Sky-cracking Rider

"I don't want friends to meet on the battlefield again,"

Minante stared out of the airship window, where the vast horizon visibly slanted.

Because he was young, he once yearned for war.

But now, he had grown weary of it.

Apart from the so-called military exploits and honors, he had gained little and had lost good friends, becoming the executioner he most despised, unable to find peace for the rest of his life.

"If we meet on the battlefield again..."

Chen Fei reached out and patted Minante's shoulder.

"Don't hold back!"

"You..."

Chen Fei's knack for bringing up uncomfortable topics earned him a fierce glare from Minante.

Such a grown man, yet incapable of saying a word of comfort?

"Since you chose to go to war, you should focus on the present without distractions and not leave any regrets. Rest assured, I will not hold back,"

Chen Fei smiled, having nearly lost his life several times himself, what good did it do to think too much?

Once on the battlefield, surviving was a matter of fate, as was dying. Hesitating or dragging it out just made death come faster.

"I've figured it out, you're a jerk!"

Minante, incensed, turned away.

Minutes later, the high-speed airship landed steadily on the ground.

Unexpectedly, there were no heavily armed personnel waiting in formation on the tarmac, just a few people awaiting the disembarking passengers.

It was not surprising, really; Minante was from the Righteous Army, and Chen Fei, a mere B-rank supernatural power user, was hardly capable of causing a stir at the Righteous Army's headquarters—any stronger individual could easily suppress him.

Seeing the familiar syringes waiting ahead, Chen Fei quickly waved his hands.

"No need for the Supernatural Ability Suppressant, it's useless on me."

He had suffered enough from those potions, and this secret was hardly a secret anymore.

Minante couldn't help but size Chen Fei up and said displeasingly, "You really are a freak!"

"Improper usage of words. Clearly, it's called being uniquely gifted,"

Chen Fei was somewhat proud.

It was precisely because the Supernatural Ability Suppressant had no effect on him that he had successfully ambushed many people.

"I guess so, then no need for it,"

A young woman who seemed to be in charge raised her hand, signaling those with the syringes not to come any closer.

You really can't underestimate any opponent, the Righteous Army had clearly noticed something unusual about Chen Fei.

The abilities from Blue Star were truly hard to pin down precisely.

Current research results suggest a connection between supernatural ability awakening and the active elemental energy leaking from the Cangqiong Realm Gate.

As soon as the gate opened, supernatural powers appeared, resulting in a plethora of psi skills, among which the emergence of one or two beings insensitive to suppressants was not surprising.

Chen Fei walked briskly toward the short-haired woman while loudly greeting her, "Hello, I'm Chen Fei!"

The woman's demeanor gave him a feeling of familiarity.

Indeed, she was likely in charge of internal affairs, a special department position responsible for monitoring their own people, very much the same caliber as the former "One-Eye" Boss Hanna Gagar—no easy character to deal with.

Chen Fei excelled in dealing with such people and was accustomed to their methods.

Minante quickly caught up to Chen Fei in a few strides, whispering in a lowered voice, "Hey, wait for me; there's something off about this woman."

The short-haired woman's gaze swept past Chen Fei and landed on Minante as she loudly said, "For most people, my job indeed seems a bit off."

Her tone was like a needle hidden in cotton—seemingly flat, but secretly sharp.

"You..."

Having been caught in the act, Minante's face changed slightly.

He had been speaking softly, at least twenty meters away from her, and his voice shouldn't have carried that far.

"Ha, I'm even more off,"

Chen Fei took the conversation back, stopping about three steps away from her and looking around, questioningly, "No one else here?"

The identities of the people on the tarmac were easy to distinguish—pilots, ground crew, security, and the out-of-place short-haired woman with her four companions behind her.

An aviation base was Chen Fei's stronghold; he could always detect people or things that shouldn't be there at first notice.

"This is not the place to talk; follow me!"

The short-haired woman turned decisively and led Chen Fei and Minante to a hover infantry armored vehicle parked next to the tarmac.

There were a total of twelve hover infantry armored vehicles on-site, but the short-haired woman and Chen Fei and others boarded only one, the rest serving not only as armed escorts but also to obscure the view.

The fleet changed order several times, with the vehicle carrying the short-haired woman and Chen Fei moving to the rear half. After all, should anything happen, the front vehicles were more likely to be intercepted and attacked.

"Preparing for a major threat?"

Unlike a tense Minante, Chen Fei calmly observed the woman across from him.

"The Silan Dynasty's spies have been very active recently, so it's wise to be cautious."

