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Page 109
He didn't want to say anything more, and he couldn't say anything more. He could only sigh helplessly, shake the stuck lever hard, and send Gloucester on his way home.
Behind them, the mech bodies and aircraft skeletons, still burning like withered branches and fallen leaves on the ground, scorched the already desolate grassland red...
"I never want to see that dead pigeon again..."
Chapter 109, Section 166: A Different World, A Different America, Huh?
It was noon again in the Tokyo Concession. Everyone had to eat, from laborers to officers and soldiers. The only difference was that each person would eat different portions of food at different times and in different places.
Of course, even their eating posture was the same. Look at the people sitting in this fast food restaurant, and then look at the four white-clad soldiers who just walked out of the store—yes, it was Davis and his group.
"Mmm! The hot dog buns at this place are amazing! I'll definitely come back next time!" Taylor was practically munching on a sausage, "Hey Philip! Give me a sip of Coke!"
"Take it easy, damn it! ...I really didn't expect that Coke could be sold everywhere in this city."
"Really? This damn Britannian Empire does seem far more beautiful than those lousy places in Europe."
"Alright, guys." Davis finished his sandwich at that moment. "Let's find a quiet place to sit down."
As he spoke, he took out two lipsticks from his pocket, unscrewed the caps, and found that the bright red lipsticks had been replaced by a tightly wrapped piece of paper—yes, it was the same "girl" in the black robe and green shawl wig who had given them to him.
"Next time, apply your lipstick more evenly, you idiot..."
……
"You didn't forget the map, did you, Garcia?"
“It’s no big deal, sir.”
Reaching a wall, Davis had already pulled out the note, and Garcia unfolded the map he had hidden in the cigarette case. Philip and Taylor stood on either side of the two, glancing at their surroundings and then at the things in their hands.
"Another day, sir. I'm sorry I didn't have time to bring you anything new yesterday," Davis read quietly to himself amidst the three onlookers. "This time I wanted to talk about the history of Britannia, but I really didn't expect it to be so far-fetched that it nearly drove me mad. To be on the safe side, I had to spend an extra day verifying and checking this information. So, now, please don't tear up this note along with yourselves in a fit of anger."
"Before we go, take a good look at the map. I'll tell you what this world is made of. First, the Holy Britannian Empire monopolized the entire Americas, which was, to some extent, their homeland. Then, their overseas colonies included Greenland, Iceland, Hawaii, Midway, the Falkland Islands, New Zealand, Japan, Papua New Guinea, South Pacific islands, Spain, and a region on the southern coast of the Persian Gulf and Caspian Sea, formerly known as the Middle East Federation. Ah, of course, I know these geographical names are a headache, but as long as you combine them with the map, it shouldn't be too difficult."
"The Middle East Federation?" Garcia located the place mentioned on the note on the map. "Does that mean there used to be a minor power here?"
"It's here."
"As for that Middle Eastern Federation, it was just swallowed up by Britannia last year. In their eyes, it was a cannon fodder regime, and now they call it the 18th District. What I'm about to tell you is the important part: besides Britannia, there are two other large political groups in this world. You might not believe it, but one is called the Chinese Federation and the other is called the EU."
"China? The Federation?" Philip nearly choked on his cola. "What does he mean?"
"After my verification, the Chinese Federation is a country composed mainly of Chinese people. That's right, it's that fat country in our world that has such a large territory but is bullied by Japan. Can you believe that it has become one of the world's three poles and its territory has expanded quite a bit? See that red area on the map? That's right, that's the area that roughly stretches from south of Russia, through the Caspian Sea, to the Middle East, eastward. All the land there belongs to them, including India, Myanmar, and Thailand. Even North Korea, the Malay Archipelago, and the Philippines are under their control."
"At least in my view, it is a formidable opponent to Britannia, which is probably still locked in a fierce battle with the Soviet Union. Interestingly, these two countries seem to have reached some kind of consensus. The Chinese Federation has granted Britannia the right to use Southeast Asia, the Philippines, the Korean Peninsula, and a portion of Sakhalin Island. In short, it has leased them out. So, I don't rule out the possibility that these two countries will join forces in the future. As for what this will bring to Berlin, you know."
[Author's Note: When I checked the official wiki, I saw that the Indochina Peninsula, the Philippines, Cambodia, and the Korean Peninsula exist as Britannia's 10th, 12th, 13th, and 16th districts, respectively. However, this conflicts with the sovereign territory of the Chinese Federation. Therefore, I personally believe that these places were given to Britannia as leased territories, which led to this situation.]
