Legendary Captain

Chapter 400 Who Am I? (The Finale)

"What do you mean? What do you mean 'can't find'? What the hell do you mean 'can't find'?" Chen Cheng stared intently at the helicopter coordinator in front of him, his eyes blazing with almost tangible rage. "Just look for it at the location I gave you. How could you not find it? I want to see him alive or dead!"

The helicopter coordinator oversees the deployment of all rescue helicopters within the carrier strike group, and all rescue operations should be the responsibility of the helicopter coordinator. Logically, Chen Cheng informed the helicopter coordinator of the last point where Xu Xian's radar signal disappeared. Such a targeted search area should be much easier than a blind search, yet the information relayed back from the frontline rescue team was that they couldn't find him.

They've vanished without a trace, neither alive nor dead!

The helicopter coordinator had never seen Chen Cheng so enraged. Although Chen Cheng was a rapidly rising naval star and usually maintained a certain air of superiority, he was generally not the type to be easily angered. But today, Chen Cheng resembled a wild beast ready to devour its prey, exuding an aura of savagery.

"After the helicopter arrived at the designated sea area, it could only find some wreckage of fighter jets, including C-16s and A-22s." The helicopter coordinator was under some pressure when speaking to Chen Cheng at this moment: "However, even though the sea area where the incident occurred was confirmed, no trace of Xu Xian was found."

"Nothing found, nothing discovered, ah!!" Chen Cheng roared madly. He had never been so out of control before. His eyes were fixed on the helicopter coordinator: "We've been training soldiers for a thousand days, only to use them for one! If you can't even do your job properly, then you might as well go back to your original unit."

The helicopter coordinator's face stiffened; he truly hadn't expected Chen Cheng to say such hurtful things.

Perhaps realizing his slip of the tongue, Chen Cheng waved his hand, "Sorry, I lost my mind!"

Chen Cheng knew, of course, that the helicopter rescue team of the carrier strike group was not just for show. If they couldn't find Xu Xian's whereabouts, there were only two possibilities.

One possibility is that Xu Xian was swept further away, beyond the search range of the helicopter rescue team. However, the time between the disappearance of the radar signal and the arrival of the rescue team was not very long, and the currents in that area were not turbulent; under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have drifted so far. Therefore, this possibility is actually not very high.

In addition, Xu Xian may not have ejected for some reason. His plane was hit by a missile and exploded on the spot, killing him without a complete body.

Logically speaking, the second possibility is clearly more likely, but how could Chen Cheng accept Xu Xian's fate of dying without a complete corpse? The words of Wang Zhaoxin, the commander of the Third Division, entrusting Xu Xian to him still echoed in his mind.

"Is there a lifeline signal?" Chen Cheng asked after calming himself down a bit.

After ejection, the pilot will carry a location signal transmitter to help rescuers locate him.

"No!" The helicopter coordinator shook his head. "The rescue team has not received any signals over the area. We have begun to expand the search area. If there is any news, I will inform you, Commander, immediately."

"No?" Chen Cheng gave a wry smile. This kind of locator has a very wide signal range; there's no way Xu Xian could have drifted outside of its range in such a short time. Therefore, all the evidence points to Xu Xian's sacrifice: "A22? Mutual destruction, hahahaha!"

The thought that the spirited young man had perished at sea was like a knife to Chen Cheng's heart. Xu Xian had placed his last hope on them, but they had let him down.

"Commander!" the helicopter coordinator whispered. "Although we haven't found Xu Xian, we have found the Kampong rebel pilot in the A22. He parachuted out."

Chen Cheng looked up abruptly: "Where is he?"

"A helicopter is bringing him back right now!"

Chen Cheng squinted: "After you get back, take him to the interrogation room!"

The interrogation room on the Gengdu aircraft carrier.

The carrier-based aircraft wing commander, Xiao Nian, and Wu Wen sat facing each other. In another room separated from the interrogation room by a glass wall, Chen Cheng and Wu Yinian watched everything in the interrogation room with extremely gloomy expressions.

"Life!?" Xiao Nian asked Wu Wen expressionlessly.

Wu Wen smiled, looking relaxed, and said in perfect Mandarin, "Wu Wen!"

Xiao Nian's expression remained unchanged. He had Wu Wen's information in his hand, and he had confirmed Wu Wen's identity the moment he saw him. This questioning was just a routine matter; the real key was yet to come.

