Chapter 370: News Report from Egypt’s Borders

Back in the World Governing Trading Hub...

Seeker and Lynd wanted to watch the report, but Charles insisted on waiting for him and the popcorns. And so, even though Lennox has already sent a summarized report of what happened, Charles demanded Seeker and Lynd to wait and play the news report only when he got back.

"Can we play it now?" Seeker was impatient. He wanted to watch the news and see what plot or means Arthur and Lowengren would use to infiltrate Egypt and fulfill the multiple requirements their infiltration has to fulfill. Since the event became broadcasted around the world, Seeker was afraid that other Presider's might notice the event.

"Just wait! The popcorn's just done! Where's Meryl? Has she got the drinks?" Charles answered back.

"I'm going to play it." Lynd finally decided.

"I'm here!" Meryl suddenly barged in.

"Have you played it yet?"

"I'm about to."

"Wait. Where's the popcorn?"

"Here!"

Cliff was relieved. The audio was not played, and the popcorn and drinks were finally reported.

Seeker and Lynd had exasperated expressions.

"Can we get to watching the program now?!" Seeker demanded.

"Yes." Cliff, Charles, and Meryl answered.

And so, Seeker began to play the video of the news report from the beginning.

"Welcome back to War Watch for another segment of explosive details across the globe! The situation over at Africa continued to escalate. The news that our first correspondents had sent had finally proven to be true. The newly established nation that has just formalized its independence from Africa is now known as the Desert Empire. It consists of the nations Chad and Niger. Live in Africa is our correspondent Joyce Fisher."

"Thank you, Tom. I am Joyce Fisher live on the borders of the Desert Empire and Egypt. We are approximately two kilometers from the Chad border fortress of CS-14. While the reports sent a few hours ago were shocking, we chose this location for yet another escalation of the trouble here in the newly formed Desert Empire. Tensions continue to rise after the declaration of independence by the new state, Desert Empire, led by the mysterious Desert Queen, who won through by unanimous vote. While Africa has threatened war to the Desert Empire, the borders between the region of Chad and Egypt have grown chaotic that Egypt has already sent its military forces to this region."

"Egypt? Well, that's something that exceeded my expectations. Why has Egypt suddenly gotten into the mix?"

"Right now, as you can see, there is a large crowd of protesters demanding justice and for Egypt to pay."

"Justice? I thought Egypt pretty much didn't associate with other nations and avoided any conflict with them."

"That is also one of the things that beguiled us. We have been spending the last few hours interviewing the many residents of the city closest to the A lot of civilians gathered to protest at the many atrocities that Egypt has allegedly committed. We've done several interviews, and apparently, the situation here in Chad and Niger is that it has always been a poor country."

"A poor country? They have... three techs that are exclusive to them. Most African countries only have two tech possibilities!" Tom, the reporter, found it amusing.

"That was what we thought as well! But it seems that Egypt has allegedly been exploiting the region of Chad and Niger. Particularly the border areas. These were supposedly 'open secrets,' and the African Nations have ignored it, fearing the repercussions of challenging Egypt. This is said to be one of the major reasons why the Desert Queen won the favor of everyone as she vowed to make amendments to the atrocities of Egypt."

"Atrocities? Open secret? Joyce... you've been in Africa for three years. And you've done a lot of groundwork in Niger and Chad. Have you noticed these things?"

"Not at all. Although I have been away from this place for the past month, my reports followed the mysterious dildo hunt that happened weeks ago. But in my stay here, I can't point out how Egypt has been doing that. Some of the protesters drive luxury cars! The nearby parking lot will show you that those who came here are rather rich!"

A video clip of the parked cars near the area was displayed. As Niger and Chad were partner countries in developing premium vehicle technology, it became a rich state with the most advanced car techs around the world. Some of the luxury cars of these two states surpassed the vehicles that the Americas could produce.

"We believe that whatever happened here in the past hour before any international news correspondents were allowed inside must have convinced these people to go here! Like some massive propaganda must have been spread and created such discord!"

"A massive propaganda? But how?"

"We don't know. But what we-"

BOOM!

An explosion erupted nearby, and some of the rocks and sand were falling over the correspondents who suddenly went for the cover.

The reporters were all startled and began to move back.

"Joyce?! Joyce?! Are you alright?"

The cameras caught the rowdy citizens of Chad rushing angrily towards the border.

"A terrorist attack has occurred! It looked like a bomb was thrown!" Joyce couldn't hear Tom but continued to report the accounts.

The audio feed was then damaged, and while the video could be played, the audio wasn't being transmitted.

Joyce could be seen rushing and trying to secure a spot for her to report the events that just transpired properly.

"Joyce! Head back! Get out of there!" Tom urged, fearing for the life of Joyce.

"Joyce! Can you hear me?! Answer me!" Tom continued to shout.

Joyce continued to give her detailed report, although the audio was cut.

Tom could see it and could not help be amazed by Joyce's passion and dedication as she stood up on one of the cars nearby to give her report.

Tom watched her and couldn't help but remember his passion.

"This was why I joined the news..." Tom muttered.

"Ladies and gentleman, you could see here the passion, dedication, and desire for Joyce to deliver the truth. This isn't about ratings. It's not about fame. It's about the news. We are in the process of connecting our audio link. Until then, please continue to watch our brave reporters do their work!" Tom declared. It was off script and was a personal assessment of the events that transpired, but in all the years of Tom's life as a reporter, he felt great pride in what he just said.

