Chapter 1179: Chapter 14: Breakout (Part 1)
Two Jiepeng S17 [Underflow] fighter jets soared into the sky from behind distant mountains, whistling as they swept over the city.
The once bustling city was now eerily silent.
There were only a handful of pedestrians on the streets. The view was filled with teams of fully armed Jiepeng Soldiers.
All cities had already implemented military control. Armored vehicles with mounted machine guns parked at every intersection, sandbags and isolation nets compressed the wide streets like a dam about to close, leaving only a small gap. Mechas patrolled back and forth, expressionless Jiepeng Guards checked every pedestrian’s identity and conducted aggressive searches.
The buildings on both sides of the street were unrecognizable. The once beautiful facades were riddled with bullet holes and breaches, bearing the marks of smoke and fire. Neon lights and billboards were in tatters. Twisting steel frameworks were occasionally touched by swaying cables, causing showers of sparks. Various types of trash littered the ground.
The public screen, missing more than half a corner, kept flickering. Occasionally, an ad would light up, showing a beautiful housewife embracing her husband warmly. Before the product image could be enlarged, the screen would once again fall into chaotic static, leaving only a burst of noise on the empty streets.
After the Jiepeng People’s invasion, the inhabitants of Canglang Star could only hide at home. Despite the buildings collapsing and the ruins signaling the danger of home, it was much safer for ordinary citizens to be indoors than to be exposed to the inhumane Jiepeng Soldiers.
As long as there was food, as long as the Space City’s environmental balance systems were functioning, no one was willing to risk going out.
People looked at the bodies lying in the streets, at passersby being beaten or even shot and dragged aside at intersections. The only thing they could do was shut their windows and doors tightly and shield their children’s eyes.
No one expected Canglang Star to fall so easily.
The once bustling military bases around the city had turned to ruins in the glowing spheres and deafening explosions of that night. Those soldiers who walked in groups during their off-duty time in the commercial center, those hurried military vehicles, those mobilized mechas and marching self-propelled artillery were nowhere to be seen.
The city’s TV station, network, and all sources of information had been taken over by the Jiepeng people. When turning on the TV, the only thing visible was one Jiepeng announcement after another.
However, some pieces of news were beyond the Jiepeng people’s blockade. For example, the news that the Republic still had two divisions resisting.
This news had become a spiritual pillar for all the Chuckna people. They pinned their hopes on the counterattack of the main force on these two divisions.
It was so encouraging that amid the enemy’s dozens of devastating divisions, these Chuckna brave youths had survived. For days, they had been dragging the Jiepeng people around, who exhaustively tried to capture and annihilate them. Until now, the Jiepeng people had not succeeded.
The esteemed division commanders of these two divisions had done something so gratifying, giving the Jiepeng people a tough time!
Although most people knew that one day these two divisions would eventually be wiped out, before any final news arrived, they preferred to think positively.
These two divisions were a spark in everyone’s heart. A spark of hatred, and also a spark of hope.
People probed everywhere, greedily asking for any news about these two divisions. From their numerical designation to their current location, from leaders to specific battles... Whenever there was news of even the smallest victory, no matter its truth, the men would cheer in low voices. Meanwhile, the women would hold their children, their eyes glowing.
These two divisions were like an underdog racehorse. This time, all the Chuckna people had placed their bets on it. Even knowing that the possibility of this horse winning was slim, they remained loyal.
The cities of Canglang Star were completely controlled by the Jiepeng people. With the landing of giant transport ships, and as these ships slowly unfolded their shells into huge military bases, firmly anchoring themselves on the city, countless Jiepeng Soldiers began advancing towards more distant settlements and towns.
As the third-largest human power after the Feiyang Republic and the Binart Empire, Chuckna’s planets had, through long-term immigration and development, moved beyond the setup of mere dozens of cities per planet. Rapid population growth and a developed economy made the cities on the Chuckna Immigrant Planet larger, and as cities radiated outward, settlements and towns formed.
Although most of these towns were agricultural areas, there were often stationed troops at many key transportation points. These ranged from a squad to an entire battalion.
Even though these troops were merely Level 3 Troops or Level 4 Forces, with some places even having police and militia Level 5 Troops, if the scattered troops across the planet were to gather together, they still posed a significant threat to the Jiepeng people, who had yet to gain a firm foothold and hoped to quickly stabilize and control the situation.
