Chapter 1433: Eleven Hours of Crisis!
“He will kill us!”
Curled up next to Professor Leonard, a black guy repeated this sentence for the third time in a nervous tone.
Just as Professor Leonard hesitated on whether to comfort him or not, the black guy suddenly had a trace of panic in his eyes. His shoulders trembled as he continued, “I remember who those people are… The one lying on the ground is Alando, and their leader is Jean Ruzas. A week ago, the Pan-Asian Cooperative First Fleet destroyed their operation. Apparently, a full 20 tons of addictive alpha neurotoxins were seized. This incident directly caused the price of medicines in New London to increase several times. I remember clearly!”
The medicines were obviously not flu medicines, but the more profitable ones.
As for that Ruzas, he was an internationally renowned air thief. Two years ago, he was listed as a five-star wanted criminal by Interpol, and he had been at large until today.
Even though Professor Leonard had been teaching and doing academic work on Earth before, he was not completely ignorant of what was happening in s.p.a.ce. He had heard a little about these s.p.a.ce pirates before.
He didn’t expect that his own life would one day come into contact with this name.
Leonard, who originally planned to say something to comfort the black boy, had a trace of despair in his eyes.
They had encountered the most vicious pirates in this airs.p.a.ce!
A few seconds ago, he still had some hope for Lu Zhou’s heroic endeavors, but now, it seemed like it would be a miracle just to survive…
The locked cabin door suddenly opened from the outside.
Hearing the sound of the door opening and the quick footsteps, he was as shocked as he was nervous, and he subconsciously wanted to shrink under the chair.
However, he caught a glimpse of the face that appeared at the door from the corner of his eye.
The expression on his face gradually turned into unbelievable surprise, and he quickly felt intense ecstasy.
It wasn’t just Professor Leonard who felt this way; the same happened with all of the pa.s.sengers who were fidgeting in the cabin.
The moment the door opened, their hearts were beating out of their chests, for fear that they would be greeted with vicious faces and rifle shots.
The moment they saw the face that appeared at the door, people unanimously breathed a sigh of relief, and what came to their hearts was the intense joy and uncontrollable excitement!
The short-haired girl who had been rescued by Lu Zhou earlier clapped her hands.
The crisp applause broke the silence in the cabin. Like a spring rain that melted the snow and ice, it spread in just a few seconds, turning into a thunderstorm.
People cheered, whistled, and stood up excitedly. They wanted to hug him and cheer for their hero.
Since he was the one who appeared instead of the vicious bandit, there was only one possibility.
There was no doubt that they were saved!
If only…
Things were actually that simple.
“Quiet… Just quiet down.” Lu Zhou looked at the enthusiastic girl who cheered for him. She came over and hugged him. He pushed her aside and raised his hands, gesturing everyone to calm down.
When they noticed the serious expression on Lu Zhou’s face, everyone gradually began to realize that the situation was not as simple as they thought, so they calmed down a little.
Lu Zhou only coughed slightly when the cheering sound stopped.
“I’ll just make this short…
“Does anyone know how to fly this thing?”
…
Jinling Hospital No.3.
As usual, Director Li brought some fruits to the ward to visit w.a.n.g Peng, who had just regained consciousness.
Seeing Director Li walked into the ward, w.a.n.g Peng, who was sitting on the bed, asked immediately, “When can I be discharged from the hospital?”
“You have to stay in the hospital for at least three days. This is also for your own good. You will have time to get familiar with some of the new things of this era.” Director Li put the fruits on the bedside table and watched the young man sitting in the hospital bed as he said with a smile, “A few months ago, someone slept on the road two days after leaving the hospital. He was returned to the hospital by the police. One reason, guess what?”
“He couldn’t find a place to live?”
“This is one of the reasons.” Director Li said with a sigh, “The world’s information technology is too advanced, and the technology we were accustomed to has been swept into the historical grave by this era. New things are beyond our imagination.
“Back then, not having a mobile phone is equivalent to isolating yourself from society. But in this era, there is no such thing as a mobile phone. Instead, there are various forms of smart wearable devices and even implants in the human body. Speaking of which… The people from the Freezing Human Rights Protection Fund should have already contacted you, right?”
w.a.n.g Peng nodded.
“They came here yesterday.”
“Did they talk about volunteering with you?”
“A little.”
