After being hit by the first wave of meteors, the White House had suffered damage in many places and was no longer safe.
As a result, many tents were set up on the open ground outside the White House. President Rick Archibald was in one of them, issuing orders and doing everything he could to turn the situation around.
Just then, the Secretary of Defense walked over with a grim expression and handed Archibald a tablet.
"Mr. President, you need to see this."
"These are some recordings from the Federation's meteor shower."
"Besides concentrating on our major cities, some of the meteors also fell elsewhere."
"There just weren't as many of them, and their trajectories weren't as concentrated."
As the Secretary of Defense explained, Archibald swiped through one video after another.
Suddenly, he stopped at one of them.
The video showed what appeared to be a base under construction.
It had also come under meteor attack.
However, the meteors falling from the sky were intercepted above the base by a shield that looked like something straight out of a science fiction movie.
The shield was made up of layers of diamond-shaped ripples that continuously spread outward without beginning or end.
Every meteor that struck the shield shattered itself into pieces.
As a result, the buildings beneath it suffered no damage whatsoever.
Compared to the rest of the Federation...
Compared to the current state of New York...
The sight was hard for the president to accept.
"Is this some new technology?"
"Which company developed it? Why wasn't this technology shared with the Federation?"
"If it had been, we wouldn't be in such a miserable state!"
Archibald said angrily.
The losses tonight were simply too great.
Property damage was secondary.
The greatest loss was the people.
According to incomplete statistics, although the Federation had evacuated as many city residents as possible, more than a hundred thousand people across the country were already dead or missing.
And the number was still climbing.
The Secretary of Defense cleared his throat.
"Sir, look more closely."
He zoomed in on the video.
Archibald then saw a man standing with his hands behind his back on the rooftop of one of the buildings.
A crimson cape fluttered gently behind him.
The blond, blue-eyed man wore a faint smile.
He looked completely at ease, as though he were watching a fireworks display rather than a deadly meteor shower.
Archibald sucked in a breath.
"Homelander?"
"He never left the country?"
"Where is he now?"
———
Inside the base Angelina had named Eden, Homelander had already dismissed his Absolute Domain.
After leveling up, the ability's range had expanded considerably. Covering a single base was trivial, even covering all of New York would have been no problem.
After putting away Absolute Domain, Homelander looked toward New York.
"Hmm! It's about time to welcome our guests."
He rose into the air, left the rooftop, and floated down to the ground.
He walked into a newly built indoor sports hall that hadn't been fully furnished yet.
According to the plans, it would eventually be open to employees at the base as a recreational facility.
At the moment, only one corner had been completed.
It was an indoor golf area.
Employees could play golf there.
Of course, since it was indoors, there wasn't much room.
At best, people could swing a club a few times and satisfy the itch.
Homelander picked up a golf club and gave it a light swing, sending a golf ball rolling into one of the holes.
About half an hour later, he heard the sound of helicopter rotors outside.
Several armed helicopters landed on the open ground outside the sports hall.
With several bodyguards shielding his head, Archibald was escorted out of one of the helicopters.
He then entered the sports hall.
As soon as he walked in, he saw Homelander taking another swing.
He cleared his throat.
Only then did Homelander smile, though he didn't turn around.
"What a rare occasion, Mr. President."
"I wouldn't have thought you still had time to come here."
"Let me think... how long until Destroyer reaches Earth?"
"About forty-eight hours left, I suppose."
Archibald waved away his bodyguards and the other officials before striding over to Homelander.
"Precisely because Destroyer will arrive in forty-eight hours, I had to come."
"Homelander, the Federation needs you."
"You should be able to destroy that meteor, shouldn't you?"
Homelander waved a hand, "Don't joke around, Mr. President."
"That's a meteor the size of an entire state. What do you expect me to do?"
"Want to take a swing?"
He held out the golf club to Archibald.
The president didn't take it.
Instead, he said seriously, "Homelander, I know that failing to announce your appointment as a general sooner was my mistake."
"But please believe me. The position of general is of enormous importance."
"It concerns not only the Federation, but also our international standing."
"That's why the Federation has to complete a great deal of preparation before making such an announcement."
"I promise you. Once Destroyer has been destroyed, I'll immediately announce to both the public and the international community that you've become a general of the Federation."
Homelander acted as though he hadn't heard a word.
He walked over to a vending machine, "What would you like? My treat."
"Homelander!"
Archibald's patience finally snapped.
"I am ordering you, as President of the Federation, to leave immediately and destroy Destroyer!"
Homelander ignored him.
He bought a bottle of the beverage he personally endorsed from the vending machine.
With his back still facing Archibald and the other federal officials, he took several long gulps.
Only then did he turn around.
His eyes lit up.
The temperature throughout the sports hall rapidly rose.
"An order?"
"How arrogant."
"President of the Federation?"
"In my eyes, how are you any different from an ordinary person?"
"The only reason you're all still breathing fresh air is because I don't hate this world yet."
"I like lively places."
"I like good food and entertainment."
"Otherwise, with that attitude of yours, I wouldn't even need to wait for Destroyer to arrive."
"I could send all of you to meet God right now."
Click! Click!
The bodyguards and soldiers all raised their pistols and assault rifles.
"Oh, my mistake."
"I shouldn't have said something so arrogant."
"Please don't shoot."
Homelander raised both hands.
Then he shrugged.
Without warning, two beams shot from his eyes.
The beams swept sideways.
Beginning with the Secretary of Defense's side, heads exploded one after another.
The bodyguards fell.
The soldiers fell.
Bang!
The last soldier's head exploded, and one of his eyeballs landed on the Secretary of Defense's shoulder.
The deadly beam stopped only a few centimeters from the minister.
