Chapter 694: Never Retreat (5)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“What do you mean, it was the wrong flight plan?! We’ve been flying for eight hours now, and you’re telling me it’s wrong?!” He Zhichu was so angry, he pounded the wall. Glaring at the co-pilot, his eyes were about to spurt flames.
The co-pilot cried out, “We… We also don’t know what happened. Everything was normal. If we really had been on the wrong flight plan, then the aviation control towers on the ground would have warned us a long time ago. But they didn’t… We’ve been communicating with them the entire time, and they said everything was normal.”
The ground-level aviation control towers of all the countries were used for radar tracking of aircraft pa.s.sing through their airs.p.a.ce. Normally, flight plans were announced beforehand, and if a flight plan wasn’t previously announced, the aircraft would receive an emergency warning. In serious cases, it was considered an invasion of airs.p.a.ce and met with prompt destruction.
Many years ago, a civil South Korean aircraft deviated over 600 kilometers from its original established route for an unknown reason and entered the former Soviet Union’s airs.p.a.ce. It did not send out a proper reply after receiving a warning, so the former Soviet Union launched two air-to-air missiles killing over 200 people on the aircraft.
He Zhichu’s aircraft had maintained normal navigation point notifications throughout the entire flight, and no control towers had regarded them as committing an “invasion of airs.p.a.ce,” which meant the flight had been reported beforehand. However, the pilots didn’t know how the flight plan hadn’t directed them to the US, but instead made them double back to the Hua Xia Empire…
He Zhichu arrived at the c.o.c.kpit and looked at the pilot’s console and dashboard, his expression turning even icier. If he had guessed correctly, it must be Huo Shaoheng and his men messing things up. They hacked into his plane’s operating system to remotely alter the route and had also informed the ground navigation points beforehand, resulting in their smooth flight up to this point. They were already above Kazakhstan, so they were about to immediately enter Hua Xia airs.p.a.ce. He Zhichu glared angrily at the two pilots. “What were you doing just now?! Sleeping?! How could you only realize it now?!”
The two pilots s.h.i.+fted uncomfortably and looked down in shame. They had actually been sleeping earlier… Although one pilot was sleeping, and one was flying the plane, the latter had no idea that there would be any problems with the flight plan. Over-reliance on computers and machinery could result in these sorts of problems.
He Zhichu quickly turned around to coldly a.s.sess the data displayed on the dashboard. He quickly made a decision. “Immediately contact Mongolia and change the flight’s destination to Mongolia. We will refuel there and fly directly to the US from the Bering Strait.”
The two pilots quickly nodded and began contacting the Mongolian air traffic controllers. They also needed to talk to Russia in order to alter their flight plan.
….
Huo Shaoheng and his personnel waited in the Central Control Room for another six hours before He Zhichu’s aircraft finally flew above Kazakhstan and would soon enter Hua Xia airs.p.a.ce. Suddenly, the flight path alarm he set began to blare.
Zhao Liangze quickly printed the data for a.n.a.lysis and looked up in shock. “Sir, they seemed to notice the change in flight plan and aren’t continuing to fly towards us. They are changing their route to Mongolia.” This meant they were pa.s.sing the vast country of Russia by entering Mongolia, then crossing the Bering Strait to go to the US.
Huo Shaoheng knew he had no other choice, and the truth was, He Zhichu was reacting far better than antic.i.p.ated. After all, they had only discovered the error in the flight plan just after approaching Hua Xia airs.p.a.ce. If they had noticed it any earlier, then Huo Shaoheng would have had to pay an even higher price. He stood up and used the communicator to speak with Yin s.h.i.+xiong, who was already on standby at the air force base. “Prepare six fighter jets. I want the newest supersonic models. Have the air force send four pilots along with us, then we will immediately fly out. Little Ze is in charge of ground control.” He quickly strode out.
Outside the Central Control Room, all the personnel were on standby and knew something serious had occurred. Huo Shaoheng had refused to take any calls or see anyone in the last eight hours. General Ji had called him several times from the Senate, but was repeatedly told that something serious has occurred in the Special Ops, so Huo Shao was unable to take calls. Afterwards, Prime Minister Tan Donbang’s first televised speech as the new Prime Minister had to occur without Huo Shaoheng’s attendance. The empty seat next to Tan Guiren, the Prime Minister’s daughter, garnered great attention. On social media, everyone was gossiping about who the seat was reserved for…
Huo Shaoheng didn’t have the energy to spare right now. He sped the entire way and made Fan Jian drive quickly using emergency measures once again in order to arrive at the air base without obstruction. Because of his high rank and previous position as a fighter pilot in charge of testing the latest models of aircraft, he had a great relations.h.i.+p with the air force. Huo Shaoheng felt like he had returned home when he got there. All his commands were immediately executed. But this time, he had requested the mobilization of six fighter jets and also fully armed them in flight, so the Supreme Military Council caught wind of it.
The old men were all very shocked and rapped the desk as they questioned General Ji. “What is Huo Shaoheng trying to do?! Rebel against the nation?!”
General Ji didn’t know what was going on with Huo Shaoheng, but he knew that he wasn’t a rash person. He calculated all his moves and had set purposes, and he always placed national and military interests in the forefront. “Don’t get too worried. I’ll have Guanchen go take a look.” General Ji now understood that calling wouldn’t work, so he had to send someone to physically accost him at the air base.
