After a violent jolt, the front cabin of the aircraft caught fire. Many passengers were burned and stood up, crying for help, but the plane trembled more violently. Eventually, we saw the entire scene flipping over. The husband of the first missing person, Jie Manyun, a man with blue-dyed hair, seemed like a monster hidden in another dimension. He closed his eyes, revealed a complex and unresolvable smile, and said to the scene before him, "It's burning, burn! The feeling of being consumed by flames is so good, so good! I'm leaving, everyone, look at me, look at my joy now. I was born in fire, and I perish in fire. See? The Heaven Punisher has transformed into a scorching flame, enveloping me. I, we, will soon reach the blissful paradise of eternal life! Let's go!! Ahhahahahah—!!!!"
Hearing these dying ravings, Xia Xiaoling analyzed, "They must all be terrified, which is why they're talking nonsense."
"No, then how do you explain that they all walked towards the location of the black box? It's as if they knew it was placed there. It's also like they knew the plane would crash and intentionally recorded the scene before their final words..."
Liu Yuning saying this made everyone fall into a panic.
Sweat beaded on my forehead. I rested my elbow on the table in the technical department, my gaze fixed on the screen. After a moment of thought, I said, "These people were likely brainwashed by the Heaven Punishers. They intentionally boarded the plane and caused multiple crashes. You see, these crashes were not all the same incident. Yet, every year, a similar event occurs in the same location, along the same route, with the planes crashing almost in the same spot!"
I gestured on a map and pulled out some documents. When everyone saw the data, they were stunned, but quickly recovered. Xiao Yuande calmly said, "This discovery is very valuable. Wasn't there a similar plane crash on February 8, 2022?"
"So this year, ah, tomorrow is February 8th. Could there be another crash on a certain China Eastern Airlines route tomorrow?" Liu Yuning exclaimed in horror.
"No, we must prevent this crash. But the problem is, we don't know which flight it will be," I mused. The only clue we had was that all previous crash victims were male, and their wives had recently gone missing.
Could it be that this time, they would all be on the same flight, heading to Beijing?
The thought sparked an idea. "He Xin, Yuan Hezhi, immediately investigate the living situations of Mi Xuele, Jie Manyun, and Huang Jiaqi. See if they have recently purchased plane tickets..."
"We're on it!" The entire technical department sprang into action. They would check flight purchase records using the three women's ID information and phone signals. Twenty minutes later, He Xin was the first to report, "Found them. The three of them indeed purchased tickets for tomorrow's 6:20 PM flight from Guangming City to Beijing within the last hour, while we were watching the video. Their times and seats are very similar. How is this possible? Did they plan this in advance?"
"But during our sky eye surveillance and field investigations, we learned that they had no prior connection whatsoever. Similarly, their husbands didn't know each other at first, and they were on different flights, separated by three years. This time, they are again on the same flight. This situation seems more serious than ten years ago."
"Which flight did they book?" Liu Yuning asked.
He Xin replied, "China Eastern Airlines flight hu7377."
"There's no other way. We'll take the same flight tomorrow. We must prevent this terrorist incident on board!" Liu Yuning stated resolutely.
Gao Mingqiang hesitated for a moment, then said firmly, "I think we should all go together tomorrow!"
"Don't say that. We definitely won't let the plane crash!" He Xin said, feigning anger, clenching her fist.
Xie Chuchu said coldly, "Mingqiang, can you not deliberately joke around?"
"Uh, well, I can't control my mouth sometimes."
Xie Chuchu took out some tape, as if to seal his mouth. Gao Mingqiang immediately made a gesture of surrender, clasping his hands together. Only then did Xie Chuchu snort and put away the tape meant to punish Gao Mingqiang.
We all rested well that night. Tomorrow, we would truly be boarding China Eastern Airlines flight hu7377. I remembered that in the past, I had even taken a luxury cruise to investigate a case. I wouldn't go into specifics about that incident, as everyone could recall it. In our line of work, no case was ever easy, especially those handled by the Punishment Squad, which were beyond description in human language.
Before the flight took off the next day, we had already disguised ourselves and boarded China Eastern Airlines flight hu7377 as tourists. As soon as He Xin got on, she complained, "I never expected to be flying again under such circumstances. I hope we don't all go together..."
"Don't let Gao Mingqiang infect you. We'll be fine!"
We spoke in very low voices. If we said such things on the plane, other passengers might think we were crazy.
After we were seated, most of our Punishment Squad was present, except for Yuan Hezhi, Xie Chuchu, and Ling Xiaotao.
Everyone was seated nearby. We indeed saw the three missing women board the plane one after another.
We could have apprehended them immediately and taken them back. However, if we did that, we wouldn't be able to uncover the truth behind the mysterious flights that had been occurring for years. There was no choice. Our superior had already arranged for rescue. If the plane were to crash, fighter jets would be dispatched immediately, and we were equipped with parachutes and other life-saving equipment.
Despite this, the mission was still extremely dangerous. Many unforeseen events could occur at high altitudes. Even with all our preparations, it was possible that everything would be over before we could even use them.
Therefore, we were extremely vigilant since boarding the plane. None of us dared to rest, our eyes wide open, scanning our surroundings.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard China Eastern Airlines Group. The flight you are currently on, China Eastern Airlines flight hu7377, is about to depart. Please turn off all communication devices, remain seated, and refrain from walking in the aisles... Thank you for your cooperation."
For some time after takeoff, nothing unusual happened. Everything was quiet. Most passengers seemed to have fallen asleep, and the cabin lights were thoughtfully dimmed. However, I felt no sleepiness whatsoever...