mynovelweb Chapter 261: The Arrow is on the Bowstring
Chapter 261: The Arrow is on the Bowstring
Dora seemed to realize it was lunchtime, so he clapped his hands to get everyone's attention and said that they would gather together and go to the Academy of Sciences cafeteria for lunch.
Pan Na looked at Zhou Yuan and said, "Academician James, your conjecture today was very interesting. I don't quite understand it yet. I hope we can discuss it sometime. Could you please give me your phone number?"
"Sure. Give me your phone number and I'll call you."
Pan Na gave Zhou Yuan her number, and Zhou Yuan dialed it on his phone. Pan Na's phone rang.
"Academician James, Sister Lefia, I won't bother you any longer, goodbye."
"Goodbye."
The three followed the group out, and Panna disappeared at the end of the corridor a moment later.
"Academician James, please complete your onboarding procedures this afternoon. It's lunchtime now, let me take you to lunch."
"Oh, no, Lefia, I have things to take care of right now. I'll take care of lunch myself."
"Oh, okay then. What's your phone number? I'll call you at 2 PM."
Zhou Yuan gave his phone number, and Lefia dialed it, causing Zhou Yuan's phone to vibrate.
Zhou Yuan saved the phone numbers of both Panna and Lefia.
"Academician James, wait for my call this afternoon."
"Okay, please."
Lefia gave Zhou Yuan a charming smile and waved to him. Zhou Yuan waved back, and the two parted ways in the corridor.
Zhou Yuan looked at the surrounding signs, found the restroom sign, and hurriedly walked towards the restroom. After entering the restroom, Zhou Yuan saw that no one was inside, so he knocked on the stall door and pushed the door. Fortunately, no one was there.
Zhou Yuan quickly extended his left hand, pressed his left finger, and a golden light flashed, revealing a ring on his left finger. "Ring, I'm going to the flagship."
As Zhou Yuan spoke, he had already prepared himself for dizziness, but this time the dizziness felt much milder than last time.
"Hello, Sage." Zhou Yuan saw Nana standing in front of the two holographic screens and greeting him. Zhou Yuan stepped out of the yellow circle, walked to Nana's side, and looked at the two holographic screens.
The large holographic screen on the right is divided into four equal-sized screens. The upper left screen shows President Thomas sitting around a conference table with some people. The upper right screen shows Earth orbiting satellites. The two lower screens show a group of aircraft carrier battle groups assembled at sea, seemingly awaiting the president's final orders.
The holographic screen on the left, like the one on the right, also has four split screens. The top left shows men in Zhongshan suits and others sitting around a conference table; the top right shows a satellite; the bottom left shows a missile launch site with rows of missiles standing tall; and the bottom right shows seawater with several nuclear submarines patrolling.
Zhou Yuan sensed the impending conflict. If Western Turks attacked Eastern Turks' coastal cities with cruise missiles, Eastern Turks would undoubtedly launch intercontinental ballistic missiles or even nuclear weapons; either way, there would be massive casualties. War, I could easily end, but how could I erase the hatred and estrangement between the two nations? Zhou Yuan felt uneasy. In the past, he would have been like every soldier in Eastern Turks, eager to kill as many enemies as possible, but now…?
"Sage, sage? You may give the order now."
"Nana, if you were me, what would you do?"
Nana hadn't expected Zhou Yuan to ask her this, and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Sage, if it were me, I would still stand by and do nothing, just like I did with the previous human civilizations."
"That's because I wasn't on this flagship before. Nana, we're changing missions."
"Sage, please give us your guidance."
“Nana, our primary task now is to unite the humans of the two planets, just like we did before or in my previous life. We need to use the power of the two Earth humans to make contact with the fifth-dimensional human race. If we can’t make contact with them, we need to find a way to get out of this sixth-dimensional black hole.”
Nana felt as if she had returned to the past, sensing Zhou Yuan's decisiveness and wisdom. "Yes, sage. I will immediately shift my focus to this area."
