Sky-cracking Rider

Chen Fei's first flight record dressed in the "Flying Dragon" Tactical Armor was dedicated to the tricycle.

The Aircrew Base, which produced, sold, and utilized its own products, used a large tricycle with the same PT6A turboprop engine as the "Big Mouth Monster." It had a simple structure, no, it was so simple that it bordered on rudimentary, but there was a sense of simplicity in its essence.

Even though it was fitted with navigation, communication, and control systems, it still couldn't compare to the "Big Mouth Monster"; its controllability was barely acceptable.

If it weren't for the guaranteed safety factor and the ability to support low-altitude operations—carrying people and transporting goods—it would completely live up to its "tricycle" nickname. Almost anyone could fly it and get a thrill.

Chen Fei's current view sketched out the undulating contours of the mountain while firmly locking on the position and distance of Patan Elementary School, even capturing the changes in wind power, continuously scanning the sky and ground for potentially threatening targets.

Controlling the tricycle's flight with the aerial combat-type "Flying Dragon" Tactical Armor, both in functionality and performance, was more than adequate. Discover exclusive tales on empire

In some ways, the "Flying Dragon" was not meant to be used in this way, but alas, some people liked it.

5 kilometers, 3 kilometers, 2 kilometers, 800 meters, 200 meters... The large tricycle's fixed landing gear scraped three times on the runway outside the schoolyard wall, one, two, three—landing successful.

The mountain road would take a long time to traverse, but the tricycle only needed a few minutes.

The Aircrew Base provided the materials, and the local villagers added manpower and effort to build a 200-meter long ultra-short takeoff and landing runway for Patan Elementary School, capable of handling aircraft like the tricycle and helicopters.

If landing or taking off against the wind, even the A-39B "Big Mouth Monster" light turboprop attack aircraft could use it temporarily.

With this, civilian "flyers" traveling to and from the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area no longer needed to search for relatively flat slopes near the school to riskily land.

The children who previously used this runway to chase each other and burn off excess energy scattered when they saw Chen Fei piloting the large tricycle approaching. They completely cleared the runway. Once the large tricycle landed smoothly and stopped, they surrounded it again, curiously and shyly examining Chen Fei who was covered from head to toe in "Flying Dragon" Tactical Armor.

Chen Fei turned off the Individual Tactical Intelligence Unit, removed his helmet, and shouted to the children, "Is Teacher Shen here?"

On his first day off after returning to the Aircrew Base, he drove the large tricycle to this Patan Elementary School to visit Teacher Shen Fei, a culture and education outreach volunteer whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

Although he had given advance notice before coming, he now just wanted to double-check to avoid any unexpected situations.

After all, mountain affairs are unpredictable.

"Yeah! It's Brother Fei!"

"Uncle has arrived."

The group of children, recognizing his face once he removed his Tactical Helmet, immediately started calling out "brother" and "uncle," causing chaos on the hundred-meter-long runway.

Luckily, no one called him "sister" or "auntie," or else that would have been truly awkward.

"Tweet!"

Just then, Little Bird who had finally followed from the Aircrew Base descended from the sky and landed on Chen Fei's shoulder.

Little Bird made a chirping sound in midair, making a dazzling entrance. With its current flying speed, even if the tricycle had a ten-minute head start, Little Bird could still catch up and even arrive first.

Although now a Third Rank Magical Beast, Pure Light Sparrow Xiao Jiu was still very clingy.

"Ah, Xiao Jiu!"

"Xiao Jiu is here!"

"Xiao Jiu, Xiao Jiu!"

The students at Patan Elementary School immediately got even louder with their cheers, almost desperate to hold Xiao Jiu in their hands.

Their welcome for Pure Light Sparrow Xiao Jiu seemed even greater than for Chen Fei.

Under the restraint of the older children, the noisy scene soon quieted down, their discipline from elementary education even surpassing that of adults.

"Uncle Chen Fei, Teacher Shen is cooking!"

The older child who answered Chen Fei didn't look at him while speaking, his gaze instead intensely focused on the cargo rack of the large tricycle.

This Uncle Chen from the Aircrew Base never came empty-handed; he always brought good things for everyone—food, utilities, and school supplies.

Chen Fei followed the direction of the gaze and looked back at the cargo rack stuffed full of boxes, immediately nodding in understanding.

"Then I'll need your help to move them, please take them to Teacher Shen."

"No problem!" The little man thumped his chest with a bang, sliding his right hand into his left sleeve, and when it emerged, he had a gleaming knife in hand. He whooped as he pounced toward the large tricycle that Chen Fei had driven, slicing through the ropes binding the boxes.

The other children also pulled out knives, collectively cutting all the ropes to ribbons, a sight that made one's hair stand on end as they counted off and, working together, moved the boxes from the cargo shelf of the large tricycle.

Chen Fei was a bit worried that, in their excitement, these little children wielding blades might accidentally stab his large tricycle.

In the fiercely independent Xingdu Kush Mountain Area, every Patan Highlander received from their parents a personal dagger at a young age—as cutlery, a self-defense weapon, a token, or a symbol of a life-and-death friendship, sometimes given to someone important or exchanged with each other.

