Fu Qiuyan washed her face and emerged from the restroom.
The office was filled with officials and guards, all looking at her nervously. They all stood up, and a dreadful atmosphere permeated the room.
Time seemed to have stopped. Everyone remained motionless, their expressions frozen.
"The Galactic Empire has decided to help us quell this rebellion. The fleet from Jiangye Star is already on its way and will enter orbit in two hours," Fu Qiuyan scanned the room. "The subsequent developments will unfold step by step. Please continue to hold your positions."
The tension suddenly eased. Many felt a great sense of relief. Time began to flow again, and expressions returned to people's faces. Their waiting had been for this very turning point. Someone raised a hand, perhaps to applaud or to pat their chest, but then realizing it was inappropriate, quickly lowered it.
Fu Qiuyan continued her work, returning to her desk to make more calls, contacting everyone she could reach.
However, her tone had completely changed. Previously, her calls were always requests. Now, they were firm commands. The temper she had suppressed all day began to erupt. She shouted at those who were uncooperative and exuded a murderous aura:
"I order you to inform Commander Zhao immediately. This is his last chance. Transmit a message opposing the rebellion and keep your troops in place. If you do not comply within ten minutes, I'll see you in military court!"
"Lu Xini, your troops are to withdraw from the vicinity of the capital city immediately and return to your base! Upon return, please report to the military court voluntarily to reflect on your crimes! Considering your past merits, your death sentence can be commuted!"
"This is Fu Qiuyan. I have good news. The Galactic Empire has decided to send troops to quell the unrest. Hold on for a little longer; the situation will be resolved in at most three hours."
"Disarm your superior officer, find a place to detain her, and the military police will pick her up tomorrow morning. You will temporarily assume her duties. I will sign the specific orders later. The recording of this call serves as my verbal decree."
Fu Qiuyan's assertiveness infected everyone in the office. The good news spread like wildfire, quickly reaching the guards fighting on the mountain.
The guards, who were already exhausted, experienced a surge in combat effectiveness upon hearing the good news. They managed to temporarily halt the attackers' offensive and even pushed large numbers of them back dozens of meters on several mountain paths.
Two hours later.
Fu Qiuyan received another call from Jiang Ye.
"You've arrived?" Fu Qiuyan asked.
"Yes, I'm here. Maintain contact with me from now on," Jiang Ye said. "I have intercepted Chen Ruizhi's fleet. She will soon issue a statement announcing her support for you."
"Good," Fu Qiuyan nodded.
"Next, I will install a signal amplifier on your star system's sun. Using the sun's energy, we will shield your entire planet's signals. Simultaneously, my fleet will deploy a batch of signal fortresses to major cities on your planet to take over your networks and communications," Jiang Ye explained. "In about twenty minutes, there will be a five-minute signal blackout."
"And then we can regain control of the network?" Fu Qiuyan asked.
"Yes," Jiang Ye replied. "After regaining control of the network, my troops will infiltrate your forces' signals and broadcast on all frequencies. The broadcast will be in voice, text, and video formats, announcing the Galactic Empire's stance and urging all units to cease the rebellion. My secretary is currently drafting the specific wording. I'll send it to you later for review, and if you find it suitable, we'll proceed."
"Alright," Fu Qiuyan said. "And then?"
"Then we'll see how things develop," Jiang Ye said. "How are things on your end? Do you need me to send a special forces team to support you?"
"No, I can manage for now," Fu Qiuyan replied. "Thank you."
The call remained open, but neither Fu Qiuyan nor Jiang Ye spoke further. They were both busy, and the sounds of them issuing orders could be heard.
Jiang Ye's end was filled with crisp, powerful officer reports:
"Report! The location of military forces in the tropical zone has been confirmed!"
"Report, signal fortresses have been deployed and are all operating normally!"
"Report, the first planetary atmospheric scan is complete. A total of twenty thousand aircraft, including fighter jets and passenger planes, have been locked onto. Preparing for signal integration!"
"Report, all signal fortresses have landed and are operational!"
Fu Qiuyan's side involved more moderate measures:
"Hurry up and release the news. Once the network is restored, broadcast it across the entire network to stabilize public morale."
"Temporarily halt the stock market. Claim it's a technical malfunction. We'll announce when it reopens."
"Continue contacting foreign heads of state. Postpone the summit by one day and explain the situation, stating there was a minor rebellion but it has been quelled and security is guaranteed."
"Implement the natural disaster emergency plan to ensure the normal operation of hospitals and fire departments in all areas."
Time flew by.
Fu Qiuyan was on the phone when she suddenly stopped and looked at her phone screen.
The call was disconnected, and a no-signal notification popped up.
More than a dozen other phones on the desk also displayed no-signal notifications, neatly arranged. A group of subordinates rushed over to report that the signal to the Governor's Mansion was completely lost. The cacophony of calls and ringing phones vanished within seconds, and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Let's wait, about five minutes," Fu Qiuyan glanced at the clock on the wall.
She had a strange feeling that the entire world had fallen silent.
In fact, it had. Later, when major websites reviewed network traffic data, they saw that originally, various messages were flying all over the internet. Users on this planet and other planets generated billions of pieces of information per second, with visits, forwards, likes, views, and blocks creating ripples like those on a sea battered by a torrential downpour.
But suddenly, the ripples vanished, the downpour stopped, and the sea rapidly receded, exposing a dry seabed. The entire planet's network was almost instantly severed, as if a divine blade had sliced through all the network cables.
At the same time, on the outskirts of major cities, the signal fortresses began to roar.
Signal fortresses were military-grade information warfare weapons.
From the outside, they resembled airships, but they were silver-white and fifty meters long.
Upon landing, signal fortresses would frantically collect all signals in the surrounding area. Combined with data from military-hacked satellites, they would, within minutes, understand the signal distribution of the entire region and build detailed models.
This required devilish computational power, akin to remembering the height of every raindrop, sensing the impact of every gust of wind, and even hearing the struggles of ants in puddles during a massive downpour. Such computational power could only be at a weaponized level, as signal fortresses required nuclear fusion for power.
Subsequently, the signal fortresses began to send and receive signals, replacing all satellites and signal towers.
The network began to recover. Water surged back into the cracks of the dry seabed, and the water level quickly returned to normal. The downpour continued, and dense ripples and waves collided on the sea surface. Everything that had just happened seemed not to have occurred, merely a fleeting illusion.