It flickered twice.
Then disappeared.
The Secretary of Defense's legs gave way, and he almost collapsed.
At his feet, blood gathered into a narrow stream and spread across the floor.
Archibald turned around and looked at the bodies scattered everywhere, his chest rising and falling.
"Why did you do that?"
"You know they couldn't threaten you."
Homelander glanced at him and sneered.
"A cockroach can't threaten you either. So why do you instinctively want to step on one when you see it?"
He took another drink, walked over to the lounge area, and sat down on a sofa.
"It's not impossible for me to help."
"But that depends on your attitude."
"And what you're willing to offer."
"The title of general isn't nearly enough."
Archibald's body trembled slightly, and his voice turned hoarse.
"Homelander, once Destroyer arrives, everything you enjoy will disappear."
"Even if it's not for the Federation."
"Even if it's not for anyone else."
"Won't you at least do it for yourself?"
Homelander shrugged, "I don't think a flood or an earthquake could kill me."
"Sure, once Destroyer arrives, I probably won't have good food or entertainment anymore."
"But watching the survivors struggle through the apocalypse sounds pretty entertaining too."
"So yes."
"I don't mind if Destroyer arrives."
Archibald suddenly felt utterly drained.
He sighed.
In an instant, he seemed several years older.
Walking over, he said, "Tell me your conditions."
Homelander smiled.
"First, I want the Federation to hand New Jersey over to me."
"I want autonomous control of the state, along with its annual tax revenue—"
Before he could finish, Archibald jumped to his feet.
"Impossible!"
"Absolutely impossible!"
New Jersey had a population of more than eight million people, with an average household income of around ninety thousand dollars a year.
Known as the Garden State, its major industries included pharmaceuticals, tourism, and agriculture.
Now Homelander wanted the entire state.
Its administration.
Its tax revenue.
And if nothing unexpected happened, the Federation would probably still be expected to cover its expenditures.
In other words, the Federation would be giving away a rich piece of territory for free.
There was no way Archibald could accept that.
Homelander shrugged, "If we can't even agree on the first condition, then there's nothing left to discuss."
"You can all get out now."
"I'll give you ten seconds."
"10...9..."
The president's expression changed.
He wanted to say something, but when he met Homelander's cold eyes, he quickly got up and led the remaining people out of the sports hall.
After the sound of the helicopters gradually faded away, Homelander stood up and picked up his phone.
"Angelina, send someone over to clean up."
———
Inside the helicopter, the Secretary of Defense spoke through his headset.
"Mr. President, what do we do now?"
Archibald sighed, "We'll have to save ourselves."
"How's NASA doing? Any progress with the international conference?"
The Secretary of Defense checked his phone.
"They still haven't come up with a workable solution."
"Then we won't wait."
Archibald said heavily, "Activate the backup plan."
"We're running out of time."
The Secretary of Defense nodded.
"Then let's head straight to NASA."
"That plan requires ground support from them."
"Fine."
The helicopters immediately changed course in midair.
Not long afterward.
Archibald arrived at NASA.
As he entered an office, Director Stephen Burton personally came to greet him.
"Good evening, Mr. President."
"We can skip the pleasantries."
"Can we begin the backup plan?"
Archibald sat down and got straight to the point.
Stephen looked troubled, "The time frame is too tight. Although we've been preparing all day, we still need a little more time, Mr. President."
"When can we begin?"
"Tomorrow morning at the earliest."
Archibald nodded, "As soon as possible."
"I'll stay here tonight."
Stephen immediately said, "I'll arrange a room for you right away."
———
[The Next Morning]
The exhausted-looking president walked into the office and sat down.
"Well, Stephen? Can we begin?"
"We can."
Stephen turned his laptop toward the president.
"The launch site is ready. Personnel and supplies are all in place."
"They're currently loading the nuclear warheads onto the spacecraft."
"Once that's done, we'll launch it into space."
"After reaching orbit, it'll refuel at a Russian space station before heading toward Destroyer."
"When it reaches Destroyer, our astronauts will place the nuclear bombs into the meteor's cracks."
"After every bomb has been deployed, we'll remotely detonate them from the ground."
"Then..."
Stephen made an exploding gesture.
"Boom!"
Archibald interlocked his fingers.
"What are the chances of success?"
"Well..."
Stephen hesitated.
"That's hard to say, Mr. President."
"But we don't have a better option anymore, do we?"
Homelander's figure flashed through Archibald's mind.
More than once, he had asked himself, should he have accepted Homelander's conditions last night?
But now...
Homelander refused to negotiate.
He had no other choice.
"That's right."
"We don't have a better option."
"All we can do is place our hopes on this operation."
A knock came at the door.
A NASA staff member said, "Mr. President, Director Stephen."
"The Independence is ready."
Stephen looked toward the president.
The president took a deep breath before saying gravely, "Begin."
———
In downtown New York.
A man pushed a bicycle with a large box strapped to it.
A Golden Retriever walked beside him.
The man stopped and led the dog into a supermarket with its doors standing open.
After searching around for a while, he finally found an undamaged can of luncheon meat.
He smiled and left the supermarket with the dog.
The man and dog sat on the ground outside.
He opened the can, shared some with the Golden Retriever, and ate the rest himself.
Just then, a voice came over the portable radio strapped to his bicycle.
["Just moments ago, the White House announced that the Federation has launched a spacecraft named Independence."]
["The spacecraft is carrying a large number of nuclear warheads."]
["Independence will leave Earth and head for Destroyer, where it will destroy the meteor with nuclear weapons before it reaches Earth."]
["The White House described this as an unprecedented war in space and declared that the Federation, and all of humanity, will emerge victorious."]
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