Chapter 217 I Went Mad During the Republic of China Era 33
[WARNING! A surge in encrypted communications detected from multiple countries worldwide, target: China.]
[The UK, US, France, and other countries have reached a preliminary consensus and are preparing to issue a joint statement condemning the 'unidentified attack' and planning to send a joint fleet to the Far East to 'maintain regional stability'.]
Zhou Jue looked at the information that popped up on the system screen and twitched the corner of his mouth.
"Maintaining regional stability? More like maintaining the stability of their colonies."
"It seems the last commotion wasn't big enough; it didn't really hurt them."
"Since they want to see a show, then let's put on a big one for them."
...
Tokyo, the Prime Minister's official residence.
The spotlights flashed wildly, as if they were free, illuminating the newly appointed Japanese prime minister's face until it turned deathly pale.
He stood behind the podium, addressing reporters from all over the world, and broke down in tears.
"Everyone, our Great Sakura Empire is a peace-loving nation! We have come to China to help them establish the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere!"
"But what did we encounter? We encountered the most despicable and cowardly attack! Our fleet was devoured by demons at sea, and our warriors were slaughtered by gods and demons on land!"
"This is a trampling of human civilization! It is a contempt for all international conventions!"
He pounded his chest, looking utterly grief-stricken.
"Today, they can use such inhumane methods against us! Tomorrow, they can use the same methods against any country that has legitimate interests in China!"
"We implore, we call upon the international community, to form a just coalition to sanction this..."
"Report!"
A secretary scrambled in, looking terrified, completely disregarding the presence of reporters.
He rushed to the Prime Minister's side, handed him a piece of paper, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
"Your Excellency the Prime Minister... Yokosuka... Yokosuka Naval Base..."
The Prime Minister snatched the telegram, glanced at it, and his face froze instantly with grief.
He suddenly looked up and stared intently at the secretary.
"Nonsense! How could anything happen in Yokosuka! It has the Empire's most stringent defenses!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than another communications officer rushed in, also holding a telegram in his hand.
"Urgent! Osaka! A series of explosions have occurred at the Osaka Army Arsenal; the entire factory area has been razed to the ground!"
"Nagoya! The Mitsubishi Aircraft Manufacturing Plant... was... struck by lightning! All the Zero fighters under construction are now scrapped!"
"boom!"
The reporters at the scene were in an uproar.
Yokosuka? Osaka? Nagoya?
This is all on Japanese soil!
That mysterious attacker could not only run rampant in China, but also extend his reach to the Japanese homeland.
The Prime Minister held those few thin telegrams, his hands trembling like leaves in the autumn wind.
He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. His proud theory of absolute homeland security was shattered at that moment.
Reporters around the world, through their cameras, clearly saw the entire process on his face, from grief and indignation to astonishment, and then to extreme fear.
While global media outlets were frantically reporting on the "Tokyo terror," a telegram in plain text appeared simultaneously on the telegraph machines of all major news agencies in the world.
The telegram was short, but every word carried immense weight.
To all foreign armed forces and related countries in China:
First, all foreign armed personnel in China must withdraw from Chinese territory within three days. Those who fail to do so will have their weapons and equipment confiscated.
Second, all Chinese territories seized through unequal treaties must be unconditionally returned within ten days, with full administrative control. Those failing to return them by the deadline will be personally "visited".
Signed: Xinghuo.
The telegram caused a global uproar.
Downing Street, London.
The Prime Minister slammed the telegram in his hand onto the table.
"Arrogant! Outrageous! This is a declaration of war against the entire civilized world!"
A foreign minister, wiping away cold sweat, spoke up: "Prime Minister, news just came from Sakura... the attack is real, and it's undefendable and untraceable. Should we... should we really send a fleet over?"
"Send! Why aren't you sending them!" the Prime Minister roared. "The dignity of the British Empire cannot be challenged! Immediately put pressure on Chiang Kai-shek in Nanjing! Make him control his own people!"
In Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek looked at the telegram in his hand, his expression shifting constantly.
"Damn it! Where did this spark come from?! I was trying to win him over before, but now he's trying to tear a hole in the sky!"
A trusted aide stepped forward: "Sir, the ambassadors of Britain, the United States, and France are already waiting outside. They are very firm and demand that we immediately explain and stop 'Spark's' actions."
