Han Xin smiled to himself at the thought of what was happening right now. While it was true that he had sacrificed numerous soldiers to pull off his plan, he believed it was worth it to eliminate Qi Lian and the American soldiers. By the time they figured out he was gone, assuming that they did figure it out, it would be too late.

Qi Jiguang was driving at high speed down the interstate, heading for their final destination; Fort Tilden. For Han, Fort Tilden represented the perfect place to launch his attack from. It was far enough away from major population centers that there would be no risk of an accidental direct hit by a nuclear weapon. Furthermore it wouldn't be the target of a foreign power looking to retaliate against the U.S.

These were the reasons Han had originally chosen this location. Briefly he had entertained Qi Lian's wonderful idea of using the town of Plattsburgh, which was even further from population centers. But he needed a way to eliminate the threats posed by the U.S. troops and Qi Lian, so ultimately he abandoned Plattsburgh as an option.

Han truly hoped that Qi Lian would die in the attack, which he assumed was ongoing by now. He had given orders to his snipers and troops that she was the primary target. Han assumed that Qi Lian, who was out for Han's blood, would be among the first troops to attack. This would make the task of killing her easier. But it didn't matter to Han whether she died in the attack or during the nuclear winter which would shortly follow.

Han's mood had greatly improved from earlier in the day. In fact at the moment he was feeling downright jolly. And with good reason too, for he had figured out how to eliminate all of his problems simultaneously. On top of that he had just received excellent news, his soldiers had managed to hack the American nuclear football finally. It had taken longer than he had anticipated but they had managed to do it. What a great day this was turning out to be!

And the day was almost over, which seemed sort of fitting. Tomorrow would truly be the dawning of a new age, an age which the Red Tide would rule over. Han's dream was finally nearing its realization and at that moment he felt high on life.

"This has turned into a wonderful evening hasn't it Qi Jiguang?" Han asked with a relieved sigh.

"Indeed it has sir." Qi Jiguang replied with a smile.

"The moment we get to Fort Tilden we will begin a celebration! We should make sure the soldiers there have some champagne!" Han said, despite having never tasted champagne in his life.

"Sure sir, I am sure that can be easily arranged for." Qi Jiguang responded.

"How much longer until we arrive at Fort Tilden?" Han wondered.

"We are about 15 minutes away sir." Qi Jiguang answered.

"Oh this is incredible! Soon it will be all over. You gave the remaining soldiers to seek nearest shelter immediately correct?" Han asked, going through the plan one more time in his head.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Yes sir, they have been sent those orders. It is likely that most of our troops will have to seek shelter in Plattsburgh. We did have word that a couple of our better computer hackers are on their way here from Plattsburgh. They received those orders prior to the final hack of the American nuclear football. They shouldn't be too far behind us." Qi Jiguang replied.

"Good, we need to launch the attack as soon as possible. If Qi Lian somehow manages to survive, she will know that we are gone. Though I don't think she has any idea where we are, I would still feel more comfortable if we get this over with soon. Every moment will count." Han said.

Qi Jiguang shook his head to indicate that he understood. Han went back to basking in his glory. He was finally victorious, over both the American's and Qi Lian. Why shouldn't he feel great?

Throughout their drive Han had noticed the changes driving through really quite large state of New York. It seemed to alternate between quite rural and frankly dying regions, and heavily populated ones. It seemed that the heavier the population the less likely they were to see decay. This made sense in a capitalist society, the more people the more money businesses could make. But this also led to the horrible decline that happened in rural areas. This was one of many reasons that Han wanted to create a better society. Naturally he would be the leader of that society, so things would be significantly better than they were now.

Plus the superior species should be atop society. Han had to come to view himself and the other Red Tide soldiers as a separate and superior species, rather than just superior humans. And superior species were always at the top the figurative food chain. Han's hand made society would be more just and fair. There wouldn't be such rot and decay in rural areas for instance. Surely the remaining humans would be happy once they saw how he would lay out his society.

Han could see moonlight entering the car now, and he could also see the stars. He enjoyed such sights, as this was something that couldn't be seen in the Red Tide military installation. Perhaps someday Han would lead the new civilization to the stars. He imagined a mixture of Red Tide and humans walking on some new planet together, starting to populate the galaxy. Yet another joyful thought in his mind.

"Sir we are here." Qi Jiguang said, breaking Han out of his trance.

Han and his soldiers exited the car and headed for the interior of the Fort Tilden fallout shelter. Han could see the old worn out symbol indicating that this was indeed a fallout shelter as he walked inside.

On the interior of the shelter Han was greeted by a few dozen of his soldiers. He could tell that they were all in good spirits, similar to himself.

"Men and women, thanks to your hard work and dedication the Red Tide is finally rising!" Han was interrupted by a bout of cheers.

Han raised his hands to signal to the group that he was not yet finished.

"Very soon we will complete the final part of our mission. We will wait for a short time to ensure that as many of our colleagues as possible have time to seek shelter. But after this short wait the nuclear winter will commence and we will finally enter our role as rulers of the earth!" Han continued, again interrupted by cheers.

Han began to try to talk again, but gave up on his speech. His people were simply too excited to calm down.

"Qi Jiguang, do we have any word from Valcour island yet?" Han asked nearly needing to yell to be heard.

"No sir, we have not received word from anyone who was there yet." Qi Jiguang replied.

"Hmm, I would have thought Qi Lian would have started the attack by now. You should keep trying. And we will give the remaining soldiers 20 minutes, no more than that you understand? We need to be sure that Qi Lian and the American soldiers perish, or our whole plan will fall apart." Han ordered.

"Yes sir, I will keep trying to communicate with them." Qi Jiguang said, looking down to his watch communicator.