The Gulfstream G700, as a compact business jet, has extremely limited space.
Unlike larger aircraft that can accommodate cargo holds, its total interior length is 19.41 meters, with the cabin occupying 17.35 meters. The remaining space is the cockpit.
The cabin is undoubtedly the operational area for the members of Achilles' Heel, making it impossible for Luo Shu and Aiolos to hide there.
Thus, the cockpit is their only hiding place.
Now, the Achilles' Heel field team is returning to Area-13, and both Mobile Task Force members and crew are boarding.
The two of them hide on either side of the cockpit door, activating their "invisibility" abilities.
Soon, two pilots enter and start the engines.
Luo Shu quietly locks the door, then steps behind the pilots and murmurs, "Sorry," before activating Mental Domination.
The pilots, being ordinary humans, offer no resistance and become his puppets.
These two are undoubtedly innocent, but Luo Shu isn't naive enough to sacrifice himself for the sake of the Foundation.
Since they are now on opposing sides, occasionally killing a couple of Foundation personnel isn't beyond consideration.
The main issue is that the flight from Dushanbe to Greece takes several hours. Maintaining an anti-memetic state for the entire duration is impossible, so he has no choice but to take drastic measures.
With the pilots under control, the Achilles' Heel team in the cabin remains completely unaware.
Barbie would never imagine that the plane she's on has already been hijacked by Luo Shu.
Speaking of hijacking, Luo Shu had initially considered simply flying the Gulfstream G700 away.
But that idea was impractical.
Stealing an unarmed aircraft would be tantamount to suicide.
If the Foundation noticed, a single missile would reduce Luo Shu and Aiolos to ashes.
After weighing the pros and cons, Luo Shu decides to follow Aiolos to Area-13 as a "guest," pushing the hiding-in-plain-sight tactic to its limits.
No one would expect these two fugitives not only to avoid fleeing but to willingly enter Achilles' Heel's territory.
And so, separated only by a cabin door, the two sides continue their westward journey in uneasy silence.
Midway through the flight, the pilots' bodies begin to rot beyond recognition, rendering them incapable of flying the plane.
Luo Shu turns to Aiolos. "Do you know how to fly a plane?"
Aiolos shakes his head. "Never learned."
Well, Luo Shu admits he overestimated Aiolos—he's just Achilles' Heel's intelligence officer, not some omnicompetent Agent 007.
So, from this moment on, the plane enters unmanned flight mode...
Technically, unmanned flight isn't impossible—if the Gulfstream G700 could just fly itself.
You're a grown-ass plane, you should know how to fly on your own.
The problem is, Luo Shu has already exhausted his Mechanical Animation uses for the day.
He tries to reactivate the ability, but the clock hasn't struck midnight yet.
At this point, some readers might ask: "Wait, back in Beijing's Sanlitun, it was already 10:30 PM—how come after ten chapters, it's still not midnight? Author, are you seriously dragging this out?"
Ahem. Time zones are a thing.
When it was 10:30 PM in Beijing (UTC+8), it was only 7:30 PM in Dushanbe (UTC+5).
Despite all the chaos, only about two hours have passed in real time, meaning it's still not even 10 PM in Dushanbe...
Time is moving backward!
And to make matters worse, the Gulfstream G700 is flying westward, crossing into smaller time zones, causing the local time to keep rewinding.
The Anomaly Archive is just that stubborn—its milestone abilities don't reset every 24 hours, but rather once per calendar day!
As long as today doesn't end, Luo Shu can't refresh his expended ability uses.
The only saving grace is that modern aircraft have autopilot systems, meaning they can follow a set course without manual input.
Otherwise, they might as well prepare for a crash landing.
But no matter how advanced autopilot is, landing still requires human intervention.
For example, if air traffic control orders the plane to hold position and wait for clearance, autopilot can't handle that.
After a tense silence, Luo Shu suggests, "What if we turn back?"
"Why?" Aiolos asks, confused.
"If we fly east, we'll enter larger time zones, speeding up the clock so I can reactivate my ability at midnight."
Luo Shu says this, but his expression is conflicted.
Aiolos doesn't understand his hesitation. "Then let's turn back."
Luo Shu finally voices his concerns. "Two problems: First, do you even know how to make a plane turn around? Second, if we deviate from the flight path, won't the Foundation notice?"
Aiolos glances at the control panel.
...No steering wheel, and I don't know how to turn this thing.
Awkward.
Realizing Aiolos is useless here, Luo Shu decides to take matters into his own hands.
He studies the controls intently and finally identifies one critical lever:
The throttle.
The throttle determines the plane's speed, which in turn determines how long it takes the Gulfstream G700 to reach its destination.
That gives him an idea.
Luo Shu's inner nerd awakens, and he begins feverish calculations.
Earth's equatorial rotational speed: 1,670 km/h
Current latitude's rotational speed: 1,169 km/h
Gulfstream G700's current cruising speed: 1,041 km/h
Current longitude...
Current time...
After a series of calculations so complex they'd make a normal person question reality, Luo Shu arrives at an answer.
He must reduce the plane's speed to below 700 km/h to ensure that, by the time they reach their destination, the date will have changed.
Without hesitation, he pulls back the throttle, forcing the plane to decelerate.
As the Gulfstream G700's speed plummets, turbulence shakes the cabin violently.
A flight attendant immediately calls the cockpit: "Captain, is everything alright?"
Luo Shu quickly responds in a forced professional tone: "Just some minor turbulence. Nothing to worry about."
Aiolos watches nervously. "My Lord, are we going to crash?"
"Hopefully not..." Luo Shu isn't entirely confident either.
But he knows that if they don't slow down now, the Gulfstream G700 will crash upon arrival.
Better to risk it now than face certain doom later.
After struggling to reduce the speed to the target value, the Gulfstream G700 flies shakily but miraculously avoids disaster.
Hours later, the barely-moving jet finally enters Greek airspace.
A radio transmission crackles to life:
"This is Thessaloniki Airport Tower. Current time: 23:55. Ground temperature: 23°C. Wind speed..."