Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 279 - 266: A Bit of Yearning

Chapter 279: Chapter 266: A Bit of Yearning

Luca, really, was just an accountant, barely qualified as an agent.

Being stingy was his biggest label, followed closely by being cautious or timid.

Despite being involved in dangerous, blood-stained activities, Luca always proved to be easily scared and afraid when it truly came to risking his life.

But it must be acknowledged, Luca had a sharp sense for danger.

Gao Yi was also keenly aware of danger, but his intuition was like a sixth sense, purely instinctual, while Luca’s sense was more about summing up the hints of looming threats, deducing danger from various subtle clues.

To put it simply, Gao Yi liked to face challenges head-on, while Luca preferred to scare himself and liked to hide when trouble loomed, which could be regarded as retreating in the face of difficulties.

Thus, while the Garden was wiped out, Luca survived not just because he was a minor, invisible character, but also because he indeed was quick to hide.

But now it was different.

Firstly, Luca’s worries were indeed reasonable.

The plane’s flight path fell almost entirely within France’s traditional sphere of influence, except for Libya being under the United States’ control, and the plane’s trouble happening just near Tripoli was suspiciously timely, making Luca’s theory that the Americans were behind it quite credible.

The United States and France were, after all, allies, and though the US wouldn’t typically destroy a French transport plane, under the current circumstances, the Americans had little reason to do so.

Their method involved forcing the plane to emergency land at their own airport, capturing the targets on board—preferably alive—then returning the unharmed plane to France, thus maintaining the basic dignity between allies.

Then, with Gao Yi captured by the Americans, the France-Saudi military cooperation was disrupted, and the CIA got its revenge, even helping the British vent their frustration, perhaps even securing major benefits from the Military Intelligence Sixth Department.

Almost zero risk, almost zero cost, and huge benefits; with these points, Gao Yi couldn’t believe anyone thinking the emergency landing was just a coincidence.

In line with Gao Yi’s personality, at this point, being passively slaughtered wasn’t an option.

Gao Yi quickly grabbed the phone on the cabin wall, urgently saying, "Captain, can we switch to another airport for landing?"

"What? No, this is the only airport nearby!"

Gao Yi urgently explained, "The plane accident was sabotaged deliberately to force us to land at Tripoli Airport. If you land in Tripoli, the plane will be seized, and everyone will be captured and killed by terrorists!"

Gao Yi had to exaggerate the consequences a bit.

The captain was silent for a moment and then responded seriously, "We’re twenty kilometers from Tripoli Airport. Switching to any other airport or crash-landing in the desert would mean certain crash. If there were any other airport available, I’d turn there, but now we have only two options: either crash or emergency land at Mitiga Airport."

Well, no choice left. Compared to an almost certain ambush, a guaranteed crash was even less acceptable.

Gao Yi hung up the phone.

Now, with the wounded all around, Li Jie, Feng Biao, and Lin Xianghua couldn’t even move freely.

Luca and Lucy were still recovering from concussions.

Even Gao Yi’s left shoulder was still injured.

If the plane could only make an emergency landing, would they surrender or fight back desperately?

All right, no need to choose; if it’s death, it happens in an instant.

But being captured alive would make the dying process long, extremely painful, and drawn out.

"We... put on Bullet-Proof Vests, let’s fight."

No need for more words, just do it.

Feng Biao was right— anything could happen in Africa, being well-prepared was definitely correct.

Luca silently donned his Bullet-Proof Vest, put on a helmet, and fully equipped himself with all the weapons he could carry.

Gao Yi’s weaponry was complex. Firstly, he had a competition pistol, one of his primary weapons, then he also had a Golden Gourd Hammer, usually unnecessary, but crucial in the tight spaces of aircraft cabins.

Gao Yi also threw Hand Grenades accurately and quickly, resulting in extra attachments on his vest to carry twelve grenades.

As for a rifle, Gao Yi simply didn’t bother; cluttered with attachments, it was too cumbersome to carry.

Lin Xianghua and Li Jie, of course, were still using assault rifles; both of them were equipped with HK-416s. Feng Biao, however, found it difficult to use a sniper rifle because of his limited mobility. Therefore, he kept a large sniper rifle at hand, which could be used to penetrate heavy armor when faced with fully armored targets, but for any target that couldn’t be handled with a small-caliber rifle, he switched to using an HK-417.

Lucy’s choice was quite unusual; she opted for an HK416 assault rifle, placed three magazines on her chest, and hung a P226 handgun on each side of her waist. Additionally, she carried a bag filled with hand grenades, prepared specifically for Gao Yi.

