Hong Kangquan’s confidants looked at each other. They were all thinking about how the fox had been outfoxed.
After being outmaneuvered by the Special Operations Forces, how could they be in a good mood?
Hong Kangquan lit a cigarette and smoked it forcefully, then pointed at the display and said, “You guys go, and no matter the means, whoever gets them to talk, I will give you the position of Chief!”
The rank of Chief was a whole level higher than that of Commissioner.
The eyes of Hong Kangquan’s confidants were gleaming.
“Boss, are you serious?!”
“Even if it isn’t Chief, the Commissioner position is good enough!”
Watching the display of loyalty from his followers, Hong Kangquan finally felt the pride that had been stomped on by the Special Operations Forces being healed little by little.
“Okay, it’s up to you guys, then!” Hong Kangquan said, then walked out of the surveillance room. He then went upstairs.
After returning to his office in the Secret Service’s Operations Building, Hong Kangquan still held the cigarette in his hand. He crossed his arms across his chest and looked out the window.
He knew that his time was running out. He might not have even had one day left.
Soon, Huo Shaoheng, General Ji, and Speaker Long would discover that the Special Operations Forces were in deep waters. Tan Dongbang was basically no longer a viable threat, so when those three joined forces to defeat him, if he still hadn’t found The Pink Piggy by then, his future would pretty much be over.
Hong Kangquan stood in front of the window in a kind of trance. After a while, he suddenly heard his cell phone ringing.
Taking it out, he was stunned to see a blocked number flashing across the screen!
A tiny light of hope appeared in his previously dark heart.
He hurriedly picked it up, saying, “Hello, I need your help now!”
Hong Kangquan’s voice shook with excitement.
The voice on the other line still had the same old machine-like quality to it. “I have done my best to help you as much as possible. You only have 24 hours. Can you find the whereabouts of Pink Piggy in 24 hours?”
Although Hong Kangquan knew that the voice was likely being manipulated by a voice changer, to him, it didn’t sound robotic and unfeeling, but rather endearing and intimate. Especially in his current state of desperation.
“I will try my best!” Hong Kangquan assured the person on the other end. “But if I can’t find him, I want you to help get my family out of here.”
The person on the other line was silent for a while, then said, “I will contact you again after 24 hours have passed. You were taken into custody by the people from the Senate earlier, and I was unable to call you directly, so I used other methods to communicate with you. Did you see them?”
If he hadn’t seen them, he wouldn’t have done what he did today.
Hong Kangquan nodded his head, saying, “I saw them. I tried my best to do as I was told!”
The man praised him. “I have cooperated with you for so many years, and although there hasn’t been much interaction, I know that you are a responsible person. Rest assured. I will not let anyone who has cooperated so readily with me die for a lost cause.”
So, the man was saying that he planned to save Hong Kangquan’s life regardless of the result.
What a surprise!
Hong Kangquan had no further worries and felt encouraged to do whatever he dared.
After the person hung up, Hong Kangquan immediately returned to the surveillance room on the execution room floor.
He saw that the 27 monitors in the surveillance room were all dark!
He narrowed his eyes, walked up to the door of the execution room, and pressed his ears against it to listen.
From time to time, there were muffled cries of torturous pain that rang out from the other side.
Also mixed in with the torturous cries were the sounds of punches landing, something being stomped on, and electric batons ringing out. Although very subtle, Hong Kangquan could hear everything clearly.
The Secret Service has its own methods of dealing with people.
After enduring interrogational torture, even if no physical wounds or scars could be seen on, they would be mentally scarred for life.
…
Shortly after the military jet had taken off, Huo Shaoheng started taking care of several documents. However, when he tried to send them back, he discovered that there was no Wi-fi available on the plane. He sent the orderly to ask for help from the flight attendant.
The flight attendant rushed over to apologize while stammering, “S-Sir, the communication system on the plane has been experiencing issues since takeoff. We are currently in the process of repairing it!”
Huo Shaoheng was silent.
Song Jinning, who was sitting next to him, said quickly, “Do you have something urgent to communicate with someone? Do you want to borrow my phone?”
Huo Shaoheng had his own phone with him. He had wanted to use the Internet initially, but now it seemed as though he would have to use his phone to send the instructions.
He didn’t take Song Jinning up on the offer but pulled out his own phone instead. “Thank you, Miss Song, but I have my phone.”
He took out his cell phone, but saw the flight attendant still standing in front of him waiting for something.
Huo Shaoheng raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong? Don’t tell me that I can’t even use my cell phone.”
“Sir, actually, the real issue is that after the aircraft ascended to higher altitudes, there were some serious issues with electromagnetic interference. Not only has the aircraft’s communication system been disrupted, but even the mobile signals seem to be blocked.”
Huo Shaoheng stood up and exclaimed, “What are you talking about?! Electromagnetic interference?! Take me to see!”
He was the most distinguished fighter pilot in the Huaxia Empire, and he had an extensive knowledge of military aircraft systems.
Aircrafts encountering electromagnetic interference at high altitudes could be serious or trivial, depending on the situation.
Since most military aircrafts didn’t need to maintain communication with the ground as frequently as civilian planes did, electromagnetic interference had less of an impact on military aircrafts than it did on civilian.
But on a grand scale, regardless of what kind of aircraft they were flying in, substantial electromagnetic interference had the potential to increase the risk of aircraft damage.
As soon as Song Jinning heard electromagnetic interference, she immediately stood up. “Shaoheng, I’ll go with you!”
She was a physicist with a concentration in high-energy research and was an expert on topics relating to electromagnetic interference.
Huo Shaoheng merely looked at her, then broke out into a smile. “That’s probably for the best since the person who caused the electromagnetic interference would never have imagined that there was an expert on the plane. Come, follow me and bring your equipment with you.”
Song Jinning turned around and picked up her small briefcase, then followed Huo Shaoheng to the cockpit.
The pilot, co-pilot, and several flight attendants were in the cockpit. They were all covered in sweat and trying to fix the issue.
Only then did Huo Shaoheng realize the severity of the electromagnetic interference. It had gotten stronger and stronger, to the point that their aircraft was on the verge of losing its sense of direction.
In other words, they didn’t know where the aircraft was heading!
“Sir!”
“Sir! We are trying our best to fix it.”
The pilot and co-pilot showed calm resolve in the face of potential danger.
Huo Shaoheng calmed down quickly and raised his hand to the pilot. “You step aside, I’ll try fixing it,” he said. Then he turned to look at Song Jinning. “Miss Song, how long will it take you to determine the source and frequency of the electromagnetic interference, then block and eliminate it?”
Song Jinning saw how calm Huo Shaoheng was and felt herself calm down as well. She opened her briefcase and took out an instrument.
The instrument was initially meant to be taken to C City to measure the uncanny magnetic field, but it had unexpectedly come in handy now.
“You stay at the helm. I’ll escort you.” Song Jinning smiled and connected the power supply to the instrument, tapping away on the keyboard with both hands, then started issuing instructions one by one.
