Chapter 153: [Weapons of Mass Destruction], The Empire

It's no wonder the Blue Star players were shocked.

Given the Empire's current situation.

The Eastern Front was being suppressed by the Soviet Federation, the Western Front had just won a victory, and yet at this time, they forced their capable general to his death.

Now, the Empire's three great generals recognized in the "Hall of Fame."

Manstein was dismissed, now Rommel was forced to commit suicide, and only Guderian remained, who was sent to support the Eastern Front.

Bystanders are usually clear-headed.

But now, standing from the perspective of a bystander, tens of millions of Blue Star players couldn't understand what the Imperial Head of State was doing.

And why kill Rommel?

The last time the Blue Star players heard news about Rommel was when he went to inspect the Normandy front line and was seriously injured in an air raid by the British Federation.

In the blink of an eye, it had only been a few months.

He was directly forced to commit suicide.

Although the NPCs in "Earth" all truly believed the newspaper report that Rommel died of a sudden illness due to war wounds.

But the Blue Star players, because some had participated in that plot, knew exactly what the situation was.

The players who originally wanted to experience the plot now prepared to investigate in unison.

What happened in these few months?

There was no information at all?

Even a streamer like Yu Feng, who was not interested in politics, began to investigate.

There was no other way.

It was truly too curious.

Although he wasn't interested in politics, Rommel had suppressed him on the North African battlefield, making him restart who knows how many times.

As a result, such a powerful Imperial general might have been involved in some conspiracy.

Yet he was forced to commit suicide... this was a bit too much.

The power of players is great.

Tens of millions of Blue Star players, even if only a small portion wanted to explore the truth.

That was hundreds of thousands of people.

Hundreds of thousands of people chose to start in the Imperial faction, with the timeline spanning from 1943 to the end of 1944; wherever they started.

They had all kinds of identities.

Although many key plots in "Earth" involving the leaders of various countries were locked by Zhao Ming when he designed the game.

But the bystander perspective was not locked.

For example, although players couldn't directly contact the leaders of various countries in "Earth," if a Blue Star player hid in some high-rise building and took a telescope.

And watched the entrance of the Imperial Parliament Building 24 hours a day.

They could still see the Imperial Head of State coming and going, as well as scenes of him communicating with some officials.

And the Blue Star players didn't lack such people.

So, just four days after knowing Rommel was "forced to commit suicide."

In the Polar Star player forum.

The Blue Star players had basically pieced together the details of the entire event.

Yu Feng also arrived at the forum for the first time under the reminder of the stream.

Looking at the sorted-out post.

The post introduced Rommel's death, which involved an assassination attempt against the Imperial Head of State.

On July 17, 1944.

Rommel inspected the Normandy front line and was suddenly seriously injured in an air raid.

And three days later.

That is, on July 20, many Blue Star players discovered scenes of someone attempting to assassinate the Head of State but failing while tracking the Imperial Head of State's whereabouts.

Immediately after, a large search and a large purge were carried out in the Imperial capital, Berlin.

Quite a few Blue Star players were directly arrested because their whereabouts were suspicious, and after being interrogated under torture, they were executed directly when nothing could be asked.

Just this wave of purges.

Directly caused one-third of the Blue Star players in Berlin to restart, which shows the strictness of this large purge.

Those with a little suspicion were directly arrested.

Not to mention those Blue Star players who were monitoring the Imperial Parliament Building in every "Immersive Plot" mode; none of them escaped.

The remaining players survived the search trembling, and only dared to explore slowly after skipping a few days of the plot.

However, at this time, Berlin was filled with a murderous atmosphere.

And players who were doctors in the hospital clearly saw the scene of Rommel being interrogated by the "Gestapo" in the ward during this time.

Although they couldn't watch from a close distance.

But just by looking at the "Gestapo" going in and out, they could guess roughly what was happening.

Not long after, Rommel recovered from his injuries and was discharged from the hospital.

Many Blue Star players took photos from different angles and could see Rommel returning home.

It was just that there were many more surveillance personnel around him again.

No wonder Rommel had no news since he was seriously injured.

So that was it... he was imprisoned.

Involved in the case of assassinating the Imperial Head of State, the ending didn't need to be said.

After all, it was because they knew Rommel was "forced to commit suicide" that the Blue Star players explored the answer.

Now the answer was clear.

And the situation later was somewhat repetitive, basically daily imprisonment, with occasional interrogations.

Until three months later.

Rommel died of a sudden illness due to "wounds received on the battlefield."

That is, the scene the Blue Star players saw initially.

The post ended here.

The comment section below had all kinds of comments, some regretful, some mocking, some uncomprehending; Yu Feng also sighed a bit after reading it:

"This cause of death..."

