Throughout Washington DC, various communities were crisscrossed with thick hemp ropes marking them for demolition, yet within these cordoned areas, there was not a trace of actual movement. The city appeared dilapidated, yet it was filled with an indescribable, latent energy. Everyone seemed to be waiting for a signal to begin a grand endeavor, though no one understood what that signal actually was.

The three men plotting the assassination of President Wallace stepped off the train, walked two blocks, and arrived at a shop surrounded by hemp rope. The building was a traditional wooden structure that looked as if it had been in use for decades. The once-painted walls were mottled, the lower sections revealing wood that had already begun to blacken. The doorframe was equally aged, emitting a harsh creak when pushed open.

The owner was a gaunt man wearing an old uniform typical of veterans. Combined with the gun rack behind him, he radiated a sense of martial severity. He did not smile when the trio entered; instead, he fixed them with a stony face. His shoulders hung naturally, his stance was firm—he had the posture of a warrior who had faced life and death on the battlefield, a far cry from the exaggerated swagger of a movie cowboy.

Being a warrior, he was not prone to flamboyance. After a few brief words and a review of their letters, the owner sold them each a handgun. In the crucible of war, the US military invariably settled on the most reliable weapons, and the Colt M1911 had emerged as the clear favorite.

All three assassins had used the M1911 before. While they held it in high regard, it no longer satisfied them. They sought military-grade firepower, not a handgun with such significant limitations in range and rate of fire.

The shopkeeper listened to their requirements in silence. Then, he reached into a hidden compartment at the bottom of a cabinet and pulled out a box. When he opened it, three Chinese-made pistols were revealed.

All three were the same model. Had another "traveler" versed in modern firearms seen them, they would have instantly recognized them as clones of the Glock 9mm.

The hallmark of the Glock 9mm was its extensive use of polymer components, which drastically reduced the weight of the frame. In an era where metal-framed handguns typically weighed around a kilogram, the Glock weighed only 620 grams.

Chinese polymer technology was not yet advanced enough to reach that level, so their "Type 38" pistol still weighed 720 grams. Nevertheless, the overall weight was significantly lower than traditional sidearms. Combined with the use of 9mm rounds instead of the traditional .45 ACP, the handgun's handling and accuracy were vastly improved.

In close combat, the 9mm’s lethality and stopping power were more than adequate. Chinese soldiers and the officers of the World People's Liberation Army held the weapon in high esteem.

Because Chinese losses in the war had been minimal, few Type 38s had been captured. That the owner could produce three at once spoke to the depth of his connections.

The three assassins tested the handguns and were immediately impressed by the comfortable grip of the wide frame. Another feature was its ease of disassembly; one could easily field-strip the weapon using nothing but a single cartridge as a tool.

When they learned that the pistol also featured a select-fire mode for full-automatic fire, they were completely won over. To a soldier, a weapon capable of rapid fire—though more consuming of ammunition—greatly increased lethality.

The three men quickly purchased two Type 38 pistols each, along with three hundred rounds of ammunition. As career soldiers, they were obsessive about their basic load. A lack of ammunition was, more often than not, the cause of death.

On March 19th, the trio checked into a hotel in Washington. They had little to say to one another; planning an assassination was a drain on both mind and spirit. Instead, they focused on cleaning their weapons and practicing their two-handed shooting stances.

To ward off their silent anxiety, they listened to the radio in the hotel lobby. When a particular news item reached their ears, all three stopped their work.

"...The Chinese government's election cycle has concluded. Li Runshi has been elected as the new Chairman of the Chinese Civilization Party. Following a vote by the Chinese People's Congress, he has also been elected as the new National Chairman of China. ... The era of the He Rui government has finally come to an end."

To the three Americans, this was simply another election. The "Great Emperor" of China, He Rui, was stepping down, and a new "Great Emperor" had been elected to guide China’s direction for the coming decades.

Even knowing that elections were a system, the American "brothers" still felt that China was an empire. In their eyes, even emperors could be elected.

