A Striking Resemblance

Under a clear blue sky and with a sharp sea breeze, a terrifying monster, unlike anything seen before, is cutting through the waves and approaching America soil thousands of miles from Los Angeles.

With the aim of eliminating invading enemies, the air power of the world's leading military power is launching an attack.

To satisfy the eagerness of the four branches of the armed forces to show off their military achievements, a massive air strike group of twenty aircraft swept through the sea fog and arrived in the air. The super air formation, including B-1B Lancer, F-35 Lightning II, and F-15 Eagle of America, approached the target location under the guidance of an E-3 Sentry airborne early warning aircraft.

"Attention all air units, this will be an unprecedented bombing mission. Maintain a safe altitude of at least 4,500 feet. Attack route confirmed..."

Two F-35s and two F-15s were assigned to air superiority missions and to air surveillance. Although it was assessed that the bombing operation was "almost impossible to encounter an aerial threat," they were still assigned air escorts as a precaution. The remaining fighters, carrying MK84 heavy bombs, were responsible for dropping the bombs from the air.

A typical formation for a surgical air strike operation.

"Arrived at the designated area, attack permitted." In the E3 AWACS aircraft, the communications officer relayed the order to the attack formation. "Yankee Swift Fox, coordinates confirmed, report status."

"Target clearly visible in the western sea area," a voice replied through the earpiece. "Monkey Rexette."

The communications officer looked up, the duty officer gestured to him, and then notified the Predator squadron. "Predator, immediately launch a concentrated barrage against the unidentified creature!"

"Receive."

In the attack formation's communications channel, the B-1B Lancer pilot's voice crackled. "Alright, all units spread out, prepare for the airstrike—let's blow this big guy to smithereens."

With over two hundred MK84 heavy bombs, this air combat group, carrying such terrifying strike power, is the death knell of this sea area; they symbolize an irresistible force.

"I understand—you could blow it up even with your eyes closed."

The Lancer's magazine slowly opened, its advanced fire control computer capable of precisely guiding heavy, cumbersome free-fall bombs. The magazine was released, and twenty-four heavy aerial bombs roared down.

The heavy two-thousand-pound iron lump sank into the cold sky. The steel cables fixed to the fuselage taut instantly due to the falling bomb, and then the steel pins attached to the bomb came loose, releasing the safety mechanism for the flower of death to bloom. In the blink of an eye, the Lancer had already crossed the sky above the giant beast's head.

Twenty-four death messengers whistled down, while on either side of the bomber, reliable, deadly, and elegant friendly forces carried out the same mission. The massive bomber formation, under the command of the E-3 early warning aircraft, crisscrossed in the air, casting deadly flashes of fire to ensure that every inch of this monster's body was taken care of.

"We won."

The pilot, who had just finished launching the bomb and was taking off, glanced down at the enormous beast below. Oblivious to its impending doom, the beast moved forward in a daze.

This inexplicable battle was won so easily that an F-35 pilot quipped, "Hi, guys, if this were a Hollywood movie, our attack would have been a complete failure. Those damn Zephyr's always portraying us American troops as useless rubbish so that those glamorous stars can save the world. Now look, who's really protecting America..."

The next moment, a bewitching purple hue was reflected in the windshield.

The roars and howls shook the heavens, even causing the silver wings of the sky to tremble. In a deep blue ocean, brilliant purple light flowed and danced, suddenly spreading out!

Immediately, flames exploded!

"What the hell..."

"Mazefa..."

"Monkey Thunder..."

A barrage of profanities was constantly being broadcast from the communication channel.

"Yankee Swift Fox! Report! What happened?!"

"I saw a purple, transparent substance, hey man, I don't know how to describe it... but it looks a lot like the energy shields I've seen in sci-fi games and movies!"

The airborne command on the AWACS aircraft issued an unwavering order, "All air units! Take off! Take off! Accelerate and gain altitude! Get away from the enemy!"

The advanced air strike clusters scattered in all directions, their thrusters accelerating, flames dancing wildly behind them. The violent explosions were blocked by the transparent shields, and bursts of fire continued to bloom.

This scene was transmitted back to the ground command center, the Pentagon, and the White House via unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.

The intelligence officers, staff officers, and generals were all stunned and stood up at the same time.

