Chapter 1222 The Darkest Hour (14)

(BGM——"Cold War" Jack Wall)

December 23, 2024, 0:00 in the morning.

There are only 2 days until Christmas.

It snowed heavily in the capital. The snowflakes floating under the black sky were like white paper money flying during a funeral. The pine trees covered with white snow and standing in the wind and snow inside the red walls were like mourners covered in plain clothes.

Xie Jili, wearing a thin fur vest, stood under the eaves at the entrance of the main room of Baihua Bookstore, with his hands behind his back and a cigarette in his mouth. He stared with tired eyes at the snowflakes falling densely to the ground in the light, gradually accumulating, without saying a word.

The cold wind blew into the room and made a whistling sound. On the desk, an English version of Time magazine and briefings from major global media were rattling under the dim light of cloisonné.

Just today, the Pacific War and Chen Shaohua's defection have been detonated by the international media. Especially Chen Shaohua's appearance on the scene, proving that the nuclear bomb dropped on Sydney came from Taijilong, causing an uproar. Even with strict internal control, rumors are still rampant , and externally, Taijilong, which is at a disadvantage in public opinion, has been criticized even more.

Stargate used the power of speech it controlled to continuously throw dirty water on Tai Chi Long, accusing Tai Chi Dragon of taking full responsibility for the West Ni Nuclear Peace Incident. "Xinxiang Times", "Reuters", "Magnesium Associated Press" and other All major social media outlets published Chen Shaohua’s interview in the most prominent position, creating fake news that Chen Shaohua led the entire No. 2 Fleet to defect from Stargate.

Among them, the cover of the special issue of "Time Magazine" even published a large photo of Chen Shaohua wearing a Tai Chi dragon uniform. Standing under the bright sunshine of dark clouds and dawn, Chen Shaohua even had a halo on his head, as if a saint had come to the world. At the bottom of the page is a line Red words dripping with blood: "The righteous rebellion of the decadent empire, the tragic hero of the bloody organization - Chen Shaohua".

The pages of the book that were opened by the wind first contained a series of reports on the honors that Chen Shaohua had received, mixed with a large number of photos of him attending various important occasions, as well as photos of speeches. Then there was an exclusive interview with Chen Shaohua, and the last sentence was particularly shocking. : "My family has all been executed. I don't hate Tai Chi Dragon. I only hate Xie Jili. He used his personal power to eliminate dissidents within Tai Chi Dragon to consolidate power, and exported war to the outside world to compete for hegemony in the inner world. He is not just Sydney The mastermind behind the nuclear explosion is also the sinner of the turmoil in the world."

Xie Jili stood in the cold wind and trembled slightly, but seemed not to notice it, staring blankly at the snowflakes flying one after another in the wind. The pine tree next to the red wall was bent down by the weight of the snowflakes. It looks like it's about to break.

In the silence, footsteps sounded in the main room. Xie Jili quickly threw the cigarette on the ground, stepped on it under his feet, and then waved his hand to fan the smell of smoke in the air. Before he finished, he left behind the screen. A dignified and beautiful woman wearing a beige cashmere cardigan came out. She put a cotton-padded jacket on Xie Jili's body and said softly, "It's better to wear more clothes when standing outside in such a cold weather."

Xie Jili turned to look at Wang Jinyan, forced a smile and asked in a low voice: "Why are you up?"

"Tonight is a sleepless night for many people." Wang Jinyan turned sideways and straightened the cotton-padded jacket draped around Xie Jili's body, buttoned the second button so that the cotton-padded jacket would not fall, and then lowered her eyes and said, "Don't worry about what the media thinks of you, they just want to put pressure on you."

"The media are just clowns," Xie Jili said with slight disdain. After a pause, he said worriedly, "I'm just worried that the inability to build internal consensus will lead to problems on the front line." He smiled bitterly and said, "Actually,

There has been a problem. Liu Yu said that he took the initiative to communicate with Ennos Sunflower Banner, and the other party's reply was that unless the Stargate landing triggered the treaty, it would never be possible to take action. It is said that Yu Gaoyuan also contacted Ou Yu, saying that

Bian once again conveyed information that could help with communication and peace talks. I didn't ask about the specific situation. In short, no one except me wants to fight with the Star Gate. Everyone is telling me, "Let's negotiate. At least listen to the opening of the Star Gate."

conditions'."

"It's not that they don't want to, it's that they dare not." Wang Jinyan sneered, "Money is their courage. More than 10 trillion US dollars are in the stock market. Now they are all short-selling institutions. During the day, Xiangjiang has withdrawn the largest amount of funds in history. Nasdaq

As soon as the market opened at 9:30, the market there continued to plummet, and the money was burning. The most important thing is that no matter whether we lose or win, the trillions of funds on Nasdaq will be wiped out. Their courage is disappearing along with the money.