Zhou Yuan checked the time; it was 12:45 in Western Turks. He saw a split screen on the right side of the display showing fighter jets taking off from the aircraft carrier deck, and the launch tubes of cruisers, destroyers, and other ships already rotated and adjusted. The split screen in the upper left corner showed President Thomas and some others applauding, presumably indicating that the decision to launch a military strike had been approved.
"Nana, disable all military and civilian satellites in Earth's atmosphere. Make sure none of the satellites from any country are functioning properly, except for the space station in the Western Turks. If any country launches another rocket, satellite, or any spacecraft, make sure they all crash and explode in mid-air. You play the role of the electronic invader of Earth, and I'll play the 'savior'."
"Understood, Saint."
"By the way, Nana, how are the four astronauts from the Western Turks doing?"
"Jack and his three companions hid inside the spaceship and refused to come out. The cavalrymen kept surrounding them, and Jack and his men could only hold out for half a month."
"Oh, I'll go take a look in a few days. I'll get things sorted out on Earth in the next few days."
"Yes, Your Majesty, your fleet has arrived."
“Oh, Nana, I’m curious where my fleet came from.”
"Sage, your fleet has been on the far side of the sun, above the main planet of the ten-star orbiting system."
Nana opened a holographic screen, showing layers of warships floating above a blue planet. Zhou Yuan suddenly noticed a huge rectangular object next to the planet. "Nana, what's that rectangular thing?"
"That is your golden full-body statue." The holographic screen zoomed in, and Zhou Yuan saw a golden, glittering full-body statue of a person. The statue was magnified, and the person's face looked very much like his own. Zhou Yuan was stunned for a moment.
"Nana, I understand. You should get started now."
"Yes, Sage." Nana disappeared.
Zhou Yuan snapped his fingers, and a little bee flew out of his trouser pocket. "Little bee, take me to the National Academy of Sciences of the Western Lands. I don't want teleportation."
“Sage, you are actually almost used to light teleportation.”
"Little bee, you're so long-winded. Can't you just let me ride in the spaceship once?"
"Of course, I'd be happy to help."
Zhou Yuan watched in astonishment as the little bee grew larger, transforming into a bee-shaped spaceship over ten meters long. He noticed symbols on the sides of the spaceship, which suddenly disappeared, replaced by the script of the Western Kingdom.
The right hull of the spaceship is marked "Earth Empire Little Bee 5203344", while the left hull reads "Earth Empire Saint Airborne One".
When Zhou Yuan entered the Little Bee spaceship, the surprise made him think he had entered another dimension, which was indeed the case.
Aya appeared at the right time and introduced Zhou Yuan to the structure, layout, equipment, and weaponry of the bee spaceship.
"Sage, we're setting off. Let's go!"
With a shout from the little bee, Zhou Yuan soon found himself in the underground parking lot of his residential complex. This time, Zhou Yuan didn't feel dizzy. He came out and said to the little bee, now in its original form, "Little bee, please remove the GPS trackers from my car and Panna's car."
"Yes, sage."
Just like last time, the little bee disappeared in a flash. This time, there was a clattering sound of metal falling to the ground, and Zhou Yuan saw four trackers.
Zhou Yuan was about to take out his car keys from his handbag when, to his surprise, his car beeped and the door opened.
Zhou Yuan shook his head helplessly at the little bee. The little bee circled in front of Zhou Yuan once, and then crawled into Zhou Yuan's trouser pocket.
Zhou Yuan started the car and drove off. He arrived at the gate of the Academy of Sciences shortly after, showed his identification, and parked the car. After asking the security personnel for directions to the canteen, he hurried inside.
Zhou Yuan was surprised to find the cafeteria already packed with people, though some were still eating. Everyone was glued to the large television screen, which was showing footage of an aircraft carrier battle group. A countdown was in the center of the screen, indicating that it would be 1 p.m. in Western Turks in one minute. Zhou Yuan took his food and sat down in a corner. He noticed that not far ahead, Pan Na and more than seventy other outstanding students were also watching television.
