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Chapter 16: No Witnesses
After a full five minutes of silence, the assembled action advisors still exchanged glances without speaking.
They hadn’t simply waited idly; instead, they promptly passed the question up to higher authorities.
The first response came from the Director of the Information Technology Department. True to the art of bureaucratic language, the reply stretched to 400 words of empty verbiage, delivering one core message:
Don’t ask me—I don’t know.
Faced with their leader’s blatant attempt to shirk responsibility, the technical support expert from the IT department suddenly developed a speech impediment.
Under the watchful gaze of the other advisors, the visibly sweating specialist nervously rubbed the fax in his hands with trembling fingers. Finally, he managed to stammer, “Well, uh, this nickname doesn’t conform to the naming format used in the system. All employees’ public access names must follow the ‘Position + Name’ structure…”
“Thank you for reiterating what we already know.”
The representative from the Field Department, standing in for the absent Gardener Commander—who had rushed to the scene by air to check on his team—spoke with evident irritation.
“I thought the IT department could figure out online matters.”
“In fact, that’s a misunderstanding. The system falls under the direct jurisdiction of the Intelligence Department. Our role is more… technical.”
The field operative didn’t mention that he already knew this—he’d simply wanted to make a jab. But seeing the other party respond so earnestly, his retort died on his lips.
The Management Bureau was a secret organization, but its members now felt like outsiders within it.
Who exactly was this “Mud Truck”?
Including the subtle buzz two days ago among upper-middle management, this was the second time this individual had intervened openly.
Why could this person enter the system and directly meddle in containment breaches without raising eyebrows?
And why were all department heads avoiding the topic?
Could this individual hold a rank above even the highest superiors?
Only the most secretive upper echelon of The Management Bureau possessed such authority—but no, it was best not to think further.
Yet why had this superior issued orders to an outsider and a CVA, rather than parachuting in to take command of the central hub or coordinating with MTF and facility security?
Did they not trust anyone else?
A chilling hypothesis began to form—
Had someone infiltrated their ranks?
The more they thought about it, the colder their sweat grew, sensing a shadow of terror looming overhead.
Realizing the meeting would stagnate if this continued, the head of the Internal Affairs Department stepped forward to sidestep the issue:
“Since the verification request submitted to the technical department lacks clear instructions, let’s set this matter aside for now and await directives from higher-ups. There are many pressing issues to discuss—for instance, the handling of anomalies and the shortcomings exposed by this incident regarding single MTF units responding to complex scenarios.
“The root cause of the entire incident was the rapid-response unit’s failure to act. They lost contact almost the moment the containment breach occurred. Relying solely on fast-response teams isn’t enough to suppress chain containment failures of this magnitude. They need specialized equipment and more foolproof operational guidelines.”
Others nodded silently and, in tacit agreement, set aside the document they were working on and picked up the next stack.
“This containment breach has been designated as Incident 1099-K4.
“Under the influence of enhanced herbicides, A-1099 reverted to seed form and was subsequently sifted out of the rubble by Theta-10 ‘Windmill,’ which has since re-contained it. Five minutes after the herbicide deployment, the seeds exhibited specialized resistance, reducing the means available to suppress A-1099.
“Other containment objects dispersed due to the chain reaction are being recovered. Most remain dormant.
“Due to ongoing rescue and excavation efforts at Facility 031, the exact method of A-1099’s containment breach remains unclear. Its transition out of juvenile form far exceeded projections, suggesting possible external interference.
“The bombers assisting in herbicide deployment took off from a Coalition airport… Diplomatic and confidentiality issues related to this will be handled by Internal Affairs. It would’ve been convenient if we had a military airbase near the facility.
“Nu-2 ‘Hippies’ are pursuing unknown escaped anomalies. Based on current feedback, these entities self-decompose upon losing mobility, making capture difficult. Human DNA and various unknown substances have been detected in the remnants. While no infectious properties have been observed yet, it’s possible these anomalies resulted from a synergistic reaction between A-1099 and the zombie virus.
“The Intelligence Department’s analysis of the anomaly is progressing slowly, with no estimated completion time.
“Considering Facility 031’s location at the border of District Three and District Ten, the anomaly may cross regional boundaries into District Ten.
