Chapter 242: Meteor Blaze

Tanga Federation’s underground base command center.

Du Qiu and Ning Shuangshuang were holding a video conference with Ryan Soco, Liu Yaofeng, Yu Donghua, Hao Ren, and others.

“Boss, your space-based weapons are truly formidable, accurately intercepting intercontinental ballistic missiles. Not to mention that space-based kinetic weapon that obliterated Area 51 in an instant,” exclaimed Liu Yaofeng with admiration.

Du Qiu responded with a smile, “Everyone, Dream Technology has made a name for itself in this battle. I’ve called you all here to discuss how Dream Technology can further strike against the U.S. Military moving forward.”

Ryan Soco furrowed his brow and said,*”Du, do you really want to continue proactively striking against the U.S. Military? Keep in mind that NATO stands behind the U.S. The previous strike on U.S. soil in Area 51 had only the U.S. suspecting it was us; other countries might not know, and the Americans haven’t asked NATO to intervene as of now. This suggests that the U.S. officials also want to get out from under the Almighty’s thumb. But if you now strike the U.S. Military, it could lead the U.S. to request NATO to invoke their alliance clauses and drag Europe into our conflict with the U.S. Military.”

Liu Yaofeng retorted with a curl of his lip, “Why should the U.S. Military be the only ones allowed to launch a nuclear strike against us? Can’t we strike back? Even if NATO gets involved, boss, you can handle it easily, right?”

Du Qiu just smiled and said, “You’re not wrong. Even if NATO gets dragged into this by the U.S., I remain undaunted.”

“See, that’s what I was talking about…” muttered Liu Yaofeng.

Ryan Soco, a Germanic European, didn’t want his home country, a member of NATO, to clash with Dream Technology. The German government had conducted a comprehensive investigation into Dream Technology. Fortunately, he was in Shanghai, China; otherwise, he might have already been invited for coffee. However, after Dream Technology successfully intercepted the U.S. nuclear strike, the German government’s attitude underwent a huge shift, even showing signs of falling out with the U.S. Someone in the government had already sent him a message through a relative, hoping that Dream Technology would continue to develop in Germany.

Considering this, Ryan Soco said, “I want to point out that Europe is reluctant to side with the U.S. against us right now. The current situation is clearly in our favor, but if we escalate the conflict, it’s not just about whether we can win.”

“If it’s not about whether we can win, then what is it about?” Liu Yaofeng pressed.

Ryan Soco explained, “Even if we can win, we are ultimately a company; we still need the European market. We can’t just lose the U.S. market and then lose the European market too; that would greatly shrink Dream Technology’s production.”

Yu Donghua, adjusting his hefty frame in the video call, agreed and said, “Mr. Ryan is right. We are a company, not a country. Without a market, no matter how many good products we produce, if there’s nowhere to sell them, it’s not exactly ideal.”

He had always been lazy, calling Ryan Soco by only the first syllable of his name. Liu Yaofeng felt unconvinced and objected, “We still have the China market, Rasputin Country market, and the Asian-African markets, right?”

Yu Donghua shook his head and replied, “When you have good products, do you ever complain about making too much money?”

“Well, I wouldn’t object to more money,” Liu Yaofeng scratched his head and admitted.

Hao Ren interjected, “Gentlemen, based on the current situation, we could indeed win over Europe. But personally, I feel that our previous actions were only passive defenses and did not truly hurt the Americans. I’m concerned that the Americans might not be willing to give up, and may try to attack us again. It might be better to knock them down in one fight.”

Liu Yaofeng’s eyes lit up, “Exactly! We should thrash the Americans so they understand it was a mistake, just like the founding battles of China.”

“Liu, you get excited at the mention of war. We’re a company, not a country,” Yu Donghua teased.

“We’re still a powerful entity, and the boss said we’ll build Heaven Realm space city in space. Isn’t that similar to a country then?”

Suddenly Hao Ren said, “Master, you must have a plan, right? Why not share it with us so we can avoid aimless discussions?”

Du Qiu couldn’t help but laugh at Hao Ren’s amusing remark. “I wouldn’t call it a plan, more like an immature idea, which is why I sought your input. But after hearing your discussion, my idea has indeed solidified.”

