Chapter 47 The US Military is Invincible

In the America of this era, going to the cinema had become the height of fashion. Every night, millions of people walked into theaters scattered across the country to watch the latest hit films.

The release of the documentary film *World War II (Miniature Edition) 1* was an absolute sensation!

This was not some brilliantly plotted masterpiece, nor could it even strictly be called a movie, but it was simply too close to real-world hot topics to ignore.

Newspapers offered plenty of content, but after all, they were just words; radio had great real-time immediacy, but still required imagination.

Movies, however, used dynamic moving images to seemingly drag the war right up to the audience's face!

Not to mention that the sheer amount of information packed into this film was explosive!

If the Prohibition Bureau battling gangsters was still within the realm of people's imagination, then the U.S. military single-handedly taking on soldiers from over a dozen European countries—sparking a miniature "World War" right on American soil—was simply too much to handle!

And the ones who found it hardest to handle were not the Americans, but the European fellows.

When the Chicago "arena battle" news reached the European continent, Europeans first fell into a collective state of speechlessness, which instantly erupted into roaring laughter that nearly blew the roofs off.

"Hahahaha! Good God, what kind of American spirit is this? They really... they can always come up with something entirely new to astonish you!"

"Are you serious? Prohibition was already quite humorous, and now they're using an arena battle to protest it? Who would have thought America could export humor of this caliber!"

"Acceptable, very American. Reality is truly more marvelous than drama!"

And when the documentary *World War II (Miniature Edition) 1* was introduced to Europe, the European fellows practically laughed until they cried!

Ever since those American doughboys, arriving on troop transports with the arrogant attitude of "we saved the world," had set foot on European soil—and then returned home with bulging wallets and the delusion of being "number one in the world"—everyone had been sick of those upstarts from the New World for a long time.

Well, now that Europe had formed an "allied coalition" to beat the living daylights out of the American soldiers, it was truly deeply gratifying!

It was one thing for soldiers from the Allied powers camp, as they had at least fought alongside or against the U.S. military on actual battlefields, but the doughboys of the Entente camp had never gotten that chance.

Now they had finally caught their opportunity!

The European veterans who appeared in the *World War II (Miniature Edition) 1* documentary all became "national heroes" in their respective countries, receiving support from the entire populace!

"Well done, brave men! Knock those American boys flat!"

There was only one tiny dispute:
The German fellows believed that the flip-flopping Italian fellows did not count as part of the Central Powers camp and should go team up with the British and French;
While the British and the Gallic roosters disdained the Italian fellows' combat capabilities and expelled them from the Entente camp.

The Italian fellows: ……

However, this was merely a minor internal discord within Europe; when facing America, everyone remained strictly united.

In this day and age, world public opinion was still largely controlled by old Europe. Once Europe started buzzing, journalists from all over the world—including even the mysterious ancient country in the East—successively dispatched reporters rushing to the United States to witness the "World War" with their own eyes!

European tycoons moved even faster, and first-class cabins on transatlantic ocean liners were instantly booked solid.

Aristocrats, industrial magnates, socialites... one and all insisted on being present in person to watch this unprecedented, live-action, heavily fire-powered performance of "New Century Roman Gladiators."

For a time, Chicago became the most fashionable tourist destination for the Old World's elite circles.

No, it should be said it was the most concentrated tourist destination for elites across the entire globe.

Back within the American mainland, ordinary people also poured into Chicago en masse. The prices of train tickets to Chicago multiplied several times over, yet they still sold out completely.

Cars formed endless dragons on the highways, and gas stations and hotels ushered in their most prosperous era in history.

This wave of "war prosperity" left Chicago businessmen grinning from ear to ear, with all consumer prices leaping upward by bounds and turns.

The "VIP Viewing Stands" developed by the *Sun* near the "arena" saw their prices soar to ten thousand dollars per seat, yet demand still outstripped supply!

Did you think the *Sun* only made money from this, newspapers, and movies?

Then you vastly underestimated the "monetization" capability of a capitalist country!

Even the Mafia and the Irish Gang paying such a heavy price to hire European veterans was merely a promotional tactic!

The real money-maker was the gambling book jointly opened by the *Sun*, Donnell, and Al Capone!

Gambling was truly a habit that mankind found difficult to quit.

