Chapter 46: Arguments and Hidden Truths
“Boom!”
Fang Ge stood on the warehouse eaves, feeling the gentle breeze, and squinted his eyes as he looked at the "Explosion" in the distance.
Even six hundred kilometers away, the nuclear mushroom cloud was still spectacular and dazzling, making the starlit sky lose its color.
As the first country in the world to deploy nuclear weapons in war, the United States probably never dreamed that one day it would inexplicably become a victim of such a weapon.
And as the scapegoat, Umbrella Corporation would never have expected that a group of "Hive Security" personnel from their archives would actually possess such "destructive weapons."
What kind of concept is a nuclear bomb with a yield of 15,000 tons of TNT?
At the moment of the Explosion, a large amount of energy is converted into heat, and the temperature at the center of the nuclear Explosion can approach the sun's core!
The wind speed at the center is 10 times that of a Category 12 typhoon, capable of causing extremely strong shockwaves and air currents, with a wind pressure equivalent to applying 350 tons of weight to an area of one square meter.
As the supersonic wind and shockwaves spread outwards, they are enough to destroy anything within a one-kilometer radius, except for reinforced concrete structures!
The military base no longer existed; only craters and scorched earth remained, narrating everything that had happened there.
What's more...
The Explosion was just the beginning; nuclear contamination would settle there. Even after ten or twenty years, this wasteland would remain unusable and undeveloped.
This became the final straw that broke the balance.
This was the worst terrorist attack the United States had ever suffered. Furthermore, this time, the terrorists actually dared to attack the "National Defense" and "Military Bases" of the United States!
And the culprit—Umbrella Corporation—even publicly declared on major television channels that they would cleanse the world with biological weapons!
Just twenty minutes ago, Umbrella Corporation's dark secrets, such as involvement in illegal biological weapon trafficking, human experimentation, and unethical cloning, had just been exposed online.
Before government agencies could even hold them accountable, Umbrella Corporation dared to preemptively drop a nuclear bomb!
Mr. President and the senators no longer had time to consider if any of this was reasonable.
It all seemed like a "child's joke"; a mere biopharmaceutical company actually dared to threaten to destroy the world...
But tonight, it had happened; Umbrella Corporation was clearly slapping the whole world in the face!
The hegemon now had to mobilize troops to give the world an explanation.
After all, fighting crime still requires evidence, but counter-terrorism only needs a list.
Fang Ge jumped back indoors and found Chu Xuan processing all sorts of information at high speed.
The bespectacled man calmly stated:
"The United States government has already held a press conference to respond to this matter."
"A military base was destroyed by nuclear weapons, and tens of thousands of soldiers were turned to dust. A nation where everyone fears for their safety needs a strong and powerful 'explanation.'"
"The official statement is that they will use military force to suppress this terrorist act as quickly as possible, and the entire nation will enter 'Level Three Combat Readiness' to respond to all possible threats."
"In short, the Umbrella Corporation executives outside—or rather, the 'clones'—will definitely be brought under control immediately. This is good news for us. The clones all believe they are the 'originals,' and they are no different from those frozen, cowardly capitalists in their dealings."
"Capitalists certainly don't want to be hanged from lampposts. They will definitely cooperate actively to save their lives."
"Property seized, executives killed or arrested. Not to mention the frontline staff... Umbrella Corporation's order from top to bottom will collapse, and its commercial empire will instantly disintegrate."
"It sounds like... a lot of people will die." Zheng Zha found himself not excited by this.
His heart was heavy, for the sake of completing the mission, so many innocent people had been implicated.
But soon he felt "hypocritical" because he had previously thought this was a satisfying action and had not spoken out to stop it.
No Central Continent person would like the United States, but the United States is indeed a form of life.
"Do you think they are innocent?"
Fang Ge patted Zheng Zha's shoulder. He knew that Zheng Zha's "love for humanity" was acting up again.
"Although this is sophistry, I still have to say it."
"If Umbrella Corporation's plot is allowed to continue, in the end, only a few thousand people will remain in the entire world."
"This is a... righteous sacrifice of the few to save the many. Therefore, we saved more people, and the beneficiaries have no standing to criticize our 'helplessness.'"
Zhan Lan puffed out her cheeks and said, "Listening to you, we're still righteous partners, heroes, right? What sophistry..."
She wasn't so kind as to care about those innocent people. But she also wouldn't label her actions as correct.
"No, I'm not trying to excuse anything by saying this."
Fang Ge, usually so cynical, rarely showed a serious expression at this moment: "Precisely because of the sophistry I spoke of, I hate reality and prefer to immerse myself in games..."
Zhan Lan somewhat dared not look directly at Fang Ge's face. She realized that behind this, there might be some untold stories.
If that were truly the case, her words would seem somewhat offensive to Fang Ge.
At this moment, Jin Xi gently tugged at Fang Ge's sleeve, reminding him not to take these things to heart.
—I'm a bit muddled. This is just a game, and I'm actually arguing with an NPC about things in reality...
Fang Ge took a deep breath, calming his restless heart.
"Things in this world are not just about right and wrong. We should prioritize the team's interests."
Chu Xuan spoke at the right time, calmly putting an end to the matter.
—To think I'd one day see Chu Xuan become the "Unifier."
"Yes... What should we do next?" Zheng Zha chuckled.
Fang Ge quickly returned to his speed-running state. He ordered:
"Prepare yourselves. Once James and Alice recover... our plan remains unchanged: head to the Hive, eliminate the mastermind, and end all of this."
After replacing magazines and weapons, and substituting damaged exoskeletons with spares, everyone was ready to go, their combat power restored to its peak.
It was at this moment that Alice, who had been given medicine by Chu Xuan, woke up.
Seeing the Tracker beside her, restored to normal, she suddenly sprang up, assuming a combat stance like a leopard.
"It's me... James."
James pointed to his forehead with a thick finger, a scene that seemed somewhat comical.
"Is it really you?"
Upon receiving this astonishing news, Alice immediately cast aside the search for the "cause of her unconsciousness."
"Kaplan, JD, where are they? Weren't they with us...?"
"You've been in a daze for so long, and now you're finally going to communicate with us... It seems you've slowly gotten used to your body."
Fang Ge broadly extended his hand towards James, expressing his "recognition" of him.
...
"I can't shake your hand. I'm afraid..."
James did not reach out in response, only clumsily stood up.
"Although I don't know what happened to you all, I also want to go back to the Hive."
"Kaplan and the others, I'm afraid they won't be doing too well..."