Chapter 192: 189: Where is the airplane?
Chapter 192: Chapter 189: Where is the airplane?
“`
There’s a problem!
A huge problem!
Bi Fang clenched his teeth, the engine overworking and emitting a terrifying clatter.
The light aircraft’s engine, after enduring half a month of flying and the torture akin to a tumble dryer, was on the verge of collapse with the throttle fully open once more.
Étienne dared not look up anymore; he turned his head, clutching the chair back, his face pressed and distorted like a sticker, his entire body firmly pressed into the seat.
Bi Fang’s face wasn’t looking good either. As a respectable citizen who only went to amusement parks for ‘Mickey Mouse and His Friends’ rides, when had he ever been chased by a helicopter?
It was just a flock of birds, who would dispatch a chopper for that?
You can’t afford the game, but is this really necessary?
Bi Fang was frustrated to the point of spitting blood. He had just thought he had escaped, only to be chased down again in the time it took to brush his teeth!
Don’t you have the energy to deal with the Mexican drug lords instead of wasting time chasing a Goose? Did the Goose eat your family’s rice? Or does your wife’s lover look like me?
If he’s as handsome as me, why would he be a lover?
Intuition told Bi Fang that things couldn’t be as simple as they appeared on the surface, there had to be reasons he was unaware of, but the pressing situation and lack of time didn’t allow him to ponder any further.
“Land the plane, I repeat, land the plane!”
Inside the helicopter, Johnny shouted through the megaphone. Although his gun-snatching behavior was despicable, considering Johnny’s identity, the sheriff hadn’t made it difficult for him and instead let him continue the pursuit.
But the more the other side yelled, the faster Bi Fang flew. He wished the wind speed would increase even more, and that a typhoon would come.
The distance kept closing, but Johnny couldn’t wait a moment longer, urging the pilot, “Faster, he’s just a glider! Can’t you even catch up with a glider? Is this the level you’re at with the taxpayers’ money?”
The pilot corrected him, “It’s a light aircraft, not a glider. Gliders don’t have engines. Besides, you’re Norwegian, this is Denmark. Your taxes have nothing to do with us, we haven’t taken a cent of your money for any of the roads we’ve fixed.”
The pilot even had the mood to nitpick, since he was just dragged in for an emergency. Why should he go all out? Was there a bonus?
Catching up was all that mattered.
When the pilot first learned that they were using a helicopter to chase a flock of Geese, he almost thought the other party was joking with him.
This mission didn’t excite him at all.
Besides, the speed was already high. Hadn’t he noticed that the Geese could barely keep up with the plane in front?
This helicopter wasn’t military-grade, with a speed of only a little over 200, plus it was downwind, which obviously provided a greater boost to the plane in front, with its speed at least over a hundred.
With the other side being so perfunctory, Johnny was helpless; the only person here who could fly a helicopter was the pilot, and if he walked out, there would be no chance to catch up. At least now the distance was closing.
The helicopter wasn’t fast, mainly due to its design with a top rotor, which compared to fixed-wing aircraft, took less forward thrust and found it difficult to achieve high speeds.
But it all depends on what you compare it to!
Not all airplanes are the same. Wuling Hongguang also has a rear-mounted engine, but does that make it a sports car?
Bi Fang was aware that his plane, even broken down, wouldn’t outrun a helicopter. It would take less than a few minutes to be caught by those behind him as the distance of a few hundred meters closed.
He could even feel that the other side wasn’t using full strength!
After sulking for a while, Étienne turned his head and saw the approaching helicopter closing in significantly, and instantly panicked as if he was some heinous serial killer, with the police blocking him from the ground to the sky—if caught, he’d be locked in prison for a hundred years.
“Think of something fast! We’re about to be caught!”
Bi Fang yelled back, “I’m thinking!”
[Take some blood pressure medication.]
[Mr. Fang, what are you doing? Think of something with that invincible brain of yours!]
“`
[So tense, it feels just like a cop and robber movie]
[Above the law! Above the law! We are outlaws beyond reach!]
Peter and Ben huddled on the sofa, staring tensely at the TV, not even hearing their aunt calling them to go to bed and sleep.
On the opposite side of Earth, Elvan’s face was pale, veins bulging as he gripped Lenin’s hand, while Lenin tugged at his beard, his entire face twisted together.
Bi Fang suddenly yanked the control stick, and under the massive deflection, the plane hurtled towards the forest, seemingly out of control.
The sudden weightlessness caused Étienne to momentarily leave his seat. Under the camera lens, his expression resembled a painting that depicted sheer desperation, with the reflection of the airplane in his pupils and his mouth, wide open to the extreme, letting out a soul-tearing scream, akin to a long note played on a violin.
The plane’s maneuverability was too poor, unable to match the flexible movement of the helicopter, leaving Bi Fang with no choice but to take a gamble.
The helicopter pilot’s face lit up with joy; the person flying the plane opposite seemed like a greenhorn. Didn’t he know that the helicopter could dive down twice as fast? Was he actually lowering his altitude intentionally?
Perfect. The sooner this ended, the sooner he could rest. He still needed to pick up his daughter who had just started third grade.
The helicopter suddenly accelerated, closely following behind the plane, reducing the distance to less than two hundred meters—which, for the plane, was almost within reach.
At such high speeds, it wasn’t long before the Goose began to tire out.
The goose’s speed ranged between seventy and ninety, and it could burst beyond one hundred for a short duration, but could not sustain it for long. By now, they were close to falling behind.
“Can we hit them?”
Johnny, excited at the sight of the geese two hundred meters away, felt this was the closest he’d been to success. He didn’t need the plane to stop; he just needed the geese to die off!
“No,” the team leader shook his head. They were just ordinary policemen, their marksmanship not that precise. At least within a hundred meters, they could be sure of hitting the geese without damaging the plane.
Damn it!
Johnny cursed, irritated as he looked at the firearms protected by the police chief, but seeing the plane drawing ever closer, he suppressed his inner agitation.
This moment, his attention was fully on Bi Fang, not noticing an incoming call on his cell phone.
Amongst the low hills with their mountain ranges extending far into the distance, the two aircraft maneuvered through the valley floors like large birds, as if two dancers aware of each other’s moves were performing a grand yet perilous tango.
The plane flew extremely low, and Étienne could even feel instances when branches scraped against the pontoons; any lower and they would surely crash and burn!
Bi Fang made the plane skim over the trees, bypassing the low hills, yet could not shake off the pursuer behind him.
The helicopter always managed to maintain a steady position behind, mockingly preying on its quarry.
Under these circumstances, the helicopter pilot once again slowed down, fearing to push the other to the brink of a crash right before his eyes.
“Étienne, hold tight!”
Bi Fang suddenly shouted, causing Étienne to grip the seat once again, his fingers digging deep into the cushion, nearly tearing through the leather.
The distance between them had now shrunk to less than a hundred and fifty meters!
Bi Fang stepped on the pedal, turning the plane as sharply as possible, repeating the trick; he maneuvered behind a low hill to once again use the terrain to obstruct the helicopter’s line of sight.
Watching the plane disappear from sight, the helicopter pilot was not concerned; in a few seconds, he’d see the plane again: “Useless; haven’t you learned your lesson after so many times?”
The pilot, harboring such thoughts, circled around the low hill, and suddenly froze.
In front of him, the mountains were lush with vegetation, as millions of hectares of forest spread across the slopes in waves, with the dense fir, red pine, and ponderosa pine creating an impenetrable thicket.
If not for the mission, it would certainly be a great spot for camping, with the sky clear and boundless.
But,
where was the plane?