Chapter 178: He Tian Flies the Airplane

Liu Qigang had dreamed of becoming a pilot ever since he was a child, soaring through the skies at the controls of an airplane.

Initially, he had aimed to be a fighter pilot. Yet, through a twist of fate, he ended up as a commercial airliner pilot.

At only thirty-Nine years old, Liu Qigang already boasted a full thirteen years of flight experience. He was a seasoned and veteran aviator.

Throughout his flying career, though there had been turbulent times, they were limited to internal corporate competition or technical difficulties and obstacles posed by severe weather.

As for the legendary hijacking of an aircraft...

Liu Qigang had seen movies depicting such scenarios, but in his view, the probability of it happening in reality was simply too minuscule!

Especially in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the United States, which airline failed to place aviation security at the absolute forefront?

The implementation of various high-tech measures and the establishment of airborne security forces effectively safeguarded the aircraft, preventing the occurrence of hijackings.

Yet, Liu Qigang could never have imagined that something he considered utterly impossible was now happening right before him!

Liu Qigang had no way to blame his co-pilot, Huang Jie, who had been deceived by the white brute into opening the cockpit door. Looking at Huang Jie, unconscious and covered in blood, it was hard to say whether he was even still alive. Was there any use in blaming Huang Jie?

Besides, at that very moment, hadn't he himself lacked sufficient vigilance? One could only say that prolonged stability had caused both Liu Qigang and Huang Jie to let their guard down far too much.

Liu Qigang was forced to alter the course according to the hijacker's commands.

Because right now, Liu Qigang had a gun pressed against his head. Liu Qigang could not afford to die. To put it on a personal level, he still wanted to go home, to return to his family. Today was his son's fifteenth birthday. Liu Qigang had already agreed with his wife to throw a wonderful birthday party for their son tonight and take a well-deserved break himself. He could not bear to part with his loving wife and his cherished son.

On a broader scale, if anything happened to Liu Qigang, the plane would lose control! He certainly could not guarantee that there happened to be someone else on board capable of flying the aircraft! Only by staying alive could Liu Qigang give all the passengers on board a chance of returning home safely.

"Sir!" Liu Qigang said in fluent English, "I must tell you that the plane's fuel is running low. If we do not return to Tianhai Airport as soon as possible, the plane might crash due to a lack of fuel!"

"Cut the crap!" John pressed the gun against his head and said, "What does that have to do with me? I only want to secure my right to survive. Nothing more... I don't want to die, and I'm sure you don't want to die either! So, you'd better cooperate!"

"Yes, I don't want to die either. Every passenger on this plane and my colleagues don't want to die. That aligns with your wish! You cannot build your survival on the foundation of paving the way with so many lives! That is not fair..." Liu Qigang said emotionally.

"There is no such thing as fairness in this world... Whoever has the ability to stay alive, that is fairness!" John sneered. "If you don't cooperate, I can send you on your way right now! I might not know much, but randomly setting an autopilot course is something I do know how to do!"

"Will you allow me to land? Once we land, with so many hostages on our side, I believe you can secure your safety!" Liu Qigang was still trying!

"You talk too much!" John was losing his patience! Truly out of patience, he raised the gun in his hand and struck Liu Qigang fiercely across the head.

Blood gushed from Liu Qigang's head, and he instantly lost consciousness and passed out!

Paying no heed to Liu Qigang's condition, John turned his gaze directly toward the flight control panel.

Then, with practiced familiarity, John set the aircraft's autopilot to maintain the current heading...

Next, it was time for John to rendezvous with Chekov. Then, they would parachute out, striving to slip away from the pursuer's sight. As long as he managed to escape this time, John swore... he would definitely be able to live securely thereafter. Whether he chose to assume a false identity or seek revenge in the future—opportunities would still abound!

As for this airplane and the people aboard it...

John wore a cruel smile! Clearly, they were completely outside of his consideration.

John locked the cockpit door; he did not want any accidents to happen! The complete disappearance of this plane and everyone on board was the only way to make his escape easier... It would divert a lot of attention and scatter their focus!

Pocketing the key, John strode away quickly...

Just at that moment, John suddenly felt a chill run down his spine!

John was an operative, and a long-term deep-cover agent at that.

Such agents, living through prolonged instability, anxiety, and constant peril, had forged a subconscious ability to detect danger.

Alarm bells were ringing in John's mind...

Yet it was already too late!

After all, John was on the receiving end of the ambush!

John only felt his footing give way as he crashed heavily to the ground. Then, a figure lunged forward, and John felt excruciating pain shoot through every joint in his legs and arms!

Immediately afterward, just as the intense agony threatened to tear a roar from his throat, his jaw was violently dislocated!

