Legendary Captain

Chapter 374 Xu Xian's Doomsday

The military region mentioned here is not the Western Air Force. The accurate term for the Western Air Force is the Western Military Region Air Force, which absolutely does not represent the existence of a military region. The entire military region encompasses the army, navy, and air force, while the Western Air Force is merely a part of the Western Military Region. If Xu Xian is to be awarded a first-class merit, the discussion needs to be conducted at the military region level.

"Military region... My matter needs to be discussed with the military region?" For some reason, Xu Xian felt a little nervous when he heard that his situation needed to be reported to the military region for approval.

"Yeah, what's the problem?" Ye Qing laughed. "Why do you look a little worried? What if you get an honorary title in the future? It will have to be reported to the Central Military Commission for discussion. Right now, it's just a matter within the Western Military Region."

"I'd rather not have an honorary title. Those are basically for heroes who sacrificed themselves for the country. I'm not that enlightened yet, let alone an honorary title," Xu Xian said with a grin.

Ye Qing: "No one will refuse to live, but when that time comes, you will find that there are things more precious than your own life to protect."

Xu Xian smiled and said, "I'm sorry, but I don't think anything is more important than life."

Ye Qing didn't argue with Xu Xian: "Of course you don't think so now, because the time hasn't come yet."

Xu Xian pursed his lips: "Don't worry, that moment will never come."

Ye Qing said slowly, "Xu Xian, think about it. Is there really nothing you'd be willing to give up your life for? You're not a cold-blooded person. As long as you're not a cold-blooded person, there will always be something that would make you willing to give up your life."

"Would they willingly give up their lives?" Xu Xian fell into deep thought. "Definitely."

Seeing Xu Xian's hesitant expression, Ye Qing smiled and said, "So you're pregnant?"

Xu Xian panicked for a moment: "I said I was pregnant? Besides, even if I were, it wouldn't be to the point where I have to make a life-or-death decision, would it? It shouldn't be, right?"

Operations Analysis Room, Headquarters of the 6th Air Division of Guangdong Province.

On a large screen, a winding flight path was displayed, passing precisely through the towering peaks of the area with almost perfect accuracy.

"Was this really calculated mentally? Is this something a human could actually do?" Meng Ziyang stared at the trajectory on the screen, the background of which was a terrain display. However, Meng Ziyang simply couldn't accept this result. In his view, what Xu Xian had accomplished was simply beyond the capabilities of a human being.

Beside Meng Ziyang, his younger brother Meng Zili, the pilot from the Fourth Division of the Guangdong Air Force who was on the plane at the time, confirmed with extreme certainty: "Brother, I was in the back at the time, and Xu Xian was in control the whole time. I can vouch for it with my integrity."

"Personal guarantee?" Meng Ziyang turned to look at his usually arrogant younger brother. "You seem completely convinced of his abilities? Haven't you always wanted to challenge someone stronger? Isn't he the perfect challenger for you?"

Meng Zili shook his head: "The sun is above, but no one will challenge its authority. Brother, tell me the truth, if it were you, could you? Don't be stubborn, I can tell."

"Stubborn? I'm not that bored." Meng Ziyang lowered his gaze slightly. "Yes, I can't. But that doesn't mean that if we were enemies on the battlefield, I definitely wouldn't be able to beat him."

"Brother, how many years have you been flying?" Meng Zili suddenly asked.

Meng Ziyang was taken aback: "Twelve years! What happened?"

"But how many years has Xu Xianfei been flying? He's only been flying fighter jets for less than a year, right? He's still in his growth phase, he's far from his peak, but you're already close to your limit. That's the difference," Meng Zili sighed. "Why are there people like that in the world? Even if he doesn't fly, he can do anything, as long as he wants, he'll be the one standing at the top."

"Forget it, let's not talk about it anymore. Talking about it will only make me feel like all my efforts over the past ten years have been for nothing." Meng Ziyang waved his hand, stopping his brother from praising Xu Xian: "By the way, I heard you did well in the recent tripartite exercises. You might be chosen as our representative from the Guangdong Air Force. Keep a low profile for a while, don't mess things up and let this opportunity for the overseas exercises slip away."

"Brother, what about you? Are you still going?" Meng Zili asked.

