Sky-cracking Rider

Including the blonde girl, Nicole, there were a total of five people brought back by the monk. One young man, like Nicole, was unconscious, while the other three were still awake, albeit with a defeated spirit and traces of blood on them.

"Did you rescue them all?"

Chen Fei raised his hand and tapped in front of him in the air. The AR visual effect interface was only visible to him, allowing for some manual operations with the help of "Adam."

"Uh, are you going to... all of them, of course all of them, you can start now!"

Miyoshi Xuesen, who had been with Chen Fei for quite a while, immediately guessed what he wanted to do next and casually placed the princess-held Nicole onto the stretcher brought over by a mech.

"Let's do it then!"

Chen Fei lightly tapped, and a ton-level thermobaric bomb was launched by one of the attack ships into Area A, where it engaged the combat mech squad.

Boom!~

A flash of red light appeared on the horizon, and a huge mushroom cloud rose slowly.

Everyone was annihilated!

Two combat mech squads, having lost nearly 40% of their forces, became the burial company for those resisting personnel.

Releasing a super-powered tactical-level weapon in a city area—there weren't many ruthless individuals who dared to do such a thing, but Chen Xiao'er was one of them, deciding on a mutual annihilation tactic without any psychological burden.

This was the "aftereffect" of the affluent war against the Sagali civilization, not having to foot the bill themselves. Even if the reserves were exhausted, it didn't matter.

"Hiss!~"

Seeing the huge mushroom cloud rising in the distance, the sudden gust swept in, and the heat radiation made the skin slightly burning. Miyoshi Xuesen mechanically turned his neck and said, "Aren't you going overboard?"

Just a dozen or so resisters, worthy of a ton-level thermobaric bomb?!

In the monk's view, even a single 152 demolition bomb was excessive. Letting those two hundred combat mechs perish together with the enemy would have sufficed. Why needlessly waste hundreds of combat mechs?

Chen Fei spread his hands innocently and said, "I'm quelling Habulav's rebellion." He spoke logically, and reasonably, with a sense of propriety, so that no one could pick faults. Sacrifices are always inevitable, after all, it's all charged to sovereignty. His demeanor was akin to a businessperson filing for travel expense reimbursement, how much wool could be pulled, only he knew.

Earlier, when dialing Nicole's communication number, a stranger answered, and that "Ha, you wait!" left Chen Fei quite displeased. Wait? Sure, who's afraid of whom!

So he got petty, revenge never delayed overnight, immediate retrieval taken.

As for the arrogant fellow's identity, he wasn't the least bit interested in knowing. If the person felt wronged, they could go and complain to King Yama themselves!

"Quickly get Nicole awake and let her get to work! Sort out those unruly fellows."

Chen Fei ordered the combat mechs carrying the stretchers to send her off to the medical team.

Then he turned his attention to the three with puzzled, unsure faces—those picked up along the way. Another was still unconscious, being roughly tossed onto a stretcher and carried off by the mechs.

"Hey, you guys, what work are you doing?"

The three who remained conscious became instantly panicked. They had already grasped their current circumstances, knowing the young man before them was terrifying; someone who threw high-powered thermobaric bombs when words failed—a downright disregard for human life.

After exchanging nervous glances, a messy-haired young man fearfully said, "Zhong Ziheng, database engineer from the Third Information Department!"

With someone starting, the rest found self-introductions much easier.

The second person quickly followed, identifying as an archive management director from the Intelligence Department. The third was a senior technical expert in the AI management department, and even the identity of the fourth who had been unconscious and tossed onto a stretcher was revealed—a committee headquarters director equivalent to a high-level sovereignty representative. Owing to such status, considerable suffering was endured.

Together with A-level Spiritual Ability User Nicole, these people were captured by a small internal faction within Habulav, aiming to interrogate personnel file information from the Blue Star Global Joint Defense Committee Headquarters, especially secret archives.

Chen Fei could roughly surmise the group's kidnapping purpose: using shadowy, dark records to blackmail and maximize benefits. even if they couldn't use it themselves, selling it could bring in invaluable returns. As for whether or not they were collaborating traitors with the "Sagali" civilization, it remained to be discussed. Internal turmoil brings forth all sorts of fiends and monsters.

"Someone is lying!"

"?" Chen Fei turned around and found that Nicole, the blonde girl, was somehow standing behind him fully revitalized. Just sent off for treatment, she had quickly awakened.

What were just superficial wounds turned out to be mostly fatigue from shock and exhaustion. After drinking an expensive magic potion and receiving several Light Healing Techniques, the effects were immediate. The potion's bitterness still lingered in the mouth, but her spirit visibly improved.

The three being questioned by Chen Fei glanced at each other in confusion, unsure of who Nicole was referring to.