"My goodness, is this China or the Soviet Union?" Philip started to complain. "It swallowed up such a huge area, no one dared to mess with it. Are you sure this is that unlucky country over there?"
"Damn it, one of them is already this awesome, what's this EU? Can it be even more awesome?"
"Well, perhaps you've been intimidated by the background of the Chinese Federation and are now somewhat in awe of the EU? You probably don't realize that this EU is equivalent to our European countries, such as Northern Europe, Poland, Germany, France, and so on, plus the entire African continent, forming a national alliance. Of course, I'm not sure if Poland and Norway are included, but France and Germany are. And this national alliance has been attacked by Britannia for seven or eight years, losing more than half of Africa, the original Spain, and even Russia and Eastern Europe. That's why the Americas and Russia are all the same color."
"Moreover, as far as I know, this war was initiated by Britannia, and the EU not only never launched any decent strategic counterattacks during this period, but it seems that they were also passively resisting the war domestically? Isn't that interesting? Both of our world's two world wars were started by the idiots of Europe, and here they become a bunch of super peace-loving trash? I am completely convinced that this group of idiots will probably turn into a bunch of defeated beasts before we even get to see them."
"Then there's Australia. Calling it the fourth pole is possible, but not entirely, because it's a completely neutral country. It doesn't fight any country and has almost no political ties. You know, in our world, those guys in Australia were with us, giving the Japanese a sound beating. Here? I can't say whether it's strong or not, but if you don't want to play the escape game or anything, you can completely ignore this place, in every sense of the word."
"Ugh, that's enough!" Taylor gave a bitter laugh, as if he'd just eaten shit. "This world is a complete shit bowl, and a shit bowl where everything is turned upside down. It stinks to death!"
"Alright, guys, stop complaining." Davis rubbed his eyes, seemingly also getting tired of this long, rambling monologue. "The real show is about to begin..."
……
"...You remember me saying that Britannia is actually another version of Britain, right? Well, let me tell you something even more coincidental. First of all, Britannia was exactly like Britain in our world, both located on the British Isles, and both engaged in colonial rule, but the area affected was very small, only extending to the 'New World,' that is, the Americas. Other European countries didn't compete with them for territory there; they did, however, unite to swallow up Africa."
"Because Britannia didn't extend its influence into Africa, India, Southeast Asia, or Oceania like Great Britain did, its colonial power in North America was much stronger than in history. What did this lead to? Yes, you might be thinking of the War of Independence, right? And in Britannia, North America actually had a War of Independence, which was renamed the 'North American Rebellion' after its defeat. The timing of the outbreak and the similarity of the independence flags are not the only issues. The most terrifying thing is that the leader was also named George Washington!"
"That's right! Our Founding Father came to this world and lost a war of independence to a bunch of British guys from another world! And one of the reasons was because he was betrayed by Franklin... Good heavens, I can't write anymore. If this note were to circulate back to our homeland, I'm afraid I'd get a summons from the court..."
“Oh… God…” Philip’s face froze as he read these words. “I really want to kill these bastards’ ancestors for Mr. Washington…”
"Ugh, this is too authoritarian... It's not 'free and democratic' at all..."
……
"Then things get even more interesting in Europe. I don't know if you're familiar with the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, but you'd better digest what happens next: Europe entered a revolutionary era, and the former nobles were arrested and executed in various ways. Meanwhile, Britannia, still an autocratic state, became the target of everyone's wrath. And so? And so, a Napoleon emerged in this world, and in the same Battle of Trafalgar, they defeated Britannia and went to the British Isles. It's hilarious! We'll talk about this in front of Nelson's statue when we go back sometime. I'm sure that statue would want to fall down and kill my gossipy mouth."
"Then Britannia lost the war with France and the British Isles. They fled to the Americas with their royal family, nobles, and even other nobles who had fled from the European continent to escape their deaths. From then on, the Americas became Britannia's homeland, and the British Isles have remained in French hands ever since. Britannia has not been able to take them back to this day."
"However, there are some things that I think you are just as curious about as I am. First of all, the EU has always been centered on France, and how the EU, as an alliance of non-authoritarian countries, transformed from Napoleon's autocratic rule is very unclear. Even the process of how France won over Prussia, Poland, Russia, and others is very vague and cannot be found."
[Author's Note: While checking the CG wiki, I found some contradictions. The entry on the EU states that Napoleon was arrested and executed, but the entry on Napoleon himself says he died of illness on his way home after the failed conquest of Russia. However, the entry on the formation of the EU consistently states that it occurred "after Napoleon's death," although the details are not mentioned, at least there are no further inconsistencies.]
