Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 316 Forced Landing
Boom boom boom...

The A300 shook violently, trailing huge plumes of thick black smoke, and continued to fall uncontrollably. Everyone on board experienced what a miniature version of "free fall" truly meant.

Many passengers had stopped screaming; some were writing their wills with faces full of despair, while others gently stroked their children's heads and sobbed softly, waiting for the plane to crash.

"The engine... the right engine... was... shot down by them..."

“We’re finished. The ‘Hell Tax Collector’ never intends to let us go.”

"The fighter jets didn't leave; they retreated to an optimal attack position."

"Mommy, save me! I'm scared, waaaaah..."

"..."

The shadow of death loomed over everyone, including the soldiers who were armed and had been struck in the sudden explosion, their heads bleeding profusely.

The vibrations from the massive engine failure were different from the shock of the explosion. The smooth flight noise had mostly disappeared, replaced by a strange whistling sound. It was the sound of the remaining No. 1 engine desperately trying to give the aircraft enough lift, and the noise of high-speed airflow coming from the damaged wings and the broken parts at the engine root.

All the soldiers believed that it was Death whispering in their ears.

An idea suddenly came to mind—if only they could contact the fighter jets now, if only they could find a way to negotiate.

The captain of the security detail stumbled out of the cockpit, his face ashen, a large gash on his forehead, blood streaming down his face, which he didn't bother to wipe away. Gone was the imposing figure he had been when he pointed a gun at the passengers and the captain, gone was the nonchalant air he had when he shot the flight attendant; his eyes were filled with the same deep-seated fear and despair that Arsu possessed.

The captain's voice was distorted: "Your Excellency, Milton, Milton's fighter jets have moved to the left! They're targeting the last, final number 1 engine!"

The plane was still falling, and a strong dragging sensation, as if it would throw him out of the cabin, along with a profound fear of death, made Arsu dizzy. He stumbled back to his seat, grabbed his oxygen mask, and took several deep breaths.

Oxygen didn't improve the situation. Most of the soldiers who had gone to supervise the crew no longer stayed at their posts, but crowded into the first-class section at the front, staring intently at Arsu and asking:
"Your Excellency, what should we do? Please give us some instructions."

“If we don’t do something soon, Milton will open fire a second time… Sir, stop saying things like Milton won’t shoot down the passenger plane and will continue flying as planned. You and I both know that Milton will, and he might very well do so in the next second.”

Arsu stiffly turned his head, his gaze shifting from the gruesome, burning engine wreckage to the apocalyptic chaos inside the cabin—distorted, terrified faces, scattered luggage, flickering lights, and utterly shaken morale.

What terrified him most was that the soldiers in front of him also had bloodshot eyes and were staring intently at him.

It was as if if Arsu couldn't come up with an escape plan, they would hold a gun to his head the next second.

At this moment, Arsu's anger and hatred towards these soldiers briefly surpassed his hatred for Milton.

A bunch of damned, cowardly, opportunistic surrenderers!

Bai's mother spent so much money raising them for so long! Bai treated them so well, even letting them board a passenger plane!

Milton is an enemy, and certainly hateful, but a traitor is a thousand times more hateful than an enemy!
A bunch of damned beasts!

"Everyone, don't worry..."

Just as Arsu was about to say something to reassure the troops, the two soldiers guarding the pilot in the cockpit suddenly shouted, "The radio! The radio's working again!!!"

The soldiers immediately abandoned Arsu and the captain and rushed towards the vicinity.

This time, what reached everyone's ears was no longer the pilot's voice, but Milton's incredibly cold and cruel voice, which made them tremble.

"Buzz... This is your last chance. Make an emergency landing with the fighter jet, and you'll be spared the death penalty except for the main culprit. I mean what I say. If you don't cooperate, you'll have to bear the consequences."

boom!
As Milton's voice faded, the same F-5E once again rushed in front of the passenger plane and made the standard aviation intercept signal under the Convention on International Civil Aviation.

The consequences are your own responsibility... The burning engine and the out-of-control tilt filled the entire aircraft with despair, and there was no need to use any more words to explain what the consequences meant.

