Chapter 213: Five Minutes

What does Yang Yi intend to do?

This is the question shared by everyone's heart.

Ten seconds later, all the words on the screens vanished.

The guards carried the President along the underground passage toward the Underground Emergency Operations Center when suddenly the entire ground shook and the whole Presidential Palace swayed; they stopped in their tracks.

Many soldiers surged out of the underground entrance; they were originally supposed to be on duty around the clock at the Underground Operations Center, activating modern communication equipment to assist the President and high officials in command and combat when threats arose.

But at this moment, they all fled out.

"What happened?" the Commander of the Guards shouted.

"The Emergency Operations Center has been destroyed!"

"All facilities were instantly pulverized; it must have been done by that female superhero!"

Protected by the guards, the President stood frozen in place.

Beside the underground passage, emergency lights flickered with green light, casting an uncertain light and shadow on their faces, making their expressions of shock and doubt even more pronounced.

The emergency command facilities on the sixth underground level were ordered built by the 32nd President of the Arca Republic during the last World War. This facility could withstand all attacks except direct nuclear explosions, could withstand intercontinental missiles striking it, and served as the emergency shelter for the President of the Arca Republic.

And it was destroyed instantly like this?

Suddenly, Vice President Alan Anderson answered a video call; he trembled as he turned the video phone toward the President. On the screen was a command center where everyone was frantically busy in panic, and the expression on every face seemed as if they had encountered the apocalypse:

"Mr. President, the Yanshan Strategic Command Center; all nuclear counterattack facilities have been destroyed!"

"Mr. President, the Crow Mountain 'Underground Hexagonal Building' Emergency Operations Center has been destroyed!"

"Mr. President, the Meteor Mountain Command Center and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have been destroyed!"

Suddenly, the sound of "boom boom" explosions came from above.

The President's face changed drastically. "Who gave the order? Did you launch a counterattack against her?"

"No, Mr. President, those were missiles accidentally activated and intercepted and detonated in mid-air by an invisible force." In the command center, four-star General Omar Arthur said with a pale face.

The video flickered, and the lens turned to the sky: above the capital, several scattered missiles flew toward a tiny figure standing in the air, but in mid-air they suddenly exploded as if meeting a barrier, forming death fireworks that lasted for several minutes, as if reminding everyone—destruction was close at hand.

"Back to the office!" the President's voice was hoarse, sounding as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper.

The guards almost blindly obeyed the President's order, and a mixture of panic and confusion appeared on every face.

Back in the oval-shaped Presidential Office, the President quickly ordered all military bases in the capital and in the Watson State where the capital is located to evacuate immediately.

At the same time, he continuously contacted the Xia Government—although it was nothing but a busy tone from start to finish.

Vice President Alan Anderson ordered the secretary to turn on the large screen and connect to the command center located within the Presidential Palace.

The liaison responsible for connecting nearby military bases was covered in cold sweat, with sweat soaking through the front of his military uniform. He trembled and even forgot to give the military salute:

"Mr. President, the Bomu Air Force Base in the Capital Special District has been destroyed!"

"Capital Special District, the Army Fort Mac Base has been destroyed!"

"Capital Special District, the Andrew Air Force Base has been destroyed!"

The large screen was divided into nine small screens, each displaying surveillance footage from various military bases in the capital.

Under high-definition surveillance, the "Eagle" fighter jets, the "White Eagle" stealth bombers, space shuttles, and the "Poison Wasp" drones—these representing the world's most advanced and top-tier military weapons of violence—turned into the most basic iron sand, flowing down like a waterfall and scattering into a pile of sand on the ground.

One by one, the world's strongest military fortresses slowly turned to dust and drifted away with the wind.

Yet the adjacent residential buildings had not a single broken window, and the swings in the park still swayed gently in the breeze.

Clearly not far apart, yet they seemed like two worlds separated by an invisible barrier.

The President asked weakly, "How many minutes?"

"What did you say?" the secretary asked cautiously.

"I said! From the moment she appeared in the sky until now, how many minutes—" the President suddenly shouted in a rage, slamming the telephone on the desk hard onto the floor.

"Five minutes..." Vice President Alan Anderson looked at the watch on his wrist and said numbly.

"Mr. President, we must do something!" In the command center, four-star General Omar Arthur said with a solemn face, "I request to activate the newly researched high-power laser defense system and fire high-power microwave cannons to counterattack the enemy!"

"Mr. President, I request to launch an equivalent counterattack against the capital of the Xia Nation immediately to force the enemy to defend!"

Another four-star general, Harry Arnold, had gray hair, dark circles hanging under his eyes, and a sharp light in his cloudy pupils.

Defense Minister Seth Ge hurriedly stopped them, saying, "No. Right now, she has only destroyed nine military bases and caused no casualties. If we really anger her, not to mention everyone in the Presidential Palace, the lives of the entire nation are in the palm of her hand. For the greater good, Mr. President, let us endure for now!"

The several four-star generals ignored him; this Defense Minister had previously been only a news anchor who rose to power by praising the President on the news. His so-called "greater good" was merely about preserving his own life.

But who in this office does not cherish their life? Having climbed to this position, their lives were more precious than anything else. Even international reputation, national integrity, and the nation's future could be sacrificed.

They could start wars for ambition and profit, disregarding billions of lives, and they could attack and undermine each other for power, but when it came to their own lives, everything had to step back.

Nearly a century has passed since the last World War; the reason the current world has maintained peace for so long is simply because under the nuclear bomb, everyone is equal.

In the face of the world-destroying power of nuclear weapons, all material differences and status hierarchies would be completely erased, thereby truly achieving "equality of all beings" in a certain sense.

The upper elites hide in the rear; with just a flick of their fingers, they can command millions of ordinary people to risk their lives for their ambitions, interests, and power, blinding their minds with fictional narratives and making them believe they are fighting for some great mission.

Those good days are over; under the deterrence of nuclear equality, these life-preserving upper classes have been forced to abandon direct violent warfare and use more gentle and circuitous means to fight for interests, resources, and power.

Now, there exists a threat greater than the nuclear bomb, and this deterrence is right above their heads.

Who dares to launch a counterattack?

The screen continued to broadcast, and the continuous bad news rang like funeral bells, announcing the decline of a mighty empire—in merely five minutes.

"The Army Fort Yi Base in Watson Tun State, where the capital is located, has been destroyed..."

"Watson Tun State, the Hui De Island Naval Air Station has been destroyed..."

"Watson Tun State, the Ever Navy Base has been destroyed..."

"Watson Tun State, the Bangge Nuclear Submarine Base has been destroyed..."

"Watson Tun State, the Mac Air Force Base has been destroyed..."

"Hua Shentun State, the Feld Air Force Base has been destroyed..."

At this moment, in every region of the globe covered by the internet, everyone's mobile phone screens witnessed this precise, silent, emotionless "Divine Punishment" via satellite live broadcast.