Sky-cracking Rider-Chapter 353: Section 349 - Action Team

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The Mobile Base Vehicle was ultimately equipped with chemical solid-state batteries, even though Chen Fei’s metal elemental psychic power temporarily repaired the lithium iron phosphate batteries, restoring them to 99% capacity. Yet these could only maintain the vehicle’s full-speed operation for half an hour, their main duty still being to ensure the lighting, air conditioning, and various electrical appliances within the carriage.

If solar cells were added, the self-sustained driving time could increase a tiny bit, which is better than nothing. To call a fully electric heavy-duty vehicle an electricity-guzzling tiger would be a compliment.

As a result, the vehicle’s weight increased by two tons, or rather, the available payload decreased by two tons.

To really take it out for a spin, ensuring sufficient endurance was necessary. In the absence of high-grade crystalline blocks, one could only rely on the "Gravity Adjustment Module" skill.

After the interior soft decoration and the addition of various facilities and equipment, the normal unladen weight of this Mobile Base Vehicle was expected to reach 69 tons, and if it were fully loaded, the total weight would almost approach 80 tons.

If gravity adjustment was set to the lowest level of 1%, the entire vehicle could be reduced to a maximum of 0.8 tons, which could indeed save a lot of effort for the independent electric motors of the five pairs of wheels.

But in reality, it was almost impossible.

If the surface area of a vehicle measuring 20 meters in length, 4.5 meters in width, and 3 meters in height were affected by wind, an 800-kilogram weight would simply not be enough to anchor it down. Not to mention, to ensure passability, the chassis was 0.5 meters off the ground, and with a slight increase in speed, the whole vehicle could easily drift. With a stronger wind, it might even flip over.

Therefore, when driving at full speed, it was best to maintain the vehicle’s weight above 20 tons. In the event of a strong wind or even a sandstorm, it’s necessary to revert to the original weight to stabilize the vehicle with at least 69 tons. To recklessly activate the "Gravity Adjustment Module" would be tantamount to courting death.

Even though this Mobile Base Vehicle had reached the conditions necessary for departure, due to the lack of crystalline blocks that met the requirements, its performance still could not achieve the most perfect design specifications.

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The Blue Star Global United Defense Committee headquarters, located in Hablav City’s Zone C, had a total of fifty-two training facilities.

These included diverse terrains like dense forests, swamps, deep-water areas, grasslands, stone forests, towns, mazes, and plains, with both outdoor and indoor venues available.

Twenty teams stood in solemn array around the central square surrounded by the training facilities of Zone C.

Chen Fei and his team were just one of them, with the team number 04, corresponding to Training Facility C4, effectively allocating one training venue to each team.

The United Defense Committee members had finally resolved to completely eradicate the "Water Bear" organization, which secretly bred mutants that defied the taboo. They wouldn’t carelessly slap the issue aside. When a lion fights a rabbit, it still uses all its might, let alone the Joint Defense Committee supported by various sovereignties.

Countless spies had been spread thin, and the brains of various figures like Holmes, Di Shijie, Song Ci, Francois Eugen Vidocq, and Kogoro Mori were all whirring, attempting to unravel the mystery and dig three kilometers underground to locate the hiding place of the "Water Bear" organization.

There were not just Chen Fei and his eleven teammates who were selected through stringent interviews to complement each other’s skills.

After all, to cover every corner of the globe, relying on a single team would not even qualify them to be exhausted from constant running.

Therefore, in addition to Chen Fei and his team, another twenty combat teams of similar size would complete formation and adaptability training in Hablav before being dispatched all over the world, ready to provide support for combat at any time.

Hablav boasted the richest mutant resources in the world. After adapting to the overwhelming mutant tide here, dealing with the "Water Bear" organization wouldn’t result in a confused scramble.

Behind the eleven people of Team 04, there was an extraordinarily huge vehicle parked.

Whispers occasionally emerged from other teams nearby.

"Damn, a bunch of cheaters!"

"It must be very comfortable to ride in such a vehicle."

"That external enhancement is too obvious, doesn’t anyone care?"

"I’m not convinced!"

"I’ve inquired about it, it seems to be a contraption made by a metal ability user. Hey, Haken, can you put together one too?"

"Please spare me! That thing is too complicated!"

"Shall we also pool together to assemble one? Crowdfunding!"

"Count me in for a hundred thousand Star Yuan!"

"It’d be better to ask Team 04 if they are selling. If they can assemble one, they can definitely put together a second one. A million Star Yuan should be tempting for them."

...

On the podium, the big shots were in the midst of their long-winded, successive speeches.

Below the podium, the twenty action teams were still muttering among themselves.

The gigantic vehicle on the edge of the central square was conspicuously eye-catching.

"Hey, Chen Fei, someone passed a message, one million Star Yuan, do you sell?"

Chen Fei heard the murmurs from the Puppet Master, Joshua.

He refused without hesitation.

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"No selling!"

With the temptation of wealth stirring the heart, an Earth Mage of Human Order spoke softly, "Don’t we still have one set of chassis left? It seems we have plenty of spare parts too!"

After all, it was a free one million Star Yuan.

"Cut it out, it’s not your car, don’t talk nonsense!"

The B-ranked Ice Attribute supernatural power user Susanna Jean Piault immediately scoffed.

Ruan Tiankai sheepishly said, "Hey, I’m just saying!"

The Mobile Base Vehicle, cobbled together entirely by Metal Special Ability, would still not leave much for him even if sold and Chen Fei was generous, with everyone getting a share of the proceeds.

"Shh! Listen to the speech!"

