During a holiday, I returned to my hometown to visit my family.

My family’s private jet was under maintenance. The newly hired housekeeper mistakenly booked an economy-class ticket.

While I was boarding, I ran into my first love, Brooke Smith, and her new boyfriend, Simon Xanders.

They mocked me for flying in economy class. They laughed at me for being a country bumpkin heading to Nework.

I ignored them. Then, I accidentally discovered the pilot, Lucas Wallace’s secret.

His wife had been cheating on him. It turned out he had been raising another man’s child for over a decade. He wanted to take the entire plane down with him.

I knew how to fly a plane. I urged everyone to subdue the pilot and let me make an emergency landing.

Yet they mocked and humiliated me relentlessly.

Then, the plane plunged sharply toward the ground. Only then did they finally panic.

“Everyone, listen up! The pilot activated a self-destruct program. We’re going to crash in fifteen minutes. I need two people to help me restrain him. I know how to fly. I can get us all down safely!” I said in a loud and urgent voice.

Yet everyone in the cabin treated me like a lunatic. No one paid any attention to me.

Suddenly, a glass bottle flew over and hit me on the head. I felt warm liquid trickling down my forehead.

Simon Xanders walked over from first class. He was Brooke Smith’s new boyfriend. Brooke was my first love.

He slapped me twice. The pain made me lose my balance. I felt slightly dizzy from it.

“What are you talking about? The pilot is my uncle. He has a happy family and a great life. Why would he crash the plane?”

Brooke joined in and mocked me.

“Don’t tell me you’re making a scene just because we made fun of you earlier. Let me spell it out for you, Justin. I stopped liking you a long time ago. Quit dreaming!”

I tried to stand up. She deliberately stuck out her leg and made me trip. I fell flat on my face.

“No, it’s true! I heard it myself.”

Simon bent down and grabbed my collar. He then grabbed a toilet brush from the lavatory and shoved it into my mouth. He twisted it around my mouth.

The stench spread through my mouth and nose. My stomach churned violently. I even threw up my breakfast.

“You disgusting piece of trash. You probably got on this flight just to stalk my girlfriend. I’m going to beat you to death!”

He punched me repeatedly on the bridge of my nose. I heard a few cracking sounds. My nasal bones had shattered completely.

“Please... believe me. We’re almost out of time.”

Some other passengers were sleeping. Others still minded their own business. A few looked on with curiosity. However, no one believed a word I said.

A young college student named Anna stood up and said, “Stop it. I’ll go with you.”

Simon blocked Anna’s path. He then raised his leg and kicked me hard several times in the stomach.

“He’s just a stalker. You can’t believe a word he says. If you go with him, do you seriously think he won’t try something dirty on you within minutes?”

Brooke chimed in, saying, “Yeah. He’s my ex. We broke up forever ago, and he still tracked me down. Who knows what kind of creepy methods he used? Stay far away from him!”

“But...” Anna had doubts. She looked hesitant, unsure who to trust. Yet she eventually walked toward me.

“Come on. I’m an aerospace engineering major. I’ll know right away whether the plane actually activated the self-destruct program.”

My eyes lit up. I endured the sharp pain and stood up. I had finally found someone willing to help me.

“Everyone, please stay calm and return to your seats.”

Just then, a flight attendant walked over with a cart. She shot me a disgusted glance. It was the same look she would give a troublemaker on purpose.

“Sir, if you ask me, you’re the one trying to cause chaos and take everyone down with you. I just came back from the cockpit. Captain Wallace and the co-pilot are both flying the plane just fine. You’re full of lies. Spreading panic is a crime. If you don’t stop right now, I’m reporting you. The police will wait for you at the gate.”

“You’re lying. Only Captain Wallace is in the cockpit. I saw him knock out the co-pilot with my own eyes,” I screamed with every ounce of strength left in me.

I was furious.

There were only ten minutes left. We would crash and die soon.

Not a single person was willing to spend two minutes to verify the truth.

I quickly grabbed Anna’s hand, wanting to sprint toward the cockpit.

Simon pulled off his belt. He swung his arm wide and looped it around my neck. The belt choked me and forced me backward.

