Airplanes are just the most infuriating thing ever.

Just then, a few passengers from economy class voluntarily ran over to help. Several big men carried a bare-bottomed captain out of the lavatory and laid him directly in the aisle of the cabin. A doctor who happened to be in first class was then summoned over to begin examining the amorous captain.

A few minutes later, the surgeon confirmed Hou Rui's suspicion—this Captain Cadillac had indeed suffered a stroke brought on by overexcitement during certain activities. With the equipment and medication available on the plane, there was no way to resuscitate him. The only thing anyone could do was pray that Captain Cadillac could hold on until the plane landed in Cairo.

Since the doctor had made his diagnosis, the farce quickly subsided. The several enthusiastic big men carried Captain Cadillac into the crew rest area, while the big-eyed flight attendant, comforted by her companions, also retreated there. Finally, a crew member began making an announcement over the cabin-wide PA system.

"Dear passengers, this is EgyptAir Flight 804. I am Yadi, the chief flight attendant. Some of you may already know that the captain of this flight, Mr. Cadillac, has experienced a minor health issue. But please rest assured, this will in no way affect the flight, takeoff, or landing of this aircraft. Please remain quietly in your seats and do not move about. Shortly, we will serve you all champagne as a small token of compensation for your fright. I—thud—"

The announcement meant to soothe the passengers had barely finished when a muffled impact suddenly rang out. The entire fuselage of the A330 shuddered, and even the chief flight attendant making the announcement nearly stumbled forward, almost sprawling onto the aisle floor.

"What happened? What happened? What is it this time?" A middle-aged Chinese man sitting next to Hou Rui looked like he was about to cry. Muttering to himself, he clutched some kind of Buddha pendant hanging around his neck and trembled.

"Is the plane's engine malfunctioning?" One guy had clearly watched way too many movies. Ignoring his girlfriend's tugging, he stood up and demanded loudly of the chief flight attendant.

Hou Rui first instinctively looked out the window at his side to check the wing and engine. Once he confirmed those parts of the aircraft were intact, he raised his hand and said, "The left engine is fine!" Passengers sitting on the other side of the cabin quickly checked as well and relayed the same information, which allowed Hou Rui's suspended heart to settle somewhat.

Then the panicked passengers' imaginations ran wild. Some said the fuselage must be cracking. Some asked if there'd been a small explosion on board. The most absurd was an Arab man in a turban who kept shouting that this was a divine miracle, that Allah was descending upon the world.

After all the noise and chaos, someone finally stepped forward to take charge.

"The captain is down. We need to contact the first officer to confirm the situation. Please don't panic—we will take responsibility for your safety. The situation is still under our control!" The chief flight attendant barely managed to say this over the PA before running off. She moved forward through first class, all the way to the crew rest area just outside the A330's cockpit.

"What was that sound just now?" The chief flight attendant was sweating from tension. She grabbed another flight attendant who served exclusively in first class and pressed her for answers.

"I don't know either. The sound came from inside the cockpit. I tried to reach them on the intercom, but I couldn't get through to the first officer inside."

"If the intercom doesn't work, why don't you just knock on the door!"

"I've been knocking this whole time, and these two gentlemen have been helping me pound on it too, but there's still no response from inside the cockpit."

Hearing this, the chief flight attendant finally realized the seriousness of the situation. She quickly pressed herself against the door connecting the cockpit and the first-class crew rest area, but after listening for a long while, she couldn't make out any distinct sound.

"Bang, bang, bang—Mr. Mufa? Bang, bang, bang—Mr. Morius, can you hear me?" Losing patience, the chief flight attendant began pounding on the door with all her strength, but the cockpit beyond remained eerily silent, as if no one were inside at all.

"Click, click, click." The anxious chief flight attendant forcibly twisted the door handle, but the sturdy door didn't budge an inch.

Of course, the door wasn't to blame. Ever since 9/11, airlines around the world—having witnessed the Americans' painful lesson—had retrofitted their passenger aircraft, adding this sturdy metal door to protect the cockpit. So now, this door wouldn't yield to even the champion of a world's strongest man competition, let alone a slender chief flight attendant.

"Contact ground control and see if they can operate the aircraft remotely and activate the autopilot. Everyone else, find tools and break down the door." Giving up on hammering the door, the chief flight attendant thought it over and decided to follow the airline's safety manual, hoping to resolve this crisis smoothly.

Immediately, a flight attendant picked up the radio and began calling ground control to report the situation. Meanwhile, several men from first class who had come to help pushed the small metal cart used for serving drinks and meals, ramming it forcefully against the door—a two-pronged response to this inexplicable crisis.

