Chapter 96 Gwen’s Decision—The Chinese Expeditionary Force Arrives!

Gwen Stacy removed her father’s military identification tags.

The veteran JTF soldier beside her did not know why Gwen had appeared on this battlefield, but he did his best to offer a few words of comfort.

After performing a brief prayer, the military chaplain helped the JTF soldiers recover the bodies scattered across the battlefield.

Gwen had worked so hard to find her father, only to discover that he had already fallen in battle.

She did not know why George Stacy had become a Division agent.

That no longer mattered.

Here in Cold Spring, every member of a Division team codenamed Cougar had found their final resting place.

By the time this terrible winter ended, no one knew how many more agents would sleep forever beneath the snow.

Gwen remembered her father’s final words.

Don’t let it all be in vain.

But what did he not want her to betray?

The peace and victory that he and his comrades had sacrificed everything to obtain?

Clutching his identification tags and bloodstained Division watch, Gwen finally found a direction for her future.

She should use her abilities to accomplish something meaningful.

Perhaps she could choose the same path as George Stacy.

A V-44X Blackfish transport flew overhead.

Watching it pass, Gwen thought of Elivise.

What was she doing now?

Gwen remembered hearing Commander Ethan tell Elivise that she would be the key to deciding the outcome of this war.

Following the Foundation’s orbital deployment, the courageous Death Korps and Mobile Task Forces fought continuously for an entire day and night.

They pushed the front line back by at least twenty kilometers and saved the endangered Jefferson Line.

Congress subsequently convened an emergency session and passed the Expeditionary Force Resolution.

Under United Nations authorization, more than a hundred countries dispatched troops to form a combined expeditionary force numbering five hundred thousand soldiers.

These international forces would fight alongside the American military to eliminate the biochemical abominations threatening humanity.

The United States also recalled military reinforcements from overseas.

Two carrier battle groups and three air wings previously deployed abroad returned to the East Coast.

At 11:30 a.m. on December 30, a formation of thirty Y-20 transport aircraft arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

At 1:49 p.m., a Chinese fleet appeared off the American coast.

Its flagship was the hull-number 005 Jingzhou-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

It was accompanied by four Type 055A ten-thousand-ton destroyers, several frigates, supply ships, and other vessels.

The fleet contained twenty ships in total.

A fifty-thousand-strong Chinese expeditionary force had arrived in this unfamiliar country on the opposite side of the Pacific.

A black-haired female officer descended from one of the Y-20s.

Major Lena Hayes wore a Chinese Army uniform and combat helmet. Even without makeup, her intelligent and elegant appearance immediately attracted attention.

New York’s freezing wind struck her face.

She tightened her collar and rubbed her cheeks vigorously.

Standing on the soil of an unfamiliar foreign country gave her an indescribably strange feeling.

“Major Lena Hayes, get in.”

“General Li and the others are about to meet the American command staff.”

Lena Hayes entered a waiting vehicle.

“I heard the American commander is a Chinese immigrant.”

“His name is Ethan, right?”

“That’s correct. Pay attention when you interpret for them.”

The intelligence officer beside her smiled.

“Then again, General Leon Hayes comes from an impressive military family.”

“If his grandfather, Major General Richard Hayes, had possessed our current equipment, he probably would’ve dared to fight his way straight to Kyoto.”

Joking with the intelligence officer, Lena Hayes climbed into the back seat of a Dongfeng Mengshi.

As the vehicle traveled along the road, she frequently saw New Yorkers gathering around fires on both sides of the street.

It was obvious that they had suffered tremendously during the past several days.

“This looks like something from a movie.”

“What a disaster-prone place.”

“America has suffered a devastating blow this time.”

“I never imagined I would come here under circumstances like these.”

The American civilians lining the streets watched the expeditionary force pass with complicated expressions.

A massive armored formation moved before them.

Brand-new VT30 main battle tanks, VN30 infantry fighting vehicles, VN20 armored personnel carriers, PH30 self-propelled howitzers, WD400 long-range rocket artillery, command vehicles, and radar platforms formed an immense steel torrent.

Singing drifted from nearby.

“Apple and pear trees blossomed across the land… Katyusha stood upon the steep riverbank…”

Lena Hayes saw the Russian expeditionary force converging with the Chinese column.

The sight gave her another strange sensation.

Chinese and Russian expeditionary forces were marching together through a city on American soil.

The Dongfeng Mengshi stopped outside the multinational command center.

Lena Hayes opened the door and stepped out.

A Russian Tigr armored vehicle that had accompanied them also stopped nearby.

A blonde female major wearing a Russian uniform emerged.

The two women exchanged a look, both sensing the strange intersection of fate.

“Karina, electronic intelligence-warfare specialist with the Russian Army.”

