In the nick of time, Chen Yang shot and killed the tall, thin man. Without even catching his breath, he removed the gun from the bandit's neck. Just then, a bandit guarding the first-class cabin heard the gunshot and rushed in, gun at the ready.
Chen Yang's entire attention was focused on the two bandits in the rear cabin. The dagger had only wounded one of them; now, regaining their senses, they were frantically raising their guns to fire. Therefore, Chen Yang hadn't noticed the bandit behind him, effectively exposing his back completely.
"Chen Yang, watch out!" Liu Xinyao, having just lowered her hand, witnessed this scene and couldn't help but exclaim in alarm, her voice trembling as she warned him.
"Bang! Bang!" Almost simultaneously, two gunshots rang out. The bandit who had rushed in from the first-class cabin fell to the ground. A man in a plaid shirt, carrying a military pistol, jumped over the bandit's body and entered the economy class cabin.
The person who resolved Chen Yang's worries at the crucial moment was Lieutenant Colonel Hao Shaobin, a senior engineer from a Second Artillery unit, who was in first class. He was ordered to carry a top-secret document containing parameters of a certain type of missile to a military unit stationed in Sanya for research. According to regulations, carrying top-secret documents allowed him to travel in first class and carry a firearm.
When the hijacking first occurred, Hao Shaobin knew things were bad, especially when he saw the fighter jets outside the window. He knew perfectly well that his organization was aware of his situation.
Although he knew the plane might be shot down soon, Hao Shaobin felt a sense of relief. This meant the top-secret document wouldn't fall into the hands of the hostile nation of Belo. Compared to national interests, his personal life seemed insignificant.
But just as Hao Shaobin, resigned to his fate, silently bid farewell to his wife and children, a gunshot rang out from economy class. Hao Shaobin immediately snapped to attention: a passenger had begun to resist the hijackers! This was an opportunity! As the guards in first class went to investigate upon hearing the commotion, Hao Shaobin, without hesitation, pulled out his pistol from his briefcase, stood up, and fired two shots at the guards' backs.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!
"People's Liberation Army! Everyone get down!" Hao Shaobin roared.
Chen Yang happened to be between the guards and Hao Shaobin. Hearing this, he quickly dropped to the ground. "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" Gunshots rang out. The terrified passengers, witnessing such a bloody scene and such a realistic gunfight for the first time, mostly couldn't control their emotions. They could only bury their heads between their legs, letting out huge screams. The entire cabin was in chaos.
At this moment, Chen Yang didn't hesitate either. He quickly aimed and fired three shots at the guards who were exchanging fire with Hao Shaobin. He clearly saw the guards being shot in the chest, blood splattering, and they fell heavily to the ground.
Chen Yang stood up, gun in hand, and quickly went to the fallen robbers. He gripped the gun in one hand, pointed it at them, and nervously checked their wrists and carotid arteries with his right hand—no movement. Only then did Chen Yang confirm that the two men were dead.
Hao Shaobin, seeing that the situation was under control, shouted:
"Brother! Check if all these thugs are dead! I'm going to the cockpit!"
In the cockpit, the man with the mustache hesitated for a few seconds upon hearing the gunfire from the passenger cabin. Firstly, the tall, thin man had instructed him to keep an eye on Captain Gu Xinmin; secondly, he felt that his side outnumbered them and were all armed, so a resistance from one or two passengers shouldn't be a problem. But because of those few seconds of hesitation, he missed the best opportunity to provide reinforcements.
When the mustache heard the gunfire becoming increasingly intense, he finally couldn't resist and left the co-pilot's seat, gun in hand, preparing to go to the passenger cabin.
Just then, Gu Xinmin moved! The plane was currently under autopilot control and its attitude was stable, so Gu Xinmin could easily leave his seat. He also heard sounds of fighting and gunfire from inside the cabin. He knew the passengers had already started moving, and the cockpit had to coordinate with them. No matter what the situation was like inside, he couldn't let the man with the mustache go out and cause trouble!
So when Gu Xinmin saw the man with the mustache get up, he knew his chance had come!
Gu Xinmin suddenly stood up and lunged at the man with the mustache. The man with the mustache was also alert; he turned around immediately upon hearing the noise. Gu Xinmin grabbed the man's gun-wielding hand tightly, and they began to wrestle. At that moment, Hao Shaobin rushed in with a gun. He saw Captain Gu Xinmin and the man with the mustache fighting, and firing at this point could easily injure the captain.
Under no circumstances could Hao Shaobin escape; he had to lower his gun and quickly join the fight.
Meanwhile, Chen Yang was busy in the cabin. He didn't have time to comfort the blood-covered, terrified Liu Xinyao. He knelt down and carefully pressed on the tall, thin man's carotid artery to confirm he was completely dead before cautiously removing the explosives strapped to his body.
