[Host has obtained one dilapidated ship model, triggering a special system reward. Reward: Assorted ship piloting skills. The reward has been delivered to the host’s Sea of Consciousness. Please extract it at your convenience.]

Hearing the voice in his mind, Fang Chenyi couldn’t help but pump his fist in excitement.

’Damn, I get whatever I wish for. This system is just too considerate!’

Lü Dong, standing to the side, was a bit confused by the chairman’s sudden excitement. He opened his mouth, but then closed it without a word. After all, this was the chairman; he knew better than to ask questions he wasn’t supposed to.

Just then, Fang Chenyi turned to look at Lü Dong, pointed at the control console before them, and declared with a grand wave of his hand:

"Let’s go. You’ll be my first mate!"

With that, he led the way inside.

A moment later, the people on deck felt the large ship beneath their feet begin to move and broke into loud cheers.

Meanwhile, inside the cockpit, Lü Dong was in absolute awe as he watched Fang Chenyi calmly operate the controls. ’Just what kind of person is this chairman?’ he wondered. ’He’s rich, handsome, has an ultimate pilot’s license, and now he even knows how to pilot a ship.’

’For anyone else, mastering just one of those skills would be incredible, but this guy knows them all—and he’s an expert at every single one. He’s practically an all-star player! Is there anything he can’t do?!’

"Alright, Old Lü, go find a few people to come up and clean this place. By the way, where’s Xiaozhou? Have him find a way to contact rescue services."

Fang Chenyi issued the command to Lü Dong once the ship was sailing smoothly.

Lü Dong nodded hurriedly and ran off to find people.

A short while later, a large group of people came rushing in. With everyone pitching in, it took less than ten minutes to get the entire cockpit spotless.

During this time, everyone watched Fang Chenyi looking impossibly cool as he piloted the ship. The women’s eyes sparkled with admiration, while the men were filled with envy and jealousy.

Once everything was tidied up, Bai Menghan finally walked in.

She stood by Fang Chenyi’s side, learning from him how to pilot the ship.

In the crowd, two female internet celebrities who had been planning to go over and hit on Fang Chenyi took one look at Bai Menghan’s all-natural, innocent beauty and perfect figure. They immediately felt inadequate and stopped in their tracks.

"Hello, hello, hello, this is Southern Airlines 9527, calling command center, calling command center..."

Elsewhere, Xiaozhou was back to his old job, picking up the ship’s satellite phone and trying to contact rescue services back home.

KSHHH—

Amidst a burst of static, the ship’s radio finally crackled to life:

"This is the command center. Are you really Southern Airlines 9527? Did you manage a successful ditching?! Wait, this signal band... this isn’t our frequency. Don’t tell me the rescue team has already arrived!"

Hearing from Southern Airlines 9527 again after it had been out of contact for nearly half an hour, everyone in the command center was in an uproar.

The barrage of questions left Xiaozhou unsure how to respond. To be honest, it was a miracle any of them were still alive. First, they’d survived the plane ditching into the ocean, and then they’d been attacked by pirates. It was one disaster after another, and the back-to-back crises had left everyone physically and mentally exhausted.

Seeing his protégé stammering without making anything clear, Lü Dong simply snatched the communicator from his hand and spoke into it:

"Reporting, this is Captain Lü Dong of Southern Airlines 9527! I will now brief you on the situation."

As soon as the Southern Airlines executive standing next to the commander heard Lü Dong’s voice, he excitedly said to the commander, "That’s him! That’s our ace pilot from Southern Airlines! Sir, do you think I could say a few words to him?"

"Excellent! Excellent! Well done! Lü Dong, you’ve rendered a great service this time, you’ve really done Southern Airlines proud. We have a new chairman, you know, right? When you get back, I’ll recommend you to the new chairman for a commendation! Oh, wait, I don’t even need to. Silly me, our new chairman is on the plane with you. How is he? The chairman isn’t hurt, is he?"

Hearing the Southern Airlines Vice President’s voice, Lü Dong instinctively glanced over at Fang Chenyi, who was engrossed in teaching his wife how to pilot the ship. For a moment, his words felt bitter in his mouth:

"Um, well, President Liu, you really don’t need to recommend me for a commendation..."

Hearing this, the Vice President on the other end felt a little displeased. ’This Old Lü is too blunt,’ he thought. ’Even if you are with the chairman now and have his favor, I’m still a vice president, aren’t I? I was just offering to put in a good word for you. Even if it’s not necessary, you should at least say thank you out of politeness.’

Of course, he couldn’t criticize the hero of the hour. In the end, under the commander’s watchful eye, Vice President Liu just gave an awkward laugh to cover his embarrassment. Then, laughing heartily, he spoke into the handset to Lü Dong:

"Haha, you’re right, of course. With the chairman right there beside you, what use is my recommendation? Haha, alright then, I’ll personally throw a welcome banquet for you all when you get back!"

Even though Lü Dong could be single-minded, he knew kindness when he heard it. He understood Vice President Liu’s good intentions, but the situation truly wasn’t what the VP imagined. He raised his hand, which was bandaged so thickly it looked like a rice dumpling, and scratched the back of his head before speaking into the communicator:

"Vice President, you may have misunderstood. I wasn’t the one who flew the plane this time... er, no, that’s not it. I *was* flying the plane, but after the engine caught fire, my hand was accidentally injured, and then—"

Before he could finish, the Vice President on the other end, looking utterly confused, asked loudly:

"It wasn’t you?? Are you saying it was David who ditched the plane?"

The moment he heard that name, Lü Dong gritted his teeth in anger:

"No! That bastard is still fast asleep!"

On the other end, Vice President Liu’s brow furrowed at this:

"Still fast asleep? Don’t tell me he was drinking on duty again? So, if you didn’t fly it, and David didn’t fly it, was it Xiaozhou? If so, then that kid’s really been hiding his talent! I’ll promote him to full captain as soon as he’s back!"

Xiaozhou, standing nearby, heard this as well, and his face immediately flushed with shame. ’At the most critical moment, I just froze in fear,’ he thought. ’How humiliating...’

Lü Dong glanced at the apprentice he had once been so proud of. Now, however, he truly seemed like a lost cause.

He took a deep breath and finally spoke into the communicator:

"Vice President, the one flying the plane wasn’t me, nor David, and certainly not Xiaozhou. It was the Chairman! From the moment the engine failed, the Chairman personally took over the controls. And his co-pilot... was the Chairman’s wife."

...

[To be continued...]

PS: Sorry, everyone. I was planning to release some extra Chapters for you all, but I had to make a trip to the hospital last night and didn’t get back until after one in the morning. I’ll make sure to get at least two Chapters out today, and I’ll start on the extra Chapters tomorrow!