"How the Chinese Federation rose to power? Let's not worry about that for now. Anyway, in the end, the world order became a three-way power struggle thanks to this mind-blowing operation. Britannia gradually became the number one superpower, and then in 2010, they wiped out Japan, which existed as a neutral country, calling it Area 11, and then began a large-scale invasion of the EU. Here's the ridiculous thing: now the EU is completely defeated, and Britannia has easily seized Russia, Spain, and most of Africa, but they still haven't reclaimed the British Isles. This is definitely a sign of low intelligence, isn't it? Can you imagine what it would feel like if we landed in Europe in 1944, occupied Germany, but France was still under Nazi rule?"
"Oh right, I just mentioned Japan, right? As for Japan's history before it was conquered... well, let's put it this way. Back home, Japan fought against the Russians, against China, and against the British. Now, all those Showa-era men have been beaten to tears at the feet of our America. But here? Japan's history is basically just all their history of foreign aggression erased, and that's what they are. That's roughly the idea. Anyway, if you ask me, if Japan here were like us, it would probably have been wiped out by Britannia or the Chinese Federation hundreds of years earlier."
"Alright, I've run out of space to write anymore, so I'll stop here for now, guys. I have something else to do tonight. Maybe one of you night-shift bastards in the barracks will hear gunshots on some street. Anyway, don't be alarmed, haha."
……
After reading them, Davis stacked the notes and lifted his numb face.
"What do you guys want to say?"
Look at those three young men. Philip is reciting the Bible haphazardly to the sky, Garcia is just squatting on the ground with his head down, and Taylor can't stand anymore. He twists his ankle and jumps back and forth in another direction.
“Okay, then I…”
"Sir! Wait a minute!" Taylor suddenly snatched the note away. "Do you guys want to memorize it a few more times?"
"No, no." Garcia shook his head, took out a lighter and a cigarette, and prepared to light it.
"Give it to me!" Taylor yelled, snatching a cigarette and lighter from the former's hand with lightning speed. Then, with the cigarette still in his mouth, he lit the crumpled paper ball in his hand, igniting sparks for himself and Garcia. With a bang, he slapped the still-burning paper ball out with a loud thud and scattered sparks.
"Let's go!" Davis had just hidden the map when he saw him angrily throw the ashes on the ground and walk away.
“I’m telling you! Don’t ever mention this to me again, you son of a bitch!” Taylor cursed as he turned back to them. “I’d rather die than deal with this garbage…”
"Ahoo!" he cursed loudly, but when he reached an intersection, he bumped into a group of people.
"Oops... Oops, sorry, sorry guys." Well, it turns out the person I bumped into was a Britannian soldier.
"Don't you watch the road like this when you're on patrol?"
“Just kidding, buddy, I…” Taylor glanced over and spotted a familiar face among the soldiers—a blonde girl was staring at him with a mixture of hatred and anger.
"Ah, I just... Oh dear, my superior is calling me, I'll slip away first." He placed his hand in front of the girl, fluttered his fingers like a butterfly flapping its wings, waved, gave her a flirtatious wink, and went to meet up with Davis and the others.
……
"Hey...Jenia, do you know this idiot from District 45?"
"Shut up..." the girl gasped angrily. "Ugh, you stinky man... next time I'm going to kick your balls off..."
Chapter 110, Section 167: The First Shot in the Tokyo Concession
Night once again enveloped the sky above Honshu Island, and the Tokyo Concession gradually fell into midnight, a scene of tranquility.
Only in the shadows of the neon lights does a pair of dark, eagle-like eyes lurk.
"Hmm, hmm? Hmm..." Clark was wearing a black top hat, a white shirt, and a black vest, with a black overcoat on top. He was holding a small mirror and staring at himself in the dim light above his head.
Upon closer inspection, something seemed off about his face—how could he have grown an inch-long beard from his sideburns and chin in just a few days, and it was even a bit brown?
"Hey, you guys." He turned around and asked the people around him, "You guys are really good at disguise. This beard looks so real. I almost thought the person in the mirror was your former boss."
"Ah, sir, you flatter me. It's just that your face shape is somewhat similar. Back then, our boss 'Poison Shadow' often used this tactic to fool others during gang fights. Uh, in the words of the Japanese, it's called 'Shadow Warrior,' who would stand in the boss's face and take the bullet for him. Over time, we all became familiar with this method."
"Get shot? Ha, interesting."
"No... no, sir, we didn't mean anything by it, it's just..."
“I know you didn’t do it on purpose.” Clark put his things away. “Get your guns ready.”
"Yes, yes..." One of the men looked at the pistol in his hand, his hand trembling slightly. "Ahem, sir, we're a little nervous... Do we really have to use this?"
