Just when Penny's family was horrified by what "Lucy" had said.

At the same time, Virginia.

National Guard headquarters.

Lieutenant Colonel Sam Gidrena held his rifle and looked at the towers on the street not far away, like giants on the top of a mountain, his arms trembled, revealing a pretended composure, but he still couldn't suppress the horror.

The M16A4 assault rifle held tightly in his hand, with a three-point firing function, a capacity of thirty rounds, and a stable hit rate, has followed him for many years, and is Sam's most trusted weapon - one could even say "partner".

The rifle has been in his hands since he was promoted to lieutenant, and he has been holding the M16A4 in the midst of hurricane-induced state riots and demonstrations.

- He still vividly remembers a demonstration of voters supported by a losing party in a presidential election seven years ago.

At that time, he was holding this rifle and leading dozens of National Guardsmen, facing the tens of thousands of marchers who rioted, facing the scene of the parade that had turned into smashing and looting, and shooting decisively at the mob that crossed the line, began to set fire, and gathered around him.

The three rounds of bullets passed through the chests of the mob, bringing up a trail of blood, and he held the handle of his gun firmly, staring closely at those who were so excited by the scene that he wanted to force them forward, and took a step forward, loudly shocking them.

At that time, I had only a few members of the National Guard behind me, but I was fearless.

Although the bloodshed caused him to be hated by the mob that killed him and the people who were injured as a result, and attracted recourse and condemnation from lawyers, Sam's boss brought him a secret commendation from the National Guard and saved Sam completely.

And it was since then that Sam's rank has been on the fast track to promotion, and it took seven years to go from lieutenant to lieutenant colonel, and the speed of promotion is far faster than that of his peers.

And Sam also associated the glory and fearlessness of that time with the rifle in his hand.

He loved the rifle dearly, the subtle deviation from its crosshairs; the subtle touch when the trigger is pulled; In addition, when the bullet is discharged, you can vaguely know whether it will hit the enemy, and the premonition is clear.

A good rifle is like a soldier's lover.

For Sam, as long as he has this rifle in his hand, even if there is not a soldier behind him and there are hordes of enemies in front of him, he is full of confidence that he can overcome everything.

…… Why, however, was he hesitant when he held his gun, as if he was stepping on solid ground instead of solid ground, but a floating cloud?

One by one, the "towers" gradually approached, and at the same time, silver gadgets flew out of the "towers", just like elves in Norse stories, but what came out of those silver gadgets was not a soft and pleasant voice like an elf, but a mechanical and indifferent command tone like an assembly line.

"The war has begun, and you can choose to lay down your arms – and therefore be considered a 'standard citizen' with the same civil rights as ordinary people in the new era, or you can resist and become our enemy......"

"You still have twenty minutes to surrender......"

"You still have fifteen minutes to surrender......"

Sam held his rifle and aimed his scope at the silver gadgets and the "towers" behind them, he gritted his teeth and looked at the "towers", but he didn't dare to make any moves.

Just a few hours ago, the National Guard suddenly found that all communication equipment was unusable, that the network signal was cut off out of thin air, and that even the least relied on walkie-talkies could not communicate with each other.

Just as Sam and his subordinates were in a panic, the "towers" and those silver gadgets suddenly appeared on the horizon visible to the naked eye, like an unstoppable torrent.

It is the duty of the National Guard to confront a sudden, unintended enemy – and in such an emergency moment when the electronic signal is completely out of order. However, it is a pity that due to the disorder of electronic signals, it is difficult to use those weapons equipped with real-time combat information platforms, and it is difficult to effectively communicate information in the first place.

Fortunately, Sam was performing his duties at the headquarters, so he was assigned by his boss to gather a group of subordinates who were training at the headquarters through the oldest way of information transmission - shouting, and rushed to the border of Arlington, where the Pentagon headquarters is located, to deal with and fight back against those enemies who suddenly appeared.

At first, Sam was quite enthusiastic, with the idea of defending his home and country, leading hundreds of troops less than fifty percent of peacetime, with guns that had retreated to the level of World War II, and other sparse troops who were also urgently dispatched to the front line to defend against these mechanical enemies.

But soon, Sam's emotions went from high to frustrated, and from frustration to powerlessness, and finally in this powerlessness, only a vast fear remained.

He watched as a volley of himself and his soldiers hit the towers without leaving a trace, but the towers crushed many of his comrades as easily as giants......

He looked at the armored vehicle units under the National Guard, rushing towards them like a torrent of steel, but although the ammunition that bombarded the "tower" left some traces on it, the traces of injury disappeared almost in the blink of an eye......

He watched as the frenzied soldiers roared and rushed towards the tower, but almost instantly, his body was covered in liquid by those silver gadgets, and then one by one he turned into zombie-like characters with stiff faces and could only stand in place......

He watched as the pilots, who had lost the guidance and radar of the communication station, maneuvered the fighter planes to force their way into the sky, intending to drop bombs from the air and inflict a core blow on these mechanical enemies. But when they flew into the air, they crossed the parabola one by one, and exploded into fireworks in the distant hills......

This is an invincible enemy, an existence that cannot be defeated by the spirit - the electronic technology and mechanical technology, which are the foundation of human society, are like toys in their hands, and they have been stripped of the glorious coat of hundreds of years of scientific and technological construction, and the only thing that can still be decided by themselves is this weak body.

- The more he fought against it, the stronger the realization in Sam's heart, and at the same time, the stronger the sense of despair.

Thankfully, the enemies don't seem to want to kill, or rather they want to save the lives of other humans. As a result, Sam and most of his men were able to retreat to the Pentagon headquarters instead of dying on the battlefield.

However, Sam knew that this was just the result of the other party's indulgence.

As the enemy advances, the silver gadgets they unleash are scattering everywhere for what they call "standard citizenship certification", as if they were destroying the old order and establishing a new one.

- Because of this, the enemy's advance has been slowed down, so that Sam still has room to rest.

…… But even if you take a break, what can you do?

The enemies clearly didn't care about control of the Pentagon - they were just sending out those silver gadgets to scatter around and slowly approaching this important world-famous stronghold.

- It's like a cat playing with a mouse.

Watching those distant "towers" get closer and closer, Sam's hands trembled, and he wondered if he died in battle today, would anyone remember him in the future?

Just when Sam was pondering how it would be more glorious to die in battle, a young man's panting voice suddenly came from behind him:

"Follow me, Sir Sam! Lieutenant General Kelman of the Ministry of Defense wants to meet you! ”

I worked all night last night, and I was busy until 8 o'clock in the morning, and I didn't wake up in the afternoon, and my head hurt too, and I missed the day's update.

Try to find a day to make up for the update this weekend.

(End of chapter)