Chapter 7: Chapter Seven: This Plane Came from Akina Mountain

In the control tower lobby, everyone stared out the floor-to-ceiling window as the massive fuselage of NH137 loomed larger and closer before them.

The crowd panicked, faces turning ashen with terror.

To them, NH137 looked like a colossal, mountain-sized beast.

The beast roared, whipping up a howling gale as it charged toward the tower.

Fear and screams instantly filled the tower.

Despair spread thickly.

There was no doubt: if NH137 struck the tower, given its immense size and speed, the chance of survival was as slim as an ant’s.

Inside NH137’s fuselage, the plane was rapidly nearing the tower.

“Brake!!”

In the cockpit, Wang Zun roared.

Without hesitation, Deputy Captain Nakano slammed the brake pedal.

Wheels screeched against the ground, spewing sparks and emitting a deafening shriek that made the ears of everyone in the tower and airport ache.

Wang Zun gripped the control yoke tightly and pulled it in one direction.

Stop!!

On the tower, NH137 was still closing in—less than a second away.

Many closed their eyes, waiting for death.

SAT teams, police, and onlookers stared with bloodshot eyes, hearts pounding, powerless to do anything but watch as the impending disaster unfolded.

They had forgotten the hijacking.

All they knew was that a massive loss of life was about to happen—a catastrophe beyond rescue.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds…

Huh?

Inside the tower, everyone who had closed their eyes heard the ear-splitting screech of tires skidding.

But beyond the skid,

there was nothing else.

They froze, confused.

Where was the expected massive collision?

Slowly, they opened their eyes.

“This!!”

Everyone who saw it trembled violently, their minds reeling in utter shock.

NH137 had not crashed into the tower as expected.

Instead, NH137 had swung past, its tail whipping by—barely a meter from the tower.

That one meter was the line between life and death.

The tower’s windows shuddered, the doors swayed; though NH137 hadn’t hit, its violent motion whipped up roaring gusts like miniature tornadoes.

They felt everything before them.

They watched NH137’s wild swing.

The fuselage spun continuously in place, never once colliding with the tower.

Inside the tower lobby, everyone’s legs went weak—they felt as if they’d escaped death.

And yet, they were stunned into numb disbelief.

Watching NH137 continue its spinning motion, everyone who saw it suddenly thought of one word.

Drift.

They hadn’t imagined it—NH137 was drifting.

Like a car driver performing stunts, spinning in place with a vehicle.

Except now, the vehicle drifting wasn’t a car.

It was a commercial airliner—dozens of times larger than a car!

“Is he treating the plane like a car?” Fujihiro Shoji, piloting a fighter jet overhead, stared in stunned disbelief.

As a top pilot, Fujihiro Shoji could perform aerial stunts.

But only in the air.

After all, aerial stunts were air shows.

But performing car-like drift stunts on the ground? That had never been done—no one dared, because it was pure suicide.

Yet on the ground, NH137 was doing exactly that—risking its life, with 231 people aboard.

His thought wasn’t unique.

Everyone at the airport thought the same.

They stared, dumbfounded, as NH137 kept drifting in circles, slowing gradually from friction, yet never once touching the tower, always maintaining that one-meter distance.

“Is that even a plane?”

Someone rubbed their eyes, squinting hard at NH137, convinced they were hallucinating.

They felt NH137 looked like a car.

Others muttered: “Did they send a car driver to fly this plane?”

No one could answer.

Because though absurd, there was truth in it.

In the cockpit.

“Brake!”

“Release!”

“Brake!”

“Release!”

…

Wang Zun gave rhythmic commands to Deputy Captain Nakano.

Each command was accompanied by precise movements of the control yoke and the thrust reverser.

Moriya Takeshi and Deputy Captain Nakano understood clearly.

It was Wang Zun’s series of actions that had averted the crisis.

Throughout the entire process, the cockpit remained silent except for Wang Zun’s single-word commands.

Tension was thick; Moriya Takeshi and Deputy Captain Nakano dared not even breathe, fully focused, listening to every word from Wang Zun.

As those directly involved, how could they not know what was happening?

NH137 was drifting.

Wang Zun was controlling NH137’s drift, forcibly reversing the risk of a rollover—and delivering them a visual spectacle.

Unbelievable.

How had he done it?

Planes and cars were both vehicles, but their controls were nothing alike—there was a massive difference in size alone.

Moriya Takeshi stared blankly at Wang Zun, and suddenly remembered something Wang Zun had said to him while flying.

“I have 2,000 hours of flight experience.”

The words echoed in his mind.

His gaze grew stranger—he wanted to ask Wang Zun.

“Uh… Wang-san, do you have 2,000 hours of car-driving experience too? And did you somehow merge both?”

Time passed slowly.

The drifting NH137 gradually slowed and came to a stop.

They looked closely.

NH137 had stopped—its tail facing the tower…

The distance between them was still one meter!

After a full one or two minutes of stunned silence, people at the airport finally snapped out of their “Autumn Mountain Drift” trance.

“Move! Bring the passenger stairs over! All officers and SAT, follow me!”

Chief Saito of the Metropolitan Police Department, in charge of the hijacking operation, stepped forward.

The response was swift, precise, no hesitation.

When the passenger stairs reached the cabin door, Chief Saito raised his left hand to eye level and clenched his fist.

SAT personnel instantly spread out to the front and rear of the plane; others had already climbed onto the fuselage using equipment, completing their positions within minutes.

Meanwhile, police cars pulled up alongside NH137, doors flung open, officers stepping out and leaning against their vehicles, pistols aimed at NH137.

The moment Chief Saito gave the order, SAT would storm in.

The atmosphere froze—tension reached its peak.

Media reporters raised their cameras to film; onlookers raised their phones to capture the scene.

Staring at NH137, Chief Saito’s face was cold, his eyes sharp as a hawk’s.

"Minister Saito, all preparations are complete." A subordinate handed him a loudspeaker.

Taking the loudspeaker from his subordinate, Minister Saito nodded: "Wait for my order, then move."

"Got it!"

The situation inside NH137 is unclear; it is unknown whether the hijackers possess lethal weapons.

Forcing entry would be unwise and could result in hostage casualties.

To ensure absolute safety.

Minister Saito had no intention of launching a direct assault; he planned to use a combination of persuasion and pressure.

First, attempt to negotiate surrender.

On the other side,

Inside NH137 flight.

The plane had stopped; passengers in the cabin felt as if they had been reborn, relief flooding over them as they embraced one another in joy.

……

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