140: Alice Springs, a paradise on earth, has become a refuge for deserters

Old John immediately appeased the panic among the townspeople.

"Don't panic, not many people have broken in yet, and they don't have heavy weapons. Don't forget, we've also fought in wars before—"

The townspeople were instantly invigorated.

That's right, they had also encountered tens of thousands of U.S. Military attacking the town. They had trained daily these past few days and arranged for people to patrol around the town in shifts.

Old John ordered the temporary militiamen in the town to take up arms and resist the American military's attack.

Just as Old John gave the order, monitors everywhere showed more and more U.S. Military soldiers breaking into this non-combat zone, coming from all directions, which was hair-raising.

Soon, the militiamen had set up defenses and prepared for battle at the defensive lines around the town. They used loudspeakers to shout at the approaching U.S. Military soldiers and fired warning shots into the air to express their rights and sovereignty.

To their surprise, a shocking scene unfolded.

Those soldiers without guns immediately raised their hands. Those with guns suddenly realized and promptly took off their firearms, ammunition, accessories, and even their military uniforms one by one, then raised their hands after finishing.

Moreover, throughout the process of disarming themselves, they maintained their pace, running towards the town as if a fierce tiger were chasing them from behind, not daring to stop for a moment.

The townspeople were dumbfounded. The scene unfolding before them was completely beyond their expectations. They couldn't even figure out what those soldiers were doing until the people ran closest. They couldn't drive them away, nor could they block them. Those people collectively jumped over the cover lines without a care, rushed into the town, sat down on the spot, and breathed heavily, as if they had successfully escaped and avoided a nightmare.

Fortunately, these militiamen responsible for defense were ordinary townspeople and did not actually open fire; otherwise, this group of disarmed people who forcibly charged the lines would have been killed long ago.

When Old John received the report and ran out to see, the streets in the center of the town were already filled with disarmed U.S. Military soldiers, some of whom were lying on the ground, panting heavily, due to exhaustion from their previous run.

And that was not all.

In the time they were delayed, U.S. Military soldiers were still fleeing into the town from all directions.

All U.S. Military soldiers followed suit, disarming themselves and surrendering by lying down, as if this place were paradise on earth, a sacred refuge.

Later, the streets of Alice Springs could no longer accommodate more people, and the residents of Alice Springs had resistance, even hatred, towards the U.S. Military, so they absolutely refused to let U.S. Military soldiers enter any buildings.

Left with no choice, Old John instructed all subsequent U.S. Military arrivals to remain outside the town.

Anyway, the non-combat zone designated earlier included the town itself and a large area of land around it.

Finally, Old John looked at the dense mass of U.S. Military soldiers lying both inside and outside the town, observing their disheveled appearance and fearful faces, and even if he was slow to grasp things, he realized that these were all defeated deserters, who had entered this non-combat zone to hide because they feared being captured by the American military.

In other words, the U.S. Military outside had been defeated, and it was a massive defeat!!!

But how did they suddenly lose? Didn't the U.S. Military gather over a hundred thousand troops? Didn't they completely surround the entire mountain range?

What on earth happened?!

Things are always dramatic.

Generally, unless the warring parties actively disclose information, ordinary people around the world will not immediately know the progress of a war. Even if an observing third party has some intelligence, they will tacitly refrain from making it public without the permission of the warring parties.

However, the people of the world learned of the U.S. Military's defeat immediately.

This was precisely because of the existence of a unique place like Alice Springs.

Although it was a non-combat zone, due to distrust of the U.S. Military, Alice Springs had been continuously broadcasting live to report its safety daily to global netizens concerned about Alice Springs's fate.

This live broadcast was 24/7, and the content of the live stream came from cameras installed inside and outside the town.

In other words, the vast number of netizens had already witnessed what was happening inside and outside the town simultaneously through the live broadcast.

They instantly all had puzzled expressions, and countless shocked and confused emoticons flew across the screen.

"Holy crap, did I see that wrong?"

"Those densely packed, disarmed people are the U.S. Military, right? And their numbers are still increasing."

"You didn't see wrong, because I saw it too. They look like routed soldiers."

"Strange, even if the U.S. Military isn't entirely elite, at the very least, the soldiers sent to participate in this war should have undergone some combat training, right? How could there be so many routed soldiers? Doesn't the U.S. Military have disciplinary squads? Where are the officers of these soldiers?"

"Based on the current number of U.S. Military routed soldiers inside and outside the town, only one conclusion can be drawn: the U.S. Military has been defeated, and it's a massive defeat! That's why these soldiers panicked and desperate, treating Alice Springs as their last resort."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. Do you know how many troops the U.S. Military deployed this time? It's said to be 150,000, while the Anti-War Army absolutely cannot exceed 15,000. With a 10-fold difference in troop numbers, how incompetent must the U.S. Military command be to cause such a large-scale rout? Moreover, it's only been a few days since the official start of hostilities, and both sides are engaged in mountain warfare; how could a winner be decided so easily?"

"Yes, yes, the U.S. Military is so powerful, how could they be defeated so completely and decisively..."

In short, the news that the U.S. Military was in a massive rout quickly spread across the entire internet.

People joined the discussion one after another, but due to the lack of absolutely convincing evidence, various opinion camps debated endlessly.