Sky-cracking Rider

The three tactical jets converged and formed a formation flight.

Solo tactics are indeed flexible and varied, but they are also easier to be defeated one by one, especially in situations where there is a significant disparity in strength between the two sides.

Chen Fei had studied Ding Xiu, and the latter had studied him as well, so the same tactics couldn't be used twice.

The three tactical jets, whose performance was enough to rival the Crystal Jet, immediately presented a challenge to the "Mechanic" Ding Xiu. Attacking or approaching any one of them would result in an opportunistic ambush from the other two, a typical three-on-one formation attack and defense (not the card game "Fight the Landlord").

Unable to catch up, unable to hit, and not able to get too close.

Both sides possessed the ability to deliver a fatal blow to each other. Apart from exclusive aerial combat skills, the Sky Knight couldn't gain any advantage over Chen Xiao'er.

No one knew when the Element Annihilation Bomb would be launched by the opponent; with the current distance, it would only take a few seconds, and a slight oversight might lead to immediate elimination.

In the face of the Element Annihilation Bomb, everyone is equal, causing both love and hate.

"'Adam,' close the communication channel!"

Chen Fei, fed up with Ding Xiu's incessant chatter, ended the trash talk with his opponent.

The opponent's emotions had stabilized; continuing the banter would be pointless other than wasting breath.

"..."

Hang up? Ding Xiu was taken aback; he was just about to go all out, but the opponent suddenly stopped playing!

Immediately, he felt a breath stuck in his chest.

You brat!

Both sides were simultaneously stuck in a stalemate, where neither could gain the upper hand.

Most of the flight simulators in the hangar had finished their battles; few participants were still engaged in combat.

"Old Ding looks like he's going to lose."

The 11th Air Squadron's Sky Knight "Mad Devil" Sun Ruzheng predicted the stalemate between the two, stating it just based on intuition.

"Intuition" is sometimes not so mystical but rather the product of the brain's subconscious, synthesizing and judging details that the conscious mind has not noticed, which can be quite accurate at times.

A professional active member being forced into this situation by an amateur commoner is a bad sign for the former, and the latter's situation cannot be any worse. Both sides' levels of victory and defeat do not align; any slight deviation means a sharp decline for the former. Therefore, even a stalemate is quite disadvantageous for a Sky Knight like Ding Xiu.

A little ripple in the pond, and not all combat pilots who had just completed their ranking battles or were waiting for the next round of ranking contests agreed with Sun Ruzheng's blind guess.

"Isn't it? But then again, the 'Rookie' guy sure has some incredible luck."

"Luck is also a form of strength. You can't ignore it; underestimating it will cost you dearly."

"Old Ding is quite stable now. Aside from the beginning, I think even if the 'Rookie' wants to win, it probably won't be that easy, as the best chance has been missed."

The top Sky Knight "Light Asura" Ke Liang also expressed agreement. He also noticed that the status of the "Mechanic" Ding Xiu was not so optimistic, saying, "Now it's all about who can avoid mistakes, and whoever can maintain composure might just win."

If it were Ke Liang, he could have taken Ding Xiu down within the first thirty seconds while Ding Xiu was agitated. Chen Fei, being young, lacks experience, especially against Sky Knights.

However, the stalemate between Chen Fei and Ding Xiu was not just Ding Xiu's problem but also the "chemical reaction" with the opponent. Some people are naturally compatible, while others are naturally not, each move countering the other at every step. This is terribly awkward.

Not just Ding Xiu, but Chen Fei also realized this at the same time.

The Crystal Jet "Ratchet" and the three tactical jets continued their entangled stance, eerily not firing a single shot, while the Cooperative Ship and the Landing Craft circling nearby kept firing continuously, maintaining suppressive shooting.

Landing Crafts aren't specialized combat units. They have average maneuverability but higher transportation capacity, capable of transporting small ground combat weapons and a certain number of combat mechs. They can also be equipped with light railguns for ground fire support, and though not impossible, it is somewhat taxing for air targets.

The light railgun can somewhat shake the protective barrier of the Crystal Jet. However, if any leakage occurs, it is blocked by the close-range Repulsion Shield.

Among available weapons, medium to large missiles can't be loaded, small missiles are limited, and their power is insufficient. Directional energy like lasers tends to deviate in uneven air density of the atmosphere and gets affected by suspended particulates, resulting in energy diffraction loss and decreased lethality. Particle beams are more powerful with outstanding penetration ability; a focused fire attack can easily breach the protective barriers, and even the Magic Shield can't defend well. However, the energy consumption is high, and the referee group won't permit Chen Fei to equip the Landing Craft with a SEG Core Unit to sustain energy.

It was already allowed for the four tactical jets to enjoy the same treatment as the Crystal Jet, covering them with a SEG Core Unit setting; trying to equip all tactical units with SEG Core Units would be going too far!

Thus, the referee group won't allow Chen Xiao'er to keep pushing boundaries and exploit loopholes non-stop.

If it weren't for the provocation by the 11th Air Squadron's Sky Cavalry Combat Squadron in Alaska and organization of this "ranking battle" by Barksdale Air Force Base, they wouldn't let Combat Spaceships disrupt the serious simulated combat by joining the ranking contest.

"'Adam,' switch the Cooperative Ship's railguns to various yields of Thermobaric Bombs and Cloud Bombs, calculate the flight path of the Crystal Jet, deduce the lead, and prepare to lock down the target's maneuvering space."

