Liu Xia said, "I'll call the department staff." Finding an acquaintance at Beijing Airport would be a piece of cake for the Four Young Masters; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to get into this quiet VIP lounge.
Liu Xia quickly hung up the phone, his expression somewhat strange. He said, "Something's not right. The airport says the plane is circling outside the airport, and they can't get in touch with it now." This information was only known to insiders.
Zhao Qiang said, "No way, could it be malfunctioning?"
Yang Shiyun glared fiercely at Zhao Qiang again: "You jinx!"
Zhang Chun and Liu Xia looked at Zhao Qiang with schadenfreude. Tian Mengfan said, "I'll call my family and ask." Tian Mengfan's mother is a high-ranking official in the Civil Aviation Administration of China. If something serious has happened, the Civil Aviation Administration will definitely know.
Yang Shiyun was anxious not only because Su Xiaosu was on the plane—she had never met Su Xiaosu before, and she wouldn't be so concerned about a stranger—but also because her younger sister, Yang Shiqi, was on the plane. This was why she agreed to pick her up. She hadn't seen her sister for a long time, and of course, Yang Shiyun missed her.
For Zhao Qiang, he was more anxious than anyone else. Both Su Xiaosu and Yang Shiqi were his women. If the plane really malfunctioned, Zhao Qiang would definitely go to pick them up immediately. With the anti-gravity device, Zhao Qiang didn't really care about such things. However, he needed to find out what had happened first. Otherwise, if the plane flew upwards like this, the ground anti-aircraft guns would not know and would think it was a dangerous object.
Tian Mengfan put down his phone, his expression grave. Yang Shiyun felt uneasy and stared anxiously at Tian Mengfan. Tian Mengfan said in a low voice, "It seems there's a problem with the plane. There's no contact signal for the time being. The biggest suspicion right now is that it's been hijacked by terrorists. If that's the case, the crew will make contact with the ground soon. We need to wait."
Yang Shiyun felt a little weak. She clutched her stomach and said, "I'm too nervous. I'm not feeling well. Please wait here for me. I'm going to the restroom." Girls are prone to hormonal imbalances when they're nervous, which can lead to many problems, such as lower abdominal pain or early menstruation.
Zhang Chun eagerly followed, saying, "I'll go with you." Who wouldn't want to please Yang Shiyun? Any family that were to marry into the Yang family would only have immense benefits and no drawbacks. The Yang family now only had two unmarried daughters left, but their third daughter had never been involved in romantic relationships with men since she was young, so no one dared to provoke her. Therefore, all their hopes were pinned on this aloof and beautiful second daughter. Before, when she was abroad, she was out of reach and unattainable, but now, everyone finally had a chance to shine.
Yang Shiyun frowned and asked, "Can a man go into a woman's restroom?" This meant she was rejecting Zhang Chun's offer.
Tong Qiu gloated at Zhang Chun, who was looking humiliated. Zhang Chun watched Yang Shiyun walk out of the VIP room and punched Tong Qiu, saying, "You bastard, you quietly took advantage of the situation while pretending to be a scholar in front of us."
Tong Qiu said, "I didn't get any advantage. You all saw it. She doesn't have any special feelings for me at all. I think we shouldn't be too eager for quick success. Shi Yun just returned to the country and needs time to get to know us again. If we rush things, it will backfire."
Tian Mengfan said, "Yes, yes, Tong Qiu is right. What's the rush? I'm not going to fight you for it." Tian Mengfan's girlfriend, Wu Xiaodie, gave Tian Mengfan a coquettish look. She was a very quiet girl and hardly ever spoke.
Zhao Qiang stood up, clutching his stomach: "Oh no, my stomach hurts too. You guys keep talking, I'm going to the restroom."
Liu Xia pinched his nose in disgust, as if he could already smell something unpleasant. He said, "What's wrong with you? You have no manly manners at all. You can't even wait a little while? Have you no manners?"
