182: Chapter 182 The Battle Axe Arrives!

"So theoretically, I'm faster than it."

As soon as he finished speaking, a golden prompt popped up before Li Li's eyes.

[Ding! Firefighter special mission triggered!]

[Mission objective: Extinguish the aircraft fire and ensure the safety of all passengers.]

[Reward: Calculated based on completion rate.]

Li Li stared at the prompt for two seconds.

Firefighter special mission.

Extinguish the aircraft fire.

He was currently at an altitude of 32,000 feet.

Sitting behind him was the defector programmer from the CIA.

Tied at his feet was the mutinous co-pilot.

In first class lay four hijackers.

Outside, two J-20s were flying alongside.

Behind them, four tomahawk missiles were in pursuit.

The system wanted him to put out a fire.

Where was the fire?

Li Li's fingers hovered over the throttle levers.

tomahawk missile.

Explosion.

Debris.

Engine.

Damn!

He cursed and closed the system interface.

This was a trailer.

The system didn't just issue missions; it also gave spoilers in advance.

But it only told him the result, not the process.

Even more annoying.

Li Li pressed the communication button.

"Lieutenant General Zhao Ming, give me a heading."

Lieutenant General Zhao Ming's voice came through immediately.

"Li Li, turn immediately to heading 140 and fly southeast."

"Do not head toward Hong Kong."

"First, lead the missiles away from the airspace above the city."

"Ground-based air defense is currently calculating the interception window. After you turn, the tomahawk missiles will be forced to correct their trajectories, allowing us to buy more time."

"Copy that."

Li Li pushed the control stick with his right hand and adjusted the heading with his left.

The boeing 777 began to turn.

The fuselage tilted.

A few gasps came from the cabin, but no one dared to unbuckle their seatbelts.

The two J-20s on the outside turned in sync, remaining constantly on either side of the passenger plane.

Heading 140.

Southeast.

Toward the South China Sea.

Li Li pushed both engines to maximum continuous thrust.

The Rolls-Royce Trent 892 engines emitted a low roar.

The speed numbers jumped upward.

0.82.

0.83.

0.84.

This wasn't a fighter jet.

0.87 Mach was already approaching the limit.

Any higher, and the fuselage would start to shake.

But the tomahawk missile's cruising speed was only 0.75 Mach.

As long as it didn't change trajectory, the 777 could pull away.

The prerequisite was that the plane didn't fall apart first.

A slight vibration came from the control stick.

Li Li kept the speed at 0.86.

That was enough.

Any faster would be betting the wings on his life.

On the frequency, Lieutenant General Zhao Ming continued to report.

"The HQ-9 position in eastern Guangdong has locked onto tomahawk missiles No. 1 and No. 2."

"No. 3 and No. 4 have not yet entered the land-based interception window."

"The Type 055 formation is adjusting its position."

Li Li didn't reply.

He stared at the speed, altitude, and heading.

Fuel was still sufficient.

But flying like this, fuel consumption would double.

He was currently buying time with fuel.

Someone in business class shouted.

"The plane is accelerating!"

Outside the cockpit door, Xiao Qin's voice came through.

"Brother Li! The passengers are asking why we suddenly accelerated!"

Li Li turned on the cabin PA system.

"Dear passengers, the plane is performing an emergency evasive maneuver."

"Please fasten your seatbelts and do not leave your seats."

He paused for half a second.

"Also, for passengers writing their last wills, please take note."

"The plane is moving very fast right now; if your handwriting is messy, your families might not be able to read it."

"I suggest using block letters."

The broadcast turned off.

Behind the cockpit, Snow hugged the hard drive, his voice dry.

"Why are you still making jokes at a time like this?"

Li Li didn't turn back.

"If I don't joke, I'll panic first."

Snow shut his mouth.

Chief Flight Attendant Chen Xiyun leaned against the cockpit door, the fire extinguisher tucked under her arm.

The co-pilot on the ground woke up a little, and the tape on his mouth emitted a muffled sound.

Chief Flight Attendant Chen Xiyun looked down.

"If you make that sound again, I'll spray you with the fire extinguisher."

The co-pilot stopped moving.

A sound suddenly exploded on the frequency.

"tomahawk missile No. 1, hit by HQ-9!"

"Confirmed shot down!"

A few seconds later.

"tomahawk missile No. 2, hit by the second wave of interception!"

"Confirmed shot down!"

Four missiles were now down to two.

No one in the cockpit celebrated.

Li Li was still gripping the control stick.

He knew it wasn't over.

Sure enough, Lieutenant General Zhao Ming's next sentence followed immediately.

"No. 3 and No. 4 have broken through the land-based interception window."

"Targets are skimming the sea at low altitude, radar contact lost intermittently."

"Estimated to enter the Nighthawk formation's combat radius in eighteen minutes."

There were two left.

Li Li glanced at the fuel gauge.

Keep burning.

Eighteen minutes.

The cabin was unnaturally quiet.

No one shouted anymore.

No one was filming videos anymore.

The oxygen masks hadn't deployed yet, but everyone knew that something deadly was following this plane.

Fifteen minutes later.

The J-20 flight lead joined the channel.

"Nighthawk 1 reporting, visual confirmation of two low-altitude targets."

