Ten meters is not very deep for open water. If you hold your breath, you can swim up. Moreover, both of them have life jackets, which means they float up as soon as they go out, and as long as they hold their breath, they will quickly reach the surface. And the hijackers have already withdrawn.
This escape plan looks simple, but it's actually very thrilling and requires cooperation from multiple parties; otherwise, it wouldn't be possible to complete.
First, the plane's condition must be extremely balanced. Because once there's imbalance during the sinking process, the descending speed will increase exponentially. In other words, the plane must sink evenly to descend slowly, so the hijackers waited half a day, and it only sank just ten meters. If it were nose diving, that half a day would be enough to sink to the seafloor, and then there would be no chance of survival. This is all thanks to the captain's powerful emergency landing skills.
Secondly, even at ten meters, water pressure can't be underestimated. In such circumstances, trying to break the glass to get out is almost impossible. But luckily, Shiller had a revolver with extremely high attack power. Not to mention ten meters of water pressure, even hundreds of meters wouldn't be an issue. One shot broke the glass, allowing them to swim out at the fastest speed.
Lastly, both of them have good physical fitness. Although the captain is a bit older, he was a fighter pilot in his younger days, one in a hundred. Shiller was not in great condition, but this amount of exercise wasn't much for him. More importantly, both were very calm, waiting until the last possible moment to make their move; acting too early or too late might have led to trouble.
In short, the two have escaped danger. But this is just the first step. Because they are now floating in the middle of the Red Sea, and the Red Sea isn't big, there's always the risk of being discovered by passing enemy ships.
"Do you have any reliable companions?" Shiller asked with a frown. The change in water pressure just made his ears very uncomfortable, and now he basically had to rely on reading lips to understand what others were saying.
"I served in Africa when I was young," the captain yelled as well, "but those people are old now, and I can't reach them!"
Shiller sighed, looked around, and said, "Then we'll just have to wait for some unlucky guy. When we get on board later, you just need to run into the cabin and don't come out for anything you hear."
"Are you hijacking the ship?"
"I hope I don't have to."
They hadn't been floating at sea long when a ship appeared in sight. Shiller immediately blew the whistle on his life jacket, specially designed for signaling for help at sea. As expected, the ship steered towards them.
It looked like a fishing boat, but anyone daring to fish in this area certainly wouldn't make it without some armed forces. Shiller waved his hand, and the other party appeared somewhat wary.
"I'm an American, I can pay a ransom, let me aboard!" Shiller shouted. Within minutes, they were hoisted up. It turned out this wasn't just a simple fishing boat; it was hardly any different from pirates.
The other party spoke in heavily accented English: "Are you an American? Do you have money?"
"I have. You can directly call my family for the ransom and send me ashore after it's done," Shiller said, "This is my uncle, we come from a large family."
Apparently, the other party understood, glanced at Shiller, and brought over some paper and pen. Shiller generously wrote down Diana's phone number, handed it to them, and said, "She is my wife. She also comes from a large family. We are very much in love, so she will surely agree to your demands."
The captain rolled his eyes behind him. Anyone could tell something was off; who encourages a hijacker to ask for an exorbitant ransom? Wife, is she not your enemy?
He guessed right. Shiller thought angrily to himself: Without the revolver given by Diana, where would all this trouble come from? He shouldn't have had any fantasies about the quality of Demigod weapons!
The other party murmured while on the phone. Shiller could almost imagine Diana's expression, but he knew that Diana would definitely find a way to get him out, as she was still counting on him to get things done.
Sure enough, whatever Diana promised these pirates, they seemed to have become agreeable. After hanging up the phone, they said: "Your wife really loves you! Your love story is beautiful!"
Shiller smiled at him. He originally thought this matter was over, but these guys were quite enthusiastic and insisted on chatting with Shiller, asking one thing after another, seemingly very eager for Shiller to tell them his love story.
Shiller couldn't hear them well; they were speaking a mix of the local dialect and English, making even lip reading hard to understand. After chatting for a while, he had to point to his ear and then wave his hand.
The other party immediately widened their eyes in surprise, then showed a sympathetic expression, but clearly got even more absorbed in witnessing a beautiful love story. Shiller, though helpless, didn't bother to reveal anything. His combat effectiveness had deteriorated quite seriously now, so pretending to be a fragile innocent person was decidedly advantageous.
So, he took paper and pen, told them his occupation—a financial worker from Metropolis—and that his wife was an art critic and writer.
As for the love story they wanted to hear, Shiller generously told them that his wife was probably not busy right now, and they could call her directly to hear about it.