Meng Ziyang shook his head: "No, I've already been there, so I won't take up anyone else's spot. Joint exercises with foreign militaries are a matter of national honor, so you should prepare well."

"Why do you seem so indifferent right now? By the way, what about the candidates for Xikong?"

Meng Ziyang laughed, "You should be asking if Xu Xian will be selected for the Western Air Force, right? Isn't that obvious? This time, he'll not only go, but he'll be a key member of the Western Air Force—no, the entire Air Force. It's only been a short time! He's truly a prodigy! He's accomplished in a year what took me twelve years."

"Impossible, right? Even if Xu Xian's skills are excellent, wouldn't his experience be a bit lacking?" Meng Zili asked in surprise.

"Seniority? Only mediocre people care about seniority; capable people are always judged by their abilities. Once you have the ability, what does seniority matter? The upcoming joint military exercise with foreign forces will provide Xu Xian with the perfect resume, and then his seniority will be sufficient." Meng Ziyang was quite open-minded about seniority; he never thought that having little seniority was a problem. He considered seniority, something that could be earned over time, to be the most useless thing.

"However, compared to the selection of personnel for joint exercises with foreign militaries, the Air Force Command seems quite hesitant about whether to include Xu Xian in its talent pool," Meng Ziyang said with a smile.

Meng Zili asked curiously, "What's wrong? Logically speaking, Xu Xian's technical standards should be sufficient."

"You think the talent pool is only based on technical skills? Sigh, I seem to be contradicting myself." Meng Ziyang's expression was a bit strange: "You saw Xu Xian's technical side on the plane before. Technically speaking, Xu Xian is indeed an impeccable pilot. However, I've seen another side of Xu Xian. How should I put it? On a mental level, he's not quite suitable to be a soldier, so the Air Force Command will probably keep observing him."

"On an ideological level?" Meng Zili clicked his tongue. "Brother, could it be about that time you encountered him at the Luohang base? What happened?"

Meng Ziyang's face stiffened. He really couldn't tell Meng Zili about Xu Xian using the three-way exercise as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Ye Qing.

"Forget it, I won't bring that up." Meng Ziyang waved his hand. "Anyway, Xu Xian's thinking is indeed a bit outrageous. If he doesn't change in this regard, the Air Force Command won't have included him in the talent pool. You know, anyone selected for the talent pool is going to be a cadre or leader in the future. Their technical skills must be excellent, and their ideological awareness must also be up to par. These are hard requirements."

"However, I heard that Xu Xian has agreed to be transferred to the formal staff of the Third Division of the Western Air Force. Transferring to a formal staff is no joke, he must have already thought it through, right?" Meng Zili said.

Being transferred to a formal organizational structure meant that Xu Xian could no longer treat flying as a game, and the Third Air Division of the Western Regions was not an organization like the Luoyang Air Force fleet, which lacked any binding force. Meng Zili did not believe that Xu Xian was unaware of what being transferred to a formal organizational structure meant; the fact that he ultimately agreed at least showed that Xu Xian had made progress in his thinking.

Meng Ziyang shrugged: "Who knows?"

Hanjing Civil Aviation Administration.

Lian Shanxue, who had just attended a hearing on pilots' rest periods, walked side by side with Cheng Guangyu, director of the Aviation Safety Department.

"Your suggestion about segmented duty that you made at the meeting is indeed a good one. We will have the Flight Marks Division think about it carefully," Cheng Guangyu said.

Currently, the regulations regarding duty periods and rest periods are fixed, meaning that regardless of takeoff time, landing time, or flight time, there is no difference in the regulations.

However, one of the reasons for the recent incident where the Kunlong aircraft crashed into the runway edge lights was extreme crew fatigue. However, when the authorities checked the crew's rest period, they found that the crew had not violated any rest regulations.

The fact that crew members still experience extreme fatigue despite adhering to rest regulations undoubtedly indicates that there are loopholes in the current rest regulations.

Will the rest time be the same for flights departing at 7:00 AM and those departing at 9:00 AM, even with the same amount of rest? Previously, a one-size-fits-all rule was implemented for ease of management, but it seems that it needs to be changed now.

Flights departing before 8:00 AM and landing after 1:00 PM should not be simply equated with flights operating at other times. While increasing rest periods for these flights is not an option, appropriately reducing their operational timeframe is also a good choice. How to determine the best course of action requires further research and decision-making by the regulatory authorities.

