Cheating Craft - Chapter 4

 Abby’s Determination

Abby naturally knew how to pilot a plane. She even had some weapons and knock-out drugs that she had easily gotten past security. Time wasn’t going to wait for her, so she quickly stood up to leave her seat, and momentarily sneaked into the cockpit.

After prying open the lock, a drugged fog permeated the air. Soon after, everyone on the plane fell unconscious. Abby immediately sat in the main pilot’s seat, and before the people in the airport below had reacted, cut off the communications.

I still have enough time. I just need to land this plane on that part of the sea, and it should be fine.

Abby began to maneuver the plane, changing its route.

This Kaito examination was indeed testing how to “discover value”. As for stealing something on this large of a scale, it was merely an appetizer for her.

Abby’s heart was currently extremely grateful for the boy named Zhuge Meng Ming.

It looks like I’m inferior to a gambler…in not only foresight… Although she was operating the plane, her thoughts didn’t cease. Even though he was separated by a door, he was still able to steal that man in black’s possessions.

“Beep beep”

A new signal came from the radio, arousing Abby from her thoughts.

“Abby, well done!”

A signal from Rabbi’s house came from the radio.

“Ah, Sister! You’ve already….” Abby began to speak to them.

“Abby, the exam hasn’t ended yet. You have to force the plane to land on the sea. We’ll be responsible for retrieving it later.”

Abby was already trying her best to control the plane. One person controlling something that was supposed to have two people was indeed quite difficult.

It’s not just forcing the plane to land, but also making sure none of the other passengers realize.

The radio transmitted another message, “Abby, don’t worry too much. Just land the plane quickly, and we’ll allow the plane to submerge underneath the sea. Don’t worry about the passengers, we’ll deal with all of them as quickly as possible.”

Abby’s heart skipped a beat: Deal with them?!

“What does that mean?” She asked.

“Of course we’re going to have to get rid of them! If the plane falls into the sea, they’ll definitely attempt to make contact with the outside. If we spare their lives and let them leave, the location of Kaito Rabbi’s home will be exposed!!”

“No!” Abby slammed her hand against the control panel and shouted, “Sister! This kind of examination…why, why I haven’t I heard of it before!”

“Abby, if we told you the situation first, would you have taken the examination? A few years ago, your other sisters and I all did the same. Everyone all successfully hijacked the plane. Moreover, the location of Rabbi’s home was never made public!”

“No! Didn’t you say before that we can’t kill people…” Abby’s heart was in turmoil.

“That’s just the seniors tricking young children.” The voice through the radio said mildly, “Only after the Kaito has reached the age of 16 and has completed the final examination do the seniors tell the truth of Rabbi’s family to the children─any measures can be taken as long as the objective is met. Only by completing this task can you really mature.”

Abby fell silent. She had never imagined the situation would be like this. The lives of all the passengers? No, what she cared more about was that boy.

“Abby! Did you hear me, Abby? You don’t need to harm anyone. All you need to do is land the plane. Hurry up!”

The sky continued to darken. Abby’s hand remained motionless.

It had been 10 years. All the girls from Rabbi’s family had begun training at the age of 6, and Abby was no exception.

Among the sisters, some wanted to become heroic thieves that stole from the rich to help the poor. Some wanted to become famous thieves that stole major works of art from the Louvre. Others wanted to become Kaitos that stole various family treasures.

They had trained hard for over a dozen years, constantly striving to achieve their dreams.

But Abby had never had such great dreams.

Abby wanted to become a star.

She wanted to master various impressive talents, realistic performance skills, and have an outstanding appearance. She had always waited for the moment when all cameras in the world would be aimed at her.

“I’m not doing it for the sake of stealing! I just want to make the whole world notice me the moment I steal something. I want to show a smile to everyone in the world!”

Nobody in her family had ever opposed her. They only laughed at her immature thoughts.

─Was there any point in going in such a direction?

However, her father had always found her dream extremely interesting.

