Sky-cracking Rider

"'Adam,' issue the command for full communication silence and curfew across the ship. No one is allowed to exit or enter the airship without approval. Arrange for the medical team to standby in the designated public area."

Before the lesson started, Chen Fei not only switched to silent mode on personal communication but also issued a temporary restriction order to all personnel on board.

As the Captain, he naturally held this authority.

The mobile armored infantry corps and Ability User Combat Team already boarded on the ship, along with the staff group, were all people from the American Federation. Who knows if they might become participants in those dirty tactics? So, preventive measures were taken at the first moment. After all, they had become comrades in the same trench, to avoid putting everyone in an awkward position later.

"Announce the silence externally, then silence all and turn off vibration mode."

"Light Asura" Ke Liang also issued an order to all members. Today's theme was to make up for lessons, throwing all miscellaneous matters to the side.

He turned to look at the S-Class Space Ability User, an unstable factor. The other was Lord Jia Ma, naturally belonging to the "Americas Gang" circle. You know people, not hearts. There's no telling if they'll cause trouble.

"I promise I won't mess around!"

Heseman Brown quickly waved his hand. As an S-Class Superpower User, he didn't want to involve himself in such messes, risking getting kicked out from the benefit group of Emerald Star by Chen Fei, which would be a huge loss.

"Rest assured, he's one of our own!"

Chen Fei vouched for this S-Class Superpower User, confirming that the other had long been dragged into their affairs. They were all in the same group.

Verbal promises can't outweigh binding interest. Heseman Brown definitely wouldn't do something for small gains that results in big losses.

"Really, really! One of us, one of us!"

Heseman Brown nodded vigorously, assuring that he'd have no second thoughts.

"The outcome of the 'ranking battle,' such a trivial matter, is insignificant compared to the immense, heirloom-level benefits of Emerald Star, even lacking the qualification for comparison."

Ke Liang received a confirming glance from Chen Fei and was finally relieved.

"Let's officially begin!"

If you employ someone, don't doubt; if you doubt someone, don't employ. Since the "Rookie" dared to guarantee, and even placed this S-Class Superpower User on the ship's bridge, it must mean he's trustworthy. If there really was a problem, it's not as if The First Sovereign lacks its own S-Class.

As Chen Fei and the Cooperative Ship revealed one card after another, other sovereignties' Sky Knights weren't pushovers. To make it into the top twenty-eight, even an ordinary commoner opponent would have been studied thoroughly.

However, much of Chen Fei's personal threat in the "ranking battle" came from his own people.

Living up to the Blue Star Sovereignty's No.1, both in quantity and quality, even when on foreign turf, like Chen Fei, more than half of the competitors who successfully made it into the seventh round's top twenty-eight were combat pilots from The First Sovereign.

As Ke Liang stated plainly upfront, once inside the flight simulator, don't expect one's own people to pull punches: giving one's all is the greatest respect to the opponent.

Even though Chen Fei, who came to this mid-career, received training at the "Eagle Nest," he still had many deficiencies compared to a real Sky Knight. The continuous days of catch-up lessons weren't aimed to make him beat his compatriots or other sovereignties' Sky Knights but to avoid losing too embarrassingly, to not disgrace The First Sovereign. This was also Ke Liang and others' agenda from the start.

-

Near the hangar where the Cooperative Ship was stationed, meteors shot skyward, then exploded into short-lived, brilliant fireworks.

On the lawn, colorful flags fluttered, lights twinkled, vibrant music played, and a chaotic party ensued.

The Barksdale Air Force Base was quite relentless, not even on a holiday, risking violation of safety regulations, releasing large fireworks near the main runway, unafraid of accidentally setting their own fighter jets alight.

There was even a party with over a thousand people, handsome men and beautiful women, barbecue and drinks, all available.

Some scantily clad young men and women even carried wines and skewers, trying to knock on the airship's door, perhaps thinking they could entice the ascetic-like people of The First Sovereign out of the Cooperative Ship.

