President Hill's heart sank instantly, and his face turned pale.
A meteorite capable of destroying the entire Americas – one could only imagine its terrifying speed and impact force.
How long until the meteorite falls?
"74 minutes!"
Cold sweat broke out on President Hill's forehead.
74 minutes was simply not enough time for him to escape!
This meant that if they couldn't stop it, his life would be over here.
Immediately inform General Wak of this matter!
Head to the Ministry of National Defense now!
President Hill suppressed the unease in his heart, stood up, and quickly left the Oval Office, heading to the Ministry of National Defense.
...
Ministry of National Defense Operations Command Center.
"How are things?"
President Hill asked with a grim expression.
"Mr. President, the situation is still relatively optimistic. According to calculations by the Satellite Aerospace Department, as long as this meteorite changes its orbit, this disaster can be avoided!
General Wak said in a solemn voice, "After receiving your order, I have already issued commands to dispatch all available fighter jets from the White House, each carrying over 10,000 tons of TNT as a potent 'medicine'!"
"What is the estimated success rate?"
"80%!"
Hearing this success rate, President Hill finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, the secretary entered.
"Mr. President, leaders from France, Japan, Italy, and more than ten other countries just called!"
It wasn't just the United States that detected it; satellites from other countries naturally reacted as well.
"Tell them that this matter concerns the lives of all people in the Americas, and indeed the entire Earth's future. We will do our utmost!"
President Hill said solemnly.
If this meteorite falls, it's not just a simple matter of the Americas being gone. It will easily tear through Earth's atmosphere, causing irreversible and immense damage to the planet!
At that time, every place in the world will be affected; no country can stand by untouched.
"How much time is left?"
"47 minutes!"
President Hill stared intently at the more than twenty screens in the operations command room.
The central display, composed of over a dozen screens, was showing the scene captured from the fighter jets' camera angles.
Soon, everyone saw it.
It was a giant white meteorite with a small spark of fire at its edge.
It had already made contact with Earth's atmosphere.
Soon it would become an extremely dazzling "small sun," tearing through the sky, landing on the soil of New York, and then causing a huge disaster that would instantly engulf the entire Americas.
Immediately after, it would unleash tsunamis.
Changing the weather.
Plunging Earth into an unprecedented, dire environment.
As long as it hasn't completely fallen, there's still a chance.
At this moment, in the operations command room, many high-ranking officials from the United States gathered, standing behind President Hill.
Their faces were solemn, their eyes filled with bottomless complexity.
Before coming, they had already called their families... if the final interception failed, at least they had made their farewells.
"It's getting closer!"
"All fighter squadrons have approached the meteorite!"
An operator reported the situation.
"Order them to enter within one kilometer of the meteorite and, according to the predetermined angle, launch their payloads simultaneously!"
General Wak said in a deep voice.
Everyone tensely watched the screen. The cameras got closer and closer to the meteorite... The meteorite, rubbing against the atmosphere, glowed even more intensely and dazzlingly.
This scene was far more real and thrilling than any blockbuster movie.
Especially the pilots in the fighter jets, who felt the meteorite's majestic grandeur.
Yet, this meteorite, in the boundless vacuum of space, could only be considered a drop in the ocean, a mere speck of dust... In front of it, humans were even smaller than dust.
Finally, after a few minutes, the fighter squadrons entered within one kilometer of the meteorite.
"Commence launch!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Almost simultaneously, huge missiles emerged from beneath all the fighter jets, then locked onto the meteorite's angle and shot through the air!
The entire sky was filled with a rain of missiles, overwhelming, dragging countless white vapor trails, heading straight for the meteorite!
At this moment, everyone in the operations command room was on tenterhooks!
Their hearts were practically in their throats, staring intently at the large screen, just waiting for the result to be revealed.
A few seconds later—
Boom, boom, boom!!!
With an incredibly violent roar, everyone's eyes widened.
"They succeeded!!!"
"The meteorite has deviated from its predetermined Earth orbit and will graze past Earth!!!"
An operator exclaimed, his words instantly causing a flurry of excitement throughout the entire operations command room.
Yes, they succeeded.
They successfully changed the meteorite's orbit. It would not fall on the Americas, nor anywhere else on Earth, but would bypass Earth, speeding off to a more distant and prolonged place in the cosmos.
"Whew..."
The high-ranking officials let out long breaths, their tense expressions finally relaxing.
President Hill, at this moment, also reached up to loosen his tie. That scene just now had made him feel breathless... Now, he finally felt a little better!
Meanwhile, all the high-level officials in other countries were closely following the matter. After their respective satellite stations detected the meteorite's change in orbit, they also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wait!"
Suddenly, someone in the command room cried out in alarm.
"The meteorite has broken apart!"
"It separated into a fragment approximately 110 meters in diameter, and according to its descent trajectory, it will still fall to Earth!"
The operator said, startled.
At these words, many people's expressions changed, but fortunately, 110 meters was not as severe as before.
"Where exactly will it fall?"
President Hill asked sharply.
"According to the analysis, its landing site is... China, Modu!"
"Huh?!"
President Hill and the US high-ranking officials present all raised an eyebrow.
Falling in China's Modu?!
Meanwhile, in China's Modu Military Region, National Defense Operations Command Center.
"Immediately dispatch all fighter jets, this meteorite must be intercepted!"
Tang Yueming issued the order.
"Yes!"
Everyone immediately began to act.
"How could this be..."
Tang Yueming's brows were deeply furrowed.
He never expected that after so much effort to shift the meteorite's orbit, there would still be a small, scattered remnant that slipped through the net!
What made his head ache even more was that, by sheer bad luck, this small meteorite was set to fall on Modu, China!
At its current descent speed and with a diameter of 110 meters, if it were to land successfully, Modu... no, the entire China would be affected!
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