Sky-cracking Rider

Even the largest military contractors had no privileges here. When Assistant Lahar received a call from Boss Hana, he was still in a long queue, at least a hundred meters away from the ticket window. There was no telling when he would get his tickets, let alone having to book a nearby hotel room. It was likely he'd end up being a big sucker, paying a hefty sum to bid against others for a room.

Now, being able to hitch a ride on one of the "Abyss Coliseum" sponsors' VIP trains had indeed saved a great deal of effort.

Just like its old rival, the National Defense Star Aerospace Company, the powerful Northern Weapons Industry Group had also chartered an entire train, each compartment being a VIP compartment, not only with spacious seats but also entertainment cars, dining cars, and executive cars with all facilities available.

The wealthy combat aircraft manufacturers were never short of money. Each company had chartered an entire train. Even if their tickets were cancelled at the last minute, making those crowded in the train station's waiting room become anxiously upset, what could they do? They were still helpless!

The scenery outside the window slowly shifted as the Northern Weapons Industry Group's train began to accelerate toward the Great Rift Valley, and the journey was expected to last about three hours.

The entire Great Rift Valley was about 6,000 kilometers long, with complex terrain. This session of the "Abyss Coliseum" was located in a discontinuous area of the rift, adjacent to a towering snow-capped mountain.

Pilots from all over Blue Star and even from Cangqiong Star would perform various flying displays here, as well as real aerial combat. It was also an important gala where major combat aircraft manufacturers and arms dealers would showcase their flagship products and sign large orders.

-

"Chen Fei, I didn't expect you to attend the 'Abyss Coliseum' too. What a coincidence."

Teacher Shen Fei and Chen Fei sat face to face, with Pure Light Sparrow Xiao Jiu hopping from one hand to the other.

The other members from Jiu Defense mingled freely in the various functional cars of this train along with hundreds from the Northern Weapons Industry Group.

Boss Hana and the flyers from the "Genuine Fragrance" squadron were drinking in a bar, while a mechanic chief sat alone in a compartment watching his tablet, mulling over various technical equipment and data.

Assistant Lahar's phone never stopped ringing as he recorded and urged on various business tasks, which were then collectively submitted to the boss for instructions.

Teacher Shen's father, Shen Songling, was not the team leader this time. The general manager and chairman of the Northern Weapons Industry Group were convening all executives in the executive car with a conference room.

The combat aircraft manufacturers from Blue Star were vying for orders at this quadrennial real-combat extravaganza, which was essentially a big deal that could feed them for three, or even thirty, years—no big shot could afford to ignore it.

"It's because the boss just got an invitation. Otherwise, we'd only be able to watch the broadcast." Find more to read at My Virtual Library Empire

Chen Fei smiled and nodded.

He thought to himself about his luck. Otherwise, he'd only have the chance to see Teacher Shen Fei again during the long holidays each year.

"I heard that only the top hundred military contractors are eligible to get invitations."

Teacher Shen Fei, acting as her father's secretary at the Northern Weapons Industry, usually had access to more information.

"It appears that way, but Jiu Defense's ranking just squeezed into the top two hundred. Perhaps rankings don't fully represent true capability!"

Chen Fei scratched his head. He had heard about the invitation criteria from Boss Hana.

Among the small military contractors, Jiu Defense was relatively well-known, and given its current growth momentum, it was only a matter of time before it upgraded to a medium or even large military contractor, possibly surpassing the original Apocalypse Defense Group.

Perhaps it was its promising potential that convinced the "Abyss Coliseum" organizers to grant Jiu Defense an invitation.

Teacher Shen Fei smiled and said, "Could it be because of you? I heard you've been making quite a stir recently!"

Using the privileges and resources of the administrative office at the Northern Weapons Industry Group's headquarters, keeping tabs on Chen Fei's activities wasn't a difficult task.

Moreover, Teacher Shen had guessed right—Chen Xiao'er had recently stirred up quite a mess.

Chen Fei was quick-witted. Upon hearing her, he immediately realized that Teacher Shen, who was resourceful, couldn't be kept in the dark.

Touching the back of his head, he said somehwat sheepishly, "How could that be? Whatever the team leader says, that's what I do. I'm grateful just not to be the scapegoat."

Truth be told, his luck had always been good.

After being conscripted by the Blue Star Global United Defense Committee, whether it was Team 04's Captain Adrian Benjamin or the Huntsman Squad's leader Miyoshi Xuesen, regardless of personal character, issues such as claiming credit or shifting blame had never arisen.

Otherwise, the incident involving the killing of an enemy Sky Knight prisoner would have landed him in deep trouble. Fortunately, the Monk had managed to shoulder this responsibility, preventing it from falling on him.

"Heh! Just keep pretending!"

Teacher Shen Fei watched Chen Fei feign confusion and chuckled behind her hand.

