180: Chapter 180 Commander Chuan is with you.

As soon as General Jiang Zhan's voice entered the channel, the entire frequency went silent.

Lieutenant General Zhao Ming didn't reply.

Senior Colonel Li Qi didn't reply.

Over at Guangzhou Area Control, Zhou Wei took his hand off the communication button and sat even straighter than on his first day on the job.

In the cockpit.

Li Li leaned back in the captain's seat, his left hand resting on the control stick and his right hand pressing the communication button.

Snow sat on the folding stool in the back, his neck shrinking slightly into his collar.

He didn't understand just how dangerous the word "possible" could be in a Chinese context.

But no one on the channel dared to breathe loudly.

This indicated that the situation was very serious.

Li Li spoke up.

"Uncle Jiang."

General Jiang Zhan interrupted him directly.

"Don't call me uncle; explain yourself first."

"Jiang Rumu and I haven't officially defined our relationship yet, which is why I used 'possible'."

There was a two-second pause on the frequency.

General Jiang Zhan's voice dropped lower.

"Then define it now."

This wasn't a request.

Li Li glanced at the altimeter.

Thirty-six thousand feet.

The plane was still in the air.

Two J-20s were still sticking close to the outside.

It really wasn't the right time to haggle over relationship progress with his future father-in-law.

He pressed the communication button.

"...Received."

Snow lowered his head and pondered for a long time, but couldn't figure it out.

Chief Flight Attendant Chen Xiyun sat in the back, still gripping the fire extinguisher.

Her palms had been sweaty from tension.

Now, she suddenly didn't know which matter to be nervous about.

The plane had been hijacked.

The captain was dead.

The co-pilot had defected.

Four hijackers were lying in first class.

And now, a confirmation of family relations was taking place in the cockpit.

General Jiang Zhan didn't continue to press the matter regarding Jiang Rumu.

The atmosphere on the frequency changed quickly.

"Verify your identity. Speak."

Li Li didn't waste words.

"First, during the Ala Country war, I flew an F18 and landed on the 001 Aircraft Carrier. There is no public record of this; only the military high command knows."

No one interrupted on the frequency.

"Second, Delia, a Mossad agent with the codename 'Psychopath'. She hijacked Jiang Rumu in Dubai and eventually committed a suicide bombing, with her target being her superior, Yossi."

"I reported this lead to you after the Shenzhen wildfire."

The sound of flipping through documents came from the other side of the frequency.

Li Li continued.

"Third."

He paused.

"A few days ago, I called you to report the Shenzhen spy incident. The call was dialed by Jiang Rumu."

"After you answered, the first thing you asked wasn't about intelligence."

The frequency went completely silent.

Li Li added the second half of the sentence.

"You asked, 'Am I going to be a grandfather?'"

This time, even the background electrical noise seemed superfluous.

A stifled cough came from Lieutenant General Zhao Ming's side.

Someone on Senior Colonel Li Qi's side bumped their microphone.

"Thump."

A dull sound.

Three seconds later.

General Jiang Zhan spoke.

"Identity confirmed."

"It is Li Li."

He didn't comment on the last point.

And no one dared to ask him to.

Lieutenant General Zhao Ming reconnected to the frequency, his voice recovered.

"Comrade Li Li, your identity has been confirmed."

"The Southern Theater Command will provide full assistance for CX890 to return to Hong Kong."

He paused for half a second.

"What support do you need?"

Li Li scanned the instrument panel.

The heading was still being corrected.

Fuel was sufficient.

But time could not be delayed any further.

"First, coordinate with Guangzhou Area Control to give me full approach and landing instructions."

"Second, clear the Hong Kong airport runway; I expect to land in forty-five minutes."

"Third."

Li Li added.

"All air traffic control personnel and military personnel present on this communication channel must sign a confidentiality agreement."

"Everything I just said on this channel, including the F18, the 001 Aircraft Carrier, Delia, and the family matter that Uncle Jiang was forced to confirm, cannot be leaked by a single word."

Lieutenant General Zhao Ming answered quickly.

"Agreed."

General Jiang Zhan added.

"Especially the last point."

Responses echoed one after another on the frequency.

No one had any objections.

With a general personally presiding over the frequency, anyone who wanted to gossip had to first weigh whether their own rank insignia was heavy enough.

Li Li released the communication button and switched the frequency back to Guangzhou Area Control.

"Guangzhou Area Control, CX890 requests to return to Hong Kong, please provide approach procedures."

Zhou Wei had waited too long for these words.

This time, his speaking speed was much steadier.

