Chapter 67

"The bonus has arrived!"

"This month we made a huge profit!"

"Captain, let's drink, come and have a drink together!"

Not just one pilot joyfully danced the bear dance, the tarmac was a scene of wild revelry.

Ding!

"[Tianqi Defense] 911 Aircrew Base employee (Chen Fei) December salary statement: Basic salary +45,000 star coins, position bonus +5,000 star coins, special skill allowance +5,000 star coins, part-time job 1 subsidy +3,000 star coins, part-time job 2 subsidy +2,800 star coins, attendance +1,000 star coins, meal allowance +600 star coins, other bonuses +75,000 star coins, personal pension deduction -1,500 star coins, medical insurance deduction -500 star coins, maternity insurance -200 star coins, disability insurance -400 star coins, personal accident insurance -100 star coins, actual income +134,700 star coins, withheld -127,965 star coins, final income +6,735 star coins, current account balance 7,611 star coins."

Looking at the salary details in the message, Chen Fei's mood felt like a roller coaster: surprise → excitement → pride → confusion → bewilderment → disappointment → life is not worth it.

In his first month on the job, he actually earned over 130,000 star coins. At this income level, paying off the debt to the credit company was almost within reach. It wouldn't take six or seven years to pay off the principal and interest.

But Chen Fei knew he was just dreaming!

Not to mention that a large portion of this over 130,000 star coins came from the self-destruction of the big bear Chekhov.

Such good fortune was rare and purely accidental.

He couldn't expect the big bear captain to self-destruct again next month, making a contribution to the whole squadron and benefiting all the members. That would be a dream!

Life was so difficult. Chen Fei sighed and manually paid off another debt.

His personal work card account now had only 611 star coins left. He had to rely on this small amount to pay for meals, internet fees, and personal living expenses, and he still needed to save money to buy a new phone. Who knew how long this old phone could last.

His current total personal debt was 8,565,035 star coins, with 100,000 star coins already deducted from the after-tax bonus.

The remaining debt was 6,765,035 star coins: 4,765,035 star coins to the credit company, 2,000,000 star coins to Tianqi Defense Group, and an additional 1,800,000 star coins owed to Captain Chekhov, which was a verbal account with some flexibility. He could pay back in cash or with a gun. If he ever got lucky and found a brand new original AK-47, this debt could be written off.

The debt to the credit company accrued interest, but the annual interest rate was not excessively high, otherwise, no matter how high Chen Fei's salary was, he would still be doomed.

The debts to Tianqi Defense Group and Captain Chekhov did not accrue interest and could be paid back later, allowing him to prioritize paying off the credit company, giving him some breathing room. Otherwise, these huge debts would suffocate him.

---

Early in the morning, a small jet landed on the main runway of the 911 Aircrew Base.

The psychological counselor, as verbally notified by the female executive manager Hana Gager, arrived as scheduled.

A man and two women who got off the business jet occupied a large examination room in the medical team, set up a sofa, pulled a curtain, and then distributed numbers to all employees of the aircrew base, starting the checks in order.

The pilots of the "Zhenxiang" combat flight squadron originally thought only they would be subject to psychological investigation, but they were surprised to find that it was everyone in the base, including the cleaning staff.

Those who received numbers were puzzled, wondering what Hana Manager was up to.

A total of 247 numbers were distributed, and Chen Fei received number 74, benefiting from the "Zhenxiang" squadron and being relatively early in the queue.

The full psychological investigation could only handle 40 people per day, so it would take at least a week to complete.

It wasn't until 3 PM the next day that it was finally his turn.

Number 73 was held by the co-pilot of the Z-9 armed helicopter "body recovery" team, a young woman named Su Shanna Ai Ma, known as "Mint." She walked into the examination room with curiosity but came out ten minutes later sobbing, glanced at Chen Fei in the queue, and ran away.

This left Chen Fei, holding number 74, completely baffled.

What happened to this young woman, who was a couple of years younger than him?

Did the male psychologist inside do something inappropriate that made her cry as soon as she came out?

But every person who came out of the examination room had an odd expression, not just Su Shanna.

If she had been bullied, the psychologist wouldn't see the next day's sun.

"Number 74, you can come in."

A few minutes later, a voice finally came from inside.

Chen Fei hesitated and slowly walked in, passing the white curtain to see a young man, not much older than himself, sitting on a high bar stool, gesturing to the sofa opposite.

"Hello, my name is Li Bai. You can call me Xiao Li, Xiao Bai, or Doctor Li, whatever you like. Please sit on the sofa, take your time, and relax with a deep breath."

"Uh... okay!"

Despite his nervousness, Chen Fei followed the instructions and sat on the sofa.

The room was filled with a faint fragrance. Just a light sniff calmed his restless mind. He saw a thin, pale yellow incense stick burning in the corner, emitting a strange aroma.

"Please have some tea!"

A graceful woman in a green robe brought a small cup of light green drink, placed it down, and then walked behind the psychologist to massage his shoulders.

Another girl, who looked like a refined lady, sat at a table with a laptop and a webcam, the lens aimed at Chen Fei on the sofa.

Following Chen Fei's gaze, the young psychologist smiled and said, "This is Qiongya agarwood, 500 star coins per gram, and its fragrance can calm the mind."

He then looked at the paper cup by Chen Fei's hand and continued, "This is a calming tea. It's best to drink it hot in one go; it will do you good."

Chen Fei skeptically picked up the cup and took a sip, savoring the taste.

A light sweet and sour flavor, not bitter, a bit refreshing, not bad!

He then drank it all in one go.

Putting down the cup, he looked at the psychologist Li Bai and asked, "Can we start now?"

"Of course, please look at my hand!"

Li Bai raised his right hand, waved it in front of Chen Fei, and snapped his fingers loudly.

Chen Fei: "..."

Li Bai nodded and said, "Done!"

Chen Fei couldn't help but ask, "What's done?"

This Li Bai, who called himself a doctor, was very strange, talking to himself, and it was unclear what he was doing.

Psychologist Li Bai: "..."

Shouldn't he have been hypnotized? But this reaction was very off!

"Uh! Please take a deep breath for a minute, then focus your attention and look carefully..."

Li Bai used the formal "you" to address Chen Fei, thought for a moment, and then took out a green jade gourd on a thin red string, gently swinging it in front of Chen Fei like a pendulum, left, right, left...

"You have worked hard all day, feeling tired and sleepy. This place is very comfortable and warm, a good place to sleep. Please slowly close your eyes..."

His voice became increasingly gentle.

A minute later, the swinging green jade gourd finally stopped.

"Finally done!"

The young psychologist Li Bai wiped his forehead, pretending to wipe away sweat.

"What's done?"

Chen Fei opened his eyes, puzzled.

"Damn!"

Psychologist Li Bai took several steps back, sat on the stool, and looked at Chen Fei as if he were a monster.

"What's wrong?"

Chen Fei looked at himself, finding nothing unusual.

But the other person's expression was very strange.

Li Bai tentatively asked, "Excuse me... are you human?"

Ordinary people would fall under his spell as soon as they heard his snap.

Even the most determined would not resist the swinging green jade gourd.

"Of course... do you want to see my ID?"

Whether someone was human could be determined by their ID. Chen Fei made a move to take out his ID, but the young psychologist Li Bai quickly waved his hand and said, "No need! I believe you!"

"Doctor Li, Li Bai, what do you mean...?"

Chen Fei still couldn't understand what the other person was up to.

"I mean, hypnosis doesn't seem to work on you."

Saying this, the young psychologist felt a great relief.

At this point, there was no need to be mysterious; life was not worth it.

---