Watching Bai Zhongqi carefully apply a bandage to her merely scraped arm, Han Jiaxue felt a sweet torrent of emotions. When you like someone, you really find everything about them pleasing to the eye, even if Bai Zhongqi had merely washed his face and his clothes were still dirty. Yet, Han Jiaxue still thought he looked handsome, simply focusing on applying the bandage.
After he finished, Bai Zhongqi pulled up a chair and sat in front of the couch, where the junior sister was sitting. His expression was serious as he said, "I'm not sure how the United States government or other nations' governments will handle this situation."
He looked at the junior sister, reluctant to tell her his worst suspicions. The presence of the alien fighter jet on Earth inevitably had a purpose. Judging from its combat pattern with the F-22, Bai Zhongqi believed that the alien fighter jet was likely probing. Probing generally precedes a larger-scale military operation, and the aliens might actually plan to invade Earth, just like in the movies.
Another critical question was how many aliens there were. If it were just one alien fighter jet that took a spin around Earth and happened to take down two F-22s, no matter how advanced its technology, the actual threat to humanity as a whole would still be limited. Generally, the appearance of a fighter jet represents a larger alien military force.
If it was an alien spaceship, Bai Zhongqi might not have come to a similar conclusion. Since this type of alien fighter jet likely didn't possess interstellar travel capability, it must have a mothership.
Bai Zhongqi made sure the junior sister was settled, then himself constantly searched for useful information on his phone and computer. A survivalist suffering from anxiety knew all too well how important information and intelligence were for surviving in times of real crisis.
By this time, the internet was already awash with videos and photos of the San Francisco air battle, witnessed by hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, and the fighting was fierce, eventually resulting in massive casualties. The sensational impact was definitely comparable to the 9/11 incident from more than a decade ago.
However, aside from this information, which Bai Zhongqi had mostly witnessed himself, there wasn't much else of value.
Mostly, there were rumors that were hard to verify.
Some netizens claimed that the fighter jet was not an alien craft at all but an artificial intelligence-driven drone built by America's Area 51, which went rogue and tussled with the F-22s. Conspiracy theorists even pointed fingers at countries like China, North Rod, and Persia, which had a beef with the United States, saying that it was their doing and that America would seek vengeance.
However, the more mainstream opinion was that this was the first substantial contact between humanity and an extraterrestrial civilization in history. Earth, a planet still naively developing, had finally been discovered by aliens capable of interstellar travel.
Han Jiaxue was also on her phone doing more or less the same thing. She then called her family to let them know she was safe but didn't mention her own dangerous encounter. While her parents were relieved, they urged their daughter to buy a ticket home immediately, deeming staying in the United States too dangerous.
Yet Han Jiaxue quickly became disappointed. She said to Bai Zhongqi somewhat anxiously, "All flights on the West Coast of America have been canceled; even if I wanted to go back home, it's impossible now."
Facing a sudden disaster, a child with an immature heart first thinks of returning to her parents' embrace. Han Jiaxue looked at Bai Zhongqi, feeling that at this moment, he was truly the only person she could rely on.
Bai Zhongqi said, "The United States government must have initiated a state of emergency. The aliens could return at any moment, so maintaining social stability is likely their first priority."
Bai Zhongqi comforted the junior sister and even made her a pot of coffee, while resolutely deciding that no matter what happened, he would protect Han Jiaxue.
At this time, Bai Zhongqi logged onto a domestic website and, after refreshing, the top headline changed.
"Live Broadcast — National Space Administration Holds Press Conference Regarding San Francisco's Unidentified Flying Object Incident."
Bai Zhongqi didn't hesitate to click on the link; even though his home internet was usually fast, at that moment, with what was likely a massive influx of traffic to the live stream, it was still a bit slow.
The press conference seemed hastily prepared, and the expression of the spokesperson for the space agency was quite grave. He didn't wait for all the media to arrive, instead announcing the start of the press conference immediately and beginning to read from a paper.
"At about 3 a.m. Imperial Capital time on November 28th, the C Nation's National Space Administration, while observing the Sun, discovered unidentified objects on the solar orbit. After more than ten hours of tense analysis and judgment, it is considered highly likely that they are spacecraft fleets operated by extraterrestrial life, numbering six."
This news, like a bolt from the blue, completely stunned all the reporters present. Some journalists, who were still scrambling into the venue, wished they could quickly take out their recording pens and other material to record the spokesperson's words. Those present were not only domestic media but also international media that were going crazy.
This was the first message about aliens released by a highly credible authoritative space agency. Although it was announced after the San Francisco event, at least it allowed people to further confirm that the UFOs seen over San Francisco were most likely dispatched by this mysterious fleet.
The spokesperson continued, "We are unable to determine the purpose of the extraterrestrial civilization's visit to Earth. The conflict that occurred in San Francisco was a tragedy, and we express our condolences to the victims. At the same time, we believe that the American side's impulsive firing at the extraterrestrial civilization was reckless and irresponsible.
It is a time for all of humanity to unite to confront this challenge from extraterrestrial intelligent life. We sincerely ask our colleagues from all countries around the world to come together to discuss strategies and make contact with the other side to maintain Earth's peace and stability."
At this point, a reporter, ignoring procedure, asked, "Why did you choose to release this news at this time?"
The spokesperson glanced at the reporter but still answered his question, "This is a problem that humanity as a whole must face and solve together. Moreover, our country believes that the public has the right to know about exceptional situations. Hiding the truth now will not help resolve the situation."
The spokesperson no longer responded to others' questions but continued, "We call for all nations to set aside their prejudices and engage in comprehensive and in-depth cooperation to have a chance at resolving this thorny issue.
Some countries plan to act without the rest of the world, with ill-considered dangerous actions that put all of humanity at risk, which is something we will never agree to."