He knew it was an order from the higher-ups.
But wasn’t this going too far?
What about the ecological damage?
Rogers shrugged and said to Zhao Lizhang,
"Sorry. Vasily and I will buy everyone a round of drinks later. We also have the Beidou system’s precise navigation to thank. After all, the GPS system suddenly malfunctioned due to interference from some unknown signal today, which had a huge impact on us."
Seeing the massive fireball erupting on the highlands outside, and thinking about how his troops had been wiped out in an instant—obliterated into a field of craters without even a chance to react—Afeif’s eyes turned bloodshot. He spun around, pointed at everyone present, and roared,
"You Devils! You self-righteous outsiders! Die! Open fire! Open fire! Kill them all!"
But just as he finished speaking, a sigh was heard beside him. Afeif’s deputy suddenly drew the pistol from his hip, aimed it at Afeif’s temple, and pulled the trigger.
"BANG!" Afeif didn’t even have time to react before a bullet tore through his head. He collapsed to the ground, a corpse.
Even in death, he couldn’t understand why he had been defeated so easily.
Afeif’s deputy crossed his hands, bowed to the crowd, and said,
"Honored guests, my sincerest apologies. Afeif’s recklessness has caused unnecessary trouble for everyone. I am Amir, and I apologize on behalf of Afeif and our forces."
At the same time, he waved his hand, signaling for his men to lower their weapons.
Having witnessed the horrific scene on the highlands outside the city, his men were already shaken, their hands trembling as they held their guns. They quickly lowered their weapons.
After seeing that terrifying, earth-shattering joint attack, they finally understood the gap between themselves and these major world powers.
It was a gap that numbers and courage could never bridge.
When these powers at the apex of human society united, the immense force they generated far exceeded the sum of all other nations’ strength.
Besides, they were just a small group of rebels from a minor country.
"Amir, you traitor..." One of Afeif’s loyalists suddenly turned his gun, roaring as he was about to pull the trigger.
"BOOM!" With a deafening crack, the man’s entire upper torso vanished, exploding into a shower of blood and gore that splattered everywhere. A large hole appeared in the adjacent wall.
An anti-materiel sniper rifle!
Seeing this, everyone present—all long-hardened by the battlefields of the Middle East—instantly knew what kind of weapon was responsible.
The first anti-materiel sniper rifles were designed to destroy vehicles like tanks and armored cars. The result of using one on a person was to either get torn in half by a single shot or simply be reduced to half a person.
"Very good, Mr. Amir. From now on, you are the leader of your unit. Thank you for saving us some ammunition." Vasily nodded and snapped his fingers. Little red dots from laser sights simultaneously appeared on all the rebels present, then vanished just as quickly.
A cold sweat instantly beaded on Amir’s forehead. Only now did he realize that they had been in the sights of the enemy’s snipers all along.
If they had dared to make a single wrong move, those powerful sniper rifles would have torn them to pieces at any moment.
"Alright, gentlemen. Now we can sign the peace agreement," the representative from Britain said with a smile.
He placed a briefcase on the conference table, opened it, and took out several thick stacks of documents.
One could say that drafting armistice agreements was a specialty of the Britons, so Britain was naturally tasked with writing this peace treaty.
The documents were distributed to the representatives of the various factions. At first, a few of them, including the representatives from Israel and Persia, were reading the contents of the agreement carefully. But upon seeing the representatives of the five major powers sign their names without a second thought, the delegates from the other factions couldn’t be bothered to read anymore. They simply signed the documents with wry smiles.
It was a peace agreement, after all. There was nothing much to see.
Even if they genuinely disagreed with a clause and wanted to negotiate, Afeif’s recent example served as a clear warning to everyone about what they should and should not do.
The Kurdish and Turkish representatives, in particular, who had initially looked like they had something to say, now appeared much more docile.
There was nothing left to say.
The so-called five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council were not just five titles and five chairs.
It wasn’t that they gained the right to control the world situation after becoming permanent members; rather, they had to possess the ability to control the world situation *before* they could become permanent members.
Many smaller nations had gotten this cause-and-effect relationship backward in the past, leading to numerous farces.
After everything was signed, Rogers spoke politely,
"Thank you all for coming. I hope that when you return to your respective countries, you will convey our President’s regards to your leaders on my behalf."
Hearing this, the representatives present nodded and began to file out of the conference hall, preparing to leave Abu Kamaal City and return to where they came from.
The representatives from Turkey, the Kurdish factions, Iraq, the local government, and various other powers all left, leading their delegations away from the city.
As they passed the highlands outside the city, they looked at the wreckage of vehicles and weapons—along with human remains—that had been blasted to pieces and burned to ash. Complex emotions churned within them.
What they didn’t expect, however, was that back in the conference room of the Oasis Hotel in Abu Kamaal City, a few people had remained behind.
This was an unrecorded, closed-door meeting.
All non-essential personnel, including all armed guards, had been cleared from the conference room. Only a few people remained.
They were: Rogers, the representative from Eagle Country; Vasily, the representative from Russia; Zhao Lizhang; Stephen, the representative from Britain; David, the representative from France; Abdullah, the representative from Saudi Arabia; Jalari, the representative from Persia; and the goateed man in a white robe with a scimitar at his waist.
The electronic warfare teams brought by the various countries had already swept the entire building, inside and out, to ensure there were no listening or surveillance devices. They also activated electromagnetic shielding equipment to be absolutely certain.
With only the few of them present, the atmosphere became much more relaxed than before.
Zhao Lizhang loosened his tie and teased Rogers,
"Rogers, when we were on missions back in the ’True Apocalypse Game,’ I never realized you were such a good actor. You were exactly like one of those generals from a Hollywood blockbuster."
Rogers laughed.
"That’s because those Hollywood types are imitating soldiers like me! My dear Zhao, I’m the real deal!"
Meanwhile, Vasily walked up to Stephen and David, shook their hands, and said,
"If I hadn’t received the Commander’s directive, I never would have known you two were our comrades."
"No, no, no, my friend Vasily, we don’t use the word ’comrade.’ You can save that for Zhao. We only have friends and brothers," David said with a hearty laugh, standing up to give Vasily a hug.
Though moments ago they had appeared to be representatives of nations with differing stances and interests, they now felt an incredible warmth toward one another.
Because they all shared a single identity—members of the Salvation Army.
They had been suddenly ordered by the highest levels of their respective governments to come here as representatives to sign this peace treaty. They were bewildered at first, but then they instantly felt the immense power wielded by the Commander.
He could already control the governments of the world!
Although they didn’t know the Commander’s purpose for having the nations sign a peace treaty and maintain peace around Abu Kamaal City, they knew it was of absolute and profound significance.
Knowing the Commander’s usual way of doing things, this was undoubtedly an action that would greatly benefit all of human civilization.
However, the goateed man in the white robe and scimitar remained silent, watching the others with a deadpan expression.
Just then, the Saudi representative, who was sitting to the side, gave a soft cough and said,
"By the Savior, everyone..."
Everyone immediately stopped their teasing and idle chatter. They all turned to the old man with solemn expressions, addressing him as,
"Mr. Abdullah..."
A flicker of excitement appeared in Abdullah’s eyes as he spoke slowly,
"Everyone... the Commander... will grant us an audience personally."