Sky-cracking Rider-Chapter 775: Section 770 - Trust

"Welcome back alive!"

Hanna Gagar had been waiting on the tarmac early, personally welcoming Chen Fei back to 911.

The many operations of a military contractor often come with unpredictable risks; accidents of various kinds leading to injuries or even loss of life are normal, and although this field offers substantial income, you need to be alive to make and spend money.

So, "coming back alive" had become the best blessing in this line of work.

"Boss, long time no see!"

Chen Fei, descending the gangway, opened his arms and embraced Boss Hana warmly.

Emmm... Truly, a boss does give off a tremendous sense of pressure.

A "Big Bear" passing by at a distance, thinking of coming over to greet, saw this scene and immediately rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath, resigning to keep moving and pretending not to have seen anything.

Entering the hangar, he unzipped his flight suit from the collar down to the lower abdomen, reached deep into his groin, and with a grimace, pulled out a bottle of liquor.

Blissfully shaking it, this was his true love, Mua!

A pound and a half (750ml of Vodka), isn't it delicious?

-

Delighted, Pure Light Sparrow Xiao Jiu hopped from Chen Fei's shoulder to Hanna Gagar's, chirping non-stop, "Boss lady is genuinely fragrant!"

Feeling her hair being disturbed as the little bird burrowed in, Hanna Gagar laughed and said, "This little guy is still as mischievous as ever!"

Xiao Jiu is the company's mascot, and even the company name was inspired by it.

A Sixth Rank Magical Beast, it was now more than qualified.

If a single chirp could summon thousands of sparrows, the company would certainly take pride in it.

Unfortunately, other Pure Light Sparrows on Blue Star were rare to find, with the activity level of Elemental Energy in the atmosphere not as high as on Cangqiong Star, forcing Xiao Jiu back to its original form.

Because its registration was originally on Blue Star, being a native Pure Light Sparrow of Blue Star, it had a much more relaxed standard through the Dimensional Gate, accompanying Chen Fei unlike other magical beasts.

"How's everything at the company?"

Leaving the tarmac, Chen Fei walked alongside Boss Hana, simultaneously counting on his fingers the time since he had left Aircrew Base.

Several commissions had coincidentally been linked together, making his trip unexpectedly long; otherwise, he would have returned sooner.

Before arriving at 911 Aircrew Base, Chen Fei had never imagined he would step onto the battlefield in his lifetime, which was completely contrary to his college major, right?

Economics was about making money, while war was about burning money.

"Everything is normal, including the operations at Chapala City headquarters, which are on track. We won't be facing a loss this year, and we might finally see some returns."

To build up Jiu Defense Company's framework, Hanna Gagar had almost invested her entire fortune—every day, either diligently finding ways to cut costs or trying to establish connections and expand operations. This pressure also affected every employee.

If profits did not start rolling in soon, the company could only sustain itself for another year at most. Now, gradually reaching a break-even point allowed her to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Boss Hana pointed towards the outside of Aircrew Base, where a glittering array of cultivation greenhouses stood in the distance, having expanded a bit more since Chen Fei had left.

She continued, "See those greenhouses? Two of them are specifically for cultivating Flesh Mushrooms. Outside 911 Aircrew Base, there are over fifty farms scattered globally. The Flesh Mushroom industry has officially taken off, and since its introduction to the market, demand has consistently exceeded supply, yielding quite a good net profit after taxes. You should check your bank account when you can; the first dividend should have been deposited."

Chen Fei had stumbled upon a young Flesh Mushroom in a lair of the "Water Bear" organization, later acquiring the cultivation technology. Hanna Gagar had invested, and besides their employer-employee relationship, the two also shared a business partnership.

After such a long time, the cultivation industry for Flesh Mushrooms had finally begun yielding profits, almost rivaling the total income from Jiu Defense Company's military contracting business.

"I'll check it out when I find some time. Is it a perk?"

Chen Fei nodded, his eyes quickly spotting the greenhouse for cultivating Flesh Mushrooms,

because it was fitted with a light-absorbent panel filled with small holes that absorbed sunlight and automatically converted it to heat, keeping it within the greenhouse. From afar, it exhibited a distinct purple-black luster; its interior was not visible, making it easy to distinguish from other greenhouses.

"Yeah! Always prioritize our own people with benefits, and we can also use it for cultivation backups."

Boss Hana always had more than one purpose in her actions.

The Flesh Mushrooms produced at 911 Aircrew Base were basically self-sufficient, occasionally sold cheaply to nearby mountain people for a taste.

"That's good, but we need to be careful with competitors pulling dirty tricks."

Commercial competition had no limits, deploying both fair and foul tactics. Chen Fei knew very well that the Flesh Mushrooms, virtually single-handedly shaking up both the agriculture and aquaculture industries, would face various cunning schemes from those industry giants once production ramped up.

"Don't worry! The bad news is competitors only dare to spread rumors about the toxic side effects of Flesh Mushrooms, the good news is that nobody dares to steal the spores or juvenile entities of the Flesh Mushrooms."

