American Strategic Deception Bureau

　——These surviving refugees from the Bronx, most of them wearing burnt and tattered clothes, with expressionless faces, wandered silently around the streets of Manhattan, looking like sleepwalkers. Moreover, everyone was covered in dust and dirt, and soaked in blood.

　Compared to the casualties in Manhattan, the Bronx, right next to the center of the nuclear explosion, was generally more seriously injured. Some had their hair singed and their faces scorched, while others had their skin peeled off and were vomiting blood. The worst-hit victims were even blinded.

　But even though they were covered in wounds, they continued to walk forward numbly, in a daze, stumbling and not asking for help. Even when someone tried to talk to them, they ignored them. It seemed that they had lost their hearing and thinking ability, and they only knew to struggle forward until they collapsed from exhaustion.

　Some of the wounded who had been huddled in the street corners of Manhattan, groaning and howling, seemed to be hypnotized for some reason. They stared blankly at the procession of the walking dead, then stood up as if possessed, stumbling into their ranks.

　That kind of numb expression and stiff movements would make anyone with a normal mind feel uneasy.

　etc.

　We walked south along the devastated streets, occasionally bypassing collapsed buildings, charred cars, and corpses on the streets. We had no purpose, but just walked numbly and dazedly, one step deep and one step shallow, until we finally arrived at Battery Park, the southernmost tip of Manhattan.

　Because there was no way ahead, they stood on the beach, looking at the Statue of Liberty on the small island across the shore, staring at it foolishly.

　At this time, the Statue of Liberty was also covered with a layer of radioactive dust in the nuclear explosion, appearing a sickly yellowish color in the sunlight.

　They just stared at the Statue of Liberty, doing nothing but standing there stupidly until they collapsed from excessive blood loss or hunger, thirst, and exhaustion.

　David Halbernstein, a war correspondent for The New York Times, followed their troops all the way and recorded this heartbreaking yet incredibly shocking magical scene with his camera and shorthand notebook. He lamented in his manuscript with his brilliant pen: "This is simply a parade of ghosts. Those walking on the street are ghosts summoned from hell! This is a real march from hell!"

　At the same time, in Newark, New Jersey, 20 kilometers from New York, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who seemed to have aged ten years overnight, called the leader of the Congressional Army, Speaker Hugh Scott, who was in Philadelphia after confirming General LeMay's death.

　Admit defeat, Mr. Speaker, New York is finished, Nixon won!

　Our cause has failed, no, to be exact, it has been completely lost. If we surrender to President Nixon now, we can still leave with dignity. If we continue to hold on, then someone should help us to do so with dignity..."

　-

　In short, six hours after the nuclear explosion in New York, on the afternoon of August 2, 1970, the two governors of New York and New Jersey publicly telegraphed their surrender to Washington, announcing that they would no longer rely on "state rights" to oppose the federal government and were willing to accept all penalties from the federal government.

　The next morning, the Pennsylvania State Assembly also passed a resolution to surrender to Washington and stop resisting the central government.

　At noon on August 3, former Speaker of the House of Representatives Hugh Scott held a press conference in Philadelphia, announcing the disbanding of the Congressional Army, ending the armed confrontation with President Nixon, and personally took 22 senators and congressmen to Washington to prepare for trial.

　In this way, the Second American Civil War, which began with minor skirmishes and ended with earth-shattering destruction, was officially declared over.

　The Wall Street tycoons offered all their power and assets, knelt down and begged for mercy to the White House, and all the rebellious states once again surrendered to Washington.

　The new senators and representatives elected temporarily by the remaining states also rushed to Washington in early August, formed a new Congress, and voted, re-recognizing Nixon as the legitimate president of the United States with an overwhelming majority.

　At this point, President Nixon nominally reunified the United States and achieved a complete victory in this round of struggle.

　, the boat that Newton was on capsized again when the coastline was already visible.

　Therefore, the more than one hundred black people whose boat capsized could only swim to the shore in Providence, just like the deep divers in the Cthulhu mythology.

　As a result, as soon as they landed, they were ambushed by local police and National Guard on the beach.

　After only a few minutes of fighting between the two sides, the Black Panther leader Huey Newton was killed by a sniper shot in the head by an old policeman. The rest of the Black Panther members had used up their ammunition and were terrified by the death of their leader, so they raised their hands and surrendered.

