NOVPUBAt the National Palace, activity bustles unceasingly. After dispatching troops to gather the wreckage, the cabinet members first contacted Lutopstanian Kingdom and Balocia Republic, warning them to keep the secret and stay out of the fray.
Then, two aircraft carrier fleets were dispatched towards the closest waters to Aedorich, and orders were given to the Aedorich air force base to deploy several K-3 fighters immediately, to suppress Verisalia’s forces and prevent them from racing to claim the remnants.
On Earth, two of the most nuclear-armed nations began a fierce face-off thousands of miles away in the Middle East. Initially, everything went smoothly for Eldoria.
Verisalia’s ground forces were intercepted by extremist groups, and their air force was thoroughly engaged, unable to extricate themselves.
Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.
"You need not worry, Mr. Sokolov," President Colin said, ending the polite but superficial conversation with the President of Verisalia.
President Colin looked towards the cabinet members, "How is it? Have the items reached the Aedorich base?"
"Yes, Mr. President. Twenty minutes ago, the report came in that the brave soldiers have collected all the wreckage, taken off back to base, preparing to hand it over to the scientists," someone responded.
Nodding, Colin’s mood brightened, praising, "That’s very efficient!"
At that moment, the phone on the table suddenly rang. Someone in the room showed a faint smile, probably expecting a report that the soldiers had reached the base. This mission was about to be concluded.
Colin thought the same, picking up the phone casually. Then his expression slowly turned grim. After a moment of silence, he lifted his head, "The Joint Chiefs of Staff just reported that three minutes ago, the base holding the wreckage lost all contact."
The atmosphere in the room became tensely still. Although the operation involved only a bio-research base guarded by 100 elite soldiers, with more than sufficient equipment, it’s impossible for an ordinary attack to cause such a base to lose all communication in such a short time.
Unless there was a barrage of rocket fire or precision missile strikes, it just couldn’t be done. But if there were any nation that launched such an attack, they would have received news long ago.
So what exactly happened?
"The closest military base has dispatched teams to investigate the situation and is preparing to stream the site’s condition live to us via satellite," Colin stated solemnly.
Soon, National Palace staff brought in a huge screen, set up the necessary equipment, and after testing, connected the signal. Two perspectives appeared on the screen, one likely from a camera mounted on a helicopter and the other from portable recording equipment carried by soldiers.
The helicopter flew over the undulating wasteland, and the smoke-billowing military base appeared in everyone’s view.
Despite their preparations, the sight made everyone’s heart sink. These high-flyers, long removed from the ground, weren’t concerned for the soldiers, but for the remains of the extraterrestrial life that could be considered a discovery of the century.
Suddenly, a voice in the video spoke, likely the commander of the reconnaissance team: "There’s no sign of a large-scale bombardment, which matches the radar records. But how could a conventional attack prevent them from sending out any messages? Be careful after descending."
Upon reaching the base, the team rappelled down. An armored vehicle lay overturned on the ground, with a massive dent on its side, bloodstains smeared all over, yet not a single person in sight.
"This kind of mark..."
A voice filled with shock suddenly stopped, laden with implications.
The reconnaissance team made a beeline for the core target, the laboratory, finding it utterly deserted along the way. Every single person, or rather every body, had vanished as if evaporated from the face of the earth.
At a certain corner, a satellite phone dropped on the ground caught the soldier’s attention. The collapsed wall nearby and the blood and flesh splattered around it made the scene particularly striking.
One of the soldiers picked up the satellite phone, fiddled with it to check the call log, and the leader explained after a glance, "During the time of disconnection, this phone attempted to make over a dozen calls, but for some reason, none got through."
The people in the conference room were no fools; the soldier’s explanation, coupled with this somewhat horrifying scene, conjured in their minds an image: The base was under attack, the situation was dire, someone was frantically attempting to call for help through the satellite phone, but suddenly, something struck him, turning him instantly to bits.
The leader of the reconnaissance team surveyed the scene, puzzled, "Heavy machine-gun fire can instantly turn a person to bits, but it can’t cause this kind of collapse in a wall; this is an attack with even greater kinetic energy."
Colin grabbed the microphone and directly ordered, "Soldier, the most urgent task now is to find the wreckage."
"Yes, sir!" the reconnaissance team responded.
As they approached the laboratory door, the sight captured on film made everyone freeze. The alloy door was twisted and flung open, clearly forced by something from the inside with brute strength.
President Colin’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he gradually sat up straight, a terrible premonition arising in his heart.
On the screen, the soldiers cautiously entered the laboratory. The massive wreckage on the central table had several cracks, revealing a hollow cavity, evidently something had burrowed its way out...
In Lukesburg, Aedorich, three sealed trucks left deep tire tracks as they passed by Kevin, who carried his medical bag and had grown quite a few wrinkles on his face. He looked up, furrowing his brow in confusion at the passing trucks. Although they looked dirty, their engines sounded unmistakably new. How could the people of Lukesburg afford new vehicles?
Turning the corner, Kevin saw people discussing the recent incident of something falling from the sky during their break. The object, clearly visible during the day, had many people mistaking it for a missile.
