Sky-cracking Rider

"Really? Fake?"

Tempun Schneider rubbed his eyes over and over again, his face full of disbelief.

Old David could watch this scene calmly, but he could not.

"Of course it's real!"

Chen Fei carefully selected alloy ingots with aluminum as the main component and gathered all the titanium alloy he could find, using up all of it in the end, leaving only some metals like copper, iron, and manganese.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

This way, he could save some energy points, after all, it was twenty tons of metal!

The F-22 "Raptor" jet fighter that was now replicated inside Hangar 2 was not complete, lacking many internal parts, which needed to be supplemented to restore all its functions.

The F-22 that remained in Old David's possession was actually a refurbished model that retained many original parts, and had quite a few differences from the brand-new "Raptor" that Chen Fei had just created.

Before Old David sent over the parts, this F-22 "Raptor" jet fighter temporarily had no capability to soar into the blue skies.

"You, how could you?"

A face still full of disbelief, Tempun Schneider dared not believe it.

Caught off guard, seeing someone conjure up a plane out of thin air, which seemed to be a jet fighter, indeed required a good while before one could fully digest and accept it.

Chen Fei naturally said, "I am a B-level Metal Elemental Psychic, with an A-level assessment in control power, a humanoid melting, forging, milling, and boring all-in-one machine—an autonomous mechanical factory."

A Metal Ability User with an A-level in control power is also known as an industrial-type psychic, whose production capabilities far outweigh their combat abilities.

Those cunning capitalist factory owners frequently tried to lure him into becoming an exploited industrial worker, but of course, there was no way he would agree.

The strength of guns was the ultimate truth—having a gun in hand, one's heart remains steady, not to mention having a fighter jet at hand.

Who wouldn't stand tall and speak boldly in such a case? Isn't it obvious?

"Then why are you still here?"

Tempun pointed to the ground beneath them, and unlike Chen Fei, who aspired to become a military contractor, had chosen Jiu Defense Company, a small military contractor with an aircrew base, as his starting point.

And Chen Fei, who could clearly find a job at a large manufacturing enterprise or a materials research institute, where he could both be safe and ensure a good income—wasn't that appealing?

To come to this god-forsaken place and have to handle so many roles was simply madness.

"It's thrilling here, no laws against killing!"

Chen Fei revealed the blunt truth.

For military contractors, arson and murder earn you a belt of gold; keep your brains on your belt, live day by day, and once you land a big job, the money you make is more than enough to retire on.

Enjoy more content from empire

For those seeking thrills, this job is both hell and heaven.

Tempun Schneider shuddered involuntarily, as if the young man before him was a ruthless Demon King, perfectly suited for this industry.

He walked over to the F-22 "Raptor" jet fighter made from those alloy ingots, tapped on the surface that seemed as reflective as a mirror, and asked, "How long before this big guy can take to the skies?"

"One week!"

Chen Fei estimated the time it would take for Old David's shipment.

Although the Congress of the American Federation had issued a targeted restriction order on the F-22 "Raptor" jet fighter, there were still loopholes to exploit, as the restriction only applied to the whole machine, the engines, and the avionics system, allowing other parts to still be exported.

Old David had collected F-22 parts throughout his life, and if all were used, they could at least maintain a combat flight squadron, and certainly enable Chen Fei to complete this "Raptor," which was only about seventy percent complete.

Apart from the parts provided by Old David, certain MiG-28 spares could also be used on the F-22, such as the airborne radar, communication modules, and fire control systems. Named MiG, they were actually of pure American Federation standard lineage.

The two were essentially one continued system; as long as the drivers were compatible and the center of gravity was well adjusted, there would not be any major problems.

As for the driving issue, if the dog system didn't work, there was still Adam, right?

AI from more than thirty years ago dealing with drivers was just like child's play.

If it didn't involve aerodynamic shape, to a Metal Psychic, none of it was a problem.

"Can you get those parts?"

Tempun Schneider gasped.

Not to mention, the F-22 "Raptor" had been discontinued even before both men were born—where on earth could such antiques be found?

You must have more than just mines at home to be so bold.

"I can't get them, but Old David can!"

Chen Fei could guess the other's confusion.

Gathering them by himself was indeed difficult, but some people could manage it.

People had collected for a lifetime the only remaining parts in the world, other than the family heirloom preserved by the American Federation, almost all the rest were in the hands of this old man, which directly saved Chen Fei great deal of time, energy, and money.

