"Coming!"
The sudden knocking made Chen Fei guess what was going on, and he quickly opened the door.
The sunlight streaming into the room was momentarily blocked, like a small mountain had suddenly appeared, and he involuntarily widened his eyes.
Standing outside the door was a tall, burly man with a wooden expression. He glanced at Chen Fei, handed him a thick bag, and said, "Change your clothes, then come with me to start work."
A strong, indescribable smell of machine oil wafted out. The light gray work clothes couldn't hide his bulging muscles; he was at least two meters tall, and his head could easily touch the door frame.
No wonder such a big guy wouldn't like a whiny doorbell; even a light knock sounded like banging on the door.
"Oh, thank you!"
Chen Fei took the bag, which contained work clothes. He was about to close the door to change when he suddenly remembered something, opened the door again, and said, "You meant onboarding training?"
The other person seemed to have omitted the word "training" earlier.
The man, still expressionless, said, "No training, just starting work." I'm the mechanic chief, Xiao Ming."
The promised onboarding training was gone; he was just being forced into it.
It was very likely that the incompetent HR manager, Takakar, was behind it all, eliminating the training and undoubtedly making the job much harder.
Arriving at the 911 Aircrew Base, he was immediately hit with a slap on the wrist, starting in the mechanics team—a hellish start.
That old Neanderthal man, Barut, was right; the HR manager was no good!
Although the 911 Aircrew Base was privately contracted, it was still a military unit with many secrets that couldn't be disclosed, especially to a newbie like Chen Fei. He couldn't just pry into them.
However, during last night's drinks, Barut, also an employee, had picked out some things to say, either explicitly or implicitly, to give Chen Fei a glimpse into the world, preventing him from running into walls several times in confusion.
As payment, the large bag of handmade bread that Teacher Shen Fei gave Chen Fei ended up in the belly of this Neanderthal old man.
He's so old, yet he still eats so much!
"Okay, okay! Please wait a moment!"
As a rookie, Chen Fei had no right to question, so he quickly changed into his work clothes and reappeared before Chief Engineer Xiao Ming.
The light gray work clothes with numerous pockets looked quite smart on Chen Fei.
"Come with me!"
Xiao Ming didn't say much, turning and walking away briskly.
Without looking back, he walked with a whooshing sound, his voice coming again.
"Are you an aviation major? Do you have a CCAR license?"
Chen Fei, who quickly followed, honestly answered, "No, no, I am..."
Before he could finish, Xiao Ming interrupted him, continuing, "Do you have a pilot's license?"
His tone was inexplicably stiff; his major wasn't relevant, so asking anything was superfluous.
"Uh, no!"
Chen Fei's lips twitched.
For ordinary people, owning a car was already a luxury; who would dare dream of flying?"
Just a few dishes; you have had too much to drink!"
The mechanic's tone grew increasingly harsh; his temper seemingly was not very good.
"Yes, yes, I know all kinds of office software."
After all, he was a graduate student from a prestigious university, preparing for postgraduate entrance exams; how could he not be familiar with such a basic productivity tool as a computer? Chen Fei secretly breathed a sigh of relief; at least he had something he knew.
Otherwise, he'd be embarrassed if he couldn't answer any questions.
If he couldn't even use a computer, the other party would probably ask him if he could read—questions that weren't particularly hurtful but extremely insulting.
Actually, he was overthinking it. If he dared to utter a single "no," this tall, burly mechanic would simply take this rookie to the cleaning crew, where he'd obediently sacrifice his youth to sweeping and carrying bricks.
Having traveled this far, he'd become accustomed to deep-set eyes, hooked noses, and large beards, or people of Central Asian descent with sallow skin. Seeing black hair, black eyes, and light yellow skin again evoked a natural sense of familiarity.
Xiao Ming wasn't from Chen Fei's hometown. He had Samoan ancestry and possessed a naturally robust physique that rivaled, and perhaps even surpassed, that of Caucasians.
Due to geographical location, transportation, and security factors, the 911 Aircrew Base was always short-staffed, with each department never fully staffed. This wasn't due to salary; on the contrary, the income level here wasn't low, the benefits were quite generous, and insurance was plentiful. Yet, few were willing to waste their youth in this desolate, cold place.
Wasn't a more comfortable life in a big city appealing?
Even if they earned a pittance, it wouldn't be enough for a down payment on a mortgage!
Otherwise, the Aircrew Base wouldn't be so desperate as to accept even recent graduates with unrelated majors—after all, they were just tools; anyone would do. Those working here were treated like animals; there weren't many requirements to begin with.
