"This Piao... such a sly merchant!"
Chef Abel didn't know whether to comfort Chen Fei or to be angry that Old Piao had pulled one last trick before leaving.
Chen Fei, however, wasn't angry and waved towards Pu Aihua's receding back.
Whether the egg hatched into Xiao Jiu was actually a Magical Beast Egg became irrelevant.
In fact, it was unlikely to begin with, who would give a Magical Beast Egg to someone they had just met for no reason? It was clear Old Piao wasn't a tycoon, so it had been a friendly joke from the start.
Having thought it through, Chen Fei naturally wouldn't be mad about it.
The transport vehicles that were still unloading quickly obscured their figures with standard containers, becoming faint and soon disappearing at the end of the pier.
After Chen Fei and Abel sighed for a while and were about to leave, Mr. Chef with his sharp eyes, spotted a familiar figure next to the airship and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Eh? Isn't that Manager Morris, how... is he also leaving?"
Following the direction pointed by Chef Abel, Chen Fei saw those preparing to board the Phantom Cube-366MAX airship and leave the Aircrew Base 911, not only included Pu Aihua and those from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but also Morris Morgan, the executive manager of Aircrew Base 911.
Manager Morris was talking to someone, with a large suitcase by his side, looking ready for a long journey.
Chen Fei's gaze fell on the person who was speaking to Executive Manager Morris Morgan and he said in astonishment, "Hanna Gagar?"
He had not expected to see her here again, the eyepatch covering her left eye was an easily recognizable feature.
Their last encounter had been on the International Medical Ship, and they had only exchanged a word or two, not much interaction, but he still remembered her name.
Chef Abel looked over curiously.
"A Level Two Inspector from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Hanna Gagar, I've seen her before on the International Medical Ship."
Chen Fei was also puzzled, hadn't the Ministry of Internal Affairs left with Old Piao?
Why was this Level Two Inspector from the Ministry of Internal Affairs still here?
"Another one from the Ministry of Internal Affairs?"
Chef Abel involuntarily shuddered.
Not too long ago, personnel from the Apocalypse Defense Group Headquarters from the Ministry of Internal Affairs had everyone at Aircrew Base 911 on edge, and now another Level Two Inspector had arrived, clearly with no good intentions.
From another perspective, who would be so bold as to still covet the remains of the Metallic Dragons?
Old Piao had lost his job at Aircrew Base 911 because he had been too high-profile and caught the attention of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Not only was the chef at a loss, but Chen Fei also couldn't guess the truth; he shook his head and said, "We should always be careful."
Abel, having weathered some storms himself, promptly offered a well-meaning reminder, "You're right, better to act more and talk less."
The appearance of a Level Two Inspector from the Ministry of Internal Affairs here was not a good sign.
"I'm going back first."
Chen Fei planned to give Big Brother Xiao and the deputy squadron leader of "Genuine Fragrance" Squadron, Irinei Rusios, a heads-up so that no one else would end up like Pu Aihua, targeted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The sun was slowly setting.
The Phantom Cube-366MAX Heavy Transport Battleship stopped sending out standard containers, and the pier became empty and deserted.
The highland where the entire 911 Aircrew Base was located was almost occupied by one mountain of containers after another.
For the next few years, even a decade, there would be no need for regular airlifting of supplies as before. A single heavy transport airship had delivered enough goods to last for a long time, including a significant number of live creatures, providing an opportunity to establish a self-sufficient agricultural ecology industry.
Before the last rays of the sunset disappeared from the horizon, the underneath part of the heavy transport battleship emitted a blazing white light. The sound did not reach a deafening level, but it still stirred up waves of air that spread out in all directions, as the ship's structure gracefully ascended into the sky.
Six crystal jet fighters formed into two combat squads that circled in the sky, on alert to provide protection for the Phantom Cube-366MAX heavy transport battleship, ready to deal with any sudden threats at a moment's notice.
