Liu Hui inwardly gasped. He had specifically checked and confirmed that there were no military exercises scheduled for this patch of ocean recently, which was precisely why he had chosen today to execute his plan in the South Pacific.

A flicker of confusion crossed Liu Hui’s mind, so he circulated the spiritual energy within his body, using it to manipulate the muscles around his throat, altering his voice significantly. He replied in English, "Opposite aircraft, we were unaware there was a military exercise here, as we received no notification. Our plane will now return north along its route. Please clear the flight path so we may depart."

The US pilot responded, "The north is our designated exercise zone. You must immediately proceed south. We will guide your flight."

Liu Hui froze, finally realizing something was amiss. He had just flown in from the north and had detected no anomalies below—no ships, no aircraft, and certainly no sign of any military maneuvers. It now appeared highly likely that the two US planes were attempting to deceive him. But why? Could they already know that he was the one inside this aircraft?

Liu Hui couldn't fathom the underlying complexity. After the modifications, his seaplane was virtually invisible; no radar or optical instrument in the world could track it. Furthermore, the plane had traveled over seven thousand kilometers from the "Star City" to reach this location. Even if there were a leak within his own company, they wouldn't know his destination, and after such a long flight, they couldn't possibly pinpoint his exact current location. These US fighter jets had absolutely no basis for discovering him.

The instant this anomaly registered, Liu Hui abruptly terminated communication with the US aircraft and attempted to contact the "Star City." However, his communicator only emitted a burst of static and white noise. He immediately recognized this as the hallmark of communication jamming. Undeterred, Liu Hui tried several more times before finally accepting that he could no longer reach the "Star City."

When Liu Hui customized the seaplane, he believed it was sufficiently secure. Moreover, desiring absolute secrecy regarding his movements, he had deliberately omitted the installation of the latest spiritual energy wave communicator. Consequently, the plane’s communication system relied on traditional electromagnetic signals, which were now being jammed by the US fighters outside, instantly severing his link to the outside world.

Liu Hui was now certain he was being targeted by the US military. They were using the pretense of an exercise to lure him into their territory. Yet, he still couldn't comprehend how the US military had located him. Caught between the two fighter jets, he began flying south while simultaneously brainstorming countermeasures in his mind.

The communication from the opposing US fighters crackled back to life. The moment Liu Hui answered, the pilot’s warning blared out: "Seaplane ahead, do not terminate communication. I warn you again, if you do not follow our guidance, we can shoot you down immediately."

Liu Hui felt temporarily helpless and complied with the US fighter jets' direction, heading south. His individual strength was immense, and he possessed the ability for short bursts of gliding in the air. Thus, even jumping from a thousand meters without a parachute would guarantee a safe landing. However, the plane was currently over the vast South Pacific. If he jumped, he would land in the sea, miles from the Australian continent. How would he swim back to land then?

While Liu Hui pondered his strategy, his seaplane, held under escort by the two US F-15 fighters, continued its flight towards the Antarctic continent. After flying south for an hour, Liu Hui suddenly had an idea. He spoke into the communicator, "Our fuel supply is exhausted. We demand permission to land immediately. If we are not allowed to land, our aircraft will crash momentarily."

The US pilot replied coldly, "We know your aircraft does not run on aviation fuel, and it possesses considerable range. Stop playing games and continue flying forward."

Liu Hui’s heart sank; his last flicker of hope was extinguished. The US pilot clearly understood the specific capabilities of his aircraft. This meant they must also know his identity. If that were the case, there had to be an informant among Liu Hui’s circle. This mole had not only relayed the precise specifications of his seaplane to the Americans but had also—through means unknown to him—communicated his exact coordinates. Otherwise, the US fighters would not have materialized here so coincidentally. The situation was now starkly clear: the US military was attempting a forceful abduction.

Since the Americans had tracked his movements, there would undoubtedly be more US aircraft in the vicinity besides these two fighters. They were likely remaining out of sight to avoid arousing suspicion and causing complications that might alter the plan.

