Chapter 257 I've never suffered so much in my life (bug fix): I never earn low-level money.
Ivanov has gone mad, literally.
Amidst the busy signal on the phone, his face, a riot of colors as if a dye shop had been opened, grabbed his assistant by the collar and roared, "Where? Where is the plane right now?!"
Nikolai and the other bodyguards had to pull their boss away, otherwise the assistant wouldn't have been able to speak at all.
The assistant was also completely disoriented. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice sounded like it was stuck between his teeth: "The plane encountered strong turbulence over the Black Sea and then lost track of it. Currently, experts have offered three possible analyses."
"The first option is an emergency landing on Crete, Greece, which is 800 kilometers from Bucharest. The remaining fuel in the Boeing 737-300 used by Romanian Airlines should theoretically be enough to sustain the flight."
"The second possibility is the Svalbard archipelago in Norway, which is 3,600 kilometers from Bucharest. Experts believe this is less likely, but a system malfunction could still cause a mis-flight."
"The third option is Bozjaada Island in Türkiye, which is only 20 kilometers from the Turkish mainland coast. The chances of a successful search and rescue operation are relatively high there."
The assistant didn't mention the most likely scenario, which was that the plane crashed into the sea and was completely destroyed.
This is not uncommon in air crashes, after all, the ocean covers a much larger area than the land on Earth.
"Then search! Immediately, mobilize all available resources to search!" Ivanov roared. "Find them at all costs!"
Punonin had to speak up and persuade him: "Ivanov, calm down, treat your wound first..."
From the moment he received the message until now, nearly an hour has passed. He's been like a trapped beast, driven to madness and fury, refusing to allow the doctor he called to treat his injuries.
"No!" Ivanov waved his arms forcefully, his expression so intense that Punonin forgot to speak.
"I'm going to die, I'm going to die." He seemed to be crying and angry at the same time, a deep despair and fear almost overwhelming him. "If she dies, I can't live either!"
Punoning hugged him tightly to prevent him from stepping on the broken glass and porcelain shards scattered on the ground.
"Alright, it's alright, Ivanov. Let's look for her together. We'll definitely find her."
God knew it; he couldn't let Ivanov continue to hang out with that Chinese woman.
She was a siren, skilled at bewitching people. She had completely turned Ivanov into her captive.
Wang Xiao actually wished he were a siren.
That was the daughter of the river god Aecros, who was originally half-human and half-bird in mythology, and later became a formidable half-human and half-fish character.
Whether it's being able to fly or dive into the sea, it's better than her current pure human form.
Rewind to when the captain announced the emergency landing over the loudspeaker. Wang Xiao was staring blankly at his pen and paper, wondering how to write his will, when suddenly the plane began to shake violently again.
Amidst the cacophony of screams and shouts over the loudspeaker, the plane plummeted as if struck by lightning.
The left engine scraped against the basalt of the mountain range, bursting into a huge orange-red fireball.
The entire fuselage resembled a broken-winged eagle, plunging straight and diagonally into the snow slope.
If this were a disaster movie, Wang Xiao would definitely exclaim, "Awesome!"
The raging fire was made with real money; it wasn't some cheap special effect.
Unfortunately, she was a character in a disaster movie, and clearly not the protagonist who could save the world.
Therefore, she couldn't laugh at all.
The luggage rack had broken open at some point, and a wine bottle shattered in the aisle. In the dim light, the red wine mixed with the dry powder from the fire extinguisher, creating a strange mist.
Who knows when the fire extinguisher was turned on? The strong smell of bitter almonds mixed with the unknown stench of blood made one uncontrollably think of the deadly poison of cyanide.
Lyuba quickly unbuckled her seatbelt, shielded her from the flying metal fragments with her body, and pressed her boss into an impact-resistant position.
This step saved Wang Xiao's life.
The plane crash triggered an avalanche, like dominoes falling.
