228: Chapter 228 The script for the Strategic Deception Bureau is ready.

A low-frequency roar slammed into the glass dome of the terminal.

The entire glass curtain wall was trembling along with it.

Thousands of people in the departure hall covered their ears simultaneously.

A grey-black fighter jet sliced through the clouds, trailing two long streaks of white vapor, and banked diagonally toward the main runway.

The landing gear touched down.

The tires screeched against the asphalt, kicking up thick white smoke.

The nose dipped, maintaining a steady posture, and a straight deceleration line was drawn along the runway.

The young man livestreaming with a stabilizer was shaking like a sieve.

The camera kept following the fighter jet.

The barrage of comments in the livestream, originally filled with complaints about "weather conditions," froze.

It paused for three seconds.

A torrent of data crashed the platform's servers directly.

[Holy sh*t! Holy sh*t! Holy sh*t!!!]

[A fighter jet! A fighter jet landed at Hongqiao Airport!]

[Military buffs, come out and get beaten! What the hell model is this?]

[Single engine, twin tails, diamond-shaped nose, DSI intake... This silhouette can't be wrong!]

[F-35! This is the US military's F-35A Lightning!]

[There's a tail number too! JP-0047!]

[It matches! It all matches! The one that went missing from Kadena Air Base on the foreign internet is 0047!]

[The 'Zero-Dollar Purchase' boss is awesome! He really flew a fifth-generation fighter from the United States back home!]

[Front-row tip: President Trump just issued a top-level announcement saying the person who stole the plane is a secret agent disguised as a trending celebrity!]

[Secret agent? Trending celebrity? Even novels wouldn't dare write a plot like this!]

The departure hall erupted in chaos.

The man with the big gold chain loosened his grip, and his phone slammed onto the top of his foot.

He forgot to even shout in pain and grabbed the young ground crew girl next to him.

"Young lady! Is that a new Boeing or Airbus you guys brought in?"

The young ground crew girl opened her mouth, unable to utter a single syllable.

The foreigner who was protesting against illegal detention dropped his passport on the floor.

Staring at the F-35 taxiing on the runway, he clutched his head with both hands.

"My God... Did the United States military surrender? Did they come here to sign the surrender document?"

The young couple in the corner looked at each other.

The husband swallowed hard.

"Honey, I take back what I just said. Someone really came to compete with civil aviation for the runway."

"And they came flying an F-35."

The wife raised her phone and snapped pictures frantically.

"Stop talking nonsense! Hurry up and post it on Moments! This is the only chance in my life to show off!"

The news spread at the speed of light.

Short video platforms and social networks across the country were completely congested.

Hundreds of millions of people flooded into the various livestreams broadcasting from Hongqiao Airport.

Different angles, different image qualities.

The center of the screen was exactly the same.

Guided by a follow-me vehicle, the grey-black fighter jet taxied slowly.

The United States military's low-visibility paint on the fuselage was extremely glaring in the sunlight.

Across the ocean.

The White House Oval Office.

President Trump grabbed the solid gold fountain pen from the desk and threw it violently at the LCD TV on the wall.

On the TV screen, CNN was broadcasting footage of Hongqiao Airport.

The pen hit the screen, bounced off, and left a white mark.

"Disgrace!"

President Trump braced his hands on the desk.

"This is the greatest disgrace since the founding of the United States!"

Mark stood three steps away, head lowered, staring at the pattern on the carpet.

"Sir, the major media outlets have gone crazy."

"The reading volume for related topics on social media platforms has exceeded three billion."

"Netizens in the East are even crowdfunding to award this pilot the 'Top Ten People Who Moved America' medal."

President Trump looked up sharply.

"Ban it! Ban it across the entire network!"

"Call Zuckerberg! Call Musk!"

"Pull the network cables! Shut down the servers for me!"

Mark didn't move.

"Sir, pulling the network cables is useless. The whole world is watching."

"We cannot cut off the livestream source from the East."

"The generals at The Pentagon just confirmed the satellite images; the plane is intact."

President Trump collapsed into his leather chair.

Two hundred million people watched the plane being stolen with their own eyes.

Now over a billion people are watching the plane land safely.

This loss of face has reached outer space.

Hongqiao Airport.

The tower channel cut in.

"Call Sign, please follow taxiway A3 and enter the No. 0 apron ahead."

Li Li looked at both sides of the runway.

Fully armed SWAT officers.

Heavy armored vehicles.

High-pressure water cannon trucks.

He pressed the talk button.

"Tower, this pickup service of yours is even better than first class."

The voice from the tower carried suppressed excitement.

"Call Sign, the entire airport is clearing the way for you."

"Please enter the hangar and shut down the engine."

At the end of the apron.

A giant camouflage tent, over fifty meters in length and width, had already been set up.

Three layers of SWAT officers had set up warning lines around it.

Riot shields formed a black wall.

Li Li pushed the throttle down.

The F-35A taxied steadily into the camouflage tent.

