"Hostages."
At this moment, Mike, who had been listening to the conversation between William and Halsey the whole time, mocked himself: "Even the anomaly knows the traditions of the United States."
"Heh heh..." William followed with a bitter laugh.
Free United States, nuclear peace every day.
This meme isn't just for show.
Even if Elizabeth Green knew nothing about this World, she had devoured everyone in the Plaza Hotel in an instant, so of course, she would learn about nuclear bombs.
If she infected the people on the entire Manhattan island, then dropping a nuclear bomb would be inevitable.
Secure, Contain, Protect.
Protection is the core of all operations.
An anomaly that threatens human safety must be destroyed before it causes extinction.
Immediately after.
William said to the supervisor in one breath: "How many Agents are still in Manhattan and Long Island? When will the Colonel's troops arrive, and what about Major Kent?"
The supervisor did not mince words and answered immediately:
"There are fifteen Agents in the south of Manhattan, five in the north, and twenty-five on standby at Kennedy Airport."
(Operating the computer)
"The supplies and troops led by the Colonel will arrive in two hours. Major Kent, who is escorting important assets, will still need five hours."
"Hmm..." Kent rubbed his stubbled chin and ordered the supervisor:
"Tell the five Agents in the north to ensure their safety as much as possible, and have the fifteen Agents in the south proceed to Washington Park at the edge of the Yellow Zone to stand by."
"Then have all the Agents at the airport take the Little Birds to Washington Park to rendezvous with the Agents there."
"Yes."
"Hmm." William turned to look at Mike on the side and said in a calm voice:
"General, we don't know the true purpose of that anomaly, but we cannot sit and wait for death."
"The tactical gear of Umbrella Agents is fully sealed."
"We need detailed intelligence from inside the Red Zone and the Plaza Hotel."
"So General, please dispatch your Marine Corps into Manhattan to establish a safe zone to protect the citizens."
"Also, dispatch diversionary forces to attract the attention of the infected to buy some time and space for our Agents."
"No problem, leave it to the Marine Corps." Mike readily accepted William's order.
This Lieutenant General, who was about the same age as Andre, took another cigar and a cigar cutter out of his pocket.
He cut off one end, lit it, put it in his mouth, squinted, and took a puff.
"Hoo~"
While turning around, he exhaled a puff of smoke, and waving his hand, he ordered the elite Marine Corps guarding outside: "Follow me."
Saying that, Mike left the hall with a large group of Marine Corps, making the place much emptier.
As for Halsey.
She glanced at Mike's retreating back, then looked at Hank, who was standing not far away, dutifully performing his duties.
She always felt...
The behavior and demeanor of these people were just too similar.
Was she overthinking it?
Halsey closed her eyes and shook her head, stopped thinking about it, then opened her eyes, walked to William's side, and smiled:
"Boss, I didn't expect that old Lieutenant General to be one of our family too. In that case, the success rate of this containment operation... can barely reach forty percent."
A forty percent success rate was already pretty good.
But William still looked solemn.
"Sigh." He sighed, met Halsey's gaze, and said with a hint of sadness:
"There are still two hours until Andre arrives. During this time, I hope the Agents who went deep into the Red Zone can bring us specific information."
Halsey could see what her boss was worried about, so she tilted her head and encouraged William in return:
"Alright, the Agents' equipment was upgraded by me personally, so their survival rate is guaranteed."
"I hope so." William said with a bitter smile.
——————
...
Time: December 26, 2007, 21:25.
Location: Lower Manhattan.
It had been exactly forty-eight minutes since the large-scale chaos caused by the anomaly.
This area was marked as a light yellow zone, meaning there were a small number of infected and panicked ordinary citizens.
However.
As a large number of Marine Corps wearing gas masks entered, the tension of the citizens was brought under control, and the citizens were extremely obedient to the Soldiers' instructions.
This was rare.
After all, the intelligence of the American public was a bit...
While the Marines stabilized the situation in the Yellow Zone and dispatched a large number of armored and air units to advance deep into the Yellow Zone, actively attacking the infected zombie hordes.
In Washington Park, which had New York's most famous fountain plaza and a Roman triumphal arch.
At this moment, the sound of the slow-flowing water in the plaza fountain contrasted with the noise on the street, appearing much quieter.
Suddenly.
"Step—step—."
The sound of military boots stepping on the floor tiles broke the tranquility of the park.
Fifteen Umbrella Agents were waiting there according to the instructions from Kennedy Airport.
You could see that their equipment was Worlds apart compared to the version from two months ago.
They wore uniform pitch-black, slightly purple, one-piece combat suits, with Exo-type exoskeletons on their limbs, shoulders, and back.
The improved Fast-style helmet could fit perfectly with the worn breathing mask and combat suit, thus forming a sealed space.
The most distinctive feature was the blue-glowing binocular optical visor hanging on their helmets.
This was the Agents' upgraded combat gear.
When Halsey submitted the final design, William was directly shocked by its appearance.
Because the Agents' equipment was simply a "power-up version" of the Blackwatch Soldiers in "Prototype 1".
The difference from the UBCS AAES was that the outer protective material of the combat suit was not titanium fiber, but Kevlar fiber.
It also lacked air conditioning and pressure regulation devices, so it could not operate in a vacuum environment.
Therefore, the cost was far lower than the AAES.
Who would have thought that Elizabeth Green would actually come to the real World.
Originally, Halsey hoped to "buff" the Agents, but now it seemed to have become a "debuff."
"Hoo—hoo—"
In less than half a minute, the sound of six Little Bird engines also resounded over the park, and relying on their compact and flexible characteristics, they landed in the plaza.
Twenty-five Agents who came to support from Kennedy Airport unbuckled their safety belts the moment they landed and left the crew board.
Subsequently, the six pilots waved their hands in salute to the Agents and quickly took off, turned around, and returned.
An Agent with green tri-ocular optical visors, wearing a white combat suit, and holding the rank of Staff Sergeant, gathered everyone.
He looked around and said in a deep voice:
"Everyone, the temporary team established this time is codenamed 'Vulture', and I am Commander Patrick Hogan."
"Since the center of Manhattan is covered by red fog, various drone imaging cannot peek inside."
"So we need to go deep into the red fog zone, and while conducting reconnaissance, collect samples as much as possible."
"Dr. Halsey needs those samples to study this anomaly, and the company can also implement containment as soon as possible."
"Otherwise..."
Hogan's tone paused, and after a few seconds of silence, he continued: "I don't need to remind you what the fate of Manhattan island will be."
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