UAAG CH86

Unalaska, Alaska, USA.

A young man with short brown hair stood on the pier. He wore a white bucket hat, attempting to block out the blinding, scorching sunlight. But to his disappointment, the Aleutian Islands in October still possessed the most vicious weather of any island chain. The sea breeze scraped against his cheeks like knives, and the ultraviolet rays were pervasive; every pore on his body felt like it was radiating heat from the inside out.

“Oh, shit. I swear, this wind is full of sand! I can feel it, every gust is like tiny needles pricking my skin!”

The subordinate accompanying him said helplessly, “Mr. Lawrence, that’s just how it is here. I’m afraid it won’t get any cooler until next month, but the sun will always be this bright. Because this is the Pacific.”

Lawrence Hall grimaced. “I really hope I never have to come to this godforsaken place again!”

Between the Bering Sea and the North Pacific lies a long, narrow chain of volcanic islands—the famous Aleutian Islands.

The Aleutian Islands consist of about 300 extremely small volcanic islands, with over fifty volcanoes densely distributed among them. Not all 300 islands are habitable; in fact, more than half are uninhabited and unsuitable for human life. As Lawrence arrived in Unalaska, he even thought to himself that if that piece of airplane debris hadn’t drifted to Unalaska, but had instead landed on any random uninhabited island in the Aleutians, he might not have found it in his next life!

The permanent population of the Aleutian Islands is 8,000, with 4,000 living on Unalaska Island.

This small island is home to one of the largest fisheries in the United States.

After arriving at the Unalaska pier by boat, Lawrence took a car to the location where the plane debris had been found.

Lawrence: “Maybe it’s a wasted trip again. This is Alaska; we’re almost at Russia, aren’t we? I remember the westernmost part of the Aleutians is Russian territory. How could the wreckage of Rogue 318 drift here? It flew west and south after taking off from Boston. How lost would it have to be to end up here?”

The subordinate nodded. “I’ve already paid the local fishermen who found the debris to clean the junk off it before we arrived. In the photos, that piece of wreckage was covered in fishing nets and seaweed. At least it should be cleaner now.”

Lawrence muttered, “I hope this isn’t a waste of my time.”

The two soon arrived at a beach on the other side of the island.

A temporary shed had already been erected there to house the plane debris that had washed ashore. After contacting the staff guarding the debris, Lawrence led his men down to the beach. He pushed open the tin door of the makeshift shed. Instantly, the transition from the intense beach sunlight to the dim interior caused a momentary blindness.

His vision went pitch black, but in that instant, the world also seemed to go quiet.

Lawrence seemed to hear his own heartbeat.

Thump, thump.

In the dark world, he heard the buzzing sound of the sea breeze blowing into the dilapidated shed, and the coarse, profanity-laden joking of the fishermen on the beach. It was as if he had suddenly encountered destiny. Even though he hadn’t discovered anything yet, hadn’t seen anything yet, he suddenly felt a scorching fire of fate ignite within his darkened world.

Light gradually returned to his eyes, and he saw it—a piece of broken, ruined aircraft wreckage.

The fishing nets, seaweed, and grime that had obscured the tail fin in the photos had all been removed. What appeared before him was the remains of a plane’s tail fin, painted in a red and white pattern.

And on the part that had been largely corroded, two clear English letters were revealed—

RO

ROGUE.

Rogue.

His mouth slowly fell open.

The subordinate beside him exclaimed in shock, “RO? Mr. Lawrence, this must be the wreckage of Rogue 318! It looks too similar, it has to be! Should I notify Mr. Patrick immediately?”

“Wait.”

“Mr. Lawrence?”

“I’ll call him myself.”

Three times. He had found debris three times before that he thought was Rogue 318.

But never once had he felt the decisive shock he felt now. Almost impatiently, Lawrence Hall pulled out his phone. He hurriedly walked out of the shed and dialed the number. After the call was picked up, a suppressed “fuck” filled with anger came from the other end. The thought It must be early morning in China right now flashed through his mind, but Lawrence didn’t have time to think too much. He spoke urgently and quickly: “Reid, I’m at the scene personally. I’ve confirmed it. It is the debris of Rogue 318…”

“No, no, no, this time is different. I have a hunch, a strong hunch. God is telling me, it must be, it is the one!”

