Sky-cracking Rider

"Your phone was on a video call with Chef Abel the whole time, the AP end installed has a signal direction-finding function, and your health bracelet also has internet connectivity and positioning features."

Hanna Gagel shrugged her shoulders; Chen Fei's question wasn't hard to answer.

If it weren't for him setting up network relays along the way and video-calling Chef Abel, the 911 Aircrew Base wouldn't have known at the first moment that he was hijacked by armed personnel of unknown origin.

Made use of by wastes, the repurposed AP end, not a household model, had some special features built in, which were accidentally activated and came into play, an unexpected gain Chen Fei hadn't foreseen.

"So that's how it was!"

Chen Fei suddenly realized.

He suddenly noticed some movement at the top of the cavern and looked up.

Several black eight-legged mechanical bodies, resembling spiders, were rapidly crawling on the cavern wall surface, following the direction Manager Hanna Gagel left, and soon disappeared from Chen Fei's sight.

It turned out that this female executive manager relied not only on her special abilities but also on some technological equipment.

Neither the 911 Aircrew Base nor the Apocalypse Defense Group could be considered an easy target by anyone living in the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area; once they took matters seriously, these armed personnel trying to kidnap Chen Fei and Shen Fei would be instantly annihilated.

Chen Fei and Shen Fei searched through the cavern, which was over a hundred meters deep, and finally heaved a sigh of relief.

The unidentified armed personnel hadn't kidnapped the primary school students but had brought just the two of them here.

Manager Hanna Gagel's team was collecting evidence at the scene, analyzing the origins and backgrounds of these people.

Whether it was the 911 Aircrew Base or the Apocalypse Defense Group, they would not be able to swallow this affront if someone dared target their employees.

As Chen Fei had guessed, although these armed personnel superficially seemed no different from the typical bandits roaming the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area, with unkempt hair and ragged clothes, their old patched AK rifles appearing weather-beaten, many suspicious details were still found.

The AK-47s of the armed personnel were merely aged on the surface; internal parts like firing pins, recoil springs, and rifling were all brand new and showed little wear. Even the ammunition was fresh from the standard assembly line, a luxury setup beyond the reach of real bandits wielding old AKs and hand-loaded ammo.

The condition of scattered AK-47s in the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area was often pathetic, with bullets drifting aimlessly once fired. Many were only capable of firing single shots, with jamming a common issue.

Barrel explosions were not rare either; continuous firing could quickly lead the materials to become red-hot and soften due to quality issues, significantly increasing the likelihood of accidents.

Items like Disabling Bombs, Field Rations, small radios, and Satellite Phones were also beyond the reach of common bandits.

Other details, like clean socks and nearly new mountain boots, made no sense for a bandit—why would they obsess over making their gear look old and dirty if not to create a deceiving appearance?

All these details and doubts culminated in a growing possibility... these armed personnel, disguised as local bandits, were executing some secret covert mission.

Hanna Gagel's subordinates also found some specialized syringes among the seized items, causing Chen Fei to break out in a cold sweat. His and Teacher Shen Fei's abduction was no accident but had been carefully planned.

These armed personnel had come with a purpose, likely trying to glean some information from the 911 Aircrew Base.

"P-99 Suggestive Injectors, Chen Fei, you haven't said anything you shouldn't have, have you?"

The one-eyed executive manager shifted her gaze from the brick-sized, self-powered refrigerated storage box to Chen Fei not far away.

The metal box, capable of maintaining an internal temperature of 4-6 degrees Celsius for at least 24 hours when fully charged, contained ten slender injectors and twenty water-based syringes.

"P-99 Suggestive Injectors," as the name suggests, was clearly nothing benign.

Chen Fei quickly shook his head, "No, absolutely not. That guy only hit me a couple of times. I didn't say a word more and just finished him off."

Indeed, he had adhered to the principle of acting immediately without discussion, giving no chance for the other party to threaten or inject any substances.

The opponent probably never imagined that this seemingly harmless young man, while being completely immobilized, could still claim his life with a slap that turned him into mush.

"Hmm, well done!"

Hanna Gagel nodded her head, showing no strong doubts.

Aside from launching a Dragon Slayer Missile at the Metallic Giant Dragon Bit who illegally crossed the border, this recent university graduate and newcomer who had just been employed for a month had never had any other interactions with the Metallic Dragons.

By the time he returned to the Aircrew Base from the International Medical Ship, the remains of the Metallic Dragons had almost been completely collected by a professional team sent by the Apocalypse Defense Group.

Being a mechanic with multiple responsibilities, he neither had the time nor the opportunity to come into contact with those materials. Even if these bandit-impersonating armed men used these injections on Chen Fei, using up all of them, they would never obtain any information they desired.

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By now, darkness had completely fallen, and the thick smell of blood and pungent odor of gunpowder still lingered in the cave, making it unbearable to remain.

Wrapped in a blanket and sitting at the entrance of the cave, Teacher Shen Fei asked in puzzlement, "What do these guys want to do?"

She was deeply concerned about her students, unsure if they were injured, if they had made it home, or if they had alerted the nearby Patan Village.

However, at this moment, personnel from the Aircrew Base were still thoroughly searching the area around the school for any potential escapees, waiting until it was truly safe before allowing Shen Fei to return to her school.

The windows of the school had also been largely shattered by disabling bombs, and the staff from the Aircrew Base was helping with replacements, which required some time.

"I don't know,"

Chen Fei shrugged his shoulders. He guessed it might be the remains of the Metallic Giant Dragon, or possibly the Aircrew Base, or even secret equipment or confidential intelligence from their higher-ups at the Apocalypse Defense Group.

Regardless of which it was, none of this was of concern to someone like him.

A gust of wind brought along a scorched odor. Far away, flames soared into the sky, and plumes of black smoke were faintly visible. After collecting fingerprints, iris patterns, facial infrared features, and genetic samples, the executive manager's team started burning the bodies.

Despite being on opposing sides, allowing the bodies to be exposed to the wilderness and left without a burial was hardly proper. It was better, from a humanitarian perspective, to burn them to ashes, literally returning dust to dust, earth to earth.

"Ugh! That smells horrible!"

Teacher Shen Fei could not help covering her mouth and nose.

"I thought it was the smell of barbecued meat, turns out it's just stench, hahaha, novels are all deceiving,"

Chen Fei, who had just had a narrow escape from death, still found the mood for cracking a dark joke.

Shen Fei said gloomily, "That joke isn't funny at all."

She had none of the fierce decisiveness she showed when kicking the armed men earlier.

The executive manager, who had just finished a phone call, approached Chen Fei and Shen Fei and said, "I just got the news, there are no escapees, it's safe now. Do you two want to go back, or wait until daylight?"

The A-39B Big Mouth Monster light turboprop attack aircraft, equipped with a reconnaissance pod, thoroughly searched an area within a 100-kilometer radius surrounding the Aircrew Base and Tampa Primary School. Combat aircraft naturally specialized in ground attack were adept at handling this task.

Being the two unlucky kids who were kidnapped, staying here was not helpful at all.

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