Sky-cracking Rider

"Last night I beat up that dumb kid from the Lockheed family again, and Xiao Jiu finally mastered 'Light of Redemption.'"

Chen Fei finally managed to strip off the entire sheepskin. With a sharp knife, he sliced open the sheep's belly, and the pungent offal immediately filled a basin. Sheep heart, liver, and intestines are all delicacies.

After cleaning them thoroughly and cutting them into 64 pieces, he added chili, soy sauce, thirteen-spice blend, fermented black beans, huangjiu, beer, onions, scallions, and garlic into the pot and mixed them up. The deliciously spicy mutton offal was ready to serve.

Slurp, Chen Fei couldn't help but swallow his saliva. His racial talent had awakened again; this thing didn't need teaching, knowing how to eat was enough.

"Steven Lockheed? He's nothing, you are too bold. Such a big mutant, and you dared to charge at it? Stay away next time, if you lose your life in the process, it's not worth it, you know?"

What really drove Hanna Gagar crazy was Chen Fei's impulsive move to fly the F-22 last night, which was completely different from the corporate warfare in defense of the Aircrew Base.

If the top beam isn't straight, the bottom beams will be crooked. Charging in after drinking, clearly a style fostered by Squadron Leader Chekhov from the Genuine Fragrance Combat Flight Squadron.

The Genuine Fragrance Squadron might be skilled in operations, and its combat power was second to none among many Aircrew Bases in the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area, but they were too reckless!

Beating up the brat who is a shareholder in the Boeing Company is no big deal; as long as you don't kill him, it's all fine.

Besides, from what Chen Fei said, it seemed like he was punching the kid while making Xiao Jiu perform 'Light of Redemption'... Geez, is this guy a devil or what?

That guy must be traumatized, right?

Manager Hanna actually began to feel sympathy for the unlucky kid.

"If I hadn't charged, I would have been the one to die. No choice but to take a risk, lucky I won!"

Chen Fei said with a sense of resignation. Last night, the Dog System alert indicated that the monster was heading straight for him. If no one intervened, it was likely that none of them, including himself, would have made it out alive, let alone outrun the monstrosity, are you kidding?

As for turning into a deserter, neither the Genuine Fragrance Squadron nor his hometown had such a tradition. Once you're up in the sky, you fight until the end, even if you can't win, you keep fighting. With Instructor Ramaya, a retired ace from the Federation, personally involved, what grounds did he have to run away and lose face?

It was precisely because of Chen Fei's tenacity that Instructor Ramaya and Old David joined forces to shield him from the external storm, even coping with the ever-increasing media coverages in the small town; the situation was tough just to think about.

He took the opportunity to check his individual information in the Dog System, Energy Points: 4001/5000.

He hadn't stopped what he was doing and, borrowing a trough from the farm owner, he filled it with water to clean the mutton and prepare it for hanging and butchery.

Delicious! Everything was delicious!

Be it the Energy Points or the mutton.

Just that today's Skill Shop was displaying a bunch of useless garbage skills, all industrial-oriented, trying to trick him out of his Energy Points, but no chance of that happening.

"Jiu!"

The Little Bird hopped in front of the phone camera, pecking curiously at the screen, having not seen Hanna, that old hag, in a long time. It found her through the screen, intriguingly different.

Chen Fei hastily added, "Thank goodness for Xiao Jiu, it was a huge help!"

A Third Rank Magical Beast already started to have the capability of pinning him down for a good pounding.

"In three days, I'll be heading back to the Federation to take care of some business and check for any potential dangers. We'll have another chat when there's a chance."

Hanna Gagar ended the call without explanation, seemingly worried that if Chen Fei stayed in the American Federation any longer, he might stir up more trouble.

Jiu Defense had just started, with myriad tasks at hand, and with the new situations Chen Fei created, she was quite overwhelmed.

If it weren't for Eagle-Nest Airport helping to shield them from some of the buzz, Hanna Gagar didn't know what to do.

At this moment, after Chen Fei put away his phone, the landlord's foolish son, no, the farm owner's eldest son, John, finally mustered the courage, pointing at Xiao Jiu beside him, and said, "That, that... big brother, can I touch it?"

The white kid was tall and sturdy, even though he was only fourteen, he was already as tall as Chen Fei; he was just a little timid. Watching for half a day, he still didn't have the courage to speak up.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Chen Fei was taken aback and asked tentatively, "Are you sure you want to touch a Third Rank Magical Beast?"

A First Rank Pure Light Sparrow might be harmless, and a Second Rank might peck slightly painfully, but a Third Rank Magical Beast – even a Pure Light Sparrow – was a completely different story.

Last night, Xiao Jiu's laser beams had severed the giant mutant's two large legs on the spot.

A Third Rank Pure Light Sparrow that had mastered laser had broken the history of Light-element Magical Beasts having no attack skills at low ranks. Many Light-element Magical Beasts didn't respond much to lasers; weren't Light-based Spells just as good? After reaching high ranks, their offensive Light-based Spells were often no less powerful than lasers, if not more powerful.

"A, a Magical Beast?"

The young boy shuddered uncontrollably with fear.

It seemed his parents had not been lax in their warnings about misbehaving or being fed to Magical Beasts.

And it was Third Rank, no less – the sound of that was a little terrifying!

"Mamma mia, there's a Magical Beast!"

The landlord's terrified son turned tail and ran, howling his way to his parents for protection.

