Sky-cracking Rider

The Africa Continent and Desert Peninsula are actually not too far apart, almost within sight across the sea, so the sudden transfer order did not surprise anyone, or rather, everyone was mentally prepared.

Flying over the not-so-wide but exceptionally busy Red Sea, the yellow-brown arid land soon turns into a boundless expanse of dunes, giving one an illusion of returning to the Africa Continent.

But today's Desert Peninsula is no longer a complete desert.

The massive desalination projects along the coastline have created many sedimentation ponds, sending desalinated water suitable for irrigation into the interior through specialized pipelines, establishing many green-themed planting zones.

Sometimes, high-ranking Mages are hired to summon wind and rain, creating artificial rainfall as an important supplement to desalinated water.

"There are so many 'Oil Aloe Vera' planting blocks!"

Yan Ling, seemingly full, held a cup of strong tea, digesting and observing the scenery on the ground, which featured more than just an endless sea of dunes.

As an Ability User of the sovereign strategic force level, there are rarely opportunities to leave the homeland.

This participation in the Global United Defense Committee's actions was to a large extent about relaxing rather than carrying out a mission.

If a situation requiring an S-Class Special Ability user appears, it would inevitably be a major event, and the price to pay will be extraordinary.

Oases with distinct edges are distributed in the desert, arranged in neat rows, always in areas reached by desalinated water pipelines. The open channels reflect a glimmering light visible to the naked eye, with nearby sparse vegetation and grass squares, and further away, dunes with varying heights.

Greenery is gradually changing the desert environment, bringing new life to it.

The Blue Star's First Sovereign has already successfully eradicated most of its domestic deserts, leaving only small patches as protected geographical samples. Other sovereignties that want to control the desertification and land desertification only need to copy them.

If any sovereignty cannot even copy the homework, or is unwilling to, there is really no solution.

The past "Oil Tycoons" have now become "Fuel Guys," shifting the focus of the petroleum extraction industry to the planting industry of oil plants, "Oil Aloe Vera." With a bit of technical transformation, the refining industry can continue to operate.

The "Fuel Guys" still control a significant portion of the planet's fuel oil supply, and the Desert Peninsula remains an important global fuel oil production area, only now the resource has moved from underground to the surface.

Compared to the subterranean oil layers that might be depleted at any time, the sustainable income brought by the endlessly producing "Oil Aloe Vera" better serves the long-term interests of the Desert Peninsula sovereignties.

Although the "Fuel Guys" like to spend money lavishly, they are shrewd enough not to be foolish. Twenty years of consistent investment has now finally paid off immensely.

In the entire planting zone of the Desert Peninsula, aside from the grain crops, the specialized oil plants, "Oil Aloe Vera," mainly comprise two types: Golden Aloe Vera with yellow-edged leaves for extracting light fuel oil, which has slender leaves and grows up to five meters when mature, and Moonlight Aloe Vera with silver-edged leaves for heavy fuel oil extraction, which has broad leaves and reaches up to two meters in height when mature.

The leaves, flowers, fruits, stems, and roots of both types of "Oil Aloe Vera" can be used to extract fuel oil, though with varying yields. The overall fuel oil yield per plant is very high, and though it cannot compete with the non-stop spouting of self-spraying oil wells, the per-acre annual output is still considerable. With proper cultivation, it can continue year after year without end.

"It is estimated that in 50 years, the desert will disappear from the peninsula, and continuous planting zones will be visible."

Miyoshi Xuesen, not only sharp and astute, has a comprehensive understanding of the world's human geography and the current situation of the peninsula, effortlessly explaining it.

The Desert Peninsula lacks neither arable land nor sunlight, and now with ample desalinated water supply, the "Fuel Guys" are determined to plant "Oil Aloe Vera" on every inch of sand, making the once rare desert landscape a thing of the past.

"We'll arrive in half an hour!"

Chen Fei glanced at the flight path trajectory of the airship fleet, with the planned route aligning accurately as the dotted line transformed into a solid one. The ultimate destination pointed straight to the location of the "Wormhole Cloud," near the coastline of the Persian Gulf.

