Sky-cracking Rider

The tarmac at Aircrew Base 909 was littered with feathers.

And the tarmac at Aircrew Base 911 had seen its share of feathers, too.

Without Big Brother Xiao from the maintenance team stepping in, the short-haired deputy squadron leader of the "Genuine Fragrance" squadron, known as "Devil Pepper," had already cornered the universally disliked Chekhov Big Bear on the tarmac and left him dusty and disgraced.

The new pilots were staring, dumbfounded.

When it came to familiarity with the people inside Aircrew Base 911, it was still "Rookie" Chen Fei, who had attended advanced flight training together with the rest, who knew them best. Tempun Schneider quietly moved closer to him and whispered worriedly, "Hey, 'Rookie,' they're not going to start fighting, are they?"

Chen Fei replied, puzzled, "Huh? Isn't it pretty normal for them to fight?"

Despite Chekhov Big Bear's burly appearance that was good only for bullying his own kind, he wasn't necessarily a match for the short-haired deputy squadron leader.

Sure enough, the short-haired deputy squadron leader, who couldn't bear any injustice in the world, leaped up three feet, clawed her way into the MiG's cockpit, and yanked out the Big Bear. With a smooth move, she performed a powerful back throw, shaking even the nearby MiG aircraft.

Any girl who became a deputy squadron leader was no pushover. If they were even slightly weaker, they would be relentlessly bullied by this brute who picked on the weak and feared the strong.

"Hiss..."

Tempun Schneider gasped at such a brutal scene.

"Actually, 'Devil Pepper' is a really nice person, good-natured and speaks softly. She's a pleasant older sister to get along with."

Just as Chen was uttering the word "softly," this very approachable elder sister delivered a vicious, piercing kick, knocking the struggling Big Bear who was trying to crawl away and escape, flush to the ground. Then she pounced, sitting squarely on his chest and her Turtle Fist punches rained down like droplets, targeting the face.

Anyway, the Big Bear wasn't much to look at; taking a few punches might even add to his face value.

Chen Fei's reaction was remarkably calm, his expression unchanged.

It wasn't just him. The ground crew acted as if they saw nothing out of the ordinary, focusing intently on their work and sometimes even making room for the Genuine Fragrance squadron's lead and deputy leaders.

Sauerkraut Tempun Schneider looked at Chen Fei, then at the two squadron leaders wrestling with each other, wearing an expression of utter horror. Dammit, there must be something toxic about this Aircrew Base 911. Was it him who was out of sorts, or was it everyone else? He fell into a bout of self-doubt.

Only after Chekhov had been thoroughly beaten eight times did the deputy squadron leader "Devil Pepper" finally let the fellow go.

As for the reason Chekhov was beaten, well, perhaps the short-haired girl had forgotten it herself. Don't sweat the small stuff; after all, it's only natural for a woman to spill some blood a few days each month.

"Let's go, let's go!"

With no more spectacle to witness, Chen Fei patted Tempun's shoulder and left his F-22 on the tarmac.

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Due to the lack of radar-absorbent coating, the replicated F-22's stealth capability was significantly reduced, even to the point where it wasn't much better than the MiG-28. The radars used by military contractors were basically able to capture its presence, which was also related to the advancement of radar technology, especially since radar technology has continuously progressed since the F-22 retired from active service.

The performance of the ground-based radar used by the 911 Aircrew Base was hardly inferior to the radars currently in active service for Sovereignty.

-

Thousands of miles away, the female BOSS of Jiu Defense Company, Hanna Gagel, was rubbing her forehead with a headache.

She had barely left when the 911 Aircrew Base stabbed her in the back with such a mess, and she didn't know how to clean up this disaster.

Her cell phone rang, and when she checked the screen, it was from Klaibel, the liaison director of the Blue Star Global United Defense Committee. Klaibel was in charge of all the aircrew bases in the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area, and Hanna hadn't expected her to personally make the call. If she wasn't mistaken, it must be the conflict between the two aircrew bases that had alarmed the Global United Defense Committee.

After all, the purpose of the aircrew bases was to monitor and maintain the ecological balance of no-man's land, to eliminate rampant magical beasts and mutant group populations, preventing them from infringing on human-inhabited areas. They were the outermost and most important barriers of the human habitation circles.

Without the periodic clean-up of these aircrew bases, in no time at all, there would be a proliferation of mutants and invading monsters from Otherworld as had happened twenty years ago. Their numbers would grow more and more, competing with humans for living space.

Therefore, the Blue Star Global United Defense Committee certainly did not want the various aircrew bases to waste their manpower and resources in infighting. Even corporate wars between military contractors had to be approved before they were allowed. It wasn't a case of fighting whenever one wished.

The corporate war between the 911 Aircrew Base and the Merman Brothers Consortium was initiated by the latter, which pushed through the approval process using its influence as one of the top ten companies in the field. Had it been the other way around, with the 911 Aircrew Base declaring war on an industry giant, that would have been out of the question. Explore stories at empire

"...Yes, I understand. I will give full authority to the on-duty manager, Mahnam, who will represent me in attending and mediating the conflict. Thank you, Ms. Klaibel, for your concern. I have gone through a lot of trouble. I hope to have the chance to invite you to enjoy a century-old wine I have stored at the 911 Aircrew Base sometime."

She hung up the phone with a forced smile, and as the fake mask was torn off again, Hanna Gagel shook her head with a bitter smile.

Despite having gone through so much with the founding of Jiu Defense Company, she still wasn't quite used to this kind of insincere daily routine.

Back when she was at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Apocalypse Defense Group, she would deal swiftly and decisively with anyone who messed up, which suited Hanna Gagel's temperament much better.

Now, having to wear a mask, hide her true thoughts, and engage in these cautious and energy-draining power struggles was quite taxing; she had to be extremely careful just to barely manage each time.

