Sky-cracking Rider

Chen Fei stretched out his hand to brush aside the rubble at Blake's feet, revealing the cylindrical body of the landmine.

System: Ding! NM-32 Anti-Infantry Bounding Mine detected, would you like to absorb: Yes/No｜?

This damn system could even be used as a detector, able to identify even the model of a mine. There were definitely many things he didn't know about it.

Absorb?

Of course, it was not feasible. If Chen Fei dared to absorb it, the mine would dare to explode on the spot, smearing his face with smoke and shrapnel.

So... shape manipulation!

The metal components inside the mine underwent deformation, the fuze and trigger spring were disabled, and some components were locked, unable to detonate anymore.

"All right! You can lift your foot now."

Chen Fei straightened up and signaled to the unfortunate black team leader who had stepped on the mine.

"Really?" Blake's legs were shaking a bit. It was only a matter of time before he would get his shoes wet by the river, and he might not be as lucky next time.

"Of course!"

Chen Fei had to make the others believe in his skills.

When it came to (stepping on) mines, he was a professional. No one could outdo him, and his experience was quite rich.

That was a no-brainer. Most people only get one chance to step on a mine. Even if they survived the first time, they definitely wouldn't survive the second—unlike Chen Fei, who could step on a mine repeatedly and still come out like nothing had happened. Well, apart from feeling a bit, uh, nutcracking.

Finally, Blake carefully lifted his foot. The pressure device did not pop up, and with that realization, his spirits lifted—there was hope!

His form blurred, as if he could merge into the nearby darkness at any moment, silently drifting several meters away before becoming clear again.

Blake wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. No matter how calm and collected one was, it was almost inevitable to be a little discomposed after such a close shave with death.

"It's safe now!"

"Thank goodness!"

"Chen Fei, you're amazing!"

Seeing Chen Fei defuse the captain's crisis, the others finally managed a smile, collectively heaving a sigh of relief. They were indeed worthy of being Metal Ability Users.

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Everyone from the 911 Aircrew was exceptional.

The proud executive manager was beaming with a sense of pride, ready to reward the young man with a bottle of fine wine later.

"NM-32 Anti-Infantry Bounding Mine!"

Chen Fei dug up the cylindrical object buried under the rubble and tossed it up and down in his hand.

The joyous expressions of the crowd instantly stiffened, their hearts leaping with each of Chen Fei's movements—fearfully exhilarating.

Such toying around; let it not explode.

A landmine that weighed at least five pounds; if it went off, there would be no escape within a ten-meter radius.

Behind the name anti-infantry, there probably should be an addition—this was a squad-killing landmine. One man triggers it, and the whole squad is done for. If luck was against them, half a platoon could be wiped out. If a vehicle were to be struck by such an explosion, that would be quite disastrous. Such a vicious device might be a versatile tactical landmine.

Captain Blake collected his emotions and said, "We may encounter more mines ahead. We need to be careful."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a buzzing sound was heard. The deep-penetrating quadrotor drone, "Cave Dragonfly," finally returned, but its flight attitude was a bit off, rocking and sparking with electric arcs.

"The drone's state is off!"

Electronics expert Cecilia Danbers noticed the anomaly immediately.

"Wait a moment!"

Executive Manager Hanna Gagar stretched out her hand, making a grabbing motion towards the approaching drone. Her Wind-type Psionic Ability activated at once.

The unsteady "Cave Dragonfly" immediately hovered two meters away, and mysteriously, several oval-shaped black spots appeared on the white surface of its body.

Seeing the horizontal stripes on the black spots, Hanna Gagar blurted out.

"Rhino Cockroach!"

The Rhino Cockroach wasn't native to the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area, let alone underground. If it appeared here, then it had to be the Rhino Cockroach AA-01 associated with Mutant BC-2325. In the Blue Star Global Defense Committee's database of disastrous life forms, Rhino Cockroach AA-01 was the first and only identified variety of its kind.

So there was no mistake!

This creature's bite was incredibly strong, able to chew through materials with a Mohs hardness of 9, let alone the plastic casing and wires of a drone.

If such a thing were to bite a human... Just the thought was enough to make one shiver involuntarily.

In fact, even the bread insects used as live food for the Little Bird could bite, let alone cockroaches.

"Peel off!"

Hanna Gagar pointed her finger, and high-speed air currents wrapped around the "Cave Dragonfly's" body and limbs, blowing off the rhinoceros cockroaches and spinning them rapidly within a small tornado of airflow.

The plump Earth Mage, Andy Brian, spoke in a ghostly tone, "Discovering one roach often means there could be a nest."

Rhino Cockroach is a roach, naturally sharing the same habits, particularly their omnivorous diet and gregarious nature.

A thought flickered in Hanna Gagel's mind as the spinning Rhino Cockroaches were torn to shreds by a Wind Blade in the next second.

