Sky-cracking Rider-Chapter 596: Section 592 - Swallowing Whole

The two "Sky Falcons" were still relentlessly pursuing; the advantage of Cangqiong Star's assembled combat aircraft lay not in high-speed flight capability but in their incredibly flexible and super-maneuverable tactical movements, which were even better than those of Blue Star's main combat planes.

If it came down to close-quarters combat, Blue Star pilots with no experience in handling such situations would be at a disadvantage. On the other hand, the adept "Sky Falcons," capable of hovering, lateral movement, vertical climbing, reversing, and acceleration, could be manipulated by experienced Cangqiong Star pilots like matadors toying with roaring supersonic missiles.

When maneuverability reached a certain level, it could completely mask the shortcomings of insufficient speed. In addition, with the reinforcement of a Magic Array, they could achieve supersonic flight. However, the maneuverability of Cangqiong Star's assembled combat aircraft dropped significantly at supersonic speeds, since their aerodynamic design focused on subsonic maneuverability.

Dancing with a heavy elephant, Chen Fei found it extremely difficult. Without the right tools, even a skilled woman can't cook a meal. Despite optimizing the aerodynamic shape of the small Magic Cube Warship, its tactical maneuverability was still sadly inadequate.

The emergency escape craft's main areas of concern were stability and carrying capacity—in essence, a civilian dual-use flyer with enhanced defensive capabilities. It was incapable of performing any decent evasive maneuvers. No matter how it was controlled, its movements were slow and sluggish, causing frustration and urgency.

Boom! Rumble!

Two more loud noises hit, and the emergency escape craft turned topsy-turvy. Fortunately, everyone had already strapped themselves to their seats, otherwise, in just that short moment, several would have been seriously injured or dead.

Outside the emergency escape craft, the railgun had fired off two Energy Points worth of ammunition, yet had failed to even graze the enemy.

By then the radar had also picked up four or five points of light, the indistinguishable friend-or-foe "Sky Falcons." Chen Fei gave up the idea of rendezvousing with the Feathered Tribe's Fourth Legion. After all, before nearing the flagship "Black Cloud" and joining the swarm of emergency escape craft released, there was a high likelihood of being blown out of the sky by the two ruthless "Sky Falcons," sending everyone to their final exit.

"Everyone buckle up, we're starting to dive."

Inside the cabin of the emergency escape craft, Chen Fei was the only one free to act as he pleased.

Everyone else felt so miserable they couldn't even speak, let alone do anything about it. Who could they rely on, as the only person with extensive aerial combat experience there was none other than Chen Fei.

Including Princess Lin Ziyu, everyone could only leave it to fate and silently pray in their hearts for a miraculous escape from death.

What to do when evasive maneuvers can't be performed?

Use speed!

What if speed can't be increased?

Trade altitude for it!

The emergency escape craft, bearing Princess Lin Ziyu and her entourage, held the only ace up its sleeve: nearly 5 kilometers of altitude above sea level.

The "Gravity (1)" Magic Array mode was reversed, transforming from reducing the weight of the emergency escape craft to amplifying it.

Weight is not mass. Mass cannot be changed, but the weight corresponding to gravity can be adjusted.

To the surprise of both "Sky Falcons," the diving speed of the emergency escape craft suddenly accelerated, as if planning to plunge headfirst into the depths beneath the sea surface.

If there was truly no other way to deal with those two assembled combat aircraft, Chen Fei did indeed entertain the idea. Diving deep into the ocean would mean facing terrifying marine creatures, but it was still better than being shot out of the sky right now. The only option left was to stall for as much time as possible.

4800 meters from the sea surface, 4000 meters, 3000 meters...

Tail-chase tactics are effective for biting the prey at 6 o'clock, launching execution-style attacks from behind. But the emergency escape craft equipped with a railgun didn't have the same weakness.

Since the railgun could fire backwards, if the pursuer continued their relentless chase, they would likely fall right into Chen Fei's trap.

The attackers would maintain a certain posture, which meant they were perfect moving targets.

The evolved railgun had no tracer bullets, so where the full metal jacket bullets flew off to, perhaps only the heavens knew.

Even the two "Sky Falcons" had not realized how close they had come to being hit by the unseen fire during the chase, and even at this moment they had no idea that the desperately escaping emergency escape craft now had the capability to strike back.

Another fierce explosion shook the emergency escape craft, which almost lost control. Dodging missiles was nearly impossible, relying solely on the "Repulsion Shield" and "Magic Shield" to take the hit.

If the explosion exceeded the Magic Array's carrying limit or the Crystalline Block's power output, it could potentially affect the emergency escape craft and the people inside.

The railgun trained on the two "Sky Falcons" in the sky behind and fired furiously.

A dense rain of full-metal bullets ripped through the storm, whizzing by, and just like that, two more Energy Points were consumed.

One "Sky Falcon" disintegrated without warning; its pilot shattered simultaneously. The Law of Probability played out, and luck favored the blind cat that found a dead rat—a victory for mathematics.

The emergency escape craft was now less than 1000 meters from the sea surface, with its sole advantage about to run dry.

Yet the other "Sky Falcon" relentlessly pursued, firing with full force — missiles and even automatic firearms now joined the fray.

