Chapter 83: The Forced Landing of the Plane

To be precise, it was an A400M transport aircraft.

The plane wasn't flying at a very high altitude, and from its markings and direction, Shao Ming was able to identify it as belonging to the French Air Force.

However, instead of just flying at a low altitude, the plane was in a rapid descent.

The two engines on the left wing were emitting thick black smoke. As it flew overhead, Shao Ming noticed that both engines were completely disabled.

He squinted at the plane, and it seemed that one of the engine blades had lodged into the other engine.

"Am I hallucinating?" Lambert asked, looking up.

The plane flew over their heads and soon disappeared behind the trees.

Without thinking, Shao Ming jumped off the flatbed truck and ran towards the jeep.

Lambert hurriedly jumped out and grabbed Shao Ming, "What are you doing?"

"Of course, I'm going after the plane," Shao Ming said. "Didn't you see it falling?"

"Are you insane?" Lambert replied. "I know it's falling, but why should we chase after it?"

"What if there are survivors?" Feng Yusheng, who was standing on the train, asked.

Shao Ming said, "Besides, it's a military transport. Who knows, it might be carrying something valuable."

Lambert hesitated, then climbed into the jeep with Shao Ming.

The potential of valuable goods was a more tempting reason than the chance of survivors.

Given the rate at which the plane was descending, it seemed unlikely that anyone would survive unscathed. With their current medical capabilities, they could manage an injured Asgi, but any severely injured person would only slow the team down.

After all, they were surviving, not running a charity mission.

Fortunately, the jeep hadn't been abandoned yet, and Shao Ming quickly started the engine and headed toward the crash site.

Since the plane had flown over the treetops, the jeep couldn't drive directly through the forest. They had to take a large detour around the trees. Shao Ming couldn't help but push the accelerator harder.

The forest was much larger than Shao Ming had anticipated, but fortunately, a gap appeared ahead, allowing the jeep to pass through quickly.

Thanks to the relatively flat terrain, they soon found the plane in the sky after driving out of the woods.

By now, the A400M transport aircraft was very close to the ground. It wobbled and fell, and it was clear the pilot was trying to control its descent, but the plane was beyond saving.

Normally, even a four-engine passenger plane could maintain flight with two engines out, but this military transport was plunging toward the ground, which puzzled Shao Ming.

He couldn't help but think of scenes from movies, where the military transported experimental subjects by plane, and the subjects broke free mid-flight.

In the distance, a massive rumbling noise was heard, louder than the sound of the four-engine transport overhead. Shao Ming saw dust and mechanical debris flying in the air.

Climbing over a small hill, the wrecked plane came into view.

The plane hadn't exploded, nor had it caught fire. Aside from the completely destroyed wings and engines, the main structure was still relatively intact.

Its rear cargo door was wide open, though it wasn't clear whether it had been opened by the pilot or had been forced open during the crash landing.

On the grass behind the plane, a long trench had formed, and fragments of the landing gear and other parts of the aircraft lay scattered nearby.

Shao Ming stopped the jeep on the hill and set up his sniper rifle to examine the plane.

The left wing of the plane seemed to be leaking fuel, while the two engines on the right wing were completely smashed.

Looking through the open cargo door, Shao Ming saw an empty cabin—no vehicles, supplies, or survivors inside.

"Do you want to get closer and check?" Lambert asked, holding the car door. "Any survivors or anything?"

Shao Ming glanced toward the horizon. Through the sniper scope, he could see a few mutated creatures running toward them from a town several kilometers away.

They had about ten minutes left.

"Let's take a look," Shao Ming said, putting away the sniper rifle and getting back into the jeep.

The jeep drove along the plane's crash path and soon arrived beside the wreck.

The two of them jumped out of the jeep and grabbed shotguns from the back seat.

The air around the plane was thick with the faint smell of aviation fuel. It seemed that Shao Ming's judgment was correct—the left wing was indeed leaking fuel.

They walked into the cargo hold. The huge cabin was completely empty, with the seats folded up on either side.

Lambert asked, "Who would be flying an empty plane right now?"

"Came from the Paris direction?" Shao Ming said. "Maybe they were fleeing."

Whatever the case, the plane's crash didn't make sense. The mutated creatures didn't have anti-aircraft missiles, so how could they have brought the plane down?

The height of the plane's rotor blades was also high enough that there was no danger of the mutated creatures being sucked into the engine and causing it to explode.

Unless someone had shot it down, or there had been a serious malfunction, forcing the pilot to take off under duress.

"Go check the cockpit," Shao Ming told Lambert, running toward the outside of the plane.

"What are you doing?" Lambert asked.

Shao Ming was looking for remnants of the engine and quickly found a large fragment not far away.

From the size, it seemed to be a part of the plane's engine.

Based on his knowledge, this engine didn't appear to have suffered any damage from external attacks, but Shao Ming couldn't be sure what had happened.

"This is strange," Shao Ming said, looking at the wreckage. "Lately, it feels like planes are always falling from the sky."

He turned and walked toward the main body of the plane, where Lambert was already standing by the door.

"What's wrong?" Lambert asked.

"I'm not sure what happened with this plane," Shao Ming said. "What about you? Any findings?"

Lambert shook his head. "All three crew members are dead, but there's a person inside the plane I recognize. Looks like a high-ranking official. I've seen him on the news."

"Is he still alive?" Shao Ming asked as they walked into the cabin.

"He's dead too," Lambert replied. "But really familiar. You should take a look."

Shao Ming climbed into the cockpit, and the interior was a mess. The intense impact had deformed the cockpit, which was still relatively strong, and the two pilots were now unrecognizable.

Turning his head, Shao Ming immediately spotted a man slumped in a suit, his head hanging low.

Shao Ming stared in shock.

It was the President of France.

No wonder Lambert said he looked familiar. How could he not recognize him?

Now it seemed clear—this plane hadn't been shot down by the mutated creatures.

The distant howls of the infected creatures reached their ears. It was time to leave.