Chapter 9

"Hey! Kid, you’ve been tricked, and you even owe that guy a favor."

The short-haired girl from the flight squadron couldn’t bear to watch anymore and took the initiative to remind Chen Fei, who was still hesitating about what to do with the bird’s nest and eggs.

After doing business with the flight squadron, Park Ae-hwa had circled around for a while. When he approached this rookie, the guys in the flight squadron started betting privately on whether this new guy would be fooled by Park and end up paying money.

But no one expected that Chen Fei was actually very poor, a genuine millionaire debtor. He had come to the 911 Air Base from afar to work off his debts, and he certainly didn’t have any extra money to waste.

No matter how Park Ae-hwa tried to persuade him, wearing out his lips and drying up his saliva, this guy remained as tight-fisted as a miser, refusing to spend a single cent.

In desperation, Park Ae-hwa had to bluff, unwilling to part with the lolis, and couldn’t trap the pervert. He took out a bird’s nest and eggs, which he had picked up from somewhere, and passed them off as magic beast eggs, giving them away for free to trick the inexperienced Chen Fei into owing him a favor.

Sometimes, a favor can be like an ant hole in a thousand-mile dike; once it becomes a breakthrough, it can easily spiral out of control.

Chen Fei, after all, was a college student and not a fool, just lacking in experience. With a reminder, he finally realized what had happened.

Damn, he had been tricked again by that cunning merchant!

Seeing Chen Fei’s bewildered expression, the pilots burst into laughter, delighted that the long-awaited entertainment had finally arrived.

Every new recruit to the 911 Air Base would make all sorts of embarrassing mistakes, which were the most talked-about topics among the old hands.

Fortunately, Chen Fei hadn’t actually paid any money. He smiled bitterly, shook his head, put the box containing the bird’s nest aside, and picked up the technical manual for the "Big Mouth" to thoroughly understand its contents.

If he couldn’t figure out the technical details of the A-39B "Big Mouth" light turboprop attack aircraft, using only the basic functions of "Sky Eye Cloud Inspection" would be far from enough. He was sure that the tall and muscular maintenance chief would have higher expectations of him.

Chen Fei’s thinking was undoubtedly correct.

To stay in the maintenance team, he had to be as proficient as the others in handling these aircraft. With Chief Xiao’s no-nonsense attitude, basic skills with no technical content wouldn’t be enough to get by.

Occasionally glancing over, Xiao Ming saw Chen Fei still buried in his reading and nodded involuntarily.

Although he was a new recruit, at least he had some ambition, which would make it easier for him to mentor.

Just as Xiao Ming was about to lower his head and continue his work, a shrill alarm suddenly rang in his ears.

Multiple red lights on the roofs of the two hangars began to flash.

Without hesitation, Maintenance Chief Xiao Ming shouted, "Level One Alert! Everyone, Level One Alert, activate Hangar 2!"

But he was shocked inside. What had happened to trigger the rare red alert at the 911 Air Base?

Hangar 2 housed the 911 Air Base’s prized possessions, two American-made MiG-28s that were regularly inspected and maintained. Once the dust covers were removed and a quick check was done, they could enter combat readiness and take off into the sky in the shortest time, even faster than the "Big Mouths" in Hangar 1.

The era when sovereign states personally rolled up their sleeves and fought to the death, leaving a trail of corpses and blood, was long gone.

The proxy wars that had raged for half a century had also come to an end.

The current form of warfare in the human civilization of the Blue Star had entered a new era, with private military contractors taking the lead in military conflicts around the world.

It was roughly equivalent to a big shot taking out his phone, placing an order, and paying, causing instant warfare in certain areas, with countless steel and concrete structures being destroyed, and finally giving a good review... This kind of APP warfare made it difficult to identify the culprit, making public opinion powerless. Mistakes in targeting were common, and sometimes the masterminds couldn’t be traced at all. Who knew, maybe it was a dog?