Lucy generally moved together with Gao Yi.

"The plane lands, we don’t rush to break out; let’s observe for a while," Gao Yi suggested. "Usually, during such emergency landings, the airport sends out fire trucks and ambulances to the vicinity of the aircraft. Our chance lies when these rescue vehicles approach; we strike proactively, seize a vehicle, and escape."

That was Li Jie’s proposed plan.

Honestly, preparing any combat plan now felt like a joke because if this was indeed a trap set by the Americans, once the plane landed, they would likely face a large number of armed soldiers.

The only outcome would be getting surrounded, and escaping in a vehicle was improbable.

At that moment, Feng Biao said, "The runway is long. The Americans forcing us to land here means they won’t allow us to fly off again. But since the runway is extensive, they can’t possibly cover it entirely with personnel. As long as we land far from the crowd and rescue vehicles, we’ll have more time to react, and escaping might actually be possible."

After speaking, Feng Biao turned to Gao Yi and said, "Boss, you can still run. The Iron Rooster and the Berserker seem fine, but their mobility is currently compromised, so I think as soon as the plane stops, you should run. We’ll cover you from the plane, but this will require the pilot’s cooperation."

Gao Yi appeared stunned by Feng Biao’s suggestion.

After a moment of surprised contemplation, Luca suddenly said, "Yeah, that makes sense! Wait, what does Iron Rooster mean?"

Previously, when people mentioned the ’Iron Rooster,’ Luca wasn’t present, so although it was a universally recognized nickname, it had never been mentioned to him.

Li Jie suddenly said, "That’s sensible; Feng Biao certainly has the experience."

Self-deprecatingly, Feng Biao cracked a smile and said, "Speaking of running, I have abundant experience. Alright, let’s inform the pilot."

Gao Yi shook his head, "No, escaping is too unlikely. What’s the point in running? It’s better to stick together..."

Gao Yi truly felt that running was futile and almost too lazy to even try.

But Feng Biao insisted, "Boss, understand this: if you escape, there’s still a chance to save us. If we all die or get captured together, then there’s no chance at all. The logic is simple; even if there’s a one in ten thousand chance, you have to try."

That was the reasoning, but Gao Yi wasn’t ignorant of it. He just felt the chance was too slim and was reluctant to try.

Li Jie picked up the phone and said, "I’ll talk to the pilot."

Li Jie picked up the handset, speaking urgently, "We are about to make an emergency landing, but I have something to tell you. This landing, orchestrated by the United States to disrupt a major French operation, is an act of hostility. Now, we’re not asking you to fly to another airport; just after landing, steer as far away as possible from the designated landing spot at the airport. If you have any issue with this action, contact your superiors immediately."

Having stated his case logically, Li Jie felt it still wasn’t sufficient, so he continued, "Rest assured, the ground forces are waiting to detain us, but they won’t dare shoot at the airplane. Thus, just drive boldly, treating the plane as if it were a car. Run as far across the airport as you can. If you do this, only commendations await you, not punishments. If you doubt this, quickly contact your homeland for approval now."

Calmly, the pilot responded, "Received, we’ll do our best."

These were Air Force pilots, not commercial ones. Confronted with such an abnormal situation, they naturally also would fight to their utmost.

The airport had already appeared below the plane, the speaking altitude being very low.

Mitiga Airport, formerly a Libyan Air Force base, differed significantly from civilian airports.

Its runway was broad and large, featuring three runways, with dense but low buildings on one side of the airport and hangars on the side of one runway, previously used for military aircraft, but now both sides of the runway were lined with passenger jets.

The airport was ready to receive the emergency landing military transport plane.

Peering out the cabin windows, one could see the fire trucks waiting at one end of the runway.

There was no sign of ambulances, which normally should rush to the plane’s side immediately after it stabilized.

The main, broadest runway was designated for the transport plane to land.

At that moment, the cabin wall phone started flashing, Li Jie picked up the phone, hearing the pilot urgently say, "We are about to land. After touchdown, we’ll slow down to a safe speed in the middle of the runway, then pivot towards a parallel neighboring runway and continue driving straight to its very end, less than a hundred meters from the airport perimeter. As long as there’s no firing from the ground, we’ll land this way. If there’s a warning shot, then there’s nothing more we can do. This is the limit of what we can achieve."

Li Jie turned to Gao Yi and said, "Get ready to run. Once it’s stable, you get off the plane and just run!"

The plane jolted heavily.

It had landed, the transport aircraft rolling rapidly along the runway.

Luca shouted, "Head for the front cabin door, open it now, and don’t look back—just run!"