The overwhelming snow, like a towering wave, crashed heavily against the fuselage. The tail section became like a soft plastic toy in the giant's hands, torn apart and flung towards the cliff.
"Inhale!" In the chaos, Wang Xiao no longer knew who had picked up a portable breathing mask and put it on her face.
She felt a ringing in her ears, and then her body was tossed around like a tattered sack until a rush of cold air finally relieved the tinnitus that was about to tear her apart.
When she could finally hear the sandpaper-like sound of snowflakes scraping against the cabin, she realized the cabin door was open.
It turned out that the air pressure inside the cabin had dropped so drastically that, in a moment of panic, Xiao Gao pulled out an emergency axe and cleaved open the twisted hatch.
Honestly, Wang Xiao had never felt so fortunate as she did now, knowing that she wasn't a ruthless exploiter in front of her close subordinates.
So when it came to her life or death, her bodyguards fully demonstrated their professional ethics, and none of them abandoned her.
Even if she was a complete burden, and even if she had to be carried around because of her injured legs.
Now, all she could do was weakly issue the command: "Phone, save the satellite phone!"
Although she had no idea what had happened to the plane, her intuition told her that they might be about to enter wilderness survival mode.
Shit! At least Robinson Crusoe landed on a tropical island.
This is a world of ice and snow!
Even if they survived the plane crash, they would still freeze to death from hypothermia in the freezing cold.
Wang Xiao even thought of a popular science article she had read, which said that when a person's hypothermia reaches its extreme, they will abnormally take off their clothes and become naked.
Oh no! Even though she always believed that nothing matters more than life and death, just thinking about that social death scene still made her feel like she could die.
While the boss's incompetent self can lie there lamenting the company's demise, the bodyguards are already busy demonstrating their superior combat capabilities.
Lyuba pulled off the cashmere blanket provided in first class and wrapped it tightly around her boss to prevent her from losing heat too quickly.
Xiao Gao groped in the dark and removed the heating wires from the first-class seats, making a simple heating pad to maintain everyone's body temperature.
Xiao Zhao used a flight attendant's hairpin to pry open the cockpit, climbed inside, and then shouted from inside, "Dead."
This is truly unfortunate news. The captain and first officer should have been the most experienced professionals on the entire plane.
Wang Xiao sighed, but still didn't forget to instruct the bodyguards: "Move the person over here."
Why? To block the wind, of course.
The human body can effectively reduce wind speed and alleviate the cooling effect.
She didn't feel she had done anything wrong at all, because the living are always more important than the dead.
The dying flight attendant seemed to want to object, but her mouth opened and closed again; she didn't want to die either.
"Lipstick!" Lyuba stretched out her hand, startling her, but all she asked was, "Give me the lipstick right now."
The female bodyguard, carrying herself, her boss, and the lipsticks she had looted from the flight attendant, struggled to climb out of the cabin as if crossing a line of fire.
She unfolded the first-class curtain she had just torn down, spread it on the snow, and used lipstick to draw a huge "SOS," with each letter spaced a full two meters apart.
Thank God, the curtains in first class were of good quality and there were plenty of them, and I had several lipsticks with me, otherwise, there would have been no way to leave such a huge distress signal.
Lyuba truly lives up to her reputation as a former KGB agent; her professional skills are top-notch.
After drawing the distress signal, she also made sure to stick the knife around it as a reflective warning.
But Wang Xiao still felt it wasn't enough. Even though the person couldn't move, it didn't stop her from instructing the experts: "Radio, airplanes definitely have radios, and ships should be able to receive radios. Use the radio to make calls."
They were at sea when they heard on the radio that they were to make an emergency landing, so whether they were on the mainland or an island, they should not be far from the sea.
The flight attendant, who had also been unable to move from the ground, struggled to her feet: "The cockpit has a VHF radio that can transmit up to 80 kilometers."
Without hesitation, Wang Xiao issued the order: "Go and call for help."
The flight attendant was stunned; her intention was to give directions to the man who had just gone to the cockpit.
