Legendary Captain

Chapter 223 Poison! (Seeking monthly votes!)

A little earlier in time, at the rear of the cabin of Star Travel 6333.

After a sudden and violent explosion, once the plane had stabilized, the chief flight attendant cleaned up the broken trays, contacted the flight attendants in the rear cabin, and then spoke with the flight attendants in the front cabin. They then proceeded from opposite ends of the cabin to check on the passengers.

The previous turbulence had been manageable, and the passengers didn't react much. But the loud bang was truly terrifying. After communicating with the flight attendants in the rear cabin, they said they could roughly discern that the explosion sounded like it came from below.

What's below the passenger cabin? That's the cargo hold. The passenger cabin and cargo hold are actually separated by just a floor.

Even the cabin crew in the rear cabin could feel the floor beneath their feet tremble slightly when the explosion occurred, as if an earthquake had struck, which was quite frightening.

The shaking of the floor did not come from the aircraft itself, but rather from a shockwave from beneath the floor impacting it, causing the floor to vibrate like an earthquake.

Upon receiving the purser's instructions, flight attendant number three moved from front to back, and flight attendant number four moved from back to front. Flight attendant number two remained in the rear cabin, while the purser remained in the front cabin. Neither of them moved, and the flight attendant trainees accompanying the flight did not need to participate; they could simply stay in the rear cabin.

After standing up, flight attendant number four smoothed out the wrinkles on her clothes, still muttering the standard answers the purser had taught them to answer passenger inquiries.

When we go on a cabin round later, there's a good chance some passengers will ask what the loud noise was. It was quite a commotion, and no one can ignore it.

Since there was some foresight, it was necessary to communicate in advance. At the very least, the third and fourth flight attendants should have the same story. Otherwise, if the two tell different stories, it would only increase panic.

As for how to explain the source of the loud noise, we can only temporarily attribute it to thunderstorms. It's perfectly logical that an airplane flying in thunderstorms would occasionally experience a particularly loud clap of thunder!

Anyone with a little common sense could tell whether the sound was thunder or not, and whether it came from outside. After all, thunder is relatively easy to distinguish, and locating a sound source from below isn't difficult either.

Flight attendant number four took a breath and composed herself slightly. She needed to calm her mind and manage her facial expressions before she was about to lie through her teeth.

She had only taken one breath when she choked and coughed repeatedly, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Sis, what's that smell? It's so strong!" Flight attendant number four asked flight attendant number two, wiping away her tears.

Flight attendant number two also frowned deeply: "I don't know! I feel like throwing up. That sound was from the cargo hold, wasn't it? Has something happened?"

"I don't know! The flight attendant probably hasn't asked the cockpit yet. She didn't say anything when we talked on the phone." Flight attendant number four quickly grabbed a few tissues to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, but she found that the more she wiped, the more uncomfortable she felt. Her eyes felt like they were smoky, dry and sore, and her tear ducts seemed to be working at full capacity, producing more and more tears.

"Sis, what should we do!" Flight attendant number four lifted the curtain and peeked into the cabin. She saw that flight attendant number three had already started patrolling the cabin, but how could she go out in her current state?

What's the big deal if a passenger sees a flight attendant with tears in her eyes?

The second flight attendant, somewhat exasperated, stood up: "Please sit down, I'll go out!"

Actually, her eyes were also very uncomfortable, and not only that, her exposed skin, such as her face and neck, always felt a faint burning pain, and she didn't know why.

Flight attendant number two and flight attendant number four exchanged a few words to reconfirm the story about the loud noise. By the time flight attendant number two came out, flight attendant number three had already patrolled the cabin to the middle of the cabin.

When the third flight attendant noticed the people coming out of the rear cabin, she was taken aback, because it wasn't the fourth flight attendant who was supposed to patrol the cabin as arranged by the chief flight attendant; instead, it was the second flight attendant, who was in charge of the rear cabin affairs, who came out.

Just as the third flight attendant was in a daze, her arm was tugged. Looking down, she saw a middle-aged woman in the row in front of her pulling her arm.

"My dad can't breathe, come and check on him right away!" the middle-aged woman said urgently.

Flight attendant number three quickly went forward to check and found an elderly man slumped in a seat in the front row near the aisle.

The middle-aged woman said anxiously, "After that noise, my dad said he smelled something strange. I didn't pay attention at the time, thinking he was mistaken. But ever since then, he's been coughing and now he can't breathe properly."

