Sky-cracking Rider

"The 'Flying Disk' Rumteyn crashed, the main parachute was torn, and the backup parachute did not open in time, quickly, where is the third reserve parachute? Hurry and find a way to save yourself!" Seeing the footage returned by the drone, the host of "Abyssal Gladiatorial" was anxious for the crashing pilot, the sole survivor of the Hanuman Airborne Group. If he died due to a parachute malfunction, it would truly be a complete annihilation. The ejection seat seemed to detect the peril of rapidly losing altitude, as the rocket boosters kept pushing out the scant remaining fuel, attempting to adjust the attitude, but consecutive decelerations were still insufficient to alleviate the crisis of a high-altitude fall. Rolling and plummeting, the seat carrying Rumteyn ultimately smashed harshly onto the ground. It was a gravel beach, and amidst a small plume of dust, the person and the seat tumbled a few times before coming to a stop, motionless. Most of the viewing screens or displays were locked onto this scene, and once again all the seats were silent as a tomb. The Hanuman side was completely wiped out, no one spared, not even given a break by fate itself. "..." Group Leader of Hanuman Airborne Group, Laimen Hoffman, with eyes reddened, stared fixedly at the holographic projection displaying the battle, fell silent for a moment, then suddenly clasped his head and let out a heart-wrenching scream. "No..." He knew his air group was finished! Just an air group, not even a match for military contractors, losing four main pilots at once, almost the entirety of the Hanuman Airborne Group, was an unbearable loss, just the compensation alone was enough to drain Laimen Hoffman's life savings, everything earned over his lifetime was lost. The others in the air group exchanged glances, realizing Group Leader Laimen Hoffman was finished, it was time for them to find a new employer. Reality was harsh, no one wanted to stay in an air group that had lost all hope. As long as one had skills, there would never be a shortage of opportunities anywhere. Chances were, the calls for recruitment might come any second now. - "Sss... This guy's luck is really not good!" "Peanut Butter" Chekhov, piloting the L-22 advanced trainer aircraft, hovered reluctantly over the crash site, showing a bit of sympathy. Such a death was light as a feather, quite undignified for a pilot. "That was freaking thrilling, I want to come again next time." "Fragrant Orchid" Carlos finally felt the chill on his back, soaked with sweat, he sighed deeply, piloting the combat aircraft purely on instinct, his entire being involuntarily drifting off. He wasn't without combat experience, but piloting the unfamiliar L-22 advanced trainer aircraft against the retired main combat aircraft F-40 "Horned Eagle" was a first for him. Fortunately, no one dropped the ball this time, and they thoroughly defeated their opponent. Provoking "Genuine Fragrance" squadron, the outcome of Hanuman's Airborne Group was self-evident, killing the chicken to scare the monkeys, where the monkeys were merely cannon fodder, sufficient to deter those restless small fry in the short term. In this line of work, facing various challenges was inevitable. "Not satisfying enough!" Chen Fei was still not content, having used only half of the magic array installed on the "Canglong" advanced fighter. He hadn't even fully flaunted his capabilities when the opponent was gone; he should have lasted a bit longer! (Canglong Project Team: Little Chen, please contain your divine skills!) Hanuman Airborne Group's loss was not unjust; they simply received retired main combat aircraft and an improved version that hadn't yet debuted, and that was it. Having advanced combat aircraft in possession, whether they could master it quickly and how much efficiency they could extract from it was still questionable. Compared to control and adaptability, the F-40 series was probably not as good as the L-22 advanced trainer aircraft, particularly user-friendly for beginners. Moreover, with the sponsorship of Sovereignty active missiles and the AI "Adam" leading the data chain from National Defense Star Aerospace Company, the team's combat power was almost augmented to that of half an Early Warning Aircraft. Beyond that, there was also a wildly authoritarian "Canglong" advanced fighter jet, which was now giving the Northern Weapons Industry Group's "Canglong" project team a real headache! The aftermath of a mere shell had begun to ferment. "Snap out of it, we need to return!" "Devil Pepper" Irinei Rusios reminded the three guys still clinging to the sky, unwilling to leave. The opening battle had ended, and the hosts and audience were waiting for the second round. "Thank you! Many thanks! The 'Genuine Fragrance' team and the 'Hanuman' team brought