　In this way, the three main leaders who launched the New York Commune uprising all withdrew from the stage of history within less than a week.

　However, although the American Civil War was over and the red flag of the New York Commune was lowered, the disaster in New York did not end soon.

　- Because of a series of procedural complications, coupled with political concerns, as well as the military's own ideological confusion and internal conflicts, and even some people deliberately making trouble and dragging their feet... Despite President Nixon's repeated urging, the US military's speed in launching the battle to quell the riots in New York was still very slow.

　It was not until August 9, a week after the nuclear explosion in New York, that the 101st Airborne Division, the 8st Marine Division and the National Guard of southern states dispatched by the Pentagon arrived near New York, established a forward base in the suburbs, and then entered the New York city area to try to restore order.

　In the week before that, the streets of New York were still filled with constant gunfire, corpses, rivers of blood, and flames.

　Because, after the shock of the nuclear mushroom cloud, the remaining New York gangsters and villains had recovered from the shock, and their hearts were once again gripped by greed. They continued to take advantage of the collapse of social order caused by the war, looting everywhere, focusing on robbing valuables kept in jewelry stores and major banks.

　Especially the 30,000 mercenaries initially sent to New York by General LeMay. After learning that the Congressional Army had been disbanded and that they had no income, except for those who had already looted gold bars and jewels and were preparing to flee, the remaining mercenaries who had not yet made enough money suddenly became even more vicious and began to rob more ferociously. They would no longer have a boss to pay them, so they had to take advantage of this opportunity to rob them.

　Many fearless thugs from other places also flocked to New York from nearby states, attempting to scramble for and loot the legendary 7,000 tons of Federal Reserve gold.

　——With the disbanding of the Congressional Army, roads leading to New York from all over the United States were reopened, and there were no longer any military checkpoints.

　This certainly helps New Yorkers flee the city and seek refuge elsewhere, but it also makes it easy for criminals from outside to sneak into New York and rob people!

　To make matters worse, the various Dark Sun cults that worshipped the Prince of Lies, Cyric, and had disappeared from the abandoned subway stations across New York before and after the nuclear explosion, reappeared when they saw the intensity of the battle in New York decrease, and began to fan the flames and mislead the people.

　For a time, the entire city of New York was in turmoil. Various ethnic groups and social groups took up arms, engaged in mutual violence, and committed arson and destruction. Someone even broke into a military virus laboratory in New York and retrieved anthrax powder and a batch of biological warfare agents in an attempt to spread the plague!

　Fortunately, the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, located 60 kilometers from New York, immediately shut down its reactors and implemented emergency response measures. The entire staff remained at their posts amidst the chaos. Even after witnessing the mushroom cloud rising from the nuclear explosion in the Bronx, they remained at the plant and did not flee. This ensured that the Indian Point plant remained intact during the turmoil, preventing a more serious nuclear leak.

　Otherwise, if New York is hit by another nuclear leak, it will really become the Neighborhood town infested with mutants in the "Fallout" game!

　Manhattan Island is also going to become a "radiating island" with a "very radiant" atmosphere!

　—The devastation caused by a nuclear bomb explosion lasts only a moment. But the disaster caused by a nuclear power plant leak will last for at least several generations...

　In short, after the nuclear explosion, the people of New York did not unite and help each other. Instead, they continued to fight each other, causing one bloody incident after another.

　This once prosperous city, second to none in the world, now has no electricity, no running water, no order, only endless violence and death. Thousands of corpses rot in the streets, unburied. In the scorching heat of August, diseases and plagues are rapidly spreading.

　The air was filled with the smell of burning smoke and fire, the stench of rotting corpses, the smell of gunpowder, and radiation that made the Geiger counter click.

　This situation was like hell, making the UN officials feel like they were trapped in a nightmare.

　I thought it was grapes!

　Uh, the decoration outside the gate of the United Nations headquarters is "human head grapes"... What kind of Khorne Church is this?

　The current President of the UN Security Council, U Thant, was on the verge of a mental breakdown in the face of the tragedies happening around him. Unable to bear it any longer, he actually convened an emergency meeting to discuss whether or not to quickly form a UN peacekeeping force to be stationed in New York to protect the security of the UN headquarters!

