"My uncle is dead!"
The female executive manager burst into howling sobs without warning.
Her only uncle had risked great danger to come to the 911 Aircrew Base. On his way back, he was attacked by an anti-aircraft missile. One of the two medium transport aircraft was shot down—it was the one McAllen Gager was on.
It wasn't until two days later that McAllen Gager's body was found, with the scene marked by a destroyed aircraft and the loss of life.
Those who had been sent home to fend for themselves by the Aircrew Base, who had boarded the same transport, also didn't escape from this disaster. They died without a trace. Since they were forcefully released from their contracts, they were no longer employees of the Apocalypse Defense Group and therefore, didn't get a penny of the wartime compensation.
Without a doubt, the culprit was the Merman Brothers Consortium, which had started a corporate war with the Apocalypse Defense Group; perhaps the military contractors of the 909 Aircrew Base were involved as well.
Hanna Gagel managed to suppress her tears and sorrow, putting on a facade of calmness and composure until the end of the workday, despite the news of her loved one's loss.
As soon as she was out of everyone's sight, she grabbed a bottle of alcohol and started looking for Chen Fei everywhere.
The Rookie is just a trash can, where you can dump any kind of negative emotion. Once sober, everyone would take their separate sunny paths and plank bridges, forgetting each other in Jianghu.
At least that's what Hanna Gagel thought.
As for Chen Fei, one of the parties concerned, he was completely clueless and couldn't fathom what the female executive manager was thinking.
Chen Fei tentatively asked, "The person who came that day?"
At that time, he was in Hangar No. 1 receiving one-on-one training from Xiao Ming, the chief mechanic, so he never saw Hanna Gagel's uncle McAllen Gager and only heard about him later.
"Wuuwuuwuu..."
The female executive manager didn't explain and cried earth-shatteringly.
Blowing her nose and wiping her tears all over Chen Fei's body.
Chen Fei: ...
I just took a bath!
I just changed my clothes!
I really want to press this one-eyed old lady on the ground and beat her!
But... I can't beat her, I can't beat her!
This old lady is as annoying as the Chekhov Big Bear.
After a long bout of crying, Hanna Gagel managed to stifle her sobs. She didn't dare to show her tears and weakness in front of others.
For some reason, she felt more at ease with Chen Fei.
Maybe it was because this young man was also a user of supernatural powers.
"Now I'm the only one left in the Gager family. If you dare tell anyone, I'll kill you!"
The female executive manager just raised her hand when she saw Chen Fei's expression change drastically, and he quickly waved his hands.
"No, no, no, there's so little left of what Old Master Barut planted; please don't bring more disaster upon it."
A Wind Blade attack the last time had already destroyed half of it, and this time it looked set for complete annihilation.
After the 911 Aircrew Base had restored basic regular electricity supply, Chen Fei was allocated a personal power quota of one kilowatt. He transferred all of it to the shed, lighting up seven or eight halogen bulbs and, with a kerosene heater, barely restored some light and warmth to the shed, giving the surviving plants a glimmer of hope for life.
If Manager Hanna were to unleash a Wind Blade now, all of Chen Fei's hard work would have been in vain.
Fortunately, the female executive manager retained a hint of reason and did not allow Old Master Barut's efforts to be completely wiped out.
If not for her, he would have had much more trouble just trying to let his family know he was safe.
Old Master Chen Hai took a deep breath and asked, "Xiao Fei, the place you work is called the Aircrew Base, right?"
"Dad, relax, I'm safe here, haven't been injured."
Chen Fei immediately guessed that his family must have been informed by now.
It seems the corporate war between the Merman Brothers Consortium and the Apocalypse Defense Group had alarmed many and even made the news.
Old Master Chen Hai's voice became stern, "If possible, resign as soon as you can and come back early. Bullets don't have eyes on the battlefield; we can bite the bullet and pay off the debt. Your life is not worth the risk."
Better to be a peaceful dog than a person in chaotic times.
He didn't want to see his son, Second Brother, in danger. Paying off debts was one thing, risking his life was another.
"Yeah, Xiao Fei, come back soon!"
Mom Yu Xiaoyi was also extremely worried.
Chen Meng, with a crying tone, called out, "Brother, hurry back!"
Some time ago, she had seen a news video about two private military contractors getting into a dispute, one of which was the Apocalypse Defense Group that Second Brother worked for.
The footage from the news broadcast showed a besieged Aircrew Base ablaze with flames, reduced to ruins, which left the family on edge. They immediately took out their phones to call Chen Fei, but they couldn't contact him no matter what they tried.
At that moment, their hearts jumped; Chen Fei was unreachable, and no one knew what was actually happening. Corporate wars were no joke; both sides were ruthless as if it were a small-scale war. With no regard for lives, it wouldn't be surprising if something unfortunate had happened.
The family urgently tried multiple ways to make contact with the Apocalypse Defense Group, desperate to confirm Chen Fei's safety.
However, the Apocalypse Defense Group was currently being aggressively suppressed by the Merman Brothers Consortium through all kinds of tactics, struggling internally and externally amidst chaos, and hardly had the resources to respond to the Chen Family's inquiries, only offering vague responses.
The family was helpless and anxious while waiting until Chen Fei's call finally came through again.
"Dad, Mom, Xiao Meng, don't worry about the debt; I will be able to pay it off soon."
Chen Fei glanced at the bird's nest on the bedside table, inside which the Earth Order Third Rank Light-element Magical Beast Crystal Core emitted a glow that completely replaced the need for a lamp.
This Crystal Core, worth tens of millions of Star Yuan, was his biggest asset in paying off all the debts, but for Chen Fei, it was still far from enough.
Even if he didn't have to worry about the enormous debts anymore, he was thinking about earning as much as possible to improve the difficult economic situation at home.
After all, it was a rare opportunity; working at the Aircrew Base really paid well—no doubt the lending company that recommended Chen Fei to this job had thought the same.
Old Master Chen Hai was adamant, "No, it's too dangerous; find a way to come back as soon as you can. You can work another job to pay off the debt."
He couldn't stand by and watch his Second Brother put himself in danger.
"Dad, the Aircrew Base is sealed off; I can't leave at all. I'm actually safer staying here."
Chen Fei immediately used the incident of Manager Hanna's uncle, whose transport plane was shot down on the way back, as a shield.
It wasn't that he didn't want to leave; it was that he couldn't.
However, the actual situation of the Aircrew Base was even worse.
It wasn't just secretly sealed off by the Merman Brothers Consortium; it was even abandoned by the higher-ups of the Apocalypse Defense Consortium.
If not for Manager Hanna's uncle, McAllen Gagar, who risked bringing a shipment of supplies, manpower, and a small transport plane, the Aircrew Base would have received no help at all.
Now the entire base, ambushed on all sides, had reached a state where neither heaven nor earth could respond, fighting a desperate and isolated battle.
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