Chapter 35

Misfortune never comes singly.

Before he could figure out the "Hallucination," another pica symptom appeared, which could be a matter of life and death.

However, the test results still made Chen Fei sigh with relief; no one wanted a bunch of steel in their intestines.

Hallucinations were better than pica, but he didn't dare to eat anything randomly anymore. He wasn't an iron-eating beast, so he might as well stick to eating bread!

Back in Hangar 1, after refocusing on Technical Manual E, Chen Fei quickly forgot about accidentally eating a 22mm spline puller. After all, studying was the most important thing at the moment. Once he confirmed his part-time job with the "True Fragrance" combat flight squadron, it would inevitably take up his time in the maintenance team.

The afternoon passed in a flash.

As usual, he dealt with dinner with a piece of bread, then returned to the dormitory, took a shower, and brought the clingy little bird, Xiaojiu, to the interview location for the "True Fragrance" combat flight squadron.

Inside Hangar 1, the area where pilots waited for orders was not part of the combat flight squadron's territory. The "True Fragrance" squadron had its own territory, a three-story building next to the two hangars, which also served as the pilots' dormitory area.

The ground crew and pilots' dormitories were separate, but the pilots' dormitories were adjacent to the hangars.

Strategically, pilots could reach the hangars and board their aircraft in the first instance, and in case of an enemy attack, they could avoid being wiped out all at once. If the hangars were destroyed, whether the pilots were alive or not would be of little significance. The aircraft and the pilots were one; if the aircraft were destroyed, the pilots would perish as well.

Seeing the sign "True Fragrance" at the door, Chen Fei was about to enter when he was suddenly bumped by someone, almost losing his balance.

"Hey! Watch it, kid!"

A man with sunburned skin pushed past Chen Fei, glared at him, and entered the three-story building first, swaggering away with a smug look.

The air was thick with the smell of curry and a bit of stench.

Damn, a heretic!

The startled little bird, Xiaojiu, flew around Chen Fei twice and then landed on his shoulder, chirping incessantly as if protesting the other person's rudeness.

Chen Fei shook his head and stepped into the building.

When he arrived at the small conference room for the interview, Squadron Leader Chekov Leonidovich Ivanov, the deputy in charge of the internal recruitment of pilots at the air base, Personnel Manager Takar, and several pilots were already inside, sitting behind a long conference table. Two chairs were placed not far from them.

The sunburned man who had pushed past Chen Fei earlier was sitting on one of the chairs, exchanging glances with Personnel Manager Takar, clearly up to something.

Chen Fei, who already had a poor impression of the personnel manager, now felt even more disdain. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Takar's compatriots are indeed like cockroaches, everywhere."

Without family planning, the poor and the rich alike had children without restraint. Despite the population continuously expanding, limited living resources and poor hygiene conditions, combined with a knack for self-destruction, quickly brought the population to a balance. Births and deaths were in equilibrium, and the population remained around 1.5 billion, unable to grow further. The overall population of 2 billion could only be admired, with nothing to be done but grit one's teeth.

Chen Fei's gaze fell on Chekov, who was sitting in the center. To his surprise, the man's face was bruised and swollen, and even with a serious expression, he couldn't hide his disheveled appearance.

Chen Fei wondered, "Did I accidentally beat up this big bear last night when I was drunk?"

Noticing Chen Fei's puzzled gaze, Squadron Leader Chekov of the "True Fragrance" combat flight squadron cleared his throat irritably and said, "Ahem! Whoever you are, keep your bird out, don't bring it in, and throw it far away."

No pilot was unafraid of birds, especially in the sky. Once they saw one, they would avoid it at all costs, unable to provoke it.

"This is my partner!"

Chen Fei refused without hesitation. Others might not care, but he couldn't.

"Hah, idiot!"

The other man, who seemed to be attending the pilot interview, glanced at Chen Fei with a look of superiority.

"Um, Chen, Chen what, did you hear Squadron Leader Chekov?"

Personnel Manager Takar, emboldened by his position, said a word.

But he didn't dare to look at Chen Fei, still remembering the night when a plate of curry rice was thrown at him.

