As expected, the sound of footsteps soon came from the top of the plane, and the radio on the pirate leader’s shoulder crackled to life.

From the sound of it, not all five of the pirates had come down.

Fang Chenyi frowned. ’They didn’t come down together. That means someone’s still up there guarding the hostages, which makes things a lot more complicated.’

But it wasn’t like he could control the pirates’ actions. After telling Bai Menghan to hide in the first-class cabin, Fang Chenyi darted back to his original hiding spot in the corner. He easily ambushed and knocked out the three pirates who came down.

He waited a moment longer. Hearing no other movement from above, Fang Chenyi finally called Bai Menghan over.

The two of them entered the cockpit. Looking at the shattered window above, Fang Chenyi hesitated for a moment before speaking to Bai Menghan.

"Menghan, you stay here. I’m going up to see what’s going on."

Bai Menghan opened her mouth to say something, but Fang Chenyi just smiled and planted a loud SMOOCH on her lips.

"Don’t worry. Your man is pretty amazing, you know."

Bai Menghan couldn’t help but cover her mouth and giggle. "You’re so full of yourself..."

After leaving Bai Menghan with those instructions, Fang Chenyi slowly climbed up the ladder.

He was only halfway out when a loud shout rang out from above.

"Who are you? Where are our men?"

His gaze shot up toward the deck above, where a pirate was aiming a gun right at his head, shouting the question.

Fang Chenyi’s eyes darted as an idea struck him. He immediately put on a panicked expression and replied:

"I’m the one in charge of guarding the gold! Your men are all trying to steal our gold, and a fight broke out inside!"

The pirate believed him instantly. It wasn’t that they were stupid, but a dozen of their fully-armed comrades had gone down there. They would never believe that a single, unarmed man could have taken them all out.

Perhaps because he believed him, the man gestured with the muzzle of his gun.

"Get up here on your own! Quick!"

Fang Chenyi didn’t answer. He scrambled out of the hatch and, pretending to be frightened by the sounds of fighting from below, scurried over to the rope ladder and began to climb rapidly.

Once on deck, he quickly scanned his surroundings. In one corner, he saw all hundred-plus passengers from his plane sitting on the floor, watched over by a single, menacing pirate armed with a rifle.

At the front of the crowd, Lü Dong felt a wave of relief wash over him when he saw Fang Chenyi appear. He had been searching for the Chairman for ages and, unable to find him, had started to fear he’d met with an accident in the chaos.

As Lü Dong looked toward Fang Chenyi, Fang Chenyi happened to look his way. Their eyes met, and Lü Dong’s heart skipped a beat. ’The Chairman’s expression... it looks like he’s trying to tell me something.’

Just then, the pirate who had been standing by the railing walked over and shoved Fang Chenyi with his rifle. "Go on, get over there!"

Looking at the pirate inches away and glancing at the other one out of the corner of his eye, Fang Chenyi made a quick mental calculation. ’I can take this guy out in two seconds, but the other pirate will have enough time to raise his gun in the process.’

’Of course, if Lü Dong can jump in to help, that’s another story entirely.’

Pretending to be afraid, he looked toward the crowd and was surprised to see Lü Dong give him a subtle nod. A wicked grin crept onto Fang Chenyi’s face.

"What are you looking at? Get moving!"

Fang Chenyi’s arrival had drawn the attention of the pirate guarding the hostages, who was now looking their way.

’This is the perfect chance; I can’t miss it.’ He discreetly signaled to Lü Dong, then spun around in a flash, grabbing the pirate’s gun barrel and forcing it skyward.

The pirate reacted instinctively, pulling the trigger.

RAT-TAT-TAT!

A burst of bullets flew harmlessly into the sky. Simultaneously, Fang Chenyi lunged forward, raising his elbow and smashing it violently into the pirate’s chin.

The next moment, the deafening gunfire ceased.

At that exact moment, another RAT-TAT-TAT of gunfire erupted from the direction of the hostages.

A stream of bullets snapped a tall mast in front of Fang Chenyi clean in two.

After quickly dispatching his opponent, Fang Chenyi turned to see Lü Dong’s uninjured hand locked onto the other pirate’s rifle. The pirate was still pulling the trigger while trying to kick Lü Dong away.

It all happened so fast that by the time the other hostages reacted, this was the scene before them.

Fang Chenyi quickly pulled out his slingshot, but before he could even draw it back, the crowd of hostages surged forward, swarming Lü Dong and the pirate.

A moment later, the pirate’s gun went silent.

A few seconds after that, a severely deformed rifle was tossed out from the mob.

Watching the crowd continue to punch and kick, Fang Chenyi silently said a prayer for the pirate trapped within.

He turned and slid down the rope ladder onto the fuselage of the plane. In a couple of strides, he was back at the cockpit, shouting inside:

"Menghan, come on up!"

He reached in, pulled Bai Menghan out of the cockpit, helped her onto the rope ladder, and escorted her up to the pirate ship. Only then did Fang Chenyi’s anxious heart finally settle.

By now, the mob that had been frantically beating the pirate had started to calm down. They turned, saw Fang Chenyi and Bai Menghan, and immediately rushed toward them, cheering and applauding.

Seeing that the crowd was about to surround him and Bai Menghan, Fang Chenyi hurriedly shouted:

"Everyone, calm down! Calm down! If you’re going to mob someone, just mob me! Don’t you dare touch my girl, or I’ll call it harassment...!"

Before he could finish, he felt his body go light as the crowd lifted him and tossed him into the air.

HOORAH! HOORAH! HOORAH!

Pushed to the edge of the crowd, Bai Menghan watched Fang Chenyi being tossed in the air like a hero, her eyes sparkling with adoration. ’That’s my man,’ she thought, ’a man like no other!’

After a while, the excited crowd finally put Fang Chenyi down, heeding his pleas for mercy.

The first thing Fang Chenyi did upon touching the ground was to look for his girl. Seeing this, the surrounding crowd broke into good-natured laughter.

After the cheering died down, Fang Chenyi led the way over to the pirate who had been swarmed by the crowd.

"We’re not pirates, so we don’t kill. But these guys are monsters, completely devoid of conscience. In a minute, I need a hand. We’ll throw all of them back onto the plane. Whether they live or die after that will be up to fate."

As he finished speaking, Fang Chenyi and the others reached the pirate. But when he saw the man’s current condition, Fang Chenyi was utterly stunned. At the same time, the sound of retching came from behind him...

[To be continued...]

PS: So, my dear readers, what do you think that pirate looks like now?