As Zhao Qiang walked out, he said, "Is the act of defecating and urinating something that can be described as a matter of manners? It's as if you never defecate. If you never defecate, then your manners are definitely high." Liu Xia in the lounge was so angry that he was glaring at Zhao Qiang. If Zhang Chun hadn't held him back, he probably would have chased after Zhao Qiang and started a fight.
Chen Xinyu suppressed a laugh and followed him out. Zhao Qiang turned back to her and said, "You stay here, but I suggest you go home right away. I'm afraid there might be danger at the airport."
Chen Xinyu asked, "How could what Tian Mengfan said be true?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Whether it's true or false, there's not much point in you staying here. I will gather firsthand information for you. Don't ask about anything else." Zhao Qiang was very assertive and didn't explain anything to Chen Xinyu.
Chen Xinyu obediently replied, "I'll go home right away. Staying here will only cause you trouble."
After saying that, Chen Xinyu didn't go back to the lounge to say goodbye to those people. She left the waiting room and drove away. She took a look at the atmosphere at the airport. The staff all had an unknown fear on their faces, and police cars were entering the airport silently from time to time. The announcement that almost all flights were suspended was also broadcast. It was definitely not normal.
Zhao Qiang didn't rush to enter the air. He knew nothing about the situation in the air, and more importantly, he couldn't become invisible. Otherwise, he wouldn't need to gather information; he could simply approach the plane invisibly.
Without going to the restroom, Zhao Qiang sneaked into the airport's control building, randomly picked an office, and pushed open the door. There was only one man working inside, who looked at Zhao Qiang with a puzzled expression and said, "Who are you? We don't receive any foreign visitors here."
Zhao Qiang casually said, "Oh, I'm new to the mailroom..." As he spoke, Zhao Qiang approached the man and punched him on the head. The man let out a half-groove and slumped onto the desk. Zhao Qiang ignored him, closed the door, pulled out the keyboard from under the man, and then used his computer to access the airport control system.
A middle-aged man frowned deeply, his arms crossed over his chest, and asked in an extremely serious voice, "What's going on?"
Surrounded by rows of operators, this was a state-of-the-art communications room. As the middle-aged man asked his question, someone quickly replied, "Chief, we still can't get in touch. The plane is still circling in the air. To prevent any accidents, we have implemented air traffic control."
The middle-aged man said, "Keep calling and immediately pull up the passenger list for me to check. See if we can find anything."
A few minutes later, someone suddenly shouted, "Signal! Signal!"
The middle-aged man called out, "Connect the amplifier!" A burst of ear-piercing noise was followed by a man's voice blaring from the overhead loudspeaker: "This is CN757. The aircraft is under our control. There's only one condition: release Arikun immediately, or we'll ram the terminal building."
It really was a terrorist attack. Everyone was looking at the middle-aged man. This was a huge deal; it was the first time in the lives of these staff members. Everyone was panicked. If the plane really crashed into the terminal, it was uncertain whether they would survive. Damn terrorists! How could they have gotten on the plane and taken control? And that damned Arikun, who is he?
The middle-aged man replied, "Please identify yourselves and be aware that this is China. We will not compromise with terrorists."
"Old man, can't you understand what we're saying? We'll give you five minutes to think it over, or you'll regret it."
The other party was not exaggerating. Since they had the courage to hijack a plane, it would be easy for them to retaliate against the airport. In fact, the middle-aged man knew this even better. He was just giving a perfunctory answer. This matter still needed to be reported. He was not in a position to handle it. That Yarkand was an important figure who affected the unity and stability of the Northwest. Let alone release him, he didn't even have the possibility of meeting him.
Zhao Qiang walked out of the office, pondering how to approach the plane. If he flew up into the air, he would definitely be detected. Those terrorists who had already disregarded their own lives would never allow Zhao Qiang to get close.
After thinking it over, Zhao Qiang decided to contact Su Xiaosu and Yang Shiqi on the plane. Although the plane would block the wireless signal, the communicator designed by Zhao Qiang could bypass the ordinary frequency.
Yang Shiqi's voice was a little lazy, "What?"
Zhao Qiang asked, "Are you on the plane?"