Trump's eyes widened, and he spat out his half-eaten hamburger. "What is this?!"

The Department of Defense was too preoccupied to deal with him. He urgently contacted the Pentagon, listened intently, and stared at the video feed with a serious expression. Two minutes later, he said to A Chuan, "Sir, the target has demonstrated astonishing energy protection technology. According to eyewitness reports from frontline pilots, all aerial bomb attacks were completely blocked by the energy shield..."

He took a deep breath. "So, sir, the guess has been confirmed."

Chuanbao asked, puzzled, "What guess?"

The defense minister said solemnly, "Supernatural forces! This is an attack by supernatural forces. According to the laws of nature, such a huge creature would not appear on Earth. However, the laws of nature are merely scientific summaries of human cognition. Now we know that there is a force that temporarily transcends our science."

"... And then?" A Chuan asked. "Then what should we do?"

Before the defense minister could answer, his phone began vibrating wildly. Upon answering, an excited roar came through the receiver, "This is fucking [beep--] [beep--] [beep--]! We have to get this [beep--] [beep--] no matter what..."

The Department of Defense looked disgusted and put his phone away, gave a few perfunctory replies, and hung up. Then the phone started ringing one after another, and even A Chuan's phone started vibrating.

"... What's going on?"

The minister received another phone call, then said seriously, "Well, sir, we should now consider how to capture this unprecedented enemy alive."

A Chuan retorted, "You were just about to blow it up with a nuclear bomb?"

"Because the situation is different, sir," the minister replied. "America must obtain it, dissect it, study it, all for this unprecedented shield-generating technology—if humanity wants to achieve an energy shield with its current technology, it must solve the problem of energy materialization, which means we must solve the Yang–Mills Equation, and even unify the four fundamental forces. Only then can we..."

Chuanbao tapped the table. "Speak, English."

He couldn't understand because he was just a kid who got into University of Pennsylvania exam for him.

The Department of Defense sighed inwardly, but he already knew how to persuade the president.

"Catch it, study it, and if we succeed, we can make United States great again."

A Chuan immediately understood. "My achievements?"

"Without a doubt," the Defense Minister said, "It's all thanks to your wise leadership and achievements."

"--Then what are we waiting for!"

The state apparatus of the world's leading power has been transformed under the will of its rulers.

Pentagon.

"The carrier strike group has departed from naval bases such as San Diego..."

"Following emergency reinforcements, two Nimitz class aircraft carriers, three Ticonderoga class cruisers, four Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyers, one Perry class frigate, and three Los Angeles class attack submarines are assembling and taking their positions..."

"If necessary, land-based cruise missiles guided by data links will also join the battle..."

"The aircraft carrier's air wing is undergoing anti-ship loading preparations..."

"At the land-based airfield, B-52 and B-1B bombers are undergoing anti-ship loading preparations..."

In the noisy war room, generals with gleaming stars on their shoulders are arguing and discussing loudly.

"Relevant experts are developing a capture plan."

"It's not an elephant—how much anesthetic do we need?"

"Prepare to collect liquid nitrogen, the more the better."

"But first, we need to break through its defensive shield."

How to defeat them?

"It's simple, gentlemen. All shields have a limit to their strength. And we possess the most powerful offensive force in the world."

"What I want to know is, where should we study it?"

Through continuous consultation, discussion, research and decision-making, orders were issued one after another.

The White House.

"First, we need to break through its shield, or at least test what the shield's true nature is."

The Department of Defense was still explaining the new operational plan to A Chuan: "We will deploy all the attack methods and means that the U. S. military possesses, except for nuclear weapons, to try to break through its shield. Its ability to withstand attacks has its limits, and then we will capture it."

A Chuan- Chuan nodded, then suddenly asked, "How long will this take?"

"This..." the Department of Defense said, "It's not certain, but given the intensity of the attack planned in the operation, I think even the strongest shields won't last long..."

"--You think?" Trump's eyes widened. "Before it lit up that blinding glass dome, could you have imagined it had this capability? What if it, with that purple eggshell on its back, charged all the way to the beaches of Los Angeles under the attack of the Navy and Air Force?"

Politicians are fickle, A Chuan is even more so.

