Rickson leaned forward, both hands planted on the table, his tone hardening. "So my proposal is immediate, complete decontamination."
Calista gave nothing away.
Rickson went on, "We don't need to storm the place. We can use precisely calculated explosives to carry out a controlled demolition of several key load-bearing points and major support structures inside the facility.
The goal isn't to blow it apart, but to trigger a controlled inward collapse and bury the entire core area under thousands of tons of reinforced concrete.
At the same time, once the collapse is complete, we ignite Block D and use sustained high temperatures to burn away as much of the biomass and organic residue inside as possible."
Rickson looked up. "We can evacuate all non-essential personnel nearby in advance, prepare chemical-protection shelters and decontamination equipment, and remove this threat once and for all!
Only then can we truly develop the other areas without constantly looking over our shoulders!"
"Rickson! Are you insane?" Leah shot to her feet. "A controlled collapse? Do you even know what kind of structures are in there?
Chemical reactors, pressurized pipelines, storage tanks, and maybe even highly toxic raw materials that haven't finished reacting!
One tiny miscalculation, and it may not be the factory that collapses. You could rupture a storage tank or trigger a chain explosion!
By then, leaking toxic gas could blanket the entire industrial park and even drift as far as Knoxville!
You're betting the safety of everyone on this base on that possibility!
If something really goes wrong, hundreds, even thousands of innocent people could die!"
Her chest rose and fell slightly. She was genuinely furious.
To Leah, Rickson's plan was a mad gamble with everyone's lives.
Calista had been listening in silence. Leah's concerns were practical, and Rickson's resolve was just as firm.
Just as the argument seemed about to reach a deadlock, Calista lightly tapped the table.
The sound was not loud, yet it seemed to carry a strange force. Leah and Rickson both fell silent at once and turned toward her.
"Leah, Rickson, calm down. Sit, both of you." Calista met their gazes and rubbed her temples.
The two exchanged a look and slowly sat back down, though neither of them looked convinced.
Calista laced her fingers together on the table, looked first at Rickson, and said slowly, "Rickson, from a logical standpoint, your plan isn't completely unworkable."
Then she immediately added, "But Leah is right. We can't afford that risk.
This base only reached its current state after great effort. If the explosion and collapse aren't controlled properly, we lose everything.
Besides, both of your proposals are based on an obstacle we still can't fully overcome, insufficient information."
She pointed toward Block D. "We don't know the current structural integrity inside the facility. We don't know the exact number, distribution, or behavioral patterns of the mutated creatures.
We also don't know the precise locations or conditions of the remaining chemicals. We don't even know whether the 'Black Fire' leak has caused secondary hazards we haven't detected yet.
Under these circumstances, whether we reinforce the containment or carry out a controlled demolition, we would be gambling with what matters most, our people and their safety."
She paused, letting the words settle. "So first, we reconnoiter."
Leah and Rickson looked at her at the same time.
"This is not the final plan. It is only a highly classified, systematic reconnaissance operation."
Calista traced a circle around the outer edge of Block D on the map. "We won't enter the core facility directly. We'll gather as much internal information as possible from outside."
Calista looked at Leah. "Leah, you will oversee this reconnaissance operation. Carver will be in direct command on site. The principle is zero contact, zero risk. If any unplanned risk appears at any stage, abort immediately and evacuate everyone."
Finally, her gaze swept over both of them. "All information about 'Black Fire' and the mutated creatures remains strictly limited to the three of us and a very small number of operators, including Carver.
For the rest of the base, the official explanation is that 'Block D contains high-level unexploded chemical and radiological hazards.'
We don't need panic, and we don't need pointless speculation."
Calista leaned back in her chair, and the light finally fell fully across her face. "Until we have enough intelligence, any final decision would be an irresponsible gamble.
First, we find out exactly what's inside. Then we decide whether to seal it away forever or find a way to drag it out and burn it completely.
Understood?"
...
The reconnaissance operation began under absolute secrecy.
Participation was kept to the bare minimum: Commander-in-Chief Leah, field commander Carver, and technical advisors Dr. Jenner and Dr. Milton.
Aside from them, there was the reconnaissance team Carver had personally selected, along with the "eyes" of this operation, the drone operations team.
The drone operations team consisted of Bossie, Allen Miller, and Ancheta. They occupied the area by the command post window, where the lighting was best and the equipment was most concentrated.
Leah stood before the window of the Block B command center, high-powered binoculars in hand, silently watching Block D two kilometers away, shrouded in the morning light.
The reconnaissance team led by Carver had already slipped into its designated concealed observation point. "Sentinel One in position. Observation Point A clear. Over."
"Copy. Maintain observation. Drone team, prepare for takeoff."
Bossie picked up the communicator. "Night Hawk One system self-check complete. Anti-jamming shielding impedance normal. All sensors online. Requesting takeoff."
Allen Miller tapped rapidly at the keyboard, confirming the data link. "Night Hawk Two backup link stable. Remote-control signal strength is excellent. Electromagnetic background noise is within acceptable range."
Ancheta had already switched the main screen to the takeoff feed, his finger hovering over the recording and marker hotkeys. "Optical system calibration complete. Thermal imaging baseline locked."
"Takeoff authorized," Leah gave the final order. "Maintain an absolute altitude of no less than sixty meters. You are strictly forbidden from entering the cone-shaped zone above the core facility.
If signal attenuation occurs or control latency exceeds 200 milliseconds, immediately execute the preset evasive climb procedure. You are the eyes, not the bait."
"Understood!" the three replied in unison.
A nearly muted hum rose in the air.
On the screen, Night Hawk One lifted smoothly in a vertical climb and quickly merged into the sky.
Allen monitored the telemetry data, while Ancheta kept his eyes fixed on the first overhead image being transmitted back.
The drone cruised along the outer perimeter of Block D's containment zone.
Ancheta rapidly switched between sensor feeds. "Thermal imaging shows the ambient temperature inside the containment zone is low, consistent with the absence of human activity. Motion sensors have not detected any large walker clusters."
Soon, Carver's voice came through the encrypted channel again. "Observation Point B reports scattered walkers approximately three hundred meters outside the containment zone.
They are showing consistent avoidance behavior toward the core of Block D. Repeat, ordinary walkers are actively moving away from the core facility."
Almost at the same time, Ancheta's high-definition camera captured the corresponding footage. Several walkers were wandering aimlessly along the edge of the old warehouse area, but whenever they turned toward the core of Block D, they showed a clear pause, then slowly but firmly turned in another direction.
He immediately marked the timestamp and coordinates.
"Walker avoidance behavior confirmed." Dr. Jenner leaned closer to the screen, speaking faster. "Keep recording their paths and turning angles!"
Allen quickly brought up the data stream. "Infrasound sensors have not detected any meaningful low-frequency signals strong enough to affect their behavior."
Milton nodded. "I think this may be some kind of invisible threat warning at the level of biological perception, or perhaps a chemical pheromone.
If we could figure it out..."
Bossie laughed when he heard that. "And then use it to drive the walkers away?"