Despite the emergence of the war contracting responsibility system, where the scale of the war depended on the contractor’s capabilities, private military contractors could never obtain sovereign-level active equipment. A military technological gap was necessary, and the big shots wouldn’t allow the conflicts to spiral out of control. Therefore, the scale and intensity of the wars wouldn’t be too large, and weapons like ton-level thermobaric bombs, cluster cloud bombs, electromagnetic rail weapons, particle beams, and nuclear weapons were strictly prohibited on the battlefield.

Having access to equipment like the MiG-28, which had been re-manufactured, already indicated significant strength and deep connections.

The maintenance team began to wrap up their work. The six A-39B "Big Mouth" light turboprop attack aircraft in Hangar 1 had no major issues. Routine maintenance was always being done, and even minor problems wouldn’t affect flight safety and were easy to handle. The inspection process took up most of the working hours, requiring patience and meticulous attention to detail. Once the fighters needed to be used, the procedures to get them ready were quick and simple.

The two prized possessions in Hangar 2 also began to be prepared, along with the six "Big Mouths," as the fuel, weapons, and other teams rushed to refuel, pressurize, and load ammunition, working busily.

Not only the maintenance team but also the ground crews directly related to the fighters were on standby in the hangar. The flight squadron also arranged for personnel to take shifts, even without flying missions, to ensure they could be found in case of emergencies.

The loudspeakers in the hangar continuously broadcasted the联动 (coordinated) announcements from various units of the 911 Air Base.

Nearly two hundred people served a single combat flight squadron, including two American-made MiG-28 jet fighters, six A-39B "Big Mouth" light turboprop attack aircraft, and two Z-9 armed helicopters for recovery.

"Weather report: Clear skies, visibility 11.3 kilometers, current ground temperature 23 degrees Celsius, wind direction 281, wind speed 3 knots, pressure 29.5."

"Runway team report: Runway open."

"Communications team report: Communication channels normal, no interference, dedicated encrypted channel established."

"Control tower report: Combat command system connected to standard data link, mission information confirmed."

"Radar team report: Unidentified flying object detected, bearing 117, distance 160 kilometers, altitude 6800 meters, quantity 1, speed 1.5 Mach, strong electromagnetic feedback, interference characteristics ruled out, identified as a Golden Dragon, mission target confirmed."

"Security team report: All personnel in position, Level One alert."

"Anti-aircraft team report: Anti-aircraft machine gun positions ready, anti-aircraft missiles ready in one minute."

"Ammunition team report: Request authorization to activate ‘Dragon Killer Missiles,’ quantity ten."

"Four-station team report: Work completed, beginning evacuation."

"Tow team report: Towing vehicles entering work area."

"Search and rescue team report: Ready to depart."

"I am Morris Morgan, the executive manager of the 911 Air Base. This is a battle for all of us. For the bonus, please give it your all, fight!"

Talking about ideals, emotions, and the future with workers was all nonsense; money was the hard truth.

Killing a Golden Dragon would not only earn mission bonuses but also the value of the dragon itself. Just thinking about it made one excited about the impending wealth.

The entire base was immediately energized, with each unit operating efficiently and calmly, running the emergency combat procedures smoothly.

Is this really going to happen?

Chen Fei, the nobody, was extremely anxious. He had just arrived, and now he was facing a fierce Golden Dragon. This place was truly toxic!

Knowledge about the creatures of the Azure Sky World had long been included in the elementary school curriculum on the Blue Star, so no one was unaware of the Dragon Clan and the beasts.

"Are you all ready? Uh! Comrade Chekov is already thirsty and hungry! Uh! Ura! Uh..."

The loud voice of Squadron Leader Chekov Leonidovich Ivanov, the flight squadron commander, echoed from a distance, reeking of alcohol and belching, still holding a bottle of Blue Star Erguotou.

He had flown a night patrol mission last night and returned in the early hours of the morning, drinking until his face was red and his neck was swollen, finally dispersing as dawn approached.

Woken from his sleep by the alarm that echoed throughout the base, he quickly grabbed a bottle of 65-degree Blue Star Erguotou from his bedside, drank half a bottle to clear his head, and got himself ready.

After more than forty years of experience, drinking and flying were nothing to him.

Rushing to Hangar 1, he still hadn’t let go of the bottle.