NOVPUBWithin the two large transport airships that had just landed smoothly, emotions were churning and slogans echoed one after another. Even those who wanted to remain calm and rational found their blood boiling with excitement.
"Those who want to leave, settle your bills and go."
If these mercenaries wanted to rush to their deaths, so be it. Chen Fei, with a heart as hard as iron, wouldn't indulge them. He immediately notified the "Sunset Guild" to settle the accounts and distribute the money. Everyone would go back to their own homes and find their own mothers. He would not stop anyone.
Although the public communication system was being interfered with, the dedicated financial communication system had not been affected. After all, the financial channel was a double-edged sword. Any carelessness could easily end up injuring oneself.
Chen Fei never intended to pick sides in the ongoing conflict; he just wanted to sit on the sidelines, eat melons, and watch the turmoil. He would see the conclusion of the battle naturally unfold, and whoever won or lost was none of his concern.
Neither the Slan Dynasty's rebellion-suppressing army nor the Tessa Empire's Restoration Army had any reason to attack Chen Fei, the Blue Star bystander.
After all, he was still a citizen of the First Sovereignty of Blue Star. If someone beat up Chen Xiao'er, the First Sovereignty would see it as an excuse to intervene—there's my advantage! They would rush over, ready to fight, not stopping until they had torn off a large chunk.
Did you really think the 9.6 million square kilometers of sovereign territory were all gained through "peace and love"?
Do you believe in love (nuclear, peaceful, uranium love)? I'm afraid anyone would fall out of love immediately!
At this moment, Chen Fei didn't want to fight anyone, but he also didn't want to be targeted by anyone.
The few hundred mercenaries who had received their transfers surged out of the large transport airships, howling all the way as they flooded towards Sun Domain City, preparing to join this poignant and epic war that would be recorded in history.
Several "Sky Falcons" sped past, numerous little black dots falling from the sky.
Boom, boom, boom, boom... It was like textbook carpet bombing.
The spirited mercenaries were instantly reduced by half. The scene of scattered limbs and severed arms where the smoke had not yet cleared was too horrific to look at.
The six reconnaissance drones maintaining a perimeter captured images from various angles, which alternated on the display, causing Chen Fei to scratch his head in wonder.
This was the real difference between amateur and professional players—the former thought they were up to the mark, but reality swiftly hit them on the head, showing them they were not!
Individual bravery often obscured certain truths.
This was complete suppression by military equipment. The mercenaries didn't understand, but the Blue Star's peers, the military contractors, knew it all too well.
The "Sky Falcons," having emptied their ammunition, showed no further interest in even glancing at the strike site and returned home without looking back, leaving behind nothing but moans and groans.
The surviving mercenaries finally came to their senses. Not only was their fighting spirit gone, but they also felt as if they had been doused with a huge bucket of ice water from head to toe, shivering uncontrollably from the chill that emanated from within, gripped by boundless fear.
"Ah! Ah! What's happening!"
Baron, the captain of "yellow sparrow" squad, cried out several times in fright. From the bridge, he had numbingly witnessed hundreds of mercenaries engulfed by the dense carpet bombing.
"Who's behind this?"
Lulisa, a female member of "yellow sparrow" squad, turned her head to look at Chen Fei, who sat unmoved.
In her eyes, he had done nothing, as if turning a blind eye to it all.
In reality, through a visual interface and AR Visual Assistance established by the artificial intelligence AI "Adam," Chen Fei saw much more, and it was precisely because of this that he dared not act rashly. n𝚘𝚟𝚙𝚞𝚋.𝚌o𝚖
"It doesn't matter who did it. What matters is not to rush to your death at this critical moment. If you die, it will be for nothing."
Chen Fei wasn't interested in finding out who had dropped the bombs because it was meaningless. Whichever side it was, they were not forces that these mercenaries could afford to provoke.
Picking a fight and getting beaten is entirely different from being beaten unprovoked and innocently. The Blue Star Sovereignties would rather see the latter scenario unfold, which would allow them to roll up their sleeves and legally enter the fray. If it was the former case, they could just pull Chen Xiao'er out of trouble and spank him themselves; after all, only they could beat their own citizens, others couldn't—that's just how it is.
(Sometimes the First Sovereignty of Blue Star would bring back other people's citizens for execution.)
"Those guys are coming back!"
"Eh? What are they saying?"
The other mercenaries of the "yellow sparrow" squad pointed to the ground, where some of the mercenaries who had already left the transport airship parted to assist the wounded. Many more turned around and headed towards the flagship, waving their hands frantically, as if shouting something.
At that moment, Chen Fei received a prompt for a call connection request.
"Is there something you need, Commander Knob?"
The caller was the commander of the "Nine-eyed Beast" Mercenary Corps, which had been independently responsible for the Second Squadron. They were strong and numerous, ranking among the most powerful in the mercenary corps recruited by Chen Fei.
Commander Knob of the "Nine-eyed Beast" Mercenary Corps said bluntly, "I'd like to borrow your airship, name your price!"