“Don’t go with him. Don’t you get it? He’s just trying to hold your hand to cop a feel. Today, I’m doing the world a favor. Time to teach you a lesson, you sick freak!”

The belt tightened around my neck. I could not breathe at all.

Simon suddenly let go. The entire crowd burst into laughter.

I saw every passenger look at me with a disgusted expression. Even Anna, the only one who had shown me kindness, had a somewhat repulsed expression.

I looked down. The suffocation had made me lose control of my bladder.

Simon doubled over laughing.

“Look at this pathetic loser. He was so scared that he wet himself. You call yourself a hero? A mutt on the side of the road has more of a backbone!”

Brooke pinched her nose. She took out perfume and sprayed it around her.

“I thought you were actually somebody special. Look at you. My darling scared you so bad that you wet your pants. I only felt sorry for you, so I dated you for three days. I can’t believe you’re still hung up on me. You’re totally out of my league.”

The blood spilling from my head blurred my vision. I was fighting so desperately to save everyone’s lives. Why would they not believe me? Not a single person was willing to stand up for me.

In my disappointment, Anna handed me a tissue. “Here. Wipe yourself off. Then, take me to see it.”

I started to feel hopeful again. I took her hand and slowly stood up.

“Hold on.”

A man in gold-rimmed glasses stopped us.

He adjusted his glasses and said, “Commercial planes don’t have self-destruct programs. Only military jets or drones do. I could tell this man was lying from the very beginning. You’re a nice girl. Don’t fall for his nonsense.”

Anna slapped her forehead.

“Oh, right. How could I forget that? May I ask who you are?”

The man smiled arrogantly and responded, “I’m a university professor of aerospace engineering. This guy is a complete fraud. Everybody, don’t believe a word he says.”

Knowing I was right, I argued, “I’ve flown planes before. My family even owns a private jet. I know that if a captain understands the programming, he can implant a virus and trigger the self-destruct program.”

Simon kicked me and knocked me down. My head slammed into the armrest. The impact tore a large hole in it.

“Yeah, right. You know how to fly a plane? You probably did that in your dreams. And a private jet? Go sell that lie somewhere else.”

“Exactly. A poor kid whose family doesn’t even own a car. Do you have no shame in making up lies like this?” Brooke said with contempt.

Back then, my father had arranged for a helicopter specifically to take me to and from school. Of course, there would be no car to pick me up.

The flight attendant looked hesitant.

“Come to think of it, Captain Wallace used to work as a programmer. He even won a coding award at our airline.”

“Are you actually buying his nonsense? That just proves my uncle is talented. Besides, why would he ever want to hurt me?”

The man with glasses thought for a few seconds. Then, he said, “If that’s the case, the plane really could have been tampered with. Alright. I’ll go with you guys to check it out.”

His words reignited my hope. I nodded hard.

The three of us were about to walk toward the cockpit. Then, the captain, Lucas Wallace, appeared.

“What’s all the commotion? You’re interfering with me and my co-pilot flying the plane.”

After the flight attendant explained everything, he laughed.

“It’s all a misunderstanding. I was arguing with my wife in the bathroom earlier. I got angry, so I said some harsh things. This young man must have taken it seriously.”

I stared right at Lucas and said, “I saw it with my own eyes. You knocked out the co-pilot, and you activated the self-destruct program!”

Lucas’ appearance dispelled most people’s doubts. That included the man in glasses and Anna.

Their faces turned ashen. They sat back down in their seats. “Don’t joke about things like this!”

I was so devastated that I wanted to cry, but there were no tears. There was simply no way to prove that Lucas was lying.

Lucas walked toward me.

“Young man, I’m sorry that my nephew hit you.”

“Lucas, why are you even bothering with him? If I hadn’t stepped in, he would’ve actually gotten in your way and tried to fly the plane.”

“Yeah, Captain. He should be arrested. Hand him over to the police as soon as we land,” another passenger added.

“You motherless piece of trash. With all that energy, why don’t you do something useful? No, you just had to be a scammer,” someone else sneered.

“Hah! I saw through his act a long time ago. He just wanted everyone’s attention so he could sell something. Pathetic.”

All the passengers united in condemning me. It was as if my desperate efforts were nothing but a joke.

