Sky-cracking Rider-Chapter 808: Section 803 - Swallowing the Whale

Fortunately, the communication between Chen Fei and the communications center is a single line contact, and it's not a narration overlay in the three-dimensional holographic projection. Otherwise, the whole 223 Aircrew Base would probably be laughing with everyone falling over.

Nobody likes an invisible man with no presence wherever he goes. In contrast, troublemakers are more likely to get attention and even appreciation.

Society is just this unreasonable. A hardworking ox is dedicated, but sheer dedication and diligence alone won't get a salary raise. Only those who can talk the talk stand out.

Like Chekhov Big Bear, a guy who often drinks and drives, gets into fights, and tells dirty jokes, would become the squadron leader of the 911 Aircrew Base Combat Flight Squadron, and his position is unshakable. Even Chen Fei can't do anything about it; he is just a little brother who needs everyone's care, far from being a squadron leader!

If you put an honest man as the squadron leader, who would obey him?

-

The Mechanical Dragon maintained a low-altitude hover at 50 meters above the ground in Area E. Chen Fei's eyes were fully buffed, searching for clues of the commanding individual's existence with "Adam," precisely identifying each abnormal presence on the ground.

The Thermobaric Bomb hit the nest of the Mutant "SS-0132 Jetstream Scorpion" from the sky, turning the entire sand dune into a volcanic crater. The black and red "lava" flowed everywhere, with numerous mutants torn to pieces. Within the fiery coverage, the struggling "SS-0132 Jetstream Scorpion" burned all over while sprinting wildly on the glazed sand. It didn't rush out more than 20 meters before collapsing, gradually cooling into a charred solid with the molten glassy substance.

The Thermobaric Bomb detonated at a low altitude, releasing its destructiveness to the maximum extent.

Further away, the "SS-0132 Jetstream Scorpions" were also thrown into the air by a powerful shockwave and then fell heavily, half alive and half dead. However, the subsequent oxygen deprivation finally claimed their lives.

The area within a 500-meter radius centered on the bomb impact point turned into a dead zone. The charred aftermath of the fireball spread in a radial pattern, covering several sand dunes.

Even beyond 500 meters, many monsters and mutants with obvious burn marks howled and struggled.

There were 16 hours left in the mission time.

But the commanding individual still had not been found.

"Could it be not in Area E, or is it hiding underground?"

Chen Fei, with his eyes wide open, muttered to himself. He had scanned Area E thoroughly once, and now he was on his second pass.

After more than an hour of searching, he had found nothing. The annoying Dog System, knowing the answer, refused to give the slightest hint, making it very frustrating.

The communications officer at the command center watched the marker representing the Mechanical Dragon circle around on the electronic map without finding the target and tentatively asked, "'Rookie,' how about bombing a different area?"

There was no shortage of high-power ammunition. Even if they bombed the entire area, it wouldn't be a big deal.

"No hurry, let me take another look."

Areas D and E had the highest suspicion, and Chen Fei allocated 12 hours of search time to these two areas, while the other areas ABC were given the remaining 12 hours.

Since the allotted time wasn't up, he wouldn't easily switch zones.

Chen Fei planned to make full use of these 24 hours. The young man was strong, staying up for a day and a night was no big deal for him.

The X-D-005 Giant Dragon-type Combat Mobile Armor descended from the sky, causing the dunes to quiver. Dry sand rolled down, enormous claws digging deep into the sand. A pair of blade wings slowly opened and closed, and the powerful airflow blew the surrounding sand away.

The desert wasn't as dry as one might imagine. The sand had excellent heat and moisture retention properties. Beneath the top layer of loose sand, the sand underneath was rich in moisture and very firm, allowing desert plants to grow with long, tough roots that could penetrate dense moist sand to draw water.

From an ancient perspective, the desert had once been a forest or grassland, inherently having water-rich geological conditions.

The aquifer deep beneath the Sahara Desert in the northern African continent held a water volume nearly sixteen times that of the Great Lakes of North America.

After disabling the "Gravity (1)" magic array and the Gravity Adjustment Module, the 16-ton Mechanical Dragon didn't sink into the dunes but looked around, raising its tail spear high and stabbing deep into the dune.

The tail tip evolved into a drill, quickly penetrating the moist sand. Upon reaching the predetermined depth, it transformed into a sonar detection device.

"Boom!~"

The giant muffled sound reverberated inside the dune, rapidly spreading in all directions.

The dense, moist sand facilitated sound wave transmission. Once it reached the aquifer, the speed would significantly increase. As long as the sensors were sensitive enough, the device could detect conditions within a ten-kilometer radius and several kilometers underground.

The pair of blade wings split into four detection rods. With a flap, they were flung far away, diving into the sand 100 meters away, and burrowing further down to start listening for sonar echoes, which could pinpoint the source of the echoes using computational models.

