Chapter 36: Hello, Mr. President (Begging for collections, recommendations, and tips)

At 2:54 AM, when a hurried knocking sounded outside the bedroom, United States President Richard Bruce Cheney, who had been roused from a sweet slumber, was incensed.

Just as he was preparing to bark a cold reprimand, the voice that suddenly came from outside the door instantly swept away his sleepiness: "Mr. President, two of our domestic military bases have been attacked, and several nuclear warheads have been lost!"

After hurriedly splashing his face with cold water, Cheney soon met with several high-ranking defense and intelligence officials in his office, including Defense Minister Jon Voight, CIA Director Michael Hayden, and FBI Director Robert Mueller.

"Incompetents, all of you are incompetents! The CIA's budget increases every year, and the FBI hasn't asked me for any less money either. And now? Gentlemen, who can tell me? Why were the United States' heavily guarded domestic military bases attacked, and two of them at the same time?"

It was no wonder Cheney was so furious; the slogan the Americans had been proud of since the end of World War II, "keeping war outside our borders," would become a pipe dream during his term.

A few years ago, a single self-directed "9/11 incident" was enough to make the angry American public donate money if they had it, or their lives if they didn't, and wage two wars according to the plans designed by these politicians.

Not to mention that the United States had yet to digest the dividends and consequences of those two wars, now, for the first time since World War II, the U. S. mainland had suffered a meticulously prepared military attack by a hostile force, which not only destroyed two U. S. military bases but even plundered four nuclear warheads.

If this news got out, it would be catastrophic; not only would the United States be shaken, but the entire world would likely be shaken as well.

At the thought of this, Cheney no longer hid the anger in his heart. Tapping his fingers lightly on the desk, his tone was icy: "Are you trying to make me the first President of the United States to be removed from office by the people?"

These words were too cutting. Voight, Hayden, Mueller, and the others looked at each other. Finally, Defense Minister Voight took the initiative to step forward, his expression equally grim as he explained to him: "Mr. President, things are not as simple as you think. I have already communicated with the CIA and FBI, and I can ensure that no hostile nation's army could have infiltrated the United States to cause such destruction!"

Upon hearing this, Cheney's anger flared up, "Then are you trying to tell me that aliens have attacked us?"

"I'm afraid that is indeed the case!"

Voight replied with a livid face.

"Absurd!" Cheney snorted coldly. As the U. S. President, how could he not have paid attention to the rumors about Sector 51? It was precisely because of this that he knew it was merely a research base for advanced U. S. military aircraft; it was only because of its high security clearance and the deliberate guidance of some interested parties that it eventually became a world-famous alien research base.

Voight said nothing more, taking a dozen photos from the document bag tucked under his arm and placing them in front of Cheney.

After glancing at them nonchalantly, Cheney's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly picked up the photos and looked them over several times before asking with a dark face: "Where did these pictures come from?"

"Some were taken from high altitude by military satellites; these blurrier pictures show the attackers at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The last few, which are clearer, were taken by the aviation corps at Renfulan Base. We attempted to analyze the armor strength of these mechanical warriors, and its strength far exceeds all alloys currently in the technical verification stage in the United States!"

Voight sighed, "So we believe these attackers might be aliens!"

"Aliens!" Cheney stood up irritably, paced back and forth for a long while, and then looked at his subordinates, saying angrily: "And then? Where exactly do these robots come from? Why attack the United States? What are they going to do with the nuclear warheads they snatched? Is war about to break out again? Most importantly, how am I supposed to answer the media and our citizens? Should I just use the line, 'Aliens attacked us'? I want to ask you all first: do you believe it?"

The office fell into a sudden silence!

CIA Director Hayden hesitated for a moment before breaking the deadlock: "Mr. President, we might not be completely ignorant about this type of mechanical warrior. I only took over the CIA last year, and because the CIA headquarters archives contain too many classified documents, I only finished organizing them recently. If I remember correctly, there is a research project on mechanical warriors stored in the CIA archives. However, I do not have the clearance to read that file; I would need authorization from both you, Mr. President, and the Defense Minister to apply for access..."

"There is such a project?"

Cheney was stunned. Hearing Hayden say this, some vague memories suddenly surfaced in his mind, and he faintly felt as if he had seen a similar document before.

But after all, he was the U. S. President; this country was too powerful and had too many things that needed to be kept secret, to the point that even a president serving two terms like him still hadn't finished reading all the classified documents left behind by his predecessors.

Voight clearly knew the most. Seeing the President cast his gaze toward him, he had to answer truthfully: "There are only a few classified documents in U. S. history that require simultaneous authorization from the President and the Defense Minister to apply for access. If the CIA headquarters also has one, then what Director Hayden mentioned can only be Sector 7!"

Sector 7—this was a term even more obscure than the now world-famous Sector 51.

So after Voight finished speaking, not only were Hayden and Mueller, the heads of the CIA and FBI, staring at each other in complete confusion.

Even Cheney, the U. S. President, had a bewildered expression on his face.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Voight could only shake his head with a bitter smile: "Don't look at me. Even I need the President's authorization to be qualified to access that file. The only reason I know this term is because it appeared in the office records left behind by the first Defense Minister!"

"In other words, we can only see this file if we authorize each other now?"

Cheney was lost in thought.

"I'm afraid that's the only way, Mr. President!" Voight nodded.

"Alright then!"

Cheney immediately stood up and beckoned his subordinates to join him in the underground residence beneath the White House, built to withstand nuclear strikes and decapitation attacks.

They walked until they reached a room containing only a desk without drawers and a chair. Cheney and the others stopped here; this was a room specially set up for the President to review high-level classified documents after the United States completed its electronic information transition.

Originally, officials other than the President were not allowed to enter this room, but today was a special case, so Cheney temporarily threw the regulations aside.

The group walked into the room together, and Cheney sat down at the computer as a matter of course.

After the computer booted up and buffered slightly, a password input box appeared. Everyone tacitly turned away to avoid looking, and only then did Cheney enter the password.

After the computer quickly logged into the operating interface, he, not being very good with computers, had to operate it while thinking, taking a full ten minutes to find the authorization for Sector 7 that Voight had mentioned.

After Cheney clicked into it, he didn't expect a special operating interface to pop up automatically, and at the same time, a mechanical voice sounded: "Accessing this classified document requires authorization from the incumbent U. S. President and the Defense Minister. Do you wish to proceed to the next step?"

He hurriedly clicked continue, and the interface changed again: "Capturing image, confirming visitor is the current U. S. President Richard Bruce Cheney. Please follow the prompts below to perform voice authorization!"

"I, in my capacity as President of the United States, authorize access to this file!"

"Authorization established. Please switch to Defense Minister authorization within 60 seconds!"

Cheney had to stand up and let Voight sit on the stool. Afterward, he also completed the authorization according to the prompts. Once the interface suddenly disappeared, the phone next to the computer, which looked exactly like an old-fashioned landline from the 1990s, suddenly rang.

Cheney was stunned. Seeing everyone looking at him, he realized what was happening and stepped forward to pick up the phone.

Instantly, a gentle middle-aged male voice came from the other end of the line: "This is Sector 7. Hello, Mr. President..."

PS:

1. Considering the possibility of cross-plane harmonious strikes, the author has used Vice President Cheney to replace Bush.

2. To all the readers who like this book, please do not be stingy with your support. Clicks, recommendations, collections, and tips—I'll take whatever you can give!