The next day.
After Xu Mo and Chen Ke woke up, they freshened up at the hotel, had breakfast, and took a taxi straight to the airport.
Director Wang had already arranged leave for them and Han Fei yesterday, so they didn't need to go to the police station today - they could just head home after landing.
On the way, Chen Ke was already planning to get a good rest when he got back to Ram City, followed by a nice dinner to reward himself for all the hard work lately.
However, not long after the plane took off, something unexpected happened...
After reaching cruising altitude, the aircraft suddenly began to shake violently, and its attitude changed dramatically.
The side-to-side shaking was one thing, but more critically, the plane soon began diving nose-first at an accelerating speed. At this rate, it would crash within minutes.
All passengers were stunned by the situation.
What was happening? Was this the prelude to losing control? Would the plane crash?
These thoughts made everyone fearful, with the more timid passengers already breaking into tears.
Everyone knew that while aircraft accidents were rare, if one did occur, chances of survival for anyone in the cabin would be virtually nil.
Falling from tens of thousands of feet, death would be almost certain.
Before the passengers could panic further, the well-trained Flight Attendant quickly stepped forward to explain.
"Please remain calm, fasten your seatbelts and stay in your seats. The plane has likely encountered turbulence. Everything will be fine soon!"
Though she said this, the Flight Attendant herself wasn't confident.
She had flown countless times and encountered most emergency situations, so she knew exactly what turbulence felt like. While bumping was normal, nosediving at a forty-five-degree angle with increasing speed... this was anything but normal!
Though unsure of the exact problem, her instincts told her this was serious. She decided to check with the Captain about the plane's current status.
With the aircraft diving at forty-five degrees, the Flight Attendant gripped the seats for support as she slowly made her way to the cockpit.
She initially tried to communicate with the Captain and Co-pilot through the intercom.
After getting no response from the cockpit, she realized the gravity of the situation and decided to open the door to check.
For safety reasons, cockpit doors remain locked during flights and can only be opened with a passcode known only to crew members.
The Flight Attendant entered the code to open the door.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the lock released, before she could pull it, the door burst open.
One of the cockpit windshields had shattered, with wind furiously rushing in - this was what had blown the door open. As the high-altitude cold air flooded in, the cabin temperature plummeted.
Xu Mo, seated by the aisle, curiously glanced toward the cockpit.
One of the cockpit windshields was broken, with freezing air rushing in, while both the Captain and Co-pilot sat motionless in their seats.
At high altitudes, temperatures can easily reach minus thirty or forty degrees. After the windshield breach, the cockpit temperature would have dropped to similar levels, likely causing both pilots to lose consciousness from the cold.
Seeing this situation, the Flight Attendant's eyes widened in horror. This was catastrophic...
With both the Captain and Co-pilot unconscious from the cold and no one to control the plane, a crash seemed inevitable.
Besides Xu Mo, other passengers had also noticed the unconscious pilots and realized the gravity of the situation.
A broken windshield, freezing air flooding in, unconscious pilots - this spelled disaster!
"We're done for, we're all going to die..."
"I don't want to die, my wife is waiting for me at home..."
"First time flying and this happens, damn it!"
"..."
The passengers reacted in various ways - some cursed in anger, others sighed in despair, some sat frozen in shock, others pulled out their phones to call family, and some simply fainted, whether from lack of oxygen, cold, or fear.
Even Chen Ke, usually level-headed, was dumbfounded.
He had been looking forward to a nice sleep after landing.
Well, that was out of the window now... no need for sleep anymore - this would be his eternal rest!
Xu Mo recalled the 'Vehicle Master' reward the system had given him.
Thanks to this reward, he could operate any vehicle - whether it flew in the sky, ran on land, or moved through water.
If he could pilot a fighter jet, a commercial airliner would be no problem.
As the situation grew dire for everyone aboard, Xu Mo unbuckled his seatbelt and, gripping the aisle seats for support, made his way against the wind toward the cockpit.
At this point, everyone was too busy grieving, crying, or making phone calls to notice Xu Mo entering the cockpit.
The plane had been diving for some time and was now just kilometers away from a mountain ahead.
"It's over, we're going to crash into the mountain... we're all done for," someone spotted through the window.
Hearing this, many passengers broke down completely. Was this really how it would end?
However, their despair didn't last long as they suddenly noticed the plane was no longer heading straight for the mountain but gradually climbing.
The aircraft's attitude had completely changed - from nose-diving to ascending. If it could maintain this climb, they might avoid collision with the mountain!
"Look! The plane is climbing! We're saved!"
"Did the Captain wake up? Thank goodness!"
"That was terrifying, I really thought we were done for."
"Thank heavens..."
Most passengers assumed the cold-stunned Captain had regained consciousness and was now controlling the plane's ascent.
Only a few passengers who had noticed the cockpit situation and the Flight Attendant standing near it knew the truth - the person flying the plane wasn't the Captain at all, but a passenger!
Chen Ke had noticed this too, and was stunned as he recognized the silhouette of the person flying the plane - it was Xu Mo!
So Xu Mo really knew how to fly a plane??
He clearly remembered when Xu Mo had posed as a pilot to apply at the airline.
Chen Ke had always assumed Xu Mo only knew how to forge documents, not actually fly. Now it seemed he had underestimated him.
The pilot credentials might have been fake, but Xu Mo's ability to fly was real!
This was incredible!
Where did he learn all these strange skills?
Don't tell me he learned this from books too!