Old Jiang paced back and forth in the room, finally stopping and gritting his teeth.
"Delay it! Just say we're investigating too! Say it's a Chinese deity, a non-human force, and has nothing to do with our government!"
Inside a cave dwelling in Yan'an.
The atmosphere, however, was completely different.
General Zhu slapped his thigh, laughing so hard he almost dropped his pipe.
"That was satisfying! So satisfying! This Comrade Xinghuo is truly a confidant! That slap landed squarely on the faces of those foreign devils!"
Mr. Zhou also smiled and pushed up his glasses: "Once this telegram is sent, Nanjing will probably be in a complete mess."
The instructor tapped his fingers on the table, his eyes brimming with excitement.
"Our chance has come! Issue my order: all troops to enter first-level combat readiness! If any problems arise with the foreign concession troops, our men must rush in immediately and take control of the territory and its inhabitants!"
"yes!"
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, under the watchful eyes of the world.
Some small countries were terrified and withdrew their soldiers overnight.
However, in the concessions of Britain, France, the United States, and other countries, their national flags still flew, and soldiers, armed to the teeth, stood in a posture of unwavering resolve.
Shanghai, the Bund.
A British soldier leaned against the back of the fortifications, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and spoke nonchalantly to his comrade.
"What kind of bullshit purification is this? I think it's just a scare tactic. Chinese people are very timid; even if they had a hundred lives..."
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt his hand lighten.
He looked down and saw that his Lee-Enfield rifle was gone.
Not only him, but his comrades and all the soldiers on the entire defensive line had their weapons vanish into thin air at the same time.
"My gun! Where's my gun?"
"Damn it! The armory! Quick, to the armory!"
A group of people rushed into the armory, and then were completely dumbfounded.
The mountains of rifles, machine guns, and mortars, along with millions of rounds of ammunition, have all disappeared, leaving only empty shelves.
At the same time, in Tianjin, Hankou, Guangzhou... all the foreign troops who refused to withdraw were disarmed and turned into unarmed civilians within minutes.
"Charge!"
The troops, who had been waiting outside the concession, surged in like tigers descending a mountain.
Those foreign soldiers who had just been swaggering around were now like frightened rabbits, being chased in all directions.
The entire takeover process went incredibly smoothly.
The international community was deathly silent.
If the terrifying events in Tokyo three days ago terrified them, then today's "mass disappearance" sent chills down their spines.
This is no longer a matter of technological gap in weaponry.
This is the difference between gods and mortals.
The protests subsided, and some countries that were still observing immediately announced the return of the concessions and the withdrawal of their personnel.
[Ding! Side Quest 2 progress updated, completion rate 40%]
Other countries were naturally unwilling to easily return the ceded lands and began to mobilize their armed forces, both in their territories and on their own soil.
But what terrifies everyone is that it seems as if there are gods watching over China. No matter which country it is or how far away it is, as long as they mobilize their troops, their armed forces will soon disappear and lose contact.
Unlike the loss of weapons in the Chinese concessions, this time both people and weapons disappeared! It was a complete repetition of the Japanese devils' old ways! Confusion, fear, and anger intertwined.
The ten-day deadline was fast approaching.
The world's attention is focused on those few circled, toughest targets on the map.
Hong Kong and Macau, Northeast China, Northwest China...
Can these lands, which have been occupied for decades or even centuries, really be returned in this way?
Zhou Jue stood in the Shanghai night, looking southeast.
[Host, the ten-day period has ended.]
“Okay.” Zhou Jue nodded. “Let’s start from the south and go one by one.”
She vanished in a flash.
The next second, she appeared above the Governor's House on Hong Kong Island, where she could clearly see all the colonists holding weapons and on guard.
Without further ado, Zhou Jue directly targeted all British and Portuguese colonial government officials and military base commanders, stripping them of their ability to act and confiscating all their military equipment.
[Ding! Side Quest 2 progress updated, completion rate 70%]
The next Macau.
[Ding! Side Quest 2 progress updated, completion rate 100%]
Zhou Jue looked at the mission progress and was surprised to find that it was indeed based on the map of the future. However, she did not stop and turned her gaze to the vast land further north.
"Next, Outer Northeast."
[Coordinates locked, teleporting!]
She was going to reclaim the black soil that had been occupied by the Xiong Kingdom for over eighty years.
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