Chapter 24

Upon hearing Chen Fei’s words, Park Ae-hwa’s eyes immediately dimmed, and she let out a desperate, mournful cry, her voice hoarse.

“I am innocent, I am innocent, innocent, oh so innocent…”

However, the two men in black suits from the Internal Affairs Department did not hesitate to drag her out of the hangar, fearing that any delay might lead to further complications.

As Park Ae-hwa was taken away, the small cart was left behind. Chen Fei felt someone pat his shoulder. Turning around, he saw the head mechanic Xiao Ming shaking his head slightly, saying nothing, and then leaving with a crowbar.

Xiao Ming was not good at comforting people and was not the type to speak eloquently or endlessly. He could only express his thoughts in this way.

This gesture contained two meanings. One was understanding the friendship between Chen Fei and Park Ae-hwa. After all, Chen Fei had just arrived, and Park Ae-hwa had come to form a bond with him right away, leading to frequent interactions. Now that something had happened, it was only natural for Chen Fei to feel sympathy.

The other was a hope that Chen Fei would remain calm and not rashly get involved. Park Ae-hwa was like a drowning person, already in a state of panic. Any misstep could not only fail to help but also drag Chen Fei into trouble.

If this unscrupulous businessman was truly innocent, the truth would eventually come to light, and the Internal Affairs Department would give him a fair judgment and allow him to return to his post.

All along, even though the Internal Affairs Department had a poor reputation within the company and was often disliked, wrongful convictions were extremely rare. Once they reached the stage of arrest and interrogation, there was usually solid evidence.

Otherwise, if the Internal Affairs Department acted with impunity, the entire group company would be in constant fear and chaos.

“Chirp chirp!”

The young bird, unaware of the situation, continued to roll around happily in its nest.

—

The Internal Affairs Department personnel who suddenly arrived at the 911 Air Base from the group company headquarters did not only take the cafeteria helper Park Ae-hwa. The unscrupulous businessman was neither the first nor the last. Other staff members, such as those from the control tower, warehouse, and even the base’s security personnel, were also taken away, totaling seven or eight people.

Many people were on edge, fearing that they might be handcuffed and dragged away from their posts at any moment.

With constant arrests, the 911 Air Base fell into a state of heightened alert, filled with unease. Even normal work was disrupted, affecting the base’s operations and causing frequent issues.

The executive manager, Morris Morgan, who was at his wits' end, had to order the heads of each department to stabilize the situation, restraining all employees from taking any rash actions and waiting for the Internal Affairs Department’s investigation to conclude to avoid uncontrollable incidents.

The maintenance group, with the head mechanic Xiao Ming in charge, and the mechanics, who were quiet and focused on their work, remained the most stable unit, making Chen Fei, who was initially uneasy, feel more at ease.

Actually, there was nothing to worry about. As a new employee with no background, Chen Fei had spent nearly half his time in the hospital on sick leave. Since returning to the air base, he had been working from 8 AM to 9 PM, not leaving the premises, so there was no reason for anything to happen to him.

The head mechanic Xiao Ming’s willingness to vouch for Chen Fei was also based on this reasoning.

Despite Park Ae-hwa being taken away by the Internal Affairs Department, she still brought Chen Fei what he needed most.

With enough chick feed and mealworms, Chen Fei tried to change the young bird’s diet. After all, egg yolk was only a temporary food source, and long-term feeding was not beneficial for the young bird’s normal growth. Professional feed and mealworms were clearly more nutritious.

To his surprise, the young bird, accustomed to egg yolk, readily accepted the feed, which looked like Isatis root granules, and the wriggling live mealworms.

This little glutton ate whatever was given, showing no signs of discomfort or adaptation issues. It would eat at least four or five mealworms in one sitting and peck at Chen Fei’s fingers, trying to get more, truly a little greedy bird.

However, Chen Fei did not indulge it. According to the experience shared by Chef Abel, overfeeding a young bird could easily cause it to overeat and harm itself.

On the third day after Park Ae-hwa was taken away by the Internal Affairs Department, Chen Fei was fortunate to have a day off.

