Chapter 56: A Foolish Idiot

Chapter 56: A Stupid Idiot

"You want to take a plane?"

Robert looked surprised and a bit confused.

He had no idea whether Jiang Ren had already been in this airport or had just come from outside, but the outside was currently crawling with maniacs, and going out meant risking turning into a maniac at any moment. Wasn't it much better to stay inside the building and wait for daylight?

"Just tell me who knows how to fly a plane."

Jiang Ren's expression remained calm as he drove his "steel pipe" straight down into the floor.

The bottom of the "steel pipe" sank more than a fist's depth into the ground in an instant, firmly anchoring it in place.

"I..."

Robert hesitatingly opened his mouth. After a moment of thought, he turned back to look at the dozens of people huddled in the corner behind him and asked, "Does anyone here know how to fly a plane?"

Although he had worked here for a period of time, that was already twenty years ago, not to mention that none of these people were wearing captain's uniforms. He could only find out by asking.

Everyone looked somewhat nervous, and no one answered.

Jiang Ren swept his gaze across them roughly, finally letting it rest on the middle-aged woman first from the left.

The middle-aged woman's face instantly turned pale as she frantically shook her head and waved her hands. "No, I'm just an ordinary accountant. Let alone a plane, I've never even piloted a helicopter."

Immediately after.

Seeing Jiang Ren's gaze shift to him, the second person beside her quickly spoke up as well, "I'm just a doctor. I haven't even flown on a commercial airplane more than a few times..."

Whenever the previous person finished speaking, the next person immediately stated their profession and background, terrified of drawing Jiang Ren's attention.

Not to mention that they genuinely did not know how to fly a plane, even if they did, they would absolutely refuse to admit it.

Why would anyone be foolish enough to leave this much safer waiting room and brave the risk of turning into a maniac at any moment just to pilot an airplane?

Soon, Jiang Ren's gaze fell upon the last two people.

The second to last was a young black man with dreadlocks. He spread his hands and shrugged, "Sorry, I don't know how to fly a plane either, but I'm already planning to take the pilot's license exam. Of course, that has to wait until my primary career reaches the top. Perhaps you've heard my name—the famous rapper, Lil Rubio!"

"I've heard of you. You frequently release songs suspected of promoting racial discrimination."

An elderly woman in her fifties or sixties suddenly stood up and said.

The surrounding crowd, who had initially looked completely blank upon hearing the name, instantly looked at him with strange expressions.

"Hey, listen to me, that is definitely a misunderstanding!"

Seeing this, Lil immediately replied, "My song has never disparaged any black or white people, so how can that be considered racial discrimination?"

The elderly woman questioned, "Are you implying that only black and white people exist in this world?"

"Otherwise? Are there other races?"

Lil looked completely earnest, seeing nothing wrong with his statement. In his worldview, certain people simply could not be considered human at all.

The elderly woman was about to speak again when someone beside her tugged at her sleeve, signaling her to look toward Jiang Ren.

Only then did she notice that Jiang Ren, who had been calm just a moment ago, seemed to have undergone a subtle change in expression, appearing even more imposing and intimidating.

"Very well, I'll remember you."

Jiang Ren nodded and looked at the final person.

Lil laughed heartily. "Trust me, once you listen to my songs, you'll definitely become a fan of mine. As thanks for saving me, if you need them, I can give you a few copies of my limited-edition album."

Robert felt somewhat speechless. Was this rapper genuinely an idiot, or just pretending? Did he seriously think Jiang Ren was showing goodwill?

The last person was a handsome middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, exuding a gentle temperament.

Facing Jiang Ren's condescending gaze, he smiled faintly. "Mr. Jiang, my name is Brown Burke. I'm a lawyer, and I also don't know how to fly a plane."

"Since that's the case, you all can figure things out for yourselves."

Jiang Ren pulled out the "steel pipe" and walked toward the door.

The reason he had made these people answer one by one was to confirm whether anyone was concealing the fact that they knew how to fly.

His ability to read subtle expressions wasn't strong, but relying on his mutated right eye, he could easily capture human micro-expressions and heart rates, thereby deducing whether someone was lying.

Judging from the expressions of each person as they answered and the reactions of those around them, not a single one of these people actually knew how to fly. The only option left was to search other areas of the airport.

However, the normal survivors currently scattered throughout this airport were quite few. Even if they were all gathered, it would barely exceed a hundred people, making the probability of a pilot being among them even lower.

"Mr. Jiang—"

Robert glanced at his wife and child, a flash of resolute determination crossing his eyes. He turned and hurried after Jiang Ren, who had just stepped out the door.

Faint sounds of conversation drifted in from outside, making it impossible to make out what was being said.

Lawyer Brown Burke's eyes flickered. He turned his head and cast his gaze upon Lil, the dreadlocked rapper beside him.

Lil was a rising newcomer in the rap scene over recent years. Just like his predecessors, he was arrogant in his speech and actions, if not even more so.

Simply put, he mostly acted and spoke without using his brain.

Such a person lacked sufficient rationality, was hot-tempered, impulsive, greedy, arrogant, and easily manipulated. Yet, this was precisely the kind of person he was looking for.

Brown Burke raised his hand and nudged Lil's arm with his elbow.

"?"

Feeling the movement, Lil glared at him with a fierce expression, as if demanding a reasonable explanation or else facing severe consequences.

"Lil, oh god, I never expected to run into you here."

Brown Burke said with a look of extreme adoration, "There's something I've always wanted to tell you: your talent has already surpassed Master Bai. He isn't even worthy of carrying your shoes in front of you."

Hearing this, Lil immediately broke into a happy smile. "Ha, you're one of the few white people who doesn't feel fake to me."

Master Bai was the undisputed number one figure in the federal rap scene, whose position had remained unchallenged for twenty consecutive years, making him an opponent every rapper yearned to defeat.

However, Lil did not believe Brown Burke was merely flattering him.

He had never considered his own strength inferior to Master Bai's. The only reason his popularity and album sales lagged behind was simply because the other guy relied on the accumulation of years in the industry. If they were to truly compete on pure skill, he would completely crush Master Bai.

Stupid idiot!

Brown Burke sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he said excitedly, "Once we're safe, I wonder if you could give me an autographed album? I've been looking forward to it for so long, but unfortunately, even offering several times the price, I couldn't buy one."

"Even if ordinary people offered a lot of money, I wouldn't give them one. But considering you're somewhat tolerable, never mind a single album, I'll give you the complete set of autographed albums directly."

Lil waved his hand, looking immensely pleased with himself.

Making a middle-class white lawyer into a fan was certainly something worth being happy about.

"My favorite song of yours is *Free Federation*. In it, you said that if you were to become president, you would bring true freedom and a wonderful, happy life to all federal citizens."

Brown Burke looked delighted and continued, "I feel like the world in that song is going to become a reality very soon. I can already see that wonderful freedom and happy life beckoning to me."

"Is that so? I like that song too, but that kind of life is still a bit hard to achieve in the short term."

Lil's expression stiffened somewhat, and he chuckled awkwardly.

That song had been written purely on a whim, just to act cool in front of his fans and vent some emotions. Actually making him president was an absolute impossibility.

"No, Lil, don't you think right now is the perfect opportunity?"

Brown Burke smiled slightly, glancing toward Jiang Ren and Robert, who were conversing outside in a blind spot, casting only two shadows visible through the doorway.