Due to the tense situation, time seemingly slowed to a crawl.

The atmosphere within the airplane cabin was gloomy and faint sobbing sounds could be heard coming from the backside of the cabin.

The terrorists exerted control over both sides of the cabin and prohibited all forms of actions, even the act of going to the restroom.

One of the pa.s.sengers attempted to negotiate with the terrorists, asking leave for the restroom only to be punched.

Chen Xiaolian had some firearms prepared inside his Storage Watch. He had procured those firearms back in London.

Presently, he was carefully calculating the time.

During this time, the female terrorist had entered the c.o.c.kpit twice.

Chen Xiaolian could faintly overhear what was happening. It would appear that the female terrorist had begun to negotiate terms with the US government.

However, due to the sounds released being intermittent, Chen Xiaolian was not able to fully grasp the words being exchanged.

…

“The following is the list of our demands. We want the immediate release of 15 prisoners detained in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and 6 of our members who were captured in the Libyan warzone. Additionally, your US forces must get out of the area we designated in 3 hours. Make an official announcement that you will initiate a complete withdrawal of forces from the warzone! Get your hands off that area!”

The female terrorist utilized an open frequency to make those demands.

It wasn't long before they received a reply.

The US government was unable to meet such difficult demands.

An intense round of discussion ensued, but the female terrorist was extremely determined to get what she wanted. In face of the US governments attempts to negotiate, she simply hung up on them.

That was more or less the gist of what Chen Xiaolian had overheard. Hearing that, Chen Xiaolian began to feel somewhat doubtful.

The demands for the release of prisoners was something normal in these circ.u.mstances. He was not surprised to hear them make such demands.

However… the demand for a complete withdrawal of government forces within 3 hours was obviously an impossible demand.

Putting aside international consequences and the strategies of the US government…

There was no way the government could agree to such a demand. The act of sending their military into another nation was something that required the authorization of the US Congress. Something as monumental as this was not something that could be decided on a whim.

Now a.s.sume that the US government did agree to this demand… well, the possibility of that happening was pretty much zero.

But even if they did agree to withdraw their forces.

The complete withdrawal of the military could never be accomplished within 3 hours!

After considering those demands, Chen Xiaolian came to the conclusion.

Those demands were simply made as a smokescreen.

They threw out demands that could not possibly be agreed upon simply to get the negotiations started.

As for the official announcement for a complete withdrawal from the warzone… that was simply ridiculous.

A nation's policy could not be decided just like that.

If so, there were two possibilities.

The first possibility: The demand for a complete withdrawal from the warzone was just the starting salvo for the negotiations to begin. They already knew that the government could never agree to such a kind of demands. Thus, they forwarded such a kind of demand. After it had been denied, they will forward another round of demands. This time, the demands forwarded would be the demands that the terrorists really wanted!

The second possibility was worse: The demands they made were simply a smokescreen. They were putting on an act of negotiating with the US government in order to buy time! During the infamous 911 incident, the terrorists had seemingly started negotiation talks with the US government after hijacking the airplanes. However, in truth, they did not care about the outcome of the negotiations. The objective they had in mind after successfully hijacking the airplanes was to simply smash them into US soil and commit acts of terror! The demands forwarded were pointless. The results of the negotiations were equally pointless. All they wanted was to numb the sense of vigilance of the government forces and buy time.

If this were the second possibility, then this matter would be so much worse.

A bunch of people who were determined to kill themselves was the hardest to deal with.

However, after reconsidering the situation, Chen Xiaolian realized… the US government was not run by idiots. They've already been bitten once after all.

Since he was able to deduce these two possibilities, then surely the upper bra.s.s of the US government, the negotiators and think tanks would be able to deduce the same thing.

…

Unknowingly, an hour had pa.s.sed.

After the one hour had pa.s.sed, Chen Xiaolian suddenly heard a roaring sound from the outside. He turned to look outside the window and saw two silver coloured fighter jets fly past them!

They circled about in the sky before quickly flying back. They flew side by side with the civilian airplane, seemingly escorting them.

Likewise, the female terrorist had also noticed what was happening outside through the window. She sneered, moved into the c.o.c.kpit and reopened the communication channel.

“The US fighter jets have arrived.”

Sawakita Mitsuo was seated with his eyes closed, seemingly in the act of resting himself. However, he was quick to whisper to Chen Xiaolian, “These fighter jets should be from the nearest US military base in the Pacific Ocean. They must be either the fighter jets stationed in the US military base of Saipan or Guam.”

Chen Xiaolian nodded his head.

He could not help but feel nervous.

From what he had heard, since the 911 attacks, the US government had taken on a much harsher and sensitive stance toward terrorists.

The moment the US government believed that the airplane would be used to orchestrate suicide attacks on US soil, they would likely order their fighter jets to shoot down this civilian airplane in order to avoid a repeat of 911. They would rather have this airplane destroyed than risk having it enter US airs.p.a.ce!

This was simply a choice of a lesser of two evils. Shooting down a civilian airplane would certainly bring about serious consequences. However, the US cannot afford a repeat of 911.

d.a.m.n it… if the US fighter jets blow up this airplane…

Chen Xiaolian felt that such a scenario would to be too much of an injustice.

He anxiously listened in on the conversation going on in front.

The female terrorist was furiously speaking out in a loud voice while holding onto the handset.