　——Since its establishment, the United Nations has been committed to maintaining world peace for so many years, but the result is the same as its predecessor, the "League of Nations". The more it maintains peace, the more wars there are in the world, from nuclear war to chemical warfare, and one massacre after another, which never ends.

　Now they can only watch the mushroom cloud of the nuclear explosion rising at their doorstep, and they have even been reduced to maintaining peace at the United Nations headquarters!

　The Soviet representative on the Security Council, with a stifling smirk, immediately voted in favor of the proposal, even offering to airlift a Soviet paratrooper force to New York within 48 hours. Britain then abstained, while France voted in favor, clearly eager to see the action unfold.

　Perhaps France, too, wanted to join the fray by sending troops to North America and show off its might—this was a return to an old stomping ground after two centuries! Any French general would have dreamed of following in Lafayette's footsteps, marching to North America and becoming a "hero of two worlds" once again!

　Although the proud Gallic rooster had lost all its martial virtues after World War II, leaving only countless jokes insulting France, its ambition to become a great power continued to fill its chest and, thanks to President Charles de Gaulle's encouragement, it managed to continue its dream of becoming a great power for decades.

　It was probably only after the end of the Cold War that France was forced to admit that it was probably, or perhaps, should be, just a medium-sized country.

　But at least at this time, the French are still very ambitious and determined to become the leader of Europe - whether they can do it is another matter.

　Next, the US representative to the UN Security Council had been dismissed by President Nixon. However, the replacement had not yet arrived, and the dismissed diplomat himself wasn't sure if he was still qualified to represent the United States. Perhaps he didn't want to shoulder any responsibilities that didn't belong to him, or perhaps he was also frightened by the chaos in New York... so for some reason, he actually abstained from the vote!

　It was the Chinese (Taiwan) representative who was a qualified lackey, loyal to Washington and the White House. Even when the American boss himself had problems, he did not hesitate to use his veto power and vetoed the proposal to send peacekeeping troops to New York to launch peacekeeping operations.

　Otherwise, Soviet soldiers and the French Foreign Legion would come to New York for peacekeeping under the banner of the United Nations!

　Unfortunately, in this cruel world, no matter how loyal a lackey is, if he is not strong enough, he will eventually escape the fate of being abandoned after his rabbit is dead.

　Thus, New York continued to struggle for seven days in a state of anarchy filled with chaos, crime, massacre, hunger, thirst, and disease. Then, after more than 100,000 US troops entered New York, they spent another four days clearing the area and suppressing the rioters, barely ending the riots.

　However, a large number of casualties were caused during the battle, and various infectious diseases such as dysentery and plague spread. In order to avoid the outbreak of a biochemical crisis, the American Red Cross had to mobilize doctors from all over the country to rush to New York to fight the epidemic, and requisitioned hotels, mansions and government buildings on the spot as medical facilities.

　The United Nations headquarters building was also requisitioned by the Red Cross and converted into a field hospital, and the United Nations temporarily moved to the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland for meetings.

　——All of you diplomats are upper-class people who live a life of luxury. Who would want to stay in a nuclear radiation zone and talk nonsense all day long?

　-

　Overseas, the outcome of the Fourth Middle East War was basically determined after the Soviet Union sent troops. Although Israel continued to resist for more than a month in desperation, with the complete cessation of US aid and the enemy's unscrupulous nuclear bombing of various Israeli settlements, Israel had been on a strategic offensive before and had not extensively dug tunnels or built permanent fortifications... As a result, it was blown to pieces by a saturation nuclear attack.

　Because the Soviet Union provided a serious overabundance of miniature nuclear bombs, the Palestine Liberation Organization was also extravagant in its war against the Jews. Often, even when dealing with small villages with only a few dozen Jews, they had to use atomic bombs to clear the way...

　As a result, the Israeli army's advantages in the quality of its personnel and its resilience in the face of war cannot be brought into play.

　As for the Israeli Air Force? What Israeli Air Force?

　The airport was bombed like the surface of the moon, and the oil depot was blown up into the sky. Without US warships to transport oil to the planes, how could Israel still have an air force?

　Finally, around the same time as the New York Commune uprising broke out, Soviet tanks rolled into Tel Aviv, the Israeli capital, which had been repeatedly bombed and was riddled with craters, on August 1st. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir immediately emerged from her underground shelter with her entire cabinet and surrendered unconditionally to the Soviet army.

