23: Slap the US in the face, someone actually dared to cause trouble on US territory!!!

Before the U.S. had officially announced anything, news of the U.S. military base's fall spread throughout the world, fueled by those with ulterior motives.

Instantly, it became a global hot topic.

The intensity of public discussion this time was far greater than when Darwin City had previously garnered attention for other reasons.

For no other reason than this:

You can gather a bunch of civilians and cause city-wide chaos; at most, it's a civilian matter. But now, those rioters have dared to attack a U.S. military base, and they succeeded.

This isn't just slapping the U.S. in the face; this is an act of rebellion!

How can the world's foremost military superpower maintain its dignity!!!

For a time, the internet was flooded with comments mocking the U.S. Military's incompetence.

The White Palace was quickly surrounded by reporters from various media outlets who had rushed to the scene, and spokesperson Ms. Mira had no choice but to step out and accept interviews.

Under a barrage of continuous questions, Mira admitted:

The fall of Darwin Air Force Base is indeed true, and the White Palace is currently carefully deliberating countermeasures.

As for anything else, she would not elaborate.

Since the official side was unwilling to discuss details, the media and netizens concocted a plethora of conspiracy theories, even dragging China into the mix.

In short, from this moment on,

The events unfolding in the Darwin region became the world's top news story.

Many people stayed glued to the internet and their televisions, waiting to see the further developments of the incident.

Meanwhile, at this very moment, in the Eastern Hemisphere, Australia.

Under the cover of night, the U.S.'s emergency military operation was already underway.

The U.S. dispatched a vanguard force towards Darwin Base.

The U.S.'s thinking was that no matter how this incident happened,

Recapturing the base immediately was the priority.

—

A large military transport aircraft was flying through the clouds.

Inside the enormous transport cabin were hundreds of paratroopers belonging to a combined arms battalion of a certain U.S. air combat group.

Initially, en route, they were chatting and laughing, deliberately hiding the anxious atmosphere.

It wasn't until the cockpit announced their imminent arrival at the operational airspace that the previously lively cabin instantly fell silent, with tension, suppression, and even fear etched on everyone's faces.

They had been hastily dispatched to carry out a combat mission, with absolutely no prior psychological preparation.

And they all knew that this mission would be nothing like their usual live-fire drills.

At this moment, Pearson, the battalion commander of the combined arms battalion, raised his voice and said, "Pull yourselves together."

"Our mission is primarily reconnaissance, paving the way for the subsequent arrival of armored units."

"As long as we are careful, we won't engage in large-scale combat with the American military."

"Alright, no more nonsense. Form up, check that your parachute packs are securely fastened, and follow me to jump—"

The rear hatch of the transport plane opened, and Battalion Commander Pearson was the first to reach the doorway, where strong winds howled.

He wasn't going to jump first, but rather to give the jump command to the soldiers at the very front.

The first paratrooper took a deep breath, looked at the boundless night outside and the dark, vast land below, then plunged down.

The others followed suit, one after another, like dumplings dropping into a pot, jumping out of the transport plane, including Pearson, who was the last.

As they approached the ground, small parachutes bloomed in the night sky.

After Battalion Commander Pearson landed safely, he used his walkie-talkie to have the members in the operational channel report in one by one. He was very satisfied to find no one had lost contact.

"Listen carefully, I'll say it again: we are the vanguard, reconnaissance is primary, combat is secondary."

"Next, we will split into different teams and proceed from different directions to Darwin Military Base, which is a few kilometers away."

"During this process, we might encounter the American military's hidden sentries."

"We might also encounter the American military's small drone aerial reconnaissance."

"And some unlucky soul might even step on a landmine planted by the American military."

"I cannot guarantee everyone's absolute safety."

"But if you follow my orders, you can minimize casualties."

"Understood?"

All the soldiers collectively responded: "Understood!"

With the briefing complete, hundreds of infantrymen from the combined arms battalion, holding their rifles and utilizing night vision devices and other small detection equipment, advanced cautiously.

Perhaps they were lucky.

Of the hundreds of soldiers in the combined arms battalion, none had an accident, except for a few unlucky ones who accidentally twisted their ankles.

Ultimately, they successfully reached the open field outside Darwin Military Base, less than a hundred meters from the base's main gate.

Looking from the open field,

Darwin Air Force Base was silent.

There was no light; it was completely dark.

No American military personnel were observed on patrol either.

Pearson, as the operational commander, confirmed the situation repeatedly before reporting it to his superiors via radio.

The superiors instructed them to await the arrival of subsequent combat units.

The night was boundless, broken only by the constant buzzing of mosquitoes.

After waiting for more than half an hour, someone finally couldn't sit still.

"Battalion Commander, why don't we just go into the base and investigate?"

"Yeah, just waiting like this is too agonizing."

Pearson also felt that the current action was overly conservative.

So he picked out a few soldiers willing to take risks and ordered them to infiltrate the base for reconnaissance.

"Once you get close to the base, do not enter blindly. If you come under attack, retreat immediately, understood?"

"Understood!"

Those soldiers quickly hunched over, gripping their guns and carrying their tactical backpacks, heading towards the base silhouetted against the night.

Pearson never expected that the reconnaissance would be completed in less than 10 minutes.

The soldiers reported with confusion over the communication channel:

"Battalion Commander, no one was found inside the base, neither the American military nor our own personnel."

"This is an empty base."

Huh?

Another half an hour later, Pearson led his men to thoroughly investigate the entire base, confirming it was indeed empty before making an urgent report to his superiors again.

After the report, Pearson's scalp tingled.

The base was empty.

As a battalion commander, he could at least infer the quantity and advanced nature of the various equipment contained within a U.S. military base of this caliber.

Those missing military equipments, if not pursuing meticulous completeness, could equip tens of thousands of people without issue.

It seems the American military they would face next might be a large, modernized, regular army!