UAAG CH95

When Fu Cheng returned to the lab, everyone was organizing materials, preparing to take the equipment to the investigation headquarters in Seattle.

He looked around and saw Zhuo Huan at the open-air bar outside the glass corridor. Lord Zhuo sat by a casual table and chair next to the bar, his phone placed directly on the table, seemingly on speaker. His fingers were curled as he opened a canned iced coffee with one hand, a look of disdainful amusement on his face. It seemed the person on the other end of the line was making him very unhappy.

Five minutes later, Zhuo Huan returned to the lab drinking his coffee.

Fu Cheng: “Who was on the phone?”

Zhuo Huan gave an unexpected answer: “Levy Andrew.”

Fu Cheng paused.

The current NTSB Deputy Director, Levy Andrew?

“Did he call for something?”

Zhuo Huan: “Something? Yeah, something. Asking about the specific situation of the black box data, confirming the next direction of the investigation. And then apologizing.”

Fu Cheng was surprised: “Apologizing?”

Zhuo Huan sneered. “Mn. It has absolutely nothing to do with pilot operational error, at most it was a contributing factor… So, expressing his judgment error from three years ago to me over the phone, and incidentally expressing regret for the victims?”

When saying the word “incidentally,” Zhuo Huan emphasized his tone.

Fu Cheng was silent for a moment, then asked him, “Is the investigation direction confirmed then? Inherent aircraft component issues? Maintenance issues?”

Unexpectedly, Zhuo Huan didn’t answer. He threw the empty coffee can into the trash bin, turned his head, and stared fixedly at Fu Cheng. After a few seconds, he said lightly, “Perhaps.”

Zhuo Huan didn’t confirm the investigation headquarters’ next direction, but after returning to Seattle, everyone threw themselves into the investigation of “component damage” as the cause of the crash without exception.

The salvage company had been fishing in the sea for half a year. They had customized a special water tank, estimating that the wreckage of Rogue 318 would break the surface by the end of April.

But in the month before that, the investigation team wasn’t idle.

Now everyone was focusing on component damage, but this didn’t mean that finding the damaged component would be guaranteed once Rogue 318’s wreckage was salvaged.

First, Rogue 318 was severely damaged when it crashed into the sea. No one knew if the damaged component that caused the crash was still in the plane wreckage; perhaps it had long since been washed away by the waves.

Second, even if the culprit aircraft component was still on the salvaged wreckage, finding it would take some effort.

So the investigation team prepared for the worst.

“Perhaps the component that caused the aircraft’s autopilot system to fail to turn off will never be found,” the blond Levy Andrew said in a low voice with a dark face at the weekly meeting. “Before salvaging Rogue 318’s wreckage, what we need to do is… find all possible reasons that could cause the aircraft’s autopilot system to fail to turn off.”

Once this resolution was passed, more than a hundred investigators immediately began investigating the design of the McFly F485’s autopilot system.

In fact, this wasn’t a very difficult problem to solve.

McFly Company had long since dispatched its own ground investigation team to assist everyone in the air crash investigation. Moreover, the general person in charge of the investigation team, Zhuo Huan, was the chief designer of the McFly F485. No one in this world understood this plane better than he did. He knew clearly what could possibly cause the autopilot system to fail.

However, strangely, Zhuo Huan didn’t participate in this investigation.

When Levy Andrew sent someone to seek investigation consultation from him, Zhuo Huan was very calm. He said indifferently, “Flight guidance control system, warning announcements, autothrust… don’t ask me about these; McFly’s people know. It’s not that hard, just check directly.”

Lawrance looked troubled. “Patrick, what’s wrong with you? My friend, we’re finally about to find the truth of the air crash, why are you suddenly…” He hesitated for a while, not knowing how to describe it. “I feel like you lack motivation recently.”

Su Fei and Old Joseph beside them quietly observed Zhuo Huan’s expression and nodded in strong agreement.

Hearing this, Fu Cheng raised his head and looked at Zhuo Huan’s back.

Zhuo Huan’s voice was lazy. “I lack motivation?”

Lawrance: “Yes.”

“What kind of behavior would you consider motivated?”

“…You know what I’m saying. Last year, you forced Deputy Director Andrew to hand over control of the investigation headquarters, with UAAG leading the investigation. How come now that it’s nearing the end, you’re surprisingly quiet? Where is your drive?”

After waiting for a long time without an answer from Zhuo Huan, just as Lawrance was about to ask again, Zhuo Huan said in a prolonged tone, “Wait until the wreckage is salvaged.”

“Patrick?”

“Only half a month left, can’t wait?”

Lawrance looked at him in conflict, then looked at the other members of UAAG.

Old Joseph spread his hands, indicating I can’t control him at all, then winked at Lawrance, signaling him to seek help from Fu Cheng.

Lawrance looked at Fu Cheng again.

But Fu Cheng looked away.

Lawrance sighed deeply and turned to leave.

Actually, let alone Lawrance, even the members of UAAG didn’t understand why Zhuo Huan wasn’t following the investigation progress closely anymore.

