The players finally came to understand the danger of Independence Day. The three days that they had to survive were under the condition of not using any personal flying devices while being chased and assaulted by the aliens. The aliens in the original movie used only their air force but the aliens in this world were more akin to actual invaders in comparison.
“What does it represent? It doesn’t look like there’s an underlying reason. We just have to avoid coming in contact with the aliens’ ground force.” Zheng asked Xuan.
Xuan seemed to have finished programming the virus for his plan. He hadn’t touched his laptop since escaping from Washington the day before. The newbie girl on the other hand was going over his laptop enthusiastically and frequently asking Xuan the specifics of the program. As expected, she was met with an ice cold response every time. Despite that, she continued asking Xuan questions as though she was oblivion to the indifferent expression on Xuan’s face.
Xuan was being annoyed by the girl when Zheng asked him. There seemed to be a hint of irritation even for someone who had no feelings.
He frowned and said. “This is logical. You have to remember the amount of time we need to survive in this movie. With this condition in mind, three days would quickly go by if we hide in the sewers of the outskirts after escaping from Washington. The only reason we are running right now is because we don’t have a psyche force user to mask our location from team Pacific. What if our psyche force user is available? Would God throw us in a movie to have a vacation? Thus, the aliens’ ground force must possess an extremely powerful tracking system that detects all living units within an area and is immune to the masking of psyche force.”
Zheng was struck by this idea for a second then he sounded excited. “A tracking system immune to psyche force masking? Shit. That would be the best support item during a team battle when both teams have psyche force users. The team with this item would be in a position that can’t lose. We have to get this, Xuan! Get it then craft a bunch so everyone in the team has one.”
Xuan sneered as he pushed the laptop that Xuelin held over to him. He looked straight at Zheng and said. “What about its size?”
“What size?” Zheng questioned like an idiot.
“The earliest radar needs to be equipped on a ship. The size of the spiders outside isn’t suited for all kind of terrains. An example would be city ruins. These units are engineered so big to carry an energy reserve for the barrier and most likely it’s also due to the tracking system. How many people in the team can carry five hundred kilograms of items? Do you see yourself carrying a four cubic meter object on your back when you fight your clone? What mortal’s wisdom.” Xuan snorted.
Zheng’s face turned red. He typically wouldn’t stay in the third stage of the unlocked mode during normal conversations unless the situation was urgent. It helped to preserve stamina and to show respect for the other party. However, it would seem more respectful to enter the third stage in the case of talking to Xuan.
Zheng sighed helplessly. “Yes. Yes. I am a mortal’s wisdom compared to you. Still, we can’t just abandon this technology. It isn’t easy that we get selected into this world and meet with aliens using the technology. If we don’t get it now, we might not have another chance even if we return after completing the movie!”
“Relax.” Xuan adjusted his glasses and pushed the laptop away again. He calmly said. “There will be chances, and there will be chances for more technologies.”
(Relax? Is he planning to steal technology from the aliens after obtaining the ship from Area 51?)
The mood inside Air Force One was blue since the loss of the first counterattack. Everyone kept this lips closed together. Only the higher ranking officials quietly discussed with each other. Phrases like nuclear weapons could occasionally be heard. The zero casualty outcome from the aliens’ side terrified them, and in such desperate situations, humans would naturally reach for their most powerful weapon.
The national security advisor had a pair of eyes that looked sharp as a hawk. He was attempting to persuade the president to sign an order that would fire nuclear weapons at the Destroyers.
“Mr. President! The NORAD no long exists! Other departments have uniformly agreed to strike back with nuclear weapons. Please sign the order as soon as possible, for any delay and we lose our chance to use the weapons.” The national security advisor yelled.
The president looked conflicted. He sighed then asked the old general. “What is the state of our citizens located near the three cities? And the army? What are the alien ground forces doing?”
The old general gave a shook of his head and said. “Most of the citizens have been captured. The aliens appear to have a high tech tracking system that not even our special agents can hide from. The good news is most captured citizens are simply locked up. The aliens haven’t started a genocide.”
“Most?” The president paused for a second then asked. “What do you mean? What about the rest of them?”