Yang Shiqi said, "How did you know? Who leaked the information? I was hoping to give you a surprise."
Zhao Qiang said, "Don't be surprised by what I'm about to tell you, and don't say anything carelessly. The plane you're on has probably been hijacked by terrorists."
Yang Shiqi paused, clearly not believing Zhao Qiang's words. But half a minute later she said, "That's right. How did you know? I saw it through the cockpit. There are ten of them. The plane has been taken over by their pilot. It seems the captain and pilot were killed. There's no one else around me, and the hijackers haven't found me yet. It's easy to talk here."
Zhao Qiang said, "This group wants to exchange the people on the plane for a man named Yalikun..."
Yang Shiqi said anxiously, "No, we absolutely cannot let that person go." Others may not know who Yalikun is, but Yang Shiqi led the team to capture him, and she knows that once the tiger is released back into the mountains, there will be endless troubles.
Zhao Qiang said, "I don't care whether you release him or not, but I must guarantee your safety."
Yang Shiqi said, "These bastards want to commit crimes right under my nose. Let me deal with them."
Zhao Qiang said, "Don't be impulsive."
Yang Shiqi said, "Don't worry, they are no match for me."
Zhao Qiang said, "That's not the key point. The key point is, can you fly a plane?"
Yang Shiqi said, "I've never flown one before. This time, I didn't bring any team members with me because I was going to the south for fun. Otherwise, none of them would be unable to fly a plane."
Zhao Qiang said, "That's why you can't act rashly. If you push them too far, how many people on this plane can you save?"
Yang Shiqi remained silent. Su Xiaosu, Chen Xinxin, and Zhao Ling all had anti-gravity devices on them, but they had little experience operating such equipment. Whether they could escape successfully was still a question. It was simply impossible for her to save everyone on the plane by herself.
"Then hurry up and come up here." Yang Shiqi thought it was best for Zhao Qiang to handle it, as she trusted him.
Zhao Qiang said, "But I'm on the ground right now. If I fly up like this, I'll definitely be discovered. They might actually crash the plane into the terminal."
Yang Shiqi said, "Then what should we do? They were just discussing why the plane was circling instead of landing. Now we know what's going on. If it keeps circling, everyone will realize something is wrong. If things get chaotic on board, we won't be able to save anyone."
(Thanks to Jiulu, Rentoumunao, Langzixiaotou, ziyou1022, and Wuxianxiaoyao for their monthly ticket support)
Volume 2 [580] Boarding
[580] Boarding
Yang Shiqi's concerns were not unfounded. If the economy class passengers started making a scene, it could easily provoke the hijackers, and no one could predict how the situation would develop. Zhao Qiang said, "Now you start transmitting the scanned video from the plane, and I'll figure something out."
Yang Shiqi only needed to perform a simple operation to transmit the data from the X-ray glasses to Zhao Qiang. She said, "You need to find a way to come up and help us quickly, otherwise I really can't control such a big plane. We should be able to ensure our safety, but the other passengers will be in danger."
If it weren't for this concern, Zhao Qiang would have acted long ago. He quickly received the scanned video of the plane. The ten hijackers were mainly distributed in three locations: the cockpit, first class, and economy class. There were two in the cockpit, three in first class, and five in economy class. This was the obvious number. As for whether there were any hidden terrorists among the passengers, it was unknown.
Zhao Qiang stood in the waiting hall, anxiously looking out. A large number of police cars were approaching the various runways, and the flow of people in the waiting hall was being guided out in an orderly manner. Everyone was discussing it. Judging from the clear blue sky, the flight cancellations should not be related to the weather. Unfortunately, no matter how they asked the staff, they could not give a clear answer, because they were also confused.
"Look, Spider-Man!" someone screamed, immediately attracting a large crowd of onlookers. Even the staff directing the evacuation stopped what they were doing and followed the crowd's gaze. Outside the glass window, a man in black was leaping between the terminals. He was so fast that he rushed onto the runway in a matter of moments. Many police officers stood by with their guns drawn, ready to fire immediately if given an order. However, most people had heard of the Spider-Man legend and knew that he liked to do good deeds, so no one dared to fire rashly. In fact, everyone hoped that Spider-Man's appearance was to solve the problems facing the airport, and it seemed that he had come for that purpose.