Regarding this, Old Joseph could give a fairly reasonable reason: “The scope of the accident cause has been narrowed down a lot now. I followed up on the progress this morning, and problems with the flight guidance control system have already been ruled out. If the wreckage salvaged in half a month shows no faults, then the investigation report will probably be issued directly, pinning the cause of the air crash on mechanical problems.” Finally, he gave the reason for Lord Zhuo’s passive slowdown: “The answer has already been revealed. There’s no need to put in too much effort; just wait for the plane to be salvaged.”

Su Fei, however, felt bored to death. “So we just eat and drink here, waiting for the plane to be salvaged?”

Zhuo Huan sneered. “What do you want to do?”

Su Fei straightened up. “Something thrilling, racing against time!”

Zhuo Huan turned back and said to Fu Cheng, “Take him along next time you test fly.”

Su Fei: “I see Brother Fu’s test flights are super safe every time. Brother Fu, take me, take me, I’m not afraid.”

Fu Cheng: “Oh, next time I’ll give you a try of the unsafe kind. Thrilling, racing against time, high-altitude roller coaster.” Pausing, he added, “I can do a high-altitude roller coaster with a commercial aircraft too.”

Su Fei: “…”

This couple bullies people!

Fu Cheng had no interest in bullying children, even if they were adults, they were still children.

Zhuo Huan got up and walked out of the investigation headquarters.

Fu Cheng looked at him for a while and followed.

The cool breeze of April brushed past his face. Zhuo Huan’s hair had grown much longer. He seemed a bit annoyed, biting the cigarette holder, letting his hair down to tie it up again. A warm hand passed through his hair, touching his sensitive scalp. Zhuo Huan glanced back.

Fu Cheng: “Shall I cut it for you when we get back tonight?”

Zhuo Huan smoked and gave a faint “mn.”

Fu Cheng: “A year and a half ago, Helsinki, JAL 917.”

Zhuo Huan looked at him.

Fu Cheng: “No one thought it was related to the engine; how could it be related to the engine? But you gave a death order to check the engine no matter what, even if all the engines had to be dismantled. Later, a problem was found. Rolls-Royce paid a huge sum of money for this and spent a lot to redesign the magnetic chip detector in the engine.”

Zhuo Huan stared at him fixedly and suddenly smiled. “And then?”

Fu Cheng: “You feel something is wrong with Rogue 318.”

“Did I say something was wrong?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

Fu Cheng: “…You’re so annoying.”

Zhuo Huan was amused by him.

Putting aside what Fu Cheng was like in private, on the surface, he always projected an image of a mild-tempered, tolerant, and gentle person. Only Zhuo Huan in the entire world knew that this person wasn’t the perfect young man he appeared to be; he would also get angry, be happy, break character, frown only at him, stop pretending, and restrain his temper only for him.

The gloom accumulated in his heart for months was swept away. Zhuo Huan extinguished the cigarette butt. Looking back now, those strange thoughts and behaviors completely inconsistent with his character were really fucking funny.

Zhuo Huan raised his chin. “Kiss me.”

Fu Cheng ignored him.

Zhuo Huan kissed him proactively.

An extremely gentle kiss, quieter and perhaps even gentler than the April wind in Seattle.

Zhuo Huan: “That time with JAL 917 the year before last, when I wanted to dismantle the plane, did you secretly curse me behind my back?”

Fu Cheng recalled. It seemed he had cursed, but also seemed he hadn’t. He couldn’t remember. Everyone in the investigation headquarters was secretly cursing Zhuo Huan at the time; how could he remember so clearly? However, he was very unhappy with Zhuo Huan at the time. Even if not for the inhumane act of dismantling the plane, he definitely didn’t have a good impression of Zhuo Huan.

Fu Cheng kept a straight face. “No.”

Zhuo Huan: “Oh, sure?”

Fu Cheng: “No.”

Zhuo Huan: “Then you can curse now.”

Fu Cheng: “…?”

An hour later, Zhuo Huan gathered all investigators for a meeting in the conference room.

Zhuo Huan: “The NTSB has decided to investigate the component issues of the McFly F485 in detail. I don’t oppose it. There are currently 114 investigators. Half will continue to investigate from the direction of components, and the other half will check all maintenance cases related to the McFly F485 over the past four years.”

Old Joseph: “We’ve done this, Reid, did you forget? Three months ago, all investigators went through the maintenance records of the McFly F485 and checked the problems it had encountered.”

Zhuo Huan: “I said, check all of them again.”

Old Joseph didn’t understand. “I said we already checked them long ago.”

Fu Cheng was slightly stunned. He suddenly understood Zhuo Huan’s meaning and looked at him in astonishment.

Zhuo Huan curled his lips calmly and laughed through his nose. “All. That means, regardless of whether the plane itself was damaged, regardless of whether the flight accident caused any casualties. In the six years since the McFly F485’s first flight, as long as anything left even a single sentence in the maintenance records, investigate it all completely, thoroughly, record it well, organize it…”

“And give it to me.”

“Understand?”

Everyone: “…”

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