Invasion of America

Chapter 144 Coward
The "swarm" power was activated, the battlefield routing was set up, the data link network was completed, and the formation was ready for takeoff.

Jiang Menglong opened the window and saw one after another miniature drones emitting a faint buzzing sound emerge. He lightly tapped the control tablet, and dozens of these "little guys" quietly flew away along the preset path.

Fifty drones quickly climbed to a height of 100 meters, skillfully traversed rooftops and swept over walls, and quietly gathered towards the east of Famvi town.

At noon, under the blazing sun, most of the town's residents lazily stayed at home, either drowsy from the heat or sighing with worry, completely unaware of the strange activity on the horizon.

Even the sentries patrolling the walls only focused on the activity in front of them. As for what was above them—they might catch the faint buzzing of the swarms flying, but when they looked up, there was nothing there.

At this moment, Zhou Qingfeng was already on the east side of the town. The transmitting antenna of the simple base station had been set up and was being powered by the lithium battery he carried with him.

The slender Tang Wen squatted down beside it, operating a ruggedized military computer, using a stylus to precisely select and lock onto targets on the map displayed on the screen.

"President Zhou, were these equipment provided by the military?" Tang Wen asked curiously. "The current mode of warfare is really different. Soldiers may not need to be equipped with firearms in the future, but drones are indispensable."

A hundred meters away, a platoon of the Richmond Guard was lounging around lazily. Some were daydreaming, some were wandering around, and some had even set up a few ammunition boxes under the shade of a tree and were fast asleep.

An RG-33 armored vehicle, its surface scorching hot under the blazing sun, was as hot as molten iron.

The soldiers on guard duty, wearing heavy full protective gear, stood on the roof of the vehicle with no cover. They were already drenched in sweat and kept pouring water over their heads with military water bottles, looking like they were about to suffer from heatstroke.

Zhou Qingfeng glanced at the ruggedized computer screen, shook his head, and said, "No, these are all civilian products."

"Civilian use?" Tang Wen asked, slightly surprised and incredulous, "How could something so powerful be for civilian use?"

"I'm not lying to you, this is indeed a rack product exported by a private domestic enterprise, which has been showcased at previous domestic air shows and defense exhibitions."

Of course, most people aren't qualified to make these purchases, and importing them isn't easy either. But I'm different; I have both purchasing channels and import permits in the United States.

Many domestically produced products of this type often have export versions that use the latest technology, perform better than those used domestically, and are not expensive, with discounts available for bulk purchases.

The only expensive part of this little thing is the chip; it's highly integrated, while the motor, battery, camera, and other components are all very cheap.

As Zhou Qingfeng spoke, he couldn't help but sigh, "If only I could import equipment directly from China now, I wouldn't have to go through so much trouble with these white people."

At this moment, the drone swarm had quietly arrived over the target area.

Tang Wen also completed the visual identification and confirmation of all targets and assigned attack missions to each "Hummingbird" drone.

He moved the mouse cursor to the "Attack Confirmation" screen, his fingers trembling slightly, and turned his head to say, "Everything is ready, we can attack now."

Zhou Qingfeng nodded, indicating "confirmation".

Tang Wen hesitated; his click would claim over a dozen lives. Seeing Zhou Qingfeng simply nod without speaking, he confirmed again, "Is it safe to attack now?"

“Okay,” Zhou Qingfeng replied in a deep voice.

With a light click of the mouse, Tang Wen felt as if most of his strength had been drained away, and he didn't even dare to look at the screen anymore.

Meanwhile, fifty Hummingbird drones, having received the order, suddenly swooped down from a height of 100 meters and rushed toward their respective locked targets.
-
On the ground, Major Fleming set up a cot under the shade of a tree, lay down comfortably, and held a bottle of ice-cold Coke in his hand, with strings of water droplets sliding down the outside of the aluminum can.

The RG-33 armored vehicle is equipped with a refrigerator, powered by its own fuel. The cola is provided by logistics, either from a military supply depot or obtained through scavenging.

Fleming was just a second lieutenant before the end of the world. He rose through the ranks to become a major during the chaos of war, but he was still just a platoon leader of an understaffed mobile platoon.

Before the apocalypse, drinking a can of Coke was nothing special. But now, all survival supplies are precious, and precisely because they are precious, they seem even more luxurious, and we should enjoy them.

In the major's view, he personally might not be able to force "Holy Light" or anyone else to surrender, but the "Richmond Guard" behind him had that power.

Major General Borg knew that this piece of meat was right in front of him and that he would inevitably send troops to forcibly take it. This had nothing to do with justice; it was purely for survival.

Whether or not those Chinese kept white slaves, they all deserved to die in the eyes of these soldiers, without any difference, just like the Native Americans more than two hundred years ago.

The only thing the major hadn't expected was... that this group of Chinese would dare to launch an attack.

