Chapter 956: Chapter 957: Loot a Burning House
The temperature difference on the sea was immense. In the seawater and outside of it, the feeling was completely different. No one wanted to be soaked in the sea right now. Anyone who could stay out of the water a little longer would obviously prefer that.
At this moment, everyone had to think for themselves. It wasnāt about simple courtesy anymoreāit very likely concerned their own survival.
A strong Black man suddenly climbed onto the wing. The wing swayed, and with his bulky frame squeezing in, a few people were pushed into the sea.
"What are you doing? Itās not your turn yet!" Many voices instantly shouted in protest.
The Black man roared back, "Iām not getting off! Tonight, Iām staying on this wing. If anyone dares to make a move, Iāll fight them to the death! Itās so cold, and even I, as strong as I am, canāt take it anymore. Stay in the water a little longer, and weāll freeze to death. Those with weaker stamina definitely canāt hold on. Instead of letting everyone die, itās better for the stronger ones to stay up here. That way, at least thereās a bigger chance someone can survive."
He was speaking in English, so only a few could understand. However, his actions and the desperation in his voice affected everyone around, regardless of the language barrier.
"I need to get up there too! I canāt take it anymore!" shouted a Chinese man as he also struggled to climb onto the wing.
Among the passengers on the plane, most were Americans and Chinese, with Chinese occupying the majority. The moment chaos erupted, everyone began scrambling to get onto the wing.
With this, the scene turned into utter mayhem. Regardless of whether it was men or women, no one wanted to die, and no one wanted to freeze. Each person fought to get ahead, terrified of losing their chance to survive.
At this point, physical strength became the decisive factor. Very soon, the strongest men had already taken the central positions on the wing.
But with more people climbing up, the wing began to sway dangerously, as if it could capsize at any moment.
At some point, the men in the center seemed to reach a tacit agreement. They started to shove those on the edges off the wing, shouting relentlessly, "Get off! All of you, get off!"
Working together, the six men easily pushed everyone else off the wing.
Wu Xiaoya, the flight attendant, yelled out angrily, "Youāre killing people! Are you planning to let everyone else die?!"
One of the six, a Chinese man, barked back, "Either we all die, or you die. Why should we die with you?"
Wu Xiaoya cried out, "Everyone can take turns on the wing! As long as we can hold on until daylight tomorrow, thereās a good chance weāll be rescued!"
"Hold on until tomorrow? In this cold? We donāt believe anyone can make it to tomorrow!"
The six men on the wing glared at everyone else with deadly determination, clearly refusing to let anyone else up.
"Let me up! Iām a manager at a major U.S. companyāIāll pay you! Iāll give you a million US Dollars!"
"Yes, yes! Iāll pay too! Iāll give you a million as well. Just let me on tonight."
At this, some began offering such terms. The six men on the wing hesitated for a moment.
"Iām the deputy mayor of Jinhua City. If you let me up, I wonāt just give you moneyāIāll help you with anything you need in the future. Let me up now!"
The commotion quieted down as people heard there was a deputy mayor among them. A deputy mayor was a significant official. Having someone of such status present seemed to provide a semblance of order.
Wu Xiaoya immediately said, "Deputy Mayor, please help everyone resolve this situation."
Among the six men on the wing, four were Chinese, and the other two were Americans. The four Chinese men hesitated when they heard about the deputy mayor, then huddled together and began whispering in low voices.
"I think we should let the deputy mayor up. If we survive, we might face trouble later, but if heās on our side, he can shield us from it."
"I agree. Plus, saving him now could benefit us in the future."
"We could also let some of the wealthy people come up later."
"But we canāt let them stay up here permanently. Make them buy timeāwe can make an even bigger fortune that way."
Those returning from Las Vegas werenāt all gamblers; many were just tourists. But as fate would have it, these six men were anything but decent human beings. Otherwise, they wouldnāt have resorted to such insanity.
"Fine. Deputy Mayor, you can come up," they decided quickly, pulling the deputy mayor onto the wing.
"Mr. Mayor, what do you think we should do now?" Wu Xiaoya asked.
"Well..." The deputy mayor, named Li Fangding, hesitated, coughed lightly, and then said, "In this situation, Iām no longer a deputy mayor. All decisions are up to them now."
"Since the deputy mayor himself says so, we wonāt hold back," said Cao Heyang, one of the six men on the wing. He had been the one speaking on their behalf, clearly positioning himself as their leader.
With a cold laugh, he announced, "If anyone wants to get onto the wing now, itāll cost one million US Dollars per hour. Without the money, donāt even think about it!"
Boom!
Chaos erupted below. Everyone was furious. These bastards were exploiting the situation without a shred of humanity.
"Youāre shameless! Weāre all in the same crisis, and youāre still trying to profit off of it? Do you have any conscience left?"
"Exactly! Arenāt you afraid of divine punishment?"
"Letās flip the wing over! If they wonāt let us live, we wonāt let them live either!"
"No, donāt flip it! Donāt! Iāll pay! Iāll pay! Just let me up!"
The voices below were a mix of curses and desperate pleas as some scolded the men while others offered to pay.
"Flip it over?" Cao Heyang sneered. "With this wing here, at least you still have something to hold onto. At the very least, you still have a chance to survive. Without it, you wonāt even have a sliver of hope."
At these words, everyone fell silent. Who would give up their last chance at survival so easily?
"Iāll pay! I have money! Iāll definitely pay!" shouted a man from below.
"Good. Come up then. But donāt think you can trick us. With the deputy mayor of Jinhua City right here, do you think we wouldnāt know whether you actually have the money?"