Huo Guanchen was also a member of the Supreme Military Council and extremely dissatisfied with his son’s arrogance. But when Huo Guanchen arrived at the remote location of the Imperial Capital Air Force Base, Huo Shaoheng had already changed into a fighter pilot’s military uniform and helmet as he walked towards the latest supersonic harrier jet. Huo Guanchen rushed out of the car and called out to Huo Shaoheng. “Shaoheng! Stop right there! What are you doing?!”
However, Huo Shaoheng didn’t stop or turn back as he replied, “I have a mission. Please wait for now, General Huo. I’ll report to you once I complete the mission.”
“Rebel! You’re going to speak to me like that?! Fine, I command you to immediately suspend all activities! Obey the military’s commands!” Huo Guanchen was livid as Huo Shaoheng was completely ignoring his authority in front of all these people. As a father and superior, his dignity had been deeply wounded.
Huo Shaoheng stopped and turned around to look at Huo Guanchen. He replied calmly, “Mindless commands are not accepted, and evil laws are not obeyed. Please don’t interfere with my exercising of duties as normal. If there is a delay resulting in a ma.s.sive loss of national interests, will General Huo be taking full responsibility? Or will you share responsibility with the military committee?” Huo Guanchen froze. Huo Shaoheng didn’t sound like he was being petty or making a joke. What on earth is he trying to do?
“I’m sorry, this is top-secret and cannot be disclosed to unrelated persons,” Huo Shaoheng remarked coolly before boarding the fighter jet. The fighter jet slowly rose up, and the lights on the nose blinked several times. Everything was quickly set in place, and six fighter jets zoomed down the runway, quickly lifted off into the air, and headed northwest.
As soon as six of the newest Hua Xia fighter jets were launched and flew out of Hua Xia’s airs.p.a.ce, the American and European satellites constantly monitoring the area immediately noticed it. Major media outlets around the world received the news and instantly exploded. Even domestic Hua Xia media that had just been discussing the new Prime Minister’s first televised speech and the G.o.ddess-like beauty of his daughter all immediately flooded the media with this news. Countless people were posting the same hashtags, #sixlatestfighterjetsinformation, #whattheh.e.l.l, and #isthiswar?
However, some people who were well acquainted with the military also remarked that the six fighter jets were flying in a welcome formation. In other words, it was using the highest specifications of their nation’s air force, as well as the Empire’s most distinguished specifications to welcome an important guest. So what kind of G.o.d-tier character would require the highest specification of welcome? The President of the United States? The UN Secretary General? It didn’t appear to be either, because the normal specification for them would an escort of four fighter jets, not six. So who was this for? Could they be possibly more important than the President of the United States or the UN Secretary General?!
Just as everyone was discussing it heatedly, and global media intently discussed the grand welcoming formation by the six Hua Xia fighter jets, He Zhichu discovered that his aircraft was being blocked from all directions by six fighter jets.
Huo Shaoheng’s voice could be heard from the communicator once again. “Mr. He, please continue according to the established flight plan. I look forward to welcoming your arrival at the Imperial Capital Airport.”
“Scram!” He Zhichu finally lost it. “Huo Shaoheng! You are too despicable!”
“Despicable? Mr. He is overstating it. I’m merely thanking you for your intervention. Also, Nianzhi is on your aircraft and has caused you much trouble, so I would like to sincerely thank you. If you need my a.s.sistance with anything in the future, I will be sure to abide as long as it doesn’t violate morality or Hua Xia’s national interests.”
He Zhichu laughed mirthlessly after hearing Huo Shaoheng’s eloquent words. “Major General Huo, that’s a glib tongue you have! But it’s too late! Just accept it. If it wasn’t for me, Nianzhi would’ve been another corpse by now, courtesy of the Gestapo. What’s the point of all your fanfare after the fact?!”
Huo Shaoheng was silent for a moment but quickly perked up to reply coolly, “Mr. He also lost Nianzhi once all those years ago and almost got her killed. You being able to rescue her this time can be considered atonement. I thank you on her behalf.”
He Zhichu was so livid, he was speechless. !!! He nearly jumped up in a rage because even though he was an esteemed lawyer, he was actually rendered speechless by Huo Shaoheng’s one statement. In his anger, he recalled the video of Gu Nianzhi’s pained cries that Reinitz had sent over. He only wanted Huo Shaoheng to back off and didn’t hesitate to take out his phone to find the video and play it into the communicator. “Huo Shaoheng, you are still shameless enough to mention Nianzhi to me?! Listen for yourself!”
Gu Nianzhi’s pained cries instantly filled Huo Shaoheng’s headset. “Professor He, I’m sad! I’m so sad! This is even worse than them beating me or electrocuting me! While I’m being tortured here, he is by another woman’s side, helping her, even if she just twisted her ankle… I can’t stand it! I really can’t stand it! I know it’s not his fault. I know he can’t possibly know what happened to me! But I can’t stand it! I still blame him! It’s my fault! It’s my fault! It’s my fault! I’m not that n.o.ble! I’m selfis.h.!.+ I’m petty! I’m not elegant! I don’t care about the big picture! I don’t have parents! I’m not beautiful and rich! I’m a little beggar picked up off the streets! I shouldn’t covet what doesn’t belong to me! I don’t deserve to be with him! I reap what I sow! I deserve this! I deserve this! I deserve this!”