John could no longer control his mouth...

Aside from making rapid breathing sounds through his nostrils, any movement at all was now impossible for him!

Only then did John finally see clearly what kind of person had attacked him!

It was a young man, a handsome young man whose looks were likely enough to make any man jealous.

John could hardly believe it—he could not believe he had been taken down by someone so young... But the reality before him left no room for disbelief.

Hetian looked down at John with cold indifference!

Dislocating all his joints and unhinging his jaw! Hetian could guarantee with absolute certainty that John was completely neutralized!

Hetian patted John's body, retrieving the cockpit key from his pocket.

Then, beneath John's terrified gaze, Hetian brought his foot down in a merciless stomp...

John's body trembled, desperately trying to struggle, but his limbs were powerless, rendering his efforts entirely futile. The twisted expression on his face bore testimony to the sheer magnitude of the agony he was enduring.

Hetian didn't even bother to glance at him twice. With that single stomp, John's lower extremities had been utterly destroyed!

He was confident that John no longer possessed any capacity for action!

Using the key, Hetian unlocked the cockpit door!

Seeing both pilots bleeding from the head and lying unconscious, Hetian frowned slightly!

Reaching out to check, he found they were still breathing... Only then did Hetian feel slightly relieved!

Originally, Hetian intended to immediately return to Huihui and the others' rest area to fetch a medical kit, but then he suddenly noticed the red warning light flashing brightly on the flight control panel!

"Damn it! How could the plane's fuel run critically low at a time like this? Aren't there reserve fuel tanks?" Hetian's expression shifted, and he began to curse furiously!

Under any circumstances, large commercial airliners must maintain an adequate fuel reserve! This was one of the fundamental prerequisites for an aircraft to fly safely! And now... what was going on here?

Hetian glanced back at the two pilots!

Then, he moved swiftly to operate the control panel!

"Course! Course!" Hetian needed to alter the plane's flight path immediately and choose the nearest airport for landing...

Yet he lacked the necessary data for that!

The most prominent coordinates visible in the plane were the original ones bound for Tianhai Airport!

Hetian had no choice but to reset the destination back toward Tianhai!

As for the fuel issue... that would have to wait!

Hetian sprinted out of the cockpit like a gust of wind and arrived at the entrance of Huihui's rest area!

"Huihui! Open the door! Quickly open the door! It's me!" Hetian called out urgently.

The door swung open—Huihui had unlocked it!

"How is it?" Seeing that Hetian was uninjured, Huihui let out a long sigh of relief, but what was the situation with the plane now?

"Both pilots are injured, but I've already subdued the hijacker." Hetian rushed inside swiftly and grabbed the medical kit.

"Right now, you all need to take action! The plane is running low on fuel, and I need to revive the pilots to find out if there are any fuel reserves! Besides, it's still unknown whether the hijacker had accomplices! The passengers are already panicking. The other flight attendants have started working... You can't keep hiding either. Xiaohong, Huihui, come with me to help. Sister Hongmei, go get the security personnel!" Hetian couldn't afford to worry about whether they were just young women; he genuinely needed helpers right now.

Moreover, frankly speaking, as flight attendants, their performance earlier had been quite subpar. If one considered that they had never experienced such a situation before, it might be forgiven, but now... if they still dared not take any action, they would truly be nothing more than pretty vases...

Hetian turned and left immediately after speaking!

Huihui and Xiaohong quickly followed behind him!

Meanwhile, Hongmei walked straight to the service station beside the rest area, picked up the intercom, and began fulfilling her responsibilities as a flight attendant! She urgently called for the security personnel to head to the cockpit right away...

Hetian's actions were extremely swift!

He simply carried Liu Qigang and Huang Jie down from their seats.

Disinfecting their wounds with antiseptic, applying quick-coagulating powder, dressing them with Yunnan Baiyao, and wrapping them in bandages was all he had time for!

That was the extent of the emergency first aid Hetian could perform right now! There was no time left!

"Huihui... look after these two! The moment either of them regains consciousness, let me know immediately!" Hetian instructed before hurrying over to sit in the pilot's seat. He swiftly disengaged the autopilot and switched back to manual control!

Hetian knew how to fly a plane!

That was entirely normal! Let alone commercial airliners, Hetian had served as an ace pilot across various fighter jets...

Back in Africa, Hetian had even engaged in aerial dogfights using aircraft.

The title of King of Soldiers was supreme glory. Yet no one could imagine how much sweat Hetian had shed and what trials he had endured behind that glory...

And now, his past experiences would become the critical turning point in determining whether he could save the entire aircraft and everyone on board...