For ashes, now of course I just want to put out the fire as soon as possible.”

Xie Jili sighed and said, "It's not all about money. This problem affects the whole body. It's complicated and difficult to deal with."

"It's not like you didn't warn them and ask them to withdraw, but didn't they turn a deaf ear? I think they are all waiting for you to step down, okay."

Xie Jili waved his hand and interrupted Wang Jinyan, "Jinyan, don't say that. The main reason is that the 'black swan incident' of the nuclear bomb led to strategic misjudgments. No one thought that the head-on confrontation between our Tai Chi Dragon and Star Gate would come so soon.

If it weren't for that nuclear bomb, Stargate would not have such a resolute will to resist. Our original idea was to return to our rightful place in history as peacefully as possible. In fact, neither Stargate nor we can withstand the consequences of war.

disaster."

"Your idea is still too idealistic. Before the fear of war that destroys everything truly comes to the heads of each other's people, the two organizations will not be able to find consensus, each other's people will not be able to wake up, and they will not be able to truly understand each other's will.

From the Anglo-German confrontation in the early 20th century to the Mei-Soviet confrontation that began in the 1950s, this point has never changed. It is either going to war or death, and you cannot avoid both."

Xie Jili stood under the porch and stared at the pine tree bent by the snow. He was silent for a long time and then whispered: "Everyone knows this, but the problem is. No one knows. At this time, choose Hexing."

Is it the right or wrong choice to confront or even start a war?" He lowered his head, with a heavy expression on his face, as if some organ in his body was in pain, and the pain caused his voice to tremble, "

I don’t know that I have to think about what kind of bad situation we will face if we lose the war. Of course it doesn’t matter to me personally, I have already promised the country. But I can’t speak for everyone. When Xu Changen discussed with me today, I felt

What they said is very reasonable. The war cannot be stopped once it starts. More innocent people will be dragged into the bottomless black hole. Many of the young people of this generation participating in the war are the only children in the family. Stop the loss in time.

It takes more courage than continuing to bet”

Wang Jinyan sighed slightly and murmured: "War is indeed the worst choice." She turned to look at Xie Jili's side face, smiled and said: "Would you like me to have a few drinks with you, maybe a few drinks, and then

Take a break and you will have more energy to think about this matter."

Xie Jili said in surprise: "Can you allow me to drink?"

"Anyway, you were already smoking secretly just now, so you don't care about breaking another one~~"

"You can smell this?"

"I've smelled it a long time ago." Wang Jinyan said angrily, "Go in~ I'll ask Xiao Huang to order some food and drinks. You have something to eat and drink, and then go to sleep for a while, even for an hour.

."

Xie Jili nodded.

The two turned and walked towards the main room. When they were about to cross the door frame, Xu Changen walked out of the side room and called "Principal". Xie Jili stopped and looked back. Xu Changen quickly ran to the door and said with his mobile phone

: "Principal, Comrade Bai Ning is here, right outside."

"Bai Ning?" Xie Jili hesitated for a moment, then turned and walked into the main room, "Go and pick him up."

After a while, Bai Ning, who was wearing a military green cloak and a Tai Chi dragon general's hat, entered the room. He took off his cloak and hat and hung them on the hangers behind the door. He walked into the not-so-warm main room and saw Wang Jinyan.

He was placing a few dishes of side dishes on the coffee table, smiled and said, "Sister-in-law is here too~"

Wang Jinyan raised her head and glanced at Bai Ning, waved and said, "Xiao Bai, sit down, Lao Xie has gone to the bathroom. You can have a drink with him later."

Bai Ning came over and sat on the wicker chair with cotton cushions. He first looked at the side dishes and the bottle of Maotai on the coffee table with great interest, and said: "Oh~~The duck in southern Hunan spicy sauce~good stuff.

It’s been years since I’ve eaten this stuff. One year when Xiu Xiu came back from southern Hunan, she brought some with her, but it was very spicy to me.”

"This kind is not very spicy."

Bai Ning said meaningfully: "Even if it's not very spicy, for someone like me who doesn't usually eat spicy food, it might not be affordable~~"

Wang Jinyan stared at Bai Ning and said calmly: "Then it depends on whether you are willing to accompany Lao Xie to drink this banquet. As long as you drink two glasses, it doesn't matter if you eat duck with spicy sauce or not."

Bai Ning smiled bitterly and said: "Sister-in-law, I think you should advise Brother Xie that neither alcohol nor duck in spicy sauce is bad for your health! You can't just be happy for a while, which will cause health problems."

"My father smokes, drinks, and is addicted to spicy food. He is in good health now. Sometimes he blames me for being too lenient with Lao Xie."

"What riddles are you trying to solve?"

Bai Ning turned around and saw Xie Jili wiping his face with a towel. "We chatted for a while." He stood up, looked at Xie Jili and said with a smile, "Sorry for disturbing you by coming so late."

