amaotonovel Chapter 4578 The Day of Brightest Day (37)
Chapter 4578 The Day of Brightest Day (37)
Chapter 4578 The Day of Brightest Light (Thirty-Seven)
The airport in New Orleans was bustling with activity. A tall Latino boy pulled his suitcase and strode quickly past the gate, his eyes scanning the crowd before he soon spotted his target.
"Joseph! Joseph, I'm here!"
Standing next to the boarding gate advertising board was a blond, blue-eyed boy. He was tall and thin, with delicate features, and looked like a character from "The Red and the Black."
Hearing the shout, the boy called Joseph took off his headphones and said, "Keldon, can you please stop yelling all the time?"
His tone had a faint southern accent, and his complaints didn't sound so sharp. Kelden laughed heartily, patted his arm, and said, "I was just worried you wouldn't hear me with your headphones on. Who knew you had such good hearing? Where's Nana? Hasn't she arrived yet?"
Joseph shook his head, then turned to look in one direction. Soon, a tall, dark-haired girl walked over and greeted the two of them, saying, "Good morning, I didn't expect you two to be here so early."
“Of course we have to get here early; we’re not the kind of jerks who would miss their flight because of a hangover,” Kelden said.
Joseph turned to look at the boarding gate again and said calmly, "It's time to board. Let's go."
They boarded the plane without any problems. The business class seats were arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration. Joseph sat in a single seat by the window, either reading or sleeping throughout the journey. The other two, on the other hand, chatted animatedly, constantly sharing snacks and asking for business class meals.
During his layover in Atlanta, Kelden began to dream about the trip. He pulled out a travel brochure and said, "Let's go to Cairo first, visit museums and castles, then Alexandria, see the Summer Palace, followed by the natural scenery of the Siwa Oasis, the temples of Aswan, and finally go diving in Hegada..."
Nana also said, "I think if we have enough time, we can go to Luxor too. The hot air balloon views there are beautiful..."
The two men were having a lively discussion, while Joseph listened quietly. They seemed used to his silence, only occasionally smiling at him and asking for his opinion.
Joseph had no objection to their arrangements. No matter what they wanted to do, he would just nod slightly and never make eye contact with them, appearing completely absorbed in his own world.
After boarding the plane again, the two seemed tired of talking and fell asleep immediately. When they woke up, they found the plane hadn't landed yet. Kelden rubbed his eyes, glanced at his watch, and stared wide-eyed in shock: "What the hell?! How come we've been flying for 16 hours already? Weren't we supposed to arrive in 14 hours???"
“None of that matters anymore,” Nana nudged him. “Look at the map. We’re not even over Cairo right now; we’re flying south. Where is this plane taking us?!”
Just then, the plane's announcement came over the intercom: "Dear passengers, we regret to inform you that due to the sudden outbreak of armed conflict, Cairo Airport is no longer permitted for landing. We are now en route to Hegada Airport, which is under the control of the Egyptian authorities. The aircraft has sufficient fuel and is operating normally, so please do not worry..."
An uproar erupted in the cabin as everyone began to discuss the matter. They pulled out their phones, connected to the internet, and checked international news. Sure enough, they saw that the airport in the Egyptian capital had been taken over by an armed group.
Many people panicked because if fighting broke out now and Egypt refused to allow them to land, they might have to make an emergency landing. An emergency landing was very risky; it could cost them their lives. Some were already crying, others were shouting curses, and most were messaging their families, urging them to put pressure on Egypt to allow them to land as soon as possible.
Kelden and Nana were also a little flustered and took out their phones to send messages. Joseph, however, just sat there, also looking at his phone, but not typing; he seemed to be browsing international news.
“Joseph, what should we do?” Kelden said. “If they keep refusing to let us land, and we run out of fuel, we might have to make an emergency landing in the desert.”
“It’s alright,” Joseph said. “There’s always a way.”
Kelden was still anxiously trying to ask something, but Joseph had already pulled the blanket over himself and closed his eyes to rest.
The commotion on the plane didn't last long before it subsided. People realized that panicking was useless and that contacting relatives and friends was the best way to save their lives.
At that moment, Joseph pressed the call button. Soon, a flight attendant came over, knelt down, and looked at Joseph, saying, "Hello, sir, is there anything I can help you with?"
Joseph turned and looked into her eyes, and the flight attendant hesitated for a moment. Joseph whispered something to her, and she left.
After a while, the flight attendant came over. She also squatted down next to Joseph's seat, but you could see that her fingertips were trembling slightly. The moment she saw Joseph's blue eyes, she froze, then slowly stood up and walked back to the preparation room.
Amidst the somewhat surprised gazes of the other flight attendants, she walked to the emergency exit in the cockpit, picked up the intercom with trembling hands, and said, "Captain, please notify the control tower immediately. There is a mind-controlling superhuman on board. If they cannot land this plane at Hegada Airport immediately, he will manually control the landing point."