If Chuanbao was initially overjoyed upon discovering this behemoth, eager to broadcast it globally and lead the US military to victory over a powerful enemy, he is now somewhat apprehensive.

This is thanks to the strong arguments the Department of Defense made earlier when he was verbally attacking biologists—that if the public knew about this, it would cause massive riots and stock market turmoil, and if the U. S. military was powerless to stop this behemoth from reaching their homeland, then terrifying attacks, ridicule, and questioning would fall on Trump's head.

So A Chuan is weak.

Although there are such good things as wartime presidents, and although Roosevelt was re-elected for a long time, he actually won World War II! And the flames of war didn't even reach his homeland!

"No matter what, I mean no matter what, defeat, capture, or kill this thing as quickly as possible! Speed it up, speed it up!"

A Chuan solemnly instructed, "Understand? Take it down as quickly as possible, or I'd rather use a nuclear bomb to dry it up along with this so-called shield and burn it to ashes, understand?"

As for the minister's claim that studying it and acquiring the shield technology would make United States great again—that was something he completely forgot and didn't care about at all.

The reason is simple.

He wants to make United States great again, but it must be done under his leadership, Trump.

If this monster were allowed to approach territorial waters, cause panic, or even crawl onto land, or even make A Chuan the first president to drop an offensive nuclear bomb on his own soil—then his re-election would be out of the question, and the achievement of the shield technology would no longer be his!

Without him, the great America is fake, incomplete, and meaningless!

With this in mind, he warned, "I'm serious. I need a final distance—once that monster crosses that line and you haven't taken it down, I will immediately order the use of nuclear weapons."

"... yes."

Then they looked at the screen again, and the purple shield had disappeared. The enormous sea beast, towering into the sky and churning up dark clouds, cleaved through the waves and continued to move forward.

The minister hesitated for a moment, then said, "Mr. President."

"Um?"

"This is a supernatural attack," he asked. "Aren't you considering deploying our special forces?"

A Chuan curled his lip, feeling both apprehension and envy towards those who had awakened their abilities. He muttered dismissively, "These incompetent idiots can't even handle that China boy... wait, what?!"

As if struck by a thought, he looked at the Department of Defense: "Don't you think it looks a lot like it?"

"... What?"

Maritime.

"The enemy aircraft have retreated."

Horus said, "Father, we have successfully repelled the first wave."

Kang De nodded.

This is the bridge of the Afu. Purple light flows through the entire ship. Paradox Element have completely eroded the Astolfo, even completely eroding the Mist Crystal and connecting it to the Afu. Therefore, in the face of heavy aerial bomb attacks, a huge energy shield is deployed.

"This is a rocket gifted by the President," he said. "Let's send it over."

The White Mist World opened up, and in the sky, heavy bombs were bound in the air by spatial forces, and even the flow of time for them became extremely slow.

As the bombs fell, a small portion of them detonated immediately and were blocked by the shield. Kang De used this opportunity to manipulate the Mist Crystal to copy and paste, simulating a large-scale explosion. Most of the bombs were quietly sent to the White Mist World through the Phase Gate, where they were fixed in place by his spacetime abilities.

Now, it's time to let go.

Above the Endless Sea and sky, Horus's drones are circling, and a spatial beacon opens Phase Gate, unleashing nearly two hundred heavy bombs from the sky!

The sky howled, unlike the illusions on Earth. These heavy bombs rained down, but the deep-sea behemoth, though without a shield, was surrounded by swirling boulders, like asteroids orbiting around it. The bombs were held back by an invisible force field, which repelled everything, and the explosion mechanism burst into flames.

Many of the surrounding boulders were shattered, but that was all. Even with the surging impact, the powerful repulsive force still shook, burned, and even tore apart the sea monster's body. Its powerful regenerative ability quickly repaired the minor wounds on its skin and flesh. The God of the Star Palace's maniacal laughter shook the heavens and the earth.

That's it? That's all?

It roared, "After disappearing for so long, is this all you can do? Fire Thief, you've disappointed me greatly! Is this all you're capable of? Come on! I'm waiting for you!"

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PS1: Damn, I've finally sorted out my thoughts... Anyway, I'm not some hardcore military enthusiast. While pursuing visual effects and a sense of excitement, I just need to ensure there are no factual errors and that it looks a bit incomprehensible yet impressive and high-tech...