Chapter 86 Japan: You Have to Take the Blame Whether You Like It or Not!
Just as Zhou Jue and Cheng Gan were in their Cairo hotel, preparing to enjoy the first real feast of their round-the-world trip, the storm they left behind had already evolved into an international farce that swept the globe.
Clark Air Base, Philippines.
As dawn broke, the ground crew member responsible for the morning patrol rubbed his sleepy eyes and yawned as he entered the hangar. However, when he saw what was parked in the center of the hangar, he froze instantly, his coffee cup falling to the ground with a "clatter," scalding coffee splashing all over his trouser leg, but he didn't even notice.
"A ghost...a ghost!"
A piercing scream shattered the tranquility of the morning.
Minutes later, the entire air force base was in an uproar. The base commander, a short, stout Filipino general, scrambled into the hangar. When he saw the futuristic, all-black fighter jet, exuding a sense of power and intimidation, his legs went weak and he nearly collapsed to his knees.
"What...what is this?!" he asked, his voice trembling.
The knowledgeable technical officer beside him turned pale and stammered, "Reporting to the General... Judging from its shape and aerodynamic layout... this... this seems to be the fifth-generation demonstrator aircraft that Japan is developing... the F-3 codenamed 'Shinshin'!"
"What?!" The general's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
How could Japan's most prized and confidential asset have appeared silently in their hangar?!
This is fucking more outrageous than seeing a ghost!
"Immediately block the news! No one is allowed to disclose this! Quickly drag it back into the base!"
The news was reported at top speed. The moment the top brass of the Philippines received the news, they were all stunned. Without a doubt, this was a huge black pot that had fallen from the sky!
At almost the same time, the US intelligence agencies also discovered this unbelievable scene through satellite monitoring.
The Prime Minister's official residence in Japan.
The Prime Minister, whose hair had turned white overnight due to the burning of the sanctuary, was looking at the latest report with a splitting headache. When he saw the news that "the missing F-3 demonstrator aircraft has appeared at a Philippine air force base," he was completely stunned.
"What?! A Filipino?"
He instinctively thought it was fake news. With the Philippines' shoddy military capabilities, how could they possibly steal "Mind" from his heavily guarded base? It was an insult to his intelligence!
But then, the US sent clear satellite photos. In the photos, the "Xinshin" that they had been longing for was quietly parked in the Philippine hangar, standing out like a crane among chickens next to several old F-16 fighter jets.
The evidence is irrefutable and cannot be denied!
The Prime Minister's mind was racing.
Could it be... that we wronged China before?
Could it be that the mysterious organization codenamed "Ghost" is actually from the Philippines?
No, impossible! They don't have that ability!
But... what if? What if they've colluded with some powerful hacker organization? Besides, the hatred between the Philippines and Japan over historical issues is no less than that between China and the Philippines!
A thought struck the Prime Minister's mind like lightning.
Regardless of the truth, now there's a ready-made enemy, hated by all the people, who has jumped out to take the blame!
He has to take full responsibility for this!
"Hold a press conference immediately!" The Prime Minister slammed his fist on the table, his eyes gleaming with a frenzied excitement. "Announce to the world that we have found the culprit who set fire to the sacred toilet and stole our nation's top secrets! It's the Philippines!"
One stone stirs up a thousand waves!
The accusations made by the Japanese government instantly ignited global public opinion.
[Japan's Prime Minister: We have conclusive evidence that the Philippines planned and carried out a series of terrorist attacks against our country!]
The Philippines stole our future! They must pay the price!
[We demand that the Philippines immediately return the F-3 demonstrator aircraft, hand over the arsonist, and pay war reparations!]
If they refuse to acknowledge the facts and provide compensation, we will take military action!
These accusations, which completely distorted the truth, left the Philippines utterly stunned.
They immediately stepped forward, vehemently protesting, "We didn't! We didn't do it! That plane appeared in our hangar by itself! We are victims too!"
However, such weak and feeble explanations appear utterly ridiculous in the face of the overwhelming "evidence" presented by Japan.
An unprecedented online war of words has broken out between the Philippines and Japan.
A Sakura netizen commented: "Thief! Robber! Still dare to argue? The plane is already in your house, if you didn't steal it, who did?"
A Filipino netizen commented: "Bullshit! This is a frame-up! You lost your own things and are blaming us! Besides, our ship sank completely, and I suspect you were the ones who did it!"
A Sakura netizen commented: "Who knows if your wrecked ship sank by itself due to leaks? Stop changing the subject! You stole something and don't even dare to admit it, what a cowardly country!"
Meanwhile, Chinese netizens watching from the sidelines went into full-blown celebration.
"Hahaha! What a spectacle! Dogs fighting, a mouthful of fur everywhere, so exciting!"
"I can testify that I saw an Ultraman moving an airplane to the Philippines last night. It has nothing to do with us."
"Upstairs, your vision is too narrow! I suggest the Philippines just declare that the F-3 is something they've had since ancient times, and then apply to the United Nations for UNESCO World Heritage status!"
"Wrong, wrong, that's what South Korea loves to do!"
"I've opened a book called 'Stirring Up Trouble'! Everyone, give it your all! I bet a bag of spicy strips that they'll start fighting tomorrow!"
As the situation escalated, the United States, on the other side of the ocean, could no longer sit idly by. It immediately stepped forward, acting as the "world's policeman," demanding that both sides calm down and expressing its willingness to "mediate."
A secret video call took place between the US and high-ranking officials in the Philippines.
"What exactly happened?" the American general asked bluntly, his tone unfriendly.
The Philippine president, with a mournful face, cried out, "General, we are truly innocent! We really did nothing! That plane just appeared out of thin air! Moreover, the night before the plane appeared, the bottoms of all our official ships in our main ports were breached. When they were discovered, we spent the whole night trying to salvage them, but we only managed to salvage some of the supplies and equipment. The ships are now all sunk to the bottom of the sea! Our surveillance system, just like that of Japan, has completely failed!"
The American general fell into deep thought.
Another surveillance malfunction! Another unpredictable tactic!
He was almost certain that this was the work of the same "ghost" that had occurred in Japan and South Korea.
But... Fuck, why did they leave the plane in the Philippines? What kind of operation is this? A frame-up? To sow discord?
But the Japanese have gone mad. They won't listen to any explanations and insist that it was the Philippines who did it.
For them, the truth is unimportant; what matters is having an enemy to divert attention from domestic problems and incite nationalist sentiment.
The US is feeling extremely overwhelmed.
Just then, another emergency tripartite meeting was secretly convened, attended by the United States, Japan, and South Korea.
"How's the investigation going?" the American general asked wearily, rubbing his temples.
The head of the cybersecurity department pulled up a document and reported: "Your Excellency, based on our investigation, we have identified three hacker groups and five individual hackers who are among the most technologically advanced globally and have recently shown signs of unusual cyber activity."
Several code names and photos appeared on the screen.
"The Russian hacker group codenamed 'Prometheus'..."
"The North American free hacker alliance codenamed 'Children of the Matrix'..."
"And...the Chinese ones, codenamed 'Red Hacker'..."
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