Sky-cracking Rider

"Going solo? Is there enough money?"

Chen Fei was startled.

Just the massive amount of supplies piled up like mountains inside the Aircrew Base was no small amount of money.

If Manager Hanna wanted to bear it alone, that really was tremendous pressure, and it wasn't just an adjective.

"Enough! And if it's not, we can take out loans."

Hanna Gagel gave a slight smile and said, "From now on, the Aircrew Base will have to rely on you, Xiao Ming, Chekhov, and Iline."

The Combat Flight Squadron was the main business force of the entire Aircrew Base; whether they could make money relied entirely on them.

The mechanic team was the biggest guarantee for the pilots' combat effectiveness.

Everyone in the other departments of the base served these two departments.

The few people pointed out by Manager Hanna were basically essential talents to ensure the base's profitability.

Despite Chen Fei, the newbie, being inexperienced and still rough around the edges, his contributions and achievements for the Aircrew Base couldn't be overlooked.

That's why Hanna Gagel was so willing to grant such a hefty bonus.

"Haha, that's quite a bit of pressure!"

Chen Fei felt a bit guilty and hurriedly took a sip of his drink to steady his nerves.

Manager Hanna asked leisurely, "Got any good company names? We're going to need one soon."

Sitting idle anyway, why not take a blind stab at it, he thought. Who knows, there might be a pleasant surprise?

"Uh! Let me think!"

Chen Fei started scratching his head; he was completely unprepared, and on the spot, he couldn't come up with any cool, amazing company name.

"How about 'Dragon Rider Defense'?"

Manager Hanna slapped her forehead.

Young Chen Fei almost spit out the drink in his mouth.

Good lord, naming it that without fearing trouble for herself?

Unexpectedly, the always calm and rational Manager Hanna had such an unreliable moment.

"No, no, no, that won't do. Let's change it, change it!"

Chen Fei coughed and shook his head continuously.

"Dragon Slaying Defense? Invincible Defense? Or even Kaitian Defense?"

Manager Hanna suddenly found the drink in her hand less appealing, and after thinking about seven or eight names, her frown deepened.

This female manager was simply terrible at naming.

Invincible, Dragon Slaying—such names were obviously courting hatred, full of resentment value.

It used to be the Dragon Knights who wanted a reason to complain, and now they've provoked the Dragon Clan, well done—mission to wipe out the team accomplished!

"What about 'Supernatural Defense Company'? Both of us are supernatural power users, it's a selling point! And isn't there also a Pure Light Sparrow? We can use it as a mascot, so let's call it the 'Pure Light Sparrow Defense Group'."

Confirmed, Chen Fei was also bad at naming, just like Manager Hanna—they were both clueless.

The two argued for a long time but still couldn't reach a conclusion.

"Why is it so hard to come up with a company name?"

Manager Hanna drank her wine with a sense of loss, saying, "I'm drinking not wine, but loneliness!"

"How about we hold a naming contest? The prize is ten thousand Star Yuan!"

Chen Fei offered another suggestion.

"Jiu!"

A weak voice came from inside the spherical bird's nest.

Little Bird called out unconsciously.

"Jiu Defense?"

Manager Hanna suddenly had such a name pop into her head.

So silly!

She must have drunk too much; she needed to drink a bit more to push it down.

Then she started giggling uncontrollably.

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"Hahaha, Jiu Defense, that could work!"

Chen Fei laughed and slapped the table hard.

What in the world was that?!

The two weren't even drunk yet, but it was as if there was no difference.

Drinking, chatting, bragging, joking—there was no hierarchy here, only drinking buddies.

Manager Hanna had things on her mind; the drink lacked flavor, and without finishing half the bottle, she couldn't drink any more.

"Let's stop here for today, and next time we'll enjoy ourselves. Put the drink away nicely, no stealing it."

Saying this, she waved her hand and got up to place the half bottle and the unopened one back in the liquor cabinet,

which aside from several types of drinking utensils, also contained leftover good drinks from the past, as well as high-proof fruit wine distilled and stored by Old Man Barut before his death and by Chen Fei afterward.

"Manager Hanna, get some rest early. If it comes to it, just use the dictionary method, whatever page you land on, that's it, leave it to fate!"

Chen Fei could understand Manager Hanna's frustration.

An appropriate company name was extremely important, and names like Dragon Rider and Dragon Slaying were absolutely not suitable for the new company.

Hanna Gagel walked to the door of the hut, turned her head, and said, "Also, find some time to get a certification. When we were under Apocalypse Defense Group nobody said anything, but now that we're starting a company on our own, it's very likely we'll run into trouble."

With the new company's founding, it would inevitably be picked on and tested, which had almost become a common practice.

As was customary, beating up the provocateurs to establish one's position in the Jianghu was all it took—relatively balanced relations were crucial for any industry.

"What certification?"

Chen Fei had not yet reacted.

"Any certification will do."

Manager Hanna had already walked away, her voice trailing off in the distance.

What certification?

Chen Fei scratched his head.

