At 6 PM, an announcement came over the airport's loudspeaker: "Passengers traveling to Sanya on flight NG8773, please proceed to Gate 3."
Upon hearing the announcement, Chen Yang picked up his own bag and walked over to Liu Xinyao, who was sitting quite a distance away. Without a word, he lifted her pink suitcase as well.
Liu Xinyao opened her mouth, but ultimately remained silent, tacitly accepting Chen Yang's help. Her large black glasses obscured her eyes, and Chen Yang couldn't see the expression in them.
Together with Professor Yan, Chen Yang and Liu Xinyao walked towards the boarding gate. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, they could see their flight, NG8773, quietly parked at its gate, awaiting boarding. It was a Boeing 757, a medium-sized single-aisle narrow-body aircraft, capable of carrying up to 280 passengers. The Xiamen Airlines logo on the tail of the plane gleamed in the setting sun.
After queuing to pass through the boarding gate, Chen Yang and his group walked along the jet bridge towards the plane. At the cabin door, the purser, accompanied by a flight attendant, nodded to each boarding passenger.
When Chen Yang saw the flight attendant beside the purser, even he, who had seen all sorts of beautiful women in his previous life, couldn't help but feel a flutter in his heart.
This flight attendant appeared to be about twenty-two or twenty-three years old. Her long, black hair was styled in an elegant updo, revealing her slender, fair neck. A few loose strands at the roots of her hair added a touch of allure. A wisp of hair gently framing her smooth, full forehead.
Below her long eyelashes were a pair of clear, bright eyes. Her straight, delicate nose, cherry-red lips with a touch of light lip gloss, and her flawless, oval face created a stunningly beautiful face. She wore a well-fitting flight attendant uniform, and the slightly open neckline beneath a pretty silk scarf hinted at her allure. Her straight posture made her perfect bust line even more alluring.
The flight attendant's elegant demeanor was like a giant magnet, deeply attracting the gazes of all the men.
Even Chen Yang, a seasoned veteran, couldn't help but feel his heart race as he passed through the cabin door. When the flight attendant smiled and nodded at him, he quickly glanced at her name tag: Yang Liuyi, First Class Flight Attendant.
"What a nice name! Flying with such a beautiful woman would probably be a pleasant journey. It's just a pity she'll probably spend most of her time in first class," Chen Yang muttered to himself as he checked his boarding pass for his seat.
Liu Xinyao, sitting behind Chen Yang, noticed his momentary daze and couldn't help but sneer inwardly: "A leopard can't change its spots! He can't resist a beautiful woman..."
Chen Yang's seat was relatively close to the front, in the second row of economy class, near the aisle. After sitting down, he surveyed his surroundings. Passengers were still boarding, and Chen Yang noticed the flight was quite full. After boarding, the cabin was almost full, with at least two hundred people.
Liu Xinyao and Professor Yan's seats were in the middle of the cabin; Liu Xinyao's seat was by the aisle, while Professor Yan's was in the center—they had checked in a little late, and most of the window seats had already been taken.
After the cabin doors closed, a safety briefing began, and a flight attendant demonstrated how to use life vests and oxygen masks. To Chen Yang's disappointment, the person demonstrating wasn't Yang Liuyi, the first-class flight attendant who had greeted passengers at the door.
At 6:25, the aircraft was towed out of its parking position and slowly taxied to the front of the runway.
At 6:30, takeoff clearance was obtained, and the aircraft began its runway run. Midway down the runway, the aircraft's speed suddenly increased, and Chen Yang once again experienced the familiar push-back feeling—although it was quite different from the push-back feeling he experienced when flying fighter jets in his previous life.
Chen Yang's passion for flying in his past life was almost fanatical. Now, sitting in the cabin of a Boeing aircraft, he even had a clear sense of the plane's taxiing speed.
"V1...V2...Time to pull back!" Chen Yang silently recited in his mind.
Sure enough, at that moment, the nose of the plane lifted gracefully, and the giant airliner soared straight into the sky.
"Beautiful takeoff maneuver!" Chen Yang exclaimed inwardly.
At this moment, the sky gradually darkened. Through the porthole, Chen Yang could see the last fiery red of the setting sun on the distant horizon. The plane began its steady and slow climb. This process lasted for about ten minutes. Finally, Chen Yang heard a "ding," and the captain released the seatbelt warning, indicating that the plane had entered level flight.
The flight attendants began pushing carts to serve the passengers, and the passengers unfastened their seatbelts. At this time, passengers began to stand up and go to the front cabin to use the restroom. Soothing music began to play from the speakers, and the entire cabin was quiet and peaceful.
"Xiao Zhi! Slow down, wait for me!"
A young mother called out as she chased after him. Ahead of her, a mischievous three- or four-year-old boy had left his mother behind and was running towards the restroom.
The boy ran, giggling and glancing back at his mother every now and then. Suddenly, he felt a sudden tightness against him. Turning around, he saw that he had bumped into a flight attendant who was serving dinner to passengers. The flight attendant reached out and caught him.
The flight attendant patted the little boy's head and said with a smile,
"Little friend, you can't run around on the plane!"