"This is news!" Tom thought as he watched the horrifying scene of the Chad soldiers shooting at the civilians who broke through.

"Joyce, can you hear me? Are those live rounds? Are those live rounds?" Tom kept repeating.

Joyce kept on talking as she kept pointing in many directions of the border and then suddenly stopped as she could hear Tom's words. Then she realized something was wrong with the audio and motioned to her cameraman to fix it.

The audio suddenly returned, and gunshots could be heard.

"Hello Tom, can you hear me?!" Joyce asked.

"Yes! Yes! Joyce? What happened?"

"Tom, the citizens of Chad had broken through and are now raging over to Egypt to attack. Chad is forced to shoot the civilians with non-lethal rounds as any attacks that these civilians could make, including detonating homemade bombs like the one earlier, could spark war! As you can see, tear gases and- hey, what are doing?!"

Suddenly the camera began to spin, and the boots and pants of Chad soldiers could be seen as the camera fell to the ground. A muzzle from a standard military-issued firearm could be seen, and the feed was cut.

Tom watched in terror. The fear and shock in his face didn't disappear as he looked at the black screen for seconds.

"Ladies and gentlemen... I fear for the life of our correspondent." Tom looked to the camera and showed a candid expression.

"We... we are... we are perhaps a very unappreciated job in this world. Delivering the news is hard work. And for Joyce, who takes her passion not just for monetary gain, popularity, or even views for the network... It's heartbreaking to hear people say we do this for the money." The surreal experience caused Tom to reflect on-air.

"We don't know what Joyce is going through. Were they killed? We hope not. Was she, or is she happy? I doubt it!" Tom paused and took a deep breath.

"Was she responsible? Was she dedicated? Was she heroic? Was she amazing? She was. She really was." Tom teared up.

It was then, Tom's expression changed as he received an update from Joyce.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we've just received word that although the cameras were damaged, Joyce and her partner are alive!" Tom perked up.

"Joyce and Lerik will now be connecting the call with us through an audio feed. They will be giving a detailed report as to what happened!" Tom's expression changed. Taking inspiration from Joyce's passion, he took his job very seriously. He was so serious and dedicated that he has never been this energized to do his job since he started working for the network.

"Tom, can you hear me?" Joyce's voice could be heard.

"Joyce! Loud and clear! What's the news?"

"The military has shot all our cameras to stop us from sending video feeds to the group. But since they can't destroy our comm devices because of the Media-Correspondent Protection Act of Africa that protects us from having any personal comm devices damaged, we are able to make a call as long as no videos are offered."

"Brilliant! That's just amazing, Joyce! What's happening there?" Tom wanted to take more time to praise Joyce for inspiring him and reviving the dead passion for news that was long gone through the passing of time and the cycle of routines.

"Chad has managed to stop all citizens from reaching the Egyptian border. It seems that for now, the war between the two has been stopped. The soldiers used non-lethal rounds, but whether or not anyone was killed from the wild assault, we cannot confirm yet. But from what we can see, those being escorted back are alive and only suffered minor injuries. We don't- oh my god! What's that?!"

A strange distorted sound of an electrical current could be heard.

"A lightning at the shape of a ball! There's a strange ball creating lighting exploding out near the border! Lerik! Give me the binoculars! Quick!" Joyce reported in shock.

"The border? Which border?!"

"Egypt! A lightning attack struck the mirage wall! It's forming this large ball that is sending out lightning!"

"A Sphere of lightning? Do we have any reports as to its origin? Is it New Great Britain? Australia? The Lost Primordials? Have our military experts analyze this, quick!" Tom began to order the nearby reporters to analyze what was happening.

"I've just heard the nearby soldiers whisper about the time-space continuum being affected!"

"Time-space continuum?" Tom wore a strange expression on his face.

"That's impossible. It sounds like these soldiers are mistaking this for some sci-fi-"

"The ball of lightning is now shrinking! I am looking through the binoculars, and the Egyptian border is now clearly seen! It hasn't been seen from this part of the world for three decades! There is a tall wall expanding- oh my god! There's someone there! Someones in the place where the ball of lightning exploded!" Joyce shouted.

"A person?! Is it an Exoskeleton?" Tom asked.

"Five naked men!"

"Five what?!" Tom asked again.

"They're definitely naked! One of them even has a rather hairy- their standing!"

"Hairy-Standing what?!" Tom asked again.

"The five naked men are fighting! They are attacking the borders! They are moving like robots! Oh my god! An Egyptian Exoskeleton just got killed by one of the naked men! They're fighting! They're like robots! The soldiers here are shouting that these are robots sent from the future!"

Tom's expression was now growing darker and darker as the exaggerated claims of Joyce continued.

"African-audio catching tech confirmed that they are here to 'terminate everyone in Egypt! This is crazy! Tom! Time-traveling robots are sent to destroy Egypt." Joyce reported once more as she managed to eavesdrop at what the soldiers were saying.

Tom couldn't take it anymore and began to curse at Joyce and attack her integrity as a news reporter.

Meryl, Cliff, and Charles were looking at Seeker and Lynd for explanations at the odd events that just took place.

"That was..." Lynd began.

"Ingenius."Seeker continued

"Right. Ingenius. And it was also..."

"Insane."

"Definitely insane."

"Is this... alright?" Charles finally asked.

"We can try playing this in front of Lanterk and Zeraphine to see what they think. But I'm confident that this insane ploy will work. Egypt's Presider will move. The other Presiders will ignore it." Seeker affirmed.