The Chief of Operations was peaceful and steady. In Dwight D. Eisenhower's dreams, the sounds of muffled thunder-like explosions and various whistles blended into one.

Eisenhower stood atop a peak, surrounded by a tide of American soldiers surging toward a Chinese-held height. Countless rockets roared like fire-dragons from artillery positions in the rear, turning the earth into a sea of fire.

Looking up at the sky, American and Chinese fighters darted back and forth like shuttles, spiraling and diving with sharp shrieks as they pursued one another.

At the center of this battlefield, Eisenhower felt a searing anxiety within his breast. As Chief of Operations, he wanted to command the fight, but he could find no path to victory. He could only hope that the American military could rely on its tenacious will to overwhelm the Chinese and win.

But the battle remained a stalemate, and Eisenhower could only wait for the moment the situation changed. Yet somehow, an intuition that filled him with panic arose: the development of the war would not go as he wished.

Just then, he felt someone behind him. Turning, he saw the Army Chief of Staff and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur was composed, his corncob pipe between his teeth as he came to stand beside Eisenhower.

Eisenhower said something to him—as for exactly what, Eisenhower wasn't sure. After listening, MacArthur took a leisurely puff of smoke and spoke a single sentence. Hearing those words, Eisenhower felt as if he had been struck by lightning; his entire body jerked. In the next instant, he was awake.

As the boundary between dream and wakefulness still overlapped, the words he had heard in the dream suddenly returned to him through the haze: "You must be responsible for the current war situation!"

The memories of the dream rapidly faded from General Eisenhower's mind, and MacArthur's line almost vanished with them, but Eisenhower made a conscious effort to remember it. For he had finally found the reason that had been torturing him for two months.

As the U.S. Army Chief of Operations, Eisenhower *did* have to be responsible for the situation as it stood. The Anglo-American forces and the Chinese military had been in fierce combat since early May. By July 14th, the Chinese had occupied Alaska and Northwestern Canada and were using the region as a base for a full-scale push into Western Canada.

The United States had reached its mobilization peak, calling up over twenty million men. Canada had mobilized four million. Britain had transported 450,000 troops from the home islands.

Yet this combined force of 25 million had gained no advantage against the Chinese. Those Chinese soldiers were like demons from hell; they seemed never to rest, never to eat or drink, as they moved through the rugged mountains of the North American west coast. They engaged in brutal slaughter with the Anglo-American forces and won most of the mountain mobile battles.

Every day, the Allied forces suffered 20,000 to 30,000 casualties. According to internal U.S. statistics, the daily death toll exceeded 10,000. In two months, the Allies had lost 1.2 million men. At such a rate, in two and a half years, the 25 million Allied troops would be completely consumed.

And that was just paper calculation. Once the American elite were exhausted, the rate of loss in the later stages would be several times higher. The Allies couldn't last two and a half years.

As Chief of Operations, Eisenhower had to be responsible for this outcome!

Thus, he felt himself being tortured to the point of madness. He was now willing to do anything to obtain victory! Even if the price was going to hell after death, if it led to victory, Eisenhower would choose it without hesitation.

Meanwhile, in Oak Ridge, Albert Einstein scratched his messy hair and said to the thin, almost sickly-looking Harry Lloyd Hopkins: "We still need two months."

Hopkins himself was in poor health and had been frail since childhood. As Roosevelt's close friend and special envoy, he coughed a few times after hearing Einstein's answer. His already pale face turned even more ghastly, making his bright eyes stand out like twin ghost-fires against his pallor.

"Professor, you have already delayed the schedule for the nuclear test twice. Can you tell me the reason?" Hopkins's voice was raspy but heavy with pressure.

Einstein had never thought highly of the scientific literacy of officials, and he was even less impressed now. He thought for a while before answering: "The experimental data has not matched the calculated figures. We are searching for the problem; we can only conduct the test after it is resolved."

To the Italian-born scientist Dr. Enrico Fermi standing nearby, this was a scientist's answer. But as an Italian, Professor Fermi was many levels ahead of Einstein in the ways of the world. Seeing that this answer would inevitably trigger doubt from Hopkins, Fermi felt compelled to step in and help with the explanation. "Mr. Hopkins, with all our current efforts, we can only produce enough nuclear material for fewer than two bombs a year. I believe you have seen the reports on this."

Hopkins turned his gaze toward Fermi. Since Fermi's explanation followed a bureaucratic logic—that the progress of nuclear material production was not decided by Einstein but by the various manufacturing enterprises—Hopkins had no immediate questions. Since the U.S. government managed those companies directly, he accepted the point.

Nodding, Hopkins asked: "And then?"