The "Cave Dragonfly" drone was simultaneously released from its restraints and returned to the female electronics expert, Cecilia Danbers.

The snow-white exterior of the machine was chewed away with several large and small gaps, the largest the size of a broad bean, and one of the wires on an axis was severed, crackling with tiny sparks while a burnt odor permeated the air.

If it weren't for the other three axes struggling to keep it balanced, this quadcopter might have already fallen from the sky on its way back.

Team leader Blake looked at the woeful state of the "Cave Dragonfly," and asked, "Can it be fixed?"

The female electronics expert immediately unplugged the battery, nodded, and said, "Yes! I have the parts, and there's a spare drone."

The all-metal tactical equipment box, large enough to serve as a coffin, could carry a lot of things, naturally including a second "Cave Dragonfly." Venturing into the unknown cave, it was necessary to prepare a sufficient redundancy in advance.

Rustling... rustling... rustling...

A series of subtle sounds came from the depths of the cave.

"There's something ahead!"

Chen Fei, clutching the NM-32 pine-patterned anti-infantry bounding landmine, looked towards the darkness.

The sudden rustling sound grew closer and louder.

"Uh, that thing, I think we'd better retreat."

Being too quiet for too long in the cave, the emergence of other sounds gave Sahar Ignatius, the Wind Elemental Great Swordsman at the rear of the team with the number 77, a very bad premonition.

He vaguely guessed what it was, and the likelihood was high.

"Xiao Jiu, throw another Illumination Technique up front!"

Chen Fei signaled to the little bird frolicking upside down in the cave ceiling, pointing in the direction of the strange noises.

It was impossible to keep the lively little creature quietly on his shoulder or in its nest. It was free to fly back and forth in front of and behind the team, pecking here and there, expending its surplus energy in the confined space.

"Jiu!~"

More than one Illumination Technique Light Orb gracefully flew forward, continuously lighting a long distance, reaching nearly thirty meters at the farthest point.

After waiting a few seconds, a large swath of blackness intruded into the illuminated area.

The female electronics expert, Cecilia Danbers, who was craning her neck to look, let out a gasp.

"Damn, what the hell is that?"

The plump Earth Mage, Andy Brian, drew out his modular Magic Wand and began assembling it on the spot, with the Magical Beast Crystal Cores embedded in the wand starting to glow amber.

The Crystal Cores weren't very large, the biggest only the size of a chicken egg and the smallest about the size of a soybean, both in volume and quality far inferior to the Light Beast Crystal Core in Pure Light Sparrow Xiao Jiu's nest, as well as in rank and texture.

"They're coming, lots and lots of Rhino Cockroaches!"

Hanna Gagel, no stranger to seeing so many Rhino Cockroaches, activated her Wind-type Psionic Ability, and the airflow in the cave turned violent in an instant, howling towards the swarm of encroaching Rhino Cockroaches.

In the next second, countless oval bug bodies were swept up, along with many small stones, rattling thunderously, as if a black storm was brewing, blown towards the dark depths beyond the reach of the Illumination Technique Light Orbs.

Light-based Spells had no physical form and were unaffected by the violent winds, but the dancing shadows, obstructed by bug bodies and stones, flickered incessantly.

"How about it... shall we fire one off?"

Chen Fei was eagerly weighing the NM-32 pine-patterned anti-infantry bounding landmine in his hand, ready to restore the triggering mechanism and throw it into the wild wind created by Manager Hanna, where it would explode upon touching anything.

Setting it off in the cave would probably make for a spectacular sight, much like a brat holding a sparkler, seeing a pile of cow dung, and feeling an irresistible urge to blow it up.

Team leader Blake shouted, "Number 73, please stop for a moment!"

The fierce wind dissipated immediately, and the relentless current of air from behind the team continued to surge towards where the multitude of Rhino Cockroaches had been swept away.

After all, the confined space within the cave meant that even though the Wind Elemental Psychic's power could increase manifold, it was also significantly constrained.

"Number 78, I can eliminate them!"

Since he addressed her by her mission number, Hanna Gagel responded in kind.

Wind-type Psionic Abilities never feared large numbers of enemies; on the contrary, once a storm formed, no matter how numerous the enemies were, they were just fodder.

Outside the Aircrew Base, Hanna Gagel was known as the "Eye of the Storm," which was no empty title. However, due to her role as the executive manager, it was hard for the base staff, including Chen Fei, to witness the true power of the "Eye of the Storm."

"I have Pyrethroid here. We can spice things up a bit, but everyone needs to put on protective suits and gas masks."

Blake took out several large plastic containers with a capacity of twenty liters each from his Storage Ring.

In dealing with those voracious bugs, as a B-ranked Dark Elemental Psychic, he wasn't as handy as Hanna Gagel, a C-ranked Wind-type Psionic Ability user.