I was acting crazy in North America, and all the crazy people there took it seriously.

Chapter 182 The Wind Howls and Fire Cries, the Whole City Flees
Logan then returned to the broadcasting position.

He began by announcing some good news to the audience:
"Listeners, this is a special report from the front lines of Voice of Freedom. I am your lucky survivor, Logan!"

"Thanks to the Sun's consistent stance of upholding justice, neither side has made things difficult for us."

He then reported another piece of news to the audience, the nature of which was unclear—whether it was good or bad.

"Just now, we witnessed a complete military reversal! The 'Southern Army' has collapsed completely and is now in an irreversible rout!"

"The 'Northern Army,' having achieved a brilliant victory, has gathered all its mobile forces to pursue their advantage. The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly!"

Just then, the reporter responsible for providing backup below handed Logan a slip of paper with the declaration that Leo had borrowed, which he had just "interviewed" about.

Logan glanced at it quickly and couldn't help but give the reporter a thumbs up; this was incredibly effective at generating buzz!

"Dear listeners! At this very moment, our brave and fearless reporter has interviewed the commander of the 'Union Army' and brings us his most forceful declaration of war—"

"...We will ruthlessly destroy everything we see...I want to teach the Southern white supremacists and their descendants a lesson they will never dare to bully other races again! Never dare to resort to war again!"

"I will make all of Mississippi wail and howl! I will turn all of Mississippi into hell! I will make all white supremacists in Mississippi—men, women, young, old, rich, poor—feel excruciating pain! My legion will destroy them without hesitation!"

After reciting this bloody declaration, Logan paused deliberately for a few seconds, letting it resonate in the hearts of every listener, before continuing.

"Friends, does this declaration sound strangely familiar? That's right! It's a famous quote from William Tecumseh Sherman, the Union general during the first phase of the American Civil War!"

He even "kindly" helped the audience "review" history:
"Some listeners may have forgotten General Sherman's illustrious achievements, let me help you recall them."

"During his raids on the South, in order to thoroughly intimidate the South, he burned several cities to the ground, leaving not a single tile behind, and killed all the livestock and people who resisted he encountered, almost flattening the land he passed through like a steamroller..."

"Where he went, only desperate cries and towering flames remained, tolling the death knell for the South's eventual surrender!"

"And today, history seems to be repeating itself. Is the South about to welcome another Black Sherman?"

Neither Leo, who used the declaration for psychological intimidation, nor Logan, who broadcast it extensively, actually took these words seriously.

The former aims to scare people, and the latter aims to scare people as well; to put it bluntly, it's all just empty talk.

But none of them anticipated that their verbal attacks could have such seismic consequences.

Voice of Freedom's live broadcast about the "battle" attracted more listeners in the south than in the north.

This is unusual. Voice of Freedom has never been as popular in the South as it is in the North, because it often speaks the truth that Southerners don't really want to hear.

But this time it happened right next to them.

Also, many people in the south know what's going on.

They knew that the so-called "illegal immigrant criminal groups" were essentially armed resistance forces formed by native Black people who could no longer bear the oppression.

Therefore, when Logan likened this conflict to "American Civil War 2.0," many white Southerners secretly agreed with it.

They believe this is a total eruption of the problems left over from the last civil war, a way to settle “historical remnants”.

However, the scenario they were hoping for was for the new era's "Southern Army" to wipe out those restless "Northern remnants."

However, what came through the radio waves was the devastating news of the Confederate army's crushing defeat, and the opposing commander's hellish declaration of revenge, delivered through Sherman's voice: "Let the whole Mississippi become scorched earth!"

"Let all white people feel excruciating pain!"

"Destroy them as soon as possible!"

Although the manifesto emphasized "white supremacists," most of the Southern whites listening to the radio looked extremely displeased.

Even if they themselves did not participate in the persecution of Black people, their relatives and friends often did, for example, recently using the wave of "crackdown on illegal immigration" to send Black people to prison...

Judging from their own experience, if the roles were reversed, they would certainly have taken the most cruel and ruthless revenge, just like the Butcher Sherman.

Besides, the burning of the city by Sherman was too long ago, and the burning of the city by blacks this summer is still fresh in our minds.
The last fire only reached the state next door, didn't it? That's not far at all!

The memory of "black people having fire magic" resurfaced, and the fear of "the whole city burning down" returned.

Just then, the wind picked up outside the window.

This was originally just a common gust of wind in the south, rustling the leaves.

But to these white people whose hearts were filled with inexplicable fear, the sound of the wind became the devil's babbling, the howl before a great fire!
Small-scale disturbances began to emerge in major cities across Mississippi, with some people hastily closing shops and others stuffing luggage into their cars.

In this moment of widespread panic, the KKK members who had fled the battlefield the fastest, along with some National Guard deserters, returned to the nearest city one after another, like frightened birds.

They were utterly grief-stricken, their words incoherent:
"We've lost! We've all lost!"

"It's demons! So many demons!"

"I'm still trying to escape, but they're catching up! They're going to kill us all! Burn us all!"

Their descriptions were already full of subjective, horrifying portrayals, and as they were passed on, they were further embellished and amplified by panicked citizens.

Catalyzed by panic, the information rapidly became distorted and fermented, eventually turning into—

"The blacks have colluded with the devils of hell and utterly defeated the white army! Now, that black Sherman is leading his demonic legion to attack! They will burn down all the cities and slaughter every white man, woman, and child—leaving no one alive!"

The wind outside seemed to have picked up! The leaves rustled in the wind, sounding like the sinister laughter of a devil.

The increasing noise became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

Panic is the most efficient source of infection.

The small riot quickly escalated into a city-wide riot!

The white people just wanted to escape the city that might be engulfed in "hellfire" as quickly as possible, packing their bags and fleeing in what they considered safer directions—usually further north or to larger cities; some thugs took advantage of the chaos to loot, vandalize, and burn, adding to the apocalyptic atmosphere...

Centered on the battle site, several surrounding towns were successively plunged into this gradually out-of-control, collective, hysterical mass exodus.

……

(End of this chapter)