“Lena Hayes, electronic intelligence-warfare specialist with the Chinese Army.”

The two beautiful officers shook hands and smiled.

As they entered the command center, they heard loud laughter from inside.

“Hahaha! Mikhail, my old friend! We meet again!”

“Wasn’t the last time during the Peace Mission exercise?”

“Oh, damn you, Comrade Li!”

Major General Mikhail rubbed his nose.

The last thing he wanted to remember was his army’s poor performance during that exercise.

Thirty thousand soldiers had been defeated almost immediately by the opposing combined-arms brigade.

Leon Hayes had deliberately brought up the most embarrassing subject possible.

“The next time I get the opportunity, I’ll give you a proper beating!”

“Hahaha! I’m only joking.”

“I didn’t expect you to command the Russian expeditionary force this time.”

“When this battle is over, I’ll make sure we share a few drinks.”

“That sounds excellent.”

Mikhail’s eyes lit up.

“I brought several bottles from my private collection—Russian vodka.”

“We’ll drink it with salo, smoked salmon, grilled sausages, and pickles.”

He inhaled deeply as though he could already smell the feast.

“Fine! Who’s afraid of whom?”

Leon Hayes grinned.

“I brought plenty of Maotai. We’ll fry some small fish and prepare peanuts to go with it.”

Leon Hayes was still bragging with Mikhail when he noticed Lena Hayes entering.

“Ah, Lena is here.”

“Gavin, let her handle the interpreting later.”

He turned toward Mikhail.

“Let me introduce her.”

“This is Lena Hayes, my niece.”

“She’s the Chinese Army’s finest electronic-warfare and weapons specialist—and a talented linguist fluent in eight languages.”

Hearing Leon Hayes boast, Mikhail snorted and refused to be outdone.

“Karina, you’ll handle our interpreting.”

“Karina is also Russia’s finest intelligence-warfare and weapons specialist.”

“She is equally fluent in eight languages.”

Karina and Lena Hayes exchanged helpless looks as their highest-ranking commanders compared them like competitive children.

A poised and elegant woman wearing an American military uniform approached.

“Welcome to the Chinese and Russian expeditionary forces.”

“I am Major General Elena Sheffield, commander of North American Special Operations Command.”

“The commander of the Joint Operations Command, Lieutenant General Ethan, is already waiting for you.”

Mikhail and Leon Hayes instantly abandoned their joking expressions and resumed their formal military demeanors.

They followed Elena into the joint command center.

The enormous facility was filled with senior JTF officers and American military personnel, all working around a single central figure.

“Commander Ethan, Major General Mikhail of the Russian expeditionary force and Major General Leon Hayes of the Chinese expeditionary force have arrived.”

When Mikhail and Leon Hayes saw the supreme commander, both froze.

Every publicly released image of Ethan had undergone technical alterations.

Many people knew his name, but few knew his actual age.

Seeing such a young commander shocked them and inevitably created some doubt.

Could someone this young truly command the multinational operation?

For Ethan, this was also his first time meeting people from his homeland in this world.

Seeing Leon Hayes and the personnel following him filled Ethan with an unexpected sense of familiarity.

He set aside his work and approached them.

When he spoke, he used fluent Chinese and Russian.

“On behalf of the United States, I sincerely thank China and Russia for providing military assistance.”

“Thank you for setting aside old grievances and choosing to fight beside us at this critical moment.”

Ethan saluted both generals.

“As a human being, I am honored to witness the nations of the world fighting together for peace and uniting to eliminate the disasters caused by anomalies.”

“You have my highest respect, Generals.”

“You have shown me the sincerity of China and Russia.”

“The Foundation hopes to deepen its cooperation with every country in the future.”

“Together, we will contain anomalous disasters and ensure that the tragedy unfolding here is never repeated on the territory of another nation.”

His words moved everyone present.

Mikhail and Leon Hayes could sense Ethan’s sincerity.

He was completely different from the traditional American officers they had encountered.

He was a genuine idealist fighting for humanity.

Perhaps only a coalition commander like him could convince every nation to set aside its concerns.

“You have our full cooperation, Commander Ethan,” Mikhail declared.

“The Chinese expeditionary force will also cooperate fully,” Leon Hayes said.

He smiled.

“I didn’t expect your Chinese to remain so fluent.”

“If you have the opportunity, the people back home would also like you to visit.”

“If the opportunity arises, I would like to see it again.”

Ethan smiled.

However, he knew that his true homeland—the China belonging to his original universe—might be somewhere he could never return to.

Karina and Lena Hayes, meanwhile, felt somewhat frustrated.

Why wasn’t this commander following the expected script?

It was understandable for a Chinese immigrant to remain fluent in his native language.

But why was his Russian equally perfect?

If he could communicate fluently with everyone, what were the interpreters supposed to do?