Free Web NovelChapter 338: Chapter 337: A Certain Brand of Airplane Malfunctions Again
Having met their future mother-in-law ahead of schedule, Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi felt a mix of nerves and excitement. As a result, Gu Zhao spent another pleasant evening.
...
The next day, Li Man, who had been holding back all night, finally couldn’t take it anymore. After confirming that the two young women had left for work and Gu Zhao was alone, she called him.
"What? Choose which one?" Gu Zhao listened to his mother’s question and replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Only children have to choose. Adults, of course, want them all."
On the other end of the line, Li Man and Gu Qi, who was sitting beside her, stared at each other, completely baffled.
Sensing the murderous look in Li Man’s eyes, Gu Qi couldn’t help but jump to his feet. "I’m going to kill you, you little brat! This is a monogamous society, you understand? You want both? They’ll throw you in jail!"
"Who said I’m getting married?" Gu Zhao retorted. "Look at how society has developed. Marriage is basically just a formality now. That piece of paper is useless for anything except dividing assets in a divorce."
Li Man and Gu Qi fell silent. After thinking about it, they realized he might have a point.
"So we’re the old-fashioned ones now?" Li Man was speechless. She still thought of herself as quite young, yet in just a decade or so, it seemed the institution of marriage was already on the verge of collapse.
"Society develops too quickly. You have to keep up with the times," Gu Zhao said nonchalantly.
Once again, Li Man and Gu Qi looked at each other, speechless. Although they felt something was wrong, they couldn’t come up with a counterargument.
"Besides, do you really care about me getting a wife? You care about me having children, right?" Gu Zhao cut straight to the heart of the matter. "Wouldn’t it be great to have a house full of grandchildren then?"
Gu Qi immediately broke into a smile, nodding repeatedly. "Yes, yes, yes!"
Li Man flicked him on the forehead. "We’re worried you won’t be able to handle the relationship and it will cause trouble at home!"
"Look at the Golden Gang Bracelets on your wrists," Gu Zhao said with a smile. "How could there possibly be trouble at home?"
Li Man’s eyes lit up. "Xiaoya and Shishi, did you give them Golden Gang Bracelets too?"
Gu Zhao briefly told his parents about how he used a Celestial Spirit Talisman to cure the weakness in Xiao Ya’s grandfather’s body, and how he later helped them escape a disaster during an overseas performance.
"Your son was being a hero, saving the damsels in distress," Gu Zhao said proudly, then asked, "Now that two good girls have their hearts set on your son, are you really going to break up a loving couple?"
Li Man and Gu Qi were left completely silent.
"By the way, there’s something else I need to give you a heads-up about."
"What is it?"
...
"Done!"
Gu Zhao hung up the phone. Humming a little tune, he went to the Taoist Research Institute to send off the cheerful Taoist Ming Chong and welcome the simple and honest Taoist Qingyuan.
"Thank you for your hard work, Martial Uncle. Martial Uncle Jing Hong will be here to relieve you in ten days," Gu Zhao said with a smile.
"Not at all, not at all." Taoist Qingyuan waved his hands dismissively. "Making brave and diligent progress while Exorcising Demons and Evil Spirits in the Otherworld... this is a good chance to use these ten days to calm my mind and solidify my foundation. The path of Cultivation is one of both tension and relaxation. This is actually a good thing for us."
Just then, the phone in the main hall of the Taoist Research Institute suddenly rang.
"Hm?" The two of them turned around in unison.
This was the dedicated line between the Taoist Office and the Taoist Research Institute.
Normally, the Taoist Office would compile news every few days and send it to the Taoist Research Institute. It would be left in the hall for the Daoists to review and stay informed about current events. They wouldn’t call unless it was for something particularly urgent and important.
But if a call did come through, it meant the matter was extremely urgent, like the mine incident last time.
So, upon hearing the phone ring, Taoist Qingyuan immediately picked up the receiver. "Hello? This is Zhang Qingyuan."
"Hello, Taoist Qingyuan!" Zheng Hongsheng’s voice came through the line. "A plane flying from Sunshine City in Zang Province to Jiang City in Chu Province has malfunctioned mid-air. The situation is critical. Are you able to intervene?"
Taoist Qingyuan asked urgently, "Where is it?"
"The plane is currently over Shu Province. The cabin door has detached, and the debris damaged a wing and caused one engine to flame out. It’s currently in a rapid descent for an emergency landing, but the landing gear has malfunctioned during the descent and won’t deploy..."
Gu Zhao cut in, "Can you sync its location data to the security captain’s phone?"
"Yes!" Zheng Hongsheng replied immediately.
"Let’s go!" With a single step, Gu Zhao seemed to cross space itself, appearing at the entrance of the institute’s security booth. He saw the security captain dozing off while looking at his phone, which was displaying the *Supreme Sensing Chapter*.
The security captain jolted awake. "Mr. Gu?"
"Come with us," Gu Zhao said, gesturing for the security captain to come out.
The security captain was confused but came out and asked, "Where are we going?"
"To save people!"
Gu Zhao looked up and saw Taoist Qingyuan already ascending into the air. He enveloped the security captain in True Qi and shot up into the sky as well.
"What the—"
The security captain cut his curse short and swallowed the rest of his words. Then he heard his phone chime and saw a set of coordinates and a map appear on the encrypted communication channel.
It was accompanied by the plane’s current status and the pilot’s planned course of action.
The security captain instantly understood what was happening. He immediately opened a specific system on his phone, found a map showing their current position relative to the target’s coordinates, and pointed Gu Zhao in the right direction. "That way!"
Gu Zhao and Taoist Qingyuan exchanged a look, then increased their speed.
WHOOSH—
The surrounding clouds continued to recede, and the buildings on the ground grew smaller and smaller. The security captain swallowed hard, trying to calm his wildly beating heart. He realized he didn’t feel any acceleration or wind resistance, and his shock was beyond words. ’A protective shield?’
But this wasn’t the time for such questions. Knowing what was important, the security captain immediately began to report the situation to Gu Zhao.
"The pilot had already started dumping fuel during the initial rapid descent, but the landing was aborted due to the landing gear failure. With the cabin door gone, they don’t dare to increase altitude. They’re just circling near the airport and can hold out for half an hour at most."
The security captain continued, "If the landing gear isn’t fixed within half an hour, the plane will have to crash-land at the airport. The airport has already prepared fire and rescue services just in case."
Gu Zhao nodded and glanced at the phone. "A Boeing again?"
The security captain nodded and explained, "The production capacity for our domestic passenger jets can’t keep up yet. We still need more time..."
Gu Zhao shook his head. "I know. Just an observation."
After he spoke, the three of them fell silent, flying straight toward the Northwest.
...
Meanwhile, down in Yangcheng, the other guard at the security booth, who didn’t know what was going on, saw Gu Zhao and the captain suddenly vanish. He hurriedly reported to his superior, "The captain’s been abducted by Mr. Gu!"
"If you can’t say it right, then don’t say it at all!" his superior scolded. "Saving lives is as urgent as putting out a fire! Who has time to explain things to you?"
"Oh, oh!" The guard was instantly cowed. After learning the real situation, he couldn’t help but add, "Can you send me next time? The captain’s getting old, and I hear he’s afraid of heights..."
But high in the sky, the security captain’s eyes were filled with nostalgia. "I used to be a paratrooper, you know..."