Eager, Liu Yaofeng urged, “Boss, stop holding out on us and spill it.”

Du Qiu stated, “The current international situation is favorable to us, but the U.S. Military has not suffered serious losses, so they may continue to take risks. Over the past few hours, we’ve monitored a few high-ranking U.S. government officials having urgent contacts with some consortium leaders, but the content of their contacts is unclear. However, now in the Indian Ocean, of the three U.S. navy carrier strike groups, only the Calvinson formation remains stationary, while the USS Rossford is racing ahead, and the Regan formation closely follows behind. The U.S. Military might still be planning to execute their Iron Wall Encirclement plan. Therefore, I propose we strike at the leading USS Rossford and Regan dual-carrier formations and annihilate them in one fell swoop! I believe after this battle, the Americans will surely be chastened. The advantage of this attack is that we’re not hitting U.S. Military bases or homeland but effectively teaching the Americans a lesson. They’ll realize the aircraft carrier formations they once relied on to dominate the world are nothing more than clay chickens and pottery dogs.”

“Good, that’s great. I’ve long found the U.S. carrier strike groups a thorn in our side, always flaunting their might in our South China Sea,” grumbled Liu Yaofeng indignantly.

Ryan Soco nodded slightly, “Hmm, that should be quite effective and give Europe a reason to stay out of the fight.”

Yu Donghua gave a thumbs-up and said, “Du, make it impressive. Promise me a live view.”

“Me too!” shouted the others in unison.

“No problem, you can watch it wearing your dedicated smart glasses.”

Ning Shuangshuang suddenly spoke up, “Gentlemen, we’re done discussing the war. Let’s talk about the selection of personnel from your respective companies entering the base…” The meeting then shifted to discussing personnel vetting for Heaven Realm Space City.

++++++++

In the Tanga Federation, old industrial park nestled in the valley with rows of factories still towering by the serene Lake P’an. Local time, seven in the morning.

The roofs of one row of factories suddenly began to move. They rose slowly from the center, blooming like flowers. Inside the spacious factory, numerous giant cannon barrels, each over ten meters tall, stood like stamens. Below the barrels were massive cylindrical objects, ten meters in diameter. Such uniquely shaped behemoths had never before been seen on Earth.

As the roofs stood upright, the cannons within lined up like neatly arranged soldiers, their muzzles uniformly began to turn. Their aim settled eastward.

At seven-ten, a whirring sound resonated as if from myriad colossal blowers. Then, from that row of factories, numerous streams of fire leapt into the air, streaking towards the eastern sky.

At this moment in the Indian Ocean, USS Rossford’s and USS Regan’s carrier strike groups were just a nautical mile apart, magnificently sailing westward.

Commander Jonathan aboard the USS Rossford watched with smug satisfaction as ground crew bustled on the deck. Shortly, four fighter jets would take off as the new batch of alert duty planes.

The headquarters had sent new orders for him to replace Admiral Myers as the frontline commander for the Iron Wall Encirclement plan. Admiral Myers had been dismissed for refusing to comply with speeding up the advance to initiate the military strike against Dream Technology.

Jonathan believed that upon completion of this military operation, a new star would adorn his shoulder upon his return home. It was through his savvy command, urging the fleet to maximum speed, that he garnered headquarters’ approval.

As he pondered, he lifted his binoculars and checked the USS Regan’s carrier strike group looming not far behind. Robert must be regretting falling short, just a beat behind himself.

Suddenly, the carrier’s combat alarm blared urgently. Many people on deck instinctively gazed up into the sky.

“General, my formation is under attack by numerous meteor-like high-speed objects!”

At the sound of his aide-de-camp’s report, Jonathan sprinted from the command center and put binoculars to his eyes. The sight made his heart leap—an array of fireballs, like meteors, plummeted down towards his formation!

“Quick! Order all ships to maneuver at high speed and all weapons to intercept!”

After barking out the order, Jonathan lifted his binoculars again, only to be shocked.

The meteoric fireballs were already upon them, but how could they possibly descend so swiftly?