Sky-cracking Rider

The two were seriously discussing something that had a very sinister appearance.

"Can this thing reproduce?"

Chen Fei didn't realize that his words also carried ambiguity.

Hanna Gagar said, "It is actually a mutant form of fungus, fully capable of reproducing through spores and fission."

Then, with a puzzled expression, she asked, "Haven't you looked at it closely?"

The technology data for cultivating the "Flesh Mushroom" was provided by Chen Fei, yet he knew nothing about it.

"I haven't had the time to look."

Chen Fei shrugged, Boss had talked about it, but he really hadn't looked at it.

"Adam" had crammed a huge number of folders and files into the directory "A:\\Angela," totaling dozens of petabytes in size.

He couldn't possibly look at each one; he might not finish in this lifetime.

He only had "Adam" search for keywords such as "Flesh Mushroom," "cultivation," "propagation," "growth," and "reproduction," and had all the found files bundled up and sent to Boss Hana for the experts to decipher.

If he were to learn it all over again, he would probably fall asleep. It was like being poles apart; too hypnotic.

Hanna Gagar, though, was quite a conscientious Boss and had gone through it once herself.

"How many more good things do you have here?"

Boss Hana did not pursue Chen Fei's reluctance to delve into the details, after all, this was not his primary job.

Being able to provide technology information of great economic value was already a huge, unexpected gain.

Just the technology for cultivating the "Flesh Mushroom," along with the living specimen in the flowerpot, was worth billions of Star Yuan.

Sovereignty probably had it too, but they had always kept it secret and it was even less likely that any private enterprise had made it public. Therefore, the "Flesh Mushroom" in the hands of Jiu Defense Company was absolutely unique in the civilian market.

As long as the state didn't compete with the public for profit, this would be an advantage of excellent timing.

When the edible fungal fruit body, which tasted almost indistinguishable from animal meat, would become available to the general public, Jiu Defense Company would likely have already accumulated enough strength for large-scale dumping.

Forget about eating meat, others might only hope to get a sip of soup; whether they could gnaw on a bone depended mostly on Boss Hana's mood.

"A lot, to be precise, too much."

Chen Fei displayed the root directory of the A drive which was shown by the "File Management Plugin," and within the "Angela" folder, there was a tree-structured statistical directory file.

This was an auxiliary document created by "Adam" to make it easier for Chen Fei to review the files in this folder, and the size of the document was notably large.

"Emmm..."

Through the camera and the screen, Hanna Gagar stared straight at Chen Fei, eagerly anticipating more surprises.

"Mostly technical data on mutant gene editing, which I suspect you won't need."

After glancing at the directory document, apart from the "Flesh Mushroom," the rest were hot potatoes, and Chen Fei promptly closed the document, not even mentioning the categories.

He was afraid that even a little leak to Boss Hana might result in Jiu Defense Company disappearing the next day.

After all, what the "Water Bear" organization studied was much more serious than secretly working on magic arrays.

At most, involving magic arrays would lead to being invited for a chat, writing a self-criticism, followed by direct memory suppression by psychic power users. But pondering mutants and attempting to modify them was met with no mercy.

"Uh, indeed!"

Hanna Gagar was clever; she knew what was touchable and what was not.

She had once fallen together with Chen Fei into the "Water Bear" organization's mutant artificial breeding ground and could guess the origin of these materials. It was fortunate that Chen Xiao'er kept things so tight-lipped, or else without the sudden disclosure of the cultivation technology for "Flesh Mushroom," who knows how many spoils of war he had secretly withheld.

The Psychic Ability User "Captain" knew that Chen Fei's artificial intelligence AI "Adam" had quietly downloaded a lot of data. On one hand, he didn't expect it to be completely copied and taken away, and on the other hand, he didn't think that Chen Fei and a small military contractor like Jiu Defense Company would use these technical files.

Military contractors in charge of the Aircrew Base and mutants were natural enemies; the former would never invest substantial funds to create "trouble" for themselves. The word "trouble" has multiple meanings, but the end result is the same, with no difference.

"Just received the news, Hablav City almost fell. Hmm, you seem fine."

Hanna Gagel sized up Chen Fei with a satisfied nod.

The headquarters of the Blue Star Global United Defense Committee spread the news of Hablav City being nearly leveled by a massive mutant attack as soon as possible throughout the entire military contractor community.

Even though the major sovereign powers had not reported it publicly, almost everyone in the business knew about it.

Chen Fei was a key player at Jiu Defense Company, and of course, Boss Hana didn't wish for him to encounter any trouble.

"Of course!" Chen Fei did not mention how dangerous the battle during the day had been as he continued, "I guess it was a retaliatory action from the 'Water Bear' organization."

Hanna Gagel was somewhat surprised by Chen Fei's guess; it seemed many shared the same view of the hero.

"That's what I was thinking too."