Seeing they had a basic consensus, Fermi continued: "Do you believe that after a nuclear test, if it is not successful, a significant portion of the failed nuclear material can be recovered?"

Einstein was taken aback by this. It took him considerable effort to realize that the officials didn't understand how much nuclear material a test actually consumed.

Hopkins, too, had spotted a point he hadn't considered and pressed: "Is that not the case?"

Seeing the misunderstanding had been identified, Fermi hurriedly explained. The basic engineering principle of the American-designed bomb was to use HMX (C4 explosive) to drive multiple blocks of uranium—each small enough not to reach a self-sustaining chain reaction—together into a single mass that exceeded the critical limit under high temperature and pressure.

Simultaneously, a neutron generator would fire "slow neutrons" into this large mass of material, triggering the fission of the uranium. The fission would release new neutrons, which would trigger further fission in other uranium atoms, creating a chain reaction. Ultimately, the weapon would explode, releasing massive energy.

Having explained this, Fermi could see from Hopkins's expression that he understood: regardless of success or failure, there was no possibility of recovering the uranium from a failed test.

Nevertheless, Professor Fermi gave the answer in the clearest possible language: "Therefore, recovery of the uranium is impossible. To ensure success, the result of every step of our testing must match the calculations before we can proceed to the next phase. Only when all pre-test data matches the pre-calculated figures can the final weapon succeed."

Hopkins now understood that the scientists were indeed working diligently, yet he was still disappointed. For the war had reached a critical moment where a weapon of such massive lethality as the atomic bomb was required to deal China a staggering blow.

Before the Chinese landed in North America, the U.S. military believed that as long as the Allies launched an all-out counter-offensive, no matter how tenacious the Chinese were, they could not secure a foothold in Vancouver.

However, reality proved the U.S. military had overestimated itself. The tenacity of the Chinese exceeded their imagination, and the level of Chinese weaponry exceeded it even further.

Besides the Air Force, which had long been proven world-leading, the Chinese Army used rockets of varying ranges—some 100 kilometers, some 20 kilometers. Regardless of type, they constantly frustrated American offensive efforts with jaw-dropping precision, inflicting massive losses.

Several times, the U.S. military had launched death-defying charges. Overwhelming American positions were covered by precise volleys from Chinese rocket launchers; in two hours, American KIA exceeded 20,000, with 30,000 wounded. An entire corps was wiped out before even engaging the Chinese face-to-face.

This had happened not once or twice, but five times. To the point where the U.S. Army could no longer formulate plans for massed group assaults.

After the operational density was reduced, the U.S. military still failed to achieve a breakthrough. China's level of mountain warfare far surpassed that of the Americans; basically every U.S. offensive was thwarted, while most Chinese offensives achieved their objectives.

As the war stood, China's controlled zone in Canada had pushed over 200 kilometers eastward, and they were on the verge of breaking through the Canadian portion of the Rockies. Once China built a transportation line across the Rocky Mountains, the U.S. military would no longer be able to restrict the deployment of Chinese forces in North America. Such a result would be catastrophic.

The American high command realized that besides causing widespread destruction, nuclear weapons could deal a massive shock to China—undoubtedly the most effective of the few means available to stop the Chinese advance.

While some believed China already possessed nuclear weapons, this was not important to the U.S., for Hopkins believed that once the U.S. used nuclear weapons, it could negotiate with China and seek an honorable way to exit the war.

If the Chinese military were allowed to continue their unscrupulous advance at this stage, the United States could only keep fighting until it could fight no more—until confidence was lost and national cohesion was utterly destroyed.

The Einstein before him seemed unable to understand this. Hopkins turned back to Dr. Fermi, who clearly did. "Professor, can you confirm that you can deliver on your promise in two months?"

Professor Fermi could indeed understand the government's pressure, but science was science; the movement of atoms followed its own laws and would not differ one bit whether facing civilians or officials. Fermi even internally believed that even before God, atoms would follow their own laws.

However, as an Italian with 3,000 years of civilization behind him, Fermi replied with a level of tact far exceeding Einstein's: "I believe that in two months, we will certainly be able to give you a satisfactory answer."

Einstein blinked in confusion; he didn't quite understand why Hopkins wanted a result while Fermi was giving him an "answer." But through his dealings with officials, Einstein had gained some experience: officials needed an *answer*. Although he still couldn't fathom why that answer was so important to them.

Out of a well-intentioned desire to soothe Roosevelt's special envoy, Einstein spoke: "Mr. Hopkins, the lifestyle of the Chinese is difficult to understand; their environment is filthy, their reactions slow. Chinese children are listless and dull-witted. This is an industrious but numb race; the Chinese are like a flock of sheep, like machines rather than humans, lacking thought and mathematical talent. Therefore, I do not believe China can possibly surpass us in the progress of nuclear weapons development."

