The two dark-skinned faces peering in seemed utterly unsurprised to see people smashing the windows from the inside. Instead, they cracked wide, sinister grins.

After laughing, they pulled something out from behind their backs.

Down below, Fang Chenyi and the few young men with him couldn’t help but back away at the sight.

The two men weren’t holding anything else—they were holding two large sledgehammers.

"Haha, we’re saved! They must be the rescue team! We’re saved!"

Listening to the excited shouts of the people around him, Fang Chenyi furrowed his brow. He had a feeling something was off. ’It hasn’t even been fifteen minutes since the engine caught fire. How could a rescue team get here so fast?’

Of course, it wasn’t impossible if a ship happened to be nearby and received the distress signal.

’I shouldn’t overthink it. No matter what, the priority right now is getting out of here alive.’

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The sound of sledgehammers striking glass rang out. After a few hits, a fine web of cracks began to spread across the window. The sense of unease in Fang Chenyi’s heart grew stronger.

"You guys wait here. I’m going to the back to let everyone know."

With that, Fang Chenyi turned and headed deeper into the cabin. He needed to give Lü Dong and the others a heads-up, to prepare them for the worst-case scenario.

CRACK! SHATTER!

Fang Chenyi had just stepped into the cabin aisle when he heard a sharp crack, followed by the sound of shattering glass.

Immediately after, a series of strange, guttural shouts erupted from behind him.

’Another foreign language I can’t understand?’

’Detected that Master requires proficiency in the local language. Activating a one-time designated special reward. Please pick up any item.’

Fang Chenyi stopped in his tracks, his eyes lighting up. He immediately reached into his clothes, pulled out the woven bag, and without even looking, picked up something someone had dropped on the floor and tossed it inside.

[Master has picked up one pack of sanitary napkins. Activating system’s special reward. Reward: Guala Language Skill (1). The reward has been stored in Master’s sea of consciousness and is available for use.]

’Ugh... Sanitary napkins.’

Hearing the notification in his mind, Fang Chenyi was speechless. But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. Having learned this "Guala Language," he could suddenly understand the loud laughter from behind him:

"Wahahaha, it’s open, it’s open! It’s the yellow-skinned ones inside! These ones are worth the most. Go tell the chief, quick..."

Fang Chenyi’s brow furrowed. It was just as he’d suspected—these guys weren’t a rescue team at all.

’And what about the slingshot the system gave me earlier? Did the system know I wasn’t going to die? Was the slingshot specifically for dealing with these guys?’

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Since he now knew they weren’t friendly, he had to organize the men. A quick scan revealed at least fifty or sixty able-bodied men among the hundred or so passengers. That was a force to be reckoned with. With their numbers, they wouldn’t be so easily controlled once they were out.

However, while the idea was promising, the reality was grim.

Just as Fang Chenyi reached the rear cabin, before he could even speak, a commotion erupted behind him.

The young men who had been trying to break the window scrambled back in, shouting in panic as they ran:

"Help! Pirates!!"

Behind them were the two men who had smashed the window, each now brandishing a submachine gun and following with a wide, toothy grin.

Seeing this, Fang Chenyi quickly pulled Bai Menghan, who was next to him, and ducked into a first-class cabin.

"Don’t say a word. Hide here for a bit."

With that said, Fang Chenyi gripped the slingshot in his hand, his mind racing to come up with a plan.

While Fang Chenyi was thinking, the two men had entered the main cabin. They aimed their submachine guns at the passengers and, with ferocious expressions, let out a stream of guttural shouts.

Unfortunately, other than Fang Chenyi, no one could understand a word they were saying.

After shouting for a bit, the two seemed to realize there was a language barrier.

They exchanged a look and began to talk to each other:

"San Lüdan, they don’t seem to understand us. Should we shoot a couple of ’em? You know, to make an impression?"

Hearing this, Fang Chenyi was instantly enraged. He drew back the band of his slingshot, ready to step out and take a shot at them. With his own superior strength, combined with the powerful Slingshot Skill, Fang Chenyi was confident he could send a special steel ball straight through one of their skulls.

"Fuck, Gou Liaozi, are you stupid? If we open fire in here and puncture the fuselage, how are we supposed to get out? Besides, didn’t you hear the chief? These people are worth money! Move, watch me."

After speaking, this San Lüdan stepped forward and pointed his gun at a middle-aged man in the front. He let out another strange cry and crooked his finger, beckoning him over.

The middle-aged man was none other than the guy who had antagonized Fang Chenyi twice before. At the sight of the gun, his legs went weak, and he nearly wet his pants.

San Lüdan’s eyebrows shot up at the sight. He stepped forward and grabbed the man by the collar. Lü Dong, who was standing nearby, instinctively moved to intervene, but in the next instant, the dark, gaping muzzle of a gun was pressed against his head.

While shouting more gibberish, San Lüdan grabbed Lü Dong by the collar as well, yanking both men out from the crowd.

The surrounding passengers, who had been on the verge of resisting, froze when they saw the two guns. Helpless, they could only watch as the two men were pulled away.

Once they were out, San Lüdan used a combination of gestures and demonstrations, calling over a few more people, until he finally managed to get the passengers to form a single file line heading toward the cockpit.

Watching the long line of people filing out, Gou Liaozi couldn’t help but give San Lüdan a thumbs-up. He then raised the walkie-talkie on his shoulder and spoke:

"Chief, the people from the plane are ready. They’re about to come out now. If you’re ready over there, I’ll start sending them up."

KSHHH~

"Send them up. One by one, no rushing. Don’t want anyone trying to run off in the chaos."

Listening to the commotion from inside the first-class cabin, Fang Chenyi had already made up his mind. ’No matter what, I can’t stay on this plane. It’s better to get on the pirates’ ship than to sink into the sea with the wreckage. At least that way, there’s a chance of survival.’

That was precisely why he hadn’t rushed out to stop them. After all, if he wanted to, Fang Chenyi could take care of these two idiotic pirates in a matter of minutes.

Under the pirates’ watch, Lü Dong was the first one ordered up. Enduring the sharp pain in his hand, he struggled up the ladder the pirates had provided and climbed out of the plane’s window.

Lü Dong’s heart sank as he saw the ship moored tightly against the plane, its deck crowded with more than a dozen pirates armed with guns and wearing bandoliers.

’Sigh... out of the frying pan and into the fire.’

[To be continued...]

PS: More updates coming tonight, everyone!