As the swarm of Hummingbirds began to dive, the humming of their rotors suddenly amplified, making it impossible for soldiers on the ground to remain unaware.

Some soldiers curiously raised their heads, shielding their eyes from the glaring sunlight, and looked up at the sky, trying to discern the unusual sound.

Major Fleming had the advantage of being in the shade of the trees. He only needed to open his eyes to see a tiny black dot rapidly approaching him.

Almost instinctively, the major raised his arms to shield his eyes, and then felt something hit him.

The "Hummingbird" weighs only between 30 and 50 grams. In addition to infrared and optical cameras, it also has a copper fire cap weighing less than two grams installed on the front of the fuselage.

The percussion cap is extremely thin, surrounded by three grams of high explosive and an electronic fuse.

Upon receiving the attack command, the Hummingbird locked onto the target and began to dive, with the miniature lidar on its belly continuously measuring distances.

After the onboard chip completes the ranging, it will precisely adjust the aircraft's attitude to ensure that the nose of the aircraft is directly facing the target's vital organs before a collision—usually the head, chest, or vest area.

At the moment of impact, the electronic fuse detonates the explosive, and the enormous energy generated by the explosion shapes the copper percussion cap, forming a high-temperature, high-pressure metal jet.

According to tests, this tiny metal jet has a range of about ten centimeters, enough to easily penetrate a three-millimeter steel plate, and can even pierce a steel helmet, leaving a fatal small hole in a person's head.

Within a range of 400 meters, this thing can almost be regarded as a miniature precision-guided bullet with autonomous homing and locking capabilities. Although the cost is slightly higher, its combat effectiveness is extremely amazing.

As Zhou Qingfeng said, it's not like we can't afford it.

The major's instinctive movement of raising his hand saved his life; the metal jet from the explosion struck his arm directly.

He let out a piercing scream and rolled off his cot.

At the same time, screams rose and fell all around, and some people died before they could even scream.

The sentry on guard duty in the armored vehicle was shot in the head by a Hummingbird, his body convulsed violently, and he fell off the roof of the vehicle.

Some soldiers hiding in the shadow of the vehicle were covered in blood from the shrapnel flying up from the Hummingbird explosion. They clutched their wounds in terror and shouted for medics to bandage them.

Some more alert soldiers tried to dodge the "hummingbirds" as they swooped down, waving their arms in circles in an attempt to "shoot down" these miniature drones, but almost none of them succeeded.

The first wave of "Hummingbird" attacks resulted in casualties for more than half of the convoy's soldiers. But this was just the beginning. A second wave of drones continued to whiz in.

The onboard chip has no emotions; it simply follows the pre-programmed procedure to execute the mission thoroughly. Major Fleming, ignoring his injured arm, quickly drew his sidearm and repeatedly pulled the trigger at another Hummingbird that was hurtling towards him.

The gunshots rang out one after another, but they did nothing to stop him—the second Hummingbird slammed into his chest, and the scorching metal jet instantly pierced his lungs.

The major felt a burning sensation in his chest, followed by severe difficulty breathing, and a mouthful of blood spurted out.

He staggered back a few steps and ran towards the RG-33 armored vehicle. If he could get inside, the vehicle's armor might offer him a chance of survival.

Just as his hand gripped the door handle, the third Hummingbird crashed violently into his back, blasting a bloody hole in his skin.

The door to the driver's cab of the armored vehicle was opened a crack, and the driver was listening to music and enjoying the air conditioning inside.

Upon seeing their platoon leader appear outside the door covered in blood, his body limp and collapsing, several terrified screams immediately erupted inside the vehicle.
-
In less than a minute, all fifteen pre-selected targets were killed by the 'Hummingbird'. The convoy was surrounded by scattered corpses, and the entire hunt was remarkably calm.

A 'Hummingbird' vehicle hovers between the vehicles, assessing the results of the hunt.

Its camera turned to the lead RG-33 armored vehicle, and it could be clearly seen that there was a soldier in the driver's cab looking at it with a terrified expression, not knowing what to do.

Ignoring the soldiers in the cockpit, the 'Hummingbird' flew off in another direction to continue searching for other survivors.

The soldier inside the driver's cab realized he might have escaped death and quickly started the armored vehicle, intending to flee this hellish place—although he didn't know what had happened, there was no doubt that his comrades outside the vehicle were all dead.

Just as the soldier gripped the steering wheel, a gunshot rang out from outside the car. A large-caliber bullet pierced the bulletproof glass of the RG-33, leaving a small crack in the window and turning the soldier inside into a bloody mess.

A hundred meters away, Tang Wen, who had been trembling all over, gradually calmed down by taking deep breaths. He glanced at Zhou Qingfeng, who was using a Barrett sniper rifle next to him, and said with a wry smile, "President, I'm sorry, I'm too useless."

