Chapter 316: Propel out
“Ding. Congratulations, the host has acquired the Piloting ability—eight hundred points have been deducted!”
The cabin was thick with an air of trepidation, as the passengers sat quietly, panic-stricken and in despair. The captain had sustained a severe head injury and was bleeding profusely, and nobody knew what condition he was in. Having just acquired the piloting ability, Xiao Luo dragged the pilot out from the cockpit and took his seat. He placed his hands on the yoke and now intended to steer the plane out of the thunderstorm.
Tan Ningfu was the first to notice that Xiao Luo had taken control of the flight deck, and she was startled. She promptly informed the purser about it.
The crew and passengers seated in the first-class cabin had a clear view of the cockpit, and when everyone saw who the man in the commander’s seat was, their eyes widened as they dropped their jaws in absolute shock. What business did Xiao Luo have flying the aircraft?
“What the heck, what’re you doing, brother?”
Wang Yanzu let out a holler in surprise. “This is not a toy plane nor a car, don’t touch anything in there, brother, it’ll cost lives!” he screamed. He could accept that Xiao Luo just happened to be on board during a medical emergency and was on hand to save a life, as doctors were quite common. But knowing how to fly a plane was a totally different skill set altogether, so what were the chances that he’d also be a pilot?
Was it possible that Xiao Luo could also fly a plane? Many people had not even boarded on a plane before, let alone flying one. It was a complicated and highly technical skill, and it would only take one tiny error on Xiao Luo’s part to lose control of the plane and plunge all the way down to the ground.
“Hey, don’t touch the controls, you have no idea how to operate it.”
“Stop it right now, don’t put our lives at risk.”
“Purser, please stop him, don’t let him touch anything.”
The passengers came out of their momentary shock, calling for Xiao Luo to immediately stop what he was doing. Like Wang Yanzu, none of them believed that Xiao Luo could fly a plane, and he seemed to be hitting switches and pressing buttons without any knowledge of piloting.
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning flashed just outside the cabin windows, snaking across the sky like a fiery serpent a hundred miles long. It was too close for comfort and had the lightning bolt struck the fuselage, it would have likely caused the plane to crash. The thunderstorm swirled with high winds and battered the aircraft like a kite, and as the plane shook violently, several passengers were thrown off their seats. It sent a wave of terror through the cabin as everyone screamed in panic.
“He must have hit the wrong buttons, stop him immediately. What nonsense is this?”
“Stop him, someone, stop him!”
“B*stard, if I die because of this, I will haunt your family as a vengeful spirit!”
The passengers started to panic and lost all composure, believing that Xiao Luo had flown too close to the lightning bolt by mistake. Everyone was cursing in the cabin and was demanding that Xiao Luo stop what he was doing, but as the plane was shaking violently, it prevented them from entering the cockpit.
Xiao Luo ignored their screams and hit several buttons, then he pushed the yoke forward, and the airspeed immediately picked up significantly. By pushing on the control column, he had sent the plane into a controlled dive, propelling it out of the thunderstorm like the descending end of a rainbow.
“C’mon, faster!”
Xiao Luo counted down in his mind, expecting that they would be flying out of the thunderstorm anytime. They needed to get out as soon as possible to avoid any damage to the aircraft or risk crashing to the ground.
“One thousand meters, five hundred meters, three hundred meters…”
Finally, they were now approaching the edge of the thunderstorm.
RRRRRRRrrrrrrr…
As the engines groaned, the plane propelled out of the thick, dark mass of clouds like a dragon emerging from the sea, and leveled off safely, once again in clear weather.
As the plane settled into a cruise, some passengers realized that they were out of the storm, and the skies were devoid of howling winds and angry flashes of lightning. The cabin looked like it had just been through an earthquake, and passengers began to pick themselves up and breathed a sigh of relief.
“We’re out, we… we’re out!” Someone yell.
“That’s right, we’re out of the thunderstorm.”
“We’re safe, we’re safe!”
“Haha, haha…”
Everyone in the cabin was overjoyed and started to cheer—they were hugging each other with relief, some were excited, while others even shed tears of joy.
“Mr. Xiao, you really do know how to fly a plane!”
Tan Ningfu ran into the cockpit, and she could hardly control her excitement.
Xiao Luo had a serious expression on his face and remained silent for a while as he contemplated what needed to be done next. All contact between the aircraft and air traffic control had been cut, and there was no way to reactivate the equipment. As Cui Jihou had said, they were flying blind, and if they couldn’t get to an airport that could land a large B747, then they would still crash. In other words, once the fuel ran out, they would still end up dying.
What could he do?
What should he do?
He frowned and cursed his rotten luck. Nobody would be smiling if they encountered such an emergency on their very first trip on a plane.
“Cheer up, everyone, cheer up! The plane will never reach the airport, and it will just keep flying in the air until it runs out of fuel. Even if we’re not struck by lightning, the results would still be the same. We’ll meet God together, hahaha, hahaha…”
Cui Jihou’s face was covered in blood, and as he laughed maniacally, his face looked demented and evil, making those who saw him shiver in fear.
His words put everyone in despair as the reality once again sunk in. The inflight crew was well aware of the situation, and they looked pale and despondent.
“B*llshit! Don’t believe him. If my brother knows how to fly a plane, then he can surely land it safely.”
Wang Yanzu tried to convince himself and everyone around him. Then, refusing to hear another word from the co-pilot, he swung a punch right at Cui Jihou’s face.
“Ugghh… ahh, don’t worry, everything will end, let us all dive into God’s embrace.” Cui Jihou continued to laugh insanely, and this time he actually gave them an empathetic look.
“Dive and embrace your head, your f*cking idiot!”
“Saboteur, you’re seeking death, but why have you dragged us along.”
“We’ll beat the hell out of you!”
The enraged passengers all flocked around and beat up Cui Jihou.
Xiao Luo was distracted by the commotion in the cabin, he turned around and shouted, “Shut up!!!”
At this very moment, he was the most important man in the aircraft, and his roar had a surprising effect on the passengers, who immediately obeyed him and returned to their respective seats.
Xiao Luo shouted, “Purser!”
“Yes, Mr. Xiao?” she responded immediately.
“Keep the passengers calm and make sure they wear their seatbelts, they must remain seated. Also, keep an eye on that co-pilot and do not let him move around.”
“Noted.”
The chief flight attendant left to carry out Xiao Luo’s instructions right away.
Without a doubt, Xiao Luo was now unanimously recognized as the commander of the aircraft.
Xiao Luo glanced at Tan Ningfu and said, “Ms. Tan, right?”
“Yes, Mr. Xiao. Please let me know if you have any task for me, I will do my best to assist you,” Tan Ningfu said.
“Take the co-pilot’s seat and assist me.”
“What? I-I… but I’m not trained to fly a plane,” Tan Ningfu replied, shocked as she was merely a flight attendant.
“Don’t worry, I’ll tell you what to do.”
Xiao Luo said it with conviction and finality, as the plane required two pilots to operate for a safe landing. Had he four arms to work with, he would not have required her to assist.
…