"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5..." As the countdown appeared on the television screen, many people in the cafeteria stood up and joined in the countdown. "4, 3, 2, 1, launch!" On the screen, missiles were launched simultaneously from cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and other ships of an aircraft carrier strike group, sending up dozens of plumes of smoke as dozens of cruise/cruise missiles soared into the sky. This television footage showed only one aircraft carrier strike group; the Western Turks had deployed twenty-five carrier strike groups this time.
After the cruise missiles were launched, the fighter squadrons on the aircraft carrier set sail, pushing forward in rows towards the carrier strike group, creating a truly impressive sight.
The footage follows these cruise missiles as they separate in the air, flying off in different directions. The camera then focuses on one cruise missile, which is hurtling towards a coastal city in eastern Turkey.
The television screen suddenly disappeared, and President Thomas appeared at a rather simple desk.
"Dear compatriots, ladies and gentlemen, the war against the Eastern Turks has begun. I regret to inform you that the Eastern Turks have launched intercontinental ballistic missiles at us, and their dozen or so nuclear submarines have also launched nuclear missiles to attack our Huasheng Special District and other major cities. Although we have the capability to intercept all missiles launched by the Eastern Turks, including nuclear missiles, to avoid any unforeseen circumstances, I advise all non-combat personnel and non-military production workers across the country to immediately take shelter in their basements."
The footage shows rows of interceptor missiles being launched from military bases in Western Turkic allies such as Resa, Rekan, and Laobu—also Western Turkic military bases. Interceptor missiles targeting Eastern Turkic intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear missiles are also being launched in rapid succession. In retaliation for Eastern Turkic's nuclear missile launch, Western Turkic nuclear submarines have also launched nuclear missiles at Eastern Turkic capitals and major cities. On this blue planet, in the skies of both hemispheres, missiles now reign supreme. Western Turkic and Eastern Turkic, the two most powerful nations in the world separated only by an ocean, have begun their first wave of missile attacks and defenses.
At this moment, deep in the basement of the presidential palace, Thomas was reading about the battle situation from various sources.
"Mr. President, something terrible has happened."
"Minister, what's wrong?" Thomas asked, looking at the Minister of Defense who had rushed over with a worried expression.
"We have just received reliable intelligence that the Eastern Turks have launched a lightning attack on the New Lik, and have already breached the New Lik's defenses. It is expected that in two hours, a large number of Eastern Turks' army and armored forces will attack our three allied nations: the Rissa, the Rikan, and the Laobu!"
Thomas was startled and looked at the map on the wall.
The newly established nation can be seen as a product of the Cold War between the Western Turks and the Eastern Turks. Fifty years after a probing war between the two countries, a narrow strip of land was carved out to form a neutral state, the Newly Established Nation. To the southwest of the Newly Established Nation lie the three major allies of the Western Turks: the Kingdom of Rissa, the Kingdom of Rikan, and the Kingdom of Laobu. To the southeast of these three countries lies the South China Sea, claimed by the Eastern Turks. The Western Turks deployed a large number of anti-aircraft and interceptor missiles, as well as significant army and air force units, in these allies. However, these forces were powerless to stop the Eastern Turks' overwhelming offensive.
Thomas and many high-ranking officials in the Western Turks made a mistake. They believed that the Eastern Turks would yield to the sight of more than twenty carrier strike groups. Little did they know that the Eastern Turks would go all in, seemingly ready to fight to the death and wage a full-scale war.
Thomas was forced to order the deployment of his carrier strike group in the South China Sea to immediately protect the three allied nations. He also ordered the mobilization of all Western Turkic reserve forces, transporting troops to the Eastern Hemisphere by ship and transport aircraft. The nation's arsenals were ordered to operate at full capacity, producing missiles, shells, bullets, armor, and fighter jets. The three aircraft carriers undergoing repairs in their own port were also immediately deployed. Western Turkic was now preparing for a high-intensity, all-out war with Eastern Turkic.
In response to the provocations of the Western Turks, the Eastern Turks responded strongly with a barrage of missiles and even employed the tactic of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao".