On July 24th, China launched 185 DF-2 missiles in North America. By July 25th, the number reached 517. The targets expanded from the initial oil fields and refineries to bridges, railways, industrial zones, and airfields.

On July 26th, China launched 841 missiles against strategic targets on the U.S. West Coast. Several large U.S. Army barracks in Washington, Oregon, and California were also hit. Three of these barracks were severely damaged; while the U.S. Army could not immediately tally the casualties, estimates exceeded 10,000, possibly reaching as high as 30,000.

In these few days, the Rockefeller group lost hundreds of millions in property. This included oil field and refinery facilities, as well as tens of thousands of tons of crude oil, refined products, and cracked petroleum compounds consumed in the fires.

Especially painful for Rockefeller was the loss of 691 experienced engineers, with technician losses counted in the thousands. These nearly ten thousand personnel represented the accumulation of the Rockefeller group over the past decade; while financial losses could be resolved through bank loans, the loss of personnel could not be compensated for in three or five years.

On July 28th, the Rockefeller group ordered all technical personnel on the West Coast to migrate east to the group's enterprises in states like Texas and New Mexico.

Simultaneously, Rockefeller sent an explanatory letter to the U.S. War Commission: Given the military's inability to provide security for the West Coast, the Rockefeller group, to ensure employee safety and maintain production in currently secure regions, must halt all industrial operations on the West Coast. Any resulting delays in orders were cited as *force majeure*. The Rockefeller group expressed deep regret and sincerely suggested the War Commission immediately seek capacity from other regions.

This news was like a boulder dropped into a pond; the entire West Coast industrial zone fell into panic. After the Great Depression, a large number of American companies had invested in the West Coast, with China as their primary market. With the outbreak of war, trade with China halted, but government orders had kept these factories running at full capacity. The leader of these companies was the Rockefeller group.

With even Rockefeller fleeing, industrial towns across the West Coast saw a massive wave of evacuation. The wealthy flew out; core technical staff took company-prepared convoys or chartered trains; ordinary workers either fought for train tickets or rented trucks with other families to carry both people and belongings. A refugee tide from west to east quickly formed.

Even though some didn't need to flee, the cities were under attack, and locals fled to the countryside to escape the fires of war.

The Roosevelt government was well aware of the monumental consequences of the attack on the western industrial zone. However, before the government could formulate a response, the zone had effectively ground to a halt within a week.

Roosevelt immediately ordered a meeting. At the head of the long table sat a pale, sickly Roosevelt. He raised his hand to tap the table, and a significant portion of the cabinet noticed that his hand was strangely swollen—his fingers were as thick as small carrots and possessed a dull, purple-black hue.

The Secretary of Health looked away from Roosevelt's fingers. From a medical perspective, a 61-year-old Roosevelt should not have such severe swelling. Yet the symptoms had appeared, and as a disabled man lacking sufficient exercise, the situation was far from optimistic.

The other cabinet members, however, didn't think so much of it. These men understood the U.S. economy perfectly: the western industrial zone produced 23% of America's industrial goods and 38% of its crude and refined oil. The sudden disappearance of this capacity might not have caused an immediate impact, but if the problem weren't solved, supply issues would become critical within three months.

There was no fierce debate; the proposals put forward by the cabinet members were quickly passed. Every suggestion focused on how to solve the immediate crisis.

After the meeting, the cabinet members acted instantly. The first to move was the FBI. Under the personal command of Director J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI went into full operation to locate the industrialists, starting with Rockefeller. Hoover's orders were explicit: "Even if you have to use a gun, make those sons of bitches return to the West immediately to restore production. If they say production can't be restored, have them go back to their western offices and issue press releases stating that it has!"

The reason the United States had become one of the world's few powerful industrial nations was that at such critical moments, the American elite never sat still. They would use every means available to maintain a facade of stability. Roosevelt's cabinet had done this consistently since the Great Depression.

The military received orders to launch an immediate, fierce offensive against Chinese-occupied North America, with the primary objective being the destruction of Chinese "long-range rocket positions." If those positions couldn't be found, the offensive was intended to force China to commit its long-range rockets against the U.S. advance rather than against the western industrial zones.

When this order reached the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the representatives from the Army, Navy, and Air Force all smelled the thick scent of blood in the command. Over the past two months of fighting, the Anglo-American forces could not be said to have lacked effort. Although KIA numbers were not public, the Joint Chiefs had relatively reliable statistics: to date, the Allied forces had lost over one million killed, with the number of those wounded and unfit for service exceeding two million.

The Purple Heart remains the oldest military honor still awarded in the world and was the first to be given to ordinary soldiers. Established by George Washington on August 7, 1782, as the Badge of Military Merit, it was awarded to those wounded in action or to the next of kin of those killed. While not the highest-ranking medal today, it marks bravery and self-sacrifice and holds a high place in the hearts of Americans.

