222: Chapter 222 Adventure

After dinner.

Seeing Kate's satisfied look, Li Ming turned his head to look at the other two 'Big Cabbages'.

They certainly wouldn't say outright that the meal was refreshing, and the way the two of them were staring at each other was really a bit... awkward.

Li Ming took out a deck of cards and handed them to Kate.

This wasn't something obtained by 'selling his ass' (laughs) to The Governing Body; it was from Li Ming's own legitimate reserves.

He pointed at the two of them, and Kate immediately understood. She leaned over to Elsa, holding up the cards and insisting they stay.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Li Ming left Kate's garage.

The garage was located under an office building near the hotel. In terms of environment and ventilation, it was quite good—much better than Maria's side, which, while safe, was quite stuffy.

However, what Li Ming needed to do now naturally couldn't be done near their shelter.

Feeling the increasingly obvious phantom pain in his brain, along with the internal bleeding caused by broken bones piercing his organs, Li Ming finally couldn't hold it back and vomited a mouthful of blood.

How fucking embarrassing.

Dragging his body, he returned to the building that had been blown to pieces. He used a zipline to reach the upper levels and walked step by step to the top floor.

The signal tower was still there. Its structure hadn't sustained serious impact and was perfectly capable of continuing to function.

Struggling to connect the power to the signal tower, Li Ming took out his wireless headset, linked it to his phone, and then collapsed onto the ground.

There were some things that people outside the border had to know. Even if it would make things more difficult later, he had to do it; only then could he grasp a glimmer of hope.

He placed his G36C beside him and struggled to keep his consciousness clear—the effects of the painkillers had already worn off.

——————

Honolulu, Hawaii.

"Old Wang, the Fujian Carrier group has been assigned to reinforce us. What do you think that signifies?"

"How should I know what the higher-ups are thinking?"

The middle-aged man called Old Wang shook his head. Both men's white naval uniforms and the general stars on their shoulders indicated they were no ordinary officers.

"I, Zhang Wei, didn't get to this position today by trying to guess the hidden meanings of the higher-ups," the other middle-aged man said. "It was through solid military merit."

"Yes, yes, everyone knows you're impressive." Old Wang looked away. "But the problem now is that the higher-ups' intent clearly isn't just to strike the remnants of the United States Pacific Fleet. That wouldn't require so many aircraft carriers. Think about it: our fleet already has two large carriers, the Chuan and the Gui, and now the Min has arrived. Do you think this looks like the scale needed just to cover a landing?"

"If anything, it looks more like the scale for an expeditionary campaign," Zhang Wei pondered. "Regardless, transferring us here while we are in a standoff with the Pacific Treaty Organization means the higher-ups definitely have a goal; it's just that it hasn't been fully finalized yet."

"Well, we can't just sit here and wait, can we?"

"Waiting is also a form of wisdom," Zhang Wei smiled. "Of course, there are some things..."

"Report!" A young soldier stood at the door. Zhang Wei recognized him; he was from the Telecommunications Department.

"Enter," Zhang Wei said, his smile vanishing.

"Sirs, we have received a contact request from Houston."

"Houston?" Zhang Wei and Old Wang exchanged a look. "Take us there."

"Yes, sir."

The two followed the young soldier to the Telecommunications Department, took the microphone, and stepped up to the console.

The head of the department had already brought in several cybersecurity personnel to prevent possible electronic attacks.

"This is the Honolulu Frontline Command. Please state your identity and purpose,"

"This is... (exhale) Houston. I am an ordinary citizen of Huaxia... (panting). The Donkey Party Army is besieging this place... the remnants of the Mediation Force here, and they are persecuting the people."

"A citizen?" Old Wang and Zhang Wei exchanged another look. "Please explain the situation in detail, and how you obtained a military communication channel."

"Alright... I will explain the situation as fully as possible (inhale)..."

Although Zhang Wei and Old Wang already knew that the Donkey Party Army was clashing with the International Mediation Force, their faces darkened after hearing Li Ming's account.

Hunger, disease, death.

Even without a detailed description, these things were always inevitable in a siege.

"I... beg you... (coughing) (panting) help us... the DC central government has gone mad, they'll do anything... (panting). They've used chemical weapons... and some kind of Memetic Weapon that makes people unable to understand their own language or lose their ability for Logic... (coughing)... I can guarantee they seem to have started targeting civilians..."

What on earth is that?! Zhang Wei looked at Old Wang again. Old Wang immediately left the Telecommunications Department to find the National Security personnel to verify the situation.

"We have received the message; we will immediately relay your information to the Central Command," Zhang Wei continued. "Please hold on, citizen..."

"Swoosh—"

With a crackle and the sound of what seemed like an artillery shell or a loitering munition, the communication was completely cut off.

Zhang Wei's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and he put down the microphone.

"Report this to the Central Command. Move fast."

Fifteen minutes later.

In low Earth orbit, a reconnaissance satellite shifted its position, sweeping its gaze toward Houston and the surrounding cities.

If it were just the city, it wouldn't be that big of a deal.

But the satellite happened to capture mottled patches of red on a piece of open ground outside the city—red so vivid it could be clearly seen even from the satellite's distance.

This 'black zone,' where communication had been severed and which other powers had been too busy or had deliberately ignored, was finally rediscovered.

At the same time, a video began circulating on YouTube, whose headquarters had moved to Europe. The video showed the true tragic state inside Houston as captured by the system.

Soon, this video, along with the satellite imagery and the reports from YouTube, were all delivered to the desk of Number One.

An emergency meeting was subsequently convened.

On the other side, the President of the EU, the President of the Russian Federation, as well as the leaders of the Latin Alliance and the Maple Republic, all received similar information from their intelligence departments.

The things the DC government wanted to hide could no longer be kept secret.

Paper cannot wrap fire. If you want to hide something, the best way is to have done nothing at all.

It was just that Li Ming couldn't see this for the time being.

The consequences of being directly hit by a loitering munition went without saying.

The signal tower leaned precariously to one side, and because his injuries were too severe, he had to undergo a full body reconstruction on the spot.

This was also Li Ming's plan: rather than continuing to suffer, it was better to just 'restart.' That way, his injuries would be mostly healed, wouldn't they?

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