“There are signs the Coalition is mobilizing troops along the border. Given the dense mountainous terrain, their efforts may prove futile, but contingency plans for urban areas must be prepared.”
The atmosphere in the meeting room grew heavy. Someone stifled a cough, while another unconsciously shuffled papers repeatedly.
Just as the head of Internal Affairs prepared to continue, he suddenly tilted his head, pressing his earpiece to listen intently. After a series of frowns and nods, he turned to the group.
“Preliminary interrogation of CVA-D-9013 is complete. During questioning, it mentioned the presence of a facility employee who appeared in the control room and attacked a surviving temp worker near the facility exit.
“The temp worker in question hasn’t recovered from the queue effect and cannot corroborate this claim.
“Based on the description, the individual is Bjorn, deputy director of Facility 031.”
The meeting assistant projected an ID photo onto the large screen.
“Within five years of being promoted to deputy director, Bjorn submitted over 20 transfer and promotion requests. Due to his overly strong desire to leave frontline duties, Internal Affairs denied his applications and flagged him as a ‘loyalty risk.’
“He was scheduled to undergo a loyalty test 10 days from now, raising concerns about potential betrayal.
“Theta-10 ‘Windmill’ did not recover his remains or the described suitcase from the shallow debris.
“For now, his whereabouts are unknown.”
---
Shi Rang had been waiting at his computer for a long time.
When thirst finally forced him to get up for water, he noticed from the sun-shaped clock in the living room that he’d been sitting motionless for half an hour.
Since issuing his final directive, Robin hadn’t sent any updates.
Shi Rang wasn’t sure whether this meant she’d made a mistake during the operation, if his guidance had led to the game ending prematurely, or if she’d successfully escaped.
On the activity page, the MTF arrival timer ticked down second by second until it hit zero.
Afterward, he waited a long while before refreshing the page, ultimately accepting the bleak reality with a heavy heart.
She probably wouldn’t send any more messages.
It was like a lively class reunion ending in chaos: scattered plates, a messy room, and an oppressive silence. Only this time, no one would kiss his cheek and say, “Let’s clean up,” before leading the way to restore order.
...If the purpose of fleeting excitement was to strip away what little warmth remained here, leaving desolation in its wake, perhaps it was better not to begin at all.
He listlessly browsed through a few item pages, glanced at the search bar in the corner of the webpage, and typed “Facility 031,” returning to the event page hidden from the main site homepage.
The event had concluded. The red alert box was gone, and the facility map was entirely gray.
Scrolling down, Shi Rang found some epilogue content and a summary styled as an “incident report.”
His eyes gradually brightened as he scanned through several MTF codenames.
[...During the recontainment of CVA-D-9013, 12 Kappa-3 members and one E-class personnel were discovered alive on the surface. Survivors are currently under cognitive hazard effects and unable to be questioned.
[All activated shelter facilities performed flawlessly. Refugees will undergo a week-long psychological evaluation followed by a recovery period.
[The Field Department will internally discuss establishing a multi-MTF cooperation model for complex containment failure operations.
[Reconstruction plans for Facility 031 have yet to be approved by the Facility Committee.
[In light of this incident, all facilities will conduct risk audits. By June this year, all rapid-response units across districts will receive new training regimens.
[Until the containment alert is lifted, all District Three internal staff and field operatives must remain on duty 24/7 and immediately report any sightings of the “escaped entity.”
[We mourn the loss of 45 rapid-response members, 75 security personnel, 37 administrative staff, and 12 active researchers who perished in this containment failure.]
So this was how the outcome of the event was announced.
Shi Rang carefully searched for Robin’s name in the completion record, eventually concluding she was likely categorized under “E-class personnel” and not listed separately.
Did every MTF member and civilian mentioned in the report have their own storylines?
Was the “escaped entity” a setup for future campaign plots?
Shi Rang realized just how little he knew about The Management Bureau’s main site.
Unnoticed, night fell. Reflecting on this peculiar weekend, he prepared to shut down and return to reality when he spotted a blinking notification on the familiar webpage sidebar.
No matter what invitation awaited him—whether a debrief or a proposal for the next session—Shi Rang decided he’d handle it after dinner. He was hungry.
But the message wasn’t from Robin—it was from a stranger.
Shi Rang clicked into the new chat window.
[Who are you?]
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