The Chinese envoy knew that the Governor of Singapore was definitely the type who wouldn't shed a tear until he saw the coffin. So, even after the negotiations ended and he received a clear answer, the envoy couldn't help but turn his head back as he walked to the door. Having witnessed the power of fuel-air explosives, he also knew that hundreds of Chinese bombers could bombard Singapore from high altitude without any obstruction. The Chinese envoy couldn't bear it; he stopped and turned around.

The Singapore Governor had suspected that the Chinese envoy was bluffing. How could Singapore surrender completely before the Chinese army had even reached the city walls? Seeing the Chinese envoy turn back, a sneer appeared on the Singapore Governor's face.

"Your Excellency, I think for the sake of the lives of these people in Singapore, you should agree to unconditional surrender immediately." The Chinese envoy's tone was full of compassion. These were words from his heart.

The sneer on the Governor's face froze. He couldn't even respond with words to the Chinese envoy's statement. Raising his finger to point towards the door, the Governor's face was filled with uncontrollable rage.

"Sigh..." The Chinese envoy sighed deeply and left the Singapore Governor's House.

6:00 AM, February 10th. The Governor of Singapore, who had only slept fitfully for just over two hours all night, couldn't help but look up at the exquisitely styled desk clock. He had been meeting and deploying troops all night. The probability of a Chinese air raid was high; after all, neither the navy nor the army could move that fast. Moreover, even a wrecked ship has three pounds of nails; even if the demonstration fleet had been annihilated, Singapore still had dozens of warships, large and small. These warships now had the aircraft carrier *Formidable* as their flagship. Not using a battleship as a flagship could be considered setting a precedent for the Royal Navy of the British Empire.

The Singapore Governor had already received the news. Through Churchill's utmost efforts, a fleet composed of the aircraft carriers *Invincible* and *Hermes*, as well as five battleships including the *Royal Sovereign*, *Revenge*, *Resolution*, and *Ramillies*, plus eight cruisers and destroyers, was being urgently assembled. The fleet commander was Vice Admiral James Somerville. This fleet was expected to arrive in Singapore within a few days.

Moreover, Britain had also transferred a large number of aircraft from the mainland to Singapore to strengthen Singapore's air power. Britain was even considering temporarily dismantling several radars from the mainland and shipping them to Singapore and India to strengthen the air defense of the Indian Ocean region. In short, Britain had realized that relying on the current military forces in the Pacific and Indian Oceans was simply not enough to resist the Chinese offensive.

Since the Chinese envoy had mentioned 6:00 AM on February 10th, the Singapore Governor couldn't help but pay attention to this time. Even knowing that the Chinese envoy was likely bluffing, the Singapore Governor couldn't just ignore it. The gold-plated pendulum of the desk clock swung left and right inside the clear, transparent glass dome, and the Governor suddenly felt a burst of annoyance. China could produce very high-quality glass, and this exquisite desk clock was imported from China. Thinking about it carefully, the Governor's House had quite a few Chinese products. Including that solar water heater which was beautifully styled and integrated well with the roof.

Solar water heaters were quite suitable for a place like Singapore. There were no mineral resources here, and moving that dark, sooty coal was too unclean. After a series of water heaters were installed, the hot water supply for the entire official residence could be met. The scorching sunlight was absorbed by the water, and the temperature of the entire house was even reduced quite a bit. The Governor was very satisfied with this design.

When had China become powerful enough to export industrial products to Britain at will? The Governor recalled carefully, but surprisingly couldn't quite remember what the first Chinese industrial product he purchased was. In this frontier of the world in the West Pacific, the nearest industrial production base was China.

Watching the time reach 6:15, the Governor withdrew his gaze in agitation. He asked the servant to bring breakfast. After eating a few mouthfuls with no appetite, the Governor suddenly heard a huge explosion coming from outside. The Governor's whole body shook. Even knowing that the Chinese would bombard Singapore, when it really happened, the Governor was still shocked.

Before the Governor could stand up, the glass of the Governor's House study suddenly exploded inward from the outside. A wave of scorching heat carrying indescribable things slammed in from outside. The Governor only felt a tightness in his chest, and breathing became difficult.

Struggling to stand up, the Singapore Governor ran to the window of the balcony. At this moment, the glass on the balcony had also shattered. All the Governor could see was thick smoke and flames. It wasn't just one place burning; amidst the huge explosions, everything within the Governor's field of vision was burning. Houses were burning, buildings were burning, the sea surface was burning, and even the air itself seemed to be burning. There was thick smoke and raging fire everywhere.

