UAAG CH12

At midnight, after all the investigators had gone back to rest, Su Fei was about to leave when Zhuo Huan grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back.

Fu Cheng turned his head to glance at them.

Lina: “Don’t worry about them.”

Fu Cheng looked back at her.

Lina smiled slightly. “Teichi Tsunai, I’ve heard this name before. He’s only 29 years old, but he’s already a physics professor at the University of Tokyo and a very famous genius physicist in the physics community. Reid seems to know Teichi Tsunai. Right now, he should be asking Su Fei to help write a warm and friendly invitation letter, asking Teichi Tsunai to help research whether a magnetic storm could affect the aircraft’s MCD magnetic chip detector.”

As soon as her voice fell, the punk teenager’s cry of alarm came from the office: “Holy shit, you really want to do this? Aren’t you afraid he’ll beat you to death?!”

Zhuo Huan pushed him back into the chair: “Shut up and just do it.”

Su Fei: “Is this how you ask someone for help? Sending them a computer virus first?”

Fu Cheng: “…”

Lina: “…”

No one knew exactly what kind of “warm and enthusiastic invitation letter” Zhuo Huan wrote to ask Professor Teichi Tsunai for help. In short, two days later, the investigation headquarters received an email from the University of Tokyo.

To UAAG:

The experiment has begun.

PS: There is no need to send computer viruses as deliberate provocations. This concerns the JAL 917 accident; I would never refuse.

PPS: Zhuo-kun, I look forward to seeing you again at the next World Physics Conference.

Teichi Tsunai.

Su Fei: “Murderous intent.”

Zhuo Huan sneered, not taking Teichi Tsunai’s reply seriously at all.

In private, Su Fei couldn’t help complaining to Fu Cheng: “Have you ever seen anyone ask for help like that? He said Teichi Tsunai is a very cold-blooded person who never cares about anything unrelated to his own research topics. So to ask him for help, you must make him notice. Otherwise, even if you send him an email, he might just treat it as spam and leave it in his inbox without a glance. But still, you don’t ask for help like this…”

Fu Cheng raised an eyebrow at him: “What kind of computer virus did you make?”

Su Fei immediately became smug: “It was a variant of a macro virus. I sneakily planted a document on his computer desktop titled with his recent research topic. Sure enough, he opened it. As soon as he opened it, I immediately locked all his Word documents. To open the documents, he had to reply to all the emails in his inbox. Now he definitely saw the email we sent. I really am a genius!”

Fu Cheng: “…”

I see you don’t seem guilty at all…

You UAAG people really are birds of a feather!

Nine days later, Teichi Tsunai sent a 178-page email.

“Regarding the JAL 917 flight accident, the following hypotheses are proposed—”

“When a closed electromagnetic field is affected by an external magnetic field, if the curl reaches a certain critical point, can the magnetic field remain stable and conserved?”

“Experiment 1: Detecting electric displacement flux velocity…”

Lina printed out this 178-page paper and distributed it to all the investigators present.

In this paper, Teichi Tsunai proposed six possibilities, ranging from displacement current to vortex electric fields. Ultimately, after 143 experiments, Teichi Tsunai directly rejected the first five hypotheses.

Only the last one received his affirmation.

“Experiments prove that under conditions of mutual friction within a closed electromagnetic field, there is a certain probability of forming a relatively stable and balanced vortex electric field… When the aircraft lands, due to changes in speed and air pressure, there is a certain probability of breaking the magnetic balance that is on the verge of collapse, causing magnetic weakening…”

“…In 78 experiments, the success rate of this hypothesis was 1 time.”

“The above are all laboratory theories; no real-machine experiments have been conducted on the McFly F435 aircraft.”

“Hereby suggest to UAAG: completely simulate the route of JAL 917 and conduct a simulated test flight according to JAL 917’s flight data.”

“I have sent a specially designed magnetic sensor to Finland. Please install it on the McFly F435 engine. According to reports from the Russian Meteorological Bureau, a small-scale solar wind magnetic storm will erupt in the Arctic Circle on August 27, 2020. It is recommended to conduct a simulated test flight on the night of the 27th. The data obtained from the test flight will prove my theory to a certain extent.”

“Good luck to everyone.”

“Teichi Tsunai.”

Zhuo Huan was the first to finish reading the 178-page paper. Ten minutes later, Fu Cheng also finished reading it.

The second after finishing the paper, he suddenly looked up at Zhuo Huan.

The refined and handsome young man’s expression was calm, staring intently at that man.

His gaze was calm but profound. Zhuo Huan noticed quickly, slowly raised his head, and also looked at Fu Cheng.

After their eyes met, there was a long, lasting silence.

Gradually, more and more investigators finished reading the paper.

Perhaps they didn’t fully understand Teichi Tsunai’s physics theories, but they only needed to know one thing: JAL 917 might indeed have crashed due to a polar magnetic storm, even though the probability was only one in 78.

After Old Joseph finished reading the paper, he froze for a moment, then looked up at Fu Cheng.

At this time, Su Fei also finished reading the paper. “What is all this stuff? I really don’t like physics. So the final conclusion is that it is indeed possible that the crash was caused by a magnetic storm? That’s what it means, right? Hey, why aren’t you guys talking? What’s going on?”

The next moment, Su Fei realized: “Holy shit, no way, you want us to test fly it again?!”

At the end of the email, Teichi Tsunai specifically wrote in bold font—

Hereby suggest to UAAG… simulated test flight.

Old Joseph: “Simulating a crash, re-flying the route… such things aren’t unprecedented. In 1996, TWA Flight 800 exploded in mid-air shortly after takeoff. A year later, to confirm whether there were flaws in the aircraft’s fuel tank design, the NTSB re-simulated the TWA Flight 800 crash, having a test pilot fly the same model of aircraft under the same preconditions, flying it again. Ultimately, it confirmed that Boeing’s design error caused the crash.”