Hopkins had intended to take Fermi's answer back to Roosevelt, but hearing Einstein speak this way, a surge of fury erupted in his heart. He had been to the front and witnessed the combat personally. He had seen the oceans of hospital beds filled with wounded in the rear.

In terms of creativity in war technology, the Chinese were far from numb; instead, they were filled with a terrifying imagination.

As for the papers He Rui had written on politics, economics, and military affairs—Hopkins had read them all. Their thoughtfulness and logic were undoubtedly the level only a true philosopher could reach.

But Einstein's tone and expression were filled with goodwill, and after all, Einstein was on the American side and working with all his might for the country. Hopkins finally suppressed the urge to burst into curses. He stood up, put on his hat, and as he reached the door, he turned back to Einstein. "Mr. Einstein, I feel that what you just said is identical to the propaganda of the Nazi German Ministry of Information."

With that, Hopkins turned and pushed through the door, leaving the two stunned professors standing in place.

The Rocky Mountains form the backbone of the North American Cordillera, composed of many smaller ranges. Known as the "spine" of North America, the main chain stretches from British Columbia, Canada, to New Mexico in the Southwestern United States, over 4,800 kilometers north-to-south, vast and lacking vegetation. Its name is derived from an Indian tribal name. The towering Rockies undulate for thousands of kilometers; the entire system consists of numerous sub-ranges, 39 of which are named. Except for the St. Lawrence, almost all major North American rivers originate in the Rockies, making it the continent's major watershed.

At this time, the newly appointed Chinese North American Theater Commander, Marshal Hu Xiushan, was quietly gazing eastward from a mountain peak 200 kilometers east of Prince Rupert. This was the highest peak of the Rockies at this latitude. The Chinese military had captured it two days ago and begun setting up a radar station.

Due to the lack of time to dig bunkers, the radar vehicles were hidden in concealed spots on the peak. Engineers were busy erecting antennas and radio-wave transmitters, connecting them to the vehicles with thick cables.

"To see a thousand miles, ascend another floor." The same applied to radar. The higher the altitude, the greater the direct detection range, allowing the Air Force to react more quickly.

While the U.S. military feared the Chinese offensive, Hu Xiushan was not complacent. The Anglo-Americans were not incompetent; they had demonstrated the level a first-class global power should possess in the production and manufacturing of jet fighters. Even though China had built some airfields in North America and the fighters contesting air superiority no longer relied entirely on Naval Aviation, China still had not gained air superiority.

He Rui had proposed the concept of air-to-air missiles, and Chinese technical departments were working desperately on them. But the technology was too far ahead of its time; it was still in the R&D stage with no prototypes yet. Thus, the current air war still relied on machine guns and autocannons. In the mode of aerial dogfighting, the Chinese Air Force was engaged in a brutal war of attrition with the Allies—killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of its own.

The endless mountain ranges unfolded before Hu Xiushan. Usually a man of few words, he gazed at the scenery in silence, his mind coolly assessing the war.

In World War I, the Entente and the Central Powers had ten million killed and ten million wounded. If the war continued this way, the battle for North America would be no better.

Furthermore, while China's current progress was smooth, the geography and climate were not in their favor. Once the currently occupied regions entered winter, the mountains would be sealed by heavy snow, making transport extremely difficult. The truly viable window for operations was only from April to November each year.

Therefore, to smoothly break the stalemate, it depended on the WPLA successfully liberating Africa and pushing into Europe. Simultaneously, the Chinese Navy had to launch a fierce assault on the U.S. East Coast from the Atlantic.

At that point, the United States would transform from a nation shielded by two oceans into one fighting a two-front war. Because the central U.S. lacked water, it could only be an agricultural zone and could not support large-scale industry. American industry was concentrated on the West and East Coasts.

In other words, if the United States remained stubborn and fought to the end, China would have to begin bombing the industrial zones on both coasts, thoroughly destroying American industry to force a surrender.

As a soldier, Hu Xiushan didn't mind doing so. But having followed He Rui for so long, he knew that doing so would inevitably trigger immense hatred toward China in the U.S.—hatred that would take many years to resolve.

As a member of the Chinese leadership, Hu Xiushan hoped for a more favorable solution. But he found his own level insufficient for such thinking. For when he put himself in the position of the U.S., he naturally felt they *had* to fight to the end. At the very least, Hu Xiushan, acting as an American, could find no reason *not* to continue the struggle.

*Chairman, hurry up and give us the next plan,* Hu Xiushan thought expectantly. 州。