Chen Fei made a silence gesture, and the others immediately quieted down.

```

Notes quietly being passed and whispered messages within the surrounding teams were all intercepted by the other members of Squad 04, never reaching Chen Fei.

"It’s all a bunch of nonsense, what’s there to listen to, just do it and it’s over!"

A-Class Metal Ability User Kiterley sneered at the official platitudes being spouted on the podium.

Gathering twenty squads together to grandiosely utter some meaningless pleasantries and chant a few adolescent slogans, the entire purpose was nothing more than propaganda. It was not as if there was any significant affair at hand.

If there were any real issues, a message sent directly to everyone’s phone would suffice.

Action teams were responsible for execution; the thinking was naturally left for others to undertake.

"Behind the Joint Defense Committee, could it really be the Lin Family?"

Chen Fei had always assumed that those with sovereignty on Blue Star were behind the formation of the Blue Star Global United Defense Committee, but it turned out it wasn’t just the sovereigns; there was also the Lin Family!

Speaking eloquently on the stage was Lin Ziming, one of the contemporary Sky Knights of the Lin Family, bestowed with the title "Extreme Skybreaker."

The Lin Family, possessing the last Dragon Rider, could be considered a Sky Knight dynasty, with at least ten Sky Knights over two generations, comparable to a medium to small sovereign state.

The Chen Family Gate indeed had some connection to the Lin Family, but it was limited to the personal relationship of his uncle Chen Haiqing.

Down to Chen Fei’s branch, there was more than one layer of separation, so he did not feel shameless enough to force himself into acknowledging this kinship.

Let’s be real, the Lin Family acknowledged Uncle Chen Haiqing; they would, at most, be a bit more polite to his four golden flowers and the youngest, Little Shanzi. What the hell was Chen Fei to them?

To the Lin Family, a B-level psychic might not even qualify to guard their gate.

"Isn’t that pretty normal? With the Lin Family’s power and influence, they’re essentially no different from a sovereign state. Besides the Lin Family, massive behemoths like Dragoon Magic Industry and Louis Industrial Company have been fully involved in the establishment of the Global United Defense Committee," added Adrian Benjamin, the de facto leader of Squad 04 and a First Rank Earth Mage, with a face of calm composure.

Military serves politics, and politics in turn serves the economy.

In the end, it was still the power of capital that determined the direction of the world.

Behind each sovereign lay capitals of various sizes, right?

Every person on that stage was a spokesperson for capital. One after another, they all put on a show.

What emerged to the surface and could be seen were only the well-known sovereigns.

But the true state of affairs beneath the surface was known by very few.

The Global United Defense Committee members, aggregated from money, authority, people, and a plethora of resources, were in some sense no less significant than any sovereign of contemporary times; their only deficiency was in foundation. Without their own territory and basic population, they were ultimately just duckweed on water, trees without roots.

Chen Fei asked curiously, "A cross-boundary corporation like Dragoon Magic Industry can also take part?"

The United Defense Commission was a domestic affair of Blue Star; involving enterprises that dealt with Otherworld civilizations, was that really okay? Without fear of interfering with other world civilizations, possibly sparking a war.

If a fight truly broke out, it would likely be more disastrous than the war from over thirty years ago. Neither Blue Star nor Cangqiong Star could compare to the Third Era Civilization, which had been at the brink of exhaustion then, fighting their last battle.

Once it came to a life-or-death struggle, mutual annihilation and the extinction of planetary life were very likely outcomes. The fate of both stars might turn out worse than the present Primordial Realm.

Adrian Benjamin suddenly smiled and said, "Ultimately, Dragoon Magic Industry is still a native enterprise of Blue Star. Actually, Louis Industries has also crossed boundaries, owning considerable assets on Cangqiong Star. Many of the Global United Defense Committee’s resources are provided by them; relying solely on sovereignty wouldn’t yield that many quotas."

He evidently had inside knowledge, beyond the fabrications of street rumors.

Dragoon Magic Industry brought magic technology to Blue Star, becoming an industry leader and monopolistic giant who drinks the first and choicest draught, its power couldn’t possibly be small. Dragoon Magic Industry was also a publicly traded company, and its declared shareholders included the Silan Royal Family of Cangqiong Star, overseen by the royal joint management fund, thus holding some trading quota rights.

The trading quotas between Blue Star and Cangqiong Star were a matter of national importance for various sovereigns, and only mega-corporations involved in high-level interests across both worlds were qualified to dabble in these quotas.

Lower-level nobodies who dared to dream about such quotas would only have one outcome: death, with no sovereign showing mercy.

"Hiss!"

Chen Fei gasped.

As a commoner from the lower strata of society, besides public news media, his information channels were limited to street gossip.

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Even among petty street rumors, almost everyone knew that those with the power to touch the trade quotas of both worlds also had the right to participate in interworld affairs.

Any fool bold enough to publicly claim they had quotas would be found within two hours, in a police station’s detention cell. One can eat whatever they want, but there are things one simply cannot say.

The long-winded speeches on the stage finally drew to a close, and next, the action squads began to enter the outskirts of Hablav for wilderness survival training.

Almost every place afflicted with mutant disasters was a bird-shunning no-man’s land, full of desolation and hardship.

An environment as inhospitable as the surroundings of Hablav was an ideal training ground.

Back at the C4 training gym, a tall, burly man named Babylon arrived with a lean-faced middle-aged man with keen, eagle-like features.

Before the big man could introduce him, the middle-aged man stepped forward.

"My name is Rossi, your liaison officer for Squad 04. I’m in charge of interpreting the Commission’s orders and contacting other departments. You can call me by my name Rossi or Old Luo, Old Xi — any of these are fine."

His raspy voice carried an ominous tone, giving off a vibe of manipulative unease.

On the surface, he was a liaison officer; in reality, he likely doubled as a surveillance officer and a supervising officer, right?

The members of Squad 04 exchanged glances with each other.

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