"How should I put it."

"It's a pity that such a general didn't die on the battlefield but died of forced suicide."

"But this scene, why do I feel a bit familiar?"

The messages in the stream floated by:

【???】

【Where is it familiar?】

【The Empire didn't have... no, there was an assassination case, Heydrich was assassinated, and then Imperial soldiers slaughtered a village to vent their anger.】

【That's right, it really is!】

【These big shots, once they are threatened, they don't care about anything.】

Yu Feng nodded and said:

"That's right."

"Not just Heydrich."

"There was also the previous 【Battle of Britain】 between the Empire and the British Federation, retaliatory bombing of the capital."

"At first, they were all bombing civilian areas and towns."

"They didn't bomb the capital, so it wouldn't threaten the safety of those big shots."

"So it didn't matter how many people died."

"But once it involved their own life safety, London was bombed, and the British Federation retaliated with air raids on Berlin."

"Berlin was bombed, and the Empire ignored the war situation and retaliated with bombing London, causing them to miss the best opportunity to solve the British Federation Air Force, leading to failure."

"The Empire's high-ranking official Heydrich was assassinated, and the Imperial soldiers under him slaughtered a village to vent their anger."

"And the Imperial Head of State was assassinated, and Rommel, one of the Empire's three great generals, was involved and forced to commit suicide."

"Looking at these situations."

"The big shots who started the war are also human; if the war can be carried out without threatening their lives, it can continue."

"Once it threatens their lives."

"These big shots will also lose their heads, no different from us ordinary people."

Once your own life is threatened.

Never mind if you are one of the Empire's three great generals; even if you are the head of the Empire's three great generals, you have to be dealt with.

What if you are suspected?

Can't you be convicted if you are suspected?!

Yu Feng sighed.

Rommel's exit was indeed too dramatic; then he flipped through the posts, and Yu Feng turned his attention back to the game.

At this time, he had switched to the Imperial faction, preparing for a counterattack against the Allies.

However, in this situation, Yu Feng didn't think much of the Empire's counterattack; the Empire was in constant turmoil, the Eastern Front was collapsing, and although the Western Front had a small victory.

But this victory was built on the Allies' mistakes, and luck accounted for the majority.

And based on the Allies' supply capability, the loss of those people and materials would be replenished in the blink of an eye, while the Empire's fuel for the offensive hadn't even been gathered yet.

Even if this situation was a victory, it was just a life-prolonging wave.

Not to mention that victory wasn't even certain.

It wasn't that Yu Feng was in the Allied faction before, so he didn't want to contribute after switching to the Imperial faction.

In such a large battlefield situation, individual power is negligible.

Whether he contributes or not has almost no effect; at most, it affects the war situation in some areas, but the Empire's overall situation is on the verge of collapse.

In other words... it's hopeless.

The Western Front couldn't be fought for the time being; Yu Feng watched the game preparing for battle, switched out of the game to browse the forum for a while, and then switched to the Sky Shark streaming platform.

Browsed other streams.

"Hiss—"

"Surviving in Leningrad for 743 days? Not skipping a single day?"

"The timeline is still in 1943?"

"This brother is too strong?!"

What Yu Feng was watching was Duan Yu's stream; this was truly not skipping anything.

Other streams skipped the plot more or less, with a time difference of about half a year from the latest, while Duan Yu's stream... from the latest plot.

A time difference of more than a year.

It can be seen that this is really played day by day.

It's just...

Yu Feng looked at the stream, Duan Yu was wearing a tattered cloak, waving a stick in his hand, playing the emperor:

"This... won't it cause problems?"

Familiar netizens in the stream, messages floated by.

【It's fine, just get used to it.】

【There are basically no living people in Leningrad now; if you don't entertain yourself, you won't have the will to live.】

【Leningrad is almost dead now; you can run around naked in the city and it wouldn't matter.】

【Moscow and Stalingrad are miserable because of the war, but Leningrad, to be honest... is a living hell.】

【The kind of misery that is the evil of human nature.】

Yu Feng looked at the messages and clicked his tongue; there is a reason for the popularity.

Duan Yu's stream popularity has been in the top ten for "WWII," and it's not without reason.

Looking at it normally, the streamer is waving a broken stick, wearing a cloak, playing the emperor.

If you don't look at the title, who wouldn't think this is a mental patient?

However, being able to survive in Leningrad for more than 700 days is indeed not easy; at least he couldn't do it...

Yu Feng continued browsing.

And at this time.

In the game section of the Sky Shark platform.

A new stream's popularity was rising, and the title of the stream was 【Online Hand-Crafting "Weapons of Mass Destruction," Nuke the "Earth!"】

Looking at the title of this stream.

Many Blue Star players were attracted to it.