An uproar erupted in the cockpit. A flight attendant holding something suddenly trembled, looking around as if she had seen a ghost.
"Did you... hear that?"
"You heard it too?"
"You heard someone calling your names too? I thought I was just hallucinating because I was too nervous..."
"I heard it too, someone just called my name."
"Could it be another passenger... Ahhh!!"
The flight attendants nearby quickly covered their mouths, exchanging horrified glances. Those in the cockpit also realized something was wrong. The co-pilot picked up the walkie-talkie, took a deep breath, and relayed the news he had just heard to the control tower.
At first, the control tower didn't take it seriously, but as the plane circled lower and lower and a certain sound began to echo in their ears, they scrambled to clear the runway and let the Boeing 787 land first.
"My God! We actually landed! We must be the first ones to land!" Kelden said excitedly.
"Could there be some important person on this plane?" Nana looked around with some doubt, as if trying to figure out who had solved this huge problem.
Joseph sighed softly, put away his phone, straightened his hair, took off his coat to warm up to the Egyptian heat, and followed the crowd outside.
Stepping off the plane, he took a deep breath. The overly bright sunlight made him a little uncomfortable, and he subconsciously looked into the distance, only to be completely stunned when he met a pair of blue eyes several hundred meters away.
“Joseph, what’s wrong?” Kelden patted him gently from behind and said, “Keep moving forward, we need to get on the shuttle bus.”
Joseph stood there, stunned, unable to believe what he was seeing. Why was his father here?!
Joseph initially thought he was seeing things, but he was all too familiar with Slade Wilson's spiritual symbols, so he immediately thought of a possibility—that all of these accidents were orchestrated by his father.
But he quickly dismissed that possibility. Deathstroke was a mercenary; causing such a commotion wouldn't benefit him. Perhaps he simply knew he was coming and wanted to help him.
What puzzled Joseph was that he didn't storm the control tower, kill most of the people there, and force the others to make his plane make an emergency landing. Deathstroke seemed like the kind of person who would do that.
Then, Joseph couldn't help but notice the figure beside his father. But the moment his gaze fell on the person, the person turned away.
Could this be a coincidence? Joseph didn't know, but he knew he should make a special note of this person, as the chaos in Egypt was probably inextricably linked to him.
Just as he was trying to discern the general outline of this person's mind, certain images began to flash before his eyes: a decadent banquet, a sprawling corpse, policemen rolling in like beans...
"Stay away from him," Joseph said to the figure, his voice trembling.
The other person acted as if they hadn't heard, remaining standing there. Joseph had to repeat himself: "I said, stay away from him!"
At that moment, he suddenly turned back and even met his gaze: "Don't be afraid, child."
The scene shifted again and again: a towering and wide church dome, a statue of Jesus with downcast eyes, a bottomless pit in the dark earth... His spirit began to fall, and everything was shrouded in a hazy and chaotic atmosphere, so much so that it was impossible to make out any outline.
“Get out of there, Slade,” he managed to say. But his supposedly brilliant father seemed to have suddenly lost his fully developed brain, just standing there dumbfounded.
More images flooded in: blood and flesh, wine and dreams, daggers raining down like stars, and emaciated white bones scattered everywhere—at Jesus' feet, in that dark pit, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean…
"Get out of there, Slade Wilson...please!"
"Joseph! Joseph! What's wrong? Joseph?! Someone's collapsed here!!!"
His companion's roar faded into the distance, until the entire world began to recede into the distance. In the last second before he lost consciousness, just before the mental portal closed, he heard the voice say to him, "It is very dangerous to so rashly access another person's consciousness. I think you should realize that."
Of course, before losing consciousness, Joseph realized that he shouldn't have used his abilities so recklessly.
His consciousness floated in a chaotic darkness, the fragments he saw constantly swirling around him. They no longer seemed so terrifying; instead, they appeared to be weaving together a complete story.
College life, church prayers, celebrity parties, murders and corpses, and the police. This made Joseph realize that the man standing beside his father had a long story. He was so dangerous, yet so different.
Before this, Joseph had never encountered anyone who could fight back against him. Whether they were geniuses known as academic superstars or athletes who were making great strides in the sports world, their spirits could be described as extremely fragile.
His father, Slade Wilson, the infamous Deathstroke, the world's number one mercenary—his mental world was the first place he hadn't been able to fully explore. His overdeveloped brain made it a labyrinth, especially when Deathstroke was babbling incessantly; it was not only complex but also excessively hot. Only in slightly quieter moments could Joseph utilize his innate abilities to analyze him to some extent.
But this man—whom Joseph knew was named Schiller Rodriguez—was entirely different. His inner world was as cold as ice, a vast, endless snowfield. He walked through the blizzard until, amidst the whiteness, he saw a black tower standing on the horizon.
(End of this chapter)