“Trust me. It’s been over two years, Reid. I think we’re finally going to find it!”

Across the ocean. Shanghai, China.

Fu Cheng was sleeping when he suddenly heard a rustling sound beside him. With a click, the bedside lamp was turned on. The warm yellow light suddenly spread through the room. Fu Cheng narrowed his eyes against the glare and asked softly, “Zhuo Huan?”

Throwing off the covers and casually slipping on his pajamas, Zhuo Huan turned back and planted a kiss on his lips.

The two kissed for a moment.

Zhuo Huan: “I’m going to the study.”

Fu Cheng was gradually waking up. “What’s wrong?”

Zhuo Huan: “That piece of debris is likely from Rogue 318.”

Fu Cheng was fully awake now. He propped himself up and asked, “Need help?”

Zhuo Huan: “No, this is just the beginning.”

Fu Cheng: “What?”

Zhuo Huan buttoned his pajamas one by one, his expression composed and his tone calm, as if he were just mentioning a trivial matter. “Based on ocean currents, monsoon changes, and marine meteorology from the last three months, we need to calculate and narrow down the drift range. Fu Cheng, sleep a little longer. For at least the next week, there will be plenty for you to do.”

Fu Cheng looked at him steadily. After a few seconds, he stood up and put on his clothes as well.

Zhuo Huan raised an eyebrow slightly. “Hmm?”

Fu Cheng: “Didn’t you say we’d be busy for a week? Then let’s start now.”

His gaze lingering on the young man’s face for a long time, Zhuo Huan let out a low, husky laugh, then turned and walked toward the study. Fu Cheng followed him in. Before long, the light in the study turned on, followed by the crackling sound of keyboard typing.

Many people—from the salvage company, from the University of California Supercomputing Lab…

At the same moment, separated by half the globe, they all set aside their work and began their fourth round of calculation and effort regarding the Rogue 318 wreckage.

Zhuo Huan, Professor Robert, and Lawrence were on a conference call. They had just finished a heated discussion and reached a consensus on the calculation work.

In the video, Professor Robert laughed. “You’re really lucky, Reid. Maybe it’s just like Lawrence said, this is probably destiny. The government just finished requisitioning the UC supercomputer two days ago, and now you get to use it. I think we’ll definitely find it this time.”

Zhuo Huan let out a soft “Oh,” and asked, “You believe in fate?”

Nobel Prize in Physics laureate Robert Gatsby smiled faintly. “Reid, I am a pure materialist. But before I close my eyes and leave this world, I dare not guarantee that I won’t suddenly believe in fate like Einstein did. For the questions you can’t answer, for the answers you can’t figure out—when I no longer have the strength or time to think about them, I am willing to attribute those unsolvable answers to my destiny.”

Lawrence ruthlessly interrupted their conversation. “Reid, I’m sending you the photos I just took. I’ve already arranged for a freighter to transport it to Los Angeles.”

The video conference ended there.

Shortly after, Zhuo Huan received the photos of the plane wreckage from Lawrence. He quietly looked at the red and white tail fin fragment. Almost the instant he saw it, he was certain: this was Rogue 318.

The McFly F485. He had once meticulously studied every single one of its components. No one in the world understood the McFly F485 better than he did, not even Thor Rayner, who had been its chief designer for thirteen years.

Fu Cheng walked in holding coffee. He handed the cup with four sugars to Zhuo Huan and held a black coffee for himself. Standing by the desk, Fu Cheng looked down at the picture on the computer screen and paused slightly in his heart. “The wreckage of a plane’s tail fin?”

Zhuo Huan took a sip of coffee, looked up at him, slightly surprised. “You can tell it’s a tail fin?”

Although this piece of wreckage remained mostly intact, the corrosion was severe. Zhuo Huan could recognize it as a tail fin at a glance because he was the chief designer of this aircraft. Lawrence could recognize it because he was the head of a professional salvage company, and he had been responsible for the salvage operations since Rogue 318 crashed and disappeared; he knew every detail of the plane like the back of his hand.

But for Fu Cheng to recognize it immediately was indeed quite rare.

Fu Cheng fell silent. He didn’t answer, but instead took out his phone and pulled up a photo.

It showed a spacious, bright airplane under the sunlight.