Especially for Americans, everything could be wagered upon.

At present, America had no formal casinos, only underground betting books operated by the underworld, the police, and the gray areas.

How could such underground casinos possibly let slip a grand event like "World War II"?!

After the voting results of the Chicago residents came out, Donnell lost count of how many unidentified figures he had received and how many shady backroom deals he had conducted—if a bookmaker wanted to win, they first had to properly manipulate the board.

In Donnell's own words, if he hadn't had no use for them, people would have even delivered tanks and airplanes right to his doorstep.

Following these shady dealings, all sorts of forces—both openly and in the shadows—helped push and promote this "World War."

Because only when the promotion was fully in place could more gambling addicts enter the fold, allowing them to make even more money!

Indeed, the influence and channels of these underworld, official, and gray forces were remarkably vast.

For Americans today, the most pleasant and interesting thing to do was to watch the great drama in Chicago and then place bets on underground books to make a fortune.

They closely followed the information regarding the "arena"—the "arenas" in both the North and South districts consisted of two adjacent two-story warehouse buildings, backed by a river, with reinforced concrete warehouses on the left and right. This greatly enhanced the convenience for the defending side, forcing the attacking side to launch almost frontal assaults!

The "arena" warehouses had already blocked doors and windows, reinforced walls, and the outer intersections featured several layers of defensive fortifications constructed from barbed-wire obstacles and sandbags... Generally speaking, they were difficult to attack, but not quite to the level of a "meat grinder."

The personnel and weaponry of both warring parties had also been dug up by media outlets utilizing all their magical abilities.

The defenders went without saying, as they had already been publicized in documentaries; the combatants were exclusively European veterans, and their weapons were the previously exposed submachine guns, light machine guns, grenades, and so forth.

As for the attacking force—the team cobbled together by the Prohibition Bureau—even their underwear was practically dug up by Washington newspapers.

It was finally confirmed that the force supporting the Prohibition Bureau came from the 361st Regiment under the U.S. Army's 91st Infantry Division.

In terms of manpower, the Prohibition Bureau directly pulled in an entire battalion (about 500 men) to face the 200 European veterans at each "arena";

In terms of experience, the 361st Regiment had participated in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of World War I and withstood the rigorous test of bloody combat against the German army;

In terms of firepower, apart from possessing individual weapons matching those of the defenders, this battalion also carried heavy machine guns...

In short, it could be summed up in one word: strong!

This point was also evident from the odds given by various underground betting books.

The odds for "U.S. Military Wins" were the lowest among all options, reaching a ratio of one hundred to one—meaning a wager of one hundred dollars would yield a profit of only one dollar if won.

"U.S. Military Sweeps," and "U.S. Military Succeeds in Breakthrough within Half an Hour / One Hour / Two Hours" were the mainstream betting options.

Subsequently, the Chicago gangs announced that as soon as the Prohibition Bureau forces breached the warehouse, the defenders would surrender, causing the gambling addicts to further lower their confidence in the defensive side.

European newspapers even heaped praise on the Chicago gangs for possessing "a rather humanitarian spirit..."

Even the *Sun*, which initiated the "arena battle," seemingly did not have excessive confidence in the defenders.

On the eve of the battle, the *Sun* published a stirring essay penned by Logan—

*《The European Coalition Has Ten Defeats, While the U.S. Military Has Ten Victories!》*

"The European coalition forces speak different languages and struggle with coordination; this is defeat number one;"

"The European coalition forces are fighting away from home and lack sufficient confidence; this is defeat number two;"

"The European coalition forces are at a disadvantage in equipment; this is defeat number three..."

"Looking conversely at the U.S. military, they are the invincible U.S. military; this is victory number one;"

"Furthermore, they are the invincible U.S. military; this is victory number two..."

"Finally, they are the invincible U.S. military; this is victory number ten!"

"Rejoice! Behold the invincible U.S. military as they batter a crowd of eyesore European fellows!"

Such a magnificent essay left readers utterly dumbfounded!

——Blink twice if you're being held hostage by the U.S. military.

Regardless, this widespread public opinion guidance heavily influenced betting inclinations.

Most American gambling addicts, eager to showcase their patriotism, threw their stakes behind a crushing victory by the U.S. military.