Knowing that the Chinese throne had changed hands, the trio finally began to converse again. Jules, the shopkeeper and former editor, spoke with disdain regarding the US presidency: "Maybe our President will go and lick the new Chinese Emperor's boots next!"

Sheval disagreed. "He’ll just keep serving the capitalists, same as always."

In the popular Western view, elected politicians naturally served the capitalists. Any time not spent serving their masters was spent finding ways to embezzle the people's taxes. Such simple perceptions were much the same the world over.

Sismon didn't think that far ahead. He only lamented that despite the vast number of widows the war had created, it was still no easier for a poor man like him to find a wife. Faced with this reality, he summarized: "Sooner or later, the poor will go extinct because they can't find wives."

After a period of talk, none of them found that the Chinese election had changed their own resolve. They returned to familiarizing themselves with their new weapons.

On March 20th, after eating breakfast, they realized they didn't actually know how to get close to the President. It must be said that while the three were straightforward men and the mission was vital to them, they lacked experience in actual planning.

Fortunately, Jules had his newspaper. He soon found an announcement: at 9:00 AM on March 20th—today—President Wallace would be holding a memorial service at the National Cathedral.

Checking the hotel clock, it was exactly 9:00 AM.

The three were men of action. Even without time for an ambush, they decided to head to the cathedral. Before leaving, Sheval had them synchronize their watches with the hotel clock.

They proceeded to the cathedral on foot, arriving at 9:47 AM. FBI agents had established cordons around the area, where groups of well-dressed elites stood among clusters of luxury cars. Seeing so many high-ranking "lords" for the first time was an eye-opening experience for the three veterans. They felt a mix of awe and an even deeper well of hatred.

Suddenly, a cacophony of gunfire erupted from within the crowd of elites. The three brothers' first instinct was to drop and crawl. This was a reflex honed on the battlefield—hitting the dirt and finding cover was the primary means of survival. Without this ingrained reaction, they would have died a dozen times over.

The elites clearly lacked this experience. Many, in their terror, were shuffled about by their bodyguards. Amidst the chaos, a particular group caught Sismon’s eye. They were the most heavily equipped and the most numerous. In their midst, they were escorting a relatively gaunt, elderly man. He looked exactly like the President in the newspapers.

In the confusion, Sismon instinctively chose this target. Meanwhile, the initial group of assassins did not falter. It was clear that their target was also President Wallace, and they were charging the FBI agents guarding him with no regard for their own lives.

The FBI agents did not flinch either. Their director, J. Edgar Hoover, had established a special operations unit known as "Hoover’s Suicide Squad" to combat the most vicious criminals. They were a formidable force.

Seeing the intense fire from the assassins, some of the Suicide Squad agents pulled out "Chicago Typewriter" Thompson submachine guns and returned fire. The introduction of these automatic weapons suppressed the assassins but only added to the pandemonium.

The elites attending the ceremony were crawling on the ground in terror. Many scrambled into their cars, screaming for their drivers to flee. Several religious figures in ornate vestments were particularly conspicuous in the fray.

The cars, driven in panic, soon choked the roads. The FBI agents' hope of whisking President Wallace away by vehicle was shattered. Just as they shoved the President into a car and attempted to ram through the traffic to break out, gunfire erupted from behind them.

The FBI agents attempting to return fire were cut down by a hail of bullets. The power of automatic weapons was fully on display in this chaotic close-quarters engagement. Using the military method of bounding overwatch, the three assassins advanced, taking down enemies as they moved.

Before long, they reached the President’s vehicle. They had purchased enough magazines to avoid reloading; when one magazine was dry, they simply swapped it out and continued firing.

Through the car window, they could make out the gaunt elderly man inside. There was no time for questions. All three pulled their triggers, shattering the glass. Each man emptied both of his pistols, pouring seventy-two rounds into the vehicle before immediately turning to flee.

The first group of assassins was still locked in a death struggle with the FBI agents at the front, which significantly reduced the difficulty of the trio's escape.

By the time the FBI finally realized the President had been killed, the three were long gone.

