Just coming out of the "Genuine Fragrance" Combat Flight Squadron's three-story building, Chen Fei's cellphone suddenly started ringing.
"Ding Ling Ling Ling, Chef Abel is calling!"
He had set automatic caller ID, so he could tell who was calling just by the ringtone.
Chen Fei glanced at the screen and sure enough, it was Chef Abel from the base canteen.
"Little Chen, when are you free tonight? I need a hand!"
Abel's unique, rooster-like tone came through.
Chen Fei tentatively asked, "Chef Abel, what's the matter?"
Chef Abel was taken aback for a moment, then spoke even louder, "What? Did you forget? I told you last night, the scoundrel Pu Aihua was taken away by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Now it's just me, and I'm swamped!"
There was a hint of desperation in Abel's voice.
Thinking about it, it was easy to understand. With one kitchen hand gone, everything had to be handled by the chef personally.
Chef Singh, originally an expert at unpacking, wasn't too badly affected, but Chef Abel, who always looked down on those frozen pre-packed semi-finished products, felt this type of thing was an insult to the profession of a chef,
Moreover, if even Abel started unpacking frozen packages, the Aircrew Base would likely not hesitate to fire him.
If it's all about unpacking anyway, why not hire two cheap, tool-like chefs instead?
Once the competition becomes about who's the worst, culinary skills can be completely disregarded.
"Uh! Alright, I'll come right away!"
Chen Fei shook his head, completely unable to remember what he had agreed to with Chef Abel after getting buzzed last night. Heading to the base canteen now would be a good chance to clear things up.
When he arrived at the canteen's kitchen, he saw Abel fretting over several large bags of flour and a big basket of potatoes.
"Chef Abel, what do you need me to help with?"
Seeing Chen Fei, Abel's worried face immediately lit up as if he had found a lifeline, "Thank heavens, you're finally here. Hurry, I need to prepare bread for tomorrow, as well as mashed potatoes. This is just part of the work. Now that I'm alone, I just can't keep up. Don't worry, I'll teach you. It's simple.
What's that on your head? An Alchemical Artifact?"
"Leave it to me! This is 'Ayr's Ring,' something the doctor gave me. It's supposed to be some sort of medical device. I don't quite get it," said Chen Fei, poking the high-tech headband on his head with his finger, before rolling up his sleeves and asking, "Which should I start with?"
Between friends, you help me, I help you. Today, he had carried the Little Bird for someone else all day, and now it was time to repay the favor, to lend a hand.
Reciprocity is the way to lasting relationships.
"You need to change into a clean set of clothes first. I happen to have one… Look out!"
Before Chef Abel could finish speaking, his expression suddenly changed.
A shrill scream echoed in the kitchen.
"Damn you, die! Ahh!~"
Sanjani, who had failed his interview with the "Genuine Fragrance" Combat Flight Squadron, suddenly burst into the kitchen, swung his fist at Chen Fei, and was promptly knocked out cold, stumbling and staggering out of the kitchen.
Chen Fei looked with confusion at the "stick" he had reflexively caught, involuntarily gasping in shock.
The faint aroma of wheat was in the air; the thing was a loaf of bread.
He gave it a swing. Honestly, it felt pretty good in hand.
Outside the kitchen door, Sanjani shook his head to clear it and then roared back in.
It was as if history was repeating itself.
The fighting prowess of Sanjani and his kin always managed to give both allies and enemies a good scare.
And still, he dared to come out and fight; it was truly frightening!
Seeing Chef Abel's face twitch with a mix of exasperation and hesitation, Chen Fei sheepishly placed the "stick" back where it belonged, after all, it was food, not a weapon.
Several of these "stick" breads were slotted into a basket woven from vines.
"No worries, I'll go talk with him. Watch Little Jiu for me," said Chen Fei as he handed over the bird and apologized to Abel, preparing to step outside the kitchen to reason with the friend reeking of curry.
We should strive for a war of words, not fists; we should seek to convince with virtue. Violence can't solve problems; it can only solve those who cause problems.
"Please, as you wish!"
Abel seemed a bit scared and after taking the Little Bird, he petted it affectionately and then made a small hand gesture.
