Chapter 488: Season 2 Book 20 Shadow of War – 1-1 The Fair Price
January 7th, 2024, 22:30 (New China time: 21:30)
Henan Province and Nanyang City, New China
An hour and a half ago, the General Chief of Staff Yuan Xiaochao, who left the X-15 bunker with four of his close aides, headed straight for Beijing Nanyuan Airport, changed into regular clothes and boarded a private jet called the Dassault Falcon-8X, a Vietnamese model, with Defense Minister Jang Yue Fung.
Now an hour later, the Dassault Falcon-8X, which traveled at 900 kilometers per hour, had just entered Hubei Province after flying over Nanyang, the southern end of Henan Province.
Their destination was Shenzhen, the capital of the Republic of China, and they were due to arrive in an hour and a half.
Minister of Defense Jang Yue Fung decided to defect after receiving a grave insult from President Wang Jing-wi. As a result, he reached out to the government of the Republic of China, which was at war with New China, to seek asylum for both his family and relatives, as well as himself. To do so he needed one large gift, which was why he was considering using the four plasma bombs for that purpose.
In response, the Republic of China government not only welcomed him with open arms and granted him and his family asylum, but it also made a massive counterproposal to compensate $100 million per plasma bomb.
However, while he was in the midst of talks with the government of the Republic of China and preparing for asylum, he learned about the ‘East Wind Operation,’ which was to use plasma bombs following President Wang Jing-wi’s orders. Therefore, he contacted the General Chief of Staff Yuan Xiaoqiao and proposed a secret deal to him.
After much deliberation, the General Chief of Staff Yuan Xiaoqiao decided to support him. Therefore, he requested that his distant relative, Major General Wang Qing, provides false reports on the plasma bombs, while the real plasma bombs were siphoned off and are now in the cargo compartment of the Dassault Falcon-8X.
Even though there wasn’t much time to prepare, everything went off without a hitch, just as Defense Minister Jang Yue Fung had planned.
“Thank you, Chief of Staff.” Defense Minister Jang Yue Fung smiled brightly as he handed the General Chief of Staff Yuan Xiaoqiao a glass of champagne.
“No, Minister of Defense! It was a decision that I made to have a new start.”
“Okay. Let’s live a good life in a capitalist country. Hahaha. Cheers, everyone!”
<Jjangang!>
As Defense Minister Jang Yue Fung raised his glass in a toast, everyone, including the General Chief of Staff Yuan Xiaoqiao, clinked their glasses and drank the toast.
At that moment, one of the Commander-in-Chief’s generals drank champagne and said, “Brother! President Wang Jing-wi should be enraged and on fire by now. Hahaha.”
The general who laughed loudly was Wang Qing, the commander of the 200th Strategic Artillery Brigade. Due to his distant relationship with the General Chief of Staff Yuan Xiaoqiao, he addressed him as his brother without hesitation.
“Why are you laughing so hard?”
“Just imagining him makes me laugh, brother! Didn’t you know that Wang Jing-wi was the operational commander at the Northern Military Operations Command when I was serving there ten years ago? I had to suffer so much as a result of his self-righteousness and selfishness. I would have given up a long time ago if it hadn’t been for my brother who had me transferred to another unit. Just imagining his rage and frustration because he has been betrayed makes me laugh. Hahaha.”
“Tsk tsk. More importantly, did your family and relatives safely cross over to the Republic of China?”
“Yes, my whole family is waiting for me in Shenzhen.”
“Okay, you did a good job.”
“Brother, is it true that the Republic of China will pay $100 million for each plasma bomb? I still can’t believe it.”
When Wang Qing asked with a suspicious look, Defense Minister Jang Yue Fung replied with a meaningful smile instead of the General Chief of Staff. “General Wang Qing! Don’t you trust me?”
“Ah, I don’t mean that, it’s just that I still can’t believe this is real.”
“That’s understandable! The total cost of four bombs is $400 million, which when divided by 20 people equals $20 million each. Isn’t it enough to live a good life, even if we share it?”
“Sure. That’s enough. And since I have my own property, I will be able to live comfortably.”
While they were discussing the bright future that awaited them, President Wang Jing-wi was trembling in Beijing, just as Wang Qing had expected.
<hr />
January 7th, 2024 22:30 (New China time: 21:30)
X-15 bunkers, Beijing, New China
“Is that true?”
“Yes, he took a private helicopter with four staff members from Beijing Nanyuan Airport an hour and a half ago and they left Beijing via an unauthorized aircraft. According to reports, the Air Force is currently tracking the route of the unauthorized aircraft.”
President Wang Jing-wi jumped up from his seat after hearing inspector Nao Shaping’s report, and his trembling body gave away just how angry he really was.
“Is he betraying me in such an important situation? Yuan Xiaoqiao, you motherf*cker!” A squeaky sound escaped his lips.
“And it was confirmed that he met with Defense Minister Jang Yue Fung several times in private.”
“Defense Minister Jang Yue Fung? Yes, that’s right! Due to the war in Chongqing, this prat has also been absent for several days. Now that I think about it, that was just a pretext for him to plot something with the Chief of Staff.”
President Wang Jing-wi then turned his head and shouted at the staff.
“There’s one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“The commander of the 200th Strategic Artillery Brigade has also been reported missing, along with three staff members. According to one story, the actual plasma bombs were not used in the ‘East Wind Operation’ yesterday. Inspectors have been dispatched and are conducting a thorough investigation.”