"CX890, received."

"Now guiding you to turn to heading zero-nine-five, descend to an altitude of eighteen thousand feet, and maintain a speed of three hundred knots."

Li Li pushed the throttle with his right hand and pressed the control stick with his left.

The boeing 777 fuselage began to turn.

The two J-20s on the outside adjusted their formation in sync.

Heading zero-nine-five.

Flying toward Hong Kong.

Zhou Wei continued.

"Expected approach in forty-five minutes."

"Hong Kong airport has initiated emergency clearing procedures; runway 07L has been prioritized for you."

"Fire, medical, and counter-terrorism units are already on standby."

"Received."

Li Li glanced at the communication panel again.

"One more thing."

"Please speak."

"Notify the Southern Theater Command technical team that I will turn on the in-flight network."

"After I turn it on, I need them to monitor the communication records of all devices on the plane."

"Every mobile phone."

"Every message."

Zhou Wei hesitated.

"This requires confirmation from above."

"Lieutenant General Zhao Ming has already agreed."

Three seconds later, Zhou Wei received a reply.

"Received, Southern Theater Command technical team is connected."

Li Li continued.

"Also, issue a short statement through official media."

"Just say that CX890 has returned to a safe state and is landing at Hong Kong airport, and the passengers are safe."

"Do not include details."

"Just ensure passengers can find official information."

Zhou Wei recorded it immediately.

"Received."

Li Li turned off the communication and leaned back in his seat.

Snow leaned over from behind.

"Why are you turning on the network?"

"Fishing."

Snow didn't react in time.

Li Li explained briefly.

"The CIA sent people to escort you. After the hijacking failed, they wouldn't have prepared just one plan."

"In business class or economy class, there might still be people waiting for instructions."

"As long as the network is on, the people with problems will definitely contact the outside."

Snow swallowed.

"And then?"

"The Southern Theater Command will arrest them."

Snow pushed his glasses up and said nothing more.

There was a knock on the cockpit door.

Xiao Qin's voice came from outside, kept very low, but still very urgent.

"Sister Chen! Something's wrong!"

Chief Flight Attendant Chen Xiyun answered through the door phone.

"What is it?"

"Someone in the front row of business class smelled blood."

"Sister Wang and A-Ling went over to comfort them, but when they passed first class, they saw those people on the ground."

Xiao Qin paused.

"Sister Wang screamed."

"Now everyone in business class is asking if it's a hijacking."

"There's also an uncle who has already started writing his will."

Chief Flight Attendant Chen Xiyun closed her eyes.

She turned to look at Li Li.

Li Li didn't turn his head, his hand still on the control stick.

"Comfort them first."

"Tell them the situation has been resolved and not to move around."

Xiao Qin was anxious.

"Brother Li, I told them, but they don't believe me."

"That uncle says he must say goodbye to his family no matter what."

Li Li's tone was very flat.

"Tell him the plane will land in forty-five minutes."

"Even if he writes a will now, it's too late to send it."

There was a pause on Xiao Qin's end for a second.

"...Okay."

She ran off.

Chief Flight Attendant Chen Xiyun opened the door and glanced outside.

The cabin was already in chaos.

Crying.

Shouting.

Someone was hitting the seats.

Someone was asking the flight attendants if the plane was going to crash.

She closed the door, her forehead covered in sweat.

"The passengers' emotions are about to spiral out of control."

Li Li thought for a moment.

"Lock the door."

Chief Flight Attendant Chen Xiyun did as told.

Li Li turned on the cabin broadcast.

The cockpit microphone turned green.

The speakers of the entire boeing 777 were connected.

First class.

Business class.

Economy class.

Everyone heard his voice.

"Dear passengers, this is the cockpit."

"I am the temporary pilot for this flight, Li Li."

"The flight previously encountered a hijacking."

"The hijackers have all been subdued."

"The plane is currently safe and is returning to Hong Kong airport, with an expected landing in forty-five minutes."

He paused.

"Passengers writing wills can stop for now."

"After landing, if you still want to write one, I suggest changing it to a social media post."

Someone in the cabin couldn't hold it back and laughed.

Immediately after, it went quiet again.

Li Li continued.

"I will now turn on the in-flight network."

"You may log on to news platforms to view official announcements."

"Please remain calm, fasten your seatbelts, and do not leave your seats without authorization."

The broadcast turned off.

Li Li flipped a few switches on the panel.

The in-flight Wi-Fi indicator light turned on.

Within thirty seconds, the sound of phone notifications rang out throughout the entire plane.

WeChat.

