. He was the heavens darling, being closest to nature, this situation simulated the warmth of nature for him. The cold air bought him the warmth he never felt before.
He started to focus on how the air moved around him. It was unknown what happened but suddenly Yang Dao’s speed decreased. He was not falling to death, at least, not as fast as earlier. His body was moving forward in the sky. He was gliding. This happened because he unconsciously bent wind into a current. This was something he did not expect.
Immersed in the relief, he turned himself face down to the earth when he suddenly started to glide forward. The boy was not scared but excited. In a blink, he was already at 10000 feet, the boy started counting in his mind.
1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005…
As soon as he reached the fifth number in his mind, he pulled the latch on the side of his bag. The latch triggered the main parachute to come out of the bag. The parachute unfolded in the air and Yang Dao’s glide and fall both came to a stop. He was now gradually descending to the ground. This was the military airdrop.
Soon, the airstrip appeared in his eyes. During the training, they were all told about how to locate a landing zone. Yang Dao pulled onto the strings of the parachute and guided himself to the big red circle drawn on the ground. As he neared the ground he started to move his legs as if he was running.
The running helped him to cancel the impact of the fall. He tugged the parachute down as well. Victor came and clapped his hands. This guy also did a skydive after the plane descended to 15000 feet. His motive was to check if any students could not open their parachutes then he would have rescued them.
He saw Yang Dao bending the wind, and he came to congratulate him. The instructor said, “You did good, Cadet Dao. I sensed the air current change, so I thought you made a successful first bend.”
Yang Dao smiled as he replied, “Thank you, sir.”
Victor helped him pack up the parachute as he said, “Thank you for helping, Sister Lin.”
Yang Dao shook his head and said, “I did nothing. It was herself.”
Victor smiled as he said, “You maybe don’t understand, so let me tell you. Lin is the last member of her previous team. She was left alive because the enemy thought that she was too weak. Ever since that day, she has been working the hardest yet her Elemental skills did not improve. Today, on the bus, when you explained to her what the essence of water is. She finally got through the barrier. So it is thanks to you.”
Yang Dao was not the one who would keep pushing so he just nodded and accepted the thanks. In his mind, however, Lin succeeded on her own. The two returned to the hangar and after returning Yang Dao’s equipment they boarded the bus, where the cadets who dived, were sitting with a smile. They all had gloating expressions towards those who did not dive. Yang Dao shook his head and sat down next to Lin.
Lin smiled brightly like a flower blooming and said, “Congratulation on becoming the wind.”
Yang Dao asked, “What does that mean?”
Lin replied, “You can only bend an Element when you are one with it or understand its essence. You probably bend it unconsciously right?”
Yang Dao nodded, so Lin continued, “At that moment, you were one with the wind. The wind was you and you were the wind.” indeed, at that moment the boy was being embraced by the wind, he is the Dao Child, was the Wind itself.