After the last call ended, the control tower lost contact with the plane.
The rescue team immediately drove a speedboat to the scene of the accident. This was the second accident in a day, and even the captain, who had always been calm and collected, showed a rare look of anxiety.
Astronaut training was indeed dangerous, and the tragedy of Apollo 1 was still NASA's eternal pain to this day. During the launch rehearsal test, the command/service module suddenly caught fire. At the time, the three crew members were sitting inside, and like a turkey in the oven, the high-pressure oxygen-rich environment allowed the fire to spread rapidly. Before the ground crew arrived, all the astronauts inside were killed.
The disaster put the Apollo program on hold for 20 months.
During the training, various accidents had occurred. However, this was the first time that two astronaut candidates had encountered accidents in two different projects within a few hours of each other.
After the communication was cut off, the control tower had no idea what happened to Zhang Heng.
Under normal circumstances, for a twin-engine aircraft, if one engine stopped, an experienced pilot would be able to fly the plane back to the airport or use the time to find a suitable landing spot. However, after the twin engines were shut down, it would be difficult for a fighter jet to maintain its gliding state for a long time due to its weight and design.
Therefore, Zhang Heng's best option in such a situation was to parachute.
However, the failure of Anthony's ejection seat in the morning had cast a shadow over many people's hearts.
On the other hand, the Players were bewildered as well. Not long ago, the meeting hosted by the middle-aged man that looked like an intellectual had failed to uncover Anthony's murderer, but logically speaking, the murderer should have been under some psychological pressure. No one expected the murderer to strike again so soon.
And he chose a target that no one thought should be his target.
Zhang Heng was currently the person with the best performance during the training. From all aspects, he had basically locked in first place in advance. Killing him would indeed free up a spot for Apollo 11, but to the people behind him, it was far more worthwhile to kill him than the others.
Other than the fact that Zhang Heng did not look easy to deal with, killing the first and third place would bring the same result. However, considering that they would be piloting the spacecraft into space, everyone would definitely want their teammates to be as reliable as possible. Therefore, the danger that Zhang Heng faced was far less than that of the second and third place behind him.
There was probably only one person who had the motive to kill him.
"Why? Why are you all looking at me? It's as if I'm the murderer. "The listless young man sniffled.
"You said you didn't have a reason to kill Anthony because he couldn't threaten you, but now you have a reason," Zhen Xiong said.
"What do you mean?"
"You know how dangerous your current position is. The people behind you can't wait for you to die, and after David dies, your result is very likely to be number one."
"And then?" The young man touched his chin.
"You and David are the only two people here who have piloting foundation. If we lose David, we will need you to pilot the spacecraft."
"I like the way you put it. If I had a choice, I'd be happy to have you as my teammate on the moon." The young man grinned.
"Dream on!" Zhen Xiong sneered.
"If I were you, I wouldn't be so rude to my future commander. If you're really unhappy with me, you can knock on my door at night. I'd be happy to have an in-depth discussion with you, one on one." The listless young man deliberately emphasized the word 'in-depth'. "Now that you've gotten what you wanted, can you tell us how you did it?
"Now that you've gotten what you wanted, can you tell us how you did it? This morning, you knew the order of everyone's roll call, so you could've done it last night. But how did you do it this time? How did you disable the engine? David's flying skills are better than yours, so why didn't he detect it before takeoff? Besides, there was Mark between you and David. What game item did you use?"
"If I don't tell you, what are you going to do? Bite me?" The young man raised an eyebrow.
"It's true that we need someone to pilot the spacecraft, but that's after we board Apollo 11. Before that, we won't place our lives in the mercy of others. Besides, I'm pretty sure you don't have such a thing." The middle-aged man, who looked like an intellectual, wiped his glasses. "So, in order to ensure our personal safety, you can either show us the game item and tell us how to trigger it and how to dispel it, or we can take it away ourselves. But then, we might take something else from you."
"Tsk, tsk. Uncle, you're much tougher than you look. Too bad … you've picked the wrong target." The listless young man curled his lips. "I wish I could tell you how I crashed the spacecraft, just like how I wish I could tell you how I killed that idiot Anthony. But the truth is … this is the last time I'm going to repeat myself. It's just too stupid … Listen, I didn't kill them. I don't care what the rest of you think about this. I didn't do it. Although, in a sense, I don't hate what he did."
"We're wasting our time. He's full of lies. We should restrain him immediately and search him," the high school student suggested.
"I agree," Zhen Xiong said.
"If any of you dares to touch me, I swear I'll kill him. This isn't a joke." The listless young man's face darkened, and a murderous look flashed in his eyes.
"Why? If you didn't do it, why don't you let us search you?" The middle-aged man asked. "Like you said, after David's death, you're the most suitable person among us to pilot the spacecraft. As long as you can prove that these two incidents have nothing to do with you, you'll be able to sit on the sidelines and watch the show. You want to complete the main mission, don't you?"
"I won't show others my trump card before the outcome is clear," the listless young man said.
The atmosphere fell into a stalemate. The middle-aged man wasn't without concern. This was Cape Canaveral Air Force Base. Although they had the absolute advantage in numbers, it was difficult for them to use force.
At that moment, Jia Lai, who had been quiet all this while, suddenly spoke. He pointed in the direction of the beach not far away. "Ah … my eyesight is poor. Do you see David on the speedboat?"
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