These pirates were really idle and actually called Diana to ask. When Diana heard them request her to tell them the "love story" with Shiller, she really wanted to fly over the Red Sea and drag him back to punch him down to the Earth Core.
But there was no other option, since he's in their hands now. If the lie isn't rounded off, they might decide to get rid of him. Diana could only grit her teeth and spin a tale. Shiller listened aside, pouting: This was clearly due to reading too few romance novels; it was so lackluster.
But thinking about it, Diana doesn't have much experience with romance. Shiller insisted on giving himself a title as a financial worker, but he can't just copy Steve's experience. He racked his brains and barely made the story believable.
The pirates were quite satisfied with his story. They didn't make it difficult for Shiller, even letting him and the captain shower on the ship and change clothes. Then they landed at a small port in Yemen. It seemed to be the pirates' territory, as no one inspected them, and they easily went ashore.
After landing, the people were also polite to them. Shiller knew well that Diana must have used her Amazon connections, and she paid enough money; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy.
The captain planned to return home directly. Shiller told them he wanted to go to Egypt first, then transfer back to America. Although they didn't quite understand, they still helped him book a ticket to Hurgada, Egypt. The Red Sea isn't large, and the trip is short, so he boarded a regular merchant ship instead of theirs.
Misfortune really strikes when you're down. Or maybe Diana's opponent was truly formidable since she spent so much money against them. Soon after boarding the ship, it was hijacked again.
Sitting in his seat, Shiller rubbed his forehead: He should've asked those people for a gun earlier. After all this, he was still holding the same broken revolver, and whether he used it or not could cause big problems.
These hijackers didn't look very professional; they just came up with a Kalashnikov and kept rotating the muzzle, gesturing for people to take out their money.
Shiller had money but not in local currency. Taking out US Dollars would mark him as an easy target, possibly leading to another kidnapping. Though he could squeeze some more out of Diana, his injuries couldn't wait any longer.
Since his ear injury got soaked in seawater, it was starting to inflame. Shiller could feel he had a slight fever, and if this continued, Egypt could be dangerous.
Looking around, Shiller saw someone with a wallet full of local currency. He elbowed the person, handing him a few US Dollars. The person widened his eyes and understood immediately. He secretly hid the US Dollars and gave Shiller some local currency.
However, things weren't that simple. The hijackers weren't blind. Shiller looked different from the locals; even if not a true white man, he definitely wasn't local. He was clearly a fat sheep to them. They pointed a gun at him, signaling for him to stand up. They intended to search him.
If they only took away the dollars, that would be fine. But losing that broken revolver would make it hard for the ship to safely reach Egypt.
Shiller felt a bit helpless. He took a deep breath and, when another attacker moved to search him, he suddenly grabbed the gun. Not being in good condition, he didn't even fight; he just snatched the gun.
The accomplice with a gun was stunned. Shiller fired an empty round and yelled, "Don't move! Or I'll shoot!"
The leader, who was searching the back rows, saw what happened and shouted something in the local language. Shiller couldn't hear or read lips, so he said, "Find someone who speaks English!"
A moment later, someone stepped forward: "Who are you? What do you want?"
"From America, don't ask much. Get off the ship, or don't blame me if something happens!"
The hijackers exchanged glances, visibly unsure. To be honest, Americans here were like wandering Gods of Death — nothing good ever came from encountering them. After some discussion, since they'd already stolen enough, they decided to leave.
Just then, another group blocked the ship. They were equipped with standard weapons. A glance told Shiller these must have come from the region's American Military Base, given their full desert camouflage.
This group wasn't there for money but intended to search people. Shiller, standing in the middle of the boat, had no time to hide. He could only roll on the spot, firing a burst, taking down the nearest hijacker, grabbing his magazine, then using the seats as cover, took out a few at the door, and rushed outside.
Outside, at least a dozen heavily armed terrorists stood. Shiller was speechless: Hearing was indeed important. If he could hear, he would have gauged their numbers by footsteps. But now it was too late to retreat.
He hid by the ship's side, ready to take out those on the deck. But the opponent almost immediately spotted him, flanking him from both sides. Just as Shiller debated jumping ship, gunshots erupted, followed by two dazzling flashes, as a massive sword sliced two advancing terrorists in half.
Narrowing his eyes, Shiller saw a tall, black-and-yellow shadow leap from the ship's top, standing amidst the blood mist, staring at him.
"Blue-dog." A deep voice came through a mask, "Who told you I was here?"
"I'm not here for you." Shiller pulled out his revolver, "I suggest you take back what you said, or else—"
"Or else what?"
"Bang!!!!!!"
"What the hell?!"