The light dimmed.

The engine roar faded, eventually falling into dead silence.

Li Li leaned back in the ejection seat and stretched his sore neck.

The restraint strap on his left wrist was a bit too tight.

He looked down at the multi-function display.

Five percent of fuel remained.

It was just right.

This wave of 'Zero-Dollar Purchase' was an excellent experience.

The sound of metal clashing came from outside the cockpit.

A mobile boarding ladder approached the fuselage.

Two ground crew members in hazmat suits nimbly secured the ladder.

Immediately after, a senior colonel in service uniform climbed up the ladder with long strides.

Two bars and four stars were on his shoulder straps.

The senior colonel stood outside the cockpit and knocked on the glass.

Li Li pressed the unlock button.

The canopy flipped backward.

Heat waves and the scent of aviation kerosene, unique to airports, flooded into the cockpit.

The senior colonel stood at attention and saluted.

"Mr. Li, welcome home."

Li Li returned a not-so-standard salute.

"This display is too grand; I have a bit of social anxiety."

The senior colonel lowered his hand.

"It wouldn't do if it weren't grand."

"Do you know why we had you land at Hongqiao, this civil airport?"

Li Li unbuckled his seatbelt.

"To let the whole world see?"

The senior colonel nodded.

"Correct. There are at least eighty-three telephoto lenses outside pointed directly at this tent."

"All the media and influencers in Shanghai are looking for angles on the perimeter."

"The United States military's satellites are also watching this place."

"We are going to put on a good show on this stage that has the eyes of the world upon it."

Li Li's movements paused.

The senior colonel handed over a tactical tablet.

On the screen was a photo.

Li Li glanced at it.

The person in the photo was his Pinduoduo pre-sale version.

Zhang Nan.

The senior colonel opened the second image.

It was a route plan.

"Mr. Li, we need your cooperation next."

"Take off your helmet now."

"Mess up your hair. The messier, the better."

"Tear your clothes a bit."

"When you get off the plane later, you must act extremely panicked and flustered."

"Stumble when you walk."

"You need to let the telephoto lenses outside 'inadvertently' capture your face."

Li Li leaned back into his seat.

"Let them capture me?"

"Yes." The senior colonel swiped the screen.

"Let them capture the face of 'Zhang Nan'."

Li Li understood.

This was to confirm the presidential announcement issued by President Trump.

The one who stole the plane was a latent foreign agent.

And the agent looks like this.

As for who this agent is, that's up to the East to decide.

"What happens after they take the pictures?" Li Li asked.

"After you get off the plane, the SWAT team will immediately surround you with riot shields."

"You will be forcibly escorted into the No. 3 riot vehicle."

"The convoy will immediately leave the airport and head to the Dongpu military camp."

The senior colonel pulled up the third image.

"On the way, the real Zhang Nan will be swapped in the tunnel."

"He will go to the interrogation room."

"You will go to the Dongpu military airport."

Li Li raised an eyebrow.

"What am I going there for?"

The senior colonel turned off the tablet.

"A two-seater J-20S has already finished warming up."

"The pilot is waiting for you in the cockpit."

"After you board, you will take off immediately and head to the Northwest Desert."

"Jiang Rumu's team has already set up the livestream venue over there."

"The whole journey is expected to take one hour and forty minutes."

The senior colonel stared at Li Li.

"Two hours from now, you must appear on time in Jiang Rumu's livestream."

"Whether it's livestream shopping with her or just chatting."

"In short, you must tell the whole world."

"That you, Li Li, have been in the Northwest Desert accompanying your girlfriend these past few days."

"That you have never been to any Okinawa."

"And have never even seen any F-35."

"The one who stole the plane is that defecting agent named Zhang Nan."

"It has nothing to do with you, a law-abiding orphanage director."

Li Li listened and was silent for five seconds.

He turned his head and glanced at this F-35A parked at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport.

Then he looked at the serious-faced senior colonel in front of him.

"Who wrote this script of yours?"

The senior colonel was expressionless.

"The Strategic Deception Bureau, collective creation."

Li Li gave a thumbs up.

"Awesome."

Steal the person back.

Shift the blame.

And use magic to defeat magic.

President Trump said the agent was disguised as a trending celebrity.

So the East lets the trending celebrity start a livestream to prove that he is just a trending celebrity.

After this combo, those guys at The Pentagon will probably be so angry they'll vomit blood.

Li Li raised his hand, took off his flight helmet, and tossed it onto the seat.

He stuck his hands into his hair and messed it up vigorously.

His short, layered hair was rubbed into a bird's nest.

Next, he grabbed his collar and gave it a hard yank.

"Rrip."

The jacket tore open.

Li Li turned his head to look at the senior colonel.

The muscles on his originally calm face began to twitch.

His eyes widened, his pupils unfocused.

His shoulders shook violently.

"Sir."

Li Li's voice trembled, carrying a perfect sobbing tone.

"I am ready to be Zhang Nan."