26: Who dares to commit violence in China?
At the same time.
Bai Yang had been guarding near the border since last night, waiting for news from Cold Front.
If they encountered an accident on their way back, he could immediately set out to rescue them.
From nightfall until dawn, Bai Yang still didn't receive any news from Cold Front.
Just as he thought no more accidents would occur, he suddenly received a call from the Ministry of National Security, stating that six planes were detected simultaneously entering Chinese territory.
Upon hearing about six planes, Bai Yang keenly realized that Cold Front and his team might be in trouble.
Clicking on the location, the planes were entering a spot less than twenty kilometers from him. Bai Yang soared into the sky and flew at full speed towards the marked location.
The planes had already entered Chinese territory, and Cold Front and his team could face unforeseen circumstances at any moment. He was now racing against time, snatching time from the Grim Reaper!
............
On the other side.
The passenger plane flew swiftly through the air, closely followed by five United States fighter jets with missiles mounted on their wings.
The cold countdown continuously frayed everyone's nerves, and Cold Front's palms were sweating profusely from tension.
Back then, when fifty United States soldiers cornered Cold Front in an alley, he wasn't nervous at all and managed to carve a bloody path out.
Cold Front could disregard his own life.
But the problem was, the plane also carried Chinese scientists who had returned from their studies, ready to serve their motherland!
"Only fifty seconds left."
Du Lu's icy voice, like a death knell, spread through the cabin. The oppressive atmosphere continuously frayed everyone's taut nerves.
Academician Gao Huajian's eyes were slightly red.
After a long thirty years, he finally returned to the skies above his homeland.
However, it seemed he wouldn't have the chance to go home and visit his elderly parents.
"Goodbye, my motherland..."
Academician Gao Huajian slowly closed his eyes, deeply burying his reluctance to leave his homeland and his longing for his family in his heart.
When his eyes opened again, all the tenderness in them had faded, replaced by the hatred of blood and fire, a resolute spirit of rather being a shattered jade than an intact tile, burning fiercely in Academician Gao Huajian's heart.
"Students!"
"Let these despicable enemies open their eyes and see the loyalty of us Chinese people to our motherland!"
Academician Gao Huajian's furious voice reached everyone's ears, and a desperate yet tragic emotion permeated everyone's hearts.
In that era of war, countless Chinese heroes, unafraid of sacrifice, sang stirring battle songs and calmly faced the arrival of death.
At this moment, facing the threat of death from the enemy, everyone spontaneously began to sing a battle song.
"Wolf smoke rises, the land looks north! Dragons coil, horses neigh, Sword Qi like frost!"
"My heart is like the vast Yellow River, five thousand years, on the Blue Star, who can resist!"
The Ming Dynasty soldiers who drove out the Tartars, the anti-island militia who fought in bloody battles, the captured officers who preferred death to surrender—a series of resolute figures in the long river of Chinese history, once again overlapped with the people on the passenger plane.
"Hatred runs wild, long swords point, how many loyal souls of brothers and sisters are buried in foreign lands! Why begrudge a hundred deaths to repay China, enduring sighs, and no words, tears filling the eyes!"
The death-defying singing echoed in the cabin. Everyone was like an enraged Vajra, with gazes full of Killing Intent shooting towards the United States fighter pilots.
"Hooves go south, people look north!"
"People look north, grass is green and yellow, dust flies!"
Everyone transformed the passion in their hearts into soaring and powerful singing, expressing their immense hatred for the enemy with furious roars.
"I wish to guard the land and expand the territory!"
"The magnificent China must make the four directions —"
"Come to pay tribute!!!"
The countdown, at this moment, reached zero.
"Fire! Shoot!"
Du Lu roared as he pressed the red button on the joystick. Missiles spewed flames from the wings, rocketing towards the passenger plane ahead.
Academician Gao Huajian was in tears, slowly closing his eyes.
He ultimately failed to contribute his part to the great rejuvenation of China...
He only wished that in his next life, he could still be born in China.
Just at this critical moment, a wave of Qi surged from afar, and a pale red, tower-shaped phantom, like a majestic mountain, blocked the rear of the passenger plane.
"Within Chinese territory, who dares to act so ferociously!"
The person had not yet arrived, but a huge sound wave, like heavenly thunder, had already rolled in. The violent explosion of the missiles hitting the tower's shadow, yet the tower's shadow did not waver in the slightest.
"Oh no, it's a mysterious power from the East! Retreat quickly, it will be too late if we don't leave now!"
Du Lu was so scared that his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering by the terrifying scene inside the tower-shaped phantom, and immediately wanted to turn around and flee.
The pale red, 18th level tower-shaped phantom stood above the Void Realm. Each level was a scene like a human Purgatory. He even saw ghosts dressed as island nation soldiers being deep-fried in boiling oil!
Hell, this is Hell!
The five United States fighter jets quickly rolled and changed direction in the air, only to see a young man in a white Dragon robe suspended in the air, holding the 18th level purgatory tower in his right hand and the Myriad Souls Banner, spewing black smoke, in his left hand.
