The only difference is that a group of heroes is not present to stop them on this occasion. There is a group of students who possess some knowledge of physics and it is up to them to save the world before it gets too late. The author talks about the firepower present in China that can save the world and it can destroy the world as well if things slip out of hand.
It is a war that will continue till the end and don’t think of leaving anything behind. The heroes are actually forced by the circumstances to fight otherwise they were not planning for all of this.