Chekov, however, didn't intend to pursue the matter further. He patted the table and said, "Since everyone is here, let's start!"

There were only two people attending the pilot interview: Chen Fei and the rude man.

Given that the internal recruitment at the air base was a serious matter, both the man who knew Personnel Manager Takar and Chen Fei, who arrived later, immediately sat up straight in their chairs, maintaining a formal posture.

Chekov said seriously, "Ahem, I won't ask each of you individually. Competition for the position, any objections?"

Perhaps the pain in his face made him involuntarily draw in a breath of cold air.

Damn, he was hit hard!

"No!"

"Chirp!"

Chen Fei looked embarrassed.

This silly bird competing for a pilot position, can you even pull the control stick or fire missiles?

Under the black lines on the faces of Chekov and the others, he quickly caught the bird in his hand, gently scratching its chin to prevent Xiaojiu from speaking.

The bird showed a cat-like expression, half-closing its eyes as if enjoying the moment.

This silly bird!

The man sitting next to him mouthed a word to Chen Fei.

"Idiot!"

Such people were always so self-righteous, and Chen Fei chose to ignore him.

Chekov also ignored him and continued calmly, "First question, do you have any relevant industry experience, such as piloting aircraft, operating drones, even toys or computer games?"

Everyone knew that Personnel Manager Takar's compatriot and the maintenance team's Chen Fei were in competition. However, the final decision on who would become a pilot in the "True Fragrance" combat flight squadron was entirely up to Squadron Leader Chekov, and the others were just witnesses with no say in the matter.

"My name is Sanjani. I've been an aviation enthusiast since childhood. My collection includes models of all flying machines from the past two centuries, including the Sky Wing Ship and the Sky Falcon from the Celestial Realm. I'm also a high-level player in air combat games, enjoy taking photos with remote-controlled drones, and have taken flying lessons, holding an international RPL初级飞行执照 and 30 hours of flight experience."

After speaking, Personnel Manager Takar's compatriot turned to Chen Fei with a smug smile.

This guy was clearly well-prepared.

Personnel Manager Takar pretended to hide his thoughts and asked, "Chen, what about you?"

"I only have a C2 driver's license. I just finished reading the technical manuals A through E for the A-39B 'Big Mouth' light turboprop attack aircraft, a total of five volumes. I have no flight experience, no flight toys, and no experience with flight games. Other things related to flying... I only have it, Xiaojiu!"

Chen Fei held up the bird to indicate. He felt that coming to the interview was not like being forced to swim but being forced to be grilled, which was too much to ask.

The bird chirped and tilted its head to look at the few clowns in front of it.

"Chirp!"

Birds are natural flying experts, undoubtedly the No. 1, and even humans have to learn from them.

...

"Ha!~~"

"Ha ha ha!"

The pilots in the room couldn't hold back their laughter.

Personnel Manager Takar, not wanting to laugh too openly, had a slightly distorted expression, clearly struggling to hold back.

Chekov helplessly rubbed his head.

"Kid, are you serious? Ha ha ha ha..."

The competitor, Sanjani, couldn't hold back and burst into laughter, feeling he had gained another advantage, though it wasn't a fair win.

Chekov suddenly said, "No! You have 20 minutes of actual combat flight experience, with one gold dragon as your kill."

His words made the laughing Sanjani choke like a rooster with its neck squeezed, and his laughter abruptly stopped.

Bang!

"Shit!"

Personnel Manager Takar finally remembered this incident and angrily slammed the table.

What aviation enthusiast, game expert, RPL初级飞行执照, and 30 hours of flight experience could compare to 20 minutes of combat against a gold dragon, let alone a confirmed kill? The difference was like that between an amateur and a professional.

The next second, the personnel manager noticed that Chekov and the pilots had stopped laughing and were looking at him with unfriendly expressions.

Damn, this is the "True Fragrance" squadron's territory. Who dares to slam the table here? What do you mean?

"What are you looking at?"

Good grief! As soon as the words were out, he quickly covered his trouble-making mouth.

Takar's hometown survival rule: Cowardice is the way to go.