Smooth, beautiful lines, clean and crisp red and white colors. The sunlight shone on the cold metal skin, reflecting a pale, elegant coolness. The subject of the photo was the plane’s tail fin. A huge airline logo was painted on it, followed by five letters at the bottom—

ROGUE.

Rogue.

Fu Cheng: “This is the tail fin of Rogue 318.”

Zhuo Huan looked up at him, as if asking, How do you have this photo?

Obviously, this photo was taken before Rogue 318 crashed.

Recalling distant memories, Fu Cheng’s voice was calm. “I didn’t take it. After the air crash, I met a victim’s family member, Uncle Vince. His name is Vince Presley.”

Zhuo Huan: “Presley? Amy Presley?”

Fu Cheng: “Yes. Uncle Vince’s daughter, Amy, was one of the victims of Rogue 318. Coincidentally, she was sitting right next to my uncle and aunt. Amy rarely traveled far. Leaving Boston that time was her first time leaving her hometown, deciding to live in another city. She boarded Rogue 318. She was someone who loved photography. Before boarding, she took this photo of the tail fin and sent it to her father, telling him she had boarded successfully. It’s just a pity… that was the last message she ever sent.”

Zhuo Huan looked at the photo quietly. After a while, he withdrew his gaze and said to Fu Cheng, “The marine meteorological reports for the North Pacific from the last three months have been sent to your email. Organize them and send them to me.”

Fu Cheng put away his phone. “Okay.”

The phone screen in his pocket went dark a few seconds later. On that darkening screen was a bright, pristine airplane tail fin.

During that most unbearable year, Vince Presley woke up from nightmares every night. He could only turn on his phone with a tear-stained face, look at the last message his daughter sent him, and then fall asleep weeping.

[Amy: Boarding now, Daddy. I’ll message you when I arrive. Love you, goodnight! (Image)]

University of California, Berkeley. Supercomputing Laboratory.

Five days passed in a blur. The salvage company managed by Lawrence began searching everywhere along the Aleutian Islands. Professor Robert, along with Zhuo Huan and several professors from the University of Sydney and Harvard, worked together to calculate the possible crash site of the plane.

These were truly five sleepless days and nights.

When the researchers under him had input all the data into the supercomputer, Professor Robert finally breathed a sigh of relief. He sipped his coffee. “Alright, now let’s leave everything to the computer. Trust it. In three days, I will give you a suitable salvage range.”

Lawrence: “I need this range narrowed down to at least 3,000 square kilometers.”

Robert: “My dear Lawrence, you must be joking. 10,000 square kilometers, that is the limit.”

Lawrence: “Is 5,000 square kilometers possible?”

Robert shook his head seriously. “10,000. The computer won’t bargain with you, Lawrence. Please face reality.”

Lawrence: “Oh, Fuck! Hey, why did Reid exit the video?”

Robert laughed. “Didn’t you see how exhausted he looked just now? I think he hasn’t closed his eyes for at least two days. Let the poor man sleep a little.”

In the video, Lawrence spread his hands helplessly.

As Robert Gatsby said, Zhuo Huan indeed hadn’t rested for a long time. But it wasn’t two days; it was a full three days and two nights. He had almost reached the brink of mental collapse, the string in his brain pulled tight, ready to snap at a touch.

When Fu Cheng returned from UAAG, what he saw was Zhuo Huan lying on the sofa in the study, frowning in his sleep. He thought for a moment, brought a blanket from the bedroom, but woke Zhuo Huan up while covering him.

Opening his eyes to see Fu Cheng, Zhuo Huan glanced at him, then closed his eyes to sleep again.

After tucking the blanket around him, Fu Cheng tiptoed out of the room, turning off the study light and closing the door behind him.

Zhuo Huan slept until the next morning and still hadn’t woken up.

Between “waking this person up for breakfast” and “letting him sleep a bit longer,” Fu Cheng chose the latter. He put food in the refrigerator and left a note on the dining table. When he arrived at UAAG headquarters, Old Joseph looked behind Fu Cheng and asked in surprise, “Is Reid not coming today either?”

Fu Cheng: “He’s resting.”

Su Fei: “It’s been six or seven days, hasn’t it? He’s still not done? Did they find Rogue 318?”