Every service member wounded or killed in the U.S. military since April 5, 1917, was awarded the Purple Heart. As a result, the number of factories producing the medals had been temporarily doubled to meet the skyrocketing demand.

As the battle stood, the U.S. military was truly beginning to flag. The most resolute soldiers had already been consumed on the front lines—either dead or wounded. The troops now filling the lines no longer possessed the same fighting enthusiasm as before.

Now the cabinet was demanding an even larger-scale campaign. While possible in terms of manpower and equipment, the members of the Joint Chiefs were not optimistic about the outcome.

Despite various pressures and misgivings, they could not avoid the offensive. Just as the Joint Chiefs decided to move up the schedule for several offensives already in preparation, a staff officer rushed in with the latest battle report.

Seeing that the Chinese military had broken three British mountain divisions and finally "pierced" the Rocky Mountains, the Chiefs were not entirely surprised. The Chinese performance in mountain warfare had been superb, as had that of their Air Force and engineers. The Anglo-American forces in the mountains had done their best, yet peak after peak and pass after pass had been taken.

The breaking of the Rocky Mountain line had been expected; they just hadn't expected it to happen at this critical moment.

However, a director responsible for propaganda asked nervously: "Should we publicize this?"

The room fell silent. After a long pause, someone suddenly began to laugh. Everyone looked toward Admiral Kimmel, the Chief of Naval Operations, who had covered the upper half of his face with his hand and was letting out a somewhat hysterical laugh.

At such a time, the laugh was wildly inappropriate, yet no one stopped or criticized him. Everyone felt Admiral Kimmel's mental state was in question. Over the past several months, he had consistently stated that as soon as the cabinet ordered the Navy on the West Coast to sortie, he would do so—clearly a man seeking death on the battlefield.

For a soldier seeking death, any mockery seemed unseasonable and meaningless.

Soon, Admiral Kimmel removed his hand and stopped laughing. He said loudly: "To date, we have publicized that China uses human wave tactics and that we have killed at least 20 million of them. It just occurred to me: after 20 million deaths, the Chinese military has broken the Rockies. By the time we've annihilated 100 million of them, where will they have reached? New York? Or Washington?"

Though his words sounded mocking, his tone was one of deep sorrow. By the end, he was in tears. The Admiral said nothing more to vent his anger; he simply wiped his eyes, said "Excuse me, I'm going out for a smoke," and strode out of the meeting room.

After he left, a collective sigh echoed through the room. The generals present were filled with grief and indignation, but they were helpless. After two months of fighting in North America, the American officer corps had come to realize that the Chinese army was entirely different from their own.

Through interrogating the few prisoners they managed to take, the U.S. high command found that ordinary Chinese soldiers knew far too much. Every objective and method of a campaign was known even to a common private. In contrast, the American "GIs" only knew to follow the squad leader's orders.

Furthermore, Chinese soldiers were at least middle-school graduates—a level that in the U.S. would qualify one as a non-commissioned officer. They had all studied English and could even read it a bit. This was even more absurd given that many ordinary American soldiers couldn't even grasp English properly, let alone Chinese.

The Chinese officers were high-school or even university graduates. Most staggering was that while they were military academy graduates, they didn't need recommendations from politicians to enter. Many officers were former conscripts who had completed their service and wished to continue; they applied for military schools, passed the entrance exams, and became officers after finishing their studies.

This meant many Chinese officers were children of ordinary workers and peasants who had climbed the ranks from common soldiers. This was incomprehensible in America; if the U.S. high command were composed of officers who believed "people are equal" like the Chinese, the U.S. military would have a civil war first. But in the Chinese army, this didn't happen. Regardless of background, Chinese soldiers believed that officers and men simply held different roles, not different social status.

Such an army composed of ordinary people possessed an unexpectedly intense patriotic spirit. That the Chinese could fight to the last man without surrendering was something the U.S. military found hard to imagine. Even more unimaginable was that a Chinese unit reduced to a single squad could continue to fight against several Allied companies for hours, or even days.

In comparison, the Allied forces also had moments of bravery, but this was usually shown during large-scale assaults. When surrounded by one's own people, courage comes easily. But when facing a superior enemy, small Allied units would surrender once they felt their situation was hopeless.

Therefore, in the North American theater, it was the Allies who were employing "human wave tactics." The density of Chinese units was very low, making a human wave impossible for them. Yet these dispersed Chinese units could concentrate in an incredibly short time to create local numerical superiority. When the Allies could not maintain high-density fire, their lines would be suddenly breached at one point, through which the Chinese would pour and rapidly expand, throwing the entire Allied line into chaos.

Although the Allies would launch their next offensive with absolute numerical superiority, the American officers at the Joint Chiefs were not optimistic. They had done this before, only to have the offensive blunted by the Chinese, followed by a series of defeats and being pushed back.

"Gentlemen, we must attack. It is the President's order." MacArthur, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, broke the silence. He appeared unruffled now, his tone cold. "Let us continue our previous discussion."

