CHAPTER 216: CHAPTER 216: LONG-AWAITED

"He has planned numerous horrific incidents. We can’t possibly release such a dangerous individual."

The hijacker leader held the phone, a taunting smile on his face.

"No, no, no! I think you’ve misunderstood. This isn’t a request; it’s a transaction! Are you really prepared to abandon the lives of everyone on this plane?"

At these words, the other end of the line fell silent once more...

These men were mercenaries from Sanzhou Country, commissioned by the internationally infamous "Sacred Fire" organization. Weiss, the son of the Sacred Fire’s leader, had been arrested in Dragon Country and was scheduled for execution. Their mission was to rescue him.

Hearing the exchange between Number One and the caller, Xia Liang suddenly panicked.

It’s not that I’m scared... I’m just panicking because if this massive incident gets on TV and causes delays... damn it, what if Xi Yiqian and Qingxue end up meeting? Tsk, tsk... now *that* scene would be far more terrifying than this.

Without further hesitation, Xia Liang stopped hiding and stood up.

His sudden movement immediately put Number Three on high alert.

"What do you think you’re doing?" Number Three demanded, approaching Xia Liang with his gun raised.

Nearby, Luu Qi and the fatty watched anxiously as Number Three drew closer.

Knocking everyone out at once would be the safest option, but I can’t just knock out the pilot, can I? Even though I have lots of skills now, including God-level Driving which would let me fly the plane, what would happen when we land? If everyone else is unconscious and I pretend to be, who landed the plane? Even if I leave only the pilot awake, my abilities would be exposed, and that would cause a huge mess. And just knocking out the hijackers would be impossible to explain.

Because of this, Xia Liang didn’t act immediately. He planned to wait until Number Three was right next to him before making his move, minimizing the commotion.

Number Three didn’t give a young man like Xia Liang a second thought. He sneered as he walked closer, a flash of jealousy in his eyes as he looked at Xia Liang’s face.

"Kid! Are you deaf? I told you not to move! It looks like I’ll have to teach you a painful lesson!"

As he spoke, Number Three swung the butt of his gun toward Xia Liang’s head, intending to make an example of him.

This sent Shi Qiang, who was sitting behind him, into a panic. He stared at Xia Liang, who had provoked the hijacker.

What is he thinking?!

"Damn it!"

Just as the gun butt was about to smash into Xia Liang’s temple, Shi Qiang could no longer hold back. He shot to his feet and lunged at Number Three!

The sudden motion behind him caught Number Three’s attention. He whirled around with lightning speed, aiming his gun at Shi Qiang and preparing to fire.

A perfect opportunity!

Next to Xia Liang, Luu Qi’s eyes lit up as she unleashed the move she had mentally rehearsed countless times.

"Hah!" Luu Qi grunted, whipping a kick toward Number Three’s waist.

"Son of a bitch!"

Feeling the rush of air behind him, Number Three glanced back and saw it was a woman. He ground his teeth in annoyance. Still, the man in front of him seemed like the greater threat, so he steeled himself to take the kick.

Unfortunately for him, he had gravely miscalculated. Luu Qi was a woman enhanced by the Gene Potion. Knowing she was dealing with a vicious criminal, she held nothing back.

BANG!

Luu Qi’s kick landed like a lightning bolt on Number Three’s waist.

CRACK!

The sound of bone breaking was sickeningly clear to everyone. Number Three felt as if he had been hit by a train.

THUD!

His head slammed hard against a seat, and he slumped over, unconscious.

Seeing that she’d successfully taken one down, Luu Qi’s face flushed with excitement.

Meanwhile, Xia Liang and Shi Qiang were utterly dumbfounded.

I haven’t even done anything yet, and Shi Qiang and Luu Qi already teamed up to take this guy down? Xia Liang wondered.

Shi Qiang was equally bewildered. What the hell was that? Since when is Luu Qi so vicious? She kicked him so hard she broke his bones and knocked him out cold!

The other passengers in the cabin shared their shock, which quickly turned into ecstatic joy. Seeing they were about to shout, Luu Qi quickly put a finger to her lips and whispered, "Don’t forget, there are still more hijackers on the plane!"

The passengers immediately snapped back to reality and clapped their hands over their mouths, terrified of making the slightest sound.

Xia Liang rolled his eyes. What’s the use? The entire plane is dead quiet. It would be a miracle if that kick of yours *didn’t* attract attention.

Sure enough, Number Two and Number Four, who were guarding business class, heard the commotion and started yelling into their walkie-talkies. "Number Three, respond! What happened over there?"

Hearing the call from Number Three’s radio, everyone except Xia Liang grew fearful, including Luu Qi and Shi Qiang. The joy of taking down a hijacker had completely vanished from Luu Qi’s eyes.

She quickly turned to her brother. "Brother? What do we do now?"

"Yeah, Brother Xia, there are still seven more of them," Shi Qiang added. Of course, he didn’t know Number Eight was already dead and thought they had only dealt with one hijacker so far.

"Now you decide to ask me?" Xia Liang said, rolling his eyes. "I was planning to handle this quietly, but you two had to be the heroes..."

His gaze fell on the bomb strapped to Number Three’s body, and he rolled his eyes again. Who the hell knows which of them has the remote detonator? Whatever, forget it.

Xia Liang shook his head. "Qiangzi, you and Qiqi drag him to the back. Strip him of all his gear and bring it to me."

With that, Xia Liang left his seat and took up a position by the doorway, lying in wait.

Shi Qiang watched him go, feeling uneasy and wanting to help. But Luu Qi stopped him.

"Brother Qiang, don’t worry. My brother is way stronger than me. We’d only get in his way. Let’s deal with this guy first," she said, pointing at the unconscious Number Three.

"Alright then!" After a moment’s thought, Shi Qiang chose to trust Xia Liang.

As the two dealt with the unconscious hijacker, Number Two began to advance cautiously from business class.

"What a pain," Xia Liang muttered. Using his Spiritual Power to perceive Number Two’s movements, he was exasperated. Seriously? It’s less than ten steps. Are you going to take all day?

The moment Number Two took another step forward, he froze, shocked to see someone standing right there. He raised his hand, ready to fire.

However, Xia Liang gave him no such chance.

A hand chopped at his neck. It moved so incredibly fast that the stunned passengers behind Xia Liang only saw a blur.

Number Two’s vision went black, and he collapsed.

Without a word, Xia Liang tossed the man behind him like a sack of garbage. "Strip this one clean, too."

Watching Xia Liang so effortlessly take down another hijacker, the first-class passengers were overjoyed, as if they could see a glimmer of hope for survival.

They all nodded vigorously.

"Yes!"

"That was amazing, young man! Please, be careful!"

"We’ll take care of these small things for you!"