Upon hearing the news of a legitimate university undergraduate student's arrival, the highly technical maintenance team rushed to knock.
on the door—or rather, to bang on it—excitedly. However, Chief Maintenance Officer Xiao Ming was met with a cold shower. This newcomer had neither an aviation-related major, nor a CAAR (Civil Aircraft Maintenance Personnel License), nor a pilot's license. He was completely unrelated to aviation, his closest connection being a few flights and knowing how to fasten a seatbelt. He wasn't even qualified to be a layman; he was a complete novice, more blank than a sheet of paper.
The 911 Aircrew Base maintained regular flight operations, resulting in a workload that had already forced the already understaffed maintenance team to work overtime, leaving them no time to catch their breath and even normal leave a luxury.
However, some tasks cannot be completed ahead of schedule by rushing. There are standard working hours, and not a minute can be wasted. If a mistake is made, the resulting material loss is a minor issue; it could even mean starting all over again, making the already overwhelmed maintenance team even more stressed.
After a series of disappointments, Xiao Ming breathed a sigh of relief. At least this young man had some basic computer skills and didn't really need to start from scratch. He figured he could teach him step-by-step, and given the learning ability of a recent college graduate, he wouldn't disappoint him.
The 911 Aircrew Base was built on a high ground that had been leveled. The 1500-meter main runway occupied two-thirds of the base's area, fully capable of supporting the smooth takeoff and landing of medium-sized transport aircraft.
While large transport aircraft could also take off and land, it required activating the magnetic capture device, which would consume the entire output power of the target cryogenic nuclear fusion energy tower, potentially causing most of the base's electrical equipment to shut down.
The hangar, roughly the size of a basketball arena, is the tallest and most conspicuous building near the main runway. It consists of two interconnected arched structures, Hangar 1 and Hangar 2, which also serve as the maintenance team's work area.
Chief mechanic Xiao Ming led Chen Fei to Hangar 1, where work had already begun. Six propeller planes were lined up, enjoying their dedicated work area. Two helicopters were parked opposite the main passageway, their weapon racks displaying either large-caliber machine guns or rocket pods, with two empty hardpoints on each side—perhaps for missiles—clearly indicating their formidable nature.
Completely out of place in the bustling activity of Hangar 1, seven or eight individuals occupied a small area. Some were exercising on the gym equipment, some were lounging on beach chairs, idly drinking beverages, some were wearing headphones, listening to music with their eyes closed, some were engrossed in reading thick books, and some were scrolling through their phones.
None of them were doing anything productive; each was doing their own thing.
One of them, noticing Xiao Ming and Chen Fei, immediately called out in a strange tone,
"Captain Xiao, you're here early! The young man next to you looks unfamiliar! Moshi moshi..."
He even winked at Chen Fei, looking like a smooth-talking, cheeky guy.
"What's it to you, Yamada!"
Captain Xiao Ming retorted irritably.
Chen Fei tried to maintain a stiff, harmless smile but didn't know what to say.
Yamada, definitely not named Yamada.
"Little brother, want to play around with machines?"
A short-haired girl licked her lips at Chen Fei, holding a large dumbbell. Beneath her smooth, chocolate-colored skin were clearly defined muscles. She wore a short-sleeved sports bra, revealing an eight-pack of abs.
Playing around with...
machines, or... girls?
And who's the little brother?
Chen Fei was a little confused. What did this short-haired girl mean by "girl"?
"Get lost, he's one of my men!"
Xiao Ming declared Chen Fei's ownership with righteous indignation.
Σ(°△°|||)︴This
This seems even more ambiguous!
"Tch! Machine Guy!"
The spirited short-haired girl gave the tall, burly mechanic the middle finger.
In the aircrew base, the mechanics team was nicknamed "Machine Guys," referring to their tinkering with aircraft alongside the crazy guys in the flight squadron and even managing to make them fly—purely the literal meaning, nothing more. The
The flight squadron leader wasn't around at the moment; otherwise, he could have exchanged a few more words with the Machine Guy leader.
"Ignore them; the guys in the flight squadron only know how to talk."
Xiao Ming raised his fist, the size of a sand bowl, clenched it tightly, and said arrogantly, "Our mechanics team can repair planes, and we can repair them too!"
This arm was thicker than his own thigh; Chen Fei was speechless. Boss, whatever you say is right.
A Samoan hybrid, his body is covered in naturally muscular bulges, practically blessed with the Thirteen Bodyguards' external martial arts and the Golden Bell Iron Shirt, offering absolute defense from every angle. Just looking at him is terrifying; in a one-on-one fight, he truly wouldn't be afraid of anyone.
Update Announcement: Double updates daily, single updates on holidays.
It's not that I'm lazy; on one hand, I need to avoid releasing during the Spring Festival period, and on the other hand, I have to cook. Cooking, eating, and washing dishes take two hours per meal, and with two meals a day, that's four hours in total, not counting grocery shopping. I don't have time to write.