On March 21st, the US media announced the assassination of President Wallace. According to the official investigation, the assassination had been a meticulously prepared operation carried out by American gangsters at the behest of a certain foreign power.

The gangsters at the front had drawn the FBI’s fire, while another hit team had used unique Chinese 9mm handguns to launch the actual strike that killed the President.

China, of course, did not bother to respond. If the United States were still a rational nation, they would know China had no interest in assassinating their President. If they could no longer maintain even basic rationality, then anything China said would be futile.

Furthermore, the United States now faced the prospect of its first female President under the law. For a woman to take the presidency at a time of such massive domestic division was, in the eyes of the Chinese leadership, a turn of events of immense interest. They were content to watch the drama unfold and see what a female leader could bring to America in such a moment of crisis.

To the American elite, Wallace’s death was not an earth-shattering event. The death of a man with no political roots did not truly affect their interests. Moreover, Wallace had already fulfilled their greatest wish: he had de-escalated relations with China. With the Chinese military attacks halted, the elite could now catch their breath and deal with domestic affairs.

In their view, having a woman as President under these circumstances was acceptable. This view was shared by both the Northerners and the Southern grandees. However, the Southerners were prepared to exploit the situation. After the congressional elections, the South held the advantage. If Eleanor Roosevelt were to decline the presidency, it would fall to the Speaker of the House—which would pave the way for a new Constitution.

The Southern grandees had already coordinated with Western representatives and reached a consensus on redrawing state powers. None of the states were willing to allow the federal government to hold the absolute power of war. After China established five indigenous nations in Canada, it became clear the US could not drive China out of North America in the short term. America was destined to face long-term military pressure from the North.

America's industrial centers were in the North, and the North was destined to strengthen its military defenses. This meant that states not directly facing military pressure would be forced to provide tax revenue and resources for the North. In the eyes of those states, why should their money go to enrich others?

On March 22nd, Eleanor Roosevelt announced to the media that, in accordance with the Constitution, she had accepted the office of the President.

The news spread like wildfire through the American press, yet no one dared comment. Everyone knew that Eleanor’s decision had set America on a road of unknown and dangerous possibilities.

On March 23rd, the *Washington Post* published a shocking report: the released Black prisoners of war in Washington State had established an independent autonomous government, which now threatened the security of the entire state.

The news caused an immediate uproar. In most American states, Black people had neither the right to vote nor the right to stand for election. The American defeat, rather than uniting the different races who had fought together, had only intensified racial contradictions. Everyone wanted to shift the blame for the defeat onto others. While the white majority was deeply divided, they were united in scapegoating the Black soldiers.

Washington State, located in the Northwest and bordering what was once Canada, was very close to Vancouver, China’s most important base in North America. Consequently, many in the media immediately questioned whether the Black independence movement had Chinese support.

President Eleanor Roosevelt issued a statement: "...I believe now is the time to set aside prejudice and face our challenges together..."

If such a statement had been made by a man, or at a different time, it would not have been considered an error. But in the current tension, this attempt to clarify the facts met with immediate and violent backlash.

The first to jump out in opposition were the grandees of the Western states. They bordered Washington State, and China had released vast numbers of Black POWs in the region. Due to America's limited transport capacity and social organization, these Black veterans had gathered in large numbers in the West, sparking panic among the tiny white minority in those areas.

Eleanor’s reaction only intensified their fear. They immediately attacked her as indecisive, accusing her of allowing the problem to spread. The Western states demanded that the federal government send troops to restore order.

Under this pressure, Eleanor compromised. She announced that she would never allow any action that threatened American security to go unpunished and pledged that the federal government would protect the peace and tranquility of the Western states.

At this point, the Southern states, which had remained silent, suddenly voiced their opposition. The Democratic President of the Senate from a Southern state delivered a blistering attack on Eleanor. The American media immediately reprinted the speech in its entirety under the headline: "President Eleanor Roosevelt is a Black-Hating Racist! Today she suppresses the Black men who served their country; who will be next? The Irish? The Germans?"

As the descendants of slave owners, their governmental prowess was truly something to behold.