“I also performed poorly the first time I slept with my girlfriend.” Zhou Qingfeng patted Tang Wen on the shoulder. “Some things, once you do them a few times, you’ll naturally become less flustered and fearless.”
-
At this moment, on the simple metal fence surrounding Famvi town, several town militiamen, their clothes soaked with sweat, were still scratching their heads in bewilderment, their faces full of confusion.

They only vaguely heard a few muffled gunshots coming from afar, but they did not witness any intense fighting or even see the attackers.

However, a few hundred meters away from the town, on the side of the highway, the "Richmond Guard" mobile platoon, which had originally been somewhat casual and arrogant, was now littered with corpses and in complete disarray.

The dozen or so people who were just chatting and smoking in small groups are now lying scattered and lifeless in pools of blood, as if swept by the scythe of death.

Who took their lives? Nobody knows.

On this hot and humid afternoon, the sentry on the wall felt a chill in his heart.

Not long after, Mayor Ike, along with several leaders with gloomy expressions, hurriedly arrived at the wall.

He snatched the binoculars from the sentry's hand, aimed them at the lifeless convoy outside the town, and squinted as he observed it carefully for a long time.

The other leaders also craned their necks, trying to see what was happening.

After confirming that all the armed men on the highway were indeed dead, the mayor, his face ashen, turned to the bewildered sentry and asked urgently, "Where are the attackers? How many were there? Where did they go?"

The sentries on the wall looked at each other, exchanging puzzled glances, and then shook their heads in unison, like rattles.

“Nobody’s here, Mayor. Apart from the dead soldiers in the convoy, we haven’t seen anyone else. They… they don’t know how they died, they just suddenly collapsed.”

The unknown is always the most likely to breed fear, like encountering paranormal events.

The mayor and several leaders only knew that the mysterious "Holy Light" organization had made the move, but they were completely baffled.

Logically speaking, Major Fleming's team shouldn't have died such a humiliating death.

How did the enemy manage to wipe out a mobile platoon composed of well-trained professional soldiers with considerable firepower so silently and without warning?

But the harsh reality was right in front of them, and the town's leaders couldn't help but overestimate the power of the "Holy Light" once again, their hearts filled with deep apprehension.

Mayor Ike turned around and ordered his men, "There are still seven or eight soldiers from that mobile platoon in our town. Send men to take them all under control and disarm them immediately!"

Then, the town mayor gritted his teeth and cursed, "By the way, detain those 'Holy Light' people too, don't let a single one of them escape!"

"If Major General Borg of the 'Guards Force' investigates, they'll be the perfect scapegoats; just say they did it!"

The idea seemed good, and the leaders on the wall responded in unison, about to turn around and carry out the mayor's order.

Just then, a low and fine humming sound came from outside the wall. Although the sound was not loud, it was exceptionally clear and seemed particularly abrupt in the silent air.

The mayor turned his head in confusion and saw several tiny drones, no bigger than the palm of his hand, slowly flying overhead like ghosts and silently entering the town of Famvi.

Sunlight shone on their small bodies, reflecting a faint glow, making them look like a group of unknown insects.

"It's 'Black Bee'!" A town leader with some knowledge exclaimed from the crowd. "I saw it in a documentary before. It's a product of a Norwegian company, and it was originally purchased by the US Army!"

"That convoy outside town... was wiped out by this thing?" Another town leader asked, his voice filled with doubt. "This thing looks like a toy, how could it kill people?"

“Sure.” Mayor Ike watched with a complicated expression as a miniature drone slowly flew past him, and almost unconsciously reached out and gently grabbed it.

The tiny drone, weighing only a few dozen grams and less than an ounce in total, with thin plastic wings and very weak power, was easily caught by the town mayor.

The leaders, who had initially been hesitant, suddenly became very curious and gathered around, chattering about the small flying machine.

Someone carefully examined the drone's fuselage, pointing to the barely legible Chinese characters on it and exclaimed, "This isn't US Army equipment! Look, this is... made by 'Dongda'!"

"It's perfectly normal. What's so strange about it? 'Todai' produces all kinds of electronic products, from cell phones to missiles. What's impossible about it?"

"What if these things are used to attack us? Look, it's not just one or two flying over, it's a whole swarm!" The leader who had exclaimed earlier looked worried.

"Should we still detain those 'Holy Light' people? What if we anger them? They can wipe out a platoon without anyone noticing; they're definitely not to be trifled with." Some people began to hesitate.

"Forget it, those Warthog attack aircraft flying in the sky are not something a small-town militia like ours can handle."

"If they become enraged and throw a few incendiary bombs, the hundreds of people in the town will be completely helpless and can only wait to die."

One voice after another, the discussion grew louder and more anxious, making Mayor Ike increasingly agitated.

He stomped his foot and cursed, "How did this country get into this state? What can we small forces rely on anymore?!"

(End of this chapter)