Large Tricycle: Saved at last!

There's strength in numbers; the students mobbed around Chen Fei, noisily carrying four large boxes into the courtyard of Patan Elementary School.

As soon as he entered the yard, Chen Fei heard the big yellow dog named "Ah Hu" barking loudly.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He instinctively looked towards the corners beside the gate but unexpectedly did not see the black dog; he did not know where it was hiding, silently staring at him.

Biting dogs don't bark, barking dogs don't bite. The two watchdogs in the yard each had their temperaments, but they were undoubtedly loyal to their owner, Teacher Shen Fei.

Hearing the barking, Teacher Shen Fei finally poked her head out from the smoky kitchen and saw Chen Fei surrounded by children and the little bird on his shoulder.

"Chen Fei, you've arrived! Have a seat for a while, I still need ten minutes."

Teacher Shen's gaze fell on Xiao Jiu, and her smile widened as she said, "Welcome, Xiao Jiu!"

Recently, a few more kids had joined the school, their parents having sent them over from the more distant Patan Village.

Half-grown kids, eating their fathers to death—feeding so many hungry mouths was certainly no small burden for Teacher Shen.

Every day, filling these eagerly waiting mouths took a considerable amount of energy.

"Xiao Jiu, time to work, go wash your paws first."

Chen Fei had the children place the boxes they brought in front of Teacher Shen's personal quarters, quickly scooped up some water, washed his hands clean, and then followed her into the kitchen.

A blast of heat hit him as he entered; steaming and roasting were the most efficient ways to fill the children's bellies.

While still busy, Shen Fei sheepishly said, "I'm running low on Sichuan peppercorns and star anise here, could you bring more next time?"

Steaming and roasting meat heavily consumed spices, and skimping on them would fail to suppress the gamey smells, making the meat tough to eat.

Upon hearing this, Chen Fei immediately replied, "No need for next time, I've brought them this time—star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, fragrant leaves, Sichuan pepper, angelica, galangal, Amomum villosum, nutmeg, cloves—I've got several kinds, they're all packed in the big box, nearly bursting."

The Aircrew Base was not short of these spices; sparing a bit for Teacher Shen was enough for her use for a long time.

Chen Fei promptly took over the task of stewing, chopping the cleanly washed white radishes till the heads rolled about, and poured them into the bubbling large soup pot in one go. Today's lunch was roast bread, steamed pork, and radish bone soup—a complete meal, rich in nutrients.

"That's really kind of you. I'll transfer some money to you later!"

Teacher Shen Fei was not at all formal with Chen Fei.

"Forget it, consider it my support for your educational cause, sponsoring international education."

Chen Fei said with a smile, shaking his head, and grabbed a bunch of soaked dried mushrooms, quickly chopping them up ruthlessly.

Spices were not cheap; even the Apocalypse Defense's bulk purchase prices stored at the Aircrew Base had indeed cost him over three thousand Star Yuan.

Even with a good relationship with Boss Hana, freeloadng from his own company was absolutely impossible; once the rules were broken, it could become a major enemy of corporate management.

"You're still in debt, right?"

Teacher Shen Fei did not want Chen Fei to go out of his way to please her by playing the big spender.

The matter of Uncle Chen Haishang's family falling into a debt of five million due to a trick was not a secret to anyone who took the trouble to investigate.

"I've already saved up three million; I'm getting there."

Chen Fei pointed at himself and said, "See what I'm wearing?"

"Eh? Single Soldier Tactical Armor, your boss is really good to you guys, even providing such tactical gear," Teacher Shen Fei noticed what Chen Fei was wearing was neither regular work clothes nor a pilot's Anti-G suit; she suddenly frowned.

"Wait a minute! That's not right, how could a military contractor get such equipment?"

Sovereign Level tactical gear was definitely not something a military contractor could meddle with; they neither had the money nor the guts to do so, otherwise, they would face ruthless retaliation from the Sovereignty—this was no laughing matter.

Judging from the style, it looked somewhat like a product of the Henghai Tactical Weapons Group.

Teacher Shen's father was one of the key figures in the Northern Weapons Industry Group; having never eaten pork, she had at least seen pigs run. From a young age, she was familiar with certain things.

"I made a bet with the Henghai Tactical Weapons Group, grabbed it fair and square!"

Chen Fei chuckled, briefly explaining the whole cause and effect.

For this, he'd put his younger sister on the line, and Henghai Tactical Weapons Group had lost a "Flying Dragon"—such a risky maneuver, you tell me if it's infuriating or not.

The most innocent in all this was Little Sister Chen, who had not entered the factory yet and already lost her friends; her soon-to-be college classmates were avoiding her, why hang onto the deputy director's coattails, why?

Because Big Brother had the power to doom her!

Teacher Shen shook her head; it was simply too incredible.

Henghai Tactical Weapons Group was not a kindergarten; they couldn't just grab something because they said so; there had to be some unspeakable reasons behind it.

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