A moment later, the farmer, a muscle-bound hulk of a man who looked like the Terminator, came charging over with a six-barreled Gatling gun, bellowing, "Where's the Magical Beast? Where is it?"

The father was truly supportive; he had an air of safety about him.

Seeing Chen Fei still methodically processing the mutton, he asked anxiously, "Big brother, have you seen the Magical Beast? John said there's one here?"

This was a farming area, where occasionally some wild beasts that had roamed from somewhere would appear, even unlicensed Magical Beasts. If left unchecked, whether plants or animals, everything would soon be ravaged clean, ruining the year's, or even several years', hard work.

"It's that bird, that bird's the Magical Beast, a Third Rank Magical Beast bird."

Little John shrieked from a distance.

Just the thought of a Magical Beast was terrifying enough, let alone a Third Rank one, yet Chen Fei actually considered touching it.

"Chirp!"

A discreet laser beam hit the pile of charcoal, quickly circled it, and the flames leapt up instantaneously.

The freshly cut lamb chops were quickly processed and placed on the grill. The Chinese way of eating didn't require smothering the meat with spices.

My goodness! The muscle-bound farmer's eyes bulged, and he hastily moved his six-barreled Gatling gun behind him, bursting with the will to live as he said, "It seems there was a misunderstanding, sorry about that, hehe, continue, please continue!"

The signature simple smile of the American Federation's farming brethren, even with a six-barreled Gatling gun in hand.

The local culture was so fierce, how could there be any malice!

"Wanna join? It's a really big sheep!"

Chen Fei pointed at the lamb, which was still not fully butchered, and extended the invitation enthusiastically.

"Uh, sure, I'll go grab some wine!"

The muscle farmer's eyes lit up, and he immediately picked up the six-barreled Gatling gun and scampered back home.

A wise man knows better than to fight against a bird he can't defeat!

Outside the town, on the vast and sparsely populated land, there was nothing much to do. Open-air BBQs, beer and small grills, and collective skewer munching, all it took was a call, and no one could resist. Some even flew in on agricultural planes. Soon enough, groups gathered, forming large parties without any need for advance preparation.

If they ran out of beef or mutton, they slaughtered more, if they ran out of wine, they got more, music blasted, old ladies danced, and everything was set.

Little John, like a buffoon, watched his father, who looked brave and mighty as if a war god, without firing a single shot, just turned tail and ran, ran away, away...

Click, it felt like something broke.

-

Three days later, Old David finally shook off the numerous news media and borrowed a piece of land at the Nellis Air Force Base in Snow Mountain State to continue his business.

The trainees all drew in a breath of cold air; this wasn't surprising for the "Eagle King" of The Federation. Even an active Air Force Base could be borrowed.

After all, Old David had taken a large sum of training fees from the trainees. Without a word, there's no trust; without trust, nothing can be achieved. The location was a bit remote, belonging to a subsidiary airport for emergency landings, with weeds growing taller than a man and all kinds of small creatures running rampant—snakes, worms, rats, and ants everywhere.

After several incendiary bombs were thrown down, the smoke billowed for half a day. The unlucky small animals that couldn't escape were countless in death and injury, and the ground beyond the grassland was littered with carcasses on the concrete.

Animal protection organizations?

Try standing there without moving and see what happens?

The Federal Army has never been known for pleasantries.

This seemingly dilapidated backup airport was actually well-equipped; the Nellis Air Force Base wouldn't really fob Old David off with a truly abandoned site. All sorts of materials and equipment were available.

After hiring a professional company, they spared no expense in cleaning up the place, which could be considered part of the rental fee. All the trainees moved in, with classes continuing as usual, assessments proceeded, and life went on as did the learning.

The Nellis Air Force Base that lent the space saved some money, too—they paid a substantial maintenance fee, after all!

It ultimately couldn't compare with the original Eagle-Nest Airport, and conditions had deteriorated considerably, but the trainees had no major complaints and didn't even grumble. After all, not everyone could attend Old David's training courses. Without someone to introduce or vouch for you, you probably couldn't even find a way to register.

Besides, the insurance company had made a preliminary payout, and everyone had some money in hand. They could get by, after all.

The Eagle-Nest Airport had been fully insured, with substantial amounts, and now it had turned into a flat field with a freshly solidified lava pool one hundred meters in diameter. With such clear evidence, the insurance company had quite a lump to swallow.

"Report!"

"Come in!"

Chen Fei knocked on the door of the newly tidied Eagle-Nest temporary office.

Inside, he saw not only Old David puffing away on his corn cob pipe but also Instructor Ramaya and a familiar face, Steven Lockheed.

He immediately smiled.

A youngster bullying others with power, with just so little influence and he's not finished yet!

As soon as Steven saw Chen Fei, he jumped up and pointed, saying, "Him, he's the one who beat me up all night!"

The young Mr. Lockheed had been stewing for three days and couldn't hold it in any longer. He knew it was time to seek justice from someone high up.

"Hmm, hmm, calm down, calm down, I know he beat you up all night, but I want to know, why are you still alive?"

Old David, looking quite unwell, slumped weakly into his chair.

Recently, he had been run through the mill, either by the media or by those coveting his horse and donkey.

Now, in hindsight, he wondered whether defending Chen Fei was a wise decision.

Chen Fei immediately and appropriately expressed bewilderment typical of an allied country.

"Right! Why are you still alive?"

Young man! Do you have some misconceptions about The Federation's "justice"?

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