"Everyone, choose left or right?"
Bai Yang cackled. The five United States fighter jets in front of him did not respond at all, seemingly wanting to avoid Bai Yang and scatter like they were fleeing a plague.
"If you don't choose, I'll choose for you!"
Bai Yang tossed his right hand upwards, and the 18th level purgatory tower grew larger and larger in the air. A powerful suction slowly pulled the speeding United States fighter jets back.
"18th level purgatory tower, grant five seats!"
In an instant, the fighter jets disintegrated in the air under the immense tearing force, and the five pilots were taken into the 18th level purgatory tower and refined in a flash.
The next second, five bewildered figures appeared on the first level of the Purgatory Tower. Ferocious-looking imps, brandishing iron tongs, walked towards them with grotesque smiles.
"Newcomers at last!"
On the seventeenth level of the Purgatory Tower, a sky-obscuring millstone slowly turned. Thousands of island nation souls were repeatedly ground into paste and then reshaped. Their eyes, hollow yet filled with schadenfreude, laughed mournfully:
"Welcome to, the human Purgatory!"
On flight 007.
Cold Front broke out in a cold sweat, secretly complaining that Leader Bai must have arrived right on time.
"Comrade Cold Front, that... that is..."
Academician Gao Huajian and his group were equally stunned by this scene: the tower-shaped phantom appearing out of thin air, the 18th level tall tower suddenly growing larger.
Was this a dream?
"After you return and sign the top-secret agreement, a special person will explain it to you."
Cold Front glossed over it, but a tempest surged in Academician Gao Huajian's heart.
So, China had already developed to such an incredible extent in secret?
Academician Gao Huajian suddenly felt a mix of gains and losses.
He was genuinely happy for the development of his motherland, but the Gene Agent information he held seemed less important now.
That person could fly through the air; compared to him, the United States' Gene Warriors were simply trash!
Beijing time, 8:00 AM sharp.
The passenger plane landed smoothly at Beijing Capital Airport.
Countless news media personnel, carrying long and short lenses, had been waiting behind the cordon for a long time.
At 6:00 AM, they were woken up by phone calls in their sleep, received orders from their superiors, and then rushed to Beijing Capital Airport to prepare for interviews.
This was a directive from the highest levels of China.
They were to clear Academician Gao Huajian's name of the grievances he had suffered for thirty years, and an awards ceremony would be held at the airport, where Academician Qian Zhonghai of the Chinese Academy of Sciences would present Academician Gao Huajian with the Starburst Medal.
The cabin door slowly opened.
A middle-aged man with a weathered face held the handrail, stepping down the stairs one by one.
Academician Gao Huajian's hands trembled uncontrollably, his heart pounded violently, and as he looked at the familiar blue sky and white clouds before him, his eyes welled up with tears.
"Motherland, I'm back!"
As his feet touched the ground, Academician Gao Huajian was choked with sobs for a moment, kneeling and passionately kissing the land he had been separated from for thirty years.
This photo went viral on major Chinese social media platforms an hour later.
Academician Gao Huajian's name once again resonated throughout China.
This time, it was with a good reputation.
............
Rongcheng City, old residential area.
In a dilapidated old house.
The couple, nearly eighty years old, had just finished breakfast. Gao Aiguo was washing dishes in the kitchen, and Li Chunping was sitting in front of the small television watching Chinese news.
"It is reported that the flight carrying Chinese scientist Academician Gao Huajian successfully landed at the Capital Airport at 8:00 AM this morning..."
Hearing this familiar name, Li Chunping, who had been absent-minded, quickly put on her reading glasses.
The familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar face on the television screen was none other than her son, whom she had longed for day and night!
"Old man, stop washing dishes, come and watch the news! Our son is back in the country!"
Gao Aiguo's body, which was washing dishes, froze. The porcelain plate dropped into the sink and broke into two. He walked out of the kitchen with red eyes, grumbling incessantly:
"This ungrateful wretch, what's he doing back? He went to the United States for thirty years and didn't even call home. It would be better if he died in the United States!"
Hearing this, Li Chunping became indignant, putting her hands on her hips and scolding:
"Old Man Gao, if you talk nonsense again, don't blame me for being impolite! See for yourself on the news, our son was framed!"
Gao Aiguo quickly walked to the living room and sat on a small stool beside Li Chunping to watch together.
On the small television screen, Academician Gao Huajian and Qian Zhonghai stood side by side, wearing the glittering Starburst Medal on their chests.
Gao Aiguo's body trembled uncontrollably, recalling the helplessness and pain that flashed in his son's eyes when he severed ties with him thirty years ago...
Knock knock knock!
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
Gao Aiguo's eyes were fixed on the television screen, on the figure he had longed for for thirty years, and he grumbled impatiently at the ill-timed knocking.
After a moment of silence.
"Your son, Gao Huajian!"