Zhang Lijian's words were like a bombshell.
The massive wave it created swept the globe via live broadcast.
The entire Blue Star was shaken, and within the Great Xia, the whole nation was in an uproar!
The top ten trending topics on major online platforms were instantly dominated by related keywords:
[ Great Xia Ocean Nuclear Exercise#]
[# Surging Waves Plan #]
[#Aiming at the Ocean, Contending for Supremacy on Blue Star #]
#Our journey is to the stars Dahai #
The comment section was refreshing at a rate of tens of thousands of comments per second:
Holy crap! A nuclear exercise! And it's at sea! How impressive!
"It's long overdue to draw our swords! Let those busybodies see who's really in charge of Blue Star!"
"I have no regrets being born into the Great Xia in this life, and I hope to be born into the Chinese nation again in my next life!"
"Brothers, type 'Awesome!' in the chat!"
Lu Li at home.
Lu Dahai jumped up from the sofa with a 'whoosh'.
He stared at the replay of the press conference on the TV news and slapped his thigh hard.
"Great! Great! We should have done this a long time ago!"
"Now this is more like the Great Xia!"
He turned to look at his daughter scrolling through her phone beside him, his face beaming with pride and excitement.
" Yaoyao, did you see that!"
"If your old man hadn't missed that last bit of the physical exam back then, he might be in the military training force right now!"
"If it's really necessary, Dad, I'll sign up for the army tomorrow!"
He paused, as if suddenly remembering something, and stroked his chin, making a guess with a hint of mystery and pride.
"You said... your brother has been acting all mysterious these past two years, without even a word..."
"Is it possible that he was transferred by the government to work on these powerful weapons?"
"Hehe, this kid's been smart since he was little, just like me!"
Lu Yao looked at her father, who was caught up in his emotions, and smiled helplessly.
"Dad, please don't get involved and make things worse."
She was much more perceptive than her father.
I scrolled through my phone, seeing the overwhelming news about military exercises and comments from netizens.
Although I am proud of the country's strength, a lingering doubt remains deep in my heart.
"Why would they announce such a high-level nuclear exercise so suddenly?"
"This doesn't look like a typical military demonstration... and, well, he..."
She always felt that something was unusual about this.
Just then, she swiped her finger and came across a short video that seemed completely out of place with the intense atmosphere of the military exercise.
The video uploader is located in the suburbs of Jing City.
The image shows a newly installed streetlight pole.
The style is no different from the common ones, but the caption is sarcastic:
[Is Jing City really that rich now? These newly installed streetlights look pretty high-end, but they haven't lit up at all in the days since they were installed! Are they just decorations? [doge emoji]]
The comments section was mostly filled with netizens making jokes.
But Lu Yao subconsciously glanced at the streetlight a few more times.
It looks ordinary, but for some reason...
She always felt that the material of the streetlight and the inconspicuous hemispherical cover at the top gave off an inexplicable sense of strangeness...
Just as the Xia was in an uproar, with the people cheering for the " Raging Waves" plan...
Meanwhile, across the ocean in the Beautiful Country, war and chaos reigned.
The president was urgently recalled from the dinner.
They sped into the Pentagon's Pentagon command center under Secret Service escort.
When he pushed open the heavy blast door, it was already in complete chaos inside.
"These lunatics! Do they want to Return to Zero human civilization?!"
"God! Someone stop these lunatics!"
The Minister of Defense slammed his fist on the table, causing the holographic projection to shake.
The Secretary of State's face turned ashen.
Global stock markets have plummeted by 15%, and our allies are demanding a clear response from us!
The president took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, his voice hoarse.
"My dear friends, my most loyal advisors, don't say things your mother would say."
"Right now, at this very moment, I only want to know one thing... tell me what the Great Xia people really want to do?"
"Is this just a simple show of force, or... do they really have a deeper strategic objective?"
Upon hearing this, the command center fell silent.
The analysts pulled up all the data.
They tried to find clues in the recent military movements and diplomatic rhetoric of the Great Xia Dynasty, but all their efforts were in vain.
The group could only stare at the map, hoping to find some clues.
"Their exercise area is in the central Pacific Ocean, which ostensibly is on the high seas..."
A young intelligence officer looked slightly puzzled.
"But why choose this location?"
"To demonstrate our naval strength?"
Just then, an elderly analyst with white hair in the corner seemed to have noticed something and suddenly gasped.
His trembling fingers traced a line on the holographic map, his lips quivering. "My God..."
"Mr. Jackson?"
The president looked at the veteran strategist who had served for over fifty years.
What came to mind?
Old Jackson's fingers traced the boundary of the no-fly zone announced by Great Xia, his voice trembling.
"This... here... look... this cordoned-off area!"
"It precisely cuts off Australia's three most vital sea and air routes from the outside world..."
He looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief and horror.
"Could it be that Great Xia's target... was never us, but... Australia?"
This conjecture was so startling that the command center fell silent.
Old Jackson shakily pulled out a file.
"Twenty-five years ago, when I was still young, I traveled to Great Xia. I remember there was a joke circulating on their internet..."
Some say that the Australia Continent was once an overseas territory of the Great Xia Kingdom, which they called Southern Jambudvipa...
"Could they really be thinking that way?"
"This is absurd!"
The Minister of Defense blurted it out.
His face showed a look of fear and anger.
"That's nothing but a damn Great Xia joke, old Jackson!"
"Okay, even if they want to use this joke to take over Australia... then... then why?"
"What is it about that place that would make them so impulsive! God!"
Listening to what the other person said, old Jackson trembled as he pulled up a set of data.
" Australia discovered the world's largest rare earth reserves this year, along with... and massive amounts of iron ore, copper ore, and many other resources."
He glanced around at his shocked colleagues and said, slowly and deliberately:
"Perhaps the people of Great Xia weren't joking... they're turning that internet joke into reality."
"My dear old Mr. Jackson, could you please put aside that damn internet joke for now?"
The president's voice suddenly became hoarse.
To be honest, all he wanted in his beautiful dream was endless pleasure.
World wars were simply not on his radar.
"Gentlemen, what if Great Xia really wants that Kangaroo Continent, which is shaped like a cheese biscuit?"
"Tell me, what should we do?"