Come on! Have fun! There's plenty of time, come on! Love! There's plenty of desire.

They were treating Chen Fei and The First Sovereign combat pilots as Tang Seng, while outside was a scene of wild dancing and hoarse wailing of ghosts.

If you discerned carefully, you could find inside the party that not a single Sky Knight was present. Like Chen Fei, the "Americas Gang" Sky Knights were all in some corner, actively preparing for the next day's "ranking battle," even inviting experienced tactical and intelligence experts to join in analyzing opponent tactics and intelligence.

Chen Fei's preemptive measures were correct. Not only was there a commotion outside the Cooperative Ship all night, but there were also some unusual movements inside the ship.

People were roaming and shouting wildly, and those violating the temporary curfew were captured by Combat Mechs and thrown into solitary confinement. The Cooperative Ship had plenty of vacant rooms, easily accommodating one as a VIP single-cell prison for each person.

Soon after, there was an outbreak of sudden illnesses, cramps, epileptic fits, heart attacks, various severe ailments emerging frequently, all sent to the waiting medical team, and for those found to be feigning illness, solitary confinement awaited.

Then a brawl broke out within the cabin, several tear gas grenades were lobbed, instantly reducing a bunch of adults crying like kids. They were promptly thrown into solitary confinement, neat, clean, and environmentally friendly.

If you dare to act up, the solitary room is ready, when day breaks, you'll all be thrown out!

As the Captain, Chen Fei, despite typically being laid-back and easygoing, like a nice guy, at crucial moments he would definitely not hold back.

With proximity to Red one becomes red, near Ink one becomes black. Working under "Eye of the Storm" Hanna Gagel, naturally Chen Fei learned her firm managerial style by ear and eye, daring to defy would've been met with hard resistance, never yielding. At worst, they would abandon the task, going back to where they came from.

After shutting more than thirty unruly individuals into confinement, seeing Chen Fei's tough stance (actually AI "Adam" was handling it), the unstable elements inside the temporarily sealed Cooperative Ship hoisted their flags and called it quits, while Chen Fei, in his studies, remained completely unaware, epitomizing the strategy of trusting AI without doubt, and doubting AI, don't use.

The seventh round of the "ranking battle" finally began, and all the chaotic tricks from the "Americas Gang" ended in vain, leaving only scattered feathers, while Chen Fei and his crew from The First Sovereign emerged unscathed. Apart from a heap of inexplicable nuisance messages on personal devices, due to collective silence, aside from consuming some meteors, none of it served any function.

Meanwhile, some incidents also took place in the Abnormal Region on Ordovician Star, where an unknown armed force attacked a giant battleship, handled once again by Artificial Intelligence AI "Adam," warfare being its specialty.

The railgun battery fired in salvos, tactical bombers carpet bombed, numerous combat mechs swept across like mercury spreading across the ground, finally exterminating that overconfident armed group without a trace.

Compared to humans, Artificial Intelligence AI truly lacks emotion. If Chen Fei had been in charge, he might've left a couple of prisoners.

When Chen Fei, after an entire night's catch-up lessons, finally shifted his attention to these trivial matters before going to sleep, the battle at the giant battleship was already over; the audacious unidentified armed group had all been reduced to mere numbers in the post-battle report.

Born as humans, dying as light as feathers, these guys had lived in vain coming to this world.

-

Once inside the hangar housing the flight simulator, The First Sovereign's Sky Knight "Light Asura" Ke Liang greeted colleagues from other sovereignties loudly.

"Everyone, how was last night?"

The "Europa Gang" Sky Knights who made it into the seventh round were no more than a handful, uninvolved in last night's mess, they responded cheerfully.

The "Africa Gang" had none, whereas the "Asia Gang," allied with The First Sovereign, had one lucky participant who loudly announced they slept well last night.

Yet the faces of those few from the "Americas Gang" visibly showed some discomfort. They weren't professional actors, nor award-winning performers, so no matter their attempts, they couldn't fake it.