Chapter 117: Section 117 - Riding a Tiger, It's Hard to Dismount

"Stop trying things at random and focus on the common powers of other Metal Ability Users. There are only you and me, the supernatural power users at the 911 Aircrew Base. We must maintain our combat strength at all times and can't afford to slip up when it counts." The executive manager, Hanna Gagel, wasn't actually very surprised. Every Ability Awakener is a death-defying daredevil, especially since special abilities are a new phenomenon, and comprehensive systematized information on them has yet to be fully compiled. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a need to develop Supernatural Ability Suppressants, allowing newly awakened power users to go through an adaptation period. If one shot doesn't solve the problem, then use two. If two shots aren't enough, then three, until they learn to stabilize and control their abilities. Embracing risk is a common situation for beginners who can't fully control their abilities just yet. There are cases where they even tire themselves out to the point of not being able to wake up, not to mention accidents that result in their own demise. Under normal circumstances, new power users would attend a government-established Supernatural Adaptability Training Class for three to six months until they pass the test for the safe application of abilities, ensuring they don't harm themselves or others. The 911 Aircrew Base, located in the sparsely populated Xingdu Kush Mountain Area, lacks proper facilities. As a Wind-type Ability User, Manager Hanna has to put in the extra effort to personally supervise this rookie. Even with an uncle who holds shares and board authority in the Apocalypse Defense Group, she could only get seasoned veterans and technicians to help her, but still no supernatural power users, mages, or War Professionals. Such rare talents are not easily convinced to risk their lives for others. Only a giant military contractor ranked eighth in the industry can afford to sustain these specialized talents, and even then, their numbers are limited. A night raid that should have been a sure victory ended up with the loss of a Mage and two supernatural power users, which was a bitter pill to swallow. Chen Fei's Metal Elemental Psychic Power is a rare combat-oriented ability, very pure and well-suited for the frequent combat missions of the Aircrew Base. Now, the Meman Brothers Consortium, using its industry giant advantage, has adopted a high-pressure encirclement strategy. If the 911 Aircrew Base wants to keep fighting, they can't afford to suddenly lose the combat power of a warrior-type superpower user. Manager Hanna demands that Chen Fei's State is always ready for battle, and forbids him from messing around any further. Chen Fei tentatively asked, "Since we're now completely surrounded by enemies, do we continue to fight?" After all, corporate warfare is just a "personal dispute" among military contractors, nowhere near the crazy levels of Sovereignty-level figures. In this business, everyone is just trying to earn their bread; no one would deliberately pick a fight with profit. If the Meman Brothers Consortium wants to completely take over the 911 Aircrew Base, they will have to pay a cost far beyond the norm. "From the day my uncle died, 911 has been 911, and Apocalypse Defense has been Apocalypse Defense. Not a single person in the Gagar Family is a wimp." Hanna Gagel glared fiercely at Chen Fei—if he dared let half a "no" slip through his teeth, she would shred him into eighty thousand pieces. Hanna's father, a hardliner, left the shares and board seat of the Apocalypse Defense Group to his own brother, McAllen Gagel, in his will, making for a proper fraternal succession. Now, since McAllen Gagel met with misfortune, Hanna Gagel, according to the will of the two brothers, is the sole heir to these rights, but she still refuses to admit defeat. Stubbornness runs deep in the Gagar Family. Once they set their minds on something, not even eight hundred oxen could pull them back. Even now, completely surrounded, Hanna Gagel plans to fight the Meman Brothers Consortium to the very end, refusing to surrender or concede. Chen Fei frankly said, "But the upcoming battles will be tough." Manager Hanna is determined to tough it out, but the entire 911 Aircrew Base is more than just her affair. After reading those news stories that were far from the truth, Chen Fei immediately understood what was going on—the truth didn't matter at all! The Merman Brothers Consortium had grand designs that escalated to the strategic level. It was an open conspiracy that no one could avoid or refuse. "You're right, these capitalists are starting to feel the pinch from the cost they've paid and want to stabilize their base." The executive manager nodded. As expected of a university student capable of graduate studies, his mind worked fast, and he saw through the surface to the essence immediately. Once it involves strategy, even if one achieves tactical victories, it can be completely negated by strategic failure, ending up as a loss greater than the gains. And that's the situation Aircrew Base 911 is facing now. Despite repelling the Merman Brothers Consortium's attacks time and again and completely blowing up Aircrew Base 909... The opponent suddenly opened up a new battlefield, sucking Aircrew Base 911, which had lost the backup of the Apocalypse Defense Group, into a deeper quagmire, facing more baseless pressures, and their strength could not be exerted. "Is there no one to speak a word of justice?" Chen Fei found it hard to believe that he could see the problem, so why didn't anyone else realize it. The infighting was far from simple. "Because it's not worth it! From another perspective, the Merman Brothers Consortium must regret that they acquired Aircrew Base 897, because it was not picking up a bargain, but rather being suckered." Although Hanna Gagel was prepared to fight to the death, she was not ignorant of reality. With multiple sources of intelligence and information, she knew even more. The world does not have that many what-ifs. It was always a laughing matter for Aircrew Base 911, with its strength and position, to reason with industry giants. The giants initially just planned to crush them effortlessly, but didn't expect to press onto a tack instead. After suffering from the pain, would they place the tack properly with courtesy? Of course not—they would bring a hammer and flatten the tack before tossing it into the trash. Otherwise, the breath trapped in their chest wouldn't dissipate, the thought wouldn't resolve. Now the Merman Brothers Consortium was determined to turn Aircrew Base 911 into the scapegoat to intimidate their peers; otherwise, their position as number eight in the industry would surely be questioned and even challenged. The ensuing series of troubles and the damage caused were definitely not as simple as just an Aircrew Base 911. Aircrew Base 911 was now in a difficult position to dismount, and for giants like the Merman Brothers Consortium, it was the same. There were no people with understanding in the world; they were all playing dumb or playing deaf and mute, or laughing off... A few days after the news of the "Neanderthal elite warrior" came out, the Blue Star Global United Defense Committee finally made a statement. They formed a Joint Investigation Team to verify the "Neanderthal elite warrior" captured by the Merman Brothers Consortium and to confirm the existence of any Third Era Civilization's hidden forces. The military contractors fought viciously in corporate warfare behind closed doors, but it was still a matter among the Blue Star Humans themselves. It had only been thirty years since the end of the war among the Three Realms, and the psychological shadows of that war were still present as many people had personally experienced it. Even though the Neanderthal tribe was gradually integrating into Blue Star human society, and the clouds of war had dispersed without causing more trouble, it was still impossible for everyone to let down their guard completely. They feared that someone with ambition was secretly plotting some nefarious scheme. - ```