110: Chapter 110 The United States' Response

Arriving at the office, John Wilson first brewed himself a cup of coffee and then waited for his old friend, William Miller, while sipping it.

When the coffee was almost gone, Miller arrived.

"Hi, good evening, Miller. You called us back in such a hurry, did something happen?"

"BOSS, you don't know yet?"

"Know what?"

"Today at 6:00 AM Beijing time—well, an hour ago—the Chinese official news channel broadcasted a piece of news that has set the whole world on fire. Here, look at this video."

William Miller took out his phone, fiddled with it for a moment, and handed it directly to John Wilson. John took the phone and glanced at the video while drinking his coffee. Slowly, his expression changed, and he stopped drinking.

After a long silence,

"BOSS? Hey, John."

"Oh, sorry, William, I was lost in thought just now. Regarding this video, do you think it's real?"

"I'm not entirely sure if it's real or not, but the analysis report on that group of mercenaries is out. Based on the video and audio data, China's individual weapon systems have likely surpassed our previous assessments by a wide margin."

As William Miller spoke, he handed a research report to John Wilson. John put down his phone and took the report to read it seriously. Without waiting for him to finish, William Miller continued the topic.

"The range of their rifles is already similar to our sniper rifles. But that's not even the most terrifying part; it's the magazine capacity and precision."

"Look at the analysis of the final part. Five sets of ballistic fire sustained for several minutes—what does that mean? It means the magazine capacity is at least 50 to 100 rounds. Furthermore, the impact points are very consistent, which represents extremely high precision."

"That's not even what surprised us the most. Look at the segment where the reconnaissance drone was shot down and the one where their transport vehicle was destroyed. The technicians did a frame-by-frame analysis and first ruled out weapons like individual rocket launchers or anti-tank missiles."

"Modern video technology can actually capture the trajectory of such weapons, but the video data we received shows nothing. You can't see anything. It's like a ghost. That means the speed of this weapon is incredibly fast, exceeding the maximum capture speed of their cameras."

"Using the most advanced cameras could reach a capture speed of 70 trillion frames, but those are specialized devices. The Department of Defense uses them for scientific fields like detecting ultra-short light propagation, wave propagation, nuclear fusion, and photon propagation. It hasn't been scaled down to the level of pinhole cameras at all."

William Miller said dejectedly.

"So, you're saying their defeat wasn't unjustified? China's individual weapons have been upgraded to the point of a generational gap?"

John Wilson asked Miller, feeling somewhat unwilling to accept it.

"At the very least, they are extremely powerful. We can't get the specific data, so I can't make a final judgment. One thing that might be slightly reassuring is that the vast majority of their special forces members are still using their original weapon systems. These new weapons seem to be very rare."

"Alright, let's set that aside for now. What I'm worried about is that if things are truly as the Chinese official says, then William, we'll have to behave ourselves and keep our heads down from now on. The world is likely about to undergo a massive change."

John Wilson gave a long sigh and leaned back in his chair, feeling somewhat drained. He hadn't personally participated in Operation Pavesetter, but it felt as though he had.

Then, like many retired soldiers, he suffered from that damned Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Now, just hearing the word 'China' gave him a headache, cold sweats, and general physical discomfort.

"BOSS, the good thing is that we don't have to take the fall this time. This time, they might use every resource available to confirm whether this news is true or false. Didn't you notice the Secretary's car is already here? They must be more anxious than we are."

William Miller sat down with a slight sense of relief, fiddling with the phone in his hand.

As the two were talking, an officer walked in through the door.

"Director John Wilson, the Secretary has asked me to inform you to proceed to Classified Conference Room No. 1 immediately for an emergency military meeting."

The officer left without looking back. John stood dazed for a moment, shrugged at William Miller, and walked out slowly.

When John Wilson arrived at the conference room, the heavyweights of the US military were already there. John scanned the room.

The Pentagon Intelligence Agency, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a group of five-star generals from the National Security Council were all gathered. On the multimedia screen at the front of the round conference table, the President of the United States and his chief aides were also present.

This was a top-level, top-secret military meeting.

He didn't dare to be presumptuous and quietly found a corner in the back row to sit down. John Wilson had only encountered a scene like this a few times in his life.

"Alright everyone, everyone is here. You should already be aware of the theme of today's meeting. At 6:00 PM today, the Chinese military announced their Interstellar Fleet plan to the world through their official media."

"So, I want to ask Director Rodriguez: as the authoritative intelligence agency of the United States, why was your Intelligence Agency completely unaware of this beforehand?"

The Chairman of the Senate, who was presiding over the meeting, immediately began to demand accountability.

"Chairman Anderson, I hope you understand that China is a P5 nation. Their military institutions and defense research facilities are just like ours—completely airtight. Especially for a project of this level, knowing in advance? You'd probably have to ask God for that!"

Rodriguez fired back without hesitation. The intelligence agency wasn't omnipotent, nor was it a scapegoat to be slaughtered at will.

"Enough, now is not the time for such talk. What I want to know is the authenticity of their report, or if we have a contingency plan."

The Commander-in-Chief spoke, and the officials stopped arguing, their brows furrowing instead.

"Mr. President, from the current summary of information, they should only be in the planning stage. After all, our military reconnaissance satellites haven't captured any large-scale ship equipment being launched. As for how far the planning has gone—whether they have practical applications for certain systems or are in the detailed blueprint verification stage—it's hard for us to judge right now."

Rodriguez composed himself and answered the Commander-in-Chief's question seriously.

"Hmm, I understand your difficulties. In world history, the emergence of era-defining equipment has never been detectable in advance—take our 'Manhattan' top-secret project, for example. So, what I want to ask now is, how do we respond?"

"I believe we can continue to exploit the issue of their lack of military transparency. Didn't they make an announcement? Fine. They should at least disclose some details regarding the fleet's scale, the nature of its missions, or even data on the core warships, right? Of course, we don't need to ask these questions ourselves. This is when our allies need to step up."

Anderson was indeed a veteran US Chief of Staff—cunning and experienced. With just a few words, he pointed out a path for everyone present.

According to his logic, the Chinese military certainly wouldn't listen to them; no country, let alone China, would easily disclose its military secrets.

That was exactly the result he wanted. At the very least, such trivial statements could temporarily stabilize his allies.

It would prevent them from being scared out of their wits by the words 'Interstellar Fleet,' which could even lead to the collapse of the military alliance led by Western nations—something the US did not want to see.

As for later, once those wavering allies were stabilized, there would be enough time for them to confirm the credibility of the matter. In the worst-case scenario, it would be his allies who were nitpicking; the US would have only expressed concern from start to finish.

Afterward, the big shots discussed this response strategy and proposed several targeted improvements.

Time passed quickly into the late night. The US Head of State made the final decision, and all the attending high-ranking officials raised their hands in unison, largely approving Chairman Anderson's tactical combination.

The United States had essentially set the keynote for the Western camp regarding China's news announcement: They hoped the Chinese military would not use force for intimidation and would not be overly opaque in certain projects, for outer space belongs to all of humanity and not just China alone.