Chapter 114: Welcome Home

Amidst all that was wonderful, there would always be something that ruined the mood; this was the norm.

Henry broke the silence and spoke: "Everyone still remembers the matter I asked you all to keep secret, right?"

No one spoke; they simply looked at the man who had spoken. Henry turned to the Italian captain and said: "Captain Luca, you must take full credit for the success of this emergency landing. Are you ready to receive heroic treatment?"

"Hey, kid, but..."

Cutting off Luca's words, Henry said: "If you don't play the hero, then all the acting we did before was for nothing. You want to say it was someone else's credit now? Who would believe that?"

"Besides, there's no need to fear taking this credit. I indeed completed all of this according to your orders. And I think no one on your plane would have demanded a perfect recreation of all this while they were on board. So there's no need to fear being tested."

"This... well, alright." The captain chose to compromise.

This fame and record would actually bring no positive impact to his career; on the contrary, it might even be negative.

However, the fact remained that others had saved him. If the other party did not want exposure, then helping them hide it would be his way of repaying the favor.

The captain was easy to handle; the flight attendant who was drunk into unconsciousness could be ignored, but Henry had not forgotten the secret identities of Brian and the others.

Although he had not found any documents to prove the other party were secret CIA agents, their private actions while protecting Ms. He Ben during their activities in Africa clearly showed they must be members of some intelligence organization.

For such people, simply asking them to keep a secret was actually completely unreliable.

So, should they be silenced?

Brian seemed to sense Henry's gaze. Whether or not he had thought of that worst possibility, he spoke first: "Henry, since we promised you we would keep your secret, we certainly will. Do not doubt our promise."

As he spoke, Brian extended a hand to shake, showing his determination.

"Alright then." Henry took his hand and said: "I still want to say, rather than reporting my situation to gain a promotion and wealth, which would be more valuable: a favor I owe you privately? I think you should be able to tell the difference."

This hint, combined with the super-hearing Henry displayed through the airplane cabin, made Brian realize a certain possibility: their secret identity did not seem so secret after all.

Seeing through it but saying nothing, Brian said sincerely: "Having a friend like you is much more reliable, isn't it?"

Mark, Sam, and Old Bernie also voiced their support one by one, shaking hands or hugging Henry. They said:

"Hey, tough guy, you saved my life; I'm not so foolish as to not know right from wrong."

"Yes, Henry. There aren't many friends one can trust, but you must believe we are trustworthy."

"Kid, don't worry about your secret. I've done plenty of secret work in my life; you've never heard me blab, have you?"

"Thanks." Henry replied with gratitude.

Sam suddenly asked at that moment: "Actually, on the plane, you had the ability to escape alone with Ms. He Ben, right?"

Now Henry was stared at by everyone, including Audrey He Ben.

Shrugging his hands, Henry said honestly: "Yes, that was indeed one option."

"Then why didn't you consider doing that?"

"I didn't want to offer such a cruel choice. Moreover, I don't think I could have said no when looked at by those eyes. Since that was the case, why not discuss a method to save the entire plane from the start, sparing someone from playing the villain and becoming universally disliked?"

Everyone thought about it and understood Henry's dilemma.

In that situation on the plane, if he had said he could fly and save one person, no matter who he said he would save, the remaining people would inevitably harbor resentment in their hearts.

Yet, would Ms. He Ben be the type to seek only her own escape without caring about the lives of others?

From the observations over these days, she was not. The lady would surely have asked Henry to find a way to save everyone, even if she had to pester and plead, she would have found a way to make Henry agree.

Then, even if everyone had been saved successfully, would everyone's feelings be as peaceful as they are now?

Because they had first faced the result of being abandoned to die before being given the chance to be saved. The emotions left in people's hearts at that time, nine times out of ten, would not be gratitude, but resentment.

Even if Henry had truly saved only Ms. He Ben, how would he face her afterwards?

You must know, the plane was not in a life-or-death crisis with no extra time to save more people. There was ample time to discuss and think about how to save themselves.

Giving up directly in such a situation made no sense emotionally or logically.

Unless... today Henry had chosen only to save himself, completely abandoning everyone else on the plane, and silencing all who knew. Otherwise, the best choice for him should be the path right in front of him.

Regardless of the other party's mindset, the fact that Henry chose not to abandon anyone, not to touch what he called that 'cruelty', still filled Sam with gratitude.

He shook Henry's hand heavily once more, his gratitude overflowing on his face.

Finally, Henry came before Ms. He Ben. He shyly scratched his cheek, with many words he wanted to say but didn't know how to start. In the end, he only asked one question: "Boss, you won't fire me, will you?"

"How could that be, child? How could that be?" Audrey He Ben gave Henry a big hug.

If it were before, this scene of a small bird leaning on a person would have made countless men envious. But now the feeling seemed reversed; it was Ms. He Ben embracing a boy with tolerance, like a mother holding her own child.

Releasing Henry, Audrey He Ben gave the other's arm a heavy pat and said: "Well done, tough guy. You really helped a great deal."

Henry grinned.

At that moment, the noisy sound of propellers came from a distance, and searchlight beams swept wildly across the ground. In no time, the searchlight discovered the small plane that had made an emergency landing, as well as the people on the wings.

Everyone excitedly waved and jumped on the ground.

Brian had Mark and Sam return to the cabin to bring out the still-unconscious flight attendant.

Two helicopters hovered low to the ground, kicking up large clouds of sand. Several soldiers jumped down from the helicopters, ran to the crowd with guns in hand, and asked: "Is Ms. Audrey He Ben here?"

He Ben stepped out from behind the others and said: "I am Audrey He Ben; the others are my assistants, security team members, and the flight crew."

"Eight people in total, is that right?"

"Yes, eight people in total."

The leading soldier said: "Lady, we are the US Army rescue team. We will now take everyone back to base. The plane and the supplies on it will be collected by someone later. Welcome home, Ms. He Ben."

"Thank you." Audrey He Ben boarded the helicopter under the escort of the soldiers. No one else was left behind; they split between the two helicopters, flew back to the US Army base, and ended this night of thrills and scares filled with both surprises and shocks.

Day 7, celebrating the premium release, one extra chapter at 9 PM tonight.

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(End of this chapter)