From late July to August 4th, China launched at least 700 missiles a day against strategic targets in the Western U.S. Many exposed U.S. airbases were damaged, forcing the Air Force to move its fighter airfields to northern regions and into Canada to maintain air combat density.

On August 6th, Spain's Canary Islands and Portugal's Azores in the Mid-Atlantic were suddenly attacked by the Chinese Navy. Chinese Marines successfully landed and rapidly annihilated the island garrisons.

It wasn't until August 9th that Spain and Portugal informed the Allies of the news. These two archipelagos held vital geographic positions, yet the Allied reaction was quite flat. Spain and Portugal couldn't even put together a decent fleet, let alone talk about recovering lost territory.

The Italian Navy, effectively a Mediterranean fleet, lacked the capacity for independent operations outside that sea.

France was "playing dead"; although they had declared war on China, their main fleet remained in the Mediterranean. Furthermore, many in France actually hoped China would win to thoroughly weaken Britain and Germany, allowing France to use Chinese power to restore its European status from the era of Richelieu. Thus, France had no intention of joining the fight.

Only the U.S. and Britain had the capacity to counter-attack these islands, but their primary focus was on Western North America.

Once the major South American nations cut off trade with Britain, the British fleet lost its operational goals and will to head south.

The U.S. fleet happened to pass through the Panama Canal on August 5th, entering the Pacific. The reason for this movement was simple: the U.S. hoped to interrupt China's destruction of strategic points in the West. Thus, the Navy wanted to adopt a posture of a fight to the death. While not ready for a total "all-in" gamble, the U.S. had to at least strike the pose to satisfy Congress and the American people.

Roosevelt was now exhausted in body and mind. He had met with one head of a major U.S. corporation after another; besides soothing capital magnates like Rockefeller who were starting to waver, he had to get bankers like those at JP Morgan to continue supporting the U.S. stock market.

Despite the news blackout and the blocking of some personnel fleeing the West to force them back to the industrial zones, some information had still leaked. Consequently, some people had begun selling stocks in Rockefeller-owned and other West-invested companies.

The current American stock market was performing quite well, as the Roosevelt cabinet had restricted the accounts of the American people, forbidding them from withdrawing more than $250 in cash. Over these years, the bonds issued by the Roosevelt government had exceeded 80% of the total output value, to the point where the government itself didn't want to comment on the matter.

A portion of short-term bonds had reached maturity. In this regard, the government adhered to the old principle of maintaining bond credit, paying out on time without delay. But such a massive influx of money into the hands of the public, given the current currency circulation, would cause a massive inflation if not handled carefully. Thus, the government restricted cash flow.

To prevent the public from feeling their money was being seized, the Secretary of the Treasury had relaxed restrictions on purchasing stocks. Since the money couldn't be withdrawn, and with government propaganda, the public felt they had to put their money into the market. This led to skyrocketing stock prices. On paper, the assets of the American people were constantly growing.

At this time, a sell-off of Rockefeller stocks would have a massive impact on the market. They had to rely on financial titans like JP Morgan to step in and stabilize the market.

Having finally finished with these titans, Roosevelt felt completely drained and headed to a resort for a vacation. By the time he received the news, it was already the afternoon of the 11th.

Roosevelt wasn't particularly concerned now. America's true industrial heartland was in the Great Lakes region—the area just south of the U.S.-Canada border. This was why the U.S. was moving vast military strength to the north. The southern U.S. had always been an agricultural zone; Chinese carpet-bombing of agricultural areas would not have a significant impact.

So Roosevelt asked: "Where is Wallace?"

"Vice President Wallace has gone south," the secretary replied immediately.

Roosevelt said nothing. The current Vice President was Henry Agard Wallace. Compared to the previous Vice President, Wallace held immense real power. After taking office, he also chaired the Supply Priorities and Allocations Board, an institution Roosevelt had modeled after the Soviet State Planning Committee to hold the reins of the wartime economy.

Furthermore, Wallace had served as Roosevelt's envoy to the Soviet Union and even oversaw the "Manhattan Project." His current trip south was for the Manhattan Project. Now, the only remaining option to deal a massive shock to China was nuclear weapons. Roosevelt was already prepared to use exiting the war as his bottom line for peace talks with China. To increase his bargaining chips, the nuclear weapons had to be completed at any cost.

If China hadn't developed nuclear weapons, the U.S. could use them for blackmail. If China *had* developed them, it wasn't necessarily bad for the U.S.—only a China that understood the true power of nuclear weapons would truly choose peace.

And so, Roosevelt dismissed his secretary. Soon, his lover, wearing only a silk nightgown, walked out. With a look of immense charm, she approached Roosevelt and leaned down to plant a soft kiss on his forehead.

Roosevelt closed his eyes, savoring the rare moment of relaxation. Now, even if the world were to end, he didn't want to think about matters of state anymore. Any thought would only bring him pain and despair. 州。