"A strange smell?" Flight attendant number three sniffed, and with that light sniff, a pungent odor hit her head and almost made her faint.

"What's wrong?" Flight attendant number two came running when she heard the commotion. At this moment, flight attendant number two was holding back her tears, but her eyes were already bloodshot, and her face was covered with an unusual blush.

"This lady said her father smelled something strange, coughed incessantly, and is now having difficulty breathing." Flight attendant number three inadvertently covered her mouth and nose: "But I didn't smell anything when I was in the front cabin!"

"I don't know where that smell is coming from, but I can smell it myself now, it's very pungent. My dad had tuberculosis before, and although he recovered, his lungs have always been weak. If he keeps choking like this, it could be very serious. Do you have oxygen cylinders? Can you give him oxygen?"

In ancient times, tuberculosis was essentially incurable, also known as pulmonary consumption. However, in modern society, tuberculosis can be cured. But even after a cure, various long-term effects often remain. Their respiratory tracts are far more sensitive than normal, and more easily irritated. This explains why the elderly man smelled the pungent odor earlier than his daughter.

This middle-aged woman clearly travels by plane frequently and knows that airplanes are equipped with portable oxygen cylinders for use in special circumstances.

The old man is now choking on the stench and can barely breathe. If this continues, he'll suffocate to death. He needs clean oxygen to breathe, otherwise, there will be serious problems.

Flight attendant number two looked around and noticed that many people in the rear cabin had already covered their mouths and noses, and many had started coughing violently. Clearly, the old man's reaction was not isolated.

"Number 3, are there still seats in first class?" The flight attendant said that she didn't smell any odor when she came from the front cabin, which means that the odor hasn't spread to the front cabin yet. Let's move the old man to the front cabin first, where the odor is not as strong.

Flight attendant number three nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, there are still quite a few empty seats."

"Help him to first class, tell the purser about the situation, and give him oxygen." The second flight attendant said a few words, then felt a tickle in her throat, followed by a violent cough.

Between coughs, I unconsciously inhaled a lot of irritating gas, which led to even more severe coughing. In this vicious cycle, it seemed like I couldn't stop coughing.

After waiting for a while, Flight Attendant Number Two finally recovered. She pulled Flight Attendant Number Three aside and whispered, "Go and count how many empty seats are left in economy class and first class. Also, explain the situation in the rear cabin to the purser; a large-scale passenger evacuation may be necessary. The cockpit needs to know the current situation in the cabin, and if possible, discuss the possibility of deploying oxygen masks with them."

The second flight attendant was quick-witted. There was a pungent odor in the rear cabin, but not in the front cabin. Considering that the loud noise earlier also came from below the rear cabin, it was almost certain that something was wrong in the rear cargo hold.

At first, the second flight attendant wondered if there was a fire in the aft cargo hold, and that the irritating gases were just smoke from a fire. But now, she realized it wasn't just simple choking smoke. The gases she smelled in the aft cabin were ten times more pungent than ordinary smoke; that cough she'd just had almost made her heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys rupture, and she couldn't stop coughing.

She had never seen any kind of burning smoke with such power.

If the situation continues as it is now, or even worsens, then the rear cabin area will be uninhabitable for long, and she will have to consider the possibility of transferring some passengers.

The only saving grace is that this flight wasn't too crowded, so there was still some room for maneuver. If it had been a full flight, there would have been absolutely nothing that could be done.

However, she could only discuss her idea privately with flight attendant number three. If other passengers found out, it could cause a large-scale movement of passengers, which could easily lead to a shift in the aircraft's center of gravity. If the shift in the center of gravity exceeded the normal range, the aircraft might become out of control.

Therefore, she pulled the third flight attendant closer and whispered something to her.

Flight attendant number three immediately understood. When she came over earlier, she was so focused on her work that she hadn't noticed the odor. But now, paying attention to her surroundings, she realized the air in the rear cabin was practically unbreathable. In this environment, evacuating passengers was to be expected.

"Okay, sister! I'll tell the front." Flight attendant number three responded to flight attendant number two's request, helped the elderly man, and walked towards the front cabin.

"Can I go and take a look too? I'm worried." The old man's daughter watched him head towards the front cabin, truly concerned. She spoke to the second flight attendant, but without getting permission, she got up and went after him to the front cabin.

"Madam!" Flight attendant number two was about to grab the middle-aged woman, but in her haste, she lost control of her breathing and inhaled a large mouthful of air, causing her to cough again.

