Chapter 255: 254, Retaking The Xuanming, Sleeping Drug Operation, The Price Of Saving A Life
Something has indeed happened.
Fang Wen stood on the ghost ship’s watchtower, observing the distant situation with binoculars.
This exploration fleet consisted of seven ships in total.
Including three ocean cruise ships brought by the tycoons, one fuel ship, one freshwater ship, one supply ship, and one passenger ship for the attendants.
These ships were both status symbols and safety guarantees, but now they had become dangers.
The supply ship was on fire.
The cruise ship belonging to Elizabeth Catherine Rockefeller was also on fire.
In the flashes of fire, bullet marks from head-on engagement could still be seen, indicating that both sides were still in a stalemate.
“Let’s go down and circle around to the airplane from the rear,” Fang Wen said.
Immediately afterward, several people carefully climbed down along the rope.
John Harvey, who was guarding below, immediately breathed a sigh of relief: “Not long after you went up, that side caught fire. I thought they would come over.”
“Let’s go around and board the airplane.”
Fang Wen’s words gave everyone direction, and they picked up the oars and started paddling.
The small boat moved forward, passed the ghost ship, exited from another outlet of the ring reef, then turned right, quietly approaching the airplane moored on the large reef island to the right.
As the distance closed, gunfire also reached them, clearly both sides had not yet ceased fire.
In the night, the small boat arrived 300 meters from the seaplane, where the lights on the airplane could faintly be seen.
There were actually people on the airplane. Fang Wen immediately had the small boat moor at the edge of the reef island. Lin Shuiwang and Wu Yingzong, the best swimmers, volunteered to dive over and board.
Fang Wen cautioned: “Don’t be reckless. First figure out the situation. If there are too many people up there, we’ll think of something else.”
The two nodded, took off their outerwear, and dove into the water.
After swimming underwater for a while, the two approached the seaplane and quietly poked their heads up from the boat bottom.
From the fuselage cabin above, noisy voices came out, clearly there were quite a few people.
There were also people holding guns guarding the hatch.
After a while, Lin Shuiwang and Wu Yingzong returned to report the situation.
“They’re bad people. They said there’s no airplane, and no one can escape.”
Fang Wen nodded. He hadn’t guessed wrong—someone wanted to take advantage of this exploration to kidnap four tycoons.
He recalled that Sun Debiao had done something similar before. Probably for this matter, the tycoons’ entourages had long been infiltrated by their people, and this exploration gave them the opportunity to act.
The airplane definitely had to be taken back. As for the people, save them if possible.
But the current situation was tricky; the middle hatch was guarded.
Only the repair opening in the mooring compartment could be used to enter.
The repair opening in the mooring compartment was specially designed to handle situations where the anchor or chain got stuck.
Even if going up from there, it would be in the line of sight of the rear compartment, making it impossible to deal with the people in the cabin.
Right, there was another entrance: Fang Wen’s cockpit.
Due to safety concerns, access there would be locked, and only Fang Wen had the key.
Going down from there would lead to the small compartment between the rear compartment and the hot water room, an angle others couldn’t see.
Fang Wen explained this situation to everyone, then made a suggestion.
“I think we can enter from the cockpit and the mooring compartment at the same time, striking from front and rear—they definitely won’t be able to cope.”
This was a good tactical plan. Fang Wen was prepared to implement it if no one objected.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Wanping spoke up: “General Manager, I have a better idea.”
“Oh, tell me.” Fang Wen didn’t feel humiliated by this. Future people didn’t have such thin face. He made the suggestion to see if there was something better, so he was very expectant of Zhao Wanping’s idea.
Zhao Wanping, not good with words, explained her plan under her husband’s encouragement.
“General Manager, striking from front and rear is indeed good, but what if stray bullets damage the airplane? I think using some underhanded means would be better. For example, I use sleeping drug to knock them out.”
Fang Wen was immediately tempted.
As the designer and manufacturer of the Xuanming, he knew his airplane like the back of his hand.
The airplane needed good airtightness for high-altitude flight, but passengers also needed to breathe.
Therefore, the airplane also had an air circulation system.
The Xuanming used pressurized air from the engine compressor outlet as the air supply source. This method was simple and reliable, and had been widely used.
Its air intake was at the connection between the propeller and the engine, with one at the connection of each left and right propeller and engine.
And the skin there had a maintenance hole, used for quickly removing the skin after issues with the airplane engine or propeller.
After removing that layer of skin, the honeycomb-shaped air intakes could be seen.
The air outlet was at both ends of the wing, and to ensure cabin air quality, the air outlet was one-way.
So, as long as the air intakes on both sides of the wing were blocked, then sleeping drug was pumped in, the guys inside the airplane could be dealt with.