This was a personal grudge, and it wasn't easy for him to get involved.
Ping ping!... "Awooo!"... Bang! Thud!... "Ah!"... "Uh!"...
Slap slap slap... "Spare me! I was wrong!"... Slap slap slap...
After a vigorous and refreshing exercise, Chen Fei finally stopped, twisted his waist, shook his neck, rotated his wrists, and his body crackled with a series of crisp sounds.
Refreshing... Refreshing my ass!!!
He couldn't help but shiver, and as he looked at the guy sprawled on the ground, barely breathing in and not breathing out, he suddenly realized he didn't know when he had become so violent.
Once Chen Fei went crazy, even he was scared of himself.
He had clearly intended to reason with the other party, but now it had turned into "reasoning"!
A round of crisp applause came from afar. Under the nearby lights, Chekhov, accompanied by several pilots, walked over clapping their hands.
"I'm very satisfied, extremely satisfied, Rookie. You have passed the final test!"
Lil' Chen was utterly confused. He looked around, where was the test?
What the hell was this Big Bear talking about?
"Don't understand?" Chekhov smirked confidently, pointed at Sanjani who was still moaning on the ground, and said, "He was your final exam question!"
Then he rolled up his sleeves, revealing his muscular arms, squeezed his fist tightly, making the muscle lines even more pronounced.
He flashed a set of white teeth and said fiercely, "Pilots must have courage, and never easily admit defeat!"
Not long after humans had Aircraft, one-on-one Aerial Combat soon emerged. Where there are people, there is Jianghu, where there is Jianghu, there are conflicts—even the imaginative and serene skies couldn't escape this fate.
Initially, the confrontations were mostly ceremonial flight performances. After getting tired of flying, they would land together, share a drink, chat a bit, sigh about the peaceful times, and then everyone would go their separate ways, each returning to their respective homes.
But then, both sides gradually became more heated. Pilots who wanted to fly planes also had to learn how to fire Pistols—pew pew pew, a fierce barrage, unlocking more and more positions, not just solo flying, but duo and even trio flying.
Chen Fei was now in his Sage mode, not wanting to say a word.
Ignoring the self-righteous Big Bear, he turned around and headed back to the kitchen of the cafeteria.
"The little Rookie actually has some temper? Hahahaha!"
But Chekhov wasn't angry; instead, he burst into a Big Laugh.
Genuine Fragrance Combat Flight Squadron doesn't accept any weak and easily bullied lambs.
Sanjani, who had been severely thrashed, let out a weak cry for help.
"Someone go find Takar and tell him to come collect the body!"
Chekhov had no further interest in glancing at the unlucky fellow, leaving these words behind as he strode away.
The abandoned Sanjani let out intermittently ghostly sobs.
As soon as Chen Fei returned to the kitchen, Chef Abel sized him up and down before asking, "Little Chen, are you alright?"
Chen Fei casually replied, "I'm fine!"
For some reason, he felt strangely elated. That Sanjani had actually come asking for a beating; the guy really asked for it.
"Good, good, as long as you're fine. Let's continue; we need to hurry!"
Chef Abel not only returned Xiao Jiu to Chen Fei but also gave him a set of kitchen assistant's clothes and then began to teach him how to bake bread, hand in hand.
"The usual ratio for flour and liquid is 2:1, but my 'Baguettes' use a secret recipe with a ratio of 2:0.8, which requires more effort to knead, keep kneading, an entire hour of kneading."
Abel demonstrated the technique of kneading dough with his hands, detailing every step.
Chen Fei figured that this technique applied to Sanjani could send the guy straight to the Ganges River in minutes, earning him a good Dalit birth in the next life.
"... to make a perfect 'Baguettes', you first need a starter. It's not just about yeast; today, I'll teach you a method called the 'Polish Kind.' 'Polish Kind' needs to be prepared at least six hours in advance, and I've already placed it in the fridge."
Chef Abel led Chen Fei to the big refrigerator in the kitchen, opened the fridge himself, searched high and low, and then, clutching his head, let out an earth-shattering scream.
"Chef Abel, what happened?"
Chen Fei also got a huge fright, thinking something terrible had happened.