Xie Jili casually handed the towel to the life specialist on the side, patted Bai Ning's arm, sat across from Bai Ning, and said nonchalantly: "Come here in the middle of the night, there must be something important, just tell me!"

Bai Ning clenched his fists and whispered: "Someone found my old man today and said that your behavior made people feel uneasy."

"Uneasy?" Xie Jili picked up the bottle and poured himself a glass of wine, then asked, "Would you like some?"

Bai Ning hesitated for a moment and said softly: "If I can avoid drinking it, I won't drink it."

"Of course you don't have to drink it." Xie Jili put down the bottle and said with a smile, "Tell me why they feel uneasy."

"They felt that you were swayed by your emotions and said that you had never let go of Xiao Jin's death. They thought that you were unable to make accurate judgments when you were angry, and that your desire for revenge blinded your heart."

Xie Jili didn't say anything. He picked up the cup and drank a whole glass of wine in one gulp. When he put the cup down, he continued to pour wine for himself. Wang Jinyan had already taken the initiative to pick up the bottle. Then he stared at Bai Ning and said, "If I tell you

, I also know that it was Chen Shaohua who killed Guang Ling? Are you more sure that my decision was just impulsive?"

Bai Ning's expression froze for a moment. He glanced at the "Times" on the desk. The fingers of his clenched fists kept moving, as if he were holding something in his palms. He was silent for a few seconds. He tilted his head and said softly:

"Hangkang is in complete chaos. Not only the stock market, but house prices are also plummeting. They have fallen by a quarter in one day. Many people jumped from buildings there today. I believe it has not spread to the mainland yet.

Soon, the entire economy will explode. The most terrifying thing is that this is just the beginning." He gradually raised his voice, suppressing it all the time, "In this war, if you win, you will injure the enemy a thousand times and lose eight to yourself.

100. If we lose, then all our decades of hard work will be over. Principal, no matter what the outcome of this war is, there will be no winner."

Xie Jili held the chopsticks to pick up the chicken wing tips on the plate. His hands were shaking. He tried several times but couldn't pick up the red and shiny chicken wing tips. Two, three, five times, he was a little angry.

He put the chopsticks on the coffee table, reached out and grabbed the tip of the chicken wing, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed it loudly. He took the tissue from Wang Jinyan and wiped his hands randomly, staring at Bai Ning, not so

Confidently asked: "Bai Ning, what do you think?"

Bai Ning lowered his head, "It doesn't matter what I think, principal. It doesn't matter what I say about our family, it depends on what the old man wants. I'm sitting on that chair. What the old man told me is to listen more, speak less, and stay objective.

and neutral”

Xie Jili swallowed the tips of the chicken wings with the bones, then raised his glass and drank a glass of wine by himself, "Then you are here so late, does your old man have something to convey to me?"

Bai Ning took a deep breath, "After Liu Yu confirmed that Sunflower Flag could not interfere, he already called Napoleon VII because of Gao Yuan. Napoleon VII has agreed to be the intermediary and do his best to mediate for us."

"Has Yu Gaoyuan had a phone call with Napoleon VII in person?" Xie Jili's hand grasped the armrest of the sofa chair tightly, with veins bulging out. His fingers unconsciously tapped the armrest many times before he asked, "Napoleon VII

What did Shi say?"

"Napoleon VII promised that the Stargate would hand over Chen Shaohua, and that the Stargate would not carry out a fatal blow to the No. 3 Fleet before Christmas." Bai Ning said in a deep voice, "But we must also give up protecting Cheng Mo."

"Really!?" Xie Jili's fingers twitching on the armrest tightened again, and his eyelids and facial muscles were also twitching, "What if I don't agree?"

Bai Ning stared at Xie Jili for more than ten seconds before saying seriously: "If you don't agree, then they are going to hold a general meeting on Christmas to remove you from your position."

————————————————————————

It was already past 0 o'clock in the heavily snowy Beijing city, and night had just fallen in Xila.

A red sunset on the Aegean coast is slowly sinking into the blue sea. The sky is gradually dimming in the cold sea breeze. The street lights on the winding cliff shore are also lighting up one after another. The coastal road embedded between the Mediterranean Sea and the fir forest looks like

A luminous jade belt. When the sun completely disappeared into the sea, a white manor on a protruding cliff dazzled among the dark ocean and undulating fir forests, like a cruise ship sailing on the sea.

Zero's huge body stood on the top of a fir tree, but he was as light as nothing. He followed the swaying branches and looked at the white manor in the distance. It wasn't until the light in the master bedroom in the middle of the second floor was lit that he quickly jumped off the fir tree and quietly

It fell silently in the woods covered with pine cones and fallen leaves.

"Action." Zero said softly.
To be continued...