Immediately, Fang Wen explained the entire plan, then arranged the action.
The action began, and everyone acted according to Fang Wen’s instructions.
Lin Shuiwang was responsible for surveillance.
Wu Yingzong was responsible for sneaking in through the cockpit, then retrieving the sleeping drug and nozzle from the rear compartment storage room, as well as the airplane repair tools.
Zhao Wanping was responsible for preparing the drug and administering it.
Fang Wen was responsible for opening the airplane and pointing out the specific locations and operation suggestions for Zhao Wanping.
As for the others, they stayed behind to wait.
Watching the four dive over, Elizabeth Catherine Rockefeller sighed with emotion: “His life is really colorful. How great it would be if I could be like him.”
But John Harvey was very self-aware: “People blessed by God are always different from others, just like most dreams never come true.”
“But haven’t you also been blessed by God because of that? If it weren’t for him, your life would probably be different,” Elizabeth Catherine Rockefeller replied.
These words stunned John Harvey.
Without Fang Wen, he would probably be a fairly well-known lawyer in New York, but now he had become a shareholder and director of a listed company—his life had indeed changed dramatically.
He had indeed been incidentally blessed!
He looked toward the distant sea surface reflecting the moonlight, lost in thought.
At this time, Fang Wen and the other three had arrived outside the airplane.
Wu Yingzong skillfully threw the grappling hook to the angle of the wing, then climbed up in one go.
He reached the wing, tiptoed to the center position, then climbed down to the cockpit in the middle of the fuselage.
There was an emergency lock outside the cockpit to prevent the canopy from not opening in case of trouble. Wu Yingzong used the emergency lock key to open the cockpit canopy, then agilely slipped inside.
He carefully opened the lower side passage of the cockpit. The passage opened, but he didn’t rashly go down; instead, he listened to the situation below.
After confirming no issues, Wu Yingzong slid down the vertical ladder quickly, with knife blades hidden in both hands.
As soon as he came down, he prepared to act, then cautiously peeked out. He suddenly rushed into the rear compartment, opened the door, closed the door—all completed in a few seconds.
Entering the rear compartment, he quickly rummaged, tied Zhao Wanping’s medicine bag and Fang Wen’s repair tools to himself, then waited.
Outside, the hot water room.
Two bad men with guns slung over their shoulders were chatting and laughing, and even took out airplane instant noodles to each brew a bowl.
After a few minutes, the two turned away with their noodle bowls and left the hot water room. Only then did Wu Yingzong quickly exit the rear compartment and swiftly climb out of the airplane.
He had gotten the items. He climbed onto the wing and waved to those below.
Then Zhao Wanping and Fang Wen climbed up along the rope.
Taking Wu Yingzong’s tool bag, Fang Wen began working.
This airplane’s data was crystal clear in his mind; he didn’t even need to look, directly using the special rivet driver to open the maintenance hole.
Both sides’ maintenance holes were opened. Fang Wen blocked one side, then explained to Zhao Wanping.
“These are honeycomb holes. Now without the engine assisting air intake, how will you do it?”
“The blowpipe and knockout powder taught by my ancestors.”
Speaking of her family heirloom skill, Zhao Wanping was very confident.
She carefully put the powder into the blowpipe, then kept blowing into it.
The odorless powder, under constant blowing, flowed along the air duct into the cabin.
Unknowingly, this dust permeated the air inside the cabin.
Someone unknowingly lay down on the bed and fell asleep, someone slumped over their desk, and patrolling soldiers slowed their steps and unknowingly leaned against the wall and fell.
On the airplane, Zhao Wanping silently counted to ten.
“Down.”
The last armed bandit crashed onto the bed.
The sleeping drug had succeeded so smoothly. Fang Wen became highly interested in using this stuff in actual combat.
Although it couldn’t be used in open areas, it had miraculous effects in certain environments. Taishan Airlines’ private army focused on special operations, so the more equipment in this area, the better.
He waved away his thoughts and gave a hand signal to those below.
The four covered their mouths and noses with wet handkerchiefs and carefully entered the airplane from the front and rear.
Seeing the bandits sprawled everywhere, Lin Shuiwang couldn’t help counting: “One, two… heavens, the drug took down 8 people. If we had really fought, we might not have won.”
“What nonsense, hurry and help tie them up before they wake up midway,” Fang Wen laughed.
After dealing with the bandits on the airplane, the small boat from the reef island, having received the notice, also sailed over.
Now, the seaplane became the temporary base.
Fang Wen analyzed the current situation.
“We still don’t know the situation over there. We need to send someone to contact them.”
