Chapter 211: Come Forth, Nuclear Blast!
Consolidating Command
Among the seven agents, Emily was a given. Nelson was the head of the Greenwood Plan and an insider who clearly understood the significance of this mission to Jack Harvey; as long as Luke could uncover the truth, Nelson would do anything he asked.
The low-ranking survival expert, Bill, was good-natured and lacked a strong opinion.
Roy was a metahuman belonging to the Department of Extranormal Operations, which Emily had successfully unified. He certainly wouldn't oppose Emily's decisions.
August wasn't an FBI member; he was a wizard who had joined the operation after signing an agreement with Jack Harvey for specific reasons. After learning that Zatanna was also a sorceress, his impression of Luke improved considerably.
Only the assassin Vima and Becky Beckman were the most difficult to handle.
Both were elites carefully trained by the FBI—one specializing in assassination, the other in direct combat. They were expected to rise to high-ranking positions in the future. These types shared a common trait: a sense of self-importance.
A team can only have one voice! Luke wasn't about to have them sabotage the operation later on.
As five people nodded in agreement, everyone's attention subtly focused on the remaining two. Vima drew the black-bladed dagger hidden on her inner thigh and looked coldly at Adam.
"Fight me. If you win, I'll obey your master."
Luke smiled, turning to Adam.
"Go easy on her. Don't kill her."
Adam nodded, turning and leaving the room. Vima sheathed her dagger and followed him out.
With Vima gone, only Becky Beckman remained. As the target of Luke's authority, he couldn't be without resentment; the question was how he would choose to proceed. Nelson kept giving him meaningful glances, and Bill subtly shook his head.
By now, everyone understood Luke's intent. He seemed to have known the town's secret all along, which explained why he had deployed so many "hummingbird" drones to monitor everything.
It was his decision that enabled them to discover the Cobra King and the general location of the cult's headquarters.
In essence, the entire operation was under Luke's control. Nelson realized this, which is why he surrendered command without reservation.
After a long silence, Becky looked up.
"I need a heavy machine gun, a grenade launcher, thirty fragmentation grenades, and four hundred spiral armor-piercing rounds."
Nelson let out a long breath of relief, patting Becky hard on the shoulder. He then turned to Luke.
"What's the next step?"
Luke smiled. "We have to commit to the performance to fool people. Starting tomorrow, everyone eats, drinks, and parties. However you want to relax, go for it. If anyone needs some extra fun, let me know, and I'll fly in some swimsuit models. I guarantee you'll have a blast." His arm suddenly constricted in a painful grip, and he quickly amended, "Scratch that last part."
Nelson understood Luke's intention and continued,
"So, when are we going into the forest?"
"No rush. Let's wait and see."
The Nuclear Explosion
Over the next few days, the town became unusually lively. There were open-air parties every day. Luke spent a fortune hiring a construction crew to renovate the tavern inside and out. He also brought in a group of nightclub girls from the nearest city, who, dressed in revealing camouflage, joined the FBI agents on hunting trips in the forest. What happened during these trips was left unsaid.
Every night, the Cobra King appeared in the old man's room, got what it wanted, and returned to the forest. Luke had Zatanna secretly check the physical condition of the old man and the dog. After learning they were under some kind of curse, he ignored them, spending his days hunting and partying with the group, seemingly forgetting entirely about catching the cultists.
After three days of this, things changed. That night, the snake king didn't appear. It seemed to have grown weary of the daily back-and-forth trip between the town and the waterfall.
Nelson said gravely, "Is it time to act?"
Luke still shook his head.
"Wait a little longer."
At noon on October 17th, an earth-shattering nuclear explosion rocked the Gobi Desert in Arizona.
A colossal mushroom cloud pierced the sky. The shockwave covered dozens of square miles. Eyewitnesses claimed that after the blast, an alien spacecraft appeared in the sky, and dozens of green lights descended from it, rushing toward the epicenter of the explosion.
The military offered no explanation for the blast, stating only that the incident was under investigation.
Meanwhile, on the edge of the desert, Amanda Waller and her A.R.G.U.S. elites stood ready, staring down the aliens that had appeared before them.
The fourteen aliens looked diverse, seemingly from different races, but shared common features: green battle armor and a lantern symbol on their chests—identical to the armor worn by the red-skinned alien.
P'all, an amphibian Green Lantern, spoke with sorrow in his voice.
"Why did you do this? Sinestro only wanted to protect you. He didn't want to harm anyone."
The fact that the alien spoke English stunned the humans. Amanda pushed aside the soldier in front of her and stepped forward.
"Earth's problems are to be solved by Earthlings. We don't need alien interference. As for your comrade, he committed major crimes by slaughtering our soldiers and kidnapping our Vice President."
Her words struck a nerve for the Green Lantern Corps, leaving them speechless. Most chosen by the Green Lantern Ring are good, fearless, and strong-willed heroes, and heroes have little patience for politicians.
Amanda Waller was a consummate politician—contemptible and ruthless, yet skilled at reading people. In front of her, the morally upstanding Green Lanterns were like naive newcomers, their intentions seen through instantly.
"Earth is the cradle of human civilization. This is our soil. Entering without permission is an act of invasion. If you want war, then bring it. We will not compromise."
Amanda's voice rose, sounding like a patriotic, death-defying warrior. Her performance made P'all unsure how to respond. After a moment of silence, he launched himself into the air, transforming into a green streak of light and vanishing into the sky.
Seeing this, the other Green Lanterns left without a word.
Sinestro's fate left his comrades indignant, but Amanda's words and the Corps' own laws left them no choice.
After all the Green Lanterns left, Amanda's legs buckled. She nearly fell to the ground. A nearby deputy rushed to help her, but she shoved him away with her elbow, gritting her teeth and forcing herself to stand.
That was too close. One alien was difficult enough. If all of them had attacked simultaneously, the resulting catastrophe would be unimaginable.
Just then, her phone rang. It was Jason Lowe, the President's aide.
Amanda took a moment to steady her breath and answered the call.
"The matter has been resolved."
"..."
"The alien was hit by a nuclear bomb. There's no way he could have survived."
"..."
"I understand the President's concerns, but to be absolutely sure, it's best to delay for an hour. I'll have people investigate and report back with a definitive result."
The call ended. A few minutes later, President Joel Nash held a press conference at the White House. He announced, in front of all the media reporters, that the alien had been killed, and he would do everything in his power to protect national security from alien invasion.
His impassioned speech electrified the entire United States.
Joel Nash's popularity soared, and he instantly became a hero in everyone's eyes—the Super President who stood up to aliens.
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