Although the second flight attendant didn't know what the strange-smelling gas was, its astonishingly pungent odor was enough to terrify her.

Because of her cough, the second flight attendant did not stop the middle-aged woman, but then some passengers in the back cabin became unhappy.

The old man was already having difficulty breathing, so it was understandable that he was taken away. But why was that middle-aged woman allowed to go along? She seemed perfectly healthy and energetic.

They just heard that the front cabin is better, so why are they still suffering in the rear cabin?

Immediately, many passengers expressed their desire to go to the front cabin as well.

At first, the passengers were somewhat considerate, saying they found the smell unpleasant and needed to change seats. However, after being refused, they started verbally abusing the second flight attendant!

"What kind of air conditioning does this crappy plane have? It smells awful! Did a dead rat get in there?"

"Yeah! I see so many empty seats ahead, why can't we go over?"

"You couldn't stop that woman either, so why can't you stop us?"

The passengers on the plane are not yet aware of the seriousness of the problem; they still think it's just a problem with the plane's air conditioning system and haven't thought about it further.

How could the flight attendant possibly allow them to flood into the front cabin all at once? That would be a disaster for the plane. Even if she wanted to evacuate passengers, she would do so in batches and in an orderly manner. If they all rushed into the front cabin at once, it would be strange if the plane's center of gravity didn't break down.

"We will actively address your requests. Please calm down and remain patient. Large-scale personnel movement can significantly impact flight safety. Please follow our instructions!"

"Calm down? I'm choking! Is your plane even any good? Did you salvage it from a junkyard?"

Just as chaos was escalating and nearly spiraling out of control in the rear cabin, flight attendant number three helped the somewhat delirious elderly man close to the first-class cabin. During the journey, flight attendant number three noticed that the pungent odor seemed to be starting to permeate the front cabin as well.

It's spreading too fast!

Just as the third flight attendant was becoming somewhat worried, the elderly man she was supporting suddenly broke out in another fit of extremely violent coughing. This cough was actually closer to vomiting.

After entering first class, Lian Shanxue noticed flight attendant number three and the elderly man she was helping. Seeing that the flight attendant was struggling, she prepared to go and help her.

But just as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got up to go over, the old man suddenly gasped, and an unusual flush appeared on his already somewhat withered face. Then, a spurt of blood gushed out from his mouth.

Large patches of blood stained the sofa seats in first class, and a small amount splashed onto the uniform of flight attendant number three, like blood-red flowers blooming instantly.

The third flight attendant next to her was so frightened that she stood there dumbfounded, unable to move.

Even Lian Shanxue was terrified by the scene; it was the first time in her life she had witnessed such a bloody spectacle. The only ordinary passenger in first class had his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. He gasped for breath, but could only inhale, unable to exhale, as if he had forgotten he even needed to.

The sight of the elderly man vomiting blood immediately after entering first class was clearly seen by the passengers in economy class behind him, and the originally noisy rear cabin instantly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone's expressions froze, and all eyes were fixed on the elderly man who was barely breathing. After a brief silence, the tense atmosphere was finally broken by a scream that almost pierced the eardrums and echoed throughout the cabin.

The scream came from the old man's daughter, the middle-aged woman who had followed him to the front cabin.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the middle-aged woman screamed and shouted like a madwoman, rushed into the first-class cabin, hugged the old man, and wailed loudly.

After a brief moment of shock, a wave of immense fear washed over everyone in the cabin, bringing the already somewhat out-of-control rear cabin to the brink of chaos.

The commotion startled the flight attendant, who was on the phone with the cockpit. She peeked out and looked into the cabin, completely stunned. The cabin had been perfectly orderly before she called the cockpit. How could it have become such a mess in just one phone call?

Especially the sight of the elderly man with bloodstains at the corner of his mouth in the first-class cabin not far away, and the flight attendant number three, who was stunned and whose uniform was covered with bloodstains, was even more shocking.

The flight attendant, who had lost the ability to think, turned her wandering gaze forward and met the head flight attendant's head as she poked her head out. In that instant, she seemed to have found her pillar of support and ran straight to the head flight attendant with tears in her eyes.

The flight attendant's chaotic thoughts only lasted a moment before she forced herself to calm down as flight attendant number three rushed over.

She is the head of the flight crew. All the other flight attendants can act recklessly, but she absolutely cannot.

After flight attendant number three arrived, she didn't offer any words of comfort. Instead, she gently patted flight attendant number three on the back and whispered, "Stay here!"

