"Bang!"
The middle-aged passenger's attention had been fixed on Serena Tang, never dreaming that Ian Song, who seemed ready to die, still had the strength to fight back. So when Ian's palm struck his chest, all the man could show was shock and regret.
If only he'd killed this kid earlier... But there are no "if onlys" in the world, and no medicine for regret.
As the middle-aged passenger flew backward, Ian Song chased after him in a flash, hammering another fist into his head. He didn't want to repeat the mistake his enemy made—when you cut the grass, you have to pull out the roots.
On the other side, just as Ian's sneak attack succeeded, Serena Tang sprang into action.
Her movements were like a drifting butterfly, graceful and fluid. Her soft, delicate palms struck the air—sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes light, sometimes heavy—and every strike carried powerful Innate true energy.
The gloomy young man tried to fight back, but his fierce-looking punches were completely suppressed by Serena Tang.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Three consecutive palms struck the three major acupoints on the young man's chest. Instantly, his body stiffened, flew backward, and crashed to the floor, lifeless.
"What an exquisite palm technique!" Ian Song exclaimed in admiration. Serena Tang only displayed Innate First Layer strength, and that gloomy youth was also Innate First Layer. At the same level, Serena killed him in less than ten moves—just shows how powerful her palm art is.
Of course, compared to Raging Tidal Surge, it's still lacking. If I unleashed Raging Tidal Surge, I could instantly kill opponents at the same level.
"Here, take it!"
Sensing Ian Song's gaze, Serena Tang tossed him a jade bottle.
"What's this?" Ian Song asked.
"Healing medicine," Serena Tang replied coolly.
"Thanks." Ian Song stowed the healing medicine away and said, "There are still two terrorists in the cockpit!"
"Let's go together!" Serena Tang said.
The two of them walked to the cockpit door together. The door was tightly shut and locked from the inside.
"What should we do?"
Ian Song looked at Serena Tang and asked. The two terrorists inside weren't that strong—just a bit tougher than normal people. But they had guns and were holding six flight attendants hostage, and that made Ian hesitate.
"We'll have to break the door down!" Serena Tang said coldly.
"But they've got hostages! What if the hostages get hurt?" Ian Song frowned.
"There's no other way. Compared to all the passengers on the plane, we might have to sacrifice them!"
Ian Song was stunned; he hadn't expected Serena Tang to say something so cold. But thinking it over, he realized she had a point.
Maybe Serena Tang could see what Ian Song was thinking. She explained, "These terrorists are all extremist fanatics from the foreign Blood God Cult. Now that their leader is dead, they know they won't survive, so they're likely to take everyone on the plane down with them!"
Just as Serena finished speaking, a burst of gunfire rang out from inside the cockpit.
"I'll break down the door, you take care of the two terrorists." Ian Song knew Serena was right, so he didn't hesitate. He gathered his true essence into both palms and struck.
"Boom!"
His hands, infused with true essence, became harder than titanium alloy.
With a thunderous crash, the double doors exploded open.
The moment the doors exploded open, Serena Tang darted into the cockpit like a shadow. Two short screams rang out—Ian Song knew the two terrorists had been dealt with.
Ian Song popped a Vital Essence Pill into his mouth before stepping into the cockpit. To his relief, the flight attendants were all unharmed, and the two terrorists' bodies lay on the floor.
Serena Tang, however, was standing at the controls with an ugly expression on her face.
One glance told Ian Song why. The main instrument screen had been destroyed, which explained Serena's sour look. But he quickly relaxed again—the autopilot was trashed, but the manual controls were still perfectly intact.
Just then, the plane shook violently and suddenly plunged downward.
"Let me!"
Ian Song darted to the controls and began manually flying the plane, pulling it out of its dive.
"You know how to fly a plane?" Serena Tang looked at Ian in surprise.
"A little," Ian Song replied calmly, then said to Serena, "Leave this to me. Go have the flight attendants comfort the other passengers!"
The flight path had already been changed, and it took him quite a while to correct it. At the same time, he used the plane's communicator to contact the Twin Rivers Airport control tower and briefly explained what had happened.
News that there were terrorists on board shocked the airport authorities, especially when they learned a passenger had died—their expressions grew even grimmer.
With the airport's remote guidance, an hour later the plane safely arrived over Twin Rivers Airport.
At that moment, Serena Tang returned to the cockpit.
"My name is Serena Tang. What's yours?"
"Ian Song," he replied coolly. To be honest, the whole terrorist incident was mostly because of Serena Tang, so he couldn't help feeling a bit resentful toward her.
"There are some things I hope you'll keep secret. I owe you one," Serena continued.
"I'm not the only one who knows those terrorists came for you, am I?" Ian Song retorted.
"Don't worry, they won't talk."
"Alright, I promise! Now, I need to prepare for landing." As he spoke, Ian Song guided the plane into its descent.
"Boom!"
A few minutes later, the plane landed safely and, after a short taxi, came to a steady stop at the airport.
Immediately, the waiting People's Armed Police and local police sprang into action, rushing toward the plane.
As soon as the cabin door opened, a squad of armed People's Armed Police stormed in, securing the entire plane. Then, a dignified middle-aged man, surrounded by a group, boarded the aircraft.
"You're Ian Song, the one who turned the tide?" the man asked, looking at Ian.
"And you are...?" Ian nodded.
"This is Mr. Nathan Jiang, Vice Governor of Tianhe State!" answered a uniformed police officer standing behind him. Judging by his rank, he was probably the chief of the Tianhe State Police Department.
"Hello, Governor Jiang!" Ian greeted him with calm respect.
"You did very well, young man. On behalf of all the passengers, I thank you!" Nathan Jiang said warmly, his eyes full of admiration.
"Thank you."
Just then, a young officer wearing a full colonel's insignia hurried over and reported to Nathan Jiang, "Sir, we've secured the entire plane. Please give your next instructions!"
"Commander Ye, screen all the passengers. Don't let a single terrorist slip through!" Nathan Jiang ordered sternly.
Commander Ye accepted the order and left. Nathan Jiang turned to Ian Song and said, "Young man, would you like to join me for an interview with the reporters? I'm sure they'll be very interested in a hero like you!"
"Just what I wanted!" Ian thought to himself. But not wanting to seem too eager, he deliberately hesitated for a while before nodding in agreement. After all, this was a great chance to earn Fame Points—only a fool would turn it down.