However, the first-class passengers gave no room for argument: "Of all the people who can move, only you can free your hands."
The flight attendant dared not object and could only get up and go to the cockpit.
But before leaving, her professional ethics compelled her to speak up and remind these clearly well-trained guests: "The repair manual has a page on metal fatigue data, which can be used as a heat insulation layer after fireproofing."
Wang Xiao couldn't understand at all what a metal fatigue data page was.
But her incredibly resourceful bodyguards knew.
Lyuba immediately folded the Boeing 737 maintenance manual into a corrugated shape.
Adhering to the spirit of lifelong learning, Wang Xiao asked, "What are you doing?"
Lyuba placed the corrugated manual on the wrecked floor: "To insulate against the cold of the snow."
Xiao Gao wasn't idle either. He even removed six leather seat covers from the first-class cabin and turned them into temporary sleeping bags, then stuffed the boss, wrapped in a cashmere blanket, into one of them first.
Okay, Wang Xiao wisely kept quiet for the time being. She decided to suppress her ever-growing desire for control and trust the bodyguards' professionalism.
The professionals, having temporarily put the boss out of the way, tacitly began a division of labor and cooperation mode.
Xiao Gao reached out and bent the aluminum plate of the airplane food cart into an arc, placing it outside to focus sunlight and melt the snow. They needed enough drinking water.
Sigh, I wish that bottle of wine hadn't broken. If I'd known this would happen, I would have drunk it sooner.
However, the broken bottles were not spared by the professionals either.
The fragments of the Lyubana wine bottle were embedded in the mop handle, forming a spike, which was then used as a trigger-activated empty can alarm around the wreckage of the plane—well, to be more precise.
Although they haven't seen any wild animals yet, the icy and snowy conditions don't mean that large predators won't roam.
Xiao Zhao then used the shards of windshield to build a prism, so that he could project Morse code light spots later.
Wang Xiao was amazed and couldn't help but make promises to the bodyguards: "When we get back, I'll definitely make an educational video for you, teaching you how to survive in the wilderness."
Honestly, she thinks it's such a shame that we're not in the era of short videos now.
Otherwise, a former KGB agent modifying a bayonet and a businessman surviving on the frozen wasteland would be much more interesting.
After setting up the alarm, Lyuba turned back and began modifying the cabin broadcasting system.
Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" played a segment of cannon fire powered by a battery.
Amidst the booming cannon fire, the female bodyguard didn't forget to offer emotional support to her boss, turning back with a smile: "Oh, and don't forget this, sound waves can travel 3 kilometers."
Wang Xiao was truly dumbfounded. Was this what they meant by specialization?
Even though everyone was on the same flight, she had no idea that Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" in the in-flight music library could be used in this way.
But this wasn't the bodyguards' limit. Xiao Gao then took a liking to the reflective material of the life raft and turned it into a ground signal board so that the angle could be adjusted regularly to transmit signals.
Only after all these preparations were completed did they begin their big move: preparing to make the phone call.
As it turned out, Wang Xiao's immediate request to preserve the satellite phone was a wise one.
Because of her stylish and sophisticated Motorola 3200 phone, there was absolutely no signal in the vast snowfield.
In critical moments, satellite phones are still the best option.
Thank goodness, although the Inmarsat-M terminal phone weighed almost five pounds and was a bulky, clumsy thing, Wang Xiao still brought it in his suitcase because the cell phone signal was so poor at that time, just in case.
Now, everyone is counting on it to save their lives.
When the flight attendant saw the satellite phone, she was stunned: "Why didn't you take it out and use it sooner?"
Wang Xiaoqi was puzzled: "How do you use it? Do you know our current positioning?"
These days, there's no way to send someone your location using your phone.
The flight attendant replied weakly, "Well, maybe it's recorded in the navigation log."
She wasn't sure, because the plane wasn't originally intended to make an emergency landing there. After this second incident, even the captain couldn't predict where the plane would crash.
