To Sister Celine's surprise, the transport really did start up just as Xiaoya's brother had said it would. It was hard for her to imagine that a child who had merely memorized the manual could actually operate it without a single mistake.
Even after the transport began lifting off the ground, everything still seemed so unreal.
Several children crowded excitedly into the cockpit, even fighting over who would get to sit in the co-pilot's seat. But as Sister Celine watched Xiaoya's brother solemnly fiddling with the instruments despite his small stature, she couldn't help feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.
A kid flying... a plane, huh?
Suddenly, the transport jolted. Every instrument in the control room began flashing, then the indicator lights went out in an instant. The transport's power dropped... and it plummeted straight back to the ground.
Fortunately, it hadn't climbed very high.
Everyone in the control room was thrown about, their faces filled with alarm as they looked around in confusion.
"What happened?" Awang hurriedly scrambled to his feet.
"We've been discovered." Xiaoya's brother was silent for a moment before speaking in a ghost-story-like tone. "I was careless... The transport should have a remote termination function. The manual didn't mention it. The one I read was probably a crippled version."
"You... You guys, look!" Awang cried out, trembling as he pointed beyond the cockpit's windshield.
A young man in a white military uniform had appeared outside the transport's windshield. Even more astonishing... and terrifying was the fact that he wasn't relying on anything at all. He was simply standing in midair.
The Kingdom's... welfare official, Phoenix!
Xiaoya's brother opened his mouth in surprise, his pupils shrinking slightly. It seemed that what stood before him had exceeded the limits of his understanding.
Outside.
The welfare official casually