Chapter 493 - 484 Chaos_1

For the citizens of Edo, they experienced an unforgettable event within just a few short minutes.

At 18:47, Lei Qing pivoted the fighter jet with a large turning radius beginning from the coastline to return to base.

At this time, military districts within the country had just received the report and sent him instructions:

Return to base as quickly as possible, do not worry about flying through other countries’ airspace, all domestic military airfields are on standby and are successively launching fighter jets to provide support.

The fright caused by Xuehu was not just confined to the Island Country and Hawaii; the coastal military districts in a state of high alert were also taken aback.

Xuehu, codenamed Project New Ten, was inconspicuous at the time of its inception, but only now could people understand the tremendous air defense pressure brought by its ultra-high speed and ultra-high altitude.

This thing was not just extremely difficult to shoot down—once the formal version is coated with stealth paint, it will be nearly invisible to radar; it also brings immense psychological pressure to people.

The cities that the test flight passed over all heard the booming sonic booms and saw the meteor streaking across the sky; in wartime, this would definitely cause public upheaval.

This terrifying contraption caught the military off-guard, but one thing was certain: It could not fall into the hands of others. Therefore, no matter the reaction it provoked in others, Xuehu had to land within the country first, without a single piece of debris leaking out.

As for the excuse... of course they couldn’t admit it was a military aircraft. Xuehu wasn’t officially in service yet, right?

So, the statement later issued by the foreign affairs department said:

"A new type of aircraft experienced a navigation equipment failure during a test flight, causing the test pilot to stray into another country’s airspace, which was a pure ’technical fault’. We regret the impact this has caused."

But by the time the announcement was issued and notified, it was already tens of minutes later, and by then Lei Qing had already crossed over Vladivostok and entered the territory of the northeast.

The fighter jet flew out from the mainland and passed over the Yellow Sea, South Korea, Whale Sea, then to Shikoku Island and Edo, turned around over the Pacific Ocean, and then crossed Hokkaido and Vladivostok to enter the country.

The citizens of the entire city of Edo watched in shock as "Patriot" series anti-missile missiles were launched from several air defense sites, but although they theoretically possessed the capability to attack, the ground radar could not provide effective guidance, and in the end, they self-destructed in mid-air after exhausting their fuel.

So, people not only saw the meteor that represented Xuehu but also witnessed the scene of more than a dozen Patriot missiles exploding in the air, which was almost exactly what would happen during a real nuclear war.

All the nearby military planes also reacted and desperately took off, trying to escape from cities that would be prime targets for nuclear strikes. Various aircraft crossed over the city from above.

Even the busy civilian airfields had commercial pilots who had just gotten news online attempting to take off again, while air traffic control became chaotic due to the massive external shock. Passengers in the waiting areas were panicking due to the sudden outbreak of a nuclear war alert when an Airbus A350 that had just landed was slowly moving to the parking apron, changed its route to take off again, and then collided with a Boeing 777 that had departed 15 minutes earlier.

The A350 that was attempting to take off again had 384 passengers and one-third fuel onboard, while the Boeing 777 was carrying 340 passengers with full fuel tanks. The two airliners tried to veer away, but they still collided head-on. After both broke apart, they were engulfed by the explosion of a black mushroom cloud, directly leading to paralysis of two runways.

This change of circumstances directly caused the busy air routes to lose operational capacity for a short time. Aircraft waiting to land in the sky were either circling to inquire about the situation or already planning their escape; on the ground, there were multiple planes wanting to depart early to avoid becoming casualties of a nuclear explosion. Pilots and passengers were together asking ground services to speed up the preparations and promised to take them along for takeoff. Countless other people tried to break through the terminal building in search of an airplane to board.

It wasn’t just the airport; the entire city plunged into chaos.

Since Xuehu crossed in a very short time and the Island Country did not have a real-time warning mechanism like Hawaii’s with the Pacific Fleet, up until now, there had been no official alerts from the country, only online messages spreading.

But any citizen who saw the "Patriot" launching and the disarray in the sky would not doubt the reality of a nuclear war, and various broadcast and television media also ceased unexpectedly, leading the public to lean towards the belief that the government had already been "taken out".

Countless cars crowded the highways leading out of the city. Police cars and fire trucks tried to carve out a few lanes, but their commands were ignored—as curses, honks, siren wails, explosions, and cries of terror combined into an unprecedented chaos that enveloped the bustling metropolis.

Yet, amidst the chaos, there was a hint of "swimming against the tide."

Kuudan Area.

A group of young tourists from the mainland strolling nearby also realized that a "nuclear war" was imminent. Upon witnessing the mayhem on the streets and accepting that they were likely to die there, rather than scattering like the crowd, they set their sights on the nearby Soul Summoning Society.

The Soul Summoning Society, whose gates had only been burned down six years earlier, now found its security forces nearly paralyzed. The tourists easily infiltrated the place, and soon thick smoke began to billow from within...

...

Capital.

Lin Ju was contemplating which high-profile scientists to contact for support in hydrogen bomb mining tomorrow when his office door was abruptly pushed open by his assistant, who, without explanation, hoisted him up and hurried him out.

"Quick, to the basement Mr. Lin, America is about to launch missiles at us!"

"??!"

Although he had indeed altered the timeline, he hadn’t expected it to veer off this dramatically!

Breaking free from his assistant’s arm, Lin Ju demanded a full explanation. With urgency, his assistant reluctantly took out his cell phone, casting a nervous glance out the window for incoming missiles.

The latest message from the American Embassy on Weibo read:

"We strongly protest the action of flying hypersonic aircraft to our ally, the Island Country, and reserve the right to retaliate;

Any attempt to attack America or our allies will be considered an act of equal violation, and will be met with an equal response."

Turning to the hottest searches, the most eye-catching read: "Capital launches suspected nuclear strike on Edo, with missile trajectories witnessed in multiple locations."

Diving deeper, photos of the "missile" taken from both domestic and international sources could be seen, as well as images of the "Patriot 3" missile’s launch, interception failure, and subsequent self-destruction, with each update revealing more chaotic scenes from the ground.

What had happened to the world!

Lin Ju still remembered that at noon the news was reporting on senior officials achieving a series of collaborations during a visit to Europe, and by evening, a nuclear war had erupted?

His instincts told him something was amiss; after all, the satellite network from the base had sent no warnings—it was all too far-fetched for a nuclear war.

He ignored his assistant’s persistent demands and waited for several minutes, finally seeing the domestic announcement clarifying the rumors.

A new type of aircraft? But Cloud Ascend wasn’t ready for its maiden flight yet, so that left only one possibility—Xuehu. Xuehu’s navigation system had malfunctioned and it ended up in the Island Country, and it was mistaken for a missile?