“Then what are your plans?”
w.a.n.g Peng thought for a while and said, “From what they suggested… If everything goes well, I plan to go to the school they recommended for a year of preparatory course, then think about the future.”
After all, the Freezing Human Rights Protection Fund was a non-profit charity organization established by Lu Zhou. It had a history of more than 100 years and had a very good reputation throughout the Pan-Asian region.
The main purpose of this foundation was only to help the frozen people from the past to find their place in this world.
The Pan-Asian cooperation had reached a high level of wealth, especially in the prosperity of the Chinese region. The unemployed could rely on unemployment subsidies to meet basic needs for food, clothing, housing, transportation, and some consumer goods. However, the mainstream value was still to encourage people to contribute to society.
Even though most people were quite decadent after waking up, the Freezing Human Rights Protection Fund was still working hard to fulfill the responsibilities of the times and try to integrate these people from ancient times into the current society.
w.a.n.g Peng didn’t know whether he had any value in this era, but he believed in Professor Lu’s wisdom and his plan for the future.
Since this fund was founded by him alone, and he had no better options, perhaps following their arrangement was a good choice.
“… Don’t worry too much about the future. If it doesn’t work, you can do charity work like me and help other young people from that era. Or go to a military school, utilize your past resume and your loyalty to the state. This society is quite tolerant. Only stubborn people are rejected. The key lies in whether you are willing to learn.”
Director Li smiled and waved his hand awkwardly.
w.a.n.g Peng went silent for a while.
“Back to the army?”
“Sort of, I know officers who joined the Pan-Asian First Fleet. For example, Li Gaoliang, from the Airborne Brigade, was in the military academy for three years, and is now the commander of the Third Orbit Marine Brigade.”
“Li Gaoliang?!”
Director Li asked, “Do you guys know each other?”
w.a.n.g Peng smiled bitterly.
“You could say so.”
Back when he was serving in the military, w.a.n.g Peng saved that guy’s life.
He didn’t expect this guy to also go dormant.
The picture in the holographic TV on the ceiling of the ward suddenly changed.
The reporter who received the press release suddenly became serious.
“Breaking news…
“According to the information from the route control center, flight N-177, which was originally scheduled to arrive at the Tianzhou s.p.a.ce station at 8 o’clock tomorrow, was hijacked by unknown armed forces.
“So far, the Pan-Asian First Fleet has dispatched two sentry-cla.s.s patrol s.h.i.+ps to rescue. The Pan-Asian Orbital Defense Force has also used all available facilities to organize the evacuation of residents and stranded pa.s.sengers on the Tianzhou s.p.a.ce station.”
The scene switched, and the shot was moved from the studio to the Tianzhou s.p.a.ce station. The crowd inside the customs hall was in chaos.
All 12 shuttles deployed had been put into use.
But even then, it was very difficult to evacuate the tens of thousands of stranded pa.s.sengers, engineers, and residents on the s.p.a.ce station within ten hours!
w.a.n.g Peng and Director Li opened their mouths at the same time, not knowing what to think, nor knowing what to say.
Then the camera switched again, showing the s.p.a.ce station of the Pan-Asian First Fleet. A group of soldiers wearing black exoskeleton armor were boarding a long shuttle-shaped landing s.h.i.+p.
An officer walked to the camera and took off the folding mask on his helmet.
Facing the live broadcast drone and the microphones, Li Gaoliang spoke in a serious tone.
“The situation is still under control. We are communicating with the hijackers and doing our best to ensure the safety of the hostages. Of course, if the other party takes action, we do not rule out the use of troops to fight for the safety of the pa.s.sengers on board.”
“h.e.l.lo, I am a reporter from Beijing TV. What is the other party’s request?”
“Sorry, I don’t know the specifics, my superior has not informed me…”
“Why evacuate the pa.s.sengers on the Tianzhou? There are rumors that the other party refused to communicate. Is this really the case?”
Li Gaoliang: “The evacuation is for safety reasons. We cannot a.s.sume that those hijackers are acting logically.”
A reporter asked sharply, “In other words, this might be a retaliation attack?”
“Yes.” Li Gaoliang nodded his head solemnly. He continued in a serious tone, “We cannot rule out this possibility.
“This may be a suicide attack.
“Just like 9/11.”
The reporters who surrounded him were shocked…