"Bearing 165, distance 32 kilometers."

"Two tomahawk missiles, altitude approximately 50 meters, skimming the sea."

Lieutenant General Zhao Ming immediately replied.

"Nighthawk formation, can you intercept?"

Nighthawk 1 paused very briefly.

"Yes."

"But we need to break away from the passenger plane formation and descend in altitude."

"Execute."

The two J-20s' navigation lights flashed three times.

They then pulled away from both sides of the 777, nosed down, and dove toward low altitude.

The space outside the windshield was empty.

Above 30,000 feet, only CX890 remained.

Li Li pulled the control stick back half an inch.

The fuselage stabilized.

Only the pilots' reports remained on the channel.

"Nighthawk 1, locked onto tomahawk missile No. 3."

"PL-15, launch."

Three seconds later.

"Hit."

"tomahawk missile No. 3 shot down."

A suppressed cheer came from the Southern Theater Command command hall.

But Nighthawk 2's voice immediately cut in.

"tomahawk missile No. 4 is changing trajectory!"

"Terminal acceleration!"

"Target speed exceeds 0.9 Mach!"

"It's climbing!"

Li Li looked down.

Speedometer.

0.86.

0.9.

tomahawk missile No. 4 was eating up the distance.

More than two kilometers.

Still closing.

Nighthawk 2 reported urgently.

"The last PL-15 is preparing to lock on."

"The angle isn't right!"

"The tomahawk missile's heat source and the passenger plane's engine heat source are overlapping!"

Li Li understood.

Chasing from behind, the seeker couldn't distinguish the targets.

If they fired, they might hit the passenger plane.

If they didn't fire, the tomahawk missile would catch up.

Li Li pressed the communication button.

"Nighthawk 2, I'm shutting down one engine."

The channel froze for half a second.

"What?"

Li Li's left hand was already on the left engine throttle lever.

"Cutting fuel to engine No. 1."

"Reducing the passenger plane's infrared signature."

"You just lock onto the tomahawk missile."

Nighthawk 2 was anxious.

"If you shut down the left engine, the speed will drop."

"The tomahawk missile is just two kilometers behind you!"

Li Li stared at the instruments.

"Then you'd better fire quickly."

After saying this.

He pulled the left engine throttle lever to the bottom and pressed the fuel cutoff switch.

The left engine RPM dropped.

Thrust went to zero.

The boeing 777 lurched to one side.

Li Li corrected with the rudder.

The speed began to slide.

0.84.

0.80.

0.76.

tomahawk missile No. 4 caught up.

1,500 meters.

1,000 meters.

800 meters.

Only two words remained on Nighthawk 2's channel.

"Fire."

The PL-15 detached from the pylon.

The exhaust plume cut a bright line through the night.

The seeker re-acquired the high-heat target.

tomahawk missile No. 4.

The distance compressed.

500 meters.

300 meters.

100 meters.

Hit.

The explosion detonated behind the boeing 777.

Less than 50 meters away.

The shockwave slammed violently into the tail.

The entire plane shook violently.

Cockpit alarms blared chaotically.

The cabin oxygen masks fell down.

Screams curled into the cockpit door gap from the cabin.

The uncle writing his last will covered his face with that piece of paper, shrinking into his seat.

Li Li was yanked back into his seat by the seatbelt, his forehead hitting the edge of the instrument panel.

Blood flowed down along his brow bone, dripping beside the control stick.

But the plane was still there.

And he was still there too.

Southern Theater Command command center.

Lieutenant General Zhao Ming slapped his palm on the table.

"Good!"

The sound that had been suppressed for twenty minutes in the hall exploded.

Someone slapped the table.

Someone pounded the back of a chair.

Someone directly cursed in satisfaction.

The cheering only lasted four seconds.

Nighthawk 1's voice reconnected.

"Southern Theater Command, Nighthawk 1 reporting."

"CX890 right engine is on fire."

The hall went quiet.

Nighthawk 1 continued.

"Repeat."

"Explosion debris punctured the right engine nacelle."

"The right engine has open flames, smoke is leaking out."

"The left engine had previously been shut down with fuel cut off and is not on fire."

Lieutenant General Zhao Ming's hand stopped on the tabletop.

Inside the cockpit.

The fire alarm light came on.

The red alarm pierced his ears.

Li Li turned his head and glanced at the right side window.

The right engine nacelle was trailing fire, and thick smoke was being torn backward by the airflow.

Orange-red flames rolled against the root of the wing.

Chief Flight Attendant Chen Xiyun didn't make a sound.

Snow slid down from the folding stool, still hugging the hard drive.

The co-pilot struggled frantically on the floor, the tape on his mouth soaked with sweat.

Li Li raised his hand to wipe the blood from the bridge of his nose and pressed the communication button again.

His voice was still steady.

"Lieutenant General Zhao Ming."

"Speak!"

"Right engine fire confirmed."

"Restarting left engine."

"CX890 entering single-engine status."

He released the communication button and looked down at the system interface.

[Firefighter special mission in progress.]

[Prompt: Extinguish the plane's fire and ensure passenger safety.]

The alarm was still sounding.

The fuel gauge began to drop.

Li Li stared at that line of text and cursed.

Screw you!