After saying that, the flight attendant took the little boy's hand and handed him to the young mother, saying,
"Miss, it's best if an adult accompanies a child when they go to the restroom, to prevent any accidents."
"Okay, thank you!" the young mother said, then patted the little boy again and said, "Xiao Zhi, you bumped into an auntie, what should you do?"
Little Zhi tilted his head and thought for a moment, then obediently said,
"Auntie, I'm sorry!"
"It's alright! Such a polite little boy!" the flight attendant said with a smile, "Go to the restroom now! Dinner will be ready when you come back!"
"Oh! Great, there's an airplane meal!" the little boy cheered, pulling his mother's hand and running towards the front of the cabin.
The passengers who saw the little boy's innocent and adorable appearance couldn't help but smile knowingly.
At this moment, a passenger next to Chen Yang also slowly stood up. As he passed in front of Chen Yang, Chen Yang slightly moved his leg aside to make room for him. He politely nodded to Chen Yang in thanks.
Chen Yang noticed that the passenger was tall and thin, wearing a striped t-shirt and carrying a large shoulder bag. Chen Yang couldn't help but find it amusing; this tall, thin man was quite interesting—carrying such a large bag even to the restroom. What valuable things were in his bag that made him need to carry them even to the toilet?
Since the restroom was occupied, the tall, thin man waited quietly at the door, one hand resting on the front cabin door frame, his fingers tapping rhythmically. Chen Yang smiled, casually picked up a magazine from the back of the seat in front of him, and began to flip through it aimlessly.
About ten minutes later, Chen Yang heard a sudden commotion beside him. He looked up and couldn't help but shudder. The tall, thin man was standing at the front cabin door, holding a replica Type 54 pistol, and his chest was clearly strapped with a whole row of explosives! Just then, hurried footsteps sounded behind Chen Yang, and several men rushed up from the back row, quickly reaching the tall, thin man. The man deftly pulled several guns from his satchel and distributed them to the men. After receiving the weapons, the criminals spread out with practiced ease, deploying themselves throughout the front, middle, and rear of the cabin—clearly a well-planned operation.
Chen Yang immediately understood: these guns and bombs must have been disassembled and somehow smuggled onto the plane past security. The tall, thin man had gone into the restroom earlier to assemble these weapons.
The previously peaceful and tranquil atmosphere in the cabin suddenly became tense.
Aside from the roar of the engines, the cabin was deathly silent. The passengers stared in disbelief at this dramatic scene, barely daring to breathe, their eyes filled with terror. They knew that at 10,000 meters altitude, if the criminals were to fight to the death, the outcome would undoubtedly be a crash and loss of life.
Seeing that the situation was under control, the tall, thin man triumphantly waved his gun and shouted:
"Everyone! Don't be afraid! As long as you cooperate, I won't hurt you! However… your itinerary may need a slight adjustment! Once we reach our destination, we'll let you go home!"
Hearing this, the passengers' panic subsided slightly.
In first class, Yang Liuyi already knew what had happened. Without hesitation, she picked up the intercom:
"Captain, there's an emergency in the cabin. I believe someone is trying to hijack the plane…"
At this moment, the tall, thin man ripped down the curtain between economy and first class and rushed into first class. The man with the mustache beside him quickly rushed to Yang Liuyi and snatched the intercom from her hand. Cursing, he raised his hand to slap Yang Liuyi.
But the tall, thin man grabbed the mustache's raised hand and gently hung up the intercom. Turning to the man with the mustache, he smiled and said,
"I've taught you all this many times. We're high-IQ criminals. How can we be so reckless? Especially with such a beautiful flight attendant, how could you possibly lay a hand on her!"
The man with the mustache chuckled awkwardly and stepped aside. The tall, thin man then leaned closer to Yang Liuyi, smiled politely, and said gently,
"Beautiful lady, I don't want this to happen again. Understand?"
Although the tall, thin man remained polite and spoke softly, Yang Liuyi felt a chill run down her spine, especially his eyes, which seemed like those of a venomous snake. Yang Liuyi's legs trembled uncontrollably, and she nodded frantically, like a frightened lamb.
The tall, thin man smiled contentedly and gestured angrily at the man with the mustache. The man with the mustache understood and walked to the cockpit door. He ducked to the side, aimed his pistol at the lock, and fired three shots in quick succession. The gunshots caused some female passengers to scream, but under the threat of the assailants, the cabin quickly returned to silence, many trembling in their seats.
As soon as the door locks were broken, the tall, thin man and the man with the mustache rushed into the cockpit. The tall, thin man, who had just been opposing the aggressive man, now showed no hesitation. The moment he entered the cockpit, without a word, he fired a shot into the co-pilot's neck. The co-pilot slumped into his seat.
The man with the mustache pointed his gun at the captain's head. The tall, thin man, grinning, dragged the unconscious co-pilot out and tossed him like a dead dog towards the cockpit door, startling Yang Liuyi, who was trembling in her seat.
Then the tall, thin man took the co-pilot's seat, smiling as he turned to the captain and said:
"Captain, I now declare that this aircraft is under my command!"