In the stream.

Streamer Ding Rui was wearing a protective suit, surrounded by blinding incandescent lights, surrounded by dense machines, and the sound of mechanical keyboards in the laboratory was non-stop.

And the conversation of the surrounding experimental personnel was a bit noisy.

The angle of the stream couldn't hear clearly, but Ding Rui was flipping through the documents in his hand and explaining:

"What I have in my hand is an 'Experimental Report on Uranium-235 Gas Diffusion Enrichment'."

"The rumors are true."

"The American Freedom Federation is really working on weapons of mass destruction, 'nuclear bombs'."

"Earthlings are still ruthless."

"To fight a war, they actually researched nuclear bombs."

"Promoting technological progress."

Ding Rui sighed, and the Blue Star netizens in the stream were also surprised.

【Holy crap? The streamer actually understands? Awesome!】

【Indeed awesome, I'm still confused until now.】

【Reasonably speaking, isn't Earth's technology lagging behind Blue Star? Why can't I understand the things on these documents?】

【Laughing to death, that's at least top-tier technology lagging; nuclear bombs of this level, even if lagging, aren't something ordinary people can understand.】

【But the streamer can understand, which is indeed awesome.】

Ding Rui was a bit blushing from the praise, coughed twice:

"Everyone, don't praise me; actually, I don't understand either."

"But I don't understand."

"But there is a photonic supercomputer; this thing can directly analyze it and then tell me in the simplest way."

Saying that, Ding Rui brought up the photonic supercomputer on his equipment.

This thing scans the document in the stream's perspective, and it can basically translate it.

However, what he came into contact with wasn't the core.

But the experimental process was correct, which made Ding Rui a bit suspicious... is this Polar Star company really capable of building nuclear bombs?

Clearly it's just a game plot, but some documents and materials.

After the photonic supercomputer scanned them, it directly issued a warning, suggesting that this kind of thing is not suitable for the public to come into contact with and learn.

After Ding Rui finished showing the photonic supercomputer, he chatted with the stream:

"Given the current situation, plus the progress of manufacturing."

"The photonic supercomputer here deduces that it will take about half a year for this laboratory to complete the manufacturing of the first nuclear bomb on 'Earth'."

"Now it's the second half of 1944."

"If it's half a year... it's probably the first half of 1945?"

"It's very soon."

"Of course, it's just a guess."

"What if it explodes halfway? The whole laboratory will be gone."

However, the probability of a laboratory of this level going out of control shouldn't be high.

Ding Rui opened the "real-time map" on the Polar Star official website.

At this time, the European battlefield was blossoming on two fronts, and the Empire couldn't hold on anymore; it was even possible that the Empire would be destroyed before this nuclear bomb was manufactured.

Then the Empire was destroyed... the Kingdom of Italy surrendered... Ding Rui's gaze looked at the Pacific battlefield:

"Brothers."

"After the nuclear bomb is manufactured, I estimate it will be thrown into the Pacific battlefield."

"The North African battlefield is over."

"The European war is also about to end."

"After these two battlefields end."

"Only Japan in East Asia and the Pacific battlefield are still holding on."

"According to the power of a nuclear bomb."

"Destroying a small island with one shot is no problem."

"Tsk... just thinking about it is exciting."

"The most critical thing is that the country manufacturing the nuclear bomb is the American Freedom Federation; after the European battlefield ends, Japan, which previously raided the American Freedom Federation in the Pacific, will be miserable."

"Currently, the American Freedom Federation has hated those Japanese people for a long time because of the casualties in the Pacific."

"I estimate they will send those few tough islands in the Pacific away in one go."

Ding Rui analyzed with the netizens in the stream.

He had no idea that when the nuclear bomb was manufactured, "Earthlings" would be crazier than he imagined; what are a few islands in the Pacific, if they are bold enough.

Ding Rui looked at the huge nuclear bomb casing and suddenly thought of something:

"By the way... with Earth's current technology, there is no ability to conduct ultra-long-range bombing; it's too late to research intercontinental missiles now, right?"

"Can't they just fly a plane and drop it?"

But as soon as the words fell, not only the Blue Star netizens in the stream, but also Ding Rui himself had a strange expression.

Don't say...

Really don't say...

Flying a plane to drop a nuclear bomb is something "Earthlings" can do.

Now it just depends on when the nuclear bomb is finished.

A week later.

In Yu Feng's stream.

There was no combat plot during this time, so in just one week, Yu Feng skipped two months of the plot and arrived in December 1944.

The Empire's troops were ready to go.

Yu Feng pulled up the "real-time map" on the Polar Star official website in the stream and moved the screen to the "Ardennes Forest" to explain the current situation to the stream.

"The Imperial unit I am in is advancing toward the Ardennes Forest."