But Xiao Zhao had already taken action. He kicked open the deformed cockpit storage compartment and pulled out the Loran-C navigation log, which had been torn in one corner.
The captain updated the coordinates 30 seconds before the emergency landing.
Holding the navigation log, Xiao Zhao walked to the cabin door and saluted the captain and first officer, whose faces had turned pale.
They did not abandon the plane and its crew, nor did they attempt to escape themselves. Until their very last breath, they remained at their posts.
How can he not be considered a hero?
The cold wind howled, and the dead remained forever silent, like a silent monument.
Wang Xiao took the navigation log: "What were the last coordinates extracted by the navigator?"
Xiao Zhao helped her turn to the last page of navigation records, the icy wind almost blowing the pages away.
"35 degrees 22 minutes north latitude, with an error of no more than 5 kilometers."
However, they still did not act rashly, because the limited battery life of satellite phones was their greatest hope.
They must ensure the accuracy of the coordinates.
Following Lyuba's instructions, Xiao Gao used the airplane knife to make a simple sundial. Then, the two of them made full use of the Boeing Maintenance Manual, combining it with the time zone table provided to calculate the longitude.
No wonder organisms always become smarter as they evolve, because if someone is even slightly bad at studying, their chances of survival drop drastically.
After thorough preparation, the bodyguards collectively cleared a flat area of about two square meters on the snow slope, unfolded the folding antenna, and aimed it at a 64° elevation angle to the southeast. Then, they all wrapped themselves in sleeping bags to ward off the cold wind and waited quietly to connect with the satellite.
Wang Xiao was not spared from the cold wind either. Lyuba carried her out of the cabin, sleeping bag and all, to make a phone call.
It wasn't that the bodyguards didn't understand their poor boss, but rather that her words carried the most weight and could bring about the highest level of search and rescue.
The metal casing of the satellite phone was so cold it was sticky to the touch; even through leather gloves, Wang Xiao could barely hold it.
It was so cold; she suspected it was definitely minus twenty degrees Celsius.
As soon as the call connected, she eagerly shouted into the other end: "Ivanov, 35 degrees 22 minutes North latitude, 24 degrees 48 minutes East longitude—but the actual location may be 10 kilometers or more south of here! Between two snow-capped mountains, there is an icefall on the cliff! 35 degrees 22 minutes North latitude, 24 degrees 48 minutes East longitude!"
If Ivanov still doesn't know her plane crashed and can't understand what she's saying, then she should go back and break up with him!
Ivanov simply replied with a concise "Okay!"
The moment he finished speaking, the battery alarm went off, and the call abruptly ended.
Major General Punonin, standing before the map, had already circled the target: "Crete, Greece, it should be..."
But Ivanov couldn't wait for him to finish speaking and roared, "Sift every snow-capped mountain on Crete!"
The AB-205 helicopter hovered over the snow-covered ground, creating powerful air currents. Based on the coordinates obtained and the distress caller's description of "twin snow-capped peaks and icefalls," the pilot located the Dikti Mountains.
When the roar of the helicopter rang out above the huge SOS distress signal, Wang Xiao felt like he was about to die.
Despite being wrapped in two cashmere blankets and wearing two simple sleeping bags, she was still freezing.
To make matters worse, the previously clear sky suddenly turned snowy. The biting wind, carrying snowflakes, violently pounded against the cabin; the experience was indescribable.
So when she saw Ivanov's face, her first reaction wasn't gratitude, but complaint: "Why did you take so long?"
I'm going to die!
Ivanov almost burst into tears and tried to hug her tightly: "Your Majesty, I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I should have thought of it sooner."
Major General Punonin had to remind him, "Don't cry, she needs to be taken to the hospital right away."
He politely thanked the Greek Air Force: "Thank you so much, I'm very grateful..."
Ivanov fully demonstrated what it means to "cross the river and burn the bridge," completely ignoring his official platitudes and directly carrying Wang Xiao onto the plane with his bodyguards.