Text messages.

News pushes.

Weibo pop-ups.

The Southern Theater Command technical team simultaneously took over the data stream.

All uploaded content was delayed.

Files involving military aircraft, the cockpit, or first-class scenes were all placed into a review queue.

Ordinary messages were sent normally.

The uncle in business class who was writing his will was the first to open the news.

The official media press release was already posted on the homepage.

"Cathay Pacific Flight CX890 has returned to a safe state and is landing at Hong Kong International Airport. Passengers on board are safe. Further details to be announced later."

The uncle stared at the screen for over ten seconds.

Then he crumpled his will into a ball and stuffed it into the seat pocket.

The chaos slowly subsided.

But once people confirm they won't die for the time being, another instinct begins to emerge.

In the back row of economy class, three social media influencers took out their phones almost simultaneously.

The first one filmed out the window.

"Family! Two J-20s outside the window! Escorting us! This is the closest I've ever been to a fighter jet in my life!"

The second one lowered his voice, aiming toward the first-class direction.

"Brothers, I heard the hijacker was taken out by a passenger, one person, and he's manually flying the plane back!"

The third one had already started editing a title.

"Cathay Flight Hijacked: Mysterious Passenger Kills Hijacker, Personally Flies boeing 777 Back."

The title was just finished.

Upload failed.

The screen popped up a prompt.

"Network busy, please try again later."

He cursed.

He clicked it again.

Still failed.

But one person didn't film a video.

In a window seat in business class, an Asian youth wearing a dark jacket kept his head down, his thumb sliding rapidly.

An encrypted text message was sent out.

Afterward, he locked the screen and stuffed the phone back into his pocket.

He closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat.

Southern Theater Command technical team.

On the screen, an interception record flashed red.

—Okinawa, Kadena Air Base.

John Browning sat at the head of the long table in the Joint Operations Command Center.

Three documents were spread out on the table.

Two cups of coffee had already gone cold.

His phone lit up.

He picked it up and read it.

The next second, his chair was slammed against the wall by him.

"FUCK!"

Six officers in the conference room looked up simultaneously.

John slammed the phone onto the table.

"Four agents, all eliminated."

"The co-pilot is tied up."

"Snowden is still on the plane."

"The plane is flying back to Hong Kong."

The Chief of Staff spoke immediately.

"Who did it?"

John gritted his teeth.

"Alpha-7."

The conference room went silent for three seconds.

Someone flipped through documents.

Someone stopped writing.

The Chief of Staff leaned back.

"Why was he on that plane?"

"Isn't he filming a variety show?"

John raised his hand and swept the documents aside.

"How the hell would I know!"

He stood in front of the table for a few seconds, grabbed the desk phone, and dialed.

After three rings, the call went through.

"Mr. President, there is an emergency."

The person on the other end was impatient.

"Get to the point."

John reported as quickly as possible.

CX890 hijacking failed.

Action team wiped out.

Snowden is still on the plane.

The hard drive is highly likely still on the plane.

The plane is returning to Hong Kong.

There was silence on the other end of the line for five seconds.

President Trump spoke.

"Isn't there an Ohio-class submarine in the East China Sea?"

John's hand froze.

"Yes."

"The uss louisiana is currently conducting a submerged patrol in the East China Sea."

"Can it shoot it down?"

John didn't answer immediately.

The others in the conference room also froze.

The Chief of Staff looked up.

That was not an enemy fighter jet.

That was a passenger plane full of civilians.

John lowered his voice.

"There is an experimental submarine-launched interceptor missile sealed on board the submarine, which requires surfacing for calibration."

"But the East China Sea is currently a key surveillance area for the Chinese side."

"The type 055 destroyer, anti-submarine aircraft, and underwater listening systems are all there."

"As long as it surfaces, the probability of being discovered is very high."

There was no hesitation on the other end.

"Then wish them good luck."

John held the receiver, not moving.

President Trump added another sentence.

"May God bless them."

The call ended.

No one in the conference room spoke.

The Chief of Staff looked down at the nautical chart on the table.

The East China Sea area was densely marked with Chinese patrol routes.

John put the receiver back.

Then he picked up the red direct line phone; on the other end was the US Northern Command.

"Notify the uss louisiana."

"This is the Pacific Command."

"Surface immediately."

"Prepare to launch the interceptor missile."

The communications officer looked up.

"Target?"

John stared at the flight track number on the table.

"Cathay Pacific CX890."

"boeing 777 passenger plane."

He paused.

"Tell them."

"The President is with them."

"They are heroes."