Zhao Qiang smashed through the waiting area's glass. He pushed his running shoes to their maximum power, even firing several shots in quick succession, using the recoil from the compressed gun to accelerate himself. His goal was to catch up with the invisible man. Zhao Qiang knew he could become invisible, and he guessed his appearance was related to the hijacked plane. With his help, he might be able to board CN757 smoothly, provided that Zhao Qiang intercepted him; otherwise, it was all out of the question.
Zhao Qiang's appearance caused a sensation. To prevent anyone from taking pictures and revealing his appearance, Zhao Qiang activated his armor system when he broke through the waiting area and rushed out of the building. Now, he was completely covered in golden armor, and someone casually shouted, "Golden-armored Spider-Man versus Golden-armored Man!"
If it were a science fiction movie with Zhao Qiang personally filming the special effects, it would be a great box office hit. However, Zhao Qiang wasn't in the mood to conceive a movie for Su Xiaosu right now. He had to intercept the invisible man before he disappeared, otherwise it was uncertain whether he could board the plane safely on his own.
Zhao Qiang arrived first despite being late. By the time the invisible man spotted him, Zhao Qiang was already only about 200 meters away. The invisible man was somewhat panicked. Zhao Qiang knew that the next step for him was to become invisible, so before he even arrived, he shouted, "Wait a minute, I mean no harm." If the invisible man became invisible, Zhao Qiang would be helpless, as he could neither become invisible nor scan the invisible guy.
This time, Zhao Qiang wasn't disappointed. The other party was actually waiting for him on the terminal roof, though the distance was still more than twenty meters. If Zhao Qiang took a step forward, the other party would take a step back. Zhao Qiang didn't insist, stood still, and called out loudly, "Do you want to board flight CN757?"
The invisible man nodded. He had a good physique, but his entire body was shrouded in black, making it impossible to tell his gender.
Zhao Qiang said, "How about you take me with you on board? There are ten criminals on board, and it's unclear whether they have any undetected accomplices. You can't possibly eliminate them all at the same time on your own."
The invisible man finally spoke, his voice hoarse: "Why should I believe you?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I don't believe you don't know my background. Would I harm my own friends? You know I have several friends up there, and I must rescue them safely."
The invisible man hesitated for a moment: "Fine, but if you still want to pry into my secrets, I'll throw you off the ground."
Zhao Qiang glanced at the invisible man's black mask and said, "Don't worry, I'm no longer curious about what you look like, and I will never ask you any more questions."
The invisible man approached Zhao Qiang: "I'll trust you this once. If you try anything against me again, I'll destroy the plane to retaliate."
Zhao Qiang didn't take the invisible man's threat to heart, because he didn't intend to pursue the invisible man's identity any further, and even if he did, it wouldn't be now. The invisible man walked up to Zhao Qiang, hesitated slightly, but ultimately took Zhao Qiang's hand. Zhao Qiang felt that his hand was a little cold.
The invisible man asked, "What are you planning to do?" It's inconvenient to act without knowing the plan.
Zhao Qiang said, "Use invisibility to send me to the plane first. My friends are on board. We'll work together to subdue the criminals."
The invisible man said, "Okay, close your eyes."
Zhao Qiang closed his eyes as instructed. A pulling force lifted him off the ground, the wind whistling past his ears. Although Zhao Qiang had installed propulsion devices on his running shoes, he didn't use his abilities due to the presence of the invisible man, letting him carry him. About four minutes later, Zhao Qiang heard a low shout: "Open your eyes!"
Zhao Qiang opened his eyes and saw the massive belly of the machine right above him, its metallic sheen giving him an overwhelming sense of urgency. The invisible man was gripping a protruding piece of metal with one hand; he had already broken free of his invisibility. Unfortunately, Zhao Qiang hadn't opened his eyes to observe how he had become invisible, because now was not the time to pry into his secrets. He didn't want to ruin something important for such a small matter.