Nikolai cleverly turned around, blocking the male boss to the side. The problem was that his method of exerting force was wrong, and it actually made things worse.
Even so, Ivanov wasn't angry; he just stared longingly at Wang Xiao.
It's no exaggeration to say that she was his greatest treasure, lost and found again.
The helicopter's heating blasted in, and Wang Xiao couldn't help but shiver.
As the cabin door closed, she remembered to add, "The captain and first officer are heroes and deserve honor and reward."
Ivanov agreed without hesitation.
As for how heroic they were, that was completely unimportant to him.
The important thing is that the king has said they are heroes, so they must be.
Even if they aren't, we'll still make them heroes.
Wang Xiao continued, "And the flight attendant, she is a brave, strong, and highly professional woman. She helped us a lot and she should receive an honorary title."
“No problem,” Ivanov readily agreed. “This brave lady saved the passengers’ lives.”
"Don't talk." He looked at his pale-faced companion with heartache. "Get some rest. You'll be fine after a good night's sleep."
The onboard paramedic asked her in heavily accented English, "Ma'am, we need to treat your wound urgently. When was the last time you used morphine? How much did you use?"
Wang Xiao shook her head slightly: "I didn't use it, and please don't give me morphine either. I feel fine and don't need it."
The doctor looked on in astonishment, staring incredulously at her twisted and deformed ankle.
There was a first-aid kit in the cabin, and it contained morphine, but she didn't use it! How could she endure the pain?
Wang Xiao continued to make her demands slowly and deliberately: "The same goes for other painkillers, don't give me too much, I'm not that afraid of pain."
Good heavens! She was terrified of pain, but she was even more afraid that others, including doctors, would try to please her and increase the dosage of pain medication to make her feel more comfortable.
If she becomes addicted, she has little confidence in her willpower.
"Okay, okay." Ivanov stroked her forehead. "Don't worry, you get some rest."
However, how could Wang Xiao possibly feel at ease?
She reached out and gently touched Ivanov's face, almost unable to believe her eyes: "Have you fallen a lot?"
Good heavens! When Lu Zhishen punched Zhen Guanxi, Zhen Guanxi was no better off than that.
Ivanov immediately found someone to complain to, looking extremely aggrieved: "It was Punonin, he hit me!"
When Wang Xiao's eyes widened, the abrasion on her face was pulled, causing her to hiss in pain. She couldn't believe her ears: "Is he crazy? He beat you up like this?!"
Punoning looked a little embarrassed.
He didn't realize it when he did it, but after a few hours, well, to be honest, he felt that he might have been a bit too ruthless.
"It's a misunderstanding, just a small misunderstanding."
Wang Xiao was even angrier, disregarding his near-death state: "You beat someone up like this over a small misunderstanding? What if it were a huge misunderstanding? Would you just kill him?"
Punoning wanted to argue, but seeing her lying on the stretcher, he felt it would be unfair to speak now, so he simply turned his head away and ignored her.
Seeing his discomfiture, Ivanov felt a surge of satisfaction and couldn't help but whisper to Wang Xiao, "Do you know how outrageous he is? Can you believe it? He actually suspected me of drug trafficking."
As he spoke, he described the methods of the crime in the carriage, exclaiming incredulously, "He actually thought I would do that."
Lyuba and the others all kept their eyes down and their minds at ease.
Haha, it seems their male boss is quite proud, thinking he's such a brilliant person in Major General Punonin's eyes.
But didn't he consider another possibility? Major General Punonin believed that the mastermind was someone else entirely, namely Miss Wang.
Wang Xiao stood by Ivanov's side without hesitation: "He really underestimates you, thinking you are so lowly."
Ivanov was taken aback; well, he couldn't very well admit that he was actually secretly pleased.
He never imagined that in other people's eyes, he was also a highly intelligent and talented person.