After saying that, he walked past flight attendant number three and went straight to the elderly man who seemed to have fainted.

Flight attendant number three leaned against the entrance to the front cabin crew compartment, her chest heaving rapidly. She could already clearly smell the strange odor in her nostrils, meaning that the entire cabin was about to be compromised. She wondered what was happening in the cockpit.

Suddenly, flight attendant number three noticed the dangling microphone. She glanced at the chief flight attendant who was taking care of the elderly man, hesitated for a moment, and then picked up the microphone.

As flight attendant number three picked up the microphone and held it to her ear, she heard Xu Xian's urgent voice: "Purifier? Purifier!"

Upon hearing the voice from the cockpit, Flight Attendant Number Three could no longer hold back and, with a sob in her voice, said into the microphone, "Brother, someone in the cabin is vomiting blood!"

Almost simultaneously with flight attendant number three answering Xu Xian's question, the chief flight attendant shouted loudly towards the economy class, "Is there a doctor? Is there a doctor?"

The elderly man is now close to being in a coma, a situation that the flight attendants cannot handle; they must seek help from a professional doctor.

"Doctor, doctor?" The group of people in economy class looked at each other, but no one responded.

The search for a doctor only fueled the panic among the already agitated passengers, who began demanding an immediate landing. Flight attendant number two, who was on the front lines maintaining order, was nearly at her wits' end.

Meanwhile, a man in the last row of the cabin was frowning. He noticed that the temperature had been rising steadily ever since he smelled a strange odor earlier. At first, he thought it was due to the noise and commotion of the passengers, but the temperature seemed to increase more and more noticeably as the flight progressed. Even if everyone on the plane was jumping around, it shouldn't have caused the temperature to rise this quickly!

At that moment, he detected a different smell amidst the pungent odor.

It smells like something burning.

Upon hearing the news that someone had vomited blood in the cockpit, Xu Xian and Wang Qian both got goosebumps all over their bodies.

At this moment, Wang Qian's nose twitched slightly, and he asked uncertainly, "Xu Xian, is there something smelling?"

Xu Xian also sniffed, his brows gradually furrowing: "It seems so."

Inside the cockpit, the pungent smell was still very faint, and Wang Qian didn't pay much attention to it. However, just to be on the safe side, he said, "Let's put on our oxygen masks first, just in case."

Didn't they say that allyl cyanide is toxic? If that stuff really catches fire, the vapors it releases will also be toxic, so it's safer to wear an oxygen mask.

Once they've donned their oxygen masks and everything is ready, they can then contact the cabin crew to inquire about the situation. These two are absolutely indispensable on the entire plane. If something happens to them, everyone on board will be killed.

At that moment, in the cabin, the man in the last row inexplicably lowered his head, as if he could smell the burning odor coming from below.

Suddenly, his body stiffened slightly, and he reached down and groped around for a few moments.

Just as the entire cabin, especially the rear cabin, was making a ruckus, a loud voice came from behind everyone.

"It's on fire!"

The shout drowned out everyone else's voices, and everyone turned around to look at the source of the sound.

When everyone's gaze returned, they saw an unremarkable-looking man holding up a dark, indistinct object, repeating somewhat blankly, "It looks like it's on fire down there!"

Some passengers in the cabin used the cabin lights to see what the man was holding. Some of them reacted very quickly, slowly lowering their gaze with fear to the carpet in the cabin.

One passenger, who had already figured out the situation, stammered, "This...this is burnt carpet!"

Although the fire in the cargo hold had not yet penetrated the floor, it had already heated the floor to an extremely high temperature. Even though the floorboards on it had not yet caught fire, they had begun to char and turn black.

Passengers who already had some suspicions about the cargo hold immediately understood what was happening down there after this incident. Terrified, they screamed and rushed towards the forward hold.

"Fire down below! Fire down below!"

Some people were so terrified that they rushed towards the front cabin while shouting loudly.

Even passengers who were still unaware of the situation now knew what had happened, and panic finally took over the cabin.

Although they didn't understand the point of rushing to the front cabin, as long as someone took the lead, the terrified passengers followed like headless flies.

In an instant, more than a dozen passengers from the rear cabin rushed forward like a tidal wave, and the second flight attendant was unable to stop them at all.

In the cockpit, Xu Xian and Wang Qian, who were just about to put on their oxygen masks, suddenly felt as if a hand was forcefully pressing down on the nose of the plane. The autopilot disengaged, and then the plane seemed to lose control, plummeting straight downwards.

(End of this chapter)