Chapter 2299 - 2202: Escape
As soon as the plane took off, Gu Xu had already prepared for the worst, especially when the plane reached mid-air, his strong intuition told him that the plane had already been locked onto.
Without hesitation, he set the plane to autopilot, then swiftly donned his life jacket and parachute, quickly stuffing the backpack with prepared bottled water, food, and some essential survival tools.
Besides the family’s precious egg, there wasn’t much space left in the backpack, which was completely filled to the brim. Additionally, Gu Xu stuffed quite a few things into the pockets of his life jacket. He was well aware that to survive in this ocean, one couldn’t miss any opportunity. These seemingly insignificant things might prove to be of great use in the upcoming time, perhaps even his last means of survival.
After preparing these items, Gu Xu couldn’t help but pat his family’s precious egg inside the backpack, feeling a sense of hero before battle, and laughed:
"Son, you’re in for a big gain this time, joining your old man to experience the taste of a life of running from danger and wilderness survival. Ha ha, if I can return alive, then living this life wouldn’t have been in vain!"
After saying this, Gu Xu directly opened the plane’s side cabin door.
Fearing detection by the enemy, Gu Xu didn’t dare to open the plane’s rear cabin door and could only open the small side cabin door. Beforehand, he also adjusted the flight trajectory, changing the aircraft’s course so it would circle over international waters until the fuel ran out.
When the cabin door opened, the wind howled, and the sound of the engine filled his eardrums. He tightened the backpack on his chest and pulled the parachute pack on his back to ensure everything was in order, then stood backwards at the cockpit door, with both hands holding the door frame. In a moment, he had already disappeared from the cabin door.
Feeling gravity pulling at his body, Gu Xu constantly thought about descending into the sea, his cheek skin twisted out of shape by the strong wind. After counting down ten seconds, he fiercely pulled on the parachute cord, and in the next second, a parachute blossom popped open from his back, finally easing the falling momentum.
It was already shortly past one in the morning, and before Gu Xu was a pitch-black void, unable to see what lay below him, uncertain of where he might land this time. However, Gu Xu couldn’t care about all that much, only following his instincts to control the parachute’s descent.
Looking down at the abyss, even though Gu Xu had a big heart and lots of experience, he couldn’t help but feel a bit afraid. After all, this was an endless international sea, the ocean reaching depths of thousands of meters, a domain yet unconquered by humanity, an area still just a far-fetched dream. Even the bravest of people would feel overwhelmed facing such an expansive ocean.
In this area around the cape, it’s a subtropical climate, and this time during late August to September, the temperature was at its hottest. Floating in the air, Gu Xu didn’t feel cold but had a lingering unease about the unknown ahead.
He couldn’t help but free a hand to pat his son, smiling bitterly:
"Son, if only your mom was here now, she could strut around in the sea. By the way, you’re Huo Sining’s son; you shouldn’t be much worse. This place will be yours once we land; I’m counting on you to save your old dad!"
Despite the words, Gu Xu felt uncertain inside. He knew their precious egg had some abilities, but it was still just an egg—a tiny child—how much help could it provide?
Nevertheless, he managed to calm down his nerves, waiting for that moment of plunging into the cold sea water.
Having jumped from nearly two thousand meters altitude, even at the fastest speed, it would take nearly twenty minutes to reach the sea’s surface. More time if there were strong winds.
Floating in the air for about ten minutes, still mentally preparing, he suddenly heard a rumbling thunder-like explosion. He quickly looked up in the direction of the sound, and in the distant dark sky, a burst of fire lit up a vast area.
That direction was precisely on the set flight path of his plane. Seeing this change, Gu Xu almost instinctively guessed that it must be the plane he was flying.
It seems Country F finally couldn’t hold back, luckily, his intuitive response was sharp and quick. Otherwise, he’d have been blown up with the plane!
Even though he knew that by persisting a bit longer he’d reach Hua Country’s airspace, a strong sense of crisis led him to choose to abandon the plane, and now seeing that fireball crashing into the sea, he repeatedly felt grateful for his decisive action.
Using the soaring flames from the exploding plane, Gu Xu was able to see his current location clearly, quickly locking onto a dark, protruding shape that seemed like an island not far away.
At that moment, it was impossible to judge if it was indeed an island, but Gu Xu knew well he couldn’t just float in the sea indefinitely. Being immersed in the seawater for hours would be debilitating, if not fatal, significantly draining his physical strength. So decisively, he controlled the parachute to drift toward that island.
Fortunately, his eyesight was good, and aided by the light from the plane’s explosion, he quickly adjusted the parachute’s direction, soon landing in the sea within five kilometers of that dark, island-like object.
As soon as the parachute landed, Gu Xu felt a bone-chilling sea rush over him, nearly instantly soaking him to the bone.
At that moment, there was no time to worry about much. Quickly discarding the parachute, he swam vigorously toward the island.
Ordinarily, swimming five kilometers wouldn’t be too difficult for him, but recently, he had just undergone a high-intensity secret mission, followed by rescue activities, evading enemy attacks, and covering the retreat. His stamina was significantly depleted, so after swimming less than a kilometer in the sea, he clearly felt a lapse in his strength.
Moreover, strapped to his chest was a heavy backpack, filled with many items, further burdening him.