Now, differentiated regulations seem inevitable. During the hearing just now, Lian Shanxue made the same suggestion, which prompted Cheng Guangyu, Director of the Aviation Safety Department, to speak with her a few extra words afterward.

In Cheng Guangyu's eyes, Lian Shanxue possesses not only feminine sensitivity but also masculine rational thinking, making her a promising candidate for development. Furthermore, she enjoys a very positive public image and enjoys a strong grassroots foundation, making promotion much easier. Frankly speaking, civil aviation has reached a point where it's time to introduce a representative female pilot.

At least during the hearing just now, Lian Shanxue's views almost coincided with the bureau's pre-set plan, which shows that he is definitely not just a so-called "figurehead".

Lian Shanxue nodded: "We're just offering some suggestions from the perspective of frontline employees."

Perhaps it was Lian Shanxue's somewhat cold attitude that made Cheng Guangyu feel a little uncomfortable, so he had to change the subject: "Your landing time should be coming soon, right? You'd better hurry up. We didn't do a good job of publicizing the first female captain in China, so we should really give the second one a good push."

The first female captain in China was from Xingfei Airlines, but when she emerged, she didn't cause any sensation. This was mainly because Xu Qing was already incredibly famous at the time, and under her shadow, no other pilot deserved public attention.

However, Lian Shanxue is different from the previous female captain. Before being hired as a captain, the previous female captain was completely unknown, and after being hired, there was still no news about her.

For the general public and journalists, this kind of captain offers no storyline whatsoever. But in reality, within the aviation industry, a good captain is one who never makes headlines.

Lian Shanxue, however, was different. Even before being hired as a captain, she had already attracted a great deal of attention, enough to create a huge buzz on the day she was officially hired. The authorities also needed Lian Shanxue to break the mold of this traditionally male-dominated industry.

Moreover, compared to Xu Xian's somewhat arrogant personality, Lian Shanxue appeared much more composed, to the point that the authorities were even considering promoting her to a leadership position. And this leadership position wasn't with the airline, but with the authorities themselves.

Lian Shanxue and Xu Xian joined the company around the same time. Someone like Xu Xian, who is frequently grounded, already has enough time to land. If Lian Shanxue hadn't gone abroad for a long time to treat her eyes, she would have met the time requirements for becoming a captain even earlier than Xu Xian.

"I'll do it as soon as possible," Lian Shanxue said casually, sounding somewhat uninterested, as if she wasn't particularly interested in being called the female captain. "However, about Xu Xian's incident where he ran off the runway..."

"The key is whether the flight data recorder data can be recovered. Didn't Xu Xian get help from someone else? It seems to be the technical department of a military enterprise, so they should be able to recover it," Cheng Guangyu said. "However, even if the data is recovered and Xu Xian is cleared of wrongdoing, he won't be able to return to civil aviation."

Lian Shanxue abruptly stopped in her tracks: "Director Cheng, what do you mean by this?"

"You don't know, all of Xu Xian's files have been transferred to the Air Force. Strictly speaking, Xu Xian's commercial operation license is not currently suspended. Even if the authorities lift the ban on Xu Xian's commercial operations, he still cannot operate civil aviation flights. He is now a formal member of the Air Force," Cheng Guangyu said.

"You mean civilian to military?" Lian Shanxue looked deep in thought. She knew before that Xu Xian had gone to fly fighter jets, but it seemed that he wasn't part of the Air Force. But now, hearing Cheng Guangyu say that Xu Xian has now transferred to the Air Force, he definitely can no longer operate civilian flights, even if the authorities have lifted the ban on commercial operations.

Previously, due to the special nature of the Luoyang Airlines fleet, even though Xu Xian joined the fleet, he was not strictly part of the Air Force and could still operate civilian flights. However, now that he has officially been transferred to the Air Force, the door to civilian aviation has been closed to Xu Xian.

In civil aviation, one person can operate multiple aircraft types, but it is absolutely forbidden for one person to fly both military and civil aircraft at the same time. One can only choose between military and civil aviation.