This time, Lin Shuiwang volunteered again. In the sea, his swimming was the best—perfect time to show off.
Immediately, he leaped into the sea and swam toward the two tycoon cruise ships on the other side of the ring reef.
In the water, he saw the three tycoons all on one cruise ship, hiding in the rear, while the other cruise ship was in front blocking and exchanging fire with the enemy.
Seeing this, Lin Shuiwang didn’t dare rashly surface or board, lest he be mistakenly shot by the highly tense bodyguards.
He waited a while until the bodyguards walked away, then surfaced.
“Don’t shoot, it’s me.”
The three tycoons, startled, hurriedly retreated but then realized and came forward with joyful inquiries.
“You’re back, great.”
Lin Shuiwang was pulled aboard. The two sides exchanged what they knew, then Lin Shuiwang dove back to report.
At the seaplane, Fang Wen was considering how to deal with those knocked-out kidnappers.
This matter originally had nothing to do with him; killing them would dirty his hands.
He then asked the nearby Elizabeth Catherine Rockefeller: “These people are yours for sale, 10,000 each, dispose of them as you wish.”
“Fine.” Elizabeth Catherine Rockefeller surprisingly wrote a check directly, then ordered two attendants with disgust to throw these still-unconscious bandits into the sea.
Bubbles rose from the sea bottom one after another. The lives of these eight bandits ended with 100,000 US dollars.
At this time, Lin Shuiwang also emerged from underwater and was pulled onto the floatboard by Wu Yingzong.
“General Manager, I’ve figured out the situation over there. It was the people on the supply ship who did it. That ship hid twenty kidnappers, plus five disguised crew members on board, totaling twenty-five people. Because of your reminder, the bodyguards acted suddenly but didn’t wipe them all out. Ten ran to the sailor ship, and the others probably hijacked our airplane.” Lin Shuiwang said.
Pausing, Lin Shuiwang continued: “They said that as long as you take out those kidnappers or get them out, they’ll give you generous rewards.”
“What can they give me?” Fang Wen asked calmly.
Having grown Taishan Airlines so large, he increasingly understood some truths: no matter how rich or powerful, people weren’t omnipotent. The world was complex and ever-changing, with counters for everything.
Now with scions of two major financial magnate families held by the general, how could he pass up such a good interest exchange opportunity.
At this time, Elizabeth Catherine Rockefeller spoke: “Why not have them come over? I think it’s safer here with you.”
Indeed, if something unexpected happened and those three tycoons died here, all transactions would be gone.
Immediately, Fang Wen had Lin Shuiwang and Wu Yingzong row over.
After a while, the three tycoons returned. They looked very disheveled now, without even bodyguards by their side.
“What happened?” Fang Wen asked.
Lin Shuiwang replied: “Those kidnappers also took the freshwater ship. That’s the only food and freshwater supply. Some bodyguards fled on boats, and the rest stayed on the ship to resist.”
Looking at it this way, these tycoons’ last reliance had become him. Fang Wen’s mind immediately became active.
Although Rockefeller and the Wellington family were powerful, these few couldn’t control the entire family industry. Making a lion’s demand wouldn’t help even if they agreed.
With his mind racing, Fang Wen made a decision.
（Ring reef）
He invited the four to sit in the hot water room and said unhurriedly: “I’m a person with dreams, but realizing them always requires help from some benefactors. For example, Standard Oil’s export quotas in the Persian Gulf, and more Pratt & Whitney engines. If you’re willing, I’ll remember your help and lead you out of this ordeal.”
These two requests were neither high nor low—exactly what the tycoons could solve, and what Fang Wen needed.
After a brief discussion, they replied.
“My sister and I can decide on an export quota of only 300,000 tons. Is that okay?”
“Pratt & Whitney engines increased by 200 units, at 70% of price.”
Fang Wen smiled outwardly, but inwardly he was blooming with joy.
Taishan joint refinery had only 100,000 tons of crude oil quota per year including Myanmar and Persian Gulf. Now it jumped to 400,000 tons. Perfect—the refinery’s production capacity needed upgrading. And 200 Pratt & Whitney engines at 70% price also greatly boosted Taishan Airlines’ aircraft manufacturing potential.
He said: “Alright then, let’s go now.”
“Wait.” Elizabeth Catherine Rockefeller whispered with her three partners, and after getting their agreement, she asked: “I know you’re very capable. Can you help us eliminate those kidnappers? We’re willing to add another 10%.”
Fang Wen didn’t agree. An extra 10% interest wasn’t worth the risk; just escorting these people back was a sure profit.
But he didn’t expect them to keep raising the price.
Up to 30%, the four tycoons couldn’t add more.
Fang Wen smiled.
“Deal.”
