Their current position was still over the middle of the Black Sea, an hour and a half’s flight from the nearest airport.

With two engines lost, forget flying for an hour and a half—they wouldn’t last a minute and a half!

While Fang Chenyi was deep in thought, Xiaozhou was already in a full-blown panic.

"Chairman! Chairman! The last engine’s on fire! What do we do?! What do we do?! God, if only I had a parachute right now!!"

Ignoring Xiaozhou, Fang Chenyi focused on figuring out what to do.

"Southern Airlines 9527, tower calling. Please report your current situation. Repeat, Southern Airlines 9527, tower calling. Please report your current situation."

The voice on the radio kept calling, but Fang Chenyi’s hands were locked on the controls; he had no spare attention to respond. As for his co-pilot, Xiaozhou, he seemed to have been scared stiff. He was just muttering incessantly, as if in prayer.

As the engines slowly lost power, the imbalance of having thrust on only one side caused the entire plane to start tilting. This made it incredibly difficult for Lü Dong to get back to the cockpit.

As the plane’s tilt worsened, oxygen masks deployed throughout the cabin.

The passenger cabin had devolved into chaos, but in the cockpit...

Sitting behind Fang Chenyi, Bai Menghan strained to lean forward and grab the radio handset. She immediately began reporting their situation to the tower:

"This is Southern Airlines 9527. After a severe fire, the left engine has been detached. Now the right engine is also on fire. The aircraft has a significant tilt! Repeat, ..."

The domestic air transport command center received the news quickly. At the same time, the story broke on television. The internet instantly exploded.

"Southern Airlines 9527, both engines are on fire? The nearest airport, Saldelas Airport, is 1,876 kilometers from your position. Can you make it to the airport? Over."

Bai Menghan glanced at Fang Chenyi, who simply shook his head. She turned back to the radio and said:

"Negative. Over!"

Two seconds later, the voice from the tower came over the radio again:

"Southern Airlines 9527, satellite imagery shows no land in your vicinity. Sea depth is between 700 and 1,163 meters. You can attempt to ditch in the sea! Higher authorities have been notified, and a search and rescue team is already en route!" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Ditching in the sea. It was easy to say, but everyone—from the staff in the tower to the leaders at every level—knew the odds of success were far lower than winning the lottery.

To call it a one-in-ten chance of survival would be an overstatement. After all, the factors involved in ditching a plane at sea, and the level of skill required of the pilot, were unforgivingly harsh.

Although Captain Lü Dong of Southern Airlines 9527 was highly skilled, he likely fell just short of what was required for such a maneuver. As for David, he was far less capable than Lü Dong and wasn’t even a consideration.

While struggling to control the aircraft, Fang Chenyi spoke to the co-pilot, Xiaozhou:

"Give me real-time flight data!"

However, it was as if Xiaozhou hadn’t heard him at all. Fang Chenyi was speechless. ’How could he be spacing out at a time like this?!’

He didn’t bother with Xiaozhou again, shouting loudly instead:

"Old Lü! Take over the co-pilot’s seat!"

Again, no one answered Fang Chenyi. Before he could shout again, Bai Menghan, who was behind him, gritted her teeth and unbuckled her seatbelt. She used the plane’s incline to slide over to the co-pilot’s seat, grabbing Xiaozhou’s sleeve and shaking him as she yelled:

"Get out! I’m taking the co-pilot’s seat!"

Although Bai Menghan didn’t have her pilot’s license yet and was unfamiliar with this particular aircraft, she could still coordinate with Fang Chenyi effectively.

That was more than enough. After all, Xiaozhou’s current state showed he had been completely overwhelmed by the successive emergencies.

Shaken by Bai Menghan, the muttering Xiaozhou finally snapped back to reality.

Just then, Fang Chenyi’s voice rang out:

"Xiaozhou! Get out of the seat and handle the radio! Maintain contact with the tower! Menghan, you take the co-pilot’s seat!"

Hearing the Chairman give the order, Xiaozhou hesitated for a moment. He knew he was in no condition to fly, so he decisively unbuckled his seatbelt. With great effort, he scrambled over to where Lü Dong had been sitting, snatched the radio, and began communicating with the tower.

After taking the co-pilot’s seat, Bai Menghan discovered the controls weren’t much different from the plane she had flown on the way here. This gave her a surge of confidence.

"Captain! Altitude 4,900 meters, airspeed 560 kilometers per hour!"

"Altitude 4,700 meters, airspeed 540 kilometers per hour!"

"Altitude 4,400 meters, airspeed 560 kilometers per hour!"

...

Listening to Bai Menghan’s continuous reports of the flight data, Fang Chenyi’s brow furrowed deeply.

Even though the last engine was on fire, it was still running. That was the only reason the plane hadn’t stalled and plunged from the sky.

But feeling the state of the aircraft, Fang Chenyi knew that engine wouldn’t last much longer. It could die completely at any second.

’I just don’t know the exact state of the engine right now!’

The instrument panel showed the engine’s operational status, but it couldn’t display the condition of the fire.

’If the fire isn’t too severe, I could bring the plane down below a thousand meters and fly at a low altitude.’

’But if it suddenly dies during a rapid descent, there’ll be no chance to glide for a landing at all.’

At this critical juncture, the cockpit door was suddenly pushed open with great effort. The young flight attendant Fang Chenyi had caught earlier struggled to crawl inside. From the blood trickling down her forehead, it was clear how badly she’d been injured on her journey here.

Fang Chenyi had no time to spare for what was happening. After crawling in, the young flight attendant managed to pull herself up to the seat Bai Menghan had previously occupied. She then took the communicator hanging around her neck and held it to Fang Chenyi’s ear.

STATIC~

After a burst of static, a familiar, urgent voice came through the communicator:

"Captain, the engine fire isn’t too intense! The blades are still rotating normally! I estimate it can hold out for less than two minutes! I’ll give you real-time updates on the engine’s status. If we need to jettison it, I’ll report immediately! Over!"

Hearing this voice, Fang Chenyi was stunned for a moment, then overcome with joy. ’Old Lü really is the perfect captain. He knew this was exactly the data I needed most right now!’

The opportunity was fleeting and could vanish in the next second. Fang Chenyi didn’t dare to hesitate...

[To be continued...]