The upsurge in the Western Pacific received far more attention than the countries involved.

Celestial City, Earth Defense Alliance Headquarters.

With a coffee, Wu Changfeng stood at the floor-to-ceiling window as he emotionlessly watched the blue planet outside the window.

“What decision do you think he will make?”

Next to Wu Changfeng, Lu Hao smiled.

“For someone who can make up his mind to fight against an extraterrestrial civilization, what decision do you think he will make?”

Wu Changfeng also smiled, but he didn’t continue on the topic.

He gazed at the planet outside the window for what felt like an eternity, then his smile faded as he quietly and thoughtfully said, “If a war really starts, what can we see here?”

Lu Hao’s smile suddenly disappeared.

After a while, he forced a smile and squeezed out a sentence: “I hope… we can’t see it.”

What kind of war can be seen even around the synchronous orbit?

Other than nuclear war, he couldn’t think of any other possibilities.

“I hope so.” Wu Changfeng sighed, his eyes focused outside the window.

Suddenly, in the direction of the space elevator main axis, at Celestial City port, he saw an unusual shadow.

A Seagull-class transport ship had slowly left the port. Its engine left an eerie blue trail and it moved toward the low-Earth orbit…

In the western Pacific Ocean, turbulent waves rolled under the pristine sky, as if thousands of tons of lime were mixed in. The representatives of the countries in the audience all shared the same tense expression. Although they hoped for Celestial Trade to compromise and admit defeat, they were all uncertain.

The leader of Celestial Trade isn’t the most rational…

If he gets hot-headed and starts a war…

On the flagship of the joint fleet, Hogg stood like a sculpture with his hands behind his back, his eagle-like gaze locked onto the sea in the southwest silently. The command room staff were busy working in their posts, only occasionally exchanging communications.

“Report! Celestial Trade’s Naval Fleet was discovered one hundred and fifty kilometers away!” The officer in front of the radar reported.

With a frown, Hogg’s expression showed a hint of malice.

It seems that Celestial Trade isn’t going to give in.

“How big is the fleet?” Hogg coldly asked.

“The entire fleet is composed of six frigates; the number of submarines is unknown.”

When he heard the report, Hogg stopped, and there was doubt in his expression.

“Six frigates?”

Relying on six frigates to stop us is just underestimating the power of our fleet!

“Signal to them and warn them to immediately change course; otherwise, any escalation will result in consequences they can’t bear,” Hogg said expressionlessly.

At this moment, on the ship bridge, the correspondent received the message from the opposing fleet and immediately reported it to Lei Zheng.

Lei Zheng nodded after he heard the message, and his expression was unmoved.

“Lei… Major General Lei?” The deputy looked at Lei Zheng and asked nervously.

His eyes still looked straight ahead, and Lei Zheng ordered, “Respond to them that Celestial Trade Pacific Fleet will conduct a routine military exercise in the 970-square-kilometer military restricted zone. The drill is a live ammunition exercise, and if someone accidentally enters our range, they will have to bear the consequences at their own risk!”

Six frigates were lined up on the high sea, and the guns all aimed at a spot 100 kilometers away, the area designated as the military restricted zone. Under the flagship order, six rounds of electromagnetic pulse cannons launched simultaneously, leaving six orange-yellow trails in the air.

One hundred kilometers away, the seawater was sent hundreds of meters into the air, creating a temporary rain shower within the area.

In the Capital’s the combat command room, the senior officials of the Ministry of Defense were busy communicating.

Accompanied by a military adviser, Hill stared at the satellite image on the big screen.

“Celestial Trade Navy Fleet fired at target waters and announced it would be conducting regular military exercises in the military restricted zone!”

The term “routine military exercise” made Hill pause for a second. The shamelessness of Celestial Trade almost made her swear, but the military adviser next to her swore first.

“Routine military exercise? These third-world b*stards! How is this a routine military exercise?! This is clearly a provocation!”

Hill didn’t speak, but having served the role of secretary of state, she understood very clearly that Celestial Trade used a loophole.

By international conventions, military exercises in public waters required notification to neighboring countries in advance and required invitation of observers from other countries. However, routine military exercises in territorial waters didn’t require notification.

As for it being a routine exercise?

Who knows if they really planned this?

The sudden shelling surprised the joint fleet and scared the observers. No one thought their reaction would be so direct and so intense.

While the joint fleet was surprised, it immediately responded to the shelling. The aircraft carrier slowed down, but the fleet didn’t change course. The two destroyers were at full throttle and accelerated toward the military restricted zone declared by Celestial Trade.

The submarine began to sink, and more than forty ships dispersed and entered battle formation. F-35Cs took off from the deck, and in just a few minutes, the aircraft carrier sent more than a dozen squadrons into the air, all headed for the Celestial Fleet.

Celestial Trade also released its force. More than 30 Aurora-20s took-off and formed into ten squadrons in the air. They showed no fear of the approaching fleet.

The trigger for war was in a fine balance!

With eyes staring at the big screen, the hearts of Hill and every senior official all pounded furiously.

The situation seemed to have gone out of their control from the beginning.

In just a few minutes, it had deteriorated to the brink of war.

It was just a military exercise!

Before this, the Capitol and the Department of Defense certainly considered the possibility of war, but no one ever thought this possibility would become reality. They just planned to use the military exercise to pressure Xin, display their power to their allies, disintegrate the Earth Defense Alliance, take back the control of extraterrestrial civilization defense, and finally lift the space blockade of Xin…

As for the war…

Who was willing to fight with an equally-matched opponent?!

Sweat oozed from Hill’s forehead.

Taking one step ahead was hell!

Now Jiang Chen threw the choice back into their hands again.

What should I do?

Just as Hill felt uncertain, the situation took another drastic turn.

More than a dozen satellite images disappeared.

“What happened?”

“Server 091 was attacked…”

“Check the firewall right away!”

The staff member who was furiously typing in front of the computer suddenly screamed.

“Damnit, it’s not an attack! There’s no problem with the firewall! The server aren’t infiltrated! It’s our satellite that’s experiencing failure!”

At that moment, Jiang Chen’s face replaced the previous image and appeared in the center of the screens.

“Change course immediately!”

“That’s impossible!” Hill fixed her gaze on Jiang Chen, she didn’t back down and righteously said, “The UA is exercising proper freedom of navigation. In addition, I’m warning you to immediately stop interfering with our satellites. Otherwise, the UA will regard it as a provocation.”

Jiang Chen sneered.

“Freedom of navigation? You want to come and go as you wish? Without my permission, your navy won’t cross Xin’s territory. I will only say this once—if you cross this red line, dozens of Peacemakers will arrive on your mainland!”

After that, Jiang Chen gestured to the officer next to him on the screen. A suitcase was immediately taken out by the officer and opened in front of him.

The moment Hill saw the suitcase, her expression immediately changed.

Almost at the same time, her aid also reacted, he stepped forward and placed the black suitcase in front of her.

Hill reached out her hand subconsciously, and her trembling fingers touched the edge of the lock.

From the day she started campaigning more than three years ago, she imagined that one day she would be able to grasp the nuclear button which represented the top authority of the president. However, until a minute ago, she never thought about the day she would actually use this button.

In contrast to her hesitation, Jiang Chen had already entered the password with ease on the screen, opened the suitcase cover, and gently put his finger on the launch button.

He looked into the camera slyly as he coldly said, “So, Madam President. Are you ready?”

A chill slowly covered her from head-to-toe.

From his dark pupils, she saw the fierceness of a wolf.

Even if she served as the secretary of state for several years, she had never seen such a look. Even the most insane dictator had never been so crazy…