“If your fighter jets do not leave us in 10 minutes, I will stop all attempts to negotiate and begin killing off the hostages! Remember, we sincerely tried to negotiate with you. If people start dying because your side crossed the line, then the consequences will be on your government's head!

“Additionally, I'm warning you! Among the hostages within this airplane are people of special statuses! There is a high-level official and a special member of your allied nation within this airplane!”

After saying that, the female terrorist hung up.

Chen Xiaolian furrowed his brows and turned to give Sawakita Mitsuo a glance. The old man seemed troubled as he narrowed his eyes.

“Aren't you afraid that we'll be exposed?” Chen Xiaolian traced the words in his palm.

I am not some j.a.panese Imperial Prince oi… he muttered to himself.

Sawakita Mitsuo smiled faintly and sent a vocal transmission to him, “Unless the negotiators and commanders of the US government have a pig brain, they will never expose that detail. Besides, my ident.i.ty is a fact. All I did was made up your ident.i.ty. Even if the US government were to get in touch with my nation's government, the information they obtain will not differ by much. The US government's negotiators will also never reveal the truth to the terrorists. Don't worry about it.”

Chen Xiaolian's heart pounded.

Thankfully, after 10 minutes had pa.s.sed by, they heard a roaring sound from the back of the airplane as the two fighter jets that were travelling right behind suddenly accelerated forward. After circling around, they quickly left the civilian airplane.

Chen Xiaolian breathed a sigh of relief.

“Don't get too comfortable just yet. This doesn't mean that the US government had conceded. The radius of action for these fighter jets is fixed. Even though they came from the nearest US military base, if they end up going beyond their radius of action, they will have to turn back.

“If I have to guess, once we enter the radius of action of the Hawaiian US military base, they will send their fighter jets over once more.

“When something like this happens along the route between the Pacific Ocean to the US, it is only natural for the US military to send their fighter jets to monitor the situation. It is like pa.s.sing the baton from one base to the other.

“Let's put it this way. Even though there will be a huge international fallout from blowing up a civilian airplane, the US government would be able to endure it. After all, they were simply acting to defend itself from a terrorist attack.

“However, should another 911 occur. That Profound Seagazer will have to immediately resign [1]!

“Additionally, if such a thing actually happens, Profound Seagazer's Democratic Party can forget about winning another election for the next 20 years! Thus, they will never allow something like this to happen.”

Profound Seagazer?

This j.a.panese old man actually knows about that nickname?

Chen Xiaolian's mind raced and he heard Sawakita Mitsuo speaking to him once again.

“I do not know what your plan is. However, I advise you to hurry it up! I believe there is a limit to the US government's patience. They will never allow the airplane to make it into US airs.p.a.ce.

“The Hawaii area will be their bottom line. If I am not mistaken, the US government will try to force the terrorists to land this airplane in Hawaii.

“One this airplane crosses Hawaii and gets close to US soil, they will tell them to change the course, otherwise… before this airplane makes it into US airs.p.a.ce, they will shoot it down!

“Thus, you had better act on your plans quickly!”

Chen Xiaolian nodded his head.

…

A few hours later, the airplane entered the Hawaii airs.p.a.ce.

There was silence within the airplane and even the terrorists were feeling nervous.

The female terrorist's face gradually grew more serious as she patrolled around the corridor with a fl.u.s.tered expression.

Within the past few hours, the US fighter jets have appeared twice.

The first time it happened, the female terrorist had entered a heated discussion with the US government and the fighter jets then flew away.

The second time they appeared, the female terrorist ignored them. She coldly looked at the US fighter jets that were flying outside the window. There was a trace of ridicule within her cold face.

Next, the female terrorist re-entered the c.o.c.kpit. This time, however, she locked the door behind her and Chen Xiaolian was no longer able to hear anything.

After a while, the female terrorist walked out. She took a deep breath.

Next, she made an odd hand gesture to her companions.

The face on the other four terrorists turned cold and they stood up straight before performing the same gesture.

Chen Xiaolian's heart turned tense!

The female terrorist took a deep breath, walked over and dragged the captain up with her into the c.o.c.kpit.

This time, she did not bother to close the door.

She picked up the handset and spoke up.

“Now, I will let the flight captain talk with you!”

After saying that, she produced a paper with words that were likely just written and handed it to the captain. She pointed her gun at the captain's head and said, “Read it!”

The captain's face was pale as he picked up the piece of paper. After glancing through it, his face became ugly to behold. He took a deep breath and began reading it.

“I am the flight captain, my name is x.x.xX… at present, my life is in danger and I am to relay the other party's demands. The demands are as follows:

“First, the fighter jets beside this airplane must leave immediately.

“Second, as per the earlier demand, the members whose names were provided earlier must be released.

“Third, we refuse to land in Hawaii. We request to land in an airport in the West Coast. You may decide the specific location. This is the only concession I could make as a show of goodwill.

“Fourth, after landing, we are willing to immediately release all the women and children aboard this airplane to prove our sincerity.

“You must give an immediate answer to the demands listed above. Ten minutes after this, I will begin killing off the hostages. The flight captain will be the first on the hostage execution sequence.

“From now on, we will be cutting off all forms of communications and reopen our negotiations in 15 minutes.”

After saying the last sentence, the captain took a deep breath and abruptly shouted, “Please tell my family, tell them I love them! Thank you!”

…