Milton had no intention of negotiating, not even of intimidation... This was an ultimatum, and the next target would likely be the cockpit, or the entire fuselage.

After a terrifying descent, the passenger plane managed to level off just before crashing into the ground, struggling to stay afloat against gravity with one engine.

The two pilots, who looked as if they had been pulled out of the water, turned their heads and looked at the soldiers behind them with almost pleading eyes.

The meaning in his eyes was clear—don't mess with that madman anymore!
The soldier at the front didn't even look at the captain and Arsu, and simply said, "Tell them we are willing to cooperate and follow the guide to the airport."

The captain almost cried: "Okay..."

Before he could finish speaking, a furious voice came from behind: "Who gave you permission to do this?! Who gave you permission to agree to him? I'm telling you, you..."

The speakers were none other than Alsu, whom Milton referred to as the "chief culprit," who had not yet lost his legitimate presidential status, and his bodyguard captain.

click!
Before Arsu and the captain could say anything more, the other soldiers, as if they had known each other all along, raised their guns and aimed them at their former superiors behind them.

They had lost interest in listening to the two men's nonsense, and had no intention of protecting their interests in an environment where they could perish in flames at any moment.

Milton's proposed terms were quite good, and the soldiers were relatively satisfied.

While the "hellish tax collectors" are indeed terrifying, judging from past experience, they have indeed kept their word and have never gone back on their promise to spare anyone.

The captain had already silently turned the control stick, following the fighter jet's turn, and flew in a direction completely opposite to the original flight path.

"you……"

The captain also had a gun, but how could he possibly be a match for so many people? He could only bite the bullet and try to persuade his men.

"Think about it carefully. Who gave you so much money and made you so wealthy? Who took you on the plane at the last minute? Who put you in this predicament?"

One soldier scoffed, "Then give us a plan to save our lives! You've said a lot, but it's not enough to make us commit suicide."

“Traitors never have a good end.” Arsu reached out and pressed down on the captain, intending to analyze the situation from a perspective of self-interest. “Milton only promised not to sentence you to death, but you will probably spend the next ten or even several decades in prison. Is that worthwhile?”

Upon hearing this, the soldiers glanced at each other, seemingly agreeing with Arsu's assessment.

Seeing this, Arsu was overjoyed and decided to strike while the iron was hot: "We can pretend to follow Milton. We still have some time. Let me think of another way."

The soldiers waited for him to finish speaking before saying in a cold tone, "Tie you two up and hand you over to Milton. He'll probably be happier that way, and he'll probably reduce our sentences, right?"

They're not stupid; how could they possibly believe what Arsu said?

What other options are there at this point? What other options are there? Dogfighting between two F-5s with a passenger plane? Hanging them outside the plane and having them fight off cannons and air-to-air missiles with rifle bullets? "You..."

"Who dares to touch me?! Bowen, have you forgotten that I was the one who pulled you off the battlefield... Ah!!!"

The soldiers worked in perfect unison; one of them suddenly kicked the gun out of the captain's hand, while the others rushed forward and apprehended the two men.

To prevent them from making a scene, the soldier asked the flight attendant for some towels and used them to completely gag the two men.

"Captain," the soldier who had previously held a gun to the captain's head said politely, "make an announcement to calm the passengers down."

The captain wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sweat-dampened sleeve, nodded, and said, "Okay!"

Those few short minutes he spent trying to save the plane made him feel like he had lost half his life.

Soon, the captain's weak voice came through:

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain... Please remain calm, stay in your seats, and fasten your seatbelts. We have encountered a sudden situation of right engine failure, but rest assured, this type of situation was designed in the aircraft. We are currently using the left engine to maintain flight, and the aircraft is currently stable and under control."

"We are changing course and following our escort fighters to the nearest suitable airport for a safe emergency landing. This is not a routine emergency landing, but a necessary measure to ensure the safety of everyone... Please fully cooperate with the crew's instructions."

"Oxygen masks have been deployed. If you feel unwell, please use them immediately. Please remain calm and avoid... We have a professional flight team on our way... We expect to land safely shortly."

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

"..."

After saying this, the captain pressed his forehead hard and said to the soldiers behind him, "Please find a seat, sit down and fasten your seatbelts. I cannot guarantee that the emergency landing will be completely safe."

