Police in Los Angeles

Jack did a quick calculation in his mind; ten thousand square miles is about twenty-five thousand square kilometers. Even Hainan Island is only about thirty-five thousand. Searching for twenty people in such a vast area is literally like finding a needle in a haystack.

"Are we sure we might have landed on Holo Island?" The Chinese co-pilot's face turned very pale. It was still a while before dawn, and the temperature wasn't very high, but his forehead was already covered in beads of sweat.

"What's wrong?" The others looked at him puzzled, not understanding why he was so nervous.

"Holo Island is the stronghold of the 'Abu Sayyaf' group. The Philippine government only nominally governs the island, but in reality, it's controlled by terrorists and separatists. Most of the locals are sympathizers and supporters of these people."

The Chinese co-pilot, who reportedly hailed from Hong Kong but had a complete English surname, spoke with a slight tremble, probably recalling the bloody videos circulated online.

Jack had also heard of the "Abu Sayyaf" group. Kidnapping and beheading foreign tourists were their specialties, with incidents occurring almost annually in the Philippines, especially in the southern islands.

Now, with over twenty tourists and crew members forced to make an emergency landing on this small island, it was like a godsend for the group. Jack could already imagine the sequence of events if they were captured.

The men would face violent abuse, the women would be raped, filmed, and then some heads would be chopped off. They would negotiate, and then more heads would roll. After receiving the ransom, they would continue extorting until a few hostages might be released, but the rest would end up as plantation slaves or sex slaves.

The group claimed they were establishing their own religious kingdom, but apart from occasionally carrying out bombings, they had refined kidnapping and extortion into a well-oiled machine.

This was big trouble. If given a choice, Jack would rather have crash-landed in the sea. Well, considering the pirate-infested islands in Southeast Asia, the difference wasn't significant.

"Do we have any chance of being rescued by the Philippine government?" Captain Torrance looked at the two FBI agents.

Jack shrugged, "We're with the FBI, not the CIA, so we're not very familiar with overseas situations. However, to my knowledge, the 'Abu Sayyaf' group has been hunted by the Philippine government for thirty or forty years, yet its scale has only grown."

He turned to the co-pilot, "Also, I wouldn't count too much on the Philippine government. If I remember correctly, about ten years ago, a bus full of tourists from Hong Kong was hijacked in Manila."

The co-pilot nodded bitterly, "I was in college then, watching the live broadcast on Hong Kong's TVB. There were eight deaths and seven injuries. The perpetrator caused less than half the casualties; the rest were due to the police, including one person killed by a window-breaking hammer."

Everyone was stunned by this information. Jack knew of an even more shocking event, but now was clearly not the time to further upset the crew.

"So, what should we do? Should we hide this from the passengers?" Captain Torrance was at a loss. Though a captain's responsibilities aren't as absolute as a ship's captain, they are still significant.

Even though their formal responsibility might be over once they left the plane, in reality, the captain still had a duty to assist in the rescue and organize self-help.

Neither Jack nor Gigi would take on such a responsibility willingly, as it concerned the lives of more than twenty people. It would be up to the captain to see if he could lead them.

However, Jack did offer some advice, "Get me a map, and I'll try to confirm our exact location. But as I see it, the most important thing now is to find a way to contact the outside world."

"While the local military and police might not be reliable, there are many U.S. military bases in the Philippines. The passengers on board are likely from different countries, so at least some form of rescue should be expected."

"But given the risks we face, it's best to gather as many supplies as possible and find a place for everyone to hide for now."

They had probably already been discovered. A plane this size flying low in the middle of the night couldn't go unnoticed. By morning, someone would surely come looking.

Moreover, despite the potholes and poor condition of this dirt road they landed on, in such a poverty-stricken tropical area, it was probably considered a main road. It might get busy soon.

"Alright, alright, let's take this step by step. I'll calm the passengers first, then we can all unload the luggage and pick out the useful items. I'll also see if I can fix the radio," Captain Torrance bit his lip, puffing out his cheeks as if to encourage himself, then seemed to remember something, pulling the two FBI agents aside.

"I saw you unlock that prisoner's handcuffs earlier. Is that safe? I don't want him endangering the other passengers."

"I'll keep an eye on him. Rather than let him become a destabilizing factor, it's better to show some goodwill. Unless he's incredibly foolish, he should choose to cooperate with us."

Jack wasn't worried about a mere mercenary from a rogue group, especially given his current physical condition and fighting skills, and Gigi still had a gun.

"Alright, I trust your judgment." Captain Torrance took a small sip from the bottle of water handed to him by Bonnie and walked over to the gathered passengers.

As the captain approached, the passengers began to clamor.

"What exactly is going on?"

"We need an explanation. Can you give us some straight answers?"

"What do we do next?"

Torrance patiently waited for them to quiet down before speaking loudly.

"Listen up, everyone, please be quiet. Thank you all for your cooperation. I'm sorry for this accident. I know you have a lot of questions, and I'll share what I know."

"Several lightning strikes have caused us to lose the plane's battery and communication equipment. I'm sure everyone witnessed that rare ball lightning."

"In our current situation, we have no way to call for help."

The passengers began to panic again.

"What? We can't call for help?"

"Are you kidding? How is that possible?"

"Everyone, please stay calm," Torrance gestured for quiet, raising his voice.

"Once the plane cools down and there's no risk of fire, I'll need everyone to help gather the luggage from the cabin. We'll sort out the water and food and then discuss our next steps."

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