Chapter 170 - 169: The Deluge from the Sky
Chinese Army Headquarters, Beijing. Strategic Command Center – Operations Room. 3:47 AM.
The operations room was usually calm at this hour of the night, but for several days, activity had been feverish, constant, charged with palpable tension. High-ranking officers and technicians constantly took turns in front of the giant screens illuminated with multiple data streams, their faces marked by stress accumulated since the announcement of the draconic invasion in Europe.
General Wei Shun, a man with a grave face, short-cropped gray hair and a sharp gaze, stood in the center of the room, silently examining the information flowing continuously on the screens. Beside him, Commander Zhao Ling, calm and rigorous, nervously consulted the latest reports from their aerial scouts.
Suddenly, the room’s door burst open with a crash. A young officer, Lieutenant Chen, rushed in precipitately, short of breath and eyes wide with urgency. He crossed the room in seconds, ignoring the worried looks turned toward him.
- "General Wei!" he shouted, abruptly interrupting the tactical conversations. "General, long-range radars have just detected an immense fleet of flying objects approaching at high speed from the west!"
The entire room froze in stunned silence. General Wei slowly turned toward the lieutenant, his features hardened by cold apprehension.
- "What is their exact position, Lieutenant Chen?"
The young officer took a deep breath, quickly regaining his composure.
- "They’ve just crossed our airspace, General. Their speed is... incredible, they’ll be over Beijing in less than two hours."
Wei exchanged a tension-filled look with Zhao Ling. Without losing a second, he immediately gave his orders, his voice resonating like a sharp blade in the now bustling room:
- "Immediately activate maximum alert systems. Warn all anti-aircraft divisions! Have every unit immediately in combat position!"
He turned to his aide-de-camp.