The planting zone there had already seen its "Oil Aloe Vera" planting base suffer from calamities. The virtually unarmed planting zones are often less capable of defending against external natural disasters compared to economic, industrial, and other specialized functional zones.

A few monsters managed to get past the sand dunes into the planting zones, causing great havoc.

"Rookie, coordinate ****** asks for rescue, about 17 monsters in total, can you handle it?"

The communication officer from the command center sent the directive.

The "Oil Aloe Vera" farmers were crying to the heavens, as their soon-to-be-harvested crops were being devoured and destroyed by the sudden monsters, turning their hard-earned rewards into nothing.

"I need airspace clearance, not just for combat aircraft but also for reconnaissance drones, expanding the free-flight radius to 500 kilometers."

Chen Fei prepared the combat units while talking to the command center.

Thankfully, the sovereigns of the Desert Peninsula were not like those laissez-faire sovereignties in the Africa Continent. Even as a guest, some respect must be given to the hosts.

The Desert Peninsula holds the pricing power for fuel oil and has many dealings with the First Sovereign, so some faces must be saved.

"Contacting, please wait a moment..."

The communication officer responded two minutes later.

"Application approved, a free-flight radius of 500 kilometers, regardless of the type of aircraft."

Since combat aircraft will be dispatched, the type of aircraft doesn't matter.

"Reconnaissance drone squad, number 6, take off."

"Four tactical jets, one tactical bomber, prepare for loading!"

"One small landing craft, 50 combat mechs, prepare for takeoff."

Chen Fei's hands tapped in front of him, although others only saw empty space. Only he could see the operation interface automatically generated by the Artificial Intelligence AI "Adam," both convenient and confidential.

Each confirmed command brought up an execution process, including the operational progress of the combat units and ammunition, continuously updating. Every step became very intuitive.

Weaponless and lightly equipped, the reconnaissance drones took off first, their propeller hum quickly fading into the distance. Data was synchronously transmitted back, and various reconnaissance modules scanned the sky and ground, constructing a real-time war map model.

"Targets found, 19 in total, 11 flying species, 8 land-based species, encounter over, one pilot ejected, allied aircraft remaining: 6, confirmed downed: 6."

Although the optics module of the reconnaissance drones couldn't capture clear images due to distance, the radar system successfully locked onto the targets. The sovereignty of the Desert Peninsula did not wait for the Blue Star Global United Defense Committee's support, actively striving to fend off the monsters.

However, no matter how hard they try, rookies are rookies, and there's no rationale beyond that.

Born in a comfort zone, two hours of work daily is considered tough. Emmmm... at least better than those black uncles who lounge around after eating their fill every day.

The tactical jets carrying missiles roared out from the starboard and port take-off channels of the No. 2 flagship, their tails flashing blue. Despite their high imitation of Crystal Jets looking intimidating, their actual combat power was modest, only about thirty percent of Chen Xiao'er's level.

If Artificial Intelligence AI "Adam" controlling these drones weren't a combat aircraft AI with advantages in this area, their effective power would be at most ten percent, and that's optimistic.

A minute later, the tactical bomber, four times larger than the tactical jets, took off fully loaded.

Tactical bombers do not need to be fast—just responsible for holding the line and clearing the battlefield. Once the tactical jets eliminate the flying monsters, the tactical bomber's showtime begins, sweeping the land with its shockwaves.

"Adam, enlarge the 'Wormhole Cloud' image eightfold, including both AR and real projection."

Chen Fei, sitting on the bridge, didn't need to engage in combat personally, only use his hands and mouth, familiarizing himself with the tactical characteristics of the airship battle group.

Reading from books is shallow; you must practice it yourself to understand deeply.

To master the airship battle group, relying solely on personal bravery for fighting and killing isn't enough. Therefore, he had to learn since the losses incurred by the combat units could be restored via reserve materials and energy points—the tuition fee was affordable.

The video feed of the 'Wormhole Cloud' over the Desert Peninsula immediately enlarged, revealing more details.

Missiles and rockets from afar were continuously pouring down on the 'Wormhole Cloud' below, reducing the number of monsters. The dozen monsters attacking the planting zone were likely those that slipped through the cracks. A few mutants also roamed the desert and those who made it out had extraordinary luck.