Not only him, but the entire maintenance group had finally ended their busy overtime shifts and could take a break.

After the battle with the golden dragon, the 911 Air Base had only four A-39B “Big Mouth” light turboprop attack aircraft left, all with various damages, in addition to the two Z-9 armed helicopters. The required work hours were significant, but with fewer aircraft, the maintenance group could at least assign two people to each plane, making it easier to handle compared to when they had a full complement of six planes.

Finally having a rare day off, Chen Fei did not plan to stay in the dorm and bury himself in technical manuals. Learning should have a balance, and it was time to relax. He obtained a defensive pistol from the security group, entrusted the clingy young bird to Chef Abel in the cafeteria, and prepared to leave the 911 Air Base with some items in his backpack, heading to the nearby Patan village school to return the borrowed Type 95 assault rifle and bring some gifts as a token of gratitude.

Just as he stepped out of the air base’s gate, he saw a group of people carrying guns and leading dogs, making a noisy entrance.

Leading the group was the squadron leader of the combat flight squadron, Lieutenant Colonel Chekov Leonidovich Ivanov. He now wore a cap to cover a large bandage on his head, and his arm was no longer in a sling. He walked with a swagger, looking completely recovered, a bear-like resilience.

When he saw Chen Fei, he immediately waved from a distance.

“Rookie! Where are you going alone? A group of bandits from outside has come to the area, it’s not safe. Why don’t we go with you? We can have a barbecue; we’ve caught a lot of game!”

The four turboprop aircraft were still under repair and could not perform daily patrol missions. The two Z-9 armed helicopters were not enough, and with no new combat aircraft to replace them, the combat flight squadron was essentially grounded.

Taking advantage of this downtime, Squadron Leader Chekov led some bored pilots and people from other units on a hunting trip in the Hindu Kush mountains, combining sightseeing with hunting.

Machine guns and dogs made the hunt more exciting, and with a mortar in hand, they could roam the mountains freely.

This group was not just hunting; they were on a massacre mission, even the most dangerous wolves and leopards in the mountains kept their distance.

The bear-like Chekov proudly showed off their hunting haul. His arm, now healed, was ready to hold a gun. Another pilot, “Red Sauce” Jack Brown, was still in a wheelchair and would need at least another month to walk.

A wolf, a dozen wild chickens, and two argali sheep were hanging upside down, drained of blood, gutted, and treated with coarse salt and Sichuan pepper, ready to be dried or smoked for the coming days.

If they decided to have a barbecue, it would be just as good.

Unfortunately, there were no rabbits. The rabbits in the mountains were more cunning than foxes, and at the slightest disturbance, they would quickly hide in their burrows. Only eagles and foxes could catch them, or perhaps tear gas or fuel-air explosives could drive them out.

Using tear gas was one thing, but using fuel-air explosives to hunt rabbits was insane. Were they treating fuel-air explosives as if they were cheap?

They might as well use magic spells to flatten a mountain and get everything.

Now, with the news that the four “Big Mouth” aircraft were being repaired, these people had finally returned after their round of mischief.

“No need, I’m going to a nearby village, not far. I’m visiting a local and returning a gun!”

Chen Fei patted the Type 95 assault rifle slung over his back, with two full magazines in his pocket.

Shen Fei’s school was not far from the 911 Air Base, a three-and-a-half-hour walk away, which could be shortened with a faster pace.

Lieutenant Colonel Chekov, with a warm heart, asked, “Are you sure you’ll be fine?”

After all, they had fought a dragon together, forming a bond of life and death.

“Absolutely fine, I’ve brought signal flares.”

Chen Fei then pulled out three “short sticks” issued by the security group, a standard set for self-defense along with the pistol.

By unscrewing the cap at one end of the “short stick,” removing the safety pin, and pressing the launch button, three red signal flares would shoot out after three seconds, reaching a height of about 80 meters, and would send a wireless signal every five seconds for 12 hours, which could be received and located by land-based antennas and rescue helicopters, triggering an immediate and full-scale rescue operation.