"That's right." Cheng Guangyu nodded. "It seems they've also transferred to the Western Military Region's Air Force. Wasn't your evacuation operation escorted by them? Who knows, Xu Xian might be the one escorting you then, which would be quite a story. Sigh, that Xu Xian kid is really something. A couple of days ago, a Letu plane in the Huacheng control zone strayed into a typhoon, and Xu Xian, relying on mental calculations, somehow managed to figure out a flight path to overcome the obstacle, it was practically a miracle."

Lian Shanxue asked in utter surprise, "You mean that person was Xu Xian?"

A hospital near Longjiang Airport.

"This is basically what the press release will look like. Take a look." A staff member from the Southwest Bureau handed Xu Xian a tablet with a press release about Letu Flight 5641.

The press release was nothing special. The only thing that caught Xu Xian's attention was that all descriptions of Xu Xian were changed to "a certain pilot in the Western Air Force," without even his surname.

Xu Xian is now a member of the Air Force, and reports about military personnel rarely mention his name. However, it's quite absurd that he wasn't even given a surname this time. At least give him something like "Xu Mou" or something. Goodness, he's been turned into a "pilot," truly an "anonymous" individual.

Xu Xian's forehead veins bulged, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he handed the tablet back to the Southwest Bureau staff: "I'm fine on my end."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Xu! This was your superior's request. We didn't originally intend to make it so simplistic." The people from the Southwest Bureau also knew that this report had oversimplified Xu Xian, and they were quite embarrassed. However, the Western Air Force specifically informed the Southwest Bureau to conceal Xu Xian's information as much as possible. In the final press release, Xu Xian only deserved the title of a certain pilot.

"I know." Xu Xian nodded; he could understand that. Without instructions from the Western Air Force, the Southwest Bureau wouldn't have omitted so much: "Are you sure you've finished asking about Flight 5641? If there's anything you've overlooked, and you miss today, you might not have another chance for a long time."

Later, Xu Xian was about to join the Fourth Naval Air Division. At that time, with the high intensity of training, there was no time to care about the Southwest Bureau's inquiries. Therefore, Xu Xian was determined to resolve the inquiries about flight 5641 in one go.

"Yes, we've finished asking all the questions." The staff member from the Southwest Bureau was very polite to Xu Xian: "Mr. Xu, there's nothing else here, why don't you take a rest?"

"There's something I want to ask you," Xu Xian said after a moment's thought. "How's things going with Xingyou?"

Previously, due to his runway veer incident, Star Travel Airlines faced considerable obstacles from the authorities. I wonder how things are now.

"Mr. Xu, we are still giving Xingyou Airlines a lot of preferential treatment. Just a few days ago, we approved several high-altitude routes to Lhasa Airport," a staff member from the Southwest Regional Administration said with a smile.

"Luoxie Airport? Oh, I almost forgot." Xu Xian suddenly remembered that Xingyou had planned to build a base at Luoxie Airport. Unexpectedly, the authorities had approved several high-altitude air routes for Xingyou. High-altitude air routes are known to be very profitable. It seems the authorities have been quite good to Xingyou. "And...the company...never mind, I'm fine now."

Xu Xian originally wanted to ask how many people at Xingyou Aviation knew that he had joined the Air Force, but then he thought that the person in front of him was not from Xingyou Aviation, but from the Southwest Bureau, so asking him would be pointless.

"Hmm? Oh, then I won't bother you any longer." The staff member nodded and left the ward, leaving Xu Xian alone.

As soon as the Southwest Bureau personnel left, a doctor came in and said to Xu Xian, "Your test results are all in, and everything is normal. You can be discharged tomorrow. Do you want us to pass on the news of your discharge to the Fourth Division?"

The hospital here is also under the military's jurisdiction. The 4th Naval Aviation Division specifically instructed that if Xu Xian wanted to be discharged, he should notify them in advance, and the 4th Division would arrange a vehicle to pick him up.

"Okay, sure." Xu Xian nodded. "But doctor! My nosebleed was really just from overworking my brain, causing my blood pressure to rise and resulting in the rupture of capillaries in my nasal mucosa. Are you sure it's nothing serious?"

Xu Xian was still somewhat wary of getting a nosebleed while flying, especially since he later fainted, which was truly absurd.

"Don't worry, I've examined you thoroughly, from head to toe, there won't be any problems," the doctor assured you. "You're in such good condition that you can immediately start training, don't worry."

