Xiao Zhi's mother trembled uncontrollably, yet she held Xiao Zhi tightly in her arms, a look of despair in her eyes.
The robber's face revealed a cruel smile as he slowly turned the gun towards Xiao Zhi's forehead.
"No! Please, don't hurt my child! Kill me! Don't hurt my child, please..." Xiao Zhi's mother broke down, pleading with tears streaming down her face.
The robber remained unmoved, a sinister smile on his face, as he slowly moved his finger to the trigger...
Chen Yang's hands gripped the armrests of his seat tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force. He desperately wanted to save this poor child, but he also knew that with five or six armed robbers watching him intently, he had no chance whatsoever; he might be riddled with bullets the moment he stood up.
Chen Yang's teeth clenched tightly, his eyes seemingly spitting fire. For the first time, he felt utterly powerless. Even in his past life, when he crashed his plane, even when he was reborn as a penniless nobody, Chen Yang had never felt this powerless. The feeling of watching innocent people die before his eyes was truly unbearable.
"Stop!" Liu Xinyao's cold voice suddenly rang out from inside the cabin. "The child is innocent! He poses no threat to you, why hurt him?"
Chen Yang was instantly jolted. He never expected Liu Xinyao to step forward at this moment. While filled with respect for her, Chen Yang was also extremely worried. He knew that the hijackers were ruthless killers, and Liu Xinyao could very well be in grave danger!
Chen Yang slightly turned his head, observing the surrounding situation out of the corner of his eye while tensing all his muscles, ready to take risks if the hijackers threatened Liu Xinyao.
"Heh! Someone's actually brave enough to step forward!" The bandit withdrew the gun from Xiao Zhi's forehead, strode up to Liu Xinyao, and squinted, looking her up and down.
Liu Xinyao snorted coldly, staring back defiantly at the bandit's face. The bandit slowly raised his gun, speaking in a tone devoid of any arrogance:
"Farewell, beautiful..."
Chen Yang's whole body stiffened. He gripped the armrests of his seat, pushing off with his legs, about to stand up.
Just then, a lazy voice said:
"Enough! Ah Hu, put the gun down!"
Just as the bandit Ah Hu was about to fire, the tall, thin man stopped him in time. Chen Yang breathed a slight sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair.
The tall, thin man slowly walked to Liu Xinyao's seat and said to Ah Hu:
"Why are you acting like a bearded man? How many times have I told you? We're high-IQ criminals. Stop with the bloodshed and violence; that's outdated, understand?"
Ah Hu nodded slightly and said in a low voice:
"Yes! Brother Long, I understand!"
"Go! Go back to your seats!" the tall, thin man ordered calmly, then smiled at Liu Xinyao and said, "Beautiful lady, my men are all roughnecks. Please forgive any offense they may have caused!"
Liu Xinyao gave the tall, thin man a cold look, gritting her teeth and remaining silent. The tall, thin man shrugged indifferently and looked up at the passengers in the cabin:
"Friends, your new journey has begun. In two hours, we will land in Bello. During this time, I don't want to see anyone make any rash moves, because I hate bloodshed and violence. I hope you won't interfere with me!"
...
Southeast Province National Security Department Anti-Terrorism Emergency Command Center. A few minutes ago, news of the hijacking of flight NG8773 arrived, and everyone was frantically working to gather information.
"Director, things are complicated!" a staff member rushed to the Director of the National Security Bureau. "We just received information from the military that Lieutenant Colonel Hao Shaobin, a senior engineer from a certain unit, was also on that flight, and he was carrying a top-secret document containing standard parameters for a new type of missile..."
The Director's expression immediately turned serious. He asked, "What is the military's opinion?"
"The military says they absolutely cannot allow this flight to land in Belo, because there would be an extremely high risk of leaks! It would seriously threaten national security! The military has indicated that they have received authorization from higher authorities to shoot down the flight if necessary, and three fighter jets from the Fuzhou Air Force have already scrambled..." "It's taken off! We're monitoring the flight remotely, ready to fire at any moment!" The staff member finished speaking, then added with a troubled expression,
"But, according to the boarding information we just received, there are two passengers on the flight who are rather special… One is Fang Xu, the son of Provincial Party Secretary Fang, sitting in first class; the other is Liu Xinyao, the daughter of Major General Liu Guoqiang, Chief of Staff of the Southeast Military Region's A Group Army, in economy class."
Upon hearing this, the director frowned even more deeply. After a long pause, he sighed and said,
"I'll report to both leaders immediately! Xiao Fang, you closely monitor all information related to the flight!"
"Yes, sir!" Xiao Fang replied crisply.
...
Inside flight NG8773, the atmosphere in the cabin was oppressive, almost suffocating. The muffled engine noise only added to the irritability. A tall, thin man leaned leisurely against the cabin door, constantly scanning the cabin with a cat-like gaze. Several other bandits also vigilantly observed the passengers' movements with guns at the ready.
Just then, one of the robbers glanced out the porthole and was immediately terrified, breaking out in a cold sweat. He shouted, "Brother Long! Look outside!"
The tall, thin man glanced casually, then gasped. He strode to a window seat, grabbed a passenger, tossed him aside, and sat down to observe closely.
The passengers were also curious. What could have caused such panic in the robbers? A few bolder passengers also secretly peeked out the window.
They saw a J-10 fighter jet flying smoothly to the side of the plane, maintaining a relatively stationary position. The two aircraft were very close; even from inside the passenger plane, they could clearly see the bright red August 1st Army insignia on the pilot's helmet. Pilot C was gently swaying the wings a few times and making hand signals.
In the pitch-black night sky, the air-to-air missiles mounted under the wings of the J-10 fighter jet were clearly visible, resembling a ferocious monster, inspiring awe and fear.
The tall, thin man's face changed drastically, and he rushed towards the cockpit.