Lina also frowned. “So we have to find a McFly F435 and fly it exactly the same way again? Can Professor Tsuna guarantee there won’t be an accident this time?”

Old Joseph fell silent and didn’t make a sound.

Su Fei’s mouth twitched. “What kind of weird professor is this? Isn’t this sending people to their deaths! Although the magnetic storm might not be as severe as half a year ago, it’s still a magnetic storm. And specifically choosing August 27th, the day with the strongest magnetic storm, to fly… this is fucking insane!”

After discussing for a while, the EASA investigators sent a representative to Zhuo Huan, saying, “Mr. Patrick, we will contact EASA headquarters shortly to deploy a professional test pilot directly from the air force. As for how to completely recreate the accident conditions of JAL 917, we still need to confirm with you.”

Zhuo Huan glanced at Fu Cheng as if casually, then withdrew his gaze. “Mn, there are two days until the 27th. Besides the test pilot, we also need to prepare another McFly F435.”

“Okay, I will report this immediately.”

The EASA investigators busied themselves again.

EASA quickly transferred a McFly F435 from Finnair. To recreate the accident, the aircraft they found had flight hours almost identical to JAL 917.

The next day, the British Royal Air Force dispatched an air force test pilot to Helsinki.

In the afternoon, the special magnetic sensor designed by Teichi Tsunai was also delivered to the investigation headquarters.

Everything was ready.

One day before the test flight, the test pilot transferred from the UK was still reading the accident investigation report of this crash.

To achieve a perfect recreation and ensure nothing went wrong, he had to know the JAL 917 crash like the back of his hand.

The sky gradually darkened. All preparations were completed in advance, waiting only for the test flight the next evening.

Zhuo Huan casually pulled the rubber band from his hair and threw it on the table. He seemed a bit agitated, took a lighter from the drawer, and went downstairs.

This was a boundless wilderness.

Nordic countries are always sparsely populated like this, with flat land stretching as far as the eye can see. The massive round sun slowly sank from the sky, and the afterglow spread out like magnificent, splendid auroras, illuminating half the skyline.

With a click, the lighter lit a cigarette.

A burst of moist sea breeze brushed against his face, blowing his somewhat long black hair behind his head and disturbing the curling smoke into restless folds.

“Test pilots usually participate in the design work during the initial stages of aircraft design; they know the aircraft they are about to test fly like the back of their hand.”

Zhuo Huan turned his head.

In the dark night, under a sky full of stars, the beautiful, delicate-looking young man walked out from the door of the two-story building, approaching step by step until he reached his side.

The cold wind blew his thin jacket, outlining a tall, lean, but frail curve.

For the first time, Zhuo Huan realized that his team member seemed exceptionally thin, not looking at all like someone who had once been in the air force.

Fu Cheng: “He is an air force test pilot; the planes they test fly are usually fighter jets. The McFly F435 is a very common civil airliner. Undoubtedly, that test pilot must have flown this plane before; piloting a civil airliner is much simpler than piloting a fighter jet. However, he was never the best choice…”

His voice paused. Fu Cheng raised his head, his gaze looking straight into the depths of Zhuo Huan’s eyes.

“Everyone knows there is only one best candidate for test pilot—”

“That is me.”

Zhuo Huan quietly looked at the stubborn, persistent young man before him. This person in front of him appeared calm and fearless, yet in this fierce, cold wind, he was like a sturdy blade of grass that bends not under wind and rain.

Powerful, determined, confident, holding an indestructible will and resolve.

Like a blazing fire in the dark night, stealing the light of the moon, vying for brilliance with the sun.

After a long while, he exhaled a smoke ring and said with a smile, “Everyone? You are very confident.”

“Zhuo Huan, since when did you want me to test fly this plane?”

The hand holding the cigarette suddenly trembled for a moment. Zhuo Huan put away the hypocritical, frivolous smile on his face, narrowed his eyes, and looked at the young man in front of him.

“Where is your ‘Teacher Zhuo’?”

Fu Cheng did not respond.

Zhuo Huan laughed. “Heh, since when? From the beginning. Before transferring you into UAAG, when the decision for this transfer was made…”

“It was decided that you would be chosen to test fly this plane. You are the most excellent pilot and the most suitable candidate.”

“It’s not mandatory, nor is it an order. The EASA test pilot is right in that small building behind you.”

“But Fu Cheng…”

“You can choose for yourself whether or not to fly this plane and find out the truth about the JAL 917 crash.”

After a long silence, Fu Cheng heard himself say in a calm voice, “So transferring me into UAAG from the beginning was because you felt that finding out the truth of the JAL 917 accident might require a test flight? Why?”

Zhuo Huan blew a smoke ring and was about to speak, but the black-haired young man had already spoken the answer for him.

“Because, you are Zhuo Huan.”

Taking a deep look at the other person, Fu Cheng turned and walked away. His thin figure gradually merged into the night, entering the small building without looking back.

Behind him, Zhuo Huan held the cigarette between his fingers, staring unblinkingly at the retreating back of the young man as he walked further away step by step.

Lips moving slightly, fingers trembling gently, a strong yet soft wind blew from afar, crashing into his chest with a buzz.

“Fuck!”

The fire of the cigarette butt had burned down to his fingers. The man cursed in pain and threw the cigarette on the ground.

Five minutes later, Zhuo Huan returned to the second floor of the investigation headquarters with his hands in his pockets, looking displeased.

Seeing him return, Fu Cheng looked up at him and stood up.

He gathered the UAAG investigators and several senior investigators from EASA together and said expressionlessly, “For tomorrow night’s test flight, I would like to make a suggestion… I will conduct the test flight.”

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