Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

The public address system is on again.

"Unknown aircraft, descend immediately. Repeat, descend immediately."

The transport plane jolted, and the evidence box's mounting bracket made a clicking sound.

A special forces soldier reached out and supported the container.

Zhou Weiguo stared at the terminal.

"Sir, give me three more minutes, and I can tear a crack in the control tower channel."

Shen Zhong raised his hand, unbuttoned the top button of his collar, and then buttoned it back up.

"No, we won't wait."

Zhou Weiguo looked up.

Shen Zhong walked solemnly toward the weapons rack.

"Open the side hatch."

Several special forces soldiers in the cabin looked over at the same time.

The captain's voice came through.

"Sir, opening the side hatch at high altitude will cause the wind pressure to throw people out."

Shen Zhong had already taken down the heavy anti-materiel sniper rifle.

The gun is long, and the black barrel casts a dark light under the cockpit lamp. When the magazine is inserted, it clicks like a lock closing.

Do as instructed.

Zhou Weiguo swung the safety rope over.

"Sir, if you fall, I won't be able to explain to Elder Xu when I get back."

Shen Zhong took the safety buckle and fastened it to his waist.

"I won't fall."

"I believe you, but Feng may not."

Shen Zhong glanced at him.

"Channel".

Zhou Weiguo immediately lowered his head and connected the noise-canceling communicator to the public emergency channel.

"It's connected. Speak, and the other end can hear you."

The side hatch was opened.

A strong wind rushed in, pressing the paper backup bags in the cabin against the mesh bag. Several special forces soldiers used their bodies to protect the evidence box.

Shen Zhong held his rifle in one hand and gripped the hatch frame with the other, his military boots firmly nailed to the edge.

The wind whipped the hem of his military uniform, making it slap loudly, but his upper body remained still.

The king of soldiers unleashed his full instincts.

High-altitude wind speed, fuselage yaw, target sideslip, wake disturbance—he suppressed every variable into his breath.

The interceptor on the right closed in again, its nose cutting ahead of the transport plane's flight path, and its radar dome was pressed right into the sniper's scope field of view.

The crosshairs crossed thousands of meters and bit the gray-white nose of the machine.

Zhou Weiguo stared at the screen, his throat a little dry.

"Sir, that's an interceptor."

The heavy bolt is pulled to load the gun.

"It wasn't carrying live ammunition."

"But it can pin us down in the field."

"Then pluck out its eyes."

The mechanical voice came over the public channel for the third time.

"If an unidentified aircraft does not comply with guidance, we will take coercive measures."

Shen Zhong pushed the butt of the gun into his shoulder socket, knelt on one knee, connected the noise-canceling communicator to the public channel, and spoke in a voice as flat as if he had pressed down on an iron plate.

"This is a top-secret shipment. Anyone who blocks me will be shot down as a traitor. I'll only count to three."

"three."

Zhou Weiguo glanced up as he typed on the keyboard.

"Sir, that plane on the right has come up again. It really isn't afraid of death."

"two."

Inside the cockpit of the interceptor on the right.

The pilot wore an oxygen mask, his fingers pressed on the control stick, and his breathing was heard popping out of his headset.

The wingman's communication was switched in.

"He opened the hatch."

The pilot gave a cold laugh.

"It's just a scare tactic. Who would dare fire at military aircraft from high altitude?"

He pressed the fuselage down and performed a small roll, causing the wake to cut across the nose of the transport plane.

The transport plane swayed heavily.

Zhou Weiguo almost dropped the terminal, but quickly braced it against the table with his knee.

"Hey, this kid's really getting cocky."

The captain gripped the control stick tightly.

"Sir, if you keep pressing down like this, the aircraft will be pulled off course."

The heavy muzzle adjusted itself following the airflow.

Wind speed.

yaw.

wake.

Nose swing amplitude.

Everything appeared as a series of lines in his eyes.

On the public channel, the deep voice sounded flat and heavy.

"one."

The words fell.

He pulled the trigger.

The gun spat fire, and the enormous recoil pulled the safety rope backward, causing the edges of the hatch to vibrate and hum.

