Qin Fen actually quite enjoyed the feeling of aerial combat. If only the recent training schedule hadn't been so intense, he might have already flown up here himself to gauge the progress of his aerial martial arts. 00kS.***

Qin Fen positioned himself like a stray aircraft, approaching the Pink fighter slowly without displaying any hostility. He was confident that given enough time, he could execute a surprise strike and eliminate his opponent.

"Pink little lady, the reject reserve rookie is sneaking up on you!" Captain Waste’s voice crackled over the channel, shattering Qin Fen's initial plan for a stealth attack.

"It's the Cowardly Squadron again!" Pink Swallow’s space fighter executed a sharp, accelerating turn mid-air and immediately opened fire on Qin Fen: "Sneaking! Just as cowardly as expected!"

Qin Fen felt deeply wronged. Aerial combat was nothing more than flanking maneuvers and frontal assaults, or variations thereof; how could a surprise attack be considered cowardly?

Though Pink Swallow’s words sounded somewhat naive, her skill in the air was astonishingly high. Qin Fen managed to evade her initial attacks and counter, only to find that Pink Swallow had dodged his return fire as well.

"Kid! Can't you even beat a rookie?" Captain Waste’s voice was loud enough for every aircraft in the vicinity to hear, and for a moment, all the planes fell silent.

Pink Swallow was no rookie; she was a Federal Level Three Ace Pilot, definitely a master of considerable skill.

The only person nearby daring to call her a rookie was Captain Waste, a Federal Super Level One Ace Pilot.

The two engaged in a dogfight for several seconds, leaving the surrounding pilots stunned. Which ace pilot from which faction was wearing the guise of the Ghost fighter, just playing around here?

"Kid, is this all you've got? I'm so disappointed!"

Captain Waste's voice sounded again, and Qin Fen's hand movements on the controls suddenly accelerated. He hadn't planned on playing for two days, intending only to reacquaint himself with the feel, but he couldn't allow Captain Waste to look down on him.

Dragon Concealment in Aerial Combat!

With a bizarre flight trajectory, Qin Fen’s aircraft slipped past Pink Swallow, instantly appearing beneath her fighter. Executing a textbook Cobra maneuver, a beam of light simultaneously erupted from the nose of his craft, performing the most perfect surgical incision in the air upon Pink Swallow!

This beam was originally the Ghost space fighter’s last-ditch attack, reserved for situations where they faced insurmountable mechanized armor or capital ships—a suicide option.

Qin Fen had pulled off such a cut before, but only when the power disparity was vast, a method used by a master against an inferior pilot. Qin Fen thought it amusing and casually adopted the move, unaware that the originator of this technique was Captain Waste himself, and that this move had another moniker in aerial combat: Humiliate Them to Death!

Qin Fen was merely having fun, oblivious to the nickname. A Federal Level Three Ace Pilot had just been publicly disgraced before everyone watching.

"Brilliant! Just as expected of my disciple!"

Captain Waste's shout caused Qin Fen’s reputation score in the Aerial Combat Net to skyrocket instantly. Everyone readily believed the Captain; only someone trained by him would use such a method to utterly insult an Ace Pilot.

"You trash rookie!" The furious female voice echoed in Qin Fen’s headset: "The Pink Squadron will fight you to the death!"

Qin Fen shuddered. This woman was too petty; being shot down once shouldn't warrant a fight to the death, should it?

Since he wasn't a legitimate, official pilot, Qin Fen knew little of the aviator world. He had only shown off his skill moments ago because he didn't want Captain Waste to dismiss him.

"Kid, not bad! You just arrived, and already those beauties from the Pink Squadron are interested in you. You have potential!" Captain Waste called out happily from the side: "Don't rush off. Stay here. I want to see the true extent of your abilities today."

Soon, Chu Nan saw over a dozen Pink Swallow-type fighters converging on him from various directions, one of which was the very one he had just brought down.

"Shoot them all down for me!"

Only Captain Waste, a Super Level One Ace Pilot, would dare to bluster about shooting down more than a dozen Level Three Ace Pilots.

Though Qin Fen didn't understand squadron formations, he instinctively sensed that the pilot he had downed first was the leader of this group.

Shoot the horse first to dismount the rider; shoot the head first to disable the fighter!

The Ghost fighter’s power core blasted forward at maximum thrust. Qin Fen didn't retreat but charged directly toward his "old adversary."

Having been insulted publicly moments before, the pilot of that specific Pink Swallow was equally enraged. Seeing Qin Fen charging in defiance, she relayed a few aerial combat terms, and the formation immediately shifted. She positioned herself at the very forefront, determined to exact personal revenge.

Ideals are often beautiful, but reality is always cruel.

Qin Fen’s Dragon Concealment struck again, causing the Pink Swallow pilot to choke on her defeat once more. He downed her in a single pass, even cleaner than the first time!

Instant Kill!

This brought considerable shock to the other pilots. Qin Fen used the opening to immediately eliminate two more Pink fighters while simultaneously maneuvering among the rest.

"I don't believe I can't take you down!" The two defeated Pink fighters reappeared quickly. This time, however, Qin Fen's Ghost space fighter, operating in the full real-mode, lacked sufficient energy after the previous chase and entanglement due to the intense battle; he needed to return to base for resupply.

The Pink fighters clearly wouldn't give him a chance to resupply; they clung to him like wolves that hadn't eaten meat in months spotting fresh prey.

"Good," Captain Waste smiled with satisfaction: "Hold out until you run out of energy. Freefall counts as victory then."

Qin Fen glanced at the energy gauge on his aircraft's console, knowing it was likely impossible to defeat the aces chasing him. But simply enduring until he ran out of energy wasn't his style. The continuous fighting of the past few days had gradually instilled in him a personality that demanded engagement: if there's a fight, fight!

With a sudden burst of acceleration and a sharp, sweeping turn, Qin Fen’s fighter charged back toward the pursuing Pink planes.

Everyone expected Qin Fen to stall until his energy depleted and he withdrew from the battle, but no one anticipated his sudden reversal. Even those in pursuit hadn't expected it.

"Take him down!" The lead pilot commanded, charging forward again at the front of the formation.

A faint smile played on Qin Fen's lips as he spoke through the voice system for the first time: "Let’s explode together."

Mid-air Collision!

"It's you?" The lead aircraft’s voice held a hint of surprise. It weaved erratic evasive maneuvers mid-air, trying to trick Qin Fen, but his innate combat sense was too sharp. Qin Fen dodged several missile attacks and slammed violently into the enemy craft.

A fireball erupted. Captain Waste laughed even more heartily: "He's got spirit. This humiliation is just as good as the last one."

ps: This is Gao Lou Ben's final push for the top of the charts. Please let me stand gloriously and completely at the number one spot on the new rankings! I sincerely ask everyone to cast your recommendation votes for me today. Thank you all.