At the TerraNova Corporation's base, inside the monitoring center.
"Kazemi," a vigilant security officer quickly spotted an anomaly on the surveillance feed, promptly reporting the signals of two aircraft.
"Two Bluebird patrol craft, numbers 28 and 37," his voice wavered with a hint of tension.
Kazemi, the newly appointed head of the monitoring center, took a sip from a silver flask and remarked, "Maughan and the newcomer, Ryan…"
"Ryan have just joined us today, and instead of getting familiar with the firearms at the training ground, they're rushing to pilot the Bluebird? What's Maughan thinking?"
Kazemi signaled his companion to continue tracking while his gaze remained fixed on the screen. The two Bluebirds separated in the sky; number 28 accelerated forward, and number 37 circled and swiftly followed.
With years of experience, Kazemi instantly recognized this as a standard flight exercise. It appeared Maughan was presenting a challenge to the newcomer, Ryan.
Indeed, as the aircraft reached their maximum distance apart, the underside hatch of Bluebird 28 opened, and a series of irregular rocks were ejected, tracing diverse paths before scattering in all directions.
The maneuver was executed cleanly and efficiently.
"Maughan leading the training personally… It seems the boss has high hopes for Ryan. I wonder how he'll perform," Kazemi mused, arms crossed, his eyes intense.
Live-fire training in the Bluebird was a challenge for every individual. The task Maughan set for Ryan was far from easy, showing no signs of going easy on him.
The rocks, serving as targets, had a seven to eight-second window from ejection to landing, but the actual time for aiming and calculation was roughly five seconds, not accounting for the time to fire the machine gun. This left the pilot with an extremely limited response time.
In other words, Ryan had to complete a series of actions—targeting, locking on, and firing—in an extremely short time frame.
If it were a single target, this might not be too difficult with high-tech assistance. But Maughan had thrown out eight rocks at once, a formidable test for Ryan, who had to perform eight precise calculations and shooting actions within just two seconds.
"Maughan set such a difficult task for a newcomer on their first flight in a Bluebird. Even hitting two rocks would be impressive..." Kazemi's companion spoke with a teasing tone, "In our security team, few can shatter eight rocks. Only the boss, Deputy Leader Torres, Iron Bear, Karim, and Maughan… I can manage six at most."
Kazemi was silent.
With his current abilities, his reaction speed was no longer what it used to be; he could launch two attacks at most, breaking four rocks.
As they conversed, the Bluebird under test in the sky swiftly pulled the trigger, and four streams of fire erupted almost simultaneously.
Kazemi's flask halted mid-air.
What did he see?
Four streams of fire?
His companion's expression mirrored disbelief.
"Goodness."
"Four streams of fire."
"Another four!"
Gabriel Martin rose from his seat in excitement, exclaiming loudly.
Within two seconds, eight streaks of fire cut through the sky.
This newcomer was actually attempting to eliminate all eight targets at once.
The bursts of fire were fierce and rhythmic; regardless of whether they hit the mark, the sheer momentum was intimidating.
"Check the scores!" Kazemi leaned in towards the screen, hastily stowing away his flask.
"Unbelievable!"
"It's incredible!"
"All targets hit!"
The rocks, dancing in the air, were invariably struck by the machine gun's fire, turning into dust.
Kazemi swallowed hard.
Gabriel rubbed his arms incessantly, in shock.
At this moment, Maughan's state of mind was no calmer than Kazemi's and Gabriel's.
Witnessing Ryan's clean and efficient destruction of the eight rocks at once, displaying the skill of a seasoned security officer, Maughan's mind was left with one word:
Extraordinary!
Shooting talent…
Could he also excel in the patrol craft?
At this moment, Maughan began to vaguely realize something.
This might not just be about shooting talent…
But a profound understanding of the chip and a talent for combat.
As the Bluebird circled in the air with a howl, Maughan finally forced himself to calm down and steadily conveyed the command:
"Continue!"
Maughan maneuvered the Bluebird again, and the hatch swiftly ejected eight rocks.
Ryan knew his hidden talents were being uncovered.
He wasn't worried.
Hide his strength?
For how long?
Talent must eventually be revealed.
Ryan didn't have time to accumulate power slowly, nor did he want to improve step by step according to the rules.
The TerraNova Corporation was merely a stepping stone for him.
Once he had gathered enough resources, he would leave.
Thus…
The screen in front of Ryan quickly displayed the precise trajectories of the eight rocks calculated by Astra, along with the machine gun's ballistic cues.
The target lock's alert just sounded when his finger had already swiftly pulled the trigger.
The machine gun swiftly turned to the next target.
Instantly locked on.
Pulled the trigger again.
In one breath, four streams of fire were emitted.
Then six!
And then eight!
The Bluebird flew past clumps of gray debris.
All targets hit!
"This kid has every qualification to be a fighter pilot."
In the monitoring center, Kazemi and Gabriel were already stunned.
Such sharp and precise attacks, coupled with just-right movement, this kid was a natural-born aerial warrior.
Maughan continued.
Continuing to throw out rocks.
He wanted to see how long Ryan could keep up this performance.
Human computational capacity is limited, and the consumption of bioenergy over a long period of concentration is also an issue; many people cannot maintain absolute focus for long.
Maughan wanted to see if Ryan's focus was just a brief burst or if he truly had the steady nerves and calm demeanor needed for sustained performance.
If it was the former, stricter training would be needed for Ryan.
If it was the latter…
That would be remarkable!
Maughan was not a jealous person.
Although he recognized that Ryan's talent had already surpassed his own, he became increasingly aware that Ryan's potential might even exceed that of their leader...
Ryan's future was limitless.
Maughan issued the challenge, and Ryan could only accept.
Coincidentally, Ryan also wanted to test his current state and the limits of the chip's capabilities.
Two Bluebirds engaged in a fierce contest in the sky.
One posed the problem;
The other solved it.
The sound of dense explosions of rocks was unceasing.
The streams of fire were intense and crisscrossed powerfully, creating an unstoppable force.
In the end, the rocks were shattered the moment they left the hatch.
Maughan's forehead was covered in sweat.
A single Bluebird had actually displayed a powerful aerial pursuit momentum.
In the monitoring center, Kazemi and Gabriel were completely stunned, staring at the screen as if watching an interstellar war blockbuster, afraid to miss a single moment, not even noticing when Carlos stood behind them.