Chapter 1214: I’m actually impressed.

Now that Atlas and Penny thought about it, the cabin crew should have returned by now. It had been a while since Penny told them that Zoren was asking for them. But knowing Zoren hadn’t actually called for them, they should have come back.

But they hadn’t.

That could only mean one thing: whatever those fake cabin crew members were up to, it wasn’t good, and they most likely had put their evil plan into motion.

"Hugo didn’t wake up earlier," Atlas whispered, looking up at Penny. "Penny, was there something wrong with your drink earlier?"

"Something wrong? How was I supposed to know? They all taste terrible."

"But Hugo should have woken up when you dragged me here," Atlas muttered. There was a high possibility that Hugo’s beers had been drugged. After all, it didn’t make sense for Hugo to sleep so soundly and not wake up after all the commotion between Penny and Atlas.

"Keep watch on them," she instructed as she got up.

"No, I’ll go back and check—"

"And if they’re already held hostage, what are you going to do about it?" she interrupted, cutting him off mid-sentence. "You’ll just end up as a hostage too."

"What do you think I’d even do here?" Atlas argued back. "I don’t know how to pilot this thing, so even if I get taken hostage, this aircraft isn’t going anywhere else. And you’re going to make sure of that."

Penny scrunched up her nose, about to argue, but then gave up. There was no point in fighting with Atlas right now. Gazing down at the pilot, she arched a brow.

"What—what?" the pilot stammered.

"You said this other pilot isn’t part of your team, that he’s just an imposter here to control you, right?" she asked, and the pilot nodded.

"I see."

Without another word, Penny raised her foot and struck the man under the chin, knocking him out instantly.

Atlas blinked. "What... is going on here?" He furrowed his brows. "Why did you do that, Penny? Aside from you, he’s the only one who knows how to fly this thing."

"I didn’t like the look in his eyes. There was something off about it, you know?"

"No, I don’t know, Penelope. Now, what are we supposed to do?"

"We’ll wake the other guy!" Penny hopped over to the co-pilot. This time, instead of flicking his nose, she slapped him so hard it looked like his soul momentarily left his body. The man jolted awake immediately.

Atlas: "..."

This was an emergency situation, and his sister was either knocking people out or slapping them awake.

As soon as the co-pilot regained consciousness, he flinched and immediately threw his hands over his head. "Please don’t kill me! Please don’t kill me! I did what you asked! I swear I didn’t tell anyone!"

Atlas glanced at Penny, only to see her smirk and wink at him.

"Sometimes, being judgmental isn’t a bad thing," she teased before turning her attention back to the terrified co-pilot. "Being judgmental, and knowing how to read the room. For instance, when we came in here, this guy immediately panicked, while the other one barely reacted. They didn’t even know who was coming in, yet their reactions were completely different. That alone tells us who’s naturally anxious, no matter who enters, and who didn’t care—because he knew he was safe."

Penny smacked her lips and watched as the pilot slowly lowered his arms. "Am I right, Captain?"

"Please help me," the co-pilot—who was actually the real captain of the aircraft—pleaded, relief washing over his face. "They took my crew."

"See?" Penny grinned triumphantly at Atlas. "I’m smart."

Atlas tilted his head. "I’m actually impressed. But that doesn’t change the fact that the cabin crew might have already done something to our people. And you, planning to leave me behind before clarifying this."

"Oh, come on. I didn’t plan to leave without knocking him out and don’t worry about them. Even if Hugo was drugged, Renren and Slater were there. Besides, those guys wouldn’t kill them—if that was the plan, they would have just planted a bomb here. They want us alive, that’s for sure." She then turned back to the captain.

"So, Captain. This guy told me you’re part of the group that hijacked this plane before I did." She tilted her head, smiling. "Despite everything I’ve said, it’s your word against his. So, you better tell me something really convincing... or I’ll knock you out just like I did to him."

"How am I supposed to convince you!?" the captain yelled in distress. "These people snuck onto this aircraft before I even got here! My crew’s in danger if I don’t cooperate! All I know is that—"

SLAP!

Both Atlas and the captain flinched as the sharp sound echoed through the cockpit. The pilot froze, his wide, trembling eyes darting to Penny. His hand flew to his cheek, where she had slapped him so hard it was throbbing.

"Get it together." She clicked her tongue. "I told you. It’s your word against his, and he told me you’re with the enemy. I don’t think you understand what it’s like to have me as an enemy."

The captain’s breath hitched, his whole body tensing. But although the slap stung, it somehow brought him back to clarity.

"These people have my crew somewhere on this aircraft. I don’t know the details, but from what I’ve gathered, they need to take this plane somewhere else," he said, his voice steadier now. "They’re armed and highly skilled. I don’t know what else to say to convince you, but we have to reroute this craft. Otherwise, it’ll be too dangerous for all of us—we won’t be able to make it to Anteca if we keep heading in the wrong direction. And emergency landing isn’t an option. There’s no safe place to land."

For a second, silence filled the room. Atlas and Penny simply stared at him, as if trying to determine whether he was telling the truth.

Atlas, purely out of curiosity, shifted his gaze to his sister. "Is he telling the truth?"

"Yep!" Penny grinned and got up, walking back to the pilot’s seat. She grabbed something and turned back toward them, holding up two identification badges. "One of these is his. I saw it earlier when I sat down."

She tossed one of the IDs to Atlas, who caught it midair. He glanced at it, then at the conscious pilot. The man matched his ID, but the other one didn’t.

"If you saw these earlier... then why did you slap him?" Atlas asked flatly.

Penny simply smiled. "Because I needed him clearheaded."

Atlas stared at her, unimpressed.

"Fine." Penny huffed, rolling her eyes. "My hand’s been itching ever since that kid tricked me and stabbed me with a syringe. My wound still aches whenever I remember how I almost died because I let my guard down against a kid. And if you’re asking why I woke up the imposter first is because I want to kick him."

She shot the captain a look. "Help me tie this guy up. You’re in charge of the aircraft now. I already corrected our route and contacted the tower—do the rest."

Then she turned to Atlas. "As for us..." she grinned mischievously. "We’re going together. But first, help me tie that trickster up. He’s a damn hell of an actor for sure."

And with that, they dragged the imposter pilot and tied him in one of the seats before Atlas and Penny headed to where they left Hugo and Zoren.