novelTele Never choose the upright ape in Chapter 2!
Never choose the upright ape in Chapter 2!
Sam the Eagle Nation.
President Wood stood at the window of the Oval Office in the White House, looking at the Tyrannosaurus Rex on the screen, and gave it an arrogant smile, his eyes shining.
"These four rogue nations of the alliance are all cowards! Why are they all vying for that monkey? The U.S. Eagles are never afraid of challenges; the greater the danger, the greater the value."
He pointed to the ninth image with his finger, then waved his hand dismissively:
"We want Tyrannosaurus Rex! Once we tame these things, the United States will possess the most powerful biological weapon on Earth. A cavalry division charging on Tyrannosaurus Rex—just thinking about it is exhilarating!"
The entire White House was deathly silent.
The Secretary of State's lips trembled for a long time, but he didn't dare to utter a sound.
Fine, I'll listen to the president.
At worst, if they fail to tame them, they can be used to make a few movies.
[The United States, the Eagle Nation, has selected Tyrannosaurus Rex and allocated ten million of them.]
[Tyrannosaurus Rex has nine remaining selection attempts.]
[Next country to choose: Ivan Bear Country.]
For the first time, a change appeared on the light screen—
In the upper right corner of the ninth image, a new flag of the United States of America has appeared.
……
Ivan Bear Kingdom, Winter Palace.
Chairman Fra, puffing on his pipe, glanced at the Tyrannosaurus Rex and then at the Homo erectus, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the two exotic creatures.
"The United States has chosen the Tyrannosaurus Rex," the People's Commissar of National Defense said in a low voice.
"Are they crazy?" the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs interjected.
Chairman Vla exhaled a puff of smoke and slowly said, "The Ivan Bear Nation doesn't need madmen or heroes; we need the safest option."
His finger pointed at the upright ape.
[The Ivan Bear Kingdom has selected upright apes and allocated ten million of them.]
[Remaining number of selections for the upright ape: five.]
[Next country to choose: Hanscat Country.]
……
Hans Cat Country.
King William stood on the palace balcony, his face ashen.
"John Bull, Jacques Chicken... they've almost emptied the Homo erectus selection pool, and now the Homo erectus only has five chances left to choose. David and George just sent a telegram demanding that we abandon the Homo erectus selection and leave it for their other allies, otherwise, there will be exorbitant tariffs! Damn it!"
The Field Marshal hesitated, "Your Majesty, we don't get along with Yakji, they certainly won't leave the upright apes to us. Perhaps we should choose the Water Dragon? That creature is ugly, but it doesn't seem very big..."
"No," Wilhelm II gritted his teeth, "Let's wait and see. We're seventh in the standings; maybe we still have a chance!"
[Hans Cat Kingdom's application for a postponement of selection has begun; the countdown has started.]
……
The Presidential Palace of the mighty Dragon Nation.
President Kerry was staring blankly at the screen when his secretary rushed in.
"President! An urgent telegram has been sent from the ruling class of the 'Winner Monkey Kingdom'!"
Kerry took the telegram and glanced at it. There was only one line of text on it, so illegible that it was almost unrecognizable:
"Choose the Water Dragon Beast, absolutely do not choose the Upright Ape. I repeat, absolutely do not choose the Upright Ape, trust me. —Lu Cheng"
President Kerry's brow furrowed.
The Winner Monkey Kingdom ranks ninth, behind the Great Power Dragon Kingdom.
According to the order, Lu Cheng shouldn't have been able to choose first, but this person just happened to send a telegram at this time... What does that mean?
"Mr. President, the United States has chosen Tyrannosaurus Rex, and the other major powers have all chosen Homo erectus." The Secretary of Defense walked in, his face grave. "Should we also choose Homo erectus? Homo erectus only has five chances left."
Kerry remained silent for a long time.
He recalled the young man who had suddenly risen to prominence ten years ago—Lu Cheng, a commoner who married the daughter of the most powerful family in the Kingdom of Winner and was elected ruler before he was even thirty. In ten years, the Kingdom of Winner had jumped from a small country in the middle to lower ranks to one of the top ten.
This person never talks nonsense, and never does anything without certainty.
Kerry folded the telegram and put it in his pocket. "Notify Sky Curtain, the mighty Dragon Kingdom, to choose the Water Dragon Beast."
The Defense Minister was stunned: "Mr. President, that's..."
"Execute the command."
[The mighty Dragon Kingdom has selected ten million Water Dragon Beasts.]
[Waterdramon has nine remaining selection attempts.]
[Next country to choose: Boulder Country.]
The moment the news spread, the entire public opinion field of the mighty dragon country exploded.
Countless newspapers printed extra editions, countless people flooded the streets, and countless angry citizens surrounded the presidential palace.
Tens of thousands of people gathered outside the presidential palace, their banners bearing the same message:
"Kerry is a traitor!"
They pointed at the ugly water dragon with huge fangs in the sky and roared deafeningly.
"Why choose this monster?!"
"Upright apes are clearly safer!"
"President, step down! Step down!"
Some people started throwing rotten eggs at the presidential palace.
……
Meanwhile, in the Winners' Kingdom, in the government conference room.
The cabinet members, numbering over twenty, sat around a long table on either side, each looking as if they were constipated.
Lu Cheng sat in the main seat, a freshly brewed cup of coffee in front of him, and a stack of documents spread out on the table.
That was a preliminary analysis of the ten exotic creatures that he ordered the intelligence department to collect and organize immediately after the sky appeared.
"Your Excellency!" The Finance Minister was the first to jump up.
"Based on the current order, we, ranked tenth, are likely the last country to have the opportunity to choose the Homo erectus. The Homo erectus only has five chances left, and ahead of us are the Hanscat Country and the Bourbon Country. They are still hesitating, while we have a real chance..."
"The Bulgan Nation has chosen the upright ape." The intelligence minister held up the telegram he had just received, his voice trembling. "Just now, the Sky Curtain updated its message, and the upright ape has four chances left."
The air in the meeting room seemed to freeze.
The Minister of Agriculture wiped the sweat from his brow: "That leaves only four chances. Hanscat Country is still hesitating, but if they don't choose the upright ape, we'll have a chance..."
Lu Cheng slowly took a sip of coffee.
"Who said I was going to choose the upright ape?"
The meeting room was silent for a second, then erupted into chaos.
Everyone was stunned.
"What?!"
"Are you crazy?!"
The finance minister jumped up, knocking his chair to the ground.
"Your Excellency, what are you saying? Several other powerful nations have all chosen the Homo erectus! John Bull, Jacques the Chicken, Giuseppe the Wolf, Taro the Tanuki, Ivan the Bear—they all chose the Homo erectus! This shows that the Homo erectus is the safest of the ten exotic creatures!"
Defense Secretary Hordy stood up:
"If we don't choose the upright apes, we're left with those monsters! Look at the Tyrannosaurus Rex! Look at that fish! Look at that dragonfly!"
"The safest?" Lu Cheng raised his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "Do you know why that creature is called an upright ape?"
Everyone looked at each other.
Paleontology in this world is still in its infancy, evolution is a theory known only to a few, and people's understanding of ancient organisms is almost zero.
They didn't know what dinosaurs were, what the Cambrian Explosion was, or even that on another Earth, there was a species called "Homo sapiens" that once used stones and sticks to wipe out an entire mammoth population.
Lu Cheng put down his coffee cup, stood up, walked to the window, and pointed to the image of an upright ape on the sky.
"What does it look like to you?"