"That's good, I can't wait!" Xu Xian said with a smile.

"Okay, since you've agreed, I'll go tell the Fourth Master." After confirming with Xu Xian, the doctor left the ward.

Not long after the doctor left, Xu Xian's phone rang. He looked at the number and saw that it belonged to his father, Xu Jingyang.

Xu Xian cleared his throat slightly and answered the phone: "Dad, what's wrong?"

Xu Jingyang's somewhat deep voice came through: "Xu Xian, where are you now?"

"What's wrong?" Xu Xian noticed that Xu Jingyang's voice sounded a little off: "Dad, you know, this is something I can't tell you."

"Okay, so it's not in Changfeng, right?"

"Huh?" Xu Xian was taken aback, confused by Xu Jingyang's meaning: "Dad, what exactly do you want to ask?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone before Xu Jingyang's voice finally rang out again: "Jing Shu is pregnant? You knew?"

"You!" Xu Xian was shocked. Wen Jingshu's pregnancy should have been kept secret. How did Xu Jingyang know? Originally, Wen Jingshu being pregnant with Xu Xian's child should have been a cause for celebration for the entire Xu family, but due to various reasons, the fetus in Wen Jingshu's womb was likely to be lost. Therefore, it was best not to let Xu Jingyang and Huang Ying know about Wen Jingshu's pregnancy, otherwise it would only cause them more heartache.

Knowing this, Xu Xian planned to keep Wen Jingshu's pregnancy a secret, as if the unborn child had never existed.

"You knew? You knew!" Xu Jingyang's voice gradually rose, like a volcano about to erupt: "Jing Shu's child is yours? It must be yours! You didn't tell me, you dared not tell me?"

"Dad, don't get agitated, don't get agitated!" Xu Xian quickly tried to calm him down. Xu Jingyang had a heart condition; how could he experience such a huge emotional fluctuation? His heart couldn't handle it. "This...this situation is a bit complicated."

"What's so complicated about it? This is your business, this is the Xu family's business, and you dare to keep such an important matter from me!" Xu Jingyang said coldly, "I'll settle accounts with you later."

With that, Xu Jingyang hung up the phone.

Xu Xian was practically going crazy. He couldn't understand how his father knew about Wen Jingshu's pregnancy. Actually, if Xu Qing hadn't acted so poorly, even Xu Xian wouldn't have known about Wen Jingshu's pregnancy. And Xu Xian believed Xu Qing wasn't the type to blab. So who was it? Who told Xu Jingyang about Wen Jingshu's pregnancy, and what was their purpose?

It's highly likely that Wen Jingshu won't want the child now. In fact, even if she did, Xu Xian wouldn't agree. This concerns Wen Jingshu's life, and Xu Xian wouldn't trade her life for a child.

The child's fate was already sealed in Xu Xian's mind; it would be best if the child simply disappeared quietly.

However, if Xu Jingyang knew about the existence of his unborn grandson, especially if he knew that the child would be aborted, he would probably collapse from Xu Jingyang's perspective.

You must know that Xu Jingyang has a heart condition. No matter what, he cannot accept the reality that his grandson has been aborted. This could lead to serious problems.

Xu Xian suddenly remembered that Xu Jingyang had asked him if he was in Changfeng, which was the location of the Wen family's ancestral home.

Is it

Xu Xian's heart tightened instantly.

At this moment, in the Wen family ancestral home, Wen Changxing sighed in front of Wen Jingshu's tightly closed door. He looked up at Yang Ning and asked, "Did you come out today?"

Yang Ning shook his head: "Not yet."

Wen Changxing slammed his cane on the floor with a loud thud: "That damned brat Xu Xian! My Jing Shu is in this state entirely because of him!"

Wen Changxing grew angrier the more he thought about it. He hadn't dared to tell Wen Jingshu's father, Wen Mingyuan, about this yet. If Wen Mingyuan found out, given his cold and ruthless nature, he might find some dirty tricks to get rid of Xu Xian.

When it comes to his precious daughter, Wen Mingyuan is capable of anything.

Just then, a servant came to report: "Master, someone outside is looking for Miss."

"Hmm? Who is it?" Wen Changxing asked, squinting.

The servant said, "A middle-aged man named Xu Jingyang!"

(End of this chapter)