Chen Yang carefully inspected the explosives. Fortunately, he didn't find any electronic devices; the explosives used a standard detonator. If it had been remotely detonated, things would have been much more complicated. If the tall, thin man had an accomplice among the two hundred-plus passengers and possessed the remote control, the consequences would have been unimaginable. At this point, Chen Yang finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
In the night sky outside the window, the J-10 fighter pilots hovering on either side of the passenger plane stared in disbelief at the scene that had unfolded in the blink of an eye. After a long pause, the lead pilot finally recovered and quickly reported to his superiors via radio:
"Eagle Nest, Eagle Nest, this is D-2! This is D-2!"
"Eagle Nest received! D-2, please proceed!"
"The situation has changed. We have observed passengers on board struggling with the assailants, vying for control of the aircraft. I request a temporary halt to firing! Repeat, request a temporary halt to firing!"
"…Request approved! Continue to closely monitor the aircraft's movements. Once it approaches within three nautical miles of our actual control line, we must decisively open fire and shoot it down!"
"D-2, acknowledgment!"
The lead pilot quickly relayed the order to the other two fighter jets. The three aircraft tacitly turned and followed the giant passenger plane at a distance, continuing to monitor its flight path. Because of the many uncertainties, they feared the risk of a collision if they got too close.
Inside the flight cabin, Chen Yang carefully placed the explosive charge. He glanced up at Liu Xinyao, whose face was covered in blood. She was trembling uncontrollably from the intense shock, her beautiful face showing lingering fear. Liu Xinyao had always been cold and aloof in front of Chen Yang; this was the first time he had seen her so helpless, and he couldn't help but feel pity for her.
Chen Yang gently placed the explosive charge on the seat, then put his arm around Liu Xinyao's shoulder, patting her gently and comforting her:
"Don't be afraid! Don't be afraid! It's alright now!"
Liu Xinyao had witnessed Chen Yang's selfless fight with the assailant to save her, and her heart was filled with gratitude. Now, held in Chen Yang's arms, Liu Xinyao felt none of her usual instinctive aversion to men; instead, she felt an unprecedented sense of security. She couldn't help but turn and hug Chen Yang tightly, pressing her face against his broad chest, and began to sob softly.
Chen Yang gently patted Liu Xinyao's back until she calmed down a bit, then carefully took out a tissue to wipe the blood from her face. Liu Xinyao, now somewhat composed, quickly pulled away from Chen Yang's embrace and whispered,
"Chen Yang, thank you!"
"Don't mention it! We're classmates! Helping each other is only natural!" Chen Yang said nonchalantly. "Besides, you're braver than me. When the thugs were about to harm the little boy, only you dared to stand up. I admire you!"
"That's different..." Liu Xinyao didn't finish her sentence. Her implication was that she had only spoken up for Xiao Zhi, while Chen Yang had risked his life for her. But the words caught in her throat; she couldn't bring herself to say them, so she simply kept quiet. The situation in the cockpit was still unclear, and Chen Yang didn't dare linger. He helped Liu Xinyao back to her seat, handed her to Professor Yan, and then returned to the spot where the tall, thin man had been shot. He knelt down and carefully picked up the explosive charge.
Chen Yang looked up and saw Yang Liuyi standing at the cabin door, looking at him with a mixture of shock and curiosity. Seeing Chen Yang looking at her, a friendly smile appeared on her beautiful face, her cherry-like lips curving into a graceful arc, revealing a few pearly white teeth, making Chen Yang momentarily lose his composure.
Yang Liuyi possessed a natural allure that could intoxicate men.
Chen Yang stood up, took the explosive charge, and walked towards Yang Liuyi. He smiled at her and said,
"Flight attendant, could you please find a place to put this explosive charge, preferably somewhere lockable?"
Just as Yang Liuyi was about to answer, the plane suddenly shook violently, and then the nose jerked upwards. Then came another gunshot!
The sudden pitching of the plane caught Yang Liuyi off guard, causing her to fall directly into Chen Yang's arms.
Chen Yang instinctively reached out to embrace Yang Liuyi's delicate body, feeling as if he were holding a piece of soft jade. The powerful force of the plane's pitching caused Chen Yang to lose his footing, and he stumbled back several steps with Yang Liuyi in his arms before regaining his balance.
Once he was on his feet, Chen Yang saw that Yang Liuyi's face was as red as a ripe apple. Only then did he realize that everything he touched was soft and yielding. In his haste, he had wrapped one arm around Yang Liuyi's slender waist. Even worse, because his hands were covered in blood from inspecting the bandits, his embrace had left a striking, blood-red handprint on Yang Liuyi's waist…
Chen Yang quickly released his grip. Yang Liuyi, her face flushed, shyly lowered her head, her bashful appearance evoking a feeling of tenderness in Chen Yang.
But Chen Yang had no time to savor the erotic moment, nor to admire Yang Liuyi's stunning beauty. He was horrified to discover that the plane was now climbing at a steep angle. If this wasn't corrected quickly, the plane would soon stall and crash!
Something was definitely wrong in the cockpit!
Chen Yang hastily shoved the explosives into Yang Liuyi's arms and rushed towards the cockpit…