Chapter 57: Sudden Thunderstorm in Hangcheng—Does It Affect Plane Landings?

Hangcheng.

Inside a Police Station somewhere.

A middle‑aged man in police uniform was briefing the several officers in front of him before departure.

"That's basically the whole matter; does anyone have any questions?"

"No problem," the officers said in unison.

"Good, no problem," the middle‑aged man said with a smile, nodding. "Then I'll pre‑emptively congratulate you all on a triumphant return; tonight I'll host a celebration feast for you."

Because this is only for a program, Xu Mo is by no means an actual escapee.

Hangcheng Police naturally wouldn't pull most of their force for a single program; they only sent ten officers out.

"We'll await your good news; go, and return quickly."

The middle‑aged man waved at the ten officers.

From start to finish, he never took the matter seriously.

He even felt that catching Xu Mo was a petty skirmish, like playing around.

If it were a real escapee, he would at least be serious.

But the problem is… Xu Mo is not an escapee at all.

He's just an ordinary office worker.

Moreover, on the phone, Han Fei didn't feel comfortable telling his old friend that Xu Mo had fooled him several times.

So the middle‑aged man still believes Xu Mo is easy to catch.

And there's another point.

This time catching Xu Mo, they can pre‑arrange their deployment.

Block the airport exit and trap him like a turtle in a jar.

Isn't that too easy?

As long as Xu Mo can't fly, he can't escape.

……

To cooperate with the Program Crew, the ten officers each wore a camera on their bodies.

The footage captured by the cameras was also uploaded to the Live Broadcast Room.

On the way, the officers were still chatting and laughing.

"To catch an ordinary person, is it worth deploying ten of us? I think two or three would be enough."

"Why need two or three? One is enough; we already know Xu Mo's flight information, just block the corridor and grab him when we see him."

"I feel this 'mission' is more like a vacation for us."

"Alright, alright, stop that; after all this is a program. Sending just one person sounds odd, right? The higher‑ups sent us for a reason; we just carry it out calmly. Even if the mission is simple, we still need to boost morale to 120 %."

It's not that the officers are careless.

It's simply because this mission sounds not a bit difficult.

They have too much information.

They know Xu Mo's appearance and his flight details.

They also know Xu Mo is an ordinary office worker, not a vicious criminal.

Ask yourself, ten veteran officers who have handled many cases, with the flight info in advance, is blocking an ordinary person difficult?

No difficulty.

Just stake out the corridor beforehand and check each person disembarking from the plane, that's all.

In their view, this mission is as simple as drinking water.

This isn't even a mission.

This is clearly a vacation!

……

After arriving at the airport, Hangcheng Police deployed their plan in advance.

Though they had just been laughing and smiling.

But when the mission truly began, everyone became serious.

They still understand the principle that Shizi fights a rabbit with his full strength.

Even if the mission is truly simple, they do not let their guard down.

At this moment, there is still half an hour left before the plane lands.

Suddenly, the airport announcement sounded.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please note, this is an important announcement: due to weather, Flight US123's departure is delayed, the check‑in time pushed to ten o'clock; please wait in the departure hall for further notice…"

The weather forecast detected a sudden thunderstorm.

All ground‑based flights' departure times were delayed one after another.

The sky changed on a whim; soon it darkened.

A massive black cloud loomed over Hangcheng.

Thunderstorms began.

The rain grew heavier, and the airport broadcast continued nonstop.

Not only were departures delayed, the runway also became unusable for landings.

The control tower immediately issued notices to all flights needing to land at Xiaoshan Airport.

This rain is too heavy.

It severely affects the planes' normal landing.

Many flights, after receiving the Control tower's notice.

They all changed direction, flying to the nearest other airports that were not affected by the thunderstorm, to land.

Hangcheng Police: "???"

Damn…

What kind of situation is this thunderstorm that just appeared?

We've already set everything up here, damn!

Xu Mo's flight is about to arrive at Xiaoshan Airport in half an hour.

Now it suddenly turns into this?

Is Heaven even helping Xu Mo?

He immediately called the middle‑aged man to report the situation.

"Wang Ju, Hangcheng suddenly experienced a thunderstorm; all flights are delayed, the airport runway can't be used for landing, our deployment was in vain, Xu Mo's flight is very likely to land at another airport."

The middle‑aged man who answered the phone looked up out the window.

His eyebrows were already furrowed into a "river" shape.

He could wrap it up in half an hour.

A sudden thunderstorm affecting the runway's normal landings?

But the weather was fine just a moment ago!

From the other end of the phone, the officer's voice came again.

"Wang Ju, what should we do now? I feel Xu Mo's flight definitely won't land at Xiaoshan Airport; landing in this extreme weather is like courting death."

The middle‑aged man rubbed his temples.

"Hold on a moment, I'll let Lao Han know."

After saying that, he hung up.

He dialed Han Fei.

He looked at the familiar note on his phone.

Han Fei instantly perked up.

"My friend in Hangcheng called me!"

He instinctively thought Xu Mo had been captured.

He didn't even notice the time and just answered the call.

"How's it going, Lao Wang? You caught him, right? I'm really grateful this time; I'm waiting for the plane at the airport, and when I get to Hangcheng I'll treat you to…"

He hadn't finished the sentence when the middle‑aged man cut him off.

"Lao Han, I probably can't help you much here. Just now, Hangcheng suddenly had a thunderstorm; the weather was too severe, seriously affecting aircraft landings on Xiaoshan Airport's runway… Xu Mo's flight is likely to have to land at other nearby airports."

Han Fei: "???"

Sudden thunderstorm?

Runway can't be used for landing?

Xu Mo's flight has to land at other nearby airports!?

Han Fei's face instantly darkened.

What the hell is this!

We had everything set up, and we were about to catch Xu Mo.

Who the hell could have thought this would happen?

Is Heaven opposing their Investigation Team, protecting Xu Mo!?

If Xu Mo's flight lands at other nearby airports, then all the deployment they set up at Hangcheng Airport was completely wasted, damn it!