Xiao Nian said in a deep voice, "Speak up, don't hide anything. Believe me, if you still dare to try to be clever, you'll pay ten times, a hundred times the price."

Wu Wen pursed his lips, glanced at Xiao Nian's epaulets, and shrugged: "Then tell me, there's nothing to hide."

Xiao Nian winked at his secretary, signaling him to take notes on Wu Wen's words.

Wu Wen coughed lightly, his thoughts immediately returning to the thrilling battle he had just witnessed.

Wu Wen recounted the events in great detail, from the beginning of his pursuit of Xu Xian to Xu Xian's astonishing backflip that allowed him to switch sides, and finally to his being shot down. He left almost no detail out.

After recounting all this, Wu Wen seemed still savoring the battle: "Fighting a fourth-generation fighter with a third-generation fighter is inherently a death sentence. I never imagined he could find a glimmer of hope in such a hopeless situation. There are pilots like him in the world!"

Xiao Nian was also stunned by everything Wu Wen said; he could feel the intensity of the battle just from his words. Xu Xian first used a high-powered microwave bomb to forcefully close the gap between himself and the fourth-generation fighter, and then, with his incredible air combat skills, shot down the A22 on the spot. If there had been another enemy aircraft, Xu Xian's battle would have been recorded in the history of world air combat.

But Xiao Nian didn't have time to dwell on the significance of Xu Xian's battle. He asked urgently, "Where is he? You must have seen his situation when you parachuted, right? Did he parachute?"

Seeing Xiao Nian's extremely urgent gaze, Wu Wen raised an eyebrow slightly. Judging from the shoulder insignia of the man before him, he already held the rank of naval captain, a rank that would qualify him as a high-ranking officer in any country. However, when it came to the pilot, he simply couldn't maintain the demeanor of a high-ranking officer.

"Is he important?" Wu Wen asked with a smile, then leaned back slightly. "Unfortunately, I don't know anything about his situation!"

The next moment, the interrogation room door seemed to be kicked open violently, and Lü Ping's furious figure rushed in: "You dare to say you don't know?"

Lu Ping stepped forward, directly in front of Wu Wen, his iron-like right hand gripping Wu Wen's neck and lifting him up. His gaze was fixed on Wu Wen, his eyes bloodshot: "Dare to say another word that you don't know?"

Wu Wen's already short limbs looked like a tiny chick being pinched in front of the tall and strong Lü Ping. But he remained completely calm, ignoring Lü Ping and turning directly to Xiao Nian: "Are you abusing prisoners?"

Xiao Nian frowned slightly, but didn't immediately stop him. Instead, he said calmly, "I just want to know what you saw!"

Wu Wen grinned broadly, finally turning his gaze back to Lü Ping: "Unfortunately, my plane exploded after I parachuted, and the aftershocks knocked me unconscious. I can't answer your question. As for whether I lied, those who brought me here can ask them. I only woke up on the way here."

Xiao Nian's face turned cold. Indeed! Whether Wu Wen had fainted or not could be found out by asking the team members who rescued him. There was no faking it.

"Lu Ping, let him go!" Xiao Nian waved his hand and ordered.

Lu Ping gritted his teeth so hard they almost broke, but under Xiao Nian's watchful gaze, he had no choice but to release Wu Wen. He turned to Xiao Nian: "Captain Xiao, Xu Xian..."

"Xu Xian?" Wu Wen, who had been released, was stunned when he heard Lu Ping say this name. Then his whole body trembled as if in spasm, and he lowered his head, letting out a low laugh as unpleasant as an owl's.

"Xu Xian, Xu Xian! I never imagined that Xu Xian was on that plane!" Wu Wen seemed to have lost control of his emotions. He opened his arms, threw his head back, and laughed wildly. His face was like that of a fanatic: "No wonder you all care about him so much! Absolutely! Absolutely! Who wouldn't care about his life or death?"

Wu Wen's features contorted in a grotesque glee. He leaned closer to Xiao Nian, his voice trembling with barely suppressed fervor: "I've seen the video of Xu Xian destroying the missile destroyer of Chenyan Kingdom. A genius beyond compare, a true genius! Give him another ten years—no! Just five more! Who in the sky could possibly be his match? He would be the king who rules the skies! Hahaha!"

Wu Wen let out a near-maniacal laugh, while opposite him, Xiao Nian's face was extremely gloomy.

