016 Agitated Public Opinion (Part 2)

Bai Zhongqi turned his attention to the domestic side, checking out some of the more mainstream websites and forum comments.

He visited the well-known military forum CD, and the Chat section was completely overwhelmed by discussions about the alien fleet. The entire board had no posts about anything else, and the posting speed was particularly fast.

A big shot directly pointed out, "Although the images provided by the space agency are quite blurry, we can roughly deduce that this formation of the fleet is definitely for military purposes. It's highly likely to be a fleet on an interstellar expedition. It's not clear whether they knew about Earth in advance or if we were just unlucky enough to be discovered by them."

"Are we really going to fight with aliens? Just thinking about it makes me shudder."

"Damn it, I just got discharged two years ago. As soon as the nation gives the order, I'll immediately report back to the military camp. It doesn't matter if it's Japan, the American Empire, or aliens; defending our homeland is an inescapable duty!"

"Mighty!"

At places like CD, there were more rational analyses and wild speculations from users. A user familiar with the air force made an analysis based on the video, "Even with the only alien combat power we've seen, that chevron-shaped fighter, has the ability to withstand collision, deflect shells, and even has high-energy laser weapons. If the aliens have a squadron-sized group of these fighters, they could essentially destroy the air force of any country on Earth, leaving us completely exposed to their aerial supremacy."

"The U.S. military didn't use missiles from beginning to end in the video, definitely not because they were afraid of causing greater chaos in the urban area. I reckon it's probably because the missiles were simply ineffective. There's nothing in the video resembling a tail nozzle, so this chevron-shaped alien fighter likely doesn't have a heat source, rendering infrared guidance useless. And using medium-range missiles seems unlikely because this alien fighter has effectively achieved invisibility from radar."

"Rumor has it, no matter which radar the U.S. military used, it simply didn't detect that fighter. The F-22 was deployed only because there were eyewitnesses."

"Where did that information come from?"

A user from the Air Force forum replied, "Given the size of that alien fleet, they're definitely carrying more than just a few dozen alien fighters. There might be even more formidable aircraft."

"I think, that longest warship among them, is most likely the aliens' Planet-Killer Ship. Maybe it's drawing energy from the sun, and once it's done collecting, it might just fire and blow up Earth."

"That's impossible. The aliens must have their demands for invading Earth, whether it's for resources or something else."

"Fuck, are humans really going to go extinct? I'm only eighteen!"

"It's frustrating, those alien spaceships are near the sun, and even if we wanted to scout, we couldn't."

"Do we have means to scout? Any of our reconnaissance spacecraft reaching the sun, the aliens would have already occupied Earth by then."

"I don't think they can occupy Earth. Even if their technology is much more advanced than ours, how many people can just a few ships carry? There are 7.5 billion people on Earth."

"Why leave any survivors? If I were an alien, I'd keep the land and wipe out all these technologically backward indigenous people, just like the Europeans did when they came to the Americas."

"Never mind, I'm going to withdraw money from the bank right now and drink myself silly tonight."

"Stop dreaming. There's a bank branch right beneath my apartment, and starting an hour ago, they already stopped letting people withdraw money. The riot police are out on the streets maintaining order now. Anyone who starts trouble or tries to force their way in will definitely be punished."

Bai Zhongqi could see that the online opinion was generally pessimistic. There were very few expressing joy about confirming that Earth is not the only place with intelligent life in the universe, but this joy now seemed rather desolate. It appeared that, domestically, official powers were still strong enough to control the situation, but many areas couldn't. Some countries had already seen riots, with stores and banks being looted and vehicles set on fire, and even the riot police being driven back. In some places, even public officials had lost the will to continue working and joined the crazed crowds.

This even included San Francisco, where Bai Zhongqi lived.

Several gunshots made Bai Zhongqi's heart leap. The gunshots came from far outside, but Bai Zhongqi did not take them lightly; he immediately went into the room to reassure his junior.

"What's that? It sounded like gunshots." Han Jiaxue was just settling down, she actually hadn't fallen asleep, and immediately sat up in bed when she heard the gunshots.

Bai Zhongqi waved his hand to indicate it was nothing, then leaned against the window, gently pulling the louvers of the blinds to look across the street. In his line of sight, a few gangster-like Mexican thugs were rushing out of the stores, carrying things, and one burly man even fired a gun into the store as he ran out.

The store across was a small currency exchange, so there was considerable cash. With almost the entire San Francisco police force deployed to deal with the aftermath of the air battle, it gave the crooks on the Left Bank their chance.

At least the chaos hadn't escalated into total anarchy. Most San Franciscans, like Bai Zhongqi, had run back home and locked themselves in. Families with guns quickly took out their weapons to protect their loved ones. Bai Zhongqi now slightly regretted not having applied for a gun license.

Bai Zhongqi spoke gently to Han Jiaxue, "It's okay, those people have left. They won't harm the residents."

Han Jiaxue was still uneasy, looking at Bai Zhongqi, she said, "Senior, could you stay with me for a while?"

Bai Zhongqi nodded. He knew how scared Han Jiaxue was. A gentle girl, studying abroad alone without any support, and encountering such an event—even the strongest would feel overwhelmed. His fondness for Han Jiaxue had been long-standing, but in the past, he always struggled with how to talk to her, how to enter her life. Bai Zhongqi always felt that Han Jiaxue was such a good girl, smart and beautiful, with many suitors. How could he, who came from a much less wealthy background, compete with those who drove Maseratis and Porsches? This sense of inferiority, magnified by his anxiety, ultimately made him falter when facing Han Jiaxue.

It was only today, with his care for Han Jiaxue overriding everything, that Bai Zhongqi's true self finally showed.