Xia Liang naturally wasn't afraid of them breaking in. It wasn't that he looked down on the passengers; he knew that the cockpit door was arguably the sturdiest part of the entire airplane, specifically designed to prevent people from forcing their way in to threaten the pilots. They couldn't get in even if they had a full set of riot gear, let alone being empty-handed.
What worries is that I told the chief flight attendant to block any troublemakers when I ca in. Now that they're already knocking on the door, does that an they broke past her? What happened to the chief flight attendant? Tong Dongnuan... she should be okay, right? It wasn't that he was worrying for nothing. In this day and age, impulsive people were capable of anything—especially those who, thinking they were about to die, beca reckless and hot-headed.
However, after a quick ntal calculation, Xia Liang relaxed.
He made a few gestures to the captain, who then handed him the intercom, stretching the cord over to where he sat. This was the cockpit's public address system, allowing him to speak directly to everyone in the passenger cabin.
"Ladies and gentlen, hello. I am Xia Liang, the temporary acting captain for this flight. Please rest assured that although our flight has encountered a minor incident, the situation is now under control. I will do my utmost to bring you all safely to the ground. In return, I expect no one to cause trouble, because if anyone gets hurt… well, that's sothing I can't control."
Here, Xia Liang paused for a mont, his voice growing sterner.
"I also request that the few people at the cockpit door return to their seats. You've all likely seen the news about people causing disturbances on buses and harassing the driver. Prison sentences are a normal outco for such actions, and this is an airplane! The consequences will only be more severe. Surely none of you want to get off this plane, thankful to be alive, only to be imdiately escorted to a police station for a few years, right?"
"Now, please return to your seats, fasten your seatbelts, put on your oxygen masks, and wait calmly for the plane to land."
As Xia Liang finished speaking, a hush fell over the entire cabin.
「A few minutes earlier.」
When the cabin door had been breached, everyone except for Tong Dongnuan, who was prepared thanks to Xia Liang's warning, was sent reeling by the sudden, violent gust of wind. For a mont, the cabin was filled with nothing but screams and the roar of the gale.
They had just managed to close the door and restore a semblance of normalcy, but before the passengers could even feel relieved, the plane began to shake violently due to Xia Liang's maneuvers. The sudden feeling of weightlessness made everyone think the plane was about to crash. Their fear was instantly magnified, and the entire cabin erupted into chaos.
"Sob... Honey, I'm so scared! Sob... I don't even have a husband!"
"Is the plane crashing?"
"It's over! We're all going to die!"
"I'm too young to die!"
"Oh God, please save us!"
For a ti, the cabin was filled with the sounds of crying, screaming, and desperate prayers. The flight attendants' attempts to comfort them were useless.
One man, desperate to know what was happening, charged toward the cockpit. As soon as he made a move, others followed suit. Dying wasn't the scary part. The scary part was waiting to die in complete ignorance. The herd ntality was on full display.
The chief flight attendant was still trying to de-escalate the situation, using her own body to block the cockpit door. She sternly tried to explain, urging them to trust the pilot's abilities. But with the passengers' unstable state of mind and a few people leading the charge, they paid her no mind and began to push and shove. Despite all her professional training, she was still just one woman. She stood no chance against so many male passengers and was quickly pushed aside.
Thankfully, Xia Liang's voice ca over the intercom just in ti, snapping everyone back to their senses. They had gotten the ssage. The plane had been in trouble, but it was okay now. If they caused a scene, they would go to jail.
Xia Liang's words, combined with the fact that the plane had stabilized, helped to calm many of them down. Though still frightened, they didn't dare say anything more. Having regained their composure, they returned to their seats one by one.
Seeing normalcy return to the cabin, Tong Dongnuan breathed a sigh of relief. Because Xia Liang had warned her, she was prepared. Other than her hair being a ss from the wind, she was fine.
He has taken over the plane, so everything should be fine now… Tong Dongnuan muttered to herself, naturally choosing to believe him. No, wait! Hold on… Xia Liang went into the cockpit! Not only that, he's flying the plane now! Since when does Xia Liang know how to fly a plane?
Tong Dongnuan was completely dumbfounded, her mind reeling as she began to question reality itself.
anwhile, while the people on the plane had stabilized, the people on the ground were still in a frantic state.
Inside the ground air traffic control center, they hadn't received a ssage from Flight 9728 for ten minutes. The plane was officially considered to have lost contact, and if this continued, the situation would beco even more dangerous. Fortunately, a reply finally ca through.
"Director, Flight 9728's transponder is squawking 7700, the general ergency code!"
Hearing this, the air traffic control director clenched his fists. But he couldn't show the slightest bit of anxiety. He was the leader here. If he lost his composure, his subordinates would descend into even greater chaos. Stay calm!
After taking two deep breaths, the director forced himself to calm down. At least there was so good news. The flight crew hadn't all perished. Soone activating the ergency code ant there was soone in the cockpit, which ant there was a chance of survival.
His extensive experience instantly conjured countless possibilities in his mind. He selected the best corresponding plans and began issuing orders. "The crew isn't incapacitated, that's good. Contact the Air Force Command imdiately. Request military assistance, open an ergency frequency, and continue hailing Flight 9728."
After giving the order, he dialed the Civil Aviation Southwest Air Traffic Control Bureau to report the intelligence and his response plan. The director commanded with thodical precision.
"Activate the ergency protocol! Suspend all flight missions on the sa route. Ground any planes that haven't taken off, and divert those already in the air. Clear all airspace below Flight 9728's altitude imdiately!"
"Roger that."
Soon, all ground-level arrangents were complete. Now, all they could do was wait for a response from the aircraft.
Just then, the director subconsciously asked, "By the way, who is the captain of Flight 9728?"
"According to the flight information, it's Captain Wang Zhengguo."
"It's him?" The director sighed in relief. He knew Wang Zhengguo, who was a very experienced senior pilot. Things should be fine.
He had no idea, however, that a different person was now at the controls. As for Wang Zhengguo, he was currently trying to tend to his wounds; if this kept up, he was at risk of bleeding to death.
Aboard the plane, Xia Liang, who was busy flying, heard a voice in his headset.
"Flight 9728, respond if you can hear this."
"Flight 9728, respond if you can hear this."
"Flight 9728…"
It was the radio. Xia Liang glanced over and saw that it was scanning frequencies; the voices were just random transmissions it was picking up by chance. He tried to tune it, but his left hand was on the control stick, and his right hand couldn't reach. This was supposed to be the co-pilot's job.
"Ngh..."
Seeing this, the co-pilot endured the pain, bent down, and began to adjust the frequency. He finally tuned it to 123.7 MHz, the frequency for the North-South Air Traffic Control Bureau Island Region Control Center, and gave Xia Liang a thumbs-up.
"This is Flight 9728, can you hear ?" Xia Liang nodded once he saw the frequency was set and began speaking into the headset.
The fierce roar of the wind accompanied his voice as it traveled to the control tower, but the signal's clarity was poor.
"We've got a ssage from Flight 9728!" the operator who received the ssage quickly inford the director.
"Patch it through to the main console, now! I need to hear him clearly!" the director rushed to his side and said sternly.
"This… SSSHHH… nine… two… eight… can… hear… SSSHHH…"
Hearing the garbled transmission, everyone in the control center stared blankly at the main screen, completely at a loss.
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