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It was fifteen minutes before 9:30 a.m., and the meeting held at Aircrew Base 912 was set in a huge tent.
The organizer was Merman Brothers Consortium, but the attendees were not limited to representatives from Aircrew Base 911. There were also representatives from over a dozen other aircrew bases. The total number of people, including those bases not under the Merman Brothers aegis, was about forty.
In addition, there were representatives from the Blue Star Global United Defense Committee, the de facto hosts of the meeting. Without them, Hanna Gagel would have risked her sanity to come here and endangered her life. Even with Chen Fei, the Metal Ability User, she wouldn't dare to assume she would come out of this unscathed.
Representatives from seventeen aircrew bases formed four or five small groups, huddling in twos and threes, chatting animatedly. Some were nodding, others frowning, some couldn't stop laughing, some appeared smug, and some wore a look of worry, presenting a microcosm of society.
Yet the area around Hanna Gagel and Chen Fei was quiet and calm, with not a single person approaching to greet them.
Even those not affiliated with the Merman Brothers Consortium and other military base representatives kept their distance. They occasionally cast cryptic glances, filled with a mixture of sympathy, mockery, or schadenfreude, creating an atmosphere heavy with social reality in the vast tent.
Apart from Aircrew Base 911, which was nominally still under its wing, Apocalypse Defense Group had almost lost all its aircrew bases and was currently in a state of downsizing with expenditures but no income. Internal strife for power was ongoing and showed no sign of stabilizing anytime soon.
Therefore, they did not bother to send any representatives this time, aside from those from Aircrew Base 911.
To be accurate, the inexperienced Chen Fei couldn't be considered a delegate but rather an accompanying person. He was there to bolster the morale of the female executive manager, and as a supernatural power user, he added some weight to the proceedings.
Whether Apocalypse Defense Group sent representatives or not made little difference. The executive manager was working with several shareholders and directors to promote the independence of Aircrew Base 911, already beginning to untangle the financial entanglements between the base and the group.
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Despite the hustle inside the tent, Chen Fei felt completely out of place and uncomfortable. He murmured quietly to himself, "I don't like it here!"
"Me neither!"
The female executive manager also felt uncomfortable. She sensed the alienation and even overt hostility from those around her.
With no power comes no rights. If Apocalypse Defense Group had been capable of standing up against Merman Brothers Consortium, Aircrew Base 911 wouldn't have been in such a passive situation. Tactical victories on a small scale could not cover up the grand strategic failure on a larger one.
At least five aircrew bases had lost their entire air combat capabilities to Aircrew Base 911. "Genuine Fragrance" Combat Flight Squadron suffered heavy casualties but also established a formidable reputation. They were arguably the toughest fighters in thousands of miles.
Even the powerful and resourceful Merman Brothers Consortium found this vexing. Not fighting was not an option—it would mean admitting defeat and losing face—yet, they had already invested so much without return, which was as good as throwing money to the wind.
Though military contractors like them had planes, cannons, and armored vehicles at their disposal, resembling petty warlords, they were still inherently business entities. A small loss in business might be acceptable, but a huge loss was unbearable. The daily consumption of resources and equipment, tallied up, could lead to bankruptcy.
Just then, a disturbance arose outside the tent.
"Colonel Everson, you can't go in there!"
"Stop him!"
"Step aside if you don't want to get hurt!"
Two gunshots rang out in succession.
The entrance of the tent darkened as a burly man, escorted by several armed guards, burst in.
The whole venue fell silent for a moment, all eyes turning toward the commotion, rendering the space deathly quiet.
A man of letters is no match for soldiers; with guns in hand, logic doesn't matter.
The burly middle-aged man surveyed the crowd with a sharp, aggressive look, then quickly identified his targets, pulled a pistol from his waist, chambered a round with a click, and made a beeline for Chen Fei and Manager Hanna Gagel.
Chen Fei looked around; the closest person was at least ten meters away. When it came to a fistfight—snap!
The burly man's face twisted in anger, his gun hand trembling slightly.
Seeing his own son kicked half to death, the father was naturally furious. Screw whatever damn meeting this was—just go to hell!
"William, calm down. Don't mess up the big picture."
A man walked into the tent, his tone commanding respect without anger.
Colonel William Everson, with the gun pointed at Chen Fei, trembled through his body and involuntarily lowered the gun, holstered it, and snapped into a crisp salute.
"Mr. Todd!"
The person who had just spoken was Todd Phillip, one of the eleven deputy generals of the Merman Brothers Consortium.
He dared not disregard the words of such a significant figure.
All the while, Chen Fei, who had remained expressionless, now asked curiously, "Uh, may I ask, Mr. William, what do you do?"
He had thought the youngster would need to be in bed for only half a month, not half a year. That seemed overly frail.
The executive manager behind him tugged at his sleeve—a bad premonition. Why ask such a foolish question at this time?
Colonel William Everson, a burly figure, suddenly turned his head and glared at Chen Fei, pointing his finger at him and viciously said, "Kid, remember this: I'm the Operations Director of the Merman Brothers Consortium, William Everson. You've injured my son, and you're in big trouble, serious trouble!"
The Operations Director of the Merman Brothers Consortium?
Hanna Gagel couldn't help but take a sharp breath. This meant that the main military force of the huge Merman Brothers Consortium was under his control.
The attack faced by the Aircrew Base fell within the jurisdiction of this Operations Director—it could very well be that Colonel William Everson was personally directing and executing these actions.
If they'd known about the youngster's significant background, they should have warned Chen Fei not to kick too hard—they'd need to give a beating, yes, but not one that would provoke the parents.
After all, when you beat a dog, you must look at its owner, let alone when you're kicking someone's child.
Now they had seriously offended someone.
"So..."
Chen Fei's expression changed and abruptly pulled out the pistol from the man's waistband, quickly pushed it into his hand, pressed down on the barrel, and steered the muzzle toward his own heart. Then he sneered.
"So who the hell are you trying to scare? If you have the guts, just shoot here, press the trigger! Coward! Don't be like your pathetic son, only whimpering away. Are you a spineless fake, old man?"
The entire venue fell dead silent, even Todd Phillip, deputy director of the Merman Brothers Consortium who had just entered, was stunned!
This was tantamount to not valuing one's life!
"You, you bastard!"
Colonel William Everson gritted his teeth, his face turning beet red.
But he never actually seemed intent on pulling the trigger. Instead, he tried to retract the gun, but Chen Fei wouldn't allow it, and the two stiffly locked in a standoff.
He flicked the safety off and pushed at the trigger.
Bang!~
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