He had always been like this at Aircrew Base, even after being conscripted by the Blue Star Global United Defense Committee; he never changed—a clear case of it being easy to change rivers and mountains but hard to alter one's nature.

"This time, what good things has the Northern Weapons Industry Group brought?"

Chen Fei steered the conversation towards the team that had chartered this train.

"As usual, mostly old products: amphibious human-shaped combat mobility armor, multi-functional logistical tactical armor, ground effect mobile command center, Phantom Cube-67 Medium Warship, Bomber-55 Tactical Bomber, Fighter-37 warship carrier aircraft, Crystal Jet X-19 prototype... This time, there's also a new 'Canglong' tactical concept machine, which my father oversaw. Besides that, there's maintenance support equipment for this major battle and products from supporting factories, like communication data links, airborne communication nodes, tactical missiles, and so on."

Teacher Shen Fei listed dozens of products off the top of her head, and there wasn't much to keep secret. Once they disembarked the train and entered the display area, most of what she mentioned would be visible.

A big factory naturally has a deep foundation. Underwater, surface, land, amphibious, low-altitude, and high-altitude—every kind of tactical equipment and comprehensive solutions were available.

As a sponsor of the "Abyss Coliseum," it wasn't just about funding; they also provided manpower and equipment, ensuring various supports for the participating aircraft in the aerial combat.

Racing in the airspace of this "Abyss Coliseum" were not only the combat aircraft of the Blue Star civilization but also the assembled combat aircraft from the Cangqiong Star technology system.

The pilots from both civilizations were about to fight on the same stage.

Chen Fei suddenly seemed to remember something and tentatively asked, "Did you bring the large industrial 3D printing equipment for engineering plastics this time?"

"Yes! We even have the powder alloy printer," Shen Fei replied, startled, then asked curiously, "Why do you ask?"

Such specialized industrial printers seemed to have nothing to do with Chen Fei's work.

Chen Fei grabbed Secretary Shen's hand and said seriously, "I need to print something, I want to mooch it!"

He grabbed the other person's hand to avoid getting slapped in the face.

After all, he was planning to mooch!

Indeed, those were shameless words!

Ordinary people couldn't afford such a large specialized industrial printer even if they had the money: first, because of its steep price; second, it required specialized industrial software; and third, there was nowhere to put it, it was too large to fit in a house.

Shen Fei burst out laughing. No one could dare to mooch openly from the Northern Weapons Industry Group like Chen Fei, especially to their face.

"It shouldn't be a problem, but you need to design what you want to print in advance," she said.

The cost of the printing materials was hardly worth mentioning.

"Of course!"

The real work was done by "Adam," Chen Fei never worried about such software issues.

Shen Fei, curious, asked, "Can I ask, what are you planning to print?"

"Parts for the Crystal Jet, some parts aren't made of metal, and they are tough to handle."

Chen Fei never lied in front of Teacher Shen.

If he talked about mooching without intending to pay, and mentioned parts for the Crystal Jet, they would definitely be used for the Crystal Jet.

"Heh!"

Teacher Shen Fei freed her hand from Chen Fei's grip and playfully punched his arm.

It was all about the Crystal Jet!

Next, it must be the Magic Cube Warship's turn.

"Xiao Jiu?"

Xiao Jiu looked puzzled at their hands, thinking of the great trends of the world, what comes together must split, what splits must come together...

-

For most of the journey, the high-speed train maintained a speed between 300-500 kilometers per hour, almost matching the take-off speed of the "Big Mouth Monster."

Three hours and eleven minutes later, the direct express train with no stops in between slowly pulled into the station at the edge of the Great Rift Valley; other companies' express trains also arrived around the same time, some earlier, some later, but the Northern Weapons Industry Group's team wasn't the first.

If it were a train booked by Jiu Defense Company, it would take at least five and a half hours, stopping at seven or eight stations.

"Little Chen, just stick with us, it's going to be a bit crowded," said Shen Songling, the deputy general manager of the Northern Weapons Industry Group, who had just finished a high-level meeting and took the initiative to plan for Chen Fei and his group to join the team for the next part of the schedule.

From the train station to the airport where the "Abyss Arena" was located, there was still over an hour's ride by bus.

The Northern Weapons Industry Group had already reserved a fleet of buses and hitching a ride for the eleven people from Jiu Defense was a mere trifle.

"No need, we have a car, we will follow behind you!"

Chen Fei waved his hand, deciding it was better to skip the idea of squeezing a small stool onto the bus.

The people from Jiu Defense needed to stick together.

Boss Hana's assistant, Lahar, whispered, "'Rookie,' we've already canceled our reserved cars."

Due to being forced to cancel their tickets, Jiu Defense's travel plans had changed, and Lahar had canceled the originally booked bus, but had failed to secure a new reservation.

At this crucial moment, there were no spare shuttle buses or minivans available for them.

Chen Fei stretched his hand out to the empty space.

"Car, come!"