"Which one?"

Chen Fei pointed at the three conscious individuals and an unconscious "extra." The surrounding combat mechs instantly raised their railgun combat rifles, aiming at these four people. Each had at least five gun barrels trained on them, ready to turn them into human beehives at the slightest movement.

"That one!"

Nicole unhesitatingly pointed to one of them, the head of the archives department in the intelligence division.

The man's face instantly turned pale, retreating while frantically waving his hands.

"No, it's not me, I'm not!"

"Fire!"

Pop!~ Thud!

The firing of the railgun weapon was always quiet, with the magnetic rail bullets leaving the rail before a whistling rend through the air could form.

The archive head's face suddenly sported a bloody hole, his expression freezing as he toppled forward, not even having the chance to turn and flee.

The other two witnessing this were terrified, collapsing on the spot, realizing what sort of ruthless person could kill without a second thought, without any hesitation.

"Why did you just shoot him dead? We could've gotten some information out of him!" The blonde girl stomped her feet in frustration, unable to stop it in time.

Beforehand, she already felt something was off about him; everything he said and did seemed suspicious. As time passed, his intentions grew more obvious. Under the guise of a fellow victim, he was suspected of probing for information.

If Nicole weren't a professional in this field, always vigilant, she might have fallen for it too.

"What does that have to do with me? I'm not getting involved!"

Chen Fei couldn't care less about the dramas at the Global Joint Defense Committee Headquarters.

With too many sovereignties, the hearts aren't united. It's a world full of factions, with three people forming four little cliques, always guarding against each other, vying for power and profit, pulling each other down, claiming credit, shirking responsibility. Isn't that the normal scenario everywhere? Under this same sky, lands far and wide follow this logic.

Chen Xiao'er was just an ordinary person inadvertently thrust to the frontline, why meddle in others' business when it doesn't bring any tangible benefit!

His starting point was vastly different from those of the sovereignties.

On the surface, both sides were forced into a standoff with the "Sagali" civilization, but the sovereign's higher-ups only wanted to secure their governing power, seeking power, profit, and fame. If humanity vanished, who would they show off their superiority to? The greatest existence purpose of commoners is to provide emotional value to big shots, whereas Chen Fei wanted to protect his little family. Under the current tide, it's hard to maintain even a struggling life as a commoner; when the nest is overturned, no egg is left intact. Lord Landon's "previous life" memory serves as the best evidence that if we don't maintain the fundamental plane of human civilization, even if family remains, what about friends? What about social relations? Detached from societal groups, neither individuals nor small collectives can last long; one's loss is another's loss, one's glory is another's glory.

Furthermore, according to trend theories, the First Sovereignty had never quietly reminded Chen Fei, implying thus far that the straightforward strategy worked.

If we take history as a mirror, during the early Tang dynasties in the Taizong era, the one who thrived the most was the "Demon Lord of Mayhem" Cheng Yaojin, who recklessly made his name. This old man lived to 77, surviving the Wuzhou period and dominating the court for over four decades. The Empress dared not move him, making him the no. 1 ending well amongst the Zhen Guan Old Ministers. The reason? He "charged" through to the ultimate artistic realm of brazenness, playing it smarter than anyone else.

Nicole von Sasha was also a character as astute as a sage. A slight thought made her understand Chen Fei's desire to pass unscathed through a field of flowers without a leaf touching him, avoiding karma and staying clear of blessings and misfortunes. She spat lightly, realizing that his brashness was, in reality, careful calculation. But if she could seize this opportunity to act, she might secure a decent position in the upper ranks of the Blue Star Global United Defense Committee. Sadly, Chen Fa overlooked this massive benefit completely.

"Since you're awake, start working. A big bunch of people needs your help to identify and sort out those threats; the sooner, the better. Immediately, right now, go!"

Chen Fei took great pains to save the blonde girl, just to make sure the arrangements for her were absolutely clear.

"A bunch? How many! Just me?"

Nicole pointed at herself in astonishment; this bastard was too arrogant to dare to order her around like that.

"Not fewer than a hundred thousand, find your team yourself, I don't care. There's manpower but no money!"

Chen Fei pointed inside Training Hall 11, the "Stargate" was still open, and the temporarily assembled management team had already received his authorization.

"Do you plan to occupy Habulav?"

Nicole suddenly guessed a possibility; Chen Fei's actions bore a significance too obvious to ignore.

Having Chen Xiao'er come over from Socotra Island for questioning, apparently did him no injustice, but as soon as he turned his back, he wanted to take over the Blue Star Global Joint Defense Committee Headquarters. Is his reprisal really that great?

"Eh? You just realized?!"

(﹁﹁)