In the operations command room of the Southeast Military Region's A Group Army Headquarters, Major General Liu Guoqiang, the chief of staff, sat blankly in his chair. A red, secure telephone sat on the table in front of him. Two minutes earlier, the director of the Southeast Province's National Security Department had personally informed him via this phone that Liu Xinyao's plane had been hijacked and that the Air Force had been authorized to shoot down the flight if necessary.
Liu Guoqiang scratched his head in anguish, his brow furrowed. After a long while, he looked up at the bright red national and military flags flanking the large electronic map, a resolute expression gradually appearing on his face. He reached for the phone and expertly dialed.
"Dad, this is Guoqiang..."
"Guoqiang? Calling me so late, what's urgent?" The old man's voice on the other end of the line was strong and authoritative.
Liu Guoqiang reported the situation to his father over the phone. The old man remained silent for a long time before finally asking, "Guoqiang, what was your response to them?"
"Dad, I told them not to let Xinyao's presence on the plane hold them back, and that the national interest should be the priority," Liu Guoqiang said firmly.
"You did the right thing! Even if Xinyao finds out, she won't blame you..." The old man paused slightly, then continued, "I think they're mainly concerned about my feelings! Guoqiang, call them again immediately and tell them my stance!"
"Yes!" Liu Guoqiang involuntarily straightened his chest and answered firmly.
At this moment, the atmosphere inside Building No. 1 of the Southeast Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee villa area was also quite oppressive. Qu Jing sat on the living room sofa, secretly shedding tears, while Fang Qiao, with her arm around Qu Jing's shoulder, also looked worried. Fang Hongda kept smoking one cigarette after another, his head down. Qu Jing looked up and saw this, and couldn't help but cry again, saying,
"Hongda, please think of another way! There must be a way, right?"
She looked at Fang Hongda expectantly, hoping to hear a positive answer from him. Fang Hongda sighed deeply and said,
"My dear wife, Fang Xu is also my son. If I had a way, could I just stand by and do nothing?"
Qu Jing's emotions surged immediately. She cried out,
"I don't care! If anything happens to Xiao Xu, I'll never forgive you! And what's wrong with the military? There were over two hundred people on the plane! Just because of a worthless document, they shot it down? Those are over two hundred living lives!"
"Enough!" Fang Hongda couldn't help but growl, his face calm as he said, "My dear wife, if anything happens to Fang Xu, I'll be just as heartbroken. But you must remember, he is my son, Fang Hongda's son, Fang Qianjin's grandson! He is a descendant of the Republic's red elite. When the interests of the country are at stake, if his sacrifice is required, then he should give it without hesitation! You've been married into the Fang family for so many years, don't you have even this much awareness?"
Upon hearing this, Qu Jing immediately stopped crying, but thinking of her son now helplessly in the air at ten thousand meters, she couldn't help but lower her head and sob again. …
Chen Yang immediately spotted the fighter jets outside the window, his brow furrowing even more. Having flown the J-10 in his previous life, he immediately recognized that the missiles under the wings were all live ammunition. In most hijacking incidents, the air force wouldn't intervene, as civilian airliners lacked combat capabilities; unless crashed into buildings like on 9/11, they posed no threat to the ground. Deploying fighter jets wouldn't help the situation unless the intention was to shoot down the plane, killing hundreds of passengers and crew.
The air force's unusual action alarmed Chen Yang; something on the plane must be threatening national security. In other words, this flight was in extreme danger, not only from the hijackers but also potentially from their own air force, who could shoot it down at any moment!
Chen Yang knew he couldn't just passively wait to be killed; he had to act and thwart the hijacking plan. But how could he, unarmed, possibly deal with five or six heavily armed hijackers? Chen Yang's mind raced.
Inside the cockpit, a tall, thin man strode in, pressed a gun against Captain Gu Xinmin's head, and demanded through gritted teeth:
"What's going on with the fighter jets outside?"
"I don't know either!" Gu Xinmin shrugged. "The Air Force pilots are requesting to speak with you!"
The tall, thin man stared at Gu Xinmin suspiciously for a long time before coldly snorting, taking the headset handed to him by the man with the mustache, and putting it on. He said:
"Pilot, I am now in actual control of this aircraft. Please speak!"
"We..." "It's the Chinese People's Air Force! I now order you to immediately change course and fly to Rongcheng Military Airport!"
"Hmph!" The tall, thin man sneered disdainfully, slowly retorting, "Order me? What gives you the right to order me around? Please get your facts straight, I'm in control now!"
"I'll repeat myself, immediately change course and fly to Rongcheng Military Airport! I have received authorization from my superiors. If you continue flying to Belo, we will not rule out the possibility of shooting down the flight!" The Air Force pilot reiterated his order without a trace of emotion.