The feeling of chest tightness became stronger and stronger. The Governor felt as if his lungs had been emptied. He tried hard to breathe, but the more he breathed, the more intensely he felt the sensation of suffocation. The Governor of Singapore of the British Empire opened his mouth wide, his face starting to turn purple from holding his breath. He gasped uselessly. Not long after, the Lord Governor grabbed his own neck tightly, spat out salty, acidic white foam, and fell to the ground, twitching.

The Air Force of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army dispatched all 160 bombers, each fully loaded with fuel-air explosives. This bombing of Singapore would be a massacre of the city; the People's Air Force was very clear about this. Therefore, the targets of this bombing were extremely clear. They were the British barracks, the harbor, the forts, and the garrison locations.

"We are soldiers, not executioners," the commander of the bombing unit replied. "Minimize accidental injury to civilians as much as possible."

Fortunately, the designated bombing areas were all heavily defended British areas, and these areas were not open to the common people. In order to defend Singapore, the British side had expelled the Chinese in Singapore and locked them in concentration camps. This news made the bombing unit feel much better psychologically.

Attacking Singapore was not just the Air Force; the Army of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was also fighting its way towards Singapore. The closer to Singapore, the flatter the road. Tank units raced ahead, and bicycle units, after days of marching and minor combat, had reduced their load to just ammunition and a small amount of supplies. After a difficult night of riding, the troops had arrived in the Johor region, less than 20 kilometers from Singapore.

In the morning sunlight, the southbound troops of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army in Johor saw soaring thick smoke rising from the direction of Singapore. The column of smoke was probably several kilometers high, clearly visible even from 20 kilometers away. A sound like muffled summer thunder came from there. The experience of the past few days let the comrades know that was the commotion caused by fuel-air explosives. Looking carefully at the sky with high-power binoculars, they could occasionally see the faintly visible silhouettes of the bomber groups.

"How many bombs did the Air Force drop on Singapore after all?" The commander of the southbound troops, Brigade Commander Li Guang, muttered to himself. He hadn't expected this offensive to be so smooth, nor had he expected modern warfare to be so cruel. The power displayed by the Air Force was no longer just striking the enemy, but a feeling that seemed capable of destroying the world. That kind of indiscriminate, large-scale attack, as long as there were enough of them, could destroy a city with ease.

"There are enemy troops ahead. Should we call for an Air Force attack?" the brigade chief of staff asked.

Just as they were speaking, the telegraph operator jumped down from the telegraph vehicle. "Brigade Commander, the Air Force sent a telegram asking us to pause our advance. They are about to bomb the enemy's camp."

"Defend in place!" Brigade Commander Li Guang shouted.

Fifteen minutes later, the silhouettes of bombers appeared in the sky, and a barrage of bombs poured down towards the direction of the enemy camp.

By 10:00 AM, after contacting the Air Force, the southbound troops finally began to continue their advance. They encountered some remnants of the enemy along the way, but these guys were all scared silly. Some guys with tattered clothes and covered in soot had already gone mad. Even when they encountered the Chinese army, these people just laughed, cried, and screamed, with absolutely no intention of fighting.

These people were all Europeans. One could distinguish the huge difference in appearance from the Indians and Malays captured a few days ago at a glance. After small-scale skirmishes, the troops continued south. The operational order for the southward advance was to capture Singapore. Singapore, close at hand, should have no defending enemies left.

Passing through the bombing site that looked like a living hell, the strait causeway, over a thousand meters long connecting Singapore and Johor, was still there. Standing at the end of the causeway near Johor, even the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, who strictly obeyed orders, could no longer move their feet.

What the comrades saw was a burning city. Even after more than four hours, the city of Singapore was still burning ragingly. Every building was burning, every patch of forest was burning. The strait causeway, over a thousand meters long, was also a key target of the bombing. Everything here was burning. Standing at one end of the causeway, wearing military boots, the heat from the scorching ground still penetrated the rubber soles to their feet. The smell of various objects burning in the air, including the pungent smell of burning flesh, intensely irritated the respiratory systems of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army soldiers. Like their commander, Brigade Commander Li Guang, all the officers and soldiers stared blankly ahead.

Singapore had been destroyed in just one massive bombing raid—thoroughly destroyed!

There was no army to stop the Chinese army from entering Singapore, yet the massive heat released by this burning city stopped the Chinese army from entering this burning ruin.

"What have we done?" Brigade Commander Li Guang muttered, not even realizing he was speaking.