Chapter 789 - 746 Thunderstorm, Thunder_2

Now they have all six aircraft at their disposal, which is equivalent to being able to transfer 2000 tons of material at once, taking into consideration its vast space, nearly half a synthetic battalion could be airlifted directly.

Is this also part of the defense?!

The turn of events had exceeded Lin Ju and others’ expectations, and he simply stopped thinking about these issues, and first inquired about the situation with Artemis:

"What the hell is NACA up to, and what’s the current situation with Artemis?"

Ye Changsi led them to the base’s control room and called up the photos recently taken by Thousand-Jun Stick No. 1.

The photos taken by Thousand-Jun Stick No. 1 were in black and white, and because they were on the dark side, after extensive exposure and manual processing, one could just barely make out the contours of Artemis:

It resembled an oval leaf, of course, that’s because of the angle, it’s very large in size, the edges a bit blurred, obviously due to its rotation and the distance being too great when the photo was taken.

Ye Changsi: "Based on our observations, it should be fully deployed, but for some unknown reason, it’s out of control and flipping over, and now it’s moved to the South Pacific Ocean and is no longer affecting the main communication regions.

We just communicated with NACA, and they haven’t been able to restore contact yet. Now there are only two things we can do: wait, or shoot it down; otherwise, the impact is too detrimental."

Shen Zuozhou: "Shoot it down? That thing is worth more than its weight in gold, would America really be willing to do that?"

"That’s why NACA is desperately trying to salvage the situation, even going as far as to ask us for help, opening up the control signals for Artemis. However, we can’t really do anything either; the gigantic reflective surface moves slightly and blocks Artemis’s own antennas without any gaps at all, there’s no way to send a complete command."

Ye Changsi’s tone carried a hint of regret. After all, Artemis was indeed a very cutting-edge attempt, and New Yuan really hoped to see how effective it could be. It would truly be a pity if it were destroyed just like that.

If it wasn’t especially necessary, he didn’t wish to shoot down Artemis.

In fact, Shen Zuozhou and Lin Ju shared a similar sentiment, losing Artemis would not only hurt NACA but also represent a certain loss for them.

Lin Ju: "Does Old Zhong have any orders?"

"Can’t get through, but without any news from the department, we won’t make any rash moves for the time being."

Shen Zuozhou answered, guessing that Zhong Cheng was probably in the heart of the Capital.

The situation became opaque once again, Lin Ju let out a slight sigh and didn’t know what to say.

...

"Yes...we are handling it, a general has already flown to the Far East... NACA promises they will handle it soon... Yes, that’s right..."

McMaster hung up the phone, his face so dark that people dared not make eye contact with him.

The misunderstanding was cleared, the joint declaration issued, but the situation hadn’t improved.

Thanks to the mess they had recently created themselves, the external situation was already getting somewhat out of control.

The East Sea was a mess at the moment, in the area near where the EP3E was shot down, the Chinese People had gathered hundreds of aircraft, and a main fleet consisting of more than 16 warships was rushing over.

Meanwhile, the Far Eastern air force had launched almost everything they could send into the air, over eighty aircraft by now, and the Stanislaus carrier group was also on its way at full speed. According to reports from the frontline soldiers obtained via the Pentagon bypassing normal procedures, the atmosphere was already tense to an extreme degree.

It wasn’t just one EP3E that fell; a unlucky J16 also went down, four AIM120C missiles from two F15s had locked onto it, and it was unknown whether the pilot ejected.

The pretense for both sides’ current gathering is to search for and rescue the downed pilots; after all, it was after 10 p.m., and the night made salvage operations difficult, so it makes sense to dispatch more ships.

Makes sense my ass!

The frontline reported that although there was no formal exchange of fire yet, both sides occasionally fired flares to probe each other’s positions, while the fighter jets tangled in the air, and this face-to-face feinting created even greater pressure!

So although the higher-ups on both sides had cleared up the misunderstanding, they could only do their best to ensure that S3 would not be triggered (although not absolute).

Russia had also noticed the sudden change in the Far East situation and according to intelligence sent back from Europe, there were large-scale mobilizations as well, with no one knowing what their intentions might be.

With the three major powers stirring things up, other parties were also forced into this heart-stopping misunderstanding and continuously caused new conflicts and friction, for there are always those willing to fish in troubled waters regardless of the consequences, exacerbating the situation!

John had originally planned to return to the Presidential Palace but had canceled the plan, continuing to remotely command from aboard the 747, leaving the specifics to McMaster to handle.

He certainly did not wish to see the situation escalate and then be hit by hydrogen bombs; all he could do was desperately send his subordinates out to strike in every direction, as NACA’s problems had become secondary.

He closed his eyes, trembling, and asked his assistant:

"What are our allies doing now?"

"The UK has a high-profile delegation visiting us right now, they’re asking if we’re really planning to start a major war? The royal family has already prepared to move to Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

...

The others!"

"Different allies have different reactions, but all hope we will exercise restraint, and they’re asking what exactly happened.

Far Eastern allies are relatively proactive, but haven’t made any rash moves."

McMaster sharply sensed something from the assistant’s words and pressed for an answer:

"What is Europe’s attitude exactly? The France People, Hans’s!"

"Um..." The assistant then awkwardly stuttered in response:

"They, they said they will tend towards neutrality regardless of what happens, the majority of other allies expressed similar opinions."

"Including Italy?"

"Including them, they even emphasized that they are members of the Huayin Organization, so..."