In the stormy night filled with wind and rain, another four "Sky Falcons" were rapidly approaching, their allegiance uncertain in the tumult.

Approaching near subsonic speeds at over 850 kilometers per hour, the emergency escape craft trembled violently. If it wasn't for the "Wind Cone (2)" Magic Array releasing wind cones to improve the aerodynamic shape, the craft might have fallen apart in mid-air by now.

Another missile swooped in, and Chen Fei had no intention or means to dodge. The surface of the "Repulsion Shield" outside rippled continuously, looking as though it could shatter at any moment.

The railgun kept firing at full force. Thankfully the Crystalline Blocks fitted in the emergency escape craft were not only fully charged with crystal energy, but they were also of a higher grade able to support the energy levels required by the Crystal Jet, sustaining the current consumption of crystal energy and electricity.

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However, Chen Fei's energy points were depleting too quickly, after all, he was burning through his reserves. If he didn't consume any, it was like a bottomless pit—once he started, he estimated that without 5000 energy points, he simply couldn't survive this ordeal.

It was at this moment that something unexpected occurred.

Suddenly, a tumultuous little hill rose from the sea surface. Something huge, too large to imagine, burst through the waves and, with a mouth full of dense fangs, easily swallowed the emergency escape pod, which was less than 500 meters from the sea level and attempting to stabilize, as effortlessly as if it were munching on a peanut.

Plummeting downward, unable to decelerate in time, a "Sky Falcon" smashed headfirst onto several fangs, shattering on the spot.

Huge waves roared to the sky, rising two to three hundred meters high. The sudden colossal creature quickly shrank and darted back beneath the sea surface, leaving behind erratic surging waves.

Four "Sky Falcons" skimmed over the region, turning all their lights on, but they discovered nothing.

Inside the emergency escape pod, most people lost consciousness in an instant, leaving only a few like Chen Fei still desperately forcing themselves to stay alert.

"Wha—what happened?"

Housekeeper Mars was among the few who remained conscious.

He had only seen darkness suddenly engulf the window outside, lightning and the violent storm disappeared completely, followed swiftly by an overwhelming heaviness descending upon him.

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"We seem to have been dragged beneath the sea surface by something!"

Engraved with the "Mind Brand (1)" magic array, the emergency escape pod enabled Chen Fei's eyes to sense the environmental changes around them through the hull, even though he couldn't see outside.

The radar wave feedback signal indicated the presence of an unknown barrier nearby.

"Eh?!"

Housekeeper Mars looked completely bewildered, but deep down, he had a foreboding feeling that things were not going well.

"Communication link failure, lost contact with the Fourth Legion, the satellite is unable to pinpoint our location, our position cannot be confirmed!"

Chen Fei checked the data fed back by the artificial intelligence AI "Adam." Although they were no longer being attacked by the "Sky Falcons," the situation was still not optimistic.

Nevertheless, he remained calm and composed. While the external communication had been completely interrupted, the Dog System's network link remained as firm as Taishan, and things like sending emails or surfing the web were as fast as ever, unaffected in any way.

After all, the "Plane Communication System" skill he acquired through spending a substantial amount of energy points truly exemplified the phrase "wool comes from the sheep." It seemed that communication service providers were not to be trusted, as they played with their customers.

Fighting wits with the Dog System was truly exhausting for Chen Fei, but in most cases, it was the Dog System that sheared Chen's wool while the opportunities for him to do the reverse were scarce.

The "Plane Communication System" skill ensured communication across different planes, let alone the vast ocean—it was far too underestimated.

Although they were unsure of their location, the slight shaking of the cabin indicated they were moving at high speed, somewhat akin to riding on a bullet train.

After spending another energy point, Chen Fei activated several lights and cameras on the surface of the emergency escape pod. When he clearly saw the outside situation, he couldn't help but gasp in shock.

Outside, there was no raging storm, no surging water, but undulating flesh that seemed to envelop the entire emergency escape pod, with green smoke continuously emerging, hissing audibly.

Princess Lin Ziyu was roused to consciousness by Housekeeper Mars using a special perfume. She murmured, "Where are we now?"

The escape had also taken a toll on her.

The stench inside the cabin was terrible. Despite the availability of sickness bags with drawstrings, some vomit still spilled over—it was a terrible feeling.

Thankfully, the single soldier tactical armor was equipped with enough functional modules. Chen Fei quickly figured out the situation and estimated, "We seem to have been swallowed by something, and the escape pod is inside the creature's stomach."

The ecosystem of Cangqiong Star made Chen Fei, a native of Blue Star, refresh his worldview yet again.

How enormous must the creature be to swallow an emergency escape pod whole?

Chen Fei could hardly imagine.

The atmosphere in the cabin turned silent all of a sudden as those who had awakened exchanged glances with each other.

"What, we've been swallowed?"

The naturally awakened Female Shadow Guard Lize Jina was nearly dumbfounded.

Be serious, they were fleeing for their lives!

"And we are being digested!"

Using the "Mind Brand (1)," Chen Fei sensed the exterior of the pod. The fleshy walls were secreting copious amounts of strong acid, corroding the pod's outer metal layer.

Even as he switched the metal composition, he couldn't withstand such fierce corrosion.

Hearing Chen Fei's words, everyone was on the verge of panic.

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