Fifteen minutes later, the flight attendant holding the radio relayed an even more alarming piece of news. After repeated attempts by ground control, it was confirmed that the autopilot system on Flight 804 had failed. Moreover, the first officer Mufa and navigator Morius, who should have been in the cockpit, were both unresponsive to ground control's calls, so the tower had no way to determine what exactly was wrong.

After more dithering, the chief flight attendant finally made up her mind. She knew that with just the few people present, it would be hard to come up with any good way out of this predicament. Given the current situation, only by pooling everyone's wisdom and strength was there any hope of surviving this bizarre disaster.

"Dear passengers, I have some unfortunate news to share with you. We have lost contact with the two pilots in the cockpit, and we are unable to open the door leading to it. If there is anyone on board with piloting experience or mechanical engineering skills, please come to first class immediately. We urgently need your help. May Allah protect us all! As for other passengers who are unable to help, please join me in prayer. Alternatively, you may choose to leave a message for your families. Our crew will collect these messages and store them safely in a titanium box for safekeeping."

The moment the passengers heard the chief flight attendant say this over the PA, the several hundred people aboard the A330 instantly erupted in chaos.

"We can't reach the pilots? Then who's flying the plane?"

"Idiot! If you can't open the door, why don't you break it down!"

"I'm a plumber, not an engineer—does that count?"

"I told you I didn't want to come, but you insisted. What's so great about seeing the Sphinx! Now we're all going to die together! Waaaaah—"

"Move aside, I've driven a bus before. I have a license."

"Let me help smash the door."

"God, please protect me."

"Mom, if I survive this, I promise I'll listen to you."

"Darling, I love you."

The cabin was in complete disarray—some people were crying and screaming, some were praying silently, some were grabbing flight attendants and shaking them relentlessly, some were getting into outright fistfights with the strangers beside them. But the majority of passengers were the ones sorrowfully accepting the paper and pens handed out by the flight attendants, beginning to write their final words to family and friends.

"Monkey, what's going on? Why is it so loud in here? Are we landing?" Jin Shanshan had finally been woken up by the noise. Still oblivious to the disaster at hand, she rubbed her eyes and asked Hou Rui.

"The plane has a bit of a problem. Don't worry." Hou Rui stood up as he spoke. Now that his own life was at stake, the calculus was completely different. Hou Rui planned to contribute his own effort, to see if he could help get through this calamity.

"Where are you going?" Jin Shanshan watched the passengers' bizarre displays of despair and ultimately revealed her own vulnerable, helpless side. She grabbed Hou Rui's arm and refused to let go.

"I'm just going up front to take a look, to see if I can help!"

"..." Jin Shanshan didn't say anything out loud, but her eyes showed she didn't want Hou Rui to leave her side.

"Tell you what—why don't you come along too?" Hou Rui couldn't bear to pry Jin Shanshan's hand away, but the plane's situation was still unclear and there was no time to waste. So Hou Rui settled on this compromise.

Before long, Hou Rui and Jin Shanshan made their way through economy class and into first class. But by now the aisle was packed with people—big, burly men all wanting to lend a hand, yet not a single one among them was the mechanical engineer or pilot the chief flight attendant truly needed.

"Everyone, please step back and leave some space up front." The chief flight attendant was hoarsely trying to maintain order, but unfortunately, after several big men had tried with wrenches and carts for a while, that damnable door still stood firmly in place, with only a few pry and batter marks marring its surface.

"Let me take a look—I'm a mechanical engineer." After squeezing and shoving for ages without making it through, Hou Rui finally lost patience and shouted out loud. That finally got the big men crowding the aisle to reluctantly make a path, allowing Hou Rui to pull Jin Shanshan forward along it, until he finally reached the cockpit door.

"Sir, you're a mechanical engineer? Please take a look at this door—can you open it?" The excited chief flight attendant grabbed hold of Hou Rui like he was a lifeline, practically dragging him to the door.

Hou Rui crouched down without a word and began studying the door's lock mechanism. Jin Shanshan stood behind him, watching his back, her heart churning with emotion.

When did this kid become a mechanical engineer? Didn't he study photography at the Communication University? Was he just bluffing? But at a moment like this, fooling an entire plane full of people—if the door doesn't open in a minute, won't he get beaten to death? Oh, whatever. Let him do his thing. If we really do crash, then at least we couldn't share a bed in life, but we'll share a grave in death!