Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1055 (First Update)

Everything is proceeding according to plan. Following yesterday's sensational "diplomat hostage" incident, all users of the GPS suddenly found themselves unable to receive signals in some remote locations, or experiencing location discrepancies. This is the initial result of the "satellite annihilation campaign." As expected, the Immortal City discovered some experimental armed satellites. However, these satellites posed no threat to the Immortal City's Void Fighters; in just one night, they destroyed more than a dozen geostationary satellites located in North America.

Meanwhile, the non-combat personnel at SkySword Space Station continued to systematically send back footage of the political figures' lives on the station. The war correspondents and photographers brought aboard, while not documentary filmmakers, were more than capable of editing video and retrieving footage. Viktor von Dum made a phone call to Salomon early that morning, discussing his secret meetings with several countries.

At the meeting, the opposing side demanded that specific information about the arrival of the alien fleet not be announced to the public for the time being, in order to avoid causing global panic and impacting the economy. Only if this demand was met could the videos aimed at dispelling hostility be played. Victor von Doom thought it was acceptable to agree to this condition for the time being, since the initiative to announce it would ultimately be in Latvinia's hands. With the technological advantage of the Immortal City, Salomon could, if he wanted, have the whole world receive accurate information about the alien fleet.

Salomon agreed. He knew from the beginning that this was not a war he could win alone, and a certain degree of compromise was necessary.

He had some assessment of Thanos's strength, but that fleet was the real threat. Although current human military technology couldn't handle threats from outer space, it could still strike alien armies landing on Earth. He agreed to share some technology to improve humanity's military technology in exchange for the production resources Latvinia needed for development, to build a spaceport for future interstellar warships, and to develop the Sky Sword space station into an orbital port for the transfer of supplies and personnel. As for the war caused by spying technology, Salomon never took it to heart—as he said at the Vienna International Center, he had the ability to teleport into the homes of every opponent for targeted elimination, and the destruction of three carrier battle groups had fundamentally damaged the confidence of the US Navy. Regardless of public opinion in the United States, from the moment he issued his declaration, the Pentagon did indeed withdraw most of the US Navy from Europe, and the White House could only resort to more severe economic sanctions and other means to strike countries willing to cooperate with Latvinia.

In response to Latvia, NATO's European allies are poised to act, seemingly eager to demonstrate their strength. Even if their military capabilities are insufficient, they will verbally condemn Latvia, echoing the sentiments of the American media. However, NATO's European military forces are already within the range of Latvia's strikes and can be destroyed at any time, as both Viktor von Dum and Salomon have focused on economic sanctions.

Even before the Latvian War, Salomon and Viktor von Dum had made preparations. The technology provided by the Immortal City would fundamentally enhance the resilience of those countries and counter the technological monopoly of Europe and America. This technological support would be distributed in batches according to the level of technology, covering metallurgy, medicine, agriculture, and engineering manufacturing. However, these were only low-level technologies, replacements for existing industrial systems. Scientists from friendly countries would travel to Latvian and even Mars for academic exchanges after the Latvian Academy of Sciences was established, learning theories and technologies that were ahead of their time. Scholars from Hungary had already been taken to the space station to begin their studies, and factories in Hungary had begun to innovate, gradually breaking away from the technological monopoly of manufacturing dominated by Europe and America. Latvian's generosity was reminiscent of the former Soviet Union.

"Leaving so early today?" Bayonetta rubbed her eyes. "I don't remember you having anything major on your schedule today."

"A state visit." Salomon shook his head and brought her a glass of cold vodka. Joan was as sleepy as ever, and he didn't intend to wake her. "Victor has some things to attend to. He's found that the negotiations are progressing slower than expected, and even if the negotiating team were to die from overwork, it wouldn't be possible to complete them within seven days. I need to personally undertake some visits. Stephanie argued with the other side's diplomats all night about the specifications of the aircraft. They don't want me to wear powered armor, and the aircraft can't carry weapons of mass destruction because they think... it's dangerous. That's understandable; no one expects to chat with a heavy main battle tank, and the Vienna incident showed them the speed of orbital support. No country can afford that risk, not even those that have established diplomatic relations with Latvian."

The real reason is still that conference at the Vienna International Centre. There were too few things that could restrain Latvia, and disregarding the rules of the international order inevitably leads to retaliation. When a lion charges into a flock of sheep, the lambs' first reaction is to bleat and run around in all directions; it takes immense courage and trust to even get close to the lion.

Latveria doesn't want to gain the trust of other nations because such trust only applies to a generally peaceful international environment, becomes worthless after an alien invasion, and is inapplicable to future warfare. This is why Salomon calls Earth's political landscape a "child's play" joke. Few races in the universe have failed to unite and venture into space after such a long period of development. Aside from the Xandarians (a nation of immigrants, a cosmic America), interstellar races like the Kree and Skrulls have all united after brief periods of division; humanity must do the same. That competitive land has no room for the weak. To achieve Salomon's goals, a relatively safe human galactic nation must be built, giving rise to new philosophies and ideologies, and the answer lies within history.

There's nothing new under the sun; history has already shown us the way. This is Salomon's answer to the world.

"If I understand correctly," Bayonetta swallowed a mouthful of wine and licked her lips. She pretended to think, then squinted and poked Salomon's waist hard with her finger. "Are you bragging about your cannon?"

"Oh! Dirty girl!" Salomon couldn't help but laugh. "Actually, there's also the recorded televised address, which is even more important. The people of Latvia need a pillar of support, and one copy of 'The Truth of Unity' is certainly not enough. I must show the people of Latvia my determination and the actions I will take next."

Are you going home for lunch today?

“Of course!” Salomon said. “We still have to take Milia to visit the school today, right? We as parents need to have a good talk with the teachers and arrange that child’s classes.” He suddenly looked up and around, then patted Bayonetta. “Hurry up and get dressed, the child is coming in.”

A moment later, there was a knock on the bedroom door. Milia, barefoot and wearing a chubby pink onesie, stood sleepily in the doorway, clutching the plush toy Diana had bought for her. "Daddy!" she mumbled, and after confirming she was safe, she quickly closed her eyes and fell asleep in Salomon's arms. Salomon sighed helplessly and showed Bayonetta the child in his arms—he had personally explained to Sister Gaby why she couldn't see the child, which had driven the nun, whose mental state had slightly improved, back to madness. While the child's talent was astonishing, her chances of corruption were also far greater than ordinary people. Since taking her in, Salomon was gradually building a mental protective barrier for her, similar to that of the Royal Guard, to help her resist the indescribable whispers and temptations of the outer dimensions.

"Leave it to me." Bayonetta gestured for Salomon to place Milia on the bed, then carefully covered her with a blanket.

"You can't say you don't like children, dear witch," Salomon teased. "I think you're quite skilled at it, and you really like it."

"I do dislike children," Bayonetta said in a low voice, sounding annoyed, "but I'm not going to throw a child ten meters into the air and repeat it twenty times!"

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)