55: The curtain falls

The 24-hour ultimatum was like an invisible guillotine hanging over the head of The White House.

Miles and McConnell, along with the oligarchs of the old era behind them who had long been accustomed to controlling everything, experienced a psychological roller coaster in these last 24 hours, from anger and unwillingness to hysteria, and finally to despair.

At first, they still tried to make a final struggle.

In his secret conference room, McConnell roared at the group of capitalist tycoons who looked just as dead.

"We cannot surrender! Absolutely not! Once we accept those terms, we will have nothing left!"

"We still have the army! We still have nuclear weapons! We still have more than half of the industrial base of this country! We can still fight!"

However, his fierce and weak instigation received no response from anyone.

Because everyone knew very well that they were not facing an opponent that could be measured by conventional military logic.

Just then, a dull but clearly audible loud noise came from the direction of The White House, shaking all of Washington.

Immediately after, everyone's mobile phones received a push message from an unknown number at the same time.

It was a video.

The perspective of the video seemed to come from a high-altitude drone.

In the footage, a black B-2 stealth strategic bomber with a wingspan like a prehistoric giant bird was flying over The White House in a posture so slow it was almost hovering.

Then its belly hatch opened.

A huge, menacing-looking bunker-busting bomb detached from the fuselage and fell vertically toward the South Lawn of The White House—the very place where President Donald had been assassinated.

The bomb did not explode the moment it touched the lawn.

Instead, it drilled silently into the deep underground like a red-hot dining knife cutting into butter.

A few seconds later, a huge fountain of dirt and turf erupted from the ground.

Immediately after, the entire White House shook violently, as if experiencing a magnitude 7 earthquake.

At the end of the video, the black bomber didn't even accelerate to leave after dropping the bomb; instead, it circled slowly over The White House in a provocative manner before leisurely disappearing into the clouds.

Below the video was a short line of text.

【Just a reminder to everyone, there is nowhere we cannot strike. Time is running out. — Friendly greetings from the American Union Air Force.】

This was no longer a warning.

This was a naked display of force and a death threat in front of the whole world.

It was telling everyone in The White House in the most direct way—

We can throw bombs into your offices, into your bedrooms, or even into the underground bunkers where you are holding meetings at any time.

And you are powerless against it.

If this "bombing the lawn" incident completely shattered their illusions of military confrontation.

Then the countless alarm calls that followed from the heartland of the eastern Federation completely crushed their last will to resist.

From the financial district of New York to the industrial district of Chicago, to the wealthy beaches of Florida...

Countless citizens found the silhouettes of those black mechanical dogs, which made Federal soldiers fearful on the battlefield, in their backyards, in company parking lots, and in park bushes.

They did not attack, nor did they cause any destruction.

They just squatted there quietly, watching every corner of this country coldly with their red electronic eyes like the most loyal sentinels.

No one knew when they appeared, and no one knew how many of them there were.

But their existence itself conveyed a chilling message—we are everywhere.

After experiencing the final hysteria and impotent rage, Miles and her staff finally accepted this cruel reality.

They had lost.

Lost completely, lost without suspense.

In the last minute of the 24-hour countdown, a document expressing "willingness to accept all terms and immediately open peace negotiations" was sent to the embassies of the four permanent member states.

...

The location for the peace negotiations was chosen in a small town in Virginia called Appomattox.

This choice was full of irony.

Because more than a hundred years ago, it was in this small town that General Robert E. Lee, the commander-in-chief of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War, surrendered to General Grant of the Union Army, ending the brutal civil war that had also torn this country apart.

History completed its cycle here in a peculiar way.

On the day the negotiations began, this usually quiet and peaceful town was submerged by the eyes of the whole world.

Thousands of reporters and media vehicles surrounded the town.

News helicopters circled in the sky.

Everyone wanted to witness this historic moment with their own eyes—the curtain fall of an old hegemon and the opening of a new era.

The delegations from both sides walked into the old courthouse, which served as the negotiation venue, in front of live cameras from all over the world.