The tall, thin man jumped to his feet upon hearing this. He pressed his face against the porthole, staring coldly at the pilots inside the fighter jets outside, and said:
"Who are you trying to scare? Shoot it down? There are over two hundred passengers on board!"
"You heard me right! If you insist on not changing course, we will open fire immediately!"
The pilot had barely finished speaking when another J-10 fighter jet whooshed past the co-pilot's window, provocatively performing several aerobatic maneuvers in front of the passenger plane before turning right and slowing down, stabilizing itself on the right side of the aircraft. Immediately, a situation was created where two fighter jets were flanking the passenger plane.
"Comrade pilot, it seems we were too lenient, giving you the wrong impression?" The tall, thin man's tone was icy, his hawk-like eyes fixed on the pilot outside the window. "Then I'll put on a good show for you!"
With that, he ripped off his headset and handed it to the man with the mustache, saying,
"Keep a close eye on this captain!"
"Yes, sir!" the man with the mustache nodded in agreement.
The tall, thin man walked through first class and went straight back to economy class. He waved incessantly at the left-hand window, successfully drawing the pilot's attention there. Then he walked up to Liu Xinyao, scrutinized her stunning face, and clicked his tongue, saying,
"Beautiful lady, I'm truly sorry, but due to the erroneous actions of your country's military, you will become the first casualty of this aircraft!"
Damn it! They're going to kill a hostage to establish their authority! Chen Yang's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. Before he could react, the tall, thin man grabbed Liu Xinyao's hair, yanked her out of her seat, shoved her against the window, and pressed her face against the glass. He then pressed his short gun against her forehead.
The tall, thin man licked his lips, a cruel smile on his face, and asked softly,
"Madam, do you have any last words?"
Liu Xinyao snorted coldly, glaring at the tall, thin man's face with eyes that seemed to spit fire, yet her face showed no fear.
"Damn it! What's going on?" asked the pilot of the fighter jet on the right side of the flight.
"This beast is going to kill a hostage! He thinks we're bluffing him!" said the J-10 pilot on the left side of the flight, who had a clearer view from the tall, thin man's side. "What do we do then?"
"What else can we do? Our mission is to monitor the aircraft. Once it crosses the warning line, open fire immediately!" The pilot on the left spoke with deep helplessness and rage, then added in a low voice, "This hostage... will only die a few minutes sooner!"
"What kind of mess is this! Damn it! I can't do it! Shooting down our own country's own flight in our own airspace! Why is this happening?" the pilot on the right exclaimed.
"You have to do it, even if you can't! We are soldiers, and soldiers are duty-bound to obey orders. We don't need to ask so many questions!"
"Yes, sir!"
Inside the cabin, the passengers instinctively closed their eyes in fear, terrified of witnessing the bloody scene. Chen Yang, however, clenched his teeth, his muscles tense, like a cheetah poised to pounce.
The tall, thin man slowly moved his right index finger to the trigger of his pistol. Liu Xinyao closed her eyes in despair.
Just then, a hijacker pacing back and forth in the front of economy class passed by Chen Yang.
Chen Yang suddenly moved without warning!
He had rehearsed the entire scenario countless times in his mind, but he was never entirely confident. However, Chen Yang had no choice. If he didn't act now, Liu Xinyao would be dead!
All the hijackers in the cabin were watching the tall, thin man's group with amusement. In their eyes, the two hundred or so passengers in economy class were just lambs to the slaughter, posing no threat whatsoever.
This was their most relaxed moment!
As soon as the hijacker passed by, Chen Yang abruptly stood up and strode into the aisle. The hijacker was highly alert; he turned around immediately upon hearing the commotion. But he only caught a glimpse of a cold blade before feeling a chill on his neck, all his strength draining away, and he collapsed limply to the ground…
Chen Yang, holding the military dagger he had just drawn from the holster on the hijacker's thigh, flung it out without hesitation, targeting another hijacker. At the same time, Chen Yang caught the hijacker's corpse, not even having time to remove his gun from his neck, and immediately aimed.
"Bang!"
A crisp gunshot rang out, and a bloody splatter appeared on the tall, thin man's forehead. A large amount of blood spurted out, staining Liu Xinyao's stunningly beautiful face. Even as he fell to the ground, the sinister smile on his face hadn't yet faded; everything ended in a flash.
Am I dead? Liu Xinyao heard the gunshot but felt no pain. Confused, she opened her eyes and was immediately confronted with the tall, thin, and contorted corpse before her. Having shown no fear even in the face of death, Liu Xinyao could no longer contain herself and screamed, covering her eyes…