For the old man, there were benefits as well. At least the privately refurbished F-22 "Raptor" jet fighter he owned could take off smoothly and maintain its original combat strength just like at the beginning, enough to accompany him through his dwindling days.

"Old David, why him?"

Tempun Schneider began to suspect there was some unspeakable PY deal between the two.

Chen Fei spread his hands and said, "I fixed the 'Raptor' for him, it's that simple."

The deal was very fair.

"So, that's it!"

Tempun Schneider murmured to himself as if he had an epiphany. He had heard that the F-22 "Raptor" jet fighter stored at Eagle-Nest private airport had suddenly been repaired and successfully returned to the skies, and was piloted by Old David to confront a giant mutant. It turned out it was Chen Fei who had done the work.

After so many years of being grounded, even a good aircraft couldn't avoid deterioration, and getting it ready to fly again was not an easy task.

However, such words might not be convincing if they came from someone else.

But being personally acknowledged by Chen Fei, who had an aircraft maintenance technician certification, there was a high possibility. Otherwise, Old David must have been crazy to hand over all his lifetime's collection to someone else.

The giant mutant trampled half of it, and with one blast from the Crystal Jet, all of Old David's collected items were lost except for a few.

"That's it for today; let's go!"

Chen Fei reached out, patted the other's shoulder, and walked toward Hangar 1 next door.

Tempun Schneider immediately followed, took a few steps, looked back at the gleaming F-22 "Raptor" jet fighter, and shook his head vigorously.

This thing wasn't an illusion, it just challenged the general public's perception too much.

-

The weather in the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area changed dramatically. One moment it was sunny, making people parched and thirsty, and the next moment, thick cumulonimbus clouds gathered out of nowhere, turning the sky above Aircrew Base 911 from day to "night".

Without any warning, large raindrops fell from the sky as if the first shot had been fired on a battlefield, and the steel roofs of Hangars 1 and 2 erupted with a pattering sound of raindrops, almost indistinguishable.

Squadron Leader Chekhov Big Bear, who was assigned a rainy-day flight mission, swaggered to Hangar 2, getting ready to warm up with his beloved aircraft. Constantly staying idle here was not conducive to their physical and mental health.

Constant practice helped maintain the state.

He was momentarily dazzled by a corner of the hangar and abruptly stopped in his tracks before rubbing his eyes forcefully.

"Damn!"

He raised his hand and began counting, one, two… wait, why was there a third jet here, also with twin engines and shining in silver, with the cockpit wide open?

Chekhov Big Bear, with a face full of suspicion, took out a bottle of Erguotou from the usual place in his trousers and guzzled down half the bottle, then blinked his slightly reddened eyes and stared intently again at that spot.

One, two, three! Burp! No fourth jet appeared; it wasn't an illusion, burp! Oh la!

What model is this, it kinda looks like the old F-22.

He asked the ground crew who were preparing ahead of schedule, "What… what the hell is this?"

"No idea! Little Chen and Mr. Schneider were here earlier, but this jet wasn't here before."

The ground crew of Four Stations spread their hands towards Big Bear; they were just ordered to arrive half an hour early, to provide power and gas to the ready-to-fly MiG-28, and perform basic pre-flight checks. They were unaware of what happened inside Hangar 2, just like Squadron Leader Chekhov.

"Those two?"

Chekhov was a bit surprised and scratched his head.

He had no idea what "Rookie" and the new "Sauerkraut" were up to and why a new jet appeared at the base without any notification to him as the leader of the Combat Flight Squadron.

Letting out a long belch, Chekhov, filled with questions, stumbled into the MiG-28 jet fighter marked "201" and successfully ignited it.

He gently pushed the throttle, listening carefully to the roaring sound.

After a moment, he increased the fuel output of the throttle. The MiG-28 slowly slided towards the hangar's door and plunged into the torrential rain outside.

Ten breaths later, the roaring intensified, and a jet with the rain curtain lifted its nose quickly and surged into the sky.

The rain clouds pouring down a large amount of water onto the ground weren't very high. When the MiG-28 rushed up more than 5500 meters from the ground, it was like a flying fish leaping out of the vast sea of clouds, basking again in the dazzling sunlight.

The high winds swept away the water stains remaining on the skin surface rapidly, making the aircraft shimmer under the sunlight.

"'Peanut Butter' calling the tower, I have reached above the clouds..."

From the ground, the swirling thick dark clouds would turn back into soft, white cotton at the top part, serene and quiet, nothing like its turbulent lower half, with only occasional flashes of lightning flickering briefly inside.

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