　- A few days ago, these senior Israeli officials were still shouting slogans such as "Sacrifice your life for the country" and "Don't forget Masada Fortress" to cheer up the soldiers on the front line. But in the end, they all shamelessly ran into the Soviet prisoner-of-war camps to report and demanded corresponding treatment. Not even one of them was willing to commit suicide for the country.

　Seeing that all the high-ranking officials had surrendered, the remaining Jewish soldiers also lost their desire to fight. However, they did not dare to surrender to the Arabs, so they fled.

　In this way, this time and space

　The Fourth Middle East War, which turned into a nuclear bombing war with unprecedented brutality and millions of casualties, ended here.

　The Arabs returned to the holy city of Jerusalem, and the Soviet Union promised that Israel could retain its sacred status and only needed to cede land and confess its guilt.

　As for how much territory Israel would have left after the war, it would depend on how well Mrs. Meir could flatter the Soviet Union.

　But the entire holy land has been destroyed by more than 300 nuclear bombs, and the environment has been destroyed to the point that it is almost like a radioactive wasteland in a science fiction movie.

　In the future, if Christians want to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Geiger counters and iodine tablets will probably become standard items in their suitcases!

　Well, if the pilgrims are lucky, they might be able to hunt some mutant animals in the holy land, make specimens of them and bring them back home to show off!

　This pilgrimage to Jerusalem feels like it's about to become something like the pilgrimage scene in "Fallout Bible."

　Chapter 510: How did the country become like this?

　Upon learning of Israel's defeat and surrender, the once tough-minded Israeli soldiers knelt beside the Soviet Union's boots. Even Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, known as the "Iron Lady," attempted to use her Ukrainian background to build relationships with Soviet leaders... Washington's old conservatives and international observers were suddenly devastated, lamenting that the US Middle East strategy had completely collapsed and failed miserably.

　Of course, others will probably immediately retort: ​​Wake up! Do we still have time to care about the Middle East issue now?

　——At this time, the smoke of the civil war had just died down, and the United States, whose domestic affairs were still in a mess, had no time to care about the fate of its little brother Israel.

　While Israel, the wedge driven into the Middle East, was removed, a significant loss, Washington was struggling to protect itself and had no capacity to care about overseas affairs: Although the civil war did not last long, the damage it inflicted on the United States was staggering, even shaking the nation's foundation!

　When President Nixon first saw the war damage statistics, he couldn't help but exclaim, "How did the country end up like this?"

　--From the time President Nixon escaped from the hospital on June 22 and gathered troops to fight back to the White House, to the time on August 3 when the Congressional Army was disbanded, all the rebellious states surrendered, and Speaker Scott went to Washington to plead guilty and be executed, the civil war lasted less than two months from beginning to end.

　Moreover, the Pentagon remained neutral throughout the entire process and did not take any action. The armed forces mobilized by the warring parties were basically irregular troops.

　Compared with the previous American civil war, the four-year Civil War, at first glance, it seems like just a small fight among naughty kids.

　However, although the Second Civil War lasted for such a short time, the loss of life and property was no less than that of the Civil War!

　In New York alone, the death toll in August exceeded two million, including about 60 deaths, another million people became disabled or suffered sequelae of radiation sickness, and more than 30 people were missing. Therefore, for a long time afterwards, various temporary bulletin boards were erected everywhere in the streets and alleys of New York, covered with missing persons notices from New Yorkers looking for their missing relatives.

　In addition to New York, the capital Washington was also devastated in the initial fighting, and a large area of ​​houses in the city's black area were burned down.

　Furthermore, around the time of the New York Commune uprising in early August, in addition to the "National Fitness" no-holds-barred fighting tournament that took place in New York over ten days, numerous riots and armed clashes broke out in other traditional cities across the Northeast, including Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Trenton, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland. Together, these riots burned over 100,000 houses, resulted in tens of thousands of casualties, and resulted in over $40 billion in property losses.

　Especially in Philadelphia, the congressional soldiers who were suddenly dismissed and had not yet received their outstanding wages and severance pay, after the congressmen fled, simply turned into gangs, burned the police station in Philadelphia, looted 2000 stores and businesses, and killed and injured more than 6000 people!