After packing up and then sleeping soundly, he had finally overcome the jet lag.

Before work, he brought some local specialties to colleagues at the Aircrew Base whom he was closer with, such as the entire teams from "Genuine Fragrance" Squadron and the Mechanic Unit.

"Rookie! You're back! Hey, what's this?"

"Some local specialties, please try them."

"Good morning, Rookie! What are these?"

"Tea and ham. There's not much, just a taste."

"Wanna have a couple of drinks? Whoa! Do I get a share?"

"Hey hey, eating ham so early in the morning, aren't you going to get sick of it?"

"Isn't there tea? I like this combination!"

…

The local specialty gift boxes, made up of green tea and ham slices, were not large in volume nor were they expensive top-shelf items, making them perfect for interpersonal exchanges among colleagues.

Chief Mechanic Xiao's share was delivered to the base canteen last night.

"Chief Mechanic, this is a specialty from my hometown, please have a taste."

Chen Fei carefully placed the packed gift box on Chief Mechanic Xiao Ming's desk.

Big Brother Xiao had always looked out for him, so he had to make sure his gesture was appropriate.

"Hmm, you're back, set it aside for now! I have some work later that I need to specifically discuss with you."

Chief Mechanic Xiao remained as indifferent to personal feelings as ever.

In his eyes, work was the most important thing, and he neither valued nor excelled at social interactions.

Such a personality was more suitable for someone dedicated solely to technical work.

"Uh! Okay, sure!"

Chen Fei hesitated a moment, then nodded in agreement.

His work that morning was personally arranged by Chief Mechanic Xiao, who tasked him with disassembling aircraft number 211 on his own and then reassembling it before finally successfully test-flying it as a qualification requirement.

This series of tasks took a whole week to complete.

Were it not for the "Physical Evolution Database" in the Dog System, which recorded most of the detailed parameters for the parts of the "Big Mouth Monster" Turboprop Aircraft, it wouldn't have been easy for Chen Fei to remember so many parts along with their locations and relations to each other.

"The turboprop aircraft is qualified. Now try the jet!"

Chief Mechanic Xiao Ming had Chen Fei try the MiG-28 Jet Fighter next, following the same procedure.

Being able to dismantle and reassemble is crucial to repair work, which often divides into two parts: diagnosing the fault, which depends on experience, and replacing faulty parts, which relies on familiarity with the components and the overall structure.

Experience builds up over time with cases, but the disassembly and reassembly skills could improve in the short term.

Another week passed, and Chen Fei failed to successfully reassemble the MiG-28 Jet Fighter; the complexity of jet engines far surpassed that of turboprops.

This time, without the "Physical Evolution Database" from the Dog System to rely on, Chief Mechanic Xiao ended up stepping in to help with the assembly.

"The jet engine passes, barely. You can try to get certified."

Chief Mechanic Xiao, who had been supervising Chen Fei's work, handed him a registration form.

The form had been issued half a month ago, with less than five days left until the deadline. After registering, there would be a short-term training followed by an assessment and certification.

There was more than one certification: there was the basic aircraft maintenance license, and also factory repair qualifications for specific aircraft models. Altogether, there were at least four or five certifications.

That's quite an ordeal, almost like preparing for graduate school exams.

"Thank you, Chief Mechanic Xiao!"

Chen Fei instantly understood the implication behind the belatedly received registration form.

Even though Manager Hanna had secured this registration opportunity for him, if his skills did not meet the standard, he'd embarrass the Maintenance Unit of the Aircrew Base 911 even if he registered— and he wouldn't receive the certificates.

Chief Mechanic Xiao let Chen Fei disassemble two types of aircraft to gauge his skills.

Chen Fei started out familiarizing himself with the "Big Mouth Monster" Turboprop Aircraft, only recently attempting the MiG jet, so it was no surprise that the former was more familiar than the latter.

As Chen Fei left Chief Mechanic Xiao Ming's office, deputy squadron leader "Devil Pepper" Irinei Rusios from "Genuine Fragrance" Squadron gave him another surprise.

It was also a registration form for pilot training for the jet, the same location as the one provided by Chief Mechanic Xiao.

A private airport offering both maintenance and flight certifications was not an issue.

Being part of both the maintenance unit and the flight squadron, it seemed both sides were not willing to let him go, making publicly funded training and certification inevitable.

Otherwise, Manager Hanna wouldn't have bought out his debts for no reason, offering indefinite interest-free terms.

There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

If Chen Fei hadn't shown his value, he might not even have the chance to be exploited by capitalists—such is the harsh reality of life!

Both registration forms shared the same address but on different dates.

It seemed Manager Hanna had made arrangements so that the two training and certification sessions wouldn't conflict with each other.

Counting on his fingers, Chen Fei determined he'd be away for at least two months.

Luckily, the corporate war between the Aircrew Base 911 and the Merman Brothers Consortium had ended, allowing routine flight operations to proceed as normal—there was no urgent shortage of pilots and mechanics. Even without Chen Fei, neither the flight squadron nor the maintenance unit would be paralyzed.

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