"There should be quite a few netizens familiar with this place, right?"

"That's right, it was the 'Ardennes Forest' where the Empire's famous general Guderian broke through during the blitzkrieg of Falanxi, then bypassed the Maginot Line and crossed the Meuse River."

"Straight to Dunkirk, almost keeping 300,000 British Allied soldiers."

"This place was originally Imperial territory."

"With the expansion of the Allies and the liberation of Falanxi, the Ardennes Forest was recaptured by the Allies."

"However, although it was recaptured."

"But now the Empire seems to want to repeat the situation of the blitzkrieg of Falanxi."

"The order I received here is to break through the Ardennes Forest, then cross the Meuse River, and capture the Allies' important supply ports all the way, splitting the American-British Allied forces in two."

"Forcing the American-British Federation to negotiate with the Empire."

"To be honest."

"I don't think much of this plan."

Yu Feng sighed:

"The American-British Federation isn't stupid."

"Falanxi suffered such a big loss here back then; how could they let the Imperial troops break through the Ardennes Forest again."

It was just that this was the result of the Imperial high command's discussion, and he couldn't influence the war situation.

At this time, there were quite a few people squatting in the streams of streamers whose plot was on the latest timeline, wanting to see the process and results of this great battle.

As time passed.

The armored division Yu Feng was in received the order to attack.

The content of the order was to break through the defense line of the American Freedom Federation's 106th Division and open a gap.

December 16, 1944.

Early morning.

Winter frost and fog filled the forest, with visibility of only a few dozen meters; Yu Feng followed the team, and the armor rushed in one direction.

The commander looked at the map from time to time, seeing that the distance was getting closer and closer.

The order was issued.

Boom!

Boom—!

Artillery pieces rushed into the fog, bombarding a certain direction; after the baptism of artillery shells.

The Empire's tank troops didn't stop for a moment, straight into the chaotic defense line of the American Federation's 106th Division; the caught-off-guard American Federation's 106th Division couldn't resist at all.

After holding on for only a moment, they dropped their weapons and equipment and ran wildly.

Although this scene was funny, it was also normal.

Because the players were all in separate "Immersive Plot" modes, the overall situation wouldn't change; the Empire was preparing to organize a counterattack.

But the "Earth" Allied high command and the troops under them, who didn't have the Blue Star player perspective and forum.

Were all deceived by the Empire's feint.

They only thought that the Imperial troops in the Ardennes Forest were reserve troops, not the Empire's main force.

They had no idea that this was the Empire's key attack target.

Although the Blue Star players knew, they couldn't say it out; even if they said it, the level couldn't be uploaded...

Facing the Empire's armored torrent, the collapse of the American Federation's 106th Division was very normal.

In just one day, the Empire captured over 7,000 American soldiers, and the entire front line was still advancing.

In the game, three days later.

The Imperial troops had broken through the Ardennes Forest; even Yu Feng, who knew about the Empire's plan before the battle, was a bit stunned, because the American-British Allied forces collapsed too quickly.

In three days, the Imperial troops advanced over 90 kilometers.

This speed almost didn't encounter any obstacles.

But soon Yu Feng reacted; it was still the problem of the intelligence gap.

These players communicated information with each other and naturally knew the Empire's plan; looking from a third perspective, how could the Allies be blitzed by the Ardennes Forest again.

But in the game... these "Earth" local NPCs didn't know.

From the six Allied divisions here in the Ardennes Forest, it could be seen that the Allies' focus wasn't placed here, and they were all resting.

Facing the Empire's armored torrent, the collapse was very normal.

It was just that the problem remained severe.

Although the Empire's offensive momentum was very smooth, the shortage of fuel was always a shadow in the hearts of everyone, including Yu Feng and the Imperial troops.

In three days, although they advanced over 90 kilometers.

But the fuel left by the American Freedom Federation was very little, not even enough to continue launching the next offensive.

After breaking through another American Federation troop camp.

Yu Feng couldn't care about anything else, followed the soldiers under his command, and searched the camp together, until after a long time.

Clang!

Yu Feng kicked an empty oil drum:

"Empty again?!"

There were over thirty oil drums piled in the center of the camp.

But only two drums were full, and this oil wasn't even enough for the tanks under his command to travel for half a day; how could this launch a so-called blitzkrieg?

Running wildly on foot? How to fight this battle?!

Although the continuous three-day advance was exceptionally smooth, Yu Feng didn't have a trace of joy; if this continued, they would die of logistics first, and this battle was probably the Empire's last battle...

Although the advance over the past three consecutive days had been exceptionally smooth, Yu Feng did not feel a shred of joy; if things continued this way, they would die from logistics first, and this battle was likely the Empire's last...