Chapter 570.1: You Dare To Get On My Plane Even When You Don't Know My Name?

Hearing the servant’s shout, Kong Lingkai froze at first, then beads of sweat rolled down his face and he turned deathly pale.

“Mutant Humans?! The ones from deep in the province?!”

But how was that possible?

He had never heard of those Mutant Humans attacking nearby settlements!

“Who knows, my lord! They all looked the same, green like ghosts. They suddenly howled and burst out of the woods, then started shooting, setting fires, killing people...”

The servant was so anxious he was close to tears, babbling incoherently, but Kong Lingkai on the tower no longer had the heart to listen.

The roars of the Mutant Humans already carried from not far away.

Judging from the overwhelming racket, the town had no chance at all.

He had no interest in learning how those man-eaters ate people. All he wanted was to get far away.

He grabbed a guard beside him and shouted, “Quick! Drag my plane out of the warehouse!”

“Yes!” The guard swallowed and nodded in a panic, then turned and ran to the rear.

The two players standing below the gate tower were both thrown off by the sudden turn of events.

Mutant Humans?

A plane?!

“There’s a plane here?!” Daydreaming Star River glanced around in bewilderment. “Where’s the airfield?”

Falling Feather said nothing and simply stared ahead in shock.

The wide wooden doors opened, and several slaves in tattered clothes pushed out a propeller plane.

The aircraft was a product of Goblin Technology. It was a W-2 mosquito! Mounted beneath were two modified 20 mm autocannons!

He had heard Brother Mosquito brag ages ago that Goblin Technology’s planes were selling like crazy in the south. Back then, he had taken it as a joke.

He didn’t expect the fool to be telling the truth!

The farm owner who had been wearing an exoskeleton earlier had changed outfits and sat in the rear seat of the cockpit where there was an added passenger seat.

At the controls sat a pilot wearing goggles. From the tension on his face, he had probably hardly flown at all.

“This works?!” Daydreaming Star River was already stupefied.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

“Works my ass... Just watch.”

Falling Feather tugged him aside, moved the Little Feathers away from the doorway, and watched with interest to see how those two NPCs planned to take off.

To be honest, with no obstacles and in winter, the relatively even dirt road had frozen hard. It wasn’t impossible to get airborne.

The only thing was... Taking off on such a surface demanded real skill from the pilot.

At 200 km/h, never mind a plane, even a car would bounce into the air if it hit a pebble.

He didn’t believe that the rookie had the skill to fly.

Plowing straight into the field beside them was the most likely outcome.

A plan suddenly came to Falling Feather.

“Quick! Get airborne!” Waving away the slaves pushing the aircraft, Kong Lingkai shrilled and urged, both hands clamping down on the pilot’s shoulders.

“Y-Yes!” Scolded and hurried by his boss, the pilot hastily pushed the throttle.

The propellers began to spin, and the plane rolled forward slowly.

An elderly butler ran out through the door just then, chasing alongside the aircraft. Eyes frantic, he looked at the man in the cockpit and asked in a trembling voice, “Master, master! If you go, what will we do?!”

Who the hell cares about you?!

Gritting his teeth, Kong Lingkai yelled back, “I’m going to Pinecone Ranch for aid. You take the people and run north! There’s an abandoned mine there... Take shelter and wait for me to come back!”

Run?

How can people possibly outrun Mutant Humans!

Those creatures were born hunters; they could one down by scent!

The butler’s face turned ashen. He opened his mouth to say something, but his legs couldn’t keep up with the plane’s speed. He stumbled and fell to the ground.

Watching the plane slip forward, despair filled his eyes as he lay there.

But before that despair had stayed in his eyes for even two seconds, the aircraft suddenly jolted, then, tugged by its propeller, lurched straight into the field.

The blade-like propeller struck the frozen soil with two sharp snaps and broke. The right wingtip also gouged into the dirt.

Both men in the plane were rattled silly by the sudden impact.

Especially the farm owner in the rear seat. His chest was crushed against the front seat, his whole face contorted with pain.

“Were you trying to get me killed?!”

“S-sorry! It was the plane! It has a problem...”

Casting a hurried glance at his boss and then at the broken propeller and the jittering instruments, the pilot broke out in a cold sweat, turning so nervous he went blank.

He had only taken 20 hours of training in Dawn City and knew roughly how to take off and land.

After his boss bought the aircraft, it had basically been left in the warehouse. Even the runway at the hangar gate had been used for drying wheat.

Otherwise he wouldn’t have tried to take off in the godforsaken place.

“There was nothing wrong with the plane. There was something wrong with your flying.” A voice came from beside him. The pilot turned his head and got a fright from the person who had climbed up to the cockpit.

Before he could react, a hand reached into the cockpit and pulled the throttle back.

The engine’s roar weakened.

Leaving the cockpit, Falling Feather walked to the nose, looked it over for a moment, stroked his chin, and said, “... The right wingtip is broken and the propeller snapped. The driveshaft is probably damaged too... Heh, this needs a major overhaul.”

The pilot asked nervously, “Can we fix it in time?”