The right engine had just been destroyed, and most of the soldiers were left with broken heads and bleeding profusely.

They glanced at the president and captain on the ground, first throwing them into the first-class cabin, then closing the cockpit door to prevent the two from taking advantage of the chaos to secretly hijack the plane again.

The order on the plane was finally brought back to a manageable state.

Apart from the passengers sitting on the right side who could see the billowing smoke from engine number 2 through the porthole, the other passengers calmed down after hearing the captain's announcement and waited for landing while praying.

The plane was still shaking violently and abnormally, but at least they no longer had that crazy feeling of falling.

Guided by fighter jets, the damaged A300 began a steady descent.

After a while, the captain's voice came over the loudspeaker again.

"We are descending and preparing to land at Escuintla Airport. Please double-check that your seatbelts are fastened, maintain a seated posture with your head firmly against the seat back for impact protection..."

Are we about to land?

Some of the window passengers quickly looked out the window—sure enough, the plane was flying very low, and they could even see a group of people gathered together looking over, seemingly never having seen such a scene of an emergency landing before.

But the violent shaking never stopped, and every jolt terrified the passengers.

The air inside the cabin was gradually becoming murky... but what was most frightening was the faint smell of burning.

"Let's land quickly... I don't know when this plane will turn into a fireball..."

The terrified passengers forced themselves to believe what the captain had just said and assumed an anti-impact posture.

Outside the window, the scenery on the ground magnified at an alarming rate, the gray outline of the runway rapidly expanding in the field of vision. The captain's tense voice blared over the intercom: "Prepare for landing!"

boom!
The landing gear slammed heavily onto the ground, the force slamming everyone back into their chairs. Items scattered everywhere, and oxygen masks swayed violently...

The speed rapidly decreased due to the combined effects of reverse thrust and braking, and with everyone's prayers, the plane finally came to a complete stop near the end of the runway.

A deathly silence enveloped the cabin for a few seconds, broken only by the low hum of the engines and the heavy breathing of the passengers. Then, the long-suppressed cries, retching, and murmurs of relief erupted.

The sirens of ambulances and fire trucks blared, and large amounts of foam were sprayed onto the catching fire of engine number 2. The fire was extinguished at a visible speed.

They escaped! They escaped from the clutches of death!

All the doors of the A300 were opened and the air slides were deployed... However, after ensuring safety, many passengers had second thoughts and wanted to take their belongings before leaving.

Then they saw armored vehicles surrounding the entire plane outside the porthole and heard a sound they often heard on television.

Milton's cold voice rang out: "Everyone leave the plane empty-handed. Anyone carrying anything will be considered a threat and executed on the spot. Repeat..."

Many passengers looked at each other in bewilderment.

They then came to their senses. Although the plane had successfully made an emergency landing, Milton's terror was no less than that of a plane crash!
"..."

As the plane landed smoothly, the soldiers finally felt relieved. They unbuckled their seatbelts, quickly stood up, and roughly dragged Arsu, who was bound hand and foot and gagged, and the guard captain from their seats, shoving them toward the cabin door.

Arsu struggled in vain, his eyes filled with anger and despair, while the captain looked ashen-faced.

The soldiers showed no respect to their two superiors, kicking them onto the slide and watching them tumble down in a sorry state before throwing down their weapons, raising their hands, and sliding off the plane themselves.

Two armored vehicles pulled up, and a large group of masked soldiers wearing bulletproof vests, helmets, and carrying rifles got out and surrounded them, very wary.

The platoon leader jogged forward and noticed the two tied-up men first. He grabbed one of them by the hair and pulled his face up.

Upon seeing the man's face clearly, the platoon leader was visibly shocked!
president!

Arsu!
It's important to know that Milton has not yet announced the formation of a new government. Legally, he remains the supreme ruler of Guatemala and the legitimate president!

Now, the president of a country is in his own hands, in a sorry state, no different from an animal waiting to be slaughtered.

At this moment, as a soldier, he finally felt the indescribable excitement of a complete victory.

"Your Excellency the President."

“Mr. ‘Hell Tax Collector’, I would like to see you.”

(End of this chapter)