72: Chapter 72 Delia's Video

The tailhook slammed into the steel deck.

Sparks flew.

The screech of tearing metal traveled up from the soles of their feet, piercing through the entire spine.

The first arresting wire—it caught.

The moment the tension exploded, the entire body of the F/A-18F slammed downward, and the landing gear tires ground out a pungent, burnt smell.

The deceleration G-force pinned Li Li and Jiang Rumu against their seatbacks, squeezing the last breath of air out of their chests.

But it was too fast.

With an initial speed of 132 knots, dragging the steel cable taut into a V-shape, the fighter jet slid forward across the deck like a madman.

Fifty meters.

Eighty meters.

One hundred meters.

The ski-jump ramp loomed directly ahead.

The hydraulic buffer system emitted a high-pitched whine, and the tremors from the entire arresting cable traveled upward through the landing gear.

Li Li slammed the brakes to the floor.

The front wheel surged onto the ramp, and the nose jerked upward.

It stopped.

The belly of the aircraft was less than five meters from the edge of the deck.

Li Li released the control stick.

Both his hands were trembling.

The sweat on his back had practically welded his clothes to the seat.

"Jiang Rumu." He pressed the comms button. "Are you alive?"

A weak gasp came from the backseat.

"Alive... I am never, ever going to sit in anything you pilot again. Not even a wheelchair."

"Don't jinx it. It was just basic operation."

The Landing Signal Officer's roar exploded over the public channel: "Beautiful!!"

His voice was cracking.

Ground crew on the deck rushed over pushing wheel chocks, and the white foam from the fire truck covered the overheated landing gear.

Several massive waterproof tarps were dragged over and quickly wrapped around the fuselage—the Star of David markings had to be hidden thoroughly.

The canopy popped open, and the sea breeze flooded in.

Li Li vaulted out, stepped onto the boarding ladder, and landed on the deck.

His legs felt weak.

He turned around.

Jiang Rumu stood up, gripping the edge of the cockpit, and tried to climb down.

As soon as her toes touched the step and weight was put on her right ankle, she pitched forward.

Li Li caught her instantly.

Before she could steady herself, he slipped his left arm under her knees and wrapped his right arm around her back.

He scooped her up horizontally.

Jiang Rumu stiffened for a split second.

"What are you doing?"

"If you let your foot touch the ground again, you really will be spending the rest of your life in a wheelchair." Li Li gauged her weight. "110 jin, a bit heavy."

"I'm 102 jin!!"

Her volume spiked to the max.

The circle of ground crew and guards wearing vests all turned their heads in unison.

Dozens of pairs of eyes.

All pinned on the two of them.

A top-tier domestic entertainment star with tattered clothes and tangled hair, being carried horizontally by a man while arguing about her weight.

Jiang Rumu's face burned instantly.

From her neck to her earlobes, it was all red.

She violently buried her face into Li Li's chest, refusing to lift it no matter what.

Li Li carried her, striding toward the island under the gaze of a group of naval personnel.

He passed an ordnance technician wearing a red vest.

The man gave him a thumbs up: "Brother, that was awesome."

"Much obliged."

At the entrance to the island.

Two fully armed marines blocked the way, holding metal detectors.

"Routine inspection. Please cooperate."

Li Li placed Jiang Rumu on a nearby ammunition crate and went through first.

He pulled out his glock 17 and folding knife, placing them into a tray.

It was Jiang Rumu's turn.

As soon as the detector neared her chest—beep beep beep beep—the alarm blared like crazy.

The marine stopped his movement, staring at her collar.

Jiang Rumu looked down.

An amethyst.

The one Delia had hung around her neck before leaving.

"That female spy gave it to me." She took off the necklace and handed it over.

The metal detector's reaction was wrong.

It wasn't the frequency of ordinary silver jewelry.

"Tech team!"

Less than half a minute later, two technical officers ran over, sealed it in an anti-static bag, and took it away.

"Disassemble and scan."

Bridge Command Center.

The automatic door slid open.

Li Li supported Jiang Rumu as they walked in.

The Major General stood in front of the tactical display, holding a thermos.

Seeing the two enter, he took two steps forward and slapped Li Li on the shoulder.

The force was strong enough to make Li Li stagger forward.

"Good lad." The Major General's smile spread from his eyebrows downward.

"This F-18F, intact—radar fire control, source code, electronic warfare pod parameters. The work you did in one trip is worth ten years of our intelligence department's efforts."

The surrounding staff officers and communications personnel applauded sporadically.

Li Li stood straight.

"Just good luck. It was mainly because the organization's extraction was timely."

"Enough with the official rhetoric." The Major General waved his hand and looked at Jiang Rumu.

"Ms. Jiang, you've been through a lot. The military doctor will be here shortly."

"Thank you, sir, I'm really fine."

"My granddaughter is a huge fan of yours. Sign something for me later, otherwise I won't be able to answer to her when I get home."

Jiang Rumu was taken aback, then laughed.

The bridge door slid open again.

The laughter stopped.

The technical officer walked in quickly, holding a transparent evidence box.

Inside the box, the amethyst had been split in two.

Embedded in the inner wall was a micro USB drive smaller than a fingernail, with a tiny camera module integrated next to it.

"Reporting, sir." The technical officer stood at attention.

"A high-density storage device was found inside the necklace. Physical isolation and preliminary decryption have been completed."

The Major General wiped away all expression.

"What's the content?"

"A large amount of documents and data. Preliminary determination—the list of undercover agents for the Israel Mossad in the Middle East. Safe house coordinates. Financial records."

No one in the bridge made a sound.

This kind of stuff.

If thrown into the international intelligence market, it would be enough to trigger a diplomatic earthquake.

"There is also a video file." The technical officer swallowed hard.

"The designated recipients—Li Li and Jiang Rumu."

The Major General turned to look at him.

Li Li didn't speak.

The sound of Delia's voice in the car flashed through his mind.

"You are the bait."

"You can hate me."

She had hung the most lethal bargaining chip around Jiang Rumu's neck.

With a necklace.

With a single "sorry."

"Bring me a physically isolated laptop." The Major General ordered.

The USB drive was inserted.

The video was opened.

The screen lit up.

Delia was sitting in a dimly lit room, wearing those overalls and an old T-shirt, her ponytail mostly undone.

Her chest—it was indeed abnormally large.

Li Li stared at the screen.

It wasn't silicone.

It wasn't padding.

It was explosives.

C4.

Or a higher-yield military explosive.

She had strapped them close to her body, stuffed them into her underwear, and walked into that office building.

She had walked right up to that Mossad high-level official who had flown in from Tel Aviv.

Jiang Rumu, standing nearby, stopped breathing for a beat.

The Delia in the video looked into the camera.

No madness.

No laziness.

No disguise whatsoever.

Very quiet.

She spoke, in standard English, as she tucked a strand of hair falling by her cheek behind her ear.

"Mr. Li. Ms. Jiang."

She tucked a strand of hair falling by her cheek behind her ear.

"I am very sorry, by the time you see this video, I should already be gone, and I cannot come to apologize in person."