Aware of his predicament, Liu Hui remained utterly fearless. He had already formulated a counter-strategy in his mind. His seaplane continued south for another hour under the escort of the two US fighters. By this time, Liu Hui could clearly see the ice cap of the Antarctic continent.

The sight of Antarctica instantly steadied his nerves. He wrenched the aircraft suddenly to the left, steering directly toward the adjacent fighter jet in a collision course. The fighter, caught completely off guard, nearly collided with Liu Hui’s plane. Startled, the US aircraft sharply increased altitude, narrowly avoiding what would have been a mutually destructive, desperate maneuver by Liu Hui.

The moment the US fighter evaded his charge, Liu Hui rapidly steered the seaplane toward the massive Antarctic ice sheet on his left.

"Seaplane ahead, immediately cease turning left, or we will shoot down your aircraft," the US pilot warned sternly over the communicator.

Liu Hui completely disregarded the warning, continuing his trajectory forward. Since the US knew his identity, they would not simply shoot him down; doing so would render their entire operation pointless, ending in failure.

Seeing Liu Hui ignore their warnings and press forward, the two US fighters moved in close, attempting to force him back onto their intended course. However, Liu Hui piloted the seaplane like a charging bull, nearly clipping one of the fighters.

Sensing immediate danger, the two US fighters rapidly pulled away from Liu Hui, wary of a direct impact. Liu Hui pressed on, with the two fighters maintaining a watchful distance behind him, making no aggressive moves for the time being.

Liu Hui knew they were communicating with their superiors, deciding how to handle the unfolding crisis. He seized the opportunity to speed forward, eager to locate a suitable place to land. Now that he was over the Antarctic continent, falling into the ice was no longer a pressing concern.

Roughly half an hour later, the two US fighters rejoined him, issuing another warning over the radio: "Aircraft ahead, listen closely. If you do not comply with our flight guidance immediately, we will shoot you down. This is a serious second warning—we are not joking."

Liu Hui paid them no mind, continuing his course. Ahead on the ice shelf lay several glacial crevasses, presenting a complex terrain that suited his landing requirements perfectly.

The trailing US fighters, observing that Liu Hui’s seaplane had not obeyed their command, initiated a new maneuver. One F-15 suddenly pulled up, then dove toward Liu Hui’s seaplane. The M61A1 cannon on the F-16 began firing rounds.

Two 61A1 cannon shells streaked past the fuselage of Liu Hui's seaplane, serving as a final warning.

Liu Hui remained unresponsive. He donned the thick clothing he had prepared earlier, pulled the magic mask from his storage space and secured it over his face, ready to transform at any moment. Next, he retrieved a heavy-duty time bomb from his storage space. He set the detonation timer for twenty seconds and tossed the bomb inside the seaplane.

A cold smirk crossed Liu Hui’s face. With his current strength, augmented by brief aerial gliding capabilities, these mere two F-15 fighters were insignificant concerns. He smashed a fist down, shattering the aircraft's instrument panel, extracted the Level Four energy core, and placed it into his storage space.

Just then, seeing that Liu Hui’s seaplane still showed no reaction, the attacking US fighter made another dive, using its 61A1 cannon to strike the aircraft's flank, hoping this action would force the seaplane to the ground.

The cannon rounds fired by the US fighter accurately struck the seaplane’s side. What the pilots failed to anticipate, however, was that the aircraft suddenly erupted in a violent, massive explosion. The blast generated an immense cloud of smoke that engulfed the sky, and the seaplane itself was blown into pieces.

"What was that? I only hit the flank; how did it suddenly explode?" The pilot of the F-15 that fired the cannon was stunned, unable to comprehend what had just transpired.

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～ Some say one chapter update a day is too little, so it is now changed to two updates per day; the next one will be at 7:30 PM. Thanks to the reader: Moonlight Ticket Ambassador for 3 tickets and a 6000-word update ticket. Thanks to the reader: ingrf for Dragon's monthly ticket support. Thanks to readers for their tips: Chuang Tian Xia 1025 (400 Qidian coins), ly (588 Qidian coins), Moonlight Ticket Ambassador (588 Qidian coins)... More at, address RH