Chapter 713 - 685: Crumbling Apart (5)

"From the East Coast to the West Coast—the entire Mei Country, our communications have been cut off?!"

"Where did these gigantic flying objects come from? I need to know which department allowed them to lurk within Mei Country’s borders..."

"And Ellis, the President and Congress, what exactly are they doing?"

The defense center was in chaos, everyone had faces written with anxiety, their hearts bewildered—

Space Airship?

Never heard of it!

As the head of the air force procurement department, Rod was even more clueless: "...If there was such a thing, we should have been the first to arm ourselves with this equipment! They must be enemies!

We should take countermeasures now..."

"But we now have two presidents!"

"What’s wrong with two presidents?"

Rod was baffled: Can two presidents just watch unidentified flying objects launch a massive attack on the homeland?

The Defense Minister said nothing, an officer responsible for restoring communication equipment rushed to the door: "Communications are restored!"

Szz—

The central screen in the command center lit up, and Ellis, the President appeared on the screen.

Rod didn’t know what was going on, suddenly feeling uneasy: This president suddenly declared a change in term limits at the inauguration ceremony of the new president...

The Space Airship happened to attack President Barnes!

[Ellis, the President: Mei Country is now in a state of war, according to the law, I will directly command the military.]

[Ellis, the President: Our insidious traitor has finally been exposed: Atlas Group has taken an extremely risky and brutal step, they have already corrupted Barnes, I only knew this information, persuaded Congress, and extended my term.]

[Ellis, the President: Atlas Group promised money and power to our political group, corrupting a large number of officials, which will endanger our democracy and freedom.]

[Ellis, the President: These Space Airships come from the United Nations Security Council, and we will cooperate with the Homeland Strategic Defense and Logistics Bureau affiliated with the Security Council to remove the traitors and corrupt elements among us.]

People in the command room looked at each other, silent as a grave...

What is this?

Rod was not fooled: "President...sir, but the impact of this strike is too wide! Many civilians may be affected, even if this is a cooperative action, we should take the lead, not..."

[Ellis, the President: You’re right, Colonel Rod, but there are too many enemies among us, which makes it impossible to distinguish.]

[Ellis, the President: I am now urgently promoting General Ross to serve as the Minister of Defense to assist me in implementing the emergency anti-corruption measures.]

As soon as he finished speaking, General Ross came in from outside with a group of mysterious soldiers:

These soldiers were well-equipped, everything required for combat was there, and beneath their clothes seemed to have something similar to Atlas Exoskeleton supporting them...

[Ellis, the President: He has already led our troops to face the enemy, was captured by the enemy, endured inhumane imprisonment but maintained the dignity a Mei Country soldier should have, I believe he is our best choice, starting now, he will be my deputy...]

Rod no longer wanted to listen to the following words.

And most people’s thoughts were the same as Rod’s: General Ross? Inhumane imprisonment? Do they really think the people here can be so easily fooled?

Atlas didn’t subject Ross to the so-called torture, and imprisonment is even more nonsense—

Africans generally don’t even have an airtight house, the place where Ross was held was a diplomatic reception-level lodge!

To be honest, many people thought at the time that detaining Ross was a good thing: this pro-war air force general did extremely bad things that had international repercussions, having him detained rather helped maintain a delicate peace, Mei Country had more cards to play.

Now it seems...why this is done is already crystal clear.

This is Ross’s dreamed promotion, his dreamed power—

He maintained the cold face a soldier should have: "What are you all standing around for? Get to work, continue repairing our equipment, we need to integrate the warcraft and Space Airship into friendly identifications..."

Zhzz...

The screen flashed, the communications officer sitting at the console suddenly shouted: "There is a new signal! From...from the President’s encrypted channel!"

The President’s encrypted channel?

Does Ellis have more to say?

Ross didn’t notice, the others just stood silently, then suddenly another president popped up on the screen:

Barnes appeared on the screen, disheveled, the light behind flickering, as for the background...

Everyone present instantly realized: this president was in an air defense facility.

Now it was Ross’s turn to be shocked: Barnes is not dead!

He survived this?!

The president who should have taken office had injuries on his face, looking worn-out, not wearing the triumphantly dressed suit, bandages wrapped around his body repeatedly, various drips by his side—

His gaze, his attire, his location, and his demeanor...

Seems more like a true general, a warrior rather than a president.

[Barnes, the President: Our enemies are attacking our territory! Counter those Space Airships and unauthorized warcraft!]

[Barnes, the President: Ellis kidnapped Congress! He’s trampling our country!]

The atmosphere in the operation room changed instantly, but neither Ross, Rod, nor the Defense Minister—

Even if they are more resolute, it is impossible to be decisive enough to at once pull out a gun.

But the black-clad soldiers brought by General Ross were different!

Well-trained soldiers acted without the slightest hesitation, while Rod was still in shock, they had already raised their guns, targeting everyone in the command room!

At this moment, a woman wearing a Mei country uniform in the corner moved quickly, her rifle in hand was faster than these mysterious soldiers!

Pulling the trigger, bullets flew, the woman’s precise shots were superb, but there were simply too many hitmen around Ross, and they were equally well-trained—

Others who reacted faster knew to find cover, dodging for dear life, but those older and slower could only watch themselves get shot!

Bang bang bang bang!

"Cover Commander Ross!"

"There is a traitor!"

The gunfire ceased, the screen shattered, blood stained the bullet holes, and those who narrowly survived were shocked—

The comrades who were just working urgently together had fallen in pools of blood...

Rod gritted his teeth, grabbing a pistol, and peeked out from cover!

However, all he saw was a female soldier facing him:

"Is there another source of signal? Did you hear what the president said—I mean President Barnes."

"Of course, we have more equipment stored in the warehouse, but..."

"No buts." The female soldier gestured him to look towards the corner...

General Ross was already gone, many generals and officers lay wounded and moaning on the ground, most importantly...

The Defense Minister had already fallen in a pool of blood, motionless.

"Sergeant, bring along those you can trust, now you must take up the responsibility."

Rod felt like he was dreaming: Mei Country has two presidents, and is under attack, now his superior is either dead or seriously injured...

"Wait!" Rod shook off the soldier’s hand, "Who are you? How do you know who we ought to listen to?"

"Natasha, sir, like you, I only know we are under attack, our people, our home...

The military is meant for this, isn’t it? Even without a president, we still ought to try everything to rescue those remaining."

Having said that, Natasha quickly walked out.

"Damn..." Rod suddenly cursed, kicked away the Hydra corpse on the ground, "You’re right...keep monitoring!

Once communications are restored, issue attack orders to bases that can receive signals, at the very least, drive them out of the cities.

Hopefully, organizing a counterstrike now is still possible, those big guys are not kidding..."

Rod had just followed Natasha’s footsteps outside when he saw her frozen, looking at the sky—

"What are you looking at..."

Rod’s words trailed off, following Natasha’s gaze to the sky:

Space Airships were crashing!

It’s time to counterattack!