"Not long after it fell, I saw Eldorian Army helicopters heading that way, but I wonder what it really was?" one person mentioned.
Then, noticing Kevin, they greeted him. "Hey, Kevin!"
Here, Kevin was unique. Being Eldorian and the only doctor in the area made him stand out.
After responding with a smile to the greetings, Kevin reached the entrance of his small clinic. The clinic was on the first floor of a three-story building, with the top two floors collapsed from an artillery shell during the war years ago.
Pushing the door open, he entered the low-ceilinged, narrow space filled with various items. Chelsea, a young red-haired British volunteer who had chosen to stay, sat at the counter, serving as both secretary and nurse.
"Kevin, how are the patients from your house calls?" Chelsea inquired.
Kevin sighed, "I can only do my best to prevent their condition from worsening. Although the situation has mostly stabilized, there’s still a shortage of medicines."
"And Henry?"
"He’s inside treating a patient."
Opening the interior door, a rather lean man was in the midst of an examination.
Kevin’s assistant, Henry, a mixed-blood of Eldoria-Aedorich origin, had once lived in Hudson, the largest city in the north of Aedorich. After fleeing south due to the war, he had been at the clinic since its inception. After completing a prescription for a patient and advising them to head back, Henry asked, "What’s going on outside? There was quite a commotion earlier."
Kevin set down his medical bag, shaking his head, "Something fell from the sky. Initially, everyone thought it was a missile attack, causing a panic. But then, Eldorian Army helicopters headed over, so I guess it’s probably satellite debris."
"That’s a coincidence?" Henry’s brows furrowed immediately.
"What do you mean?" Kevin was puzzled.
"It’s nothing, but Kevin, I heard you were once an Eldorian Marine Corps medic?" Henry asked curiously, "Why did you come here to open a clinic?"
Kevin’s weather-beaten face tensed slightly. He sat down, silent for a moment, then laughed bitterly, "Atonement."
Henry shrugged, but given their relationship, he didn’t hesitate to probe further, "Sorry, but could you tell me more?"
"It’s the same old story," Kevin said, reaching for his cigarette case, only to find it empty.
Tossing the empty case onto the table, he took a deep breath, his eyes reflecting memories, "I once enlisted with great passion, becoming a medic in the Marine Corps."
"I believed wholeheartedly that I was fighting for justice, bringing freedom, superior governance, and universal values to the people in other parts of the world."
"I sincerely thought I was going to make the world a better place, not worse."
"Until I was ordered to come to this land, I realized we didn’t bring freedom and democracy, we didn’t bring enlightenment and prosperity, we..."
"Only brought ceaseless gunfire, displacement, despair, fear, and hatred."
Silence filled the examination room.
Henry stared at him, lost for words.
Kevin laughed again, though it was laced with bitterness, "My faith was shattered. I chose to return to my country. But then, a car accident took my child, and my wife left me, overwhelmed by grief."
"Henry, do you understand? This is the punishment for sin."
Exhaling deeply, Kevin leaned back in his chair, listless, "So, I came here, hoping to atone for my sins with the rest of my life."
Henry wanted to offer comfort but didn’t know what to say.
Chelsea opened the door, noticing the odd atmosphere, she asked, "What’s wrong?"
"Nothing," Kevin replied, shaking his head.
Then standing up, he called out, "Come on, Henry, let’s eat."
...
The deliberately dirtied new truck rumbled down the uneven dirt road, carrying numerous barrels neatly stacked inside, each marked with yellow and black radiation symbols.
In a corner, a creature covered in black scales was hiding, greedily absorbing the escaping trace amounts of radiation.
The truck drove to a remote corner of a town filled with ruins where a group of men with covered faces and AK rifles were already waiting.
The trucks stopped firmly, and more armed, masked men descended from the first two vehicles.
A breeze kicked up the dust as the two parties’ leaders approached each other; the chief of the Crimson directly asked, "Did you bring the goods?"
"Of course. Where’s the money?" the other side asked coldly in return.
With a nod from the Crimson chief, someone brought over a small case and opened it to reveal several yellowed bonds inside.
"Just as agreed, these are non-nominative bonds worth 50 million Eldorian Dollars. I want to inspect the goods." After letting the opposite side check, he snapped the case shut and demanded.
In countless blockbuster films, secret transactions always involve a large number of people and an arsenal of weapons, as if they are afraid others won’t know something shady is happening.
In reality, secret transactions are incredibly discreet.
The team escorting the Yellow Pie entered Lukesburg under the guise of delivering reconstruction materials for the town, even dirtying the trucks to avoid drawing attention.
Not far off in the desert, several Eldorian Army special forces soldiers lay covered in camouflage cloth, observing the trade with glare-proof binoculars.
"Such country bumpkins, selling Yellow Pie for 50 million. Guys, this is a big deal. We’re live-streaming to the superiors the whole time. Let’s do this clean and sharp!" the squad leader whispered.
"Roger that!"
As the opposing party moved to the last truck to inspect the goods, the squad leader hurriedly commanded:
"Begin the operation! Helicopters first sweep through, ground personnel follow up! Don’t worry about blowing up the Yellow Pie; it’s low radiation. Though harmful if inhaled, we have gas masks."*