Lucas smiled and helped me up. His eyes lit up, but I could not understand what that meant.

“Everyone, stop ganging up on him. This is all a misunderstanding. Please remain seated and stay where you are. I’ll take him to the crew area first and tend to his injuries.”

As soon as the door closed, Lucas revealed his true nature.

He took out a rope and tied me up. I was already on the verge of death.

“I didn’t expect you to see what I did. Just stay put. Soon, everyone will be set free together.”

“The passengers didn’t hurt you. If you have a grudge, just take it out on your wife. Why drag innocent people into this?”

Lucas stopped walking. His face twisted with anger.

“The man she cheated with is on this plane. I want him to pay. Why do I have to suffer so much while all of you get to live happily? I want every last one of you to die with me!”

He then smiled and sneered.

“Young man, I’ve been watching you. You got beaten black and blue, and you’re still desperate to save people. But did anyone care about you? They’re not worth saving. They all deserve to die.”

After saying this, he left.

I sat on the stool and struggled with all my might. I estimated that we had about five minutes remaining. Time was running out.

A sound came from the storage locker. I hooked my leg around it and pulled it open.

To my surprise, I saw the co-pilot, Edward Fisher. His face and body were beaten bloody.

“I’m Edward, the co-pilot. Quick! Go stop Lucas. He’s going to destroy the plane.”

Finally, I had found a witness.

I quickly let Edward untie me.

His hands were broken. He could only use his teeth to bite the rope to untie me.

With that, the two of us helped each other. We were both injured. We made our way to the cockpit to stop Lucas.

However, the cockpit door was locked tight. There was no sign of Lucas inside either.

“Go find the flight attendant. She has the spare key on her.”

Edward and I walked back toward the cabin. Along the way, we saw that the emergency hatch had been opened. One parachute was missing.

Edward yelled, “Lucas is a coward! He went on and on about all of us dying together. Then, at the last second, he got scared and bailed.”

Passengers around us saw us walking over, covered in blood. They looked like they were watching a show.

Edward stopped the flight attendant.

“Give me the cockpit keys. Lucas jumped off the plane to escape what he did. I need to contact dispatch immediately and make an emergency landing.”

The flight attendant was shocked. She was about to pull out the keys when Simon snatched them away.

He pushed both Edward and me to the floor. Then, he said viciously, “You’ve got some nerve. Where did you even find an actor to help you pull this off?”

Edward shouted, “I’m not an actor. Give me the keys. There’s no time!”

“Yeah, right.”

Simon spat onto Edward’s face. Then, he turned to the flight attendant.

“Are you sure he’s a pilot?”

The flight attendant leaned in for a closer look. Then, she quickly shook her head.

“I’ve never seen this man before in my life. He must be an imposter.”

Edward quickly explained, “Kevin took the day off. I was scheduled to cover his shift. Of course, you don’t recognize me.”

The flight attendant looked conflicted.

“How do you know the co-pilot’s name? Wait… Are you actually his substitute?”

Brooke grabbed the flight attendant’s hand.

“Don’t let them trick you. Anyone can look up a name. I think these two are just crazy and putting on a show.”

Simon smirked and snapped the key in half.

Edward let out a hoarse, desperate scream. At that moment, he felt the same despair I had felt.

I did not give up. I tried to persuade the passengers who were just watching everything play out.

“Come on, a few of you. Let’s ram the door open together. If we take control of the plane before it self-destructs, we can still survive!”

No one paid me any attention.

“Didn’t you just say the plane would crash in fifteen minutes? It’s been over eighteen minutes now. The plane is still flying fine. That means you’re a total liar.”

“Yeah, exactly. Are you a terrorist? Are you trying to cause a panic so you can rob everybody?”

“That’s right. The guy next to him has to be his partner in crime. He ran off after the captain taught him a lesson. Everyone, grab them both and beat them to a pulp!”

The crowd’s indifference, mockery, and sarcasm plunged me into complete despair.

Their fists rained down on us like a sudden storm. They beat us with reckless abandon.

Just then, the cabin intercom came on.

“Warning. Self-destruct initiated. Vertical descent from ten thousand meters. Survival probability: 0.00001%.

“Countdown: Five. Four. Three. Two. One—”