"If you're so capable, gouge someone's eyes out with a single dagger strike first," Clark said, scoffing. "To kill, you need something you're comfortable with and won't risk your own life with. Practice your gun handling; it'll definitely come in handy when we're dealing with those who dare to challenge us."
"Uh, back when the 'Poison Shadow' boss was still around, only a few people were allowed to handle guns..."
"And then they all got a 'it's high noon' from my superior? Oh, those 'rare animals' are really unlucky to die." As he spoke, he slowly lit a cigarette. "Alright, I think our fish should be here by now."
……
On a quiet sidewalk, three people walked slowly side by side.
"Wow, boss, we sold so much of that batch of goods we snatched before."
"Hmph, it's all thanks to my brilliant and decisive action in discovering those few who forgot to keep watch during the fight." It seems the one in the middle is the leader. "Alright, let's get ready to buy bullets later."
"Hey boss. You know, this money could probably buy a few secondhand handguns on the black market, how come..."
"Ahem, I'm the only gun we have. What's the use of a gun if we run out of bullets? When we get the chance, let's make some more money and buy brand new ones for you guys, not secondhand ones, okay?"
The lackeys on both sides didn't say much, just clicked their tongues and looked annoyed.
Just then, a person who had been sitting behind a trash can in front of them stood up shakily.
"Hmm!" Under the light, the three men saw the gun in his hand!
"Put it down!" the henchmen on both sides shouted, preparing to draw their daggers and stab the man.
*Bang!* A gunshot rang out from behind. Before the henchman on the left could even cry out, another young man who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere was shot dead behind the three of them. He was trembling, the gun rattling in his hand, looking as if he had just been doused with ice water and was freezing cold. Clearly, this was his first time killing someone with a gun.
This commotion served as a wake-up call for the gunman in front of him. He then picked up his gun, took a few random shots, and killed another henchman.
"This..." The leader in the middle looked bewildered and was mechanically about to reach inside his clothes when...
"Don't run, I don't want to kill you yet." A loud shout came, and then a man wearing a black top hat walked out surrounded by two henchmen. The two men who had blocked the road with guns earlier also lowered their hands.
"You...you are..."
“Roger Henningan, nicknamed Rhinoceros Beetle, is the leader of a newly formed, notorious gang of thieves and robbers in the Tokyo Concession.” The man in the top hat took the cigarette out of his mouth and flicked it aside. “You stole my things and don’t even know who I am? You’re so fond of making up stories?”
"Ah...ah? You are...Mr. 'Poison Hidden'?" The rhinoceros beetle raised its hand.
"Tch, you do have eyes to recognize a talent." Clark, hidden under the "Drug Stalker" hat, chuckled contemptuously. "Since you know me, tell me, how did you come up with this idea to target me? Why are you eyeing my few kilograms of morphine?"
"It's nothing... I just... I just rely on luck. I saw that it was easy to steal from here, so I took it..." The rhinoceros beetle stammered as it looked around, as if waiting for something.
"So who did you sell the bag of morphine you stole to?"
"I...I asked around to see if there were any buyers who needed it, and after I found one, well...that's how it happened..."
Are you familiar with that buyer?
"Not familiar...not familiar..."
Clark looked into his eyes, and except for blinking, he kept staring back and forth.
“Your mouth is very honest, sir.” He smiled. “You are also a very lucky person, I believe so.”
"Ah... thank you..."
“But your mistake is relying entirely on luck, you idiot!” Clark suddenly glared at him and pulled out a revolver.
"what?"
"You saw my men making a deal and wanted to make a quick buck; you didn't know how capable my men were, but you just wanted to try your luck; you got your stolen goods, but you hadn't even figured out who to trade with yet, and you had to contact them right away. So now, even though I haven't shot you, you're looking for a place to escape, isn't that right?"
"Think about it carefully." Clark approached and gently poked the rhinoceros beetle's forehead with the muzzle of his gun. "What do you think you have to offer for surviving in this world besides sheer luck?"
Clark grinned maliciously and then turned his back.
Where's the rhinoceros beetle? Looking at its back, it glanced around, seemingly about to do something.
"Hey!" one of Clark's henchmen suddenly shouted, because the rhinoceros beetle was reaching his hand inside his clothes!
Clark swiftly turned back, raised his revolver high, and swung the butt of the gun like a hammer at the rhinoceros beetle's face!
"You little brat, huh?" He then grabbed the rhinoceros beetle's clothes and pulled out a pistol studded with gold nuggets and a bunch of spare magazines from his inner pocket.