us a thrilling opening battle. Coming up next is a commercial break. After the advertisements, we'll return to recap the opening battle and discuss some lesser-known details," The host for "Abyssal Gladiatorial" teased, waiting for the cameraman to signal to stop filming. As the screen switched to advertisements, he collapsed onto his seat like a deflated ball, muttering breathlessly, "The contestants this year are just too tough to handle." If he were still in the air force, faced with the brash young pilots who dared to collide their jets with the enemy's, he would've dared to smack them right across the face. - "Please inspect and sign for three L-22 units and one 'Canglong' shell," The female boss's assistant from Jiu Defense Company facilitated the handover with personnel from the Northern Weapons Industry Group. Only two AIM-290D long-range missiles were left, which were hauled back by National Defense Star Aerospace transport vehicles, spotlessly cleaned up end-to-end. Whether it's advanced trainer jets or the shell of "Canglong", the ownership belonged to Northern Weapons Industry, "Genuine Fragrance" squadron and Jiu Defense Company merely borrowed it temporarily, and naturally, it had to be returned. However, the L-22 advanced trainer jets were borrowed in the status of unassembled parts. Now, when returned, they were intact aircrafts. Too lazy to disassemble them, the Northern Weapons Industry stood to lose nothing and furthermore, found buyers who approached them actively, turning a neat profit from the deal. Seeing the completeness of the L-22 advanced trainer jet, the "Canglong" project team initially had some hope. However, when the "Canglong" advanced fighter jet was dragged back, a glance at the landing gear's tires clearly showed they were underloaded. Upon further inspection of the jet's engine vector nozzles, the interest quickly dissipated. The places that were supposed to be empty still were. Chen Fei, who had borrowed this large hollow shell, had not had a change of heart to fill them up completely. The "Canglong" project team couldn't gain any advantage, knowing well that Chen Fei already possessed a complete design of the "Canglong" advanced fighter jet that had just been battle-tested, but they were uncertain how to broach the subject. The "Canglong" project team had entertained the idea of recruiting the Metal Elemental Psychic Power user Chen Fei before, but considering his social connections and close ties with their competitive rival, National Defense Star Aerospace Company, it was unsurprisingly vetoed by the higher-ups, making the relationship with Chen Fei extremely awkward, to the point where even holding a conversation seemed fraught, let alone coveting his mature design plans, which if acquired, would have saved considerable effort—not just in terms of time, manpower, and resources, but also significantly enhancing "Canglong's" competitive edge. As soon as the opening battle of "Abyssal Gladiatorial" ended, the traffic at the Northern Weapons Industry Group's booth surged immediately. Even the booth for the "Canglong" advanced fighter jet, which was displayed without even a physical shell, was immediately surrounded tightly by representative delegations from over ten sovereign entities, making it inaccessible. Chen Xiao'er was indeed jubilant, but the members of the "Canglong" project team were miserable. Each member was at a loss for words, utterly unable to convince the potential clients that the theoretical design specifications of the "Canglong" advanced fighter jet were not as exaggerated as they appeared in the combat just witnessed. Hypersonic cruising, triple afterburners, full Magic Array protection... these simply did not exist! Are you sure this is the support fighter jet, not a national treasure artifact, Crystal Jet? Or perhaps you want to purchase a mass-produced Crystal Jet for the price of a support fighter? You must be dreaming! While the "Canglong" project team was grappling with the returned "Canglong" advanced fighter jet shell that had come back unchanged, the victorious "Genuine Fragrance" squadron was celebrating at a bar. Having just beheaded a chicken, no monkey dared approach, and they drank openly, unconcerned about causing trouble. After a few bottles of strong liquor, Chekhov, forgetting his own full name again, leapt up and returned to his staple performance, the bear dance! Howling loudly, the atmosphere was incredibly lively. In the bar, many people clinked glasses with members of the "Genuine Fragrance" team, offering their congratulations. There were manufacturers, sovereign representatives, and even friendly competitors. After all, Jiu Defense Company had some friends in the industry, despite not having a particularly good reputation. Thus, they were not entirely against the world.