Suddenly, the conference room door opened silently, and two men in suits strode in one after the other. The guards outside the conference room did not stop them, but helplessly followed behind.
"I apologize, gentlemen, for interrupting your meeting, but this is an emergency!"
The man at the front was a middle-aged white man in his forties, wearing a gray suit, with gray hair, speaking with a California accent, and sounding somewhat anxious. He held a piece of paper in his hand, quickly walked to the conference table, nodded to the Secretary of Defense, and then immediately announced loudly: "I'm sorry, Mr. Secretary, please order the immediate cancellation of this impending bombing operation!"
Clearly, everyone in the room recognized the gray-haired man; he was the president's special national security advisor. Even more clearly, when this man entered, everyone, including the Secretary of Defense, wore unfriendly expressions. It seemed this man was not welcomed by the military.
"I don't know what you're talking about," the defense minister tried to deny.
But the man didn't give him a chance, shouting directly, "This is a special order signed by the President! This operation must be canceled immediately, Mr. Secretary!"
The Secretary of Defense looked rather grim—this special advisor to the president turned out to be from the NASA system. Damn it, what do these guys know about national security!
His face darkened. "Sir, I don't care how you got this order, nor do I know what you said to the president! But we are protecting American security right now! That ship has a complete Aegis system that we just sold to Japan last year!!"
The presidential advisor was clearly anxious, but seemed somewhat intimidated by the assertive defense minister.
At this moment, the other person who had come with him spoke up.
This guy looked much younger, with a handsome but pale face. His white suit wasn't very formal; it looked more like he was going to a banquet. He had eyes that women liked, and his voice was very pleasant.
“Minister, if you do not cancel this operation, I’m afraid you will not be able to bear the consequences!” The man smiled, and even when facing the defense minister of the world’s most powerful country, his smile still contained a hint of reserve and pride.
"Who are you?" The Minister of Defense gave the man a somewhat arrogant look.
The man smiled slightly and casually uttered a single word.
"club!"
This word caused a change in the expressions of everyone in the room, including the tough-looking minister.
"I don't deny that your concerns about the loss of the Aegis system are valid. However..." the man continued with a smile, "Based on our current understanding, your reckless action is very likely to anger that... guy! And unfortunately, we believe that at this stage, neither we nor your country have the means to effectively stop or kill him! Just imagine, once this guy is enraged, he heads towards your country and appears over your west coast cities..."
Everyone gasped.
It's one thing to stand by and gloat over Japan's current predicament, but it's quite another if it happened to us!
Everyone couldn't help but look at the screen... It showed Chen Xiao, with his wings spread, flying in the sky.
"Is this... a warning?" the Defense Minister muttered irritably.
"It's a friendly suggestion," the man chuckled. "But according to our analysis, the probability is over fifty percent!"
Finally, faced with the other party's gentle smile, the Minister of Defense picked up a phone on the table, pressed a button, and mumbled something into the phone.
"Thank you, I believe you made the right choice." The man's smile remained unchanged.
"Sir, who exactly are you?"
"Special envoy of the Service Agency Committee." The man with an elegant smile nodded. "Minister, you may call me Lei Hu. That is my name. It is my pleasure to serve you."
...
"Airplanes! Fighter jets!!"
Amidst the roar of the sky, several planes whizzed overhead, flying at a very low altitude! The intense roar made one's scalp tingle.
“American aircraft.” Chen Xiao stood on the deck, squinting as he looked up at the sky.
These planes had clearly adopted an offensive posture, but after getting close, they suddenly increased their altitude, then quickly turned around and flew away, never to return...
Chapter 251 of the main text [Shi Gaofei's New Invention]
The news on the television screen was reporting the latest news about the eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan.
This is in a luxury room at a five-star hotel in Shanghai. The television is showing footage of the crater at the summit of Mount Fuji, shot from a distance. The crater has stopped erupting lava, but thick plumes of smoke are still billowing out, the massive column of smoke rising directly into the sky.
The footage is somewhat shaky. Clearly, the photographer capturing the scene was also a little nervous facing such a terrifying natural spectacle. What followed was a live report from a frontline reporter. It's evident that the normally lush green Mount Fuji is almost entirely devoid of greenery, and the once white expanse of the summit has long been replaced by charred black.
The reporters and photographers in the news were all wearing somewhat bulky protective masks, which looked a bit ridiculous.
The scene then shifts to a news report, showing on-site coverage of several major Japanese cities. The once bustling metropolises like Tokyo have lost their former vibrancy and prosperity. The streets are shrouded in a gray haze, and the once towering skyscrapers, after days of mud and rain, resemble a dense, black forest. The streets are deserted, many shops show signs of looting and vandalism, some with shattered windows and doors, and others bearing the marks of fire. In some places, the wreckage of burned cars can even be seen.
Seeing these images, you might even think this isn't Tokyo, but somewhere in Iraq—if it weren't for the iconic, towering Tokyo Tower in the background.
On the streets, one could only occasionally see soldiers in military uniforms patrolling with live ammunition, and military vehicles driving by one after another.
In Japanese television news, officials and television station staff clearly displayed grief and sorrow as they spoke, followed by a series of sensational figures: the death toll, the number of injured, the number of missing, the number of disaster victims, the economic losses amounting to billions, and so on.
Then came the global media coverage of the disaster, and announcements from various international organizations such as the United Nations and the Red Cross regarding donations and support for the disaster...
It seems the whole world's attention has been focused on this volcanic eruption in Japan.
"Smack."
The TV was turned off by a hand, and after a brief flash, the screen went completely black.
Old Tian sighed, threw away the remote control in his hand, and glanced at the person sitting there expressionless.
At this moment, facing Lao Tian coldly was a beautiful and refined face, with exquisite features and a face that looked like a painting. However, this face seemed to be devoid of any life, and the eyes seemed empty. Lao Tian stared at her indifferently for a long time, but she did not react at all.
"You...don't look at these anymore." Old Tian hesitated for a moment.
"Then what should I do?" Peacock's voice wasn't stiff, but it was utterly devoid of emotion, leaving Old Tian feeling somewhat dejected. The Peacock of the past, though cold and aloof like a block of ice, at least... ice still possessed a degree of warmth; even indifference was at least an expression of emotion. But now, Peacock's eyes had practically become black holes; she was no longer like a block of ice, but rather... a stone!
Ice may at least melt occasionally, but stone is hard and cold, and it will never melt! The peacock now seems to have turned into a cold stone, with no vitality left in its tone or eyes.
Most importantly, Lao Tian saw from the current Peacock that she lacked something crucial in her spirit: hope!