Armor-piercing projectiles trailed white lines as they passed through the clouds.

Just as the pilot of the right-hand interceptor was about to continue pressing, the nose radar dome collided with the ballistic trajectory.

boom.

A muffled thud.

The grayish-white fairing was shattered, with large pieces of debris being torn off the nose of the aircraft, as if its face had been smashed off with a hammer.

Inside the interceptor's cockpit, the radar screen went black immediately.

The alarm lights flashed red repeatedly.

"Radar malfunction!"

The pilot's voice suddenly changed.

The aircraft was caught in the turbulence and began to shake violently, causing the data on the instrument panel to become a jumbled mess.

"Pull him up! Pull him up!"

He disregarded formation, pulled the control stick back, and the entire interceptor climbed awkwardly, dragging its damaged nose as it disappeared into the high-altitude clouds.

Zhou Weiguo stared wide-eyed.

"Sir, you really plucked out its eyes."

The heavy bolt was pulled back, ejecting the spent cartridge case, which clanged against the deck.

"The next one."

The lead aircraft on the left was still flying close to the target.

But when it saw that its wingman's nose had been pierced, it immediately pulled its fuselage outward by half a wing span.

The public channel was silent for two seconds.

Shen Zhong turned the gun barrel around.

The lead pilot didn't call for an emergency landing again; instead, the aircraft veered off course and broke away from the escort line.

Immediately afterwards, the oppressive, suffocating wave of interference in the distance began to dissipate.

Zhou Weiguo looked down at the terminal, his fingers typing rapidly.

"Don't run away! You were shouting so loudly just now!"

He dumped the last set of code into the code.

On the screen, the noise curve was torn open.

The navigation cursor lights up again.

Communication link reconnected.

Identification of friend or foe restored.

Zhou Weiguo slammed his hand on the keyboard, sweat dripping from his chin onto his collar.

"Sir, the defense line has been breached, and the core control tower has been connected!"

The captain also shouted.

"Inertial navigation calibration complete, heading restored."

The voice from the control tower came in through the headphones.

"Escort crew A, the tower has taken over the flight path, the runway is cleared, and priority landing is permitted."

Zhou Weiguo grinned.

"Finally, I can hear human speech."

Shen Zhong holstered his gun, engaged the safety, and handed the heavy sniper rifle to the teammate next to him.

"Close the hatch."

Once the hatch was closed, the sound of the wind was kept out.

The only sounds in the cabin were the roar of the engines and the breathing of the passengers.

Zhou Weiguo wiped his face and glanced at the evidence box again.

"The box is fine, and everyone is fine, but they almost made my keyboard smoke."

Shen Zhong sat back down and put the unlit cigarette between his fingers again.

"Even if it's smoking, we have to hold on until the core is reached."

"It can hold on." Zhou Weiguo hugged the terminal tightly. "If it dares to stop working, I'll read the code to it verbally."

A member of the Dragon Fang team next to him, who had been holding back for a while, finally burst out laughing.

Zhou Weiguo glared at him.

"What are you laughing at? This is called the fighting spirit of technical cadres."

Shen Zhong looked out the porthole.

Below the clouds, the core outline has been revealed.

"Notify all personnel to adopt the Class A escort formation upon landing, and keep the evidence box within sight."

"clear."

Twenty minutes later.

Core military airfield.

The runway has been taken over by the internal security forces, all unauthorized vehicles have been cleared away, surveillance cameras have been covered with black cloth, and two rows of armed sentries are standing under the outer wall of the control tower.

When the transport plane landed, white smoke came out of the tires.

The aircraft taxied and came to a stable stop.

The hatch opened, and a blast of cold air rushed in.

Shen Zhong picked up the silver explosion-proof box and stepped down the gangway first.

Zhou Weiguo followed half a step behind, his right hand always pressed against the holster, his eyes scanning every corner of the runway.

A major general from the Imperial Guard came forward and saluted.

"Major General Shen, according to Elder Xu's orders, the airport has been physically cleared and the entire route is under lockdown."