Fu Cheng shook his head. “We just input the data into the supercomputer. It should take another two days for the supercomputer to calculate the final result. And that only determines a narrowed-down salvage range. After that, the salvage company needs to continue searching within this extremely vast area. Even with three salvage companies working together, it will take at least half a month.”

Lina walked over with a smile. “We should always look on the bright side. Maybe we should think about how, in half a month, when Rogue 318 is found, we’ll be going to the United States to investigate this accident.”

Su Fei: “No, Lina, you’re wrong. Finding it doesn’t necessarily mean we can investigate it directly.”

Lina paused.

Su Fei looked serious. “First, you have to understand that Rogue 318 is a McFly F485. Its empty weight alone is over 300 tons. Even if it broke upon impact with the sea, let’s say it broke into three sections, one section would still weigh at least 100 tons. Secondly, it hasn’t been discovered after falling into the sea for so long, nor has it been washed up by the tide, which means nine out of ten chances it fell very deep. So here comes the problem: you want to fish something weighing hundreds of tons out of the sea… do you know how hard that is?”

Old Joseph looked at the punk teenager with interest. “Oh, you know about this?”

Su Fei nodded sagely, acting like an expert. “Of course, I know a thing or two about deep-sea shipwreck salvage, okay? Just getting it up, I reckon, will take at least a month!”

Old Joseph: “Aren’t you a computer science major? You know this too?”

Su Fei: “Teishi Tsunai told me. He’s a physics professor at Tokyo University, he understands this stuff. I’m telling you, if RIP really finds Rogue 318, they might even have to ask Tsunai to go over and help to get the plane out of the sea!”

Lina smiled gently. “You and Professor Tsunai seem to have a good relationship.”

Su Fei chuckled. “Revolutionary friendship. Sometimes I visit his computer. Once I even found a porn video.”

Everyone: “…”

Su Fei tutted and sighed. “You can’t judge a book by its cover. You don’t know, that guy Tsunai’s porn was actually heavy hardcore bizarre stuff. But as a friend, I thoughtfully deleted it for him. Watching that kind of thing affects physical and mental health.”

Hearing this, Fu Cheng was a bit surprised. He really didn’t think Professor Tsunai was the kind of person who would keep porn on his work computer, let alone heavy hardcore porn. “Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong?”

Su Fei: “Must be. I clicked it open and looked. Wow, it was blindingly spicy!”

Old Joseph laughed heartily. “Is it possible that he put it on the computer on purpose for you to see, to leave you with a psychological shadow so you wouldn’t randomly browse his computer data anymore?”

Su Fei was dumbfounded: “…”

“No way, is that possible?”

“Damn! That guy Teishi Tsunai isn’t loyal!”

Everyone: “…”

Don’t you know in your heart who’s the disloyal one?

Time passed day by day.

The UC Supercomputing Lab provided the narrowed-down salvage range three days later. Three salvage companies confirmed the area and began salvage operations simultaneously.

Soon, half a month passed.

The UAAG members, having received no commission, weren’t exactly idle every day. After Zhuo Huan returned to UAAG headquarters, Su Fei casually remarked, “So boring, why don’t we continue our vacation, RIP?” Lord Zhuo sneered, raised an eyebrow at him, and asked, “Oh, boring?”

The punk teenager didn’t sense anything wrong yet.

“Yeah, bored to death. I think we should take another month off. Exactly right, it’s my birthday in half a month, hehehe, how about we come back after my birthday?”

Zhuo Huan clicked his tongue softly. “Go get the file on the US Airways Flight 384 crash.”

He didn’t name anyone, but Lina knew he was talking to her. The blonde woman smiled gently and got up to go to the reference room.

Old Joseph: “Hey Reid, I have a bad feeling. What are you doing with the file on my accident?”

Zhuo Huan: “Have we ever investigated an air crash where the involved party participated?”

Fu Cheng: “No.”

Su Fei: “No.”

Zhuo Huan curled his lips. “Wow, then now there’s an involved party right in front of you. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. US Airways Flight 384 crash—next, sort it out clearly from beginning to end again. This is your next job. Happy?”

Everyone: “…”

Old Joseph looked angrily at Su Fei. “Why did you have to say that, Fly!”

Su Fei was also dumbfounded. “…How was I supposed to know RIP is so toxic! Ahhhh!!!”