Study hard and pass Rabbi’s family examination. Your dream is greater than your sisters’.─These were her father’s words.

Abby hadn’t pondered it deeply before. She simply hoped that she’d be able to catch the attention of thousands of people. But no matter what, if she couldn’t pass the Sky Kaito Rabbi’s family examination, her dream was just empty words.

For the past 10 years, she had always worked hard for her dream. She had been diligently learning and training.

She wanted to be herself. She wanted to go out and wander around, creating her own cause. Only then would she be able to become known far and wide.

However, she hadn’t ever imagined that the Rabbi’s final family examination would be like this.

It required harming people’s lives─?!

Homicide…

If she killed people, how was she supposed to face the rest of the world in the future…

If she killed people, how would she be able to show a carefree smile in front of the camera!

But if she didn’t…

Abby’s eyes reddened. As the plane wasn’t being controlled, it began to descend from a few thousand meters in the air.

Simply giving up on her dreams like this was something that she couldn’t do no matter what.

It was just an examination….

She gritted her teeth; she’d just do it! What were human lives….

Ah… Abby’s mind buzzed as she realized─…Zhuge Meng Ming is still on the plane!

Although they had only known each other for a short period of time, Abby would’ve never discovered that the objective was to steal the plane if it weren’t for him.

Even if Abby could force herself to forget harming the others, forgetting the fact that she harmed Meng Ming…..was definitely not something she could do!

She had originally saved Meng Ming. If Meng Ming died, wouldn’t that mean she had helped him for no reason?!

The color in Abby’s face began to fade. She recalled the scenes when she had put makeup on him, as well as when they had hid together in the bathroom.

Since Abby had started training, her relationships with others had always been fake. For the sake of her objective to steal, she would always be acting. Perhaps it was because Meng Ming had been able to see through her act and recognize that she was a thief at first glance, and had instantly ruined her plans, that she had been able to talk to a boy with absolutely no defenses for the first time.

She narrowed her eyes.

The plane was now at a height of 900 meters above the sea. Abby made her decision.

She turned on the radio and the radar, and took control of the airplane once more.

Not long after, night fell.

Zhuge Meng Ming slowly walked through the passageway in the airport. He was currently feeling doubtful and confused.

Abby appeared behind him and called out to him.

“Why didn’t you fly the plane into the ocean?” Meng Ming turned around to ask.

“I didn’t know to pilot it.” She said.

Meng Ming wanted to immediately expose the truth, but then he saw how exhausted she looked. The energetic look in her eyes that she had when they first met had faded. Seeing this, Meng Ming shut up, and instead asked her if it was okay that she had failed the examination.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll take it again later.” Abby thought to herself that the boy in front of her obviously wouldn’t understand. But if it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t have had the chance to pass this examination. ─That’s why we’re even now.

Abby needed to go home, and Meng Ming needed to head out to China.

“Zhuge Meng Ming, we’ll meet again later?” Although her heart slightly ached, she still said these words with a smile.

“Of course.” Meng Ming smiled back. Although he still didn’t know where he would go or what he was going to do, he knew that the two of them would surely meet again.

“Knowing you…eh, ah….was quite exciting!” Abby seemed to want to say something, but was unable to do so. She was afraid that delaying the farewell would make it even more awkward, so she said, “…Meng Ming, I, I’ll be leaving first. My family is still waiting for me! Goodbye.”

She waved and turned around, tears falling from her eyes as she left.

Abby watched Meng Ming’s figure leave from the distance, while still feeling turmoil and regret in her heart.

─ Ah, I really should’ve just thrown myself onto him and cried!

──That’s right, why didn’t I do that?!

─ Aiya, I’m embarrassed. To be precise…how can I cry with my kind of character! Besides…I still need to mentally prepare myself first; I wonder how they’ll punish me when I go home for failing the examination.

Abby’s examination had ended, and she began to walk towards the sea. But to Zhuge Meng Ming, the real examination had yet to begin.