The USS Obama sank.
The spherical submersible that followed the undulating waves observed its last moment before the USN fleet was swallowed by the hurricane with its wide-angle camera dozens of kilometers away.
Unlike the previous two unlucky destroyers, as the flagship, the USS Obama persisted until the end. At least that was the case until a cargo ship was swept up by the hurricane, then smashed onto its deck before its luck finally ran out and sunk to the bottom of the sea.
Inside Parrot cabin, Zhuo Guoping held onto the cup of hot water handed to him by the captain as he stared blankly at the scene from the camera.
It took him a while to recover from his astonishment.
âThis is...â
âYour Generalâs new toy. It seems to be called a weather weapon,â Captain Wang walked to Zhou Guopingâs side with a glass of boiling water, then looked at the chaotic sea surface. He said, âAnnihilating an entire fleet is too awesome.â
âWhatever, we are the ones that tracked the coordinates of this fleet.â The pilot in the control room pursed his lips while he commented disapprovingly. âIf they got their fighters to direct the weather strike, they might not even touch the fleet.â
âItâs okay, letâs not be bitter,â the Captain of Parrot patted the pilotâs back, chuckled, then looked to Zhuo Guoping, âYour General came to North America for you. If I were you, I would think of what Iâd say to him when I see him.â
âCan you let me disembark in Wanghai?â Zhou Guoping smiled wryly.
âOf course not,â the captain said as he shook his head, âIf we dropped you off at Wanghai, who would pay us?â
âPay?â Zhou Guoping was taken aback.
âHaha, thatâs right, 100,000 credits!â The captain patted his shoulder with the same bright smile, âDonât look so sad! If I were you, I would be so happy. After all, if I was caught by pirates, my boss would definitely not spend so much money to get me back!â
...
When the weather strike began, the war was over.
After the fourteen F-79s bypassed the air defense positions on the West Coast, they arrived too late over Nevada. They circled the entrance of the West Coast Meteorological Monitoring Center for a long time but could not do anything against the barren hills and empty base; they had to return to Panama.
After the USS Obama had sunk, the USNâs dream of reviving the United States had completely evaporated over the ocean.
After the weather strike was terminated, Lilith, in accordance with Jiang Chenâs instructions, easily modified the weather guidance program of the weather weapon. She changed the heavy snow that should have fallen in the eastern part of Pan-Asia to the Mediterranean Sea on the other end of Eurasia.
From the beginning of this year, European survivors would definitely enjoy a unique Christmas.
In the colonyâs conference room, Jiang Chen ended the meeting with the Minuteman and the National Guard representative. The three parties discussed matters related to the maintenance of the weather weapon in the future and finally decided that the three parties would jointly station troops at the West Coast Meteorological Monitoring Center.
Of course, because NAC accounted for the bulk of the energy expenditure in climate guidance projects, it had stationed the greatest number of soldiers at the center. In addition, the task of maintaining the weather weapon also fell onto NAC.
For other survivor forces, the expenditure of a large quantum computer was definitely a burden they wished to avoid, but for NAC, it was the complete opposite. This meant that Jiang Chen could send a scientific research team to research the weather weapon.
Jiang Chen was still very interested in this dark technology that could kill with the power of nature.
If he could, he would like to build one in the modern world too.
After Jiang Chen returned to the Governorâs Office, he saw Zhou Guoping who had been personally accompanied by the Captain of the Parrot.
As soon as their eyes crossed, Zhou Guoping looked at the mischievously smiling Jiang Chen, then he smiled with wryness, lowered his head, and said.
âSorry, I messed up.â
âYou really messed up a lot of things,â Jiang Chen laughed, paused for a moment, and then continued, âBut in the end, it was the chip in your head that sank the USN fleet. Iâll give the credit to you.â
âThanks General...â Zhou Guoping said gratefully.
âDonât thank me,â Jiang Chen waved his hand. âIâve seen the financial report you left when you governed the colony. Generally speaking, although you didnât make a big contribution during this period, you did a lot of hard work. I canât blame you for this one. If you are blamed for this, it doesnât seem right.â
Zhou Guoping had only a hundred people in his hands at the time, and the fact that they could not win against USN was really not because of his incompetence. In that situation, it was unlikely anyone else could do better than him. To say that the only thing he did not do well was that he did not report the nuclear weapons immediately after they were discovered. However, that was human nature. Since the information had great uncertainty, he had to verify first before he could report it up. After all, the position of the governor possessed high decision-making power, which was different than a soldier that had to report all incidents.
The governor of a colony was a drudgery not many people took up. If he was punished too harshly for this incident, the negative impact would definitely outweigh the positive impact. After some consideration, Jiang Chen decided to be on the more lenient side.
âAlthough rationally, youâre not really at fault and even gained a bit of merit in the end, it canât be justified if I donât punish you for getting into such a mess. So, I will fine you half a yearâs salary, and youâll be put on probation for a year. Are you satisfied with this result?â
After Zhou Guoping heard his punishment, the big rock that was pressed onto his chest finally disappeared. He looked gratefully at Jiang Chen and was about to express his thankfulness. However, Jiang Chen raised his hand and stopped him.
âDonât thank me. Iâm punishing you, why are you thanking me? You think I punished you too lightly?â
After being glared at by the General, Zhou Guoping scratched his head with an awkward smile and quickly responded.
âYouâre right General.â
âYou are under probation now, so behave well.â Jiang Chen laughed at the Zhou Guoping with his typical attempt-to-flatter expression, then said, âIf you do well, just continue to sit in this position. If you donât get results, then go back to Wanghai for retirement.â
As Jiang Chen spoke, he got up and patted the back of the chair.
âOkay, I wonât stay here any longer. This chair belongs to you, so naturally, you should sit on it.â
âNot at all!â Zhou Guoping chuckled and habitually attempted to flatter Jiang Chen again, âAfter all, you lent me this chair, you can sit as long as you want. Iâll just stand!â
âThatâs enough, donât try to butter me up all day long,â Jiang Chen jokingly scolded Zhou Guoping, âI donât want to see flattery, I want to see your achievements. I still have something to do, so I wonât keep chatting with you.â
He had to admit that this guy was really good at flattering.
At least it made him feel good, and he didnât feel repulsed by it.
Jiang Chen patted this guy on the shoulder and left the office under Zhou Guopingâs surprised and touched gaze. He then headed to the command post.