The US Airways Flight 384 crash was the accident Old Joseph had personally experienced eighteen years ago. In this crash, the co-pilot died on the spot, and Old Joseph lost a leg. The accident investigation result given by the NTSB at the time was that severe weather caused the inexperienced co-pilot to make an operational error. For some unknown reason, he did not ask the experienced captain for help but insisted on landing alone, eventually causing the plane to crash.

The result of this crash was undisputed, and Old Joseph could verify that there were no potential unexpected situations.

However, everyone soon understood why Zhuo Huan made them reinvestigate this crash.

“An air crash investigated together with the involved party really does feel different from other accidents,” Fu Cheng lamented.

Old Joseph looked at the clear, cold words on the investigation report. He closed his eyes, as if returning to that dark night of freezing rain. When he opened his eyes again, he smiled with relief. “My feelings are probably deeper than all of yours.”

Fu Cheng and Su Fei turned to look at him.

After a long while, Fu Cheng said, “Perhaps when Teacher Zhuo investigated JAL 917, he also had this different feeling.”

Su Fei: “What?”

Fu Cheng: “JAL 917, which is the McFly 475. Teacher Zhuo’s understanding of this plane is much deeper than ours, right?”

At this moment, a year later, everyone suddenly understood why, back in Helsinki, Zhuo Huan had abruptly insisted on checking the engine, adamantly claiming the engine was at fault. Why he could do so without hesitation despite such loud doubts, and eventually prove his guess was correct.

Because he understood that plane better than anyone present.

And this feeling, they could only begin to understand a fraction of today.

“Time to drink tea here? Give me the report tomorrow.” The cold male voice carried its own mockery as everyone turned to look at the arrival. Zhuo Huan walked out of the lounge drinking coffee. His gaze was fixed on Su Fei as he sneered, “You write it.”

Su Fei: “Huh? Why me? I’ve never written one before, I’m not good at this.”

Zhuo Huan: “You write it.” As he spoke, he naturally sat down next to Fu Cheng. Putting the coffee cup on the coffee table, seeming still a bit tired, he leaned slightly against Fu Cheng’s shoulder. “I’m going to rest for a bit.”

Su Fei stood up. “RIP, I’m not even in this major, why make me write it?”

Zhuo Huan: “So noisy. I’ll deduct your salary if you don’t write it.”

Su Fei: “…”

“Deduct it then!”

Zhuo Huan looked at Lina. “Deduct half.”

Su Fei: “Damn! You’re abusing your power, I’m going to complain about you!”

Zhuo Huan laughed. “Heh, I am your only boss. Complaints are welcome.”

Su Fei’s mouth twitched. The next second, he actually looked at Fu Cheng, fuming with rage. “Brother Fu, are you going to control RIP or not? There’s no law anymore!”

As soon as his words landed, both Zhuo Huan and Fu Cheng were stunned.

Su Fei: “Control this guy, he’s unreasonable.”

Fu Cheng: “…How do I control him?”

Hearing this sentence, Zhuo Huan laughed softly. He took out his phone, found Fu Cheng’s name, and leisurely typed a line: “Actually, a little pillow talk from you might work.” Just as he sent it, his phone suddenly rang. Seeing the flashing name on the phone screen, Zhuo Huan was slightly stunned and didn’t pick up immediately.

Fu Cheng glanced at it. “Lawrence’s call? Not answering?”

Only then did Zhuo Huan press the answer button. He stood up and walked toward the balcony while answering the phone. However, Lawrence’s excited roar penetrated the speaker, echoing intensely throughout the office: “Reid, found it! Found it!”

“—Rogue 318!”

His footsteps stopped abruptly.

The office also fell into sudden silence.

The world dissolved into a soundless tranquility. In the spacious and bright office, there was only the soft sound of the wind blowing from the air conditioning vent.

Holding the phone in one hand, Zhuo Huan slowly turned around and looked at Fu Cheng.

The young man stood up, his eyes wide, lips slightly parted, also looking at him.

Four eyes met. In that instant, countless words reached their lips, and a flood of emotions came crashing down like an overwhelming sea. Yet in the end, the long gaze distilled into a single sentence. Zhuo Huan smiled and lifted his chin at Fu Cheng. “Hey, Fu Cheng. Found it.”

Then, he said to Lina, “Book tickets to Alaska.”

Support me on Ko-fi