“Are you joking? There isn’t even ground crew here,” Falling Feather said with a glance, then continued, “Do you have any other planes? Or just this one?”

The pilot stammered, “There’s another one... We bought two.”

Falling Feather breathed a little easier and looked at the farm owner, who was struggling to straighten up from the seatback.

“Hey, you’re Kong something, right? Let’s make a deal.”

Kong Lingkai looked up at the mercenary standing by the plane, glanced at the rifle on his chest, swallowed, and asked, “... What deal?”

His private soldiers were all over by the other side, and his half-blind old butler was sprawled on the ground like an idiot.

These people...

One more useless than the next!

If he were still on the gate tower, he would never have bargained with that man. But now, he had no choice but to listen.

“I can fly this plane... Or to put it another way, I flew this thing out in the Great Desert and beat the Wislanders bloody.”

Falling Feather jerked his chin at the aircraft with the broken plane and went on, “You wanted to run for your life, right? I’ll get you out. In exchange, you hand over the people my buddy came for.”

Kong Lingkai almost blurted that it was impossible, but then thought, at a time like this, even if he didn’t hand them over, those people would never survive once the Mutant Humans came killing.

From what that guy said, he sounded like a skilled pilot...

Kong Lingkai stared at him and mumbled, “... You are really with the New Alliance?”

Falling Feather pulled a helpless face. “Did you think I was joking with you? You better decide quickly. If you’re late, there won’t be time.”

Whether it was true or not, he had no choice but to believe it now.

Glancing at the utterly useless rookie in the pilot’s seat, Kong Lingkai swallowed and nodded slowly. “Deal...”

Seeing his fish take the hook, a smile spread over Falling Feather’s face. “Glad we decided so happily.”

Time was tight. There was no moment to waste.

Led by the farm owner, Falling Feather quickly reached the hangar within the concrete wall. Through the open doors, he saw Goblin Technology’s industrial marvel (junk). The other W-2.

Perhaps it had been intended as an escape tool from the start, as both planes had their cockpits modified with an extra seat crammed into already cramped space.

A wide concrete strip lay on the open ground by the east wall, but it was piled with stuff and spread with wheat drying in the sun.

Kong Lingkai looked a little embarrassed and gave a small cough. “The servants were ignorant...”

“That has nothing to do with me...” After checking that the aircraft’s ammunition load was still intact, Falling Feather exhaled in relief, then looked at him and continued, “Where’s the people we want?”

Kong Lingkai signaled to a guard beside him. The man hurried off and soon returned with two elderly people and a couple holding a child.

Their faces were blank with confusion. They looked timidly at the farm owner and his private soldiers, not knowing why they had been brought over, nor what was happening outside.

Falling Feather looked at Daydreaming Star River. “Are these the ones?”

“Same as the photos.” Daydreaming Star River opened the VM to confirm their identities, then looked at Falling Feather with delight and said, “Thanks, brother!”

“You’re welcome. But it’s too soon to be happy. Our work isn’t done yet... They convoy I have to escort is still in Hope Town.”

As he spoke, Falling Feather took off his K-10 Iron Wall exoskeleton and handed it to Daydreaming Star River, lowering his voice to instruct him. “In a bit, you lead the Little Feathers and push through... Mark targets for me on the ground. Damn, I almost forgot... I shouldn’t need to teach you what to do, right?”

Daydreaming Star River chuckled, “Heh, you have to be joking. We flew together, bro. Leave it to me, just make your shots count.”

Falling Feather laughed, “Of course.”

Watching the two converse in a language he didn’t understand, the already-seated Kong Lingkai felt a faint unease and shouted to them, “What were you whispering about? Hurry up!”

“Coming, coming,” Falling Feather said with a smile as he climbed into the plane, buckled in, and waved away the slaves who were about to help drag the aircraft. “Clear out, just don’t block my path.”

With that, he nudged the throttle forward. As the engine hummed, the airplane rolled forward slowly, then swung and taxied toward the open doors.

Sitting behind him, Kong Lingkai stared at his back, so tense he nearly pressed himself into the seat.

Seeing they had reached the door and spotting the wrecked plane lying in the field, his voice took on a hint of fear.

“... Can this work?”

“It has to! Strap in!” Flexing his fingers on the rudder, Falling Feather smiled and set the flaps to takeoff, then shoved the throttle to the stop.

A massive pull surged from the nose. Caught off guard, Kong Lingkai was slammed into the seatback by the thrust.

Panic widened his eyes and he cried out, “Wait, slow down...”

“Shut up!” Silencing the annoying man behind him, Falling Feather gripped the stick tight, locked his gaze on the rushing strip below, took a deep breath, and yanked the nose up at just the right moment.

The airframe lifted off the ground.

In the back, Kong Lingkai’s heart leapt into his throat.

Only when he saw the ground dropping away and the aircraft slip free of the earth’s pull did he cheer excitedly, “Hahaha! To hell with you, green-skinned bastards!”

Still not satisfied, he spat out the window and swore for a long moment before coming to and glancing at the pilot in front.