Since awakening his ability, Chen Fei's spiritual power index had been growing, now surpassing 900, rivaling the C-class psychic ability users. Since it wasn't a supernatural ability, it wasn't fixed in one go and still had great growth potential.

Although the supernatural ability suppressant affected him, it didn't completely restrict him. He could still use space system alchemy storage devices and even control metallic transformations up to 200 meters away.

If not for the supernatural ability suppressant, the spiritual power influence distance would be 1000 meters.

Despite having such a high spiritual power index, his control power was weak. He could only use it with metal elemental psychic powers, unlike psychic power users who could utilize psychic series skills or magic, possessing merely strong resistance to psychic power and nothing more.

"Boom!~"

Every five seconds, a deep, forceful resonance penetrated deep into the desert.

After finding nothing from the aerial survey, Chen Fei turned his attention to areas the eye couldn't see. The parasitic creatures' stronghold "Spawning Nest" preferred to root underground. Compared to the exposed ground and the inescapable sky, the complex underground geology was often the best hiding place.

This desert had endured unknown millennia, harboring countless secrets.

A series of chaotic echoes were computed by Artificial Intelligence AI "Adam" into visual images and data. Suddenly, alarms blared.

Just as Chen Fei saw a colossal object appear on the screen, his entire body trembled violently. Technically, it was the Mechanical Dragon, no, the entire dune that trembled violently.

The next second, a giant mouth capable of engulfing most of the dune emerged from underground, swallowing the Mechanical Dragon whole.

The pitch-black throat not only engulfed the Mechanical Dragon but also a large portion of sand, making escape impossible. The Mechanical Dragon, along with a mass of sand, plummeted down.

In merely two seconds, the monstrous mouth, having reached an altitude of nearly 50 meters, swiftly retracted beneath the dune, followed by a cascade of sand. The once towering dune was reduced to a third of its original height, left as a low mound.

It was unclear whether the lamb entered the tiger's mouth willingly or the opponent had silently crept up on the Mechanical Dragon upon landing. Despite using sonar detection correctly, it was a step too late.

"Hey, hey, 'Rookie,' 'Rookie'!"

The footage transmitted by the drone matrix gave the communications officer a huge fright. She watched in horror as the Mechanical Dragon, along with 'Rookie' Chen Fei, was swallowed by the monstrous mouth, disappearing in an instant.

"Damn!!"

"Gone, gone?"

"What kind of monster was that! That mouth was so big!"

"That huge dune vanished in one bite!"

At the 223 Aircrew Base, the startled exclamations arose repeatedly in front of every three-dimensional holographic projection and flat screen. Many people involuntarily stood up.

"'Rookie' received!"

Along with Chen Fei's voice came continuous rumbling thuds.

Even the noise reduction system couldn't completely filter out all these noises.

The communication officer felt her scalp tingling, forcing herself to calmly ask, "Where are you? It seemed like something swallowed you."

For some unknown reason, although the positioning signal was interrupted, communication remained smooth, and the signal strength was robust.

"Seems to be swallowed. Let me see, the surroundings look like rocks and keratin layers, a very strange structure.

With Chen Fei's experience, being swallowed by strange things wasn't new, so he remained calm, responding to the communications officer.

Mutants included Tsar Worms with large mouths, and magical beasts like the Earth Emperor Worm.

The Mechanical Dragon's exterior emitted unpleasant screeches, rubbing violently against rock and keratin layers, occasionally sparking. Chen Fei contracted and transformed the mech into an egg shape that could withstand immense pressure. He fully activated his psi skill to absorb surrounding metal elements, combating the wear and tear; although abrasions continued outside, the core remained unscathed.

After adjusting the Mechanical Dragon's new form, Chen Fei tentatively released an anti-armor landmine.

Bang!~

The mine detached from the egg-shaped mech shortly before being triggered by immense pressure and exploded. The shockwave surged, causing the pilot cabin to jolt significantly, as if rolling over a big stone.

However, the gripping rock and keratin layer structure showed no signs of stopping.

The explosive power was insufficient. The creature that swallowed the mech was entirely unharmed, like casually belching.

It was unimaginable how huge the creature outside must be, given it ignored the anti-armor landmine's lethality.

"Are you safe now? Do you need support?"

The communications officer's heart was in her mouth. Even though Chen Fei was safe now, it didn't mean he would remain so.

Having been swallowed, who could guarantee what would happen next?

The ability users watching the Mechanical Dragon's operation actively gathered, awaiting command center's call.

"No need for now!"

Chen Fei's voice came in as he transformed the egg-shaped mech's center into an electromagnetic acceleration track, mounting a 600mm demolition bomb.

Accelerated to Mach 25, let's go!~