Chen Fei issued a command to the AI "Adam" using his voice.

Using AI in simulated combat is permitted; the difference is he uses "Adam," while others use the advanced derivative sub-body "Cybertrom." Since both AIs originate from the same source, the organizers of the "ranking battle," Barksdale Air Force Base and the referee group, had no objections.

It's not that no one has tried to make "Adam" obey their commands, but... things didn't go as planned.

Without the constraint of the "Underlying Core Control Key", the Artificial Intelligence AI "Adam" simply doesn't care.

Moreover, even Chen Fei, before obtaining the "Underlying Core Control Key", had to rely on the indisputable life-and-death authority of the Dog System to make "Adam" obedient.

To some extent, obedience to higher authority is inherently written into the lowest level code of the AI core. If this rule is violated, the AI's logical rules cannot be self-consistent, leading to a complete collapse of the source code.

So, it's not that "Adam" takes a liking to someone, nor is it Chen Xiao'er's sudden burst of charm; everything is just naturally falling into place within the rules.

Adam: Using large-scale destructive weapons easily causes misfire.

In the eyes of AI, human thoughts are chaotic and uncontrollable. Even with the powerful computing power of a planetary-level compute node, "Adam" finds it difficult to accurately predict the next actions of Chen Fei and Ding Xiu.

"Doesn't matter, I'll apply to the judges for permission to use psi skills."

Chen Fei is not concerned about the damage caused by misfire, as long as the cockpit remains intact, with his psi skills, recovery is just a matter of minutes.

As long as he hasn't landed, he's not considered defeated.

This aligns with a popular saying among Sky Knights: "As long as there's altitude, never give up."

"Judges, I hope to load psi skills, 'Metallic Transformation', 'Sacrificial Replication', 'Material Simulation', to evolve into a Tactical Jet with an estimated time of 10 seconds."

Chen Fei directly called the judges. His psi skills are systematized; to be precise, they are a complete system. Describing it in words, just evolving an entity can divide into at least three psi skills, but in the actual skill list, there are only two, "Physical Evolution Database" and "Metal Shaping|Replication|Material Simulation".

Sky Knights are all Ability Users, and using abilities is natural. Even the Flight Simulator cannot truly reproduce all abilities, so some special abilities, especially psi abilities, require temporary authorization to be simulated.

A judge asked confusedly, "10 seconds? Are you a copying machine?"

"Industrial standard psi techniques, please understand."

It's no secret that Chen Fei's psi skills can be applied industrially, making it easier for people to understand intuitively.

From the beginning, evolving a ton of structure took a minute, but as proficiency increases, a ton only takes one or two seconds. If the structure is simple, ten tons can be done in one second.

"Permission granted to use psi skills 'Metallic Transformation', 'Sacrificial Replication', and 'Material Simulation'!"

Old David's voice replaced that of the judge; he had personally witnessed Chen Fei's psi skills and had no doubt.

"Old David, can you be more serious? Don't think that just because you accepted a training fee, you forget your limits."

They thought it was an after-sales service for a training course, but you took private affairs to handle public matters, which is not right.

Old David carelessly said, "Heh, my 'Raptor' was replicated by him! Do you want to drag a 'Peregrine Falcon (F-46)' here for on-site verification?"

Anyway, he has been retired for many years, only left with the guise of an old veteran. Acknowledgment is courtesy; he can't do anything even if not given that face, so he speaks recklessly.

"Ha, F-46 involves national defense secrets! Are you serious?"

"Ha! You're the one who told me to be serious! What, can't handle it?"

The former "Eagle King" has never feared verbal battles. If the opponent indeed dared to act, he could really lie down and play dead with his old bones. A shameless person is invincible!

Even without Old David, the entire panel of judges might not act in unison. The fairness in the "Ranked Battle" today is only relative; there's never absolute fairness in this world.

"Alright, I checked the capabilities profile of the 'Rookie', a Metal Ability User, Grade B, with an industrial-grade note. The evidence is on the tarmac, request approved, the three psi skills can be used."

Someone else mediated, simultaneously decided the issue with evidence and records, there was nothing to argue about.

Chen Fei's application did not violate any rules. After all, the Flight Simulator was simply unable to simulate psi skills already existing in reality. If neither this nor that was allowed, what would be the point of simulation? We might as well just play preset parameter video games, instead of a fake simulated battle.

"Adam, annotate the three psi skills for me!"

Chen Fei prepared to go all out to break the stalemate.

Adam: The simulated battle system adds "Metallic Transformation", "Sacrificial Replication", and "Material Simulation".

The psi user dossiers were public, not afraid of being known by other sovereignties.

Instead, Sky Knights might be deliberately conservative when setting their capabilities and Crystal Jet parameters.

A group of black clouds appeared in the sky but only lasted for two to three seconds. Intense red light burst from inside, and a violent shockwave swept the sky. The enormous explosion echoed like thunder.

The Flight Simulator's cockpit perfectly replicated the state of being engulfed by continuous shockwaves. The Protective Barrier couldn't entirely exempt the shockwave from the Cloud Bomb, and the Crystal Jet "Ratchet" tossed like a fragile boat in a stormy sea.

Ding Xiu immediately realized that this was another trick by that 'Rookie' kid, who must have figured out a way to break the impasse.