　When the Pennsylvania National Guard finally arrived in Philadelphia to quell the riots, the entire city was littered with corpses and blood.

　In addition to the "main battlefield" in the northeastern United States, a series of bloody armed conflicts broke out in California on the west coast between local California forces supporting President Nixon and those supporting the Congressional Army. About 500 people died in this war, which is known as the "California Civil War" in history.

　In short, during these short forty-plus days of "Civil War II," approximately 70 Americans lost their lives. In terms of death toll alone, this number even exceeds the casualties of the Civil War (during which a combined 62 North and South died)!

　As for the international image of the United States, it suffered an even more devastating collapse. The headlines of major newspapers around the world were filled with photos of the red flag with a hammer and sickle flying on top of the Empire State Building, as well as tragic images of New Yorkers burned by the flash of a nuclear explosion, their skin charred and necrotic, and even their eyes burned away, leaving only black holes.

　Many brave reporters also went directly to New York and rushed to the scene to interview on the spot. They recorded the tearful cries of countless New Yorkers and published a series of eloquent and powerful articles to promote the tragedy in New York to the eyes of people all over the world.

　Of course, this also brought shame to the United States of America before the feet of people all over the world.

　But to be honest, the current situation in New York is really terrible. In the middle of August, there is no water and no electricity.

　There were ruins everywhere, and the trees on the roadside had been turned into charred stakes by incendiary bombs. In some remote alleys, there were still rotting corpses that had not been collected in time.

　——The red flag rose and fell in New York, leaving the people of New York with only a ruin filled with nuclear radiation, and endless tears and pain.

　As for the face of the United States of America? Where is the face left in the United States today?!

　The mushroom cloud rising behind the Statue of Liberty alone was enough to bring the majesty of the United States to the ground.

　——Regarding the nuclear bomb that exploded in New York, the Pentagon and the members of the new Congress initially wanted to shift the blame to the Soviet Union out of habit, organizing public opinion both internationally and domestically to attack the Soviet Union for brazenly detonating a nuclear bomb on the US mainland, killing people everywhere, and committing heinous crimes.

　President Nixon in the White House sensed something was amiss: If the citizens of the United States and the people of allied nations like Western Europe, Japan, and South Korea all believed that KGB agents could at any moment smuggle a nuclear bomb into the US mainland without anyone noticing, and then, with a bang, blow up millions of Americans...

　So, does the liberal camp still have the confidence to win this Cold War?

　Even New York City in the United States can be bombed by KGB agents at any time. So where in the world is there any safe place?

　So, the White House think tank staff changed their thinking and wanted to put the blame on the "Red Bandits" who established the New York Commune, but they soon found that this was not appropriate - if those insignificant Red elements in the United States could easily get a nuclear bomb and use it to launch a terrorist attack that could destroy a city... then, how dangerous would the living environment in American cities be?

　Furthermore, based on the radioactive dust composition collected in the atmosphere by Pentagon aircraft dispatched to the scene after the incident, as well as spectrometer observations of the nuclear explosion's mushroom cloud, several professional laboratories have confirmed one fact: the nuclear bomb detonated in the Bronx was likely a US nuclear bomb...

　Although the US military has lost dozens of tactical nuclear bombs in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, it is not certain that KGB agents will not be able to obtain them.

　However, this means that the KGB can not only smuggle nuclear bombs to New York, but also steal American nuclear bombs first, then smuggle them to New York and detonate them...

　Do you feel that this has brought even more shame to the White House and the Pentagon?

　Of course, the White House can also put the blame for the nuclear bomb on the late General LeMay, saying that he found a way to steal the nuclear bomb.

　But unlike the communists, General Curtis LeMay, the "Tokyo Grill Master," was, after all, a hero of the Tokyo bombing and a renowned American general whose name will live on in history. Throwing too much mud at him would also seriously damage the reputation of the US military itself.

　Besides, others may not know whether there are nuclear bombs in the Capitol Army, but how could the senators who fled and formed this team not know?

　Anyway, Speaker Hugh Scott, who organized the Parliamentary Army, said he would never take on responsibilities that did not belong to him!

　As a seasoned politician, he knew all too well how the bureaucracy would handle this kind of public opinion: