The ecological structure of the hive is sufficient to spawn a powerful collective.
However, the core of the hive, the mother itself, is often very fragile—a single automatic rifle or a hand grenade might easily kill the mother capable of giving birth to countless mutant creatures.
A representative of the Global United Defense Committee hammered home, "We need volunteers to form reconnaissance teams to penetrate these underground spaces and locate the mutant hives!"
The situation beneath the surface is simply too complex, fissures and caves everywhere; it is not possible, nor feasible, to plow through them one by one with ground-penetrating bombs.
Moreover, the geological structure of the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area simply does not permit such tampering; any geological disaster provoked would likely leave the Global United Defense Committee to blame.
A delegate raised their hand and said loudly, "There must be mages or ability users involved, right?"
It is almost certain death for ordinary people to participate in such a dangerous reconnaissance mission.
"Preferably those with space abilities, followed by those with earth, and if not, dark and wind will also do."
"Yes, the higher the level of the space abilities, the better. If there's any emergency, they can return to the surface immediately."
"It would be even better if there are specific advanced magical weapons."
The underground situation is complex and uncertain; no one truly knows what to expect.
The danger comes not only from mutant creatures but also from complex terrain and even the poisonous gas pervading the underground spaces. If utterly unprepared, these deadly threats could easily cost someone their life.
"We will try our best to coordinate these," assured another delegate.
Even the representatives of the Global United Defense Committee dared not make firm promises.
Light, dark, spirit, and space are among the rarer abilities in the eleven systems, appearing in maybe one out of a thousand ability users. The other elements—gold, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, and lightning—belong to the natural elements series and are comparatively common in any ability system.
As rarity conveys value, ability users and mages with these four types of powers are less likely to risk their lives to join such dangerous reconnaissance missions.
The Merman Brothers Consortium did have a dark elemental psychic, but alas... they were taken out by someone from the Neanderthal tribe at the Aircrew Base, the old man Barut.
At this moment, the Merman Brothers Consortium had no options left. They certainly couldn't seek revenge from the old man who had been reduced to ashes.
The female executive manager of Aircrew Base 911, Hanna Gagel, sat with her arms folded, maintaining a stoic silence throughout the proceedings.
Locating and eliminating the mutants is a straightforward statement and also the duty of all air bases and military contractors. There's money to be made and work to be done; otherwise, how would one justify receiving generous pensions and huge rebates from arms purchases, not to mention the hefty windfall from collecting biological materials?
However, from the start of the meeting, it was clear that Aircrew Base 911 did not fit in at all with these peers, and they simply weren't playing the same game!
So, it was better to keep silent. You play by yourselves, leave me out of it.
Thinking this, Hanna Gagel's eyelids began drooping heavily again. Had she known the meeting would be so boring, it would have been better to go back to sleep.
"Manager Hanna from Aircrew Base 911, I've heard you're a wind-type ability user. Could you contribute to the reconnaissance team?"
The delegate from the Global United Defense Committee did not intend to let this sleep-deprived, progressively listless female executive manager off the hook, and their gaze turned toward her again.
Making trouble, not fitting in—the representative of Aircrew Base 911 had not left a good impression in the eyes of the Global United Defense Committee.
A peculiar gleam passed through the eyes of some delegates, not all of whom were aware that this one-eyed woman was also an ability user.
"Ah! Sorry, I'm very busy; I don't have the time."
That same old saying: when the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. Hanna Gagel could only apologize.
The Apocalypse Defense Group was of no use, utterly unreliable; only Aircrew Base 911 was left. To scout the underground spaces was truly inordinately difficult.
System: Ding! Mutant Hive BC-2325 located, received +500 Energy Points!
System: Ding! Killed the breeding mother of Mutant BC-2325, received +1000 Energy Points!
Chen Fei, whose mind was wandering, suddenly jerked with a start as the consecutive dings seemed to ring right in his ear, making all the hairs on his body stand on end.
Here it comes! Here comes this timely dog system!
He just knew that this dog system wouldn't leave him alone, it was right there waiting for him!
After completing several missions in a row, Chen Fei had begun to hash out some experience; the higher the reward of energy points, the greater the difficulty and the risk.
So this dog system wouldn't rest until it killed him.
Chen Fei leaped up, shattering the long conference table in front of him with a slap of his hand.
His strength seemed to be growing.
A few months ago, had he even smashed his hand to bits, he couldn't have hoped to shatter this table, let alone turn it into pieces.
The female executive manager turned mechanically, staring at Chen Fei in disbelief.
She had resolved not to meddle; they said they needed space, earth, dark, and wind ability users, so why was a metal ability user like him jumping in?
The conference room fell silent, surprised expressions spreading among many faces. Indeed, there were some brave souls.
The delegates who initially held a negative view of Chen Fei couldn't help but admire him at this point. He might be rash, but his courage was commendable. Being able to step up at a critical moment meant he could certainly be considered talented, no matter how it was put.
The vice president of Merman Brothers Consortium, Todd Philip, watched Chen Fei thoughtfully, pondering whether he should mention something to the HR department if Chen really submitted his resume.
Hanna Gagel tugged at Chen Fei's sleeve and whispered a reminder, "Rookie, sit down. What are you meddling in?"
"Manager Hanna, I feel that eradicating mutants is the duty and responsibility of every human being. As long as there is an opportunity, everyone should contribute their share of effort."
Chen Fei, who had just made up this "righteous and stern" declaration, was rapidly gaining impression points in the minds of the representatives in attendance.
This nice statement, mua!
Achievement unlocked: Although this person is brutal and ruthless, his nature isn't bad!
The representative from the Global United Defense Committee, who was chairing the meeting, tentatively said, "Mr. Chen Fei, I hope you're not acting on impulse. This reconnaissance mission is truly dangerous, and mere passion and courage are far from enough."
The danger he mentioned wasn't a scare tactic but genuine peril. A reconnaissance team can't have pig teammates or rash warriors, as there were countless examples of one person dragging down the entire team.
Chen Fei was completely unaware that he was being associated with the word "rash" in others' eyes. After all, wasn't he a bona fide university graduate?
University graduates in this era were the elite; they couldn't just rely on being headstrong to become elites.
Chen Fei proudly said aloud, "I am also a Metal Ability User, skilled in repairing planes and shooting them down. My kill records include a Metallic Giant Dragon and several enemy aircraft."
The investigation team from Sky Dragon City on Cangqiong Star had come to investigate the whereabouts of the Heart Core of the Metallic Giant Dragon, Bit, and also to verify the legality of the killing process. It meant that the process was officially approved, and the person involved could proudly boast about this achievement without fear of retaliation from the Dragon Clan.
Breaking the rules and invading, and then getting beaten to death, it was simply their own fault, and the same logic applied everywhere.
As for how many enemy planes Chen Fei had shot down, he hadn't counted nor checked. He guessed he'd only find out when he received his pay statement, but since it wasn't enough to pay off his debts, he didn't bother to distress himself over it.
Hanna Gagel helplessly massaged her forehead and sighed, unable to bear looking directly.
You, this tender green rookie, have only flown a plane for a few hours, more than sixty hours or not?
What they're talking about now is an underground reconnaissance mission. What do your accomplishments have to do with that?
Could it be that someone with a big appetite for danger intends to drive a fighter plane underground?
She really wanted to pin this clueless kid to the ground...
The representatives from the Aircrew Base and military contractors at the venue began to realize the significance and couldn't help but take a few more glances at Chen Fei, to remember this young man with outstanding achievements.
The news of a Metallic Giant Dragon falling in the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area had caused quite a sensation, and many military contractors were secretly envious of the good fortune of the Apocalypse Defense Group. Its subsidiary had achieved such a great feat, and the substantial profits included in their takings were enough to eat until they were full to bursting.
Now that they had finally met the pilot who killed the Metallic Giant Dragon, such a fierce temper was completely justified.
It perfectly matched the phrase, "fight fire with fire."
However, the representative of the Global United Defense Committee had an embarrassed expression, as he and the executive manager Hanna Gagel were thinking almost exactly the same thing.
This is an underground mission, not even a surface one; what is a pilot doing sticking his nose into this?
And also a Metal Elemental Psychic Power user, is he going underground to mine?
A considerable number of Metal Ability Users in society work in the fields of metallurgy and mechanical processing, being Industrial Espers, few of whom survive in the military sector.
Not just Metal Elemental Psychic Power, but most supernatural powers stand little chance against modern weaponry with significant firepower.
Even if light weapons can be ignored, what about heavy artillery? Missiles? High explosives? Cloud Bombs? Poison Gas Bombs? Directed-energy Weapons?
Infrasound Cannons? Electromagnetic Railguns? ... There's always some weapon suitable against supernatural power users.
If Chen Fei had awakened his Metal Elemental Psychic Power before reporting to the Aircrew Base No. 911, he would have turned back without a second thought, living as an Industrial Esper with a regular nine-to-five job, happy and content.
With a debt of 5 million Star Yuan, sooner or later he could pay it off; the loan company couldn't force him to sign a rigid contract with the Apocalypse Defense Group.
But now, not only was he increasingly in debt, there was another reason that was causing him a major headache.
The tasks from the Dog System were all deadly. This damned system was quickly turning Chen into an expert at courting death. If he went back to being an industrial worker, he might be driven to perform various styles of diving into the roaring steel furnace.
Honestly, he didn't have the guts for that!
When compared, machine guns and missiles seemed a bit more lovable. Although painful, Chen didn't have the slightest desire to learn how steel was made.
"Um, could you reconsider it?"
No matter what Chen Fei was thinking, the representative from the Global United Defense Committee was treating it as a moment of rashness and kindly offered him a way out, also as a gesture of enlightenment.
After all, it was inappropriate!
Ignoring the continual imploring looks from the executive manager, Chen resolutely said, "No, I won't reconsider, I'm signing up."
Dog System! I've got my eyes on those Energy Points!
"Then we'll give it some thought."
The representative from the Global United Defense Committee was almost ready to surrender.
Would you, this meddlesome pilot, please stop causing trouble here!