After all, the battleship was carrying the remains of Metallic Dragons worth tens of billions of Star Yuan, and it was important to prevent any envious parties from attempting an interception en route.
All the pilots manning the crystal jets were true Sky Knights, each possessing formidable aerial combat skills. A single person in one machine could fearlessly challenge any foe, even if it were a giant dragon.
With six Sky Knights guarding together, only a sovereign nation brazen enough to make a hostile move could pose a threat to the battleship.
But for those nations with the power to do so, a mere tens of billions of Star Yuan wasn't worth breaking the rules over.
Smaller sovereign nations didn't even have the capability to challenge six Sky Knights all at once. Without sufficient financial resources, materials, or population, they couldn't even train a qualified Sky Knight, much less a crystal jet specially tailored for one.
Furthermore, the owner of this heavy transport battleship was the number one power of Blue Star, with a population of 2 billion people. Not to mention six Sky Knights; they could easily produce six hundred if needed.
Six hundred Sky Knights working together could take down any sovereign nation ranked 30th or below in the combined national strength of the Blue Star Realm.
Even the nations ranked from 11th to 29th would be left disheveled and severely weakened.
Across the entire Blue Star Realm, who would dare to provoke the overwhelming swarm of crystal jets?
After dinner, Chen Fei continued his habit of helping out in the kitchen, while Xiao Jiu followed him around, causing a bit of chaos.
Yet the chef, for some reason, couldn't bring himself to be angry with the mischievous creature; on the contrary, he was still trying to please it in every possible way, even going so far as to breed mealworms especially for it.
The work Chen Fei had to do was more or less the same as the day before, such as preparing the dough for bread, marinating the lamb chops for flavor, and boiling a pot of spiced tea eggs for tomorrow's breakfast and part of the lunch.
He took a batch of fresh duck eggs from the refrigerated container driven by crystal energy blocks and a special magic array, washed them thoroughly, then soaked them in over-saturated brine inside jars. Sealed for a month or two, they would be ready to be boiled, resulting in deliciously salty eggs with oil oozing from the yolks, a top-tier accompaniment to any meal.
As for the new ideas that Chen Fei came up with, Chef Abel followed his lead without question, because this was a racial talent, deeply ingrained in one's bones and genes, becoming part of the genetic markers, something that outsiders simply couldn't learn.
Chen Fei kept busy while listening to Chef Abel ramble on about the affairs of the Aircrew Base.
The cafeteria was a natural gathering place on the base, a source of all kinds of rumors and gossip. Just by paying a little attention, it was often easy to learn many firsthand pieces of information.
Being close to the source, even if Chef Abel didn't actively seek out news, he could still hear a lot just by keeping his ears open.
The Ministry of the Interior Level Two Inspector Hanna Gagel, whom he and Chen Fei saw in the afternoon, was actually finalizing the handover with the previous executive manager, Morris Morgan. She was about to take over his position as the new executive manager of the 911 Aircrew Base.
Cross-departmental transfers were not uncommon within many enterprises.
However, someone from the ministry originally responsible for oversight being promoted to the highest position of a subordinate unit could be seen as either a good or a bad thing.
Strictly speaking, with the change in leadership at the Aircrew Base, there shouldn't be any significant impact on a newcomer like Chen Fei who had only been there a short while. However, he was somewhat concerned about sudden policy changes that might, for instance, lead to the cancellation of his part-time duties.
He wondered if the new executive manager would agree to one person holding multiple positions, earning a salary from several roles.
But Chef Abel thought Chen Fei was overthinking it. With the arrival of so many materials in one go on the 366-meter-long "Luo Jing Number" heavy transport battleship, there would be a heavy workload of organizing supplies for at least half a year, leaving the Aircrew Base in a constant state of manpower shortage.
As the base's executive manager, she would definitely prefer to have someone who could handle multiple roles and fully utilize the precious labor force.