Wang Xiao was in great pain, and her breath was weak, but that didn't stop her from speaking clearly: "Only the most lowly and brainless people would risk their lives to earn this kind of stupid, blood-stained money. Anyone who uses their brain even a little will find that money is everywhere and would not even look at such a low-level method."
Punonin turned his head sharply, his gaze fixed on her like that of a hawk, his voice carrying the chill of winter: "Well then, madam, I expect you to continue earning high-class money."
“Of course,” Wang Xiao smiled. “I’ve never looked at dirty money.”
If she'd ended up like that, she might as well have died and gone back in time.
Punonin gave her a deep look and squeezed out two words through gritted teeth: "I hope so!"
Feeling emboldened by his connections, Ivanov continued his accusations: "He also said I was a human trafficker."
My God! This is a tremendous insult to his character.
How could he possibly treat people as commodities? He firmly believed in the equality of all people.
Wang Xiao was a little confused, and tried to appease him by saying, "Human trafficker, how could he even think of that?"
“Exactly!” Ivanov chirped mercilessly, “They trafficked children from Romania…”
"Romania?" Wang Xiao's eyes widened suddenly, his gaze fixed on Ivanov. "You said Romania!"
Ivanov nodded: "Yes."
He couldn't help but gossip, "Could what the newspapers are saying be true? Are the Ministers of Culture of Romania and other countries really involved in child trafficking? The documents were even signed by the Ministers."
It wasn't that he was deliberately putting on an act in front of Punonin; rather, he genuinely knew very little about Wang Xiao's situation in Romania.
To avoid offending Punonin, they split up this time and greatly reduced their contact frequency. Apart from explaining their overt tasks, they said nothing else.
Even obtaining information from the KGB was done using Lyuba's connections.
He kept rambling on, and Wang Xiao's head was about to explode.
Countless faces and countless scenes spun rapidly through her mind.
She suddenly looked up, struggling to lift her head to look at Punonin: "Major General, do you remember your nephew's license plate number?"
Punoning was baffled and gave a cold laugh: "He's not even my nephew."
Although Ivanov was a good-for-nothing, he had no intention of taking advantage of him.
Wang Xiao's expression was extremely serious: "Please answer my question directly. Do you remember your nephew's license plate number?"
Punonin had no interest in gossip news, and he had even less time to follow Romanian news, so he said without hesitation, "Why would I bother remembering something like this?"
Aside from his own and his wife's license plate numbers, he couldn't remember anyone else's license plate.
Wang Xiao blinked rapidly.
Yes, that's what a normal person is like.
Due to limited filming technology, the picture quality of the 1994 film was far from high definition.
It's fair to say that at least a third of the reason why veteran stars left people with the impression of stunning good looks is due to the hazy, dreamlike effect of modern video recordings.
So why would the Minister of Culture become so enraged over a fleeting glimpse of a license plate number—his nephew's license plate number?
Is his eye X-rayed?
No, the only explanation is that the movie was actually a reflection of him.
There was also wood and glass. She clearly remembered that on that day, the minister came to her door, and his reaction when she mentioned trains was nothing short of bizarre.
It's not that all officials are inexplicable; rather, he has something to hide. The wood and glass are his means of committing evil.
Wang Xiao took a deep breath and turned his gaze back to Punonin: "Dear Major General, as Ivanov's friend, perhaps I can give you a credit."
Ivanov protested, "Your Majesty, he just hit me!"
His face still looked like a pig's head, how could she possibly help the murderer Punoning now?
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To explain, the passenger plane was equipped with an ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter), but its effectiveness was limited by the terrain, so Wang Xiao and her team had to use more methods to save themselves. Greece launched the ETACS system (the European version of AMPS) in 1992, but only Heraklion, the capital of Crete, had a base station. Wang Xiao and her team were in the snowy mountains, with no cell phone signal. Don't ask how Wang Xiao survived; the answer is she was rich and had many capable people around her; the answer is she was the only protagonist in this story, so she had to have a halo effect, because dying like this would probably feel like a poor ending.
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