In that recent bombardment, the "Nine-eyed Beast" Mercenary Corps had lost at least forty or fifty brothers.
Chen Fei did not answer whether he would lend it or not, but instead asked, "Do you want to trigger a war between Blue Star and Cangqiong Star?"
My airship is not for this purpose. Let's be frank, do you really not have a clue in your heart?
Such a blatant request to borrow an airship was truly treating Chen Fei as a fool.
This was completely different from defending the Dimensional Gate Management Substation in the Suburbs of Nandu City during a skirmish with the "Undying Pigeon" Rebel Army.
Rushing into the battle now, no one would stand by Chen Fei.
"Ah, this..."
Commander Knob had only been thinking about avenging his brothers and had forgotten about Chen Fei's background.
The ferocious airship was right before their eyes, yet it was out of reach for borrowing.
Chen Fei's rhetorical question wasn't alarmist, but rather a scenario that was quite possible.
"So, airships and girlfriends are not for lending!"
Without waiting for a reply, Chen Fei swiftly shut down this avenue.
"Can't you lend a hand? We'll remember your favor, and from now on, we 'Nine-eyed Beasts' will take care of all your commissions, bringing our own rations and helping for free."
Commander Knob persisted in his last-ditch effort.
At his side, the leaders of several other mercenary corps perked up their ears to listen to the conversation between the two.
Borrowing the airship wasn't just Knob's idea but a common wish among several mercenary corps leaders.
"No way! I pay, you work, that's only natural, so let's not talk about anything else."
Bullshit favors, Chen Fei had no doubt that if he were to draw fire unto himself, these guys wouldn't give him a second look. Not to kick a man when he's down or take advantage of the situation would already be something to be thankful for; people forget you as soon as you're gone, and that's the harsh reality of life.
Having said this, he didn't hesitate to hang up the call. Hesitation leads to chaos, otherwise, the other party would persistently continue, trying to fool him like an idiot.
"He hung up, I told you this guy wouldn't be easy to fool."
Upon hearing the urgent beep from the phone, the chagrined Commander Knob of the "Nine-eyed Beasts" mercenary corps turned towards the other leaders.
It was unthinkable for anyone to easily agree to lend an airship for battle.
"What are we supposed to do then? Did my brothers die for nothing?" the leader of the "Malicious Code" mercenary corps said in anguish.
Blood, not just his but others', was still dripping from his body.
The "Malicious Code" mercenary corps had almost been wiped out in the recent barrage, and the few survivors, injured cats, were still in critical condition, uncertain of making it through the danger.
"Did the brothers who just died do so in vain? Our friends and families are still in Sun Domain City's life-and-death uncertainty, we can't do nothing!" the leader of the "Blood-eyed Hound" mercenary corps cried out loudly.
"Right, we can't just do nothing!"
"Desperate times call for desperate measures, let's get to it!"
"That Chen isn't one of us Cangqiong Star people, he only knows how to talk nonsense, damn him!"
"Seize the airship, if he doesn't give it to us, kill him, he's just one person."
More and more voices rose, blood boiled, and emotions surged, momentarily forgetting the shock and fear of the carpet bombing they had just witnessed.
"Hey, boss, you should have agreed to Commander Knob's request!"
Lulisa, a member of the "Yellow Sparrow" team, had just eavesdropped on Chen Fei's conversation with the commander of the "Nine-eyed Beasts" mercenary corps.
"And why is that?"
Chen Fei looked at her with pity.
Such a naive one, no wonder she could only hang around outside hotel room doors, making passes at people, and almost got her head blown off by Xiao Jiu's laser beam.
"Shut up!"
Baron, the captain of the "Yellow Sparrow" team, was more understanding. He could clearly hear the stupid question his teammate asked and the unusual tone in their employer's voice.
However, as if she hadn't heard the captain's order, Lulisa continued to insist, "You could earn the friendship of the mercenaries!"
"Friendship among mercenaries? Isn't it all about money?"
Chen Fei was directly amused by this naive girl's foolishness, his laughter growing colder and colder.
"Lulisa, get out! Benny, Mirage, take her out!" Captain Baron hurriedly signaled the other two teammates with his eyes.
"Eh? Eh, eh, eh? Why are you kicking me out?"
The two mercenaries, one on each side, escorted Lulisa out of the bridge, flawlessly executing the captain's orders.
"I'm really sorry, Lulisa is too immature," Baron immediately apologized to Chen Fei.
If he didn't make amends now, the "Yellow Sparrow" team might lose their employment this time.
There weren't many big deals going on every day, not to mention a team like Wind, yet they could still get Star Yuan—it was like a pie falling from sky, and you'd have to be out of your mind to push it away.
"Hmm!"
Chen Fei gave a noncommittal nod without much response.
While the teammate might be clueless, the captain seemed to have some discernment.
He turned his attention back to the visual interface in front of him and began issuing new orders.
"'Adam,' expel all the mercenaries from the transport airship."