Hanna Gagar was never afraid of the tactics used in commercial competition.

"Oh?"

In the food industry, the issues mainly revolve around food safety and theft of breeds, and the approaches often tackle these two aspects. Chen Fei had not expected that the boss would dare to guarantee, with absolute certainty, the elimination of one of them.

"Flesh Mushrooms are related to the 'Water Bear' organization—besides us, who would dare to touch this huge trouble. Moreover, the growth liquid is personally mixed by me, and no one can steal it."

Hanna Gagel revealed the crucial point in a single statement.

Flesh Mushroom was essentially a hot potato. The sovereigns of Blue Star were now aware that this particular fungal fruiting body was related to the "Water Bear" organization. The Flesh Mushrooms in Hanna Gagel's possession were spoils of war with a traceable source. If such objects unexpectedly appeared with others, it would inevitably lead to suspicions of their connection with the "Water Bear" organization. With both the guilty and the innocent at risk, a thorough investigation would probably cause whoever was involved to burst a blood vessel.

"So there is also this connection!"

Chen Fei suddenly understood.

As a pawn in the game, he had not thought so much, naturally not as clear-sighted as Boss Hanna, who watched from outside the game.

The two walked all the way to the energy center of the Aircrew Base, a three-story cottage where the Target Low Temperature Nuclear Fusion Energy Tower was located.

The slight heat naturally dissipated from the Energy Tower kept the inside of the cottage at a pleasant constant temperature above 20 degrees Celsius; the various plants in the sun-warmed room still retained the vitality they had before Chen Fei left, some blooming, some fruiting, and some spreading their branches and leaves.

When Chen Fei was not there, Hanna Gagel would come to water and prune these plants, and when both were absent, the colleagues from the cafeteria along with Chef Abel from "Genuine Fragrance" would help take care of things.

"Would you like something to drink?"

Upon entering, Hanna Gagel headed straight for the liquor cabinet.

Although the cottage served as Chen Fei's single-person dormitory, it also functioned as Boss Hanna's wine-tasting cottage, where she stored almost all the fine wines she brought over.

Chen Fei waved his hand and said, "Wait a moment, I've brought back some good stuff."

"Good stuff?"

Boss Hanna's hand, poised on the cabinet door, turned to look at Chen Fei.

Chen Fei's hand flashed with a silver light, and the ground at his feet suddenly had a dozen wooden boxes.

"Oh? A Space System Alchemy Storage Device?"

Hanna Gagel exclaimed in surprise, examining Chen Fei's hand, her gaze resting on the bracelet paired with a health band.

"This is a smokescreen!" freēnovelkiss.com

Chen Fei took off the bracelet and placed it on the bar, then opened the wooden boxes he had pulled from the "Spatial Branding," taking out various bottles of drink, some glass, some ceramic, all different in size and color.

"A smokescreen? This thing… hiss… doesn't look like an alchemy device, really strange!"

Hanna Gagel picked up the bracelet and studied it carefully.

Supernatural power users, having a higher Psychic Power Index than average people, could also use some alchemist devices, especially storage devices.

She tried probing it with her spiritual power a few times, but there was no response, as if it was just an ordinary metal bracelet.

It was not uncommon to see someone wearing a faux alchemical artifact, so Chen Fei's disguise was not unusual at all. Those who understood saw the bracelet and understood; those who didn't were utterly baffled.

"It's not just unlike, it is definitely not!"

Chen Fei took out two crystal wine glasses, placed them on the counter, opened a bottle, and poured a light blue liquid.

A subtle fragrance quietly spread.

Pure Light Sparrow Xiao Jiu fluttered its tiny wings and landed atop the wine glass in front of Chen Fei, plunging its head into the cup.

"It's not?"

Hanna Gagel was slightly taken aback, and when she lifted her gaze from her hand, she saw Chen Fei raising his hand, his back hand facing her, the skin shimmering with a rune magic array made of silver light.

"Could it be…"

"Yes, this, 'Spatial Branding', it holds storage functionality."

Chen Fei lowered his hand, the light of the branding fading, leaving no trace.

He hadn't mentioned the "Spatial Branding" to Boss Hanna over the phone, as he had indeed previously owned a space system alchemy storage artifact of immense capacity, identical to this bracelet. Boss Hanna had never considered that the storage medium he carried had changed.

Unless he revealed it himself, no one would discover the secret of Chen Fei's hands. The only fault was that if someone chopped off his hands, the "Spatial Branding" could potentially be stolen.

However, the "Spatial Branding" on the back of his hand was already bound to the fluctuations of Chen Fei's psychic power. If taken by others, it would be useless, as no one else could open the corresponding storage space.

"You've awakened a spatial ability again?"

Hanna Gagel was dumbstruck, as Dual-Element Ability Users were almost mythical. Maybe they existed, but they would certainly be kept extremely secret by the sovereigns, completely unknown to the outside world.

Suddenly, she felt that the pond of Jiu Defense Company was too small to contain such a big fish as a Dual-Element Ability User.