Chapter 353

London, Palace of Westminster.

When the air raid siren sounded, everyone was startled, and security personnel immediately reported the news: a Tomahawk missile was flying toward London, and everyone was to head to the shelters immediately.

At that moment, the House of Commons was in the middle of a debate on how to respond to the sanctions from the United States.

The debate was at its climax, with the Conservative Party arguing that the Umbrella Corporation had "unauthorized contact with the Red camp," asserting that the Umbrella Corporation did not have true common interests with the British government, leaving several Labour MPs who were trying to defend the Umbrella Corporation's interests momentarily unable to parry.

At this moment of impending victory, they were suddenly interrupted by the so-called "air raid siren." The Conservative spokesperson was highly suspicious of the truth of the matter. "Firing a missile at London? Has the U. S. President gone mad, or have you? This must be a ridiculous excuse found by the other side, intending to interrupt the meeting!"

Fortunately, there were still level-headed people. A Sky News reporter received the news relatively promptly. He put down the brick phone in his hand. "Latest news: the USS McCain has been sunk, the USS Ramage has fled, and we have also lost two destroyers. Furthermore, the impact point of the Tomahawk missile is indeed London, and our radar has lost its signal. It could land anywhere in the city of London!"

"I wish you success in your debate, gentlemen. I must be going..."

The MPs became panicked and scrambled toward the door.

Some of the older ones among them were even reminded of the terrifying memories of the London Blitz from their childhood, and they ran faster than the young people.

"Gentlemen, London has over 300,000 acres, the City of Westminster only has 5,000 acres, and the Houses of Parliament only have 20 acres. The probability of the missile landing on our heads is less than one in ten thousand. There is no need to panic... let the front-bench MPs go first..."

"Put away your absurd numbers. Your head is only the size of a needle tip. The probability of a Tomahawk missile landing on your head is infinitely close to zero, and the Americans wouldn't waste a missile to blow up a fool. You stay here, idiot, move aside!"

The MPs, who were usually gentlemanly, now poured out of the Houses of Parliament from St. Stephen's Entrance like rats scurrying out of a toilet during an earthquake.

The aforementioned Sky News reporter, Malis, also squeezed into a shelter with the MPs. After his shock subsided, he turned his head and saw that next to him was the Conservative spokesperson from just a moment ago, the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign Office, MacDonald.

He couldn't help but take out his voice recorder. "Under-Secretary, what are your thoughts on this sudden naval battle? Does this confirm some of the theories circulating in society about the U. S. threat?"

"Threat theory?" MacDonald glanced at him. "We don't know what exactly happened outside yet, but I think it should be a misunderstanding. Our alliance with the United States has a history of decades. Neither we nor the United States would easily break this solid alliance. The United States would not threaten us, because that would be like threatening its own liver, eyes, and tongue."

"And we are not those second-rate countries. Our territory once spanned the globe. We were the first to complete the Industrial Revolution. Without us, the United States would just be a barren grassland, with only Indians living primitive lives there."

"I tell you, sir, Britain is indispensable to the U. S. strategy in Europe. No one is willing to be our enemy, even the United States."

"Hmph, I dare to walk out right now. I dare say that the so-called missile is just a baseless lie. Throwing a missile at London? Hmph, why not just say blow up Parliament directly! In my opinion, nothing major will happen, and everything is still under control."

However, no sooner had he finished speaking.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, there was a loud noise outside. A lot of dust was shaken from the ceiling, the light tubes flickered, and a series of screams immediately rang out in the shelter.

"Explosion! Very close to here!" Malis had been a war correspondent and was no stranger to explosions.

When the shaking subsided, he couldn't help but be the first to run out, pushing past two security guards who tried to stop him, and he ran out of the shelter.

Before his eyes, he saw thick smoke and fire. It took him a long while to realize what the scene before him meant.

Based on a reporter's instinct, he took out his camera and captured the scene.

A huge gap had been blown open in the center-west side of the Palace of Westminster, and half of the entire palace had collapsed. Just as he pressed the shutter, the Victoria Tower suddenly fell, and the British flag hanging on it fell with it.

At the same time, the bell of Big Ben suddenly tolled.

Ten o'clock in the morning sharp.

Britain's national calling card, the symbol of democracy, the center of power, the Palace of Westminster—the Houses of Parliament—collapsed with a roar amidst the final wail of Big Ben.

United States, The Pentagon.

An emergency conference call of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was underway.

"The President has asked me four times in a row," on the television, the Secretary of Defense's thin face was full of seriousness. "You cannot fool me with 'still investigating' anymore. Tell me something useful. What is the conclusion? How the hell did this damn thing happen?!"

"We have summarized all the intelligence and clarified the timeline of the entire event," a senior intelligence officer said. "Please allow me to take a little of your time to report on the whole event."

"At 9:10 AM, the USS McCain suddenly sent an emergency alert, saying that the British had boarded the ship, seemingly preparing to seize it. Within the next two minutes, we had some exchanges. Their words were chaotic and unclear. One moment they said the radar might have been interfered with, the next they said the other side might be paratroopers, and then they said the enemy was only one person. Finally, they actually said the other side might possess superpowers..."

"Starting at 9:17 AM, the USS McCain's communication was interrupted for two minutes. Subsequently, they lifted the ship-wide alert and told us that the special forces members who had boarded the ship had been eliminated."

"But soon, at 9:24 AM, they were attacked again. This time it was a speedboat filled with explosives, which also appeared suddenly, and the radar had no reaction. We still don't know why the USS McCain didn't intercept the speedboat at close range; there should have been at least a dozen soldiers on duty on the deck... In short, the speedboat hit the hull, the explosives detonated, a hole was blown in the middle of the warship, and the power system was paralyzed."

"At 9:30 AM, while the USS Ramage was on its way to rescue the USS McCain, it encountered signal interference and rammed a cargo ship."

"At 9:41 AM, three British destroyers left Portsmouth and came within visual range of the USS McCain."

"At 9:43 AM, the USS McCain sent an alert claiming to be locked on by fire-control radar."

"At 9:44 AM, the USS McCain was attacked by a torpedo."

"At 9:45 AM, the British warships were hit by a torpedo."

"At 9:46 AM, the USS Ramage was also locked on by fire control and requested combat instructions, but received no response."

"At 9:47 AM, a torpedo attempted to attack the USS Ramage and was intercepted by a depth charge."

"At 9:50 AM, combat instructions were issued, and the USS McCain and USS Ramage simultaneously launched anti-ship missiles."

"At 9:51 AM, the missiles hit a British warship."

"At 9:52 AM, the USS McCain was hit again and simultaneously launched four Tomahawk missiles."

"At 9:52 AM, two Tomahawk missiles were intercepted. Of the other two, one landed in an uninhabited area in central France, and one in London."

"At 9:54 AM, the USS Ramage withdrew from the battlefield."

"At 9:55 AM, the Tomahawk missile flying toward London suddenly disappeared."

"At 10:00 sharp, the Palace of Westminster was destroyed."

"Mr. Secretary, from the beginning to the end of the event, it was only fifty minutes in total. And in these fifty minutes, there were two events that were very strange and critical. If we can figure out what happened with these two events, perhaps we can figure out the whole thing."

(End of chapter)