-

The Henghai Tactical Weapons Group received the test data from the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area, and the Executive Vice President in charge of product development, Zhao Liandong, frowned as he reviewed the organized data report.

What the hell are these?

Uncertified homemade tricycles calling themselves flying crafts? Even if you're pulling my leg, at least take it seriously! I, the Executive Vice President of the Henghai Tactical Weapons Group, have my reputation to consider.

Zhao Liandong couldn't help but feel a toothache!

Then there was the A-39B "Big Mouth Monster" turboprop aircraft, devoid of technical content, so easy to operate that even a dog could fly it. Just sit on it, and it operates on its own. A stall? Just let go of your filthy hands, and it corrects itself, no operation needed.

```

Again... an F-22?

Can anyone tell me how this obsolete antique that was already phased out and scrapped managed to fly again, the investment in Star Yuan nearly enough to buy a high-spec single soldier tactical armor?

With such capital, do we still need to freeload the "Flying Dragon" tactical armor from Henghai Tactical Weapons Group?

It's not like they're not for sale, the aerial combat models are even easier to purchase than the land and sea versions.

Thinking of Chen's inexplicable maneuvers, Vice General Manager Zhao is almost bewitched—is this just acting on a whim? It must be just whim!

Suddenly, the headache is as big as a bucket!

The last few bits of scattered data, wearing a "Flying Dragon" to beat up magical beasts, feels like stepping onto the wrong movie set, beating a Human Order third-rank Shadow Wolf into that state, is that really so impressive?

What's the egg use of these data!

Vice General Manager Zhao suddenly felt like throwing a single soldier tactical armor worth two hundred million Star Yuan into the water.

-

On every rest day, Chen Fei spent his time at Teacher Shen Fei's Patan Elementary School. In addition to bringing some provisions as much as he could to supply the school with resources, he also checked whether the Shadow Wolf had dutifully protected the safety of the entire staff and students. If it did not obey, he would give it a beating—nothing couldn't be taught after being beaten eight times.

With the introduction of crystalline blocks with an incredibly large energy storage capacity and various electrical appliances, Teacher Shen Fei was liberated from a great deal of repetitive labor, enabling her to spend more time and energy on the students of Patan.

Just one week of absence and Patan Elementary School already had seven sixth-grade students graduate, with seventeen new first-grade pupils enrolled.

The original school district now covered four villages. If measured by geographical area, the school's district would be equivalent to a county-level city with a population of a million.

Teacher Shen, supporting the school alone, no matter how hard she tried, could only guarantee basic education for six grades of primary school. To establish a junior high school would require additional staffing.

Out of the seven graduates, five were recruited back to their own villages as literate individuals who could help with tasks requiring cultural knowledge and also got betrothed—temporarily, there was no way to change the custom of one man marrying multiple wives. After all, strong laborers have always been a scarce resource, especially educated ones, so it was treated as a form of sharing a husband.

The remaining two graduates stayed at the school to help Teacher Shen Fei continue educating the younger students.

With UNESCO unable to find volunteers to send over, Teacher Shen Fei had no choice but to be self-reliant, training new teachers willing to commit to local education in the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area. Even if the current educational level was only at a primary school, it was better than nothing.

Moreover, although Teacher Shen Fei couldn't support the entire junior high phase, guiding two students to become primary school teachers while educating them in junior high subjects was still achievable.

"Where's that stupid dog? Why don't I see it?"

Chen Fei looked at Teacher Shen Fei bustling in the kitchen, preparing for dinner, looking left and right, he didn't spot the Shadow Wolf and wondered if it had slipped away while Teacher Shen was not paying attention.

A lazy yellow dog that loved to eat and loiter hung around outside the kitchen; if the Shadow Wolf were inside, it wouldn't dare come near even if it had ten times the guts.

After all, low-level contracts like an Equality Contract didn't hold much sway, but considering wolves are social animals, this contract should be barely functional. However, there are always exceptions, and there's the fear that the Shadow Wolf, too wild to be tamed, couldn't stand the dull life of learnings and escaped back to the mountains to be free once again.

"That's a Shadow Wolf, how come magical beasts aren't up to standard with you?"

Teacher Shen Fei, deftly preparing ingredients, cast a coquettish glance at Chen Fei, the guy who couldn't tell a wolf from a dog.

She was accustomed to making pastries and barbecuing, as well as preparing Europa-style soup. Chen Fei wasn't good at these, nor were the ingredients suitable, so he couldn't be of help. It would be great if Gallic Head Chef Mr. Abel were here—he could handle it all himself.

"What I have in abundance here are magical beasts, as you know, it's the very business of the Aircrew Base."

Chen Fei, with his arms folded, shrugged his shoulders.

Every month he had to kill a few magical beasts, he couldn't bring every single one back. The 911 Aircrew Base would turn into a zoo otherwise.

Bear in mind that military contractors with an aircrew base, besides patrolling their business areas and regularly exterminating mutants, also list out-of-control magical beast groups as targets to be struck.

To ordinary people, magical beasts are a rare sight, but to those at the aircrew base, they're prey, killed for sport.

"Awoo!"

A whine sounded beside Teacher Shen.

A shadow flickered at her feet, and a big black wolf with pitch-black fur darted out.

Hearing Chen Fei mention it, it was so frightened that it immediately revealed itself.

"Aroo!"

The yellow dog outside the kitchen door was startled, instantly so scared that it ran away in a panic.

"Is this guy a perv? By the way, Teacher Shen, are you wearing safety pants?"

Chen Fei looked disapprovingly at the Shadow Wolf that had just been hiding in the shadow under Teacher Shen Fei's feet.

Should it be castrated?

I heard that just a low-power laser on the testicles will do, painless castration, very quick.

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