The short-haired woman met Chen Fei's gaze and said, "You can call me Nalan. Names are just temporary codenames, and I've long forgotten my real one."

"My codename is 'Rookie,' and it never expires!"

Chen Fei flashed a neat set of teeth.

It was confirmed, the person in front of him was an internal affairs agent even more professional than Boss Hana. Although she possessed more skills, fundamentally, there was no difference. Her gaze was sharper, filled with an oppressive force that made one feel compelled to confess everything in hopes of alleviating the pressure.

"I, I, I'm called Minante!"

The honest kid's stuttering made his profound, deep blue eyes, a trait inherited from his Darknight Tribe lineage, less impressive.

"What's your flyer call sign?"

Chen Fei still didn't know Minante's flyer call sign.

"None!"

Minante seemed deflated like a frostbitten eggplant.

"Huh!?"

Chen Fei was taken aback.

This guy is just a newbie, no wonder he seemed so inexperienced on the battlefield.

"How about we come up with one on the spot?"

Minante finally realized the awkwardness of the situation.

Short-haired woman and Chen Fei both had codenames, but he didn't, leading to an outcast feeling welling up within him.

"Yes, yes!"

Minante was overjoyed.

"What about 'Stinky Tofu'?"

"Eh?"

...

This was probably a classic example of misjudging companions.

Minante glared at Chen Xiao'er murderously throughout the journey, vowing not to hold back if they met on the battlefield again.

"'Rookie,' 'Stinky Tofu,' we're here!"

The short-haired woman Nalan called out and took the lead in stepping out of the hover infantry armored vehicle.

A lush, vivid green burst into Chen Fei's vision, neatly trimmed low shrubs, some blooming, others bearing fruit, and grassy lawns intermingled with gray-white pebbled paths, fluttering butterflies, busy bees, and competing birdsongs.

Whoosh, about a dozen Pure Light Sparrows swept over their heads.

This place seemed less like the headquarters of the Righteous Army and more like a meticulously maintained garden.

"Where is this?"

It was also Minante's first time here.

"This is the command center of the Eastern Warzone, 'Rookie.' The person wanting to see you is the supreme commander of the Eastern Warzone, Lord Stephens."

Nalan not only responded to Minante's question but also introduced the location information to Chen Fei.

The hover infantry armored vehicle was sealed off from the outside for the entire journey, combined with radio communication being blocked, making it difficult to pinpoint the actual coordinates of the rebel's Eastern Warzone command center.

But... Chen Fei's Dog System was still receiving signals unobstructed, marking his exact location on the electronic map, an island at the center of a lake, named "Eternal Rest."

If Chen Fei were to send these coordinates to the Silan Dynasty at this moment, within half an hour, the rebels would lose a quarter of their command capabilities and related combat capabilities.

The vanguard of the Silan Dynasty that was currently at a stalemate with the rebels could gain a slight advantage, immediately breaking the balance, especially with such a direct strike at the critical point, potentially causing a chain reaction, leading directly to an irreversible collapse of the rebel forces.

While leading the way, the short-haired woman Nalan noticed Chen Fei looking around carefully and observing the surroundings, so she spoke again, "There are barriers, traps, and hidden guards everywhere here. If you take a wrong step without permission, it can be life-threatening."

"Ah?!"

The one startled turned out to be Minante, a member of the same faction.

Chen Fei's expression remained neutral.

He didn't need a reminder; he had already noticed many abnormalities. Many of the traps used metal components, which couldn't escape the detection of Metal Ability Users.

Bending down, he picked up a goose egg-sized stone and casually threw it into the lush grass, only to hear a sharp clang. A pair of large, semicircular saw teeth, like a ferocious gaping mouth, suddenly jumped out of the bush, snapping together fiercely and even sending the newly fallen stone flying.

Sounds of clang echoed, as the flying stone triggered a chain reaction, setting off one set of steel teeth after another. It took a while for everything to quiet down, with the erratically moving stone eventually being shattered by the saw teeth.

"Whoa! Is this, a trap for catching animals? So big!"

The honest kid Minante's face turned pale.

If those teeth clamped onto a person's leg, it would likely sever the leg instantly.

"Looks like we need to reduce the use of metal."

Nalan saw right through Chen Fei's little trick.

Metal Ability Users could detect the metal parts used in the traps as easily as eating and drinking, but not all traps used metal materials.

After a long walk, they arrived at a two-story forest villa, with no other buildings around.

The short-haired woman Nalan only mentioned to wait and then left with the other accompanying personnel, leaving Chen Fei and Minante inside the villa, staring at each other.

No sooner had the woman left than footsteps approached from outside the villa, and a person walked in leisurely.