"But this king, about to reign supreme, fell from grace at the very peak of his life, at his most intense moment!" Wu Wen felt every muscle in his body trembling with excitement: "He fell in my hands! He fell in my hands! I never imagined, I never imagined, that today would be the most glorious moment of my life, hahahahaha!"

But the next moment, Wu Wen's laughter stopped abruptly, as a pistol was pressed squarely against his forehead. Xiao Nian's face was frosty; his right hand gripped a pistol, the muzzle pointed directly at Wu Wen's head.

"Mr. Wu, you've lost your composure," Xiao Nian's voice sounded like a demon from the depths of hell: "If you keep spouting these crazy words, I can't guarantee your safety."

Wu Wen stuck out his tongue and licked his slightly purple lips. He didn't laugh wildly like before, but the shrill laughter was still very unsettling.

He placed one finger on the pistol, his face showing no fear: "I have killed the gods, and I have no regrets in dying!"

For someone like Wu Wen, death was never his greatest fear. His greatest dread was living a life of mediocrity. But today, he had personally killed a future king who would surely dominate the skies. For Wu Wen, this was the pinnacle of his life. Even if he died today, it would be a glorious death at the most magnificent moment of his life, filled only with honor. What fear could he possibly have?

One day later, at Huang Ying's residence in Yunnan Province.

Huang Ying, who was cooking, suddenly heard someone knocking on the door. She turned off the stove, glanced at Xu Jingyang who was watching TV in the living room, and went to open the door herself.

The door opened, revealing two people in military uniforms. Huang Ying was taken aback: "What's going on?"

One of the soldiers in uniform looked somewhat somber: "Are you Xu Xian's parents?"

Huang Ying immediately sensed that something was wrong: "What's going on?"

The ancestral home of the Wen family in Changfeng.

Even today, Wen Jingshu rarely leaves her room. She just sits there in a daze every day, lost in thought.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Wen Jingshu frowned slightly but did not answer. Soon after, Yang Ning's deep voice came from outside: "Miss, I have something to tell you, it's about Xu Xian."

Wen Jingshu was taken aback; she sensed something was off about Yang Ning's tone. After a moment's hesitation, she got out of bed and opened the door.

As soon as the door opened, she saw Yang Ning looking at her with a regretful expression. Wen Jingshu's heart skipped a beat, and she grabbed Yang Ning's hand: "What happened to Xu Xian?"

On a small island in the South China Sea, there used to be about ten families. However, due to the extremely poor living conditions on the island, all the families except for a grandfather and grandson surnamed Ye who remained have moved away.

In the evening, after having dinner, granddaughter Ye Xin told her grandfather and went out to water the vegetables in their field.

Seawater is definitely not suitable for irrigating crops. Near Ye Xin's fields, there is a man-made reservoir specifically for collecting rainwater. People certainly won't drink the water from there, but it's fine for watering vegetables.

Just as Ye Xin was getting ready to water the plants with her tools, she suddenly noticed something else on the rocks by the shore. Upon closer inspection, she discovered it was a person!

The next morning, the young man who had been dragged back by Ye Xin slowly woke up. When he awoke, he saw a rather simple roof beam. The pain in his forehead was still assaulting his consciousness, leaving him somewhat dazed.

"You're awake!" A clear female voice came from beside the man. He turned his head and saw Ye Xin.

Ye Xin handed a bowl of water to the young man: "Have some water. The porridge is cooking; we'll have it hot later."

The young man didn't reply to Ye Xin, but instead looked at his clothes and frowned slightly.

"When I rescued you last night, your clothes were already tattered and soaking wet, so I could only change you into Grandpa's clothes first. There's not much fresh water here, so I couldn't wash your clothes. I was going to dry them first. But the sea breeze was strong last night, and when I went out to check this morning, the clothes had already been blown away." Ye Xin stuck out her tongue: "You don't mind, do you?"

The young man glanced at Ye Xin but remained silent. Ye Xin, in turn, scrutinized the unidentified man before her.

Ye Xin was certain that the man before her was the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life. She had met many other men when she went shopping on the big island with her grandfather, but none of them could compare to the man before her.

Seeing that the handsome man still seemed a little dazed, Ye Xin pouted and said, "Why don't you drink some water and rest for a bit? I'll call you when the porridge is ready. By the way, what's your name?"

"A name?" The young man paused for a moment. Right! Everyone should have a name!

Every time he tried to recall his past, he was met with an extreme headache. His memory seemed to have been drained, leaving a blank.

"My name?" the young man murmured to himself. "Who am I?"

(End of this chapter)