The old general looked down, his voice became soft. “Approximately a tenth of our citizens aren’t being locked up as we can have surveilled through satellites that are still under our control. The aliens used them as subjects to an experiment. Their flesh and blood are drawn out of the body, and their skin is thrown away. Those flesh and blood are then injected into a spiraling container. The aliens are experimenting to create something.”
“Create something? What do they want to create?!” The president cried. “What do they want to create with human flesh and lives? Don’t tell me they traveled lights years to Earth for a feast of humans! Damn it…”
“The immune system.”
Zheng interjected. He had unlocked into the third stage. This thought jumped into his mind after he heard the aliens’ actions. There was a movie he once saw that had a similar plot of alien invasion on the Earth. The aliens in the other movie acted similarly ruthless as those in Independence Day. Whereas the aliens in this world opened fire from the sky, the aliens in the other movie laid waste to the Earth with their ground forces. Humans didn’t win the war by themselves in the movie. In the end, what defeated the aliens were the micro-organisms and bacteria of Earth. The aliens died from sickness due to the lack of an immune system that protected against the Earth’s micro-organisms.
Zheng nodded after he thought of this point. “The aliens don’t have the immune system to protect themselves from the Earth’s micro-organisms. If they plan to stay on Earth for a longer period of time, they would have to adapt to its environment. Humans are an intelligent species much like them, and our immune system is the most suitable target.”
The president turned silent after hearing Zheng’s speculation. He contemplated for some time before saying. “Likely… it’s quite possible. Does this mean the aliens plan to reside on Earth? Are they planning to make the Earth into their planet? And they are using human lives to create their vaccine…”
The president abruptly raised his head and said to the national security advisor. “What can we do for the captured citizens if we are to use nuclear weapons? Can we save them?”
The national security advisor jolted and immediately said. “The goal of the nuclear weapons isn’t to eradicate the aliens inside Earth but to shoot down the Destroyers that possess weapons of massive destruction. Once the Destroyers are down, we will gradually eliminate the alien ground forces as they run out of energy. There are no citizens left to rescue underneath where the Destroyers are floating. As to those who have been captured by the spider units… those alien units have barriers that can block our attacks. Our foremost targets are the Destroyers.”
“No! You can’t use nuclear weapons!”
A voice came through the door. The main character, David Levison, stood by the door looking at the people in the room with a serious expression. “Are you planning to use nuclear weapons inside your own planet? Are you aware of the consequence of the action? Other countries will follow suit once the United States used nuclear weapons. With so many alien vessels over floating throughout the world, the nuclear bombs will drive Earth into a nuclear winter! Both aliens and mankind will be doomed!”
The national security advisor didn’t expect someone to interrupt when the president was on the verge of being persuaded. He was furious. He stood up and yelled. “Keep in mind your identity. You are no more than a guest here. Out. Guards, bring him out!”
An old man about sixty who was standing behind David said in the same loud volume. “Wait there. You don’t have the authority to shut him up. If it weren’t for David, you would have died along with the White House. Furthermore, it is due to your incompetence that you have to resort to nuclear weapons. If you could defeat the aliens with normal weapons, you wouldn’t need nuclear weapons. Politicians are always speaking in complete rubbish. If memory serves me right, the United States obtained an alien spaceship forty or fifty years ago. Where is it… the border of Mexico. What have you done in half a century of research?”
The president and the general laughed bitterly at each other. The president walked up to the old man and said. “Rest assured. We are thinking of a way to defeat the aliens without resorting to nuclear weapons. Those rumors are nothing more than rumors.”
However, the national security advisor showed an awkward expression and muttered. “Mr. President. That isn’t completely true. Area 51 exists.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to the advisor. Team China breathed a sigh of relief. They were finally going to obtain the only tool of transportation that would enable their counterattack, the alien ship humans obtained half a century ago, an intact alien ship.
As soon as the national security advisor finished talking, something rang inside his pocket. He took out a device that looked like a phone with surprise. In just the time of a few words, the device dropped to the floor. The man with the eyes of a hawk said in a tone of someone who had been struck. “It was attacked… Area 51 was just attacked. A Destroyer fired a laser from above.”
