“Have you heard? There is going to be a war…”
“War? Didn’t the war start a long time ago?”
“It’s not Colombia… I heard Celestial Trade attacked the Ford aircraft carrier battle group in the Caribbean…”
“What the fu*k?! Why are they…”
“How long have you been off-the-grid? Anyway, I’m going to go back to Hua for a while and wait until the dust settles before coming back. If you plan to leave, you’d better make a decision as soon as possible. I booked the ticket yesterday—”
“FU*K… Damn, all the tickets for next week have been sold out!” The man held his mobile phone and vented out with regret.
In the past two days, similar conversations were common in Penglai.
It seemed that no one was optimistic that Xin could win this war.
The dictator finally caught himself in a mess after playing with fire. The Rainbow House’s 72 hour ultimatum was obviously not a joke. The five aircraft carrier battle groups had already assembled in the Pacific and were mobilizing towards the Western Pacific. Perhaps the Rainbow House had secretly passed the document for launching a nuclear strike on the industrial facilities of Xin so that both Ange Island and Coro City would not escape the disaster.
Celestial City, Earth Observation Center of the Space Department.
In Xin’s time, it was now eight o’clock in the evening.
All vacations were canceled, and Celestial Trade was in the most critical moment. The staff sat nervously in front of the computer; their eyes kept staring at the satellite observing radar. Some people hadn’t slept for 24 consecutive hours, and they were completely fueled on caffeine until now.
At this moment, an exclamation broke the busy silence in the Earth Observation Center.
“IT’S LAUNCHED!” An observer, who was in charge of satellite numbered W14, stood up suddenly from his seat. He pointed his finger at the red dot on the radar screen. “The coordinates are N29°04, W154°20, and the missile type is UGM-133A “Trident” submarine-launched ballistic missile! A total of twelve have been launched!”
“Two hours ahead of the original 72 hours…”
The observer sitting nearby also observed the twelve missiles on the radar, and couldn’t help but curse out.
“I knew those bastards wouldn’t keep their promises!”
“Launched from a nuclear submarine?” Qi Yingze, the director of the observation center, walked quickly to the side of the W14 satellite observation terminal. He looked at the radar with a frown, put down the coffee cup in his hand, then said. “Can you determine the type of nuclear submarine?”
“It should be the UA Ohio-class nuclear submarine!” The observer replied.
“Report the coordinates of the submarine to the Celestial Navy immediately!” Qi Yingze directly ordered, “Notify the Space Department headquarters and let them prepare for nuclear strikes!”
“ROGER!”
…
Ten minutes after the Trident missiles were observed, the air defense alarm sounded over Coro City. Police drones patrolling the streets repeated the same words through the intercoms.
“…enemy airstrike will arrive in Coro City in ten minutes. Please stay at home and do not leave your home. Celestial Trade promise to ensure the safety of all citizens’ property from illegal forces, please… ”
As early as three days ago, all cities in Xin, including Penglai, had implemented a curfew. The sudden air defense alarm did not cause a lot of panic because there were no tourists in Coro City, and all the citizens living there at this time were staying at home because of the curfew.
It was rational for the citizens to panic, but when they saw their President still standing in front of the Presidential Palace and being interviewed by their media, the fear in their hearts was slightly dispelled. The thought that someone would bear all the consequences regardless of destruction or victory brought a sense of comfort.
At nine o’clock in the evening, twelve rays of light appeared in the sky.
Some people screamed, some hid under the bed with hands around their head, some prayed with sobs, and some quietly took out a bottle of cold beer from the fridge and sat in the courtyard, as if they were waiting for celebratory fireworks, waiting quietly for the arrival of the final moment.
Everyone was aware of what arrived.
After all, what should have come did come.
Two Trident missiles arrived above Coro City, which even made the UA, who pressed the launch button, surprised by how smooth the journey was. Soon, the nuclear warheads mounted on the Trident missiles exploded, the light of the nuclear explosion dispersed the entire night, and engulfed the entire sky in the boundless mushroom cloud.
The distant and faint roar shook the eardrums of everyone who was crawling under the mushroom cloud.
Just when everyone thought their life was over, something that surprised everyone happened.
The nuclear explosion did happen, and the mushroom cloud did rise, but the destructive shock wave did not arrive. Everyone was still alive as they watched the mushroom cloud disperse, and was slowly carried away by the passing sea breeze…
It was like a miracle from God!
“God… Am I dreaming? Am I still alive?” A middle-aged man, about 40 years old, got out of the bed and looked out the window in a daze. Tears gradually filled his eyes as he murmured, “I’m still alive… …”
“Honey! WE ARE STILL ALIVE!” A young man and woman hugged each other and passionately kissed each other. Finally, they rolled onto the bed and kicked away their shoes and clothes.
“Unbelievable, it’s like a miracle! No, this is a miracle!” The old priest sitting in the church repeatedly rubbed his fingers against the cross on his chest as he muttered frantically.
“Long live Xin! Long live Celestial Trade! Fu*k nuclear weapons! Fu*k the Yankees! We are invincible!” The drunk man stood on his balcony and shouted loudly. If it was any other day, his troublesome neighbor would definitely report him for disturbance, but today, that didn’t happen.
Because he yelled out the thought that was shared in everyone’s hearts.
If even nuclear weapons couldn’t conquer them, what else could defeat them?
This war, from this moment on, was already decided.
Just five minutes after the nuclear strike hit Coro City, the Rainbow House held a press conference. In front of the media reporters across the UA and the world, the spokesperson of the Rainbow House used an apologetic tone to announce this “regretful” fact to the media.
“Just over an hour ago, we had launched twelve Trident missiles. Perhaps there was some malfunctioning to their radar system, our missiles were not intercepted. And just five minutes ago, the Rainbow House had asked the top military command about whether the nuclear missiles successfully hit the target, and the answer we received was ‘Yes’.”
“We express our concern and regret for the disaster the people of Xin are enduring.”
“But we believe that a new homeland that has more freedom and equality, a new world free from the oppression of illegal enterprises, oligarchs, and puppet governments, will enable the Xin people to live in a better future…”
“And we will shoulder the responsibility of a great country and help the people who have suffered to rebuild their homes.”
The damage assessment of nuclear weapons could not be confirmed for the time being.
It was because all the military observation satellites in the UA were destroyed by the Celestial Trade missiles three days ago.
The “Trident” missiles that were launched to Xin used pre-calculated launch parameters. Although there would be a certain amount of error, what would be the difference between an error of one or two kilometers for something like nuclear weapons?
The UA’s top military command was only aware that the nuclear missiles were “launched”, “hit”, or “exploded”, but it was enough…
But was it really enough?