Zhao Qiang also grabbed the metal casing, and the invisible man shouted at him, "What do we do next? We definitely can't go through the main entrance; there will be thugs guarding it." The wind was howling, and breathing was somewhat oppressive; if you spoke in a low voice, you couldn't be heard at all.
Zhao Qiang asked, "You're not having any trouble getting into the cabin, are you?"
The invisible man glared at Zhao Qiang with his dark eyes. Zhao Qiang didn't want to tease him anymore, so he used his X-ray glasses to scan the current location. Zhao Qiang confirmed that this was the baggage compartment and there were no criminals guarding it. So he grabbed the invisible man and pressed his body almost against the cabin wall, and said loudly, "Relax, you will be going inside in a moment."
The invisible man was somewhat disgusted by Zhao Qiang's pulling motions. He resisted for a moment but ultimately gave in to Zhao Qiang's wishes.
To prevent the pressure difference from causing a strong reaction that would attract the attention of the criminals, Zhao Qiang used the transformation armor to first wrap the two of them like a cocoon, isolating them from the outside air. One side of the cocoon wall was tightly attached to the underside of the aircraft. Then, Zhao Qiang used a screwdriver hidden on his wrist to make a cut under the underside of the aircraft, and a hole appeared.
Zhao Qiang pushed the invisible man inside, then crawled in himself. He then slowly retracted the cocoon-shaped armor. Once the armor serving as the outer shell of the hole was completely retracted, Zhao Qiang quickly filled in the piece of the fuselage that had been torn open earlier. Under energy control, the metal molecules of that piece of fuselage fused with the entire aircraft, and then everything returned to normal.
The invisible man looked at Zhao Qiang with surprised eyes. Clearly, based on his understanding of Zhao Qiang, he was unaware of these circumstances. It could be said that Zhao Qiang's strength exceeded his initial expectations.
Zhao Qiang asked, "What are your plans?"
The invisible man shook his head: "What about you? There are too many passengers on the plane; we must proceed with caution."
Zhao Qiang said, "Yes, I'll contact the insider right away. Let's wait here for a moment."
Because Yang Shiqi was not discovered by the criminals, she was free to move around. With the help of X-ray vision glasses, running shoes, and an anti-gravity device, she quickly arrived at the luggage compartment to meet Zhao Qiang after receiving his signal.
"Who's this?" Yang Shiqi was surprised to see a man in black beside Zhao Qiang. Zhao Qiang always went his own way and rarely cooperated with others, especially this man who was wearing a black veil, which was completely out of character for Zhao Qiang's bachelor personality. The man in black stared wide-eyed at Yang Shiqi, and Yang Shiqi stared back at him; the two of them looked like they were fighting cocks.
Zhao Qiang said, "I don't know him either, but we were able to board the plane without alerting the hijackers by using his invisibility. Is there any new progress?"
Yang Shiqi said, "Yes, just now a passenger was pushed off the plane. This is a promise to the government to respond five minutes ago. Fortunately, the passenger was pulled out of the toilet, so it hasn't alerted the other passengers yet, but I believe they will know that the plane has crashed soon."
Zhao Qiang slammed his fist down: "Couldn't we just agree to his request that it would take time to bring the people over, and that time would be enough for us to take action?"
Yang Shiqi said regretfully, "The matter has not yet been handed over to the military, so my efforts have not been put to use. Moreover, using ordinary signals to communicate with the outside world will be discovered by the hijackers on the plane, and I'm afraid the situation will be even worse then."
The invisible man sneered, "Why say all this? If you don't have the guts to save people, I'll do it myself."
Zhao Qiang said, "Do you really think you're Superman? How many hands do you have? We know there are ten robbers, but we don't know if there are any lurking infiltrators, so we need to carefully plan our mission. By the way, what's the situation with Xiao Su, Zhao Ling, and Xin Xin?"