Everyone in the command center froze at Fang Chenyi’s words, baffled as to why he would insist on not dumping the fuel.

A water landing without dumping fuel had a one-in-ten-thousand chance of success. Dumping the fuel would raise those odds to at least one in a thousand!

"Dumping fuel into the ocean would be too devastating for the marine ecosystem. Don’t worry, I’ll land this plane successfully. Now, I need to fly. I’ll contact you after we’re down. Over and out."

With that, he ignored the radio and focused on piloting the plane. "Menghan, give me the flight data!"

"Altitude 900, speed 530."

...

Back in the command center, the commander frowned slightly and turned to a middle-aged man beside him.

"What’s the name of your pilot? What do you think his chances of success are?"

The middle-aged man quickly answered.

"His name is Lü Dong. He’s one of Southern Airlines’ finest pilots. I’m confident that if he can’t do it, no one at our airline can."

The commander nodded. The pilot’s ability to rapidly decrease altitude with an engine on fire was a clear testament to his skill. He turned to his assistant.

"Have the rescue teams been dispatched?"

"Sir, we’ve contacted international rescue. The nearest nation, Country X, has dispatched rescue vessels. However, they report that the area is known for frequent pirate activity."

The commander’s brow furrowed deeply. He let out a helpless sigh. "It’s just one thing after another. Let’s just hope they make it back safely."

The middle-aged man beside him instinctively added, "Yes, let’s hope for their safety. Ah, our chairman is on that plane."

The commander froze, turning to him in confusion. "Your chairman is on board?"

...

Staring at the vast ocean below, Fang Chenyi felt a massive headache coming on.

No matter how skilled he was, a successful water landing still came down to luck.

To put it bluntly, he could adjust the plane’s angle, speed, and everything else perfectly, but if a sudden wave—not even a big one, just over a meter high—were to rise up, the plane would meet a single fate: disintegration.

Just then, the cockpit door was thrown open again, and a disheveled Lü Dong burst in.

He froze for a second, seeing Bai Menghan in the co-pilot’s seat instead of Xiaozhou. But when he saw her fluid, expert movements—light-years ahead of Xiaozhou’s—he swallowed the words he was about to say.

He moved behind Fang Chenyi, motioning for the young flight attendant to take a seat in the back, before addressing him.

"Chairman, given the plane’s current state, we should have about three more minutes of glide time."

Fang Chenyi nodded. "Two and a half, tops. Once our speed drops to around 350, that’ll be our best window for the landing."

"Altitude 500, speed 420."

"Altitude 310, speed 390."

With every number Bai Menghan called out, the tension in the cockpit tightened another notch.

Finally, as Bai Menghan called out, "Altitude 170, speed 360," Fang Chenyi made his move.

He adjusted their angle, fought to pull the nose up slightly, and waited for the stall.

The instant Fang Chenyi pulled up the nose, the massive airframe seemed to hang in the air for a moment. Then, it slammed down toward the sea.

BANG—

The moment the plane hit the water, the immense impact nearly flung them from their seats, held in place only by their safety harnesses.

At that critical moment, Fang Chenyi endured the crushing pressure of the harness against his chest. He gripped the control yoke with all his might, fighting to keep the wings level so the plane would skim across the surface instead of plowing into the depths.

BANG—CRACK!

With a tremendous noise, the left wing finally gave way under the ocean’s immense force and snapped clean off.

Having lost a wing, the fuselage immediately began to roll over onto its side.

Before anyone in the cockpit could recover from the initial impact, they felt their world spin as they were left dangling sideways in their seats.

’Damn it! What goes around comes around! Is God playing some kind of sick joke on me?’

At this point, the situation was completely out of his control. He held onto the yoke, but his eyes drifted down to Bai Menghan.

When he saw her looking back up at him with a small smile, a powerful will to live surged through him.

’I absolutely cannot die. I still have parents to take care of, and I haven’t even gotten married yet.’

’I just got the Scavenger System! I haven’t even had a chance to enjoy the thrill of reaching the pinnacle of life. How can I just die so pointlessly?’

A sudden thought made his eyes light up, and he began shouting frantically in his mind.

’System! System, where are you? Can you help us get through this?! If you help me, I promise I’ll scavenge for free for a week—no, a whole month!’

Just as he finished his mental plea, the system’s voice actually rang out in his mind, instantly revitalizing him. He listened as the system spoke in an unhurried tone.

"Ding! Host is in a critical situation. Activating a one-time special system reward. Please pick up any item. The system will then provide the most suitable item to resolve the current crisis."

’Holy crap! System, you’re the best! I could just kiss you!’

Hearing the system’s voice, Fang Chenyi almost laughed out loud. ’We’re saved! We’re saved! This is so sudden, it’s like a dream come true.’

But then a new worry struck him. ’Pick up any item? Where the hell am I supposed to find something to pick up right now?’

’Can’t hesitate. The fuselage is already groaning and cracking. It’ll probably disintegrate in another ten seconds.’

With that thought, Fang Chenyi snatched the woven bag from under his seat. Without even looking, he ripped the radio handset from its console and tossed it inside.

The moment it landed in the bag, the system’s notification sounded in his mind.

[Host has picked up one radio handset. Activating designated special system reward. Reward: one exquisite, top-grade Zitan wood slingshot and five hundred special steel ball bearings. Reward: Super Slingshot Skill. The slingshot has been placed in the woven bag. The Super Slingshot Skill has been stored in the host’s sea of consciousness for retrieval.]

’What? A slingshot?!’

Hearing the sudden notification in his mind, Fang Chenyi nearly cursed. His life was on the line, and the system gave him a stupid slingshot!

[To be continued....]

PS: Hehe, so folks, any guesses what the slingshot is for?