“Wait! That b*stard! Is he related to the Chief of Staff?”
“Yes, he is his 16th cousin.”
“These motherf*ckers! He most certainly stole them. He falsely reported that they had been intercepted or failed. Those who will shatter this world…”
Because he had been deceived, President Wang Jing-wi’s face turned as red as a persimmon, and his eyes swelled.
“Didn’t you know?” At President Wang Jing-wi’s sudden question, his staff were unable to say anything and were left bewildered. “Did you know something?”
“No, we didn’t know at all,” answered Executive General Kao Wei-kwang, as a representative of the staff.
“Haha! You would have run away with them or reported it already if you had known!”
President Wang Jing-wi cast aside his suspicions and once again expressed his anger. “Track that plane immediately. And whether you use missiles or fighters, shoot it down! If they escape safely, you won’t be safe either.”
“Mr. President! I think countermeasures against the retaliatory attack of the South Korean military that will be in 30 minutes should be our priority.”
“Do them both.”
<hr />
January 7th, 2024, 22:55 (New China time: 21:55)
New China Tianjin atmosphere
12 C-SH Zinog-II missiles were launched from CS-AD Zeus Strategic Interceptor Satellites 5 and 6 toward New China’s major cities, and they were now falling to the ground at Mach 50. At the same time, 24 CFS/A-31SP Three-toed Crow space fighter jets from the 1st Space Fighter Wing, which had been flying over large cities and spraying flyers, each entered the atmosphere of their assigned target city, opened the doors of the internal armament, and awaited the final attack command from the Aerospace Command.
Among them, the space fighters belonging to Alpha Squadron, which had Tianjin as its target, were flying to their respective positions after activating TCS mode.
“This is Alpha One! Please report the current situation of Alpha Squadron.”
“This is Alpha Two! We’re waiting at 50 kilometers above the port stop! Over!”
“This is Alpha Three! Waiting at 39°7’26.85″N 117°24’27.94″E! Over!”
“This is Alpha Four! Hangzhou point. We’re waiting in the air at Tianjin Port! Over!”
“This is Alpha One! Three minutes until the attack! After checking the final attack command code, start attacking accordingly. Over!”
“This is Alpha Two! Copy that!”
“This is Alpha Three! Copy that!”
“This is Alpha Four! Copy that!”
Shortly after, at exactly 11 p.m., the final attack command code came in from the aerospace command. In response, Alpha Squadron captains checked it and fired two X-1 plasma amplified bombs, one after another at their targets.
<Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!>
Lieutenant Colonel Choi Young-ho’s Space Fighter One launched two X-1 plasma amplified bombs toward the factory area in Beichen District, and they flew to the ground at incredible speeds after launching their propellants one by one.
The two X-1 plasma amplified bombs, which were falling to the ground while emitting a blue light trail, hit the ground in seconds.
<Kwang!>
They exploded instantly as they penetrated tens of meters underground.
The huge shock wave from the explosion shook the entire city, and a massive flame broke through the ground and rose several kilometers into the sky, creating a dark red mushroom cloud.
Furthermore, as the tectonic fluctuations of 10 degrees spread throughout the depths, the ground soared and split from all sides, swallowing cars, buildings, and everything in its path.
Tianjin, which had become like a furnace with roaring flames and extreme heat, was transformed into a living hell where neither humans nor gods could live.
After completing their mission in Tianjin, which was colored dark red beneath a massive mushroom cloud, the Three-toed Crow space fighter jets of the Alpha Squadron increased their altitude to the maximum and headed back.
<hr />
December 7th, 2024, 23:00 (New China time: 22:00)
Beijing, New China
<Whooing! Whooing!>
Missiles were constantly soaring into the sky, spraying white smoke, while air raid sirens had been sounding all over Beijing for the past 10 minutes.
Surface-to-air missiles of various air defense units from the S-400 Triumph, which were imported from Russia in 2019, appeared as light spots in the dark Beijing sky and disappeared.
However, the probability of intercepting C-SH Zinog-II missiles, which were smaller than surface-to-air missiles and traveled at speeds above Mach 50, was one in a thousand. While it may have been a very slight possibility, the New China army couldn’t just stand still and attempted to mobilize all of their air defense forces to intercept them.
To intercept the four C-SH Zinog-II missiles, the New China Armed Forces Air Defense Force used 200 different surface-to-air missiles.
However, as expected, all intercepts failed.
Even before the surface-to-air missile could approach, the C-SH Zinog-II missiles had already escaped them and had hit the ground. Because of the huge speed difference, the 200 surface-to-air missiles couldn’t even get close and either exploded in the air or lost their target and flew to the wrong location.
As a result, the first C-SH Zinog-II missile fell on the Palace Museum, formerly known as the Forbidden City.
Because of its tremendous speed, it penetrated 100 meters underground and then exploded.
As the huge shock wave spread to a radius of several kilometers, everything on the ground appeared to float for a brief moment before collapsing and was destroyed. The high-rise buildings collapsed as a result of the shock waves, and some buildings lost their center of gravity and tilted as a result, collapsing into each other.
Those who decided to stay despite the evacuation warnings all suffered internal ruptures because of the shock wave.
A massive mushroom cloud soared high in the sky, accompanied by a deafening explosion sound. Soon after, flames and immense heat that broke through the earth’s crust spread around the explosion center.
From then on, the true fear of the C-SH Zinog-II missile, which caused such massive damage solely through shock waves, began..