Chapter 332: Bioweapon

Both sides of the long table were filled with well-dressed figures—high-ranking Military officers, government officials, and several scientists in white lab coats.

The atmosphere was suffocatingly heavy.

"Gentlemen," a tall, gray-haired man stood before the projection screen; he was General Havier, Vice Commander of the Di Guo Joint Staff Department, "I believe we all understand the purpose of today's meeting."

The projector lit up, and the first slide showed a pitch-black sea surface with much wreckage floating upon it.

"'Ye Qi'," Havier's voice was low and filled with rage,

"Our most advanced aircraft carrier, with fifteen thousand excellent sailors, was sent to the bottom of the sea three days ago by Long Country's so-called 'Thunder Strike-1' Missile."

The slide switched, this time to several photographs showing a long, narrow coastline.

"Intelligence confirms that Long Country has deployed at least thirty of these terrifying missiles. And,"

He paused, his voice becoming even more somber, "we have reason to believe they are accelerating production of more."

There was Silence in the conference room, with only the slight sound of paper turning.

"Worse still," Havier continued,

"Our spy network has sent back an unsettling piece of news—Long Country seems to have broken through the bottlenecks of Integrated Circuit and Computer technology and is developing some kind of brand-new Automated System."

Military Representative Lieutenant General Smith frowned: "What Automated System?"

"Details are unclear," Havier shook his head, "but according to intelligence analysis, it is very likely some kind of industrial automation equipment that can significantly boost their military production capacity."

"That's impossible!" At the end of the conference table, a middle-aged man in an exquisite suit stood up abruptly; he was Wilson, CEO of Di Guo's top military enterprise,

"Long Country's technical level is at least twenty years behind ours! They can't even build a decent radio, so how could they break through so many technical barriers in just a few short months?"

Havier looked at him expressionlessly: "The facts are before your eyes, Mr. Wilson. The wreckage of the 'Ye Qi' is the best proof."

"That must be technology they stole from Beijixiong Guo!" Wilson persisted.

"Regardless of the source of the technology," a man who looked like a civil servant calmly interjected; he was Director Carter of the intelligence department,

"The key is that Long Country is rising at an astonishing speed. If we let them continue to develop, within five years, they may catch up to or even surpass us in certain military fields."

A burst of low discussion broke out in the conference room, and the atmosphere became even more tense.

"Gentlemen," Havier knocked on the table forcefully, signaling for quiet,

"In the past three months, we have tried various conventional means to strike at Long Country—economic blockades, diplomatic isolation, and even direct military intervention. What was the result? Our aircraft carrier is on the seabed, our allies are wavering, and yet Long Country is becoming stronger."

He took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over everyone present: "The Commander has approved the activation of the 'Dark Night Protocol'."

This sentence exploded in the conference room like a bomb.

Several officers gasped, and some even leaned back in their chairs unconsciously, as if wanting to distance themselves from this decision.

"'Dark Night Protocol'?" a young officer asked his colleague in a low voice, "What is that?"

"Shut up, Clark," the colleague whispered sternly, "you don't have the clearance to know."

Havier continued: "For this reason, we have specially invited Doctor Langley to introduce the latest progress of the 'Dark Night' project to everyone."

On one side of the conference table, a thin, tall man with thinning hair and a sinister face stood up.

He wore a meticulous white lab coat, with an ID badge hanging on his chest that read "Alfred Langley".

"Thank you, General Havier," Doctor Langley's voice was surprisingly calm, even somewhat pleasant, which formed an eerie contrast with the tense atmosphere of the conference room,

"As you all know, I have been in charge of biological warfare agent research for fifteen years. In the past five years, we have achieved a series of... exciting breakthroughs at our laboratory in Detrick."

He pressed the remote control, and a series of images under a microscope appeared on the projection screen, showing some kind of strange microbial structure.

"This is our newly developed BW-7 biological agent," Doctor Langley's tone was relaxed, as if he were discussing today's weather,

"It combines the contagiousness of the smallpox virus with the lethality of the anthrax bacillus, and through genetic modification, it has been endowed with the ability to spread through the air."

Several officers looked at each other, their eyes full of unease.

"Once released," Langley continued,

"It can infect 90% of the population of a medium-sized city within 24 hours. Symptoms begin with high fever and rashes, developing into severe internal bleeding and nervous system damage after 48 hours. The mortality rate..."

He paused, seemingly savoring the reaction of everyone present, "is about 75% to 80%."

There was dead Silence in the conference room.

"This... doesn't this violate the convention?" an elderly civil servant finally broke the silence, his voice slightly trembling.

Havier looked at him coldly:

"Conventions are for times of peace, Mr. Macaulay. When national security is threatened, we need every possible means to protect ourselves."

Macaulay did not speak again, but his unease was obvious.

"Of course," Doctor Langley continued his introduction, as if the previous interjection had never happened, "we have also developed supporting vaccines and treatment plans that can protect our own personnel."

He switched to the next slide, which showed a diagram of a complex delivery system.

"We have designed several delivery methods: high-altitude aerosol dispersal, suitable for large-area coverage; water source contamination devices, targeting specific areas; and even... human carriers."

"Human carriers?" Lieutenant General Smith frowned, "What does that mean?"

"Simply put," Langley's tone remained relaxed,

"We can have agents carry the virus without falling ill themselves. After they enter the target area, they release the virus through a specific trigger mechanism. This method is the most covert and the hardest to trace to the source."

The atmosphere in the conference room became increasingly oppressive.

"Doctor Langley," Director Carter broke the silence, "is there any possibility that this biological weapon... could get out of control?"

The smile on Langley's face faded slightly:

"Any weapon has risks, Mr. Carter. But we have implanted a 'self-destruct' gene into the BW-7; the virus will degrade on its own after a specific cycle. Theoretically, it will not cause a permanent epidemic."

"Theoretically?" Carter pressed.

"Science does not have one hundred percent certainty," Langley shrugged, "but the risk is controllable."

General Havier cleared his throat: "Thank you, Doctor Langley. Next, I would like to ask Doctor Williams to introduce our chemical weapons program to everyone."