To those who were perceptive, it wasn't hard to guess the situation—the mutant attack was fraught with anomalies. Not only were there numerous mutants, but the types of mutants were peculiarly specific; such an assortment targeting the city defense system couldn't be the result of normal, natural mutations.

Especially the terrestrial mollusk mutants capable of discharging red and blue fireballs—it was clear they had been altered through artificial intervention to look like that. Otherwise, their ability to launch fireballs able to hit targets over ten kilometers away, coupled with their extremely slow movement speed that couldn't even outrun cooling excrement, made no sense for hunting prey. It was utterly useless for survival, unless designed with a specific purpose, so the answer was self-evident.

Previously, the recently established Bear Hunting Special Operations Division of the Blue Star Global United Defense Committee had gathered ability users from various military contractors to form multiple action teams. Assisted by sovereign powers worldwide, they launched a comprehensive search for the 'Water Bear' organization and even rooted out another longstanding menace, 'Sacred Advent.' The Blue Star rebels, disliked even by the Neanderthals, had latched onto new powerful sponsors, and they might as well die together!

After consecutive bases had been pulled out, and many members were killed, it's likely that both 'Water Bear' and the peripheral lackeys 'Sacred Advent' didn't suffer a fatal blow, but the losses in other respects must have been substantial. They were well-suited to make a move and show the Blue Star Global United Defense Committee they shouldn't be taken lightly—the logic and motive for retaliation were seamless.

"It's a pity we are just small fry; our vision and scope are too narrow to know much intelligence."

Chen Fei quoted Adrian's words.

He still didn't know much about the 'Water Bear' and 'Sacred Advent' organizations and often could only respond passively, unable to exert his full strength or to fight wholeheartedly and exuberantly, which was somewhat frustrating.

"But when the sky falls, it's the bigwigs who have to stand under it first."

Hanna Gagel's words were loaded, hinting to Chen Fei that it's easy to attract unnecessary trouble if you concern yourself with matters beyond your position.

Big shots have their own troubles, and small folk have their own joys. Ignorance can be bliss; sometimes, knowing too much is not a good thing.

"Of course, I understand this principle, but I hope the 'Water Bear' can be dealt with soon, and the Bear Hunting Special Operations Division disbanded as early as possible."

The longer Chen Fei stayed with Squad 04, the more he missed his days at Aircrew Base 911, busy yet plentiful, without the need for exhausting concern and preoccupation. There was neither the tense atmosphere of always being on the brink of battle, nor the worry of mutants playing mind games. They'd appear when expected and meet their death when due—clean and straightforward. Find your next read at My Virtual Library Empire

Even if there were disputes with colleagues, they'd settle things with swords drawn and live ammunition—straightforward for all.

"Bear Hunting Special Operations Division," despite its initiative, couldn't achieve an absolute advantage and was constantly unable to deliver a fatal blow to the 'Water Bear' and 'Sacred Advent' organizations. Instead, it remained entangled with them, and now even the headquarters had nearly been compromised, with the entire city almost turned to ashes. Chen Fei felt exasperated by the poor quality of this ongoing battle.

"Haste won't get you hot tofu; this is already a strategic issue. I'm afraid the big shots have their own considerations, and it's not something that can be resolved overnight."

Hanna Gagel didn't know how to comfort Chen Fei.

The Blue Star Global United Defense Committee was not like her own Jiu Defense Company, which she could decide on a whim. It was complicated not only in organizational structure but also in people's hearts.

If she had known Chen Fei would be so uncomfortable, she would have found a way to refuse the recruitment on his behalf.

As the two of them chatted, time passed unknowingly...

"Chirp, chirp!"

Chen Fei was awoken by Xiao Jiu's calls, opening his eyes sluggishly, only to realize he was lying on the living room sofa, his phone tossed aside.

Wiping his face, he recalled talking to Boss Hana last night and not knowing when he fell asleep—the call had long since ended.

A scent of frying grease wafted through the air.

Kiterley walked out of the kitchen wearing a checkered apron, holding two plates in his hands. Seeing Chen Fei awake, he immediately greeted, "I saw you sleeping so soundly on the sofa, I didn't wake you. Get moving and then try my cooking."

On the two plates were the breakfast Kiterley had prepared for himself and Chen Fei, bread soaked in egg mixture frying to perfection in a pan, served with some bacon, mini sausages, pickles, and pickled cucumbers—a simple and homely breakfast.

Previously, Chen Fei was always in charge of Squad 04's meals, and the others rarely had the opportunity to cook themselves. Kiterley was the first to wake up and went straight to the kitchen to show off his culinary skills to Chen Fei.

Chen Fei looked toward the balcony, where he had originally planned to wake Kiterley and return to bed, but ended up falling asleep on the sofa himself.

In the southern hemisphere of Blue Star, it was the height of summer, hot weather, so sleeping on the balcony didn't pose the risk of catching a cold.