Representing the Federal United States were interim President Miles and her Secretary of State, their faces full of exhaustion and humiliation.

Representing the American Union was the high-spirited interim President Elon, and beside him, General Pierre, who had just won great fame on the battlefield.

Of course, everyone knew that this public negotiation was more of a symbolic ceremony.

A performance to draw a decent period to this disgraceful history.

The details of the various terms and the division of interests had already been decided on another invisible card table long before the negotiations began.

The masters of that card table were Paradox Technology and several world powers led by China.

The public negotiations lasted for five full days.

The delegations from both sides engaged in "fierce" arguments and "difficult" games over various insignificant details in front of the cameras.

They argued about the withdrawal timetable for the Federal troops, the trial procedures for war criminals, and the compensation amounts for war victims...

All of this was like a carefully rehearsed stage play.

And behind the scenes of the stage, the real deal had long been completed.

On the fifth day of the negotiations, the two sides finally signed and published a joint statement titled "Appomattox Peace Agreement" under the witness of an observation group led by the UN Secretary-General.

The content of the statement was generally terms that could be made public and were politically correct.

1. The United States of America (Federal) and the American Union shall cease fire in all respects starting from today, end all hostilities, and complete the transition of power and the reunification of the country in a peaceful manner.

2. Interim President Miles shall resign immediately, and a transition committee recognized by both sides shall temporarily take over the state power until the next presidential election is held.

3. All war criminals who initiated and participated in this illegal civil war—including but not limited to Senator John McConnell and his cohorts—shall be subject to public trial by a special tribunal.

...

The announcement of these terms made everyone in the United States breathe a long sigh of relief.

This civil war, which no American wanted to see and which dragged the country into the abyss, finally came to an end in a relatively peaceful manner.

However, what most people did not know was that hidden beneath this public peace agreement was another real secret agreement that determined the future fate of the United States.

This secret agreement was not reported by any media; it was stored deep in the unhackable databases of Beijing, Moscow, London, Paris, and Paradox Technology.

If the content of the agreement were made public, it would be enough to make every proud American feel deeply humiliated and angry.

【Memorandum of Understanding on the Future Status and Rights of the United States of America】

Article 1: The United States of America acknowledges the legitimacy and priority of all economic activities (including but not limited to resource extraction, technology research and development, and financial investment) of Paradox Technology and its affiliated companies within its territory, and promises never to censor, restrict, or nationalize them in any form.

Article 2: The military expenditure of the United States of America shall not exceed 1.5% of its gross national product in the next twenty years. The scale and technical level of its armed forces will be strictly restricted by the "Global Security Oversight Committee" jointly composed of the United Nations (actually led by China and Russia) and Paradox Technology. All its nuclear weapons will be placed under the joint supervision of this committee.

Article 3: The United States of America promises to unreservedly and fully support all space exploration and defense programs led by the "dome project", including but not limited to providing necessary funding, talent, and technical support for the construction of the voyager fleet and the Babel Space Station.

Article 4: The United States of America will actively and unconditionally participate in and promote the political process of building a "World Government" under the framework of the United Nations, and maintain a high degree of consistency with other permanent members of the Security Council in future major international affairs.

...

Every word of this agreement ruthlessly stripped away the core power of a sovereign state.

It completely turned the United States from a chess player into a chess piece.

A chess piece that had to play by the rules on the global chessboard, which would be jointly dominated by Paradox Technology and the new world order led by China in the future.

When Miles signed her name on that secret agreement with trembling hands, she knew she had personally drawn a humiliating period for the motherland she loved deeply.

And far away in Tianqiong City, Lei Wen looked at the final scan of the agreement sent back by "white flower" and just nodded calmly.

"Very good."

"Now the last stumbling block on this planet has been cleared."

"white flower," he turned to another screen, which showed the majestic starship ready to go at the lunar starport.

"Notify Old Chen and Elon."

"The voyager can set sail."

"Go to Mars first."