The time reached 6:00 PM.
The sky darkened slightly.
The sun still hung on the horizon, but the temperature across the land had cooled down a bit.
Matthew Doe took his guards to a pond, preparing to take a dip and cool off.
If it had been a few hours earlier, they wouldn't have dared to do this. At that time, the water in this shallow pond was about over 40 degrees Celsius; jumping in would definitely not be a pleasant experience.
But now it was much better. The water temperature had dropped to below twenty degrees, at least lower than the temperature outside the pond.
"Sir! Look, what is that?"
Matthew Doe, splashing and playing in the water, suddenly heard the shouts of soldiers on the shore.
He looked in the direction the soldier was pointing.
A second later, a roaring sound rushed towards them.
In the sky, an "iron monster" emitted a fierce roar, diving rapidly from above towards their military camp.
Matthew Doe clearly saw two small black dots falling from under this "iron monster," accurately landing inside his military camp.
Then, a tremendous explosion sounded.
"Boom," "Boom."
"Damn it, it's an air raid!"
Matthew Doe had some knowledge and panicked, jumping out of the pond. Without even bothering to put on clothes, he ran in the opposite direction of the camp.
Seeing their boss run, his dozen or so personal guards also followed.
After completing the bombing run, Colonel Lazraq Lies was preparing to climb when the WSO's voice came through the headset, suggesting giving the camp two more missiles.
"Lazraq, there are people at 12 o'clock to the left."
Colonel Lazraq Lies turned to look.
Just then, several of Matthew Doe's personal guards, in terror, were firing their AKs wildly at the sky.
"They are armed elements."
Colonel Lazraq Lies pulled the control stick, and the nimble Phantom turned. The Vulcan cannon under the cockpit began to spew fire.
The M61 "Vulcan" 20mm rotary cannon, this 20mm six-barrel rotary cannon, has a maximum rate of fire of 7,000 rounds per second. The kinetic energy of its rounds can easily tear through tank armor, let alone people.
As the waterfall of bullets poured down, the fleeing soldiers on the ground turned into blossoming bursts of blood flowers.
Matthew Doe just glanced back and was terrified by the scene of his personal guards exploding before his eyes.
He had never seen such a horrifying scene in his life.
"Demon! It's a demon!!"
One second later!
Bang!
Matthew Doe turned into a shower of blood.
The aircraft circled a few times at low altitude.
After confirming there were no survivors, Colonel Lazraq Lies pulled the control stick, and the Phantom climbed. Then two more missiles were fired.
After clearing the "ammunition," Colonel Lazraq Lies piloted the "lightened" Phantom back to Guinea.
"What, it's resolved? We only provided a location!"
George Weah looked astonished.
"Sir, Guinea dispatched their air force. Matthew Doe and his entire personal guard were blown to pieces," a middle-aged black man in a suit said.
"Confirm Matthew Doe is dead?" George Weah asked nervously.
"Uh, the body was blown to mincemeat, but our people found half a face at the scene and confirmed his identity from the 'gold tooth' in the mouth."
"Dead? That's good." George Weah breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he pondered.
Air Force?!
Is Guinea's strength already this powerful?
It seems those conditions are best met.
...
Domestically in the US.
Aquaman was advancing triumphantly at the box office.
Trump was somewhat troubled.
No, it should be said that since taking office, he has been troubled, only the troubles have increased over the years.
First, economic development did not meet expectations.
Earlier this year, Trump solemnly listed five major policy priorities for 2018: economy and employment, infrastructure construction, immigration reform, foreign trade, and national security.
In 2018, the US economic growth rate was between 2.4% and 2.7%, better than 2016's 1.5% and 2017's 2.3%, but it did not reach Trump's promised 4%.
However, this point didn't trouble Trump too much.
In terms of infrastructure construction, at the beginning of the year, Trump called on Congress to provide at least $1.5 trillion in funding for government infrastructure projects and required state, local governments, and private enterprises to cooperate jointly, once and for all "making up for the US's infrastructure deficiencies."
But, after a year, this target was only partially completed.
By March 2018, the two parties had barely reached an agreement on a $200 billion infrastructure plan, still a long way to go.
The immigration issue was actually one of the focal points of US politics in 2018. The two parties repeatedly clashed over this issue, leading to two short-term shutdowns of non-essential federal departments.
In domestic official documents, Trump reiterated using the "legalization" of young illegal immigrants in exchange for the Democratic Party's funding plan for the US-Mexico border wall.
The fact is, to this day, the above problems remain difficult to solve, and Trump, to force the Democrats to allocate $5 billion for the US-Mexico border wall, did not hesitate to shut down the government again as pressure.
Additionally, the highly controversial "travel ban" during the year, although upheld by a Supreme Court ruling.
However, the Trump administration's severe crackdown on illegal immigrants led to the "family separation" phenomenon, and the deployment of troops to the southern border to block the "caravan" of immigrants, all sparked domestic discussions in the US about whether the country is still an "immigrant nation."
Some feel Trump is leading the US towards isolation.
Others feel that the proportion of the white population in the US is gradually decreasing, and there is no need to accept new immigrants.
Then there's foreign trade.
This was Trump's biggest bet this year and the policy that sparked the most debate.
Throughout 2018, the US could be said to have ignited "tariff wars" everywhere, essentially reflecting Trump and a few people around him's extremely stubborn "win-lose" trade view.
Although this approach was opposed by most mainstream economists, Trump favored it and, urged by Lighthizer and Navarro, it became a tool for the US to protect its own economic interests.
However, the result of the "tariff war" was that the US not only failed to reduce the "trade deficit" but also led to large-scale stock market fluctuations. The adverse effects of this trade protectionist policy are gradually emerging.
In terms of diplomacy, the US government under Trump's leadership continued to "withdraw," highlighting his strongly nationalist-colored "America First" principle.
Since the beginning of the year, the US has withdrawn from international mechanisms and institutions including: the Iran nuclear deal, the UN Human Rights Council, the Paris Climate Agreement, announced the start of withdrawal from the Universal Postal Union, and considered formally withdrawing from the previously signed Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
At the same time, Trump was also clamoring that if the US doesn't get benefits, then next year it will also leave the "International Monetary Fund," the "World Trade Organization."
But, Trump's withdrawal behavior did not bring the US more benefits; instead, it cost the country international prestige.
Russia quickly filled the void, and China also took the opportunity to actively engage internationally, gaining considerable goodwill.
And this point also made the domestic calls to expand the scope of the "Russiagate" investigation increasingly loud.
This is what troubles Trump the most.