The video screen was pitch black, with a blinking red dot in the top left corner and the word 'Recording'.
'Hurry up Joey, hurry! Uncle Sam is coming!'
'I'm trying, but this damn machine won't record the picture!'
A man and a woman were having an anxious conversation.
Soon, the screen gradually brightened.
A woman in a tan trench coat, holding a microphone in her left hand with a nervous expression, appeared in the center of the frame.
Behind her was the railing that prevents pedestrians from falling into the sea.
Looking further, there was the Statue of Liberty bathed in the morning sun, the rippling sea, and...
Manhattan Island emitting smoke and gunfire.
'Eh?'
At this moment, the person named Joey, after realizing the camera on his shoulder had returned to normal operation, hurriedly reminded her:
'Okay! Okay! Hurry!'
'I know!'
The woman tidied her appearance, raised the microphone to her mouth, and said with a professional fake smile:
'Everyone, this is Jersey City morning news, I am field reporter Jessica.'
(She turned her body slightly and gestured to the back with her right hand, continuing to speak)
'The Marine Corps sealed off the entire Manhattan Island around 9 or 10 last night. From here, I can faintly hear gunshots and explosions from inside the island.'
'Until now, the US Government has not given a clear response.'
'Citizens inside the island are completely cut off from the outside, and we are unable to enter. This is simply a violation of the right to freedom.'
'We have reason to suspect the government...' (Interrupted)
'Hey! You two!'
A powerful warning sounded from the left side of the video frame, the kind that only Soldiers trained for a long time could shout.
Joey also turned the camera to the left.
He saw several patrolling Marine Corps, holding rifles aimed at the center of the camera frame, and one officer wearing a beret continued to shout:
'You two, stand there and don't move. Please cooperate with our investigation!'
'Oh, shit!' Joey cursed.
'Run, Joey!' Jessica's shout came from behind the camera frame.
Immediately after.
The camera frame shook as Joey ran, finally returning to black, with the words'Signal Lost' displayed in the center.
---
Reddit website.
There was a post that had received over two hundred replies within half a minute and was still growing.
Title: Zombies in Manhattan.
Poster: WDnmd343
Floor 1:
Everyone! I know what happened in Manhattan!
My brother works at Madame Tussauds, he is a night security guard, the armed kind!
Around 9:30 last night, there seemed to be a premiere of starship troopers 2 next to the wax museum. My brother is a hardcore sci-fi fan, so he didn't stay in the wax museum, wanting to slack off and watch that movie.
But this actually saved his life!
He saw groups of zombies as soon as he went out! Yes! That's right, zombies!
When he ran to the Pennsylvania subway station, he remembered to call me, and then the US Government cut off communications in Manhattan!
Replies:
YQZH: wtf?
zhong'ye'er'nai: Really? How is your brother?
AlexisGay: Impossible, fake.
AssWeCan: I only care if the blockade is lifted? My girlfriend is still in Manhattan...
DeepDarkFantastic: Yes! Lift the blockade, the military has no right to seal the city!
404.
Page not Found.
---
Time: December 27, 2007.
09:27.
At this time, the Terminal 6 hall had been improved with various functions by the Umbrella Engineering Team, on par with other Umbrella military Base Command Center.
William, having taken off his suit jacket and wearing only a white shirt, held a paper cup full of coffee in his left hand, standing on the high platform of the Command Center.
He looked at the Technicians working diligently below, then looked at the infection area diagram displayed on the central big screen, and his tired face finally showed a slight smile.
Because the originally large yellow, dark yellow, and light red areas had shrunk until they disappeared.
With the all-night combat cooperation of the UBCS, Tyrant, and Marine Corps, they successfully stopped the slow encroachment of the blacklight virus, with only the deep red area in the center not yet under control.
After all, there were thousands of unhatched Hunters there, and rash artillery attacks and bombings might anger Elizabeth Green.
And Halsey, who had long thoroughly studied the t-virus, could also handle the similar blacklight virus with ease. Coupled with Cortana's epoch-making calculation and simulation functions, she finally produced the vaccine formula not long ago.
It has now been uploaded to Umbrella's internal network, allowing pharmaceutical Engineering Team distributed in various places to operate simultaneously and start mass-producing the vaccine.
And Halsey's last job was to develop the antiviral agent and the steam-type spray device, but this was a piece of cake for her.
As long as the vaccine and antiviral agent are ready, the lives of Soldiers and citizens can be guaranteed. It is also the time to fully launch the cleanup and containment operation.
Thinking that everything was progressing smoothly, William turned around, leaned against the railing, and took a sip of coffee.
Then he said indifferently: 'Cortana, report on the control of public opinion.'
'Yes.'
Following Cortana's response, her holographic projection also generated in front of William and reported:
'Boss, I have deleted all discussions, videos, and pictures related to the Manhattan incident on the internet.'
'And I have locked the IP addresses of those spreading rumors, temporarily preventing them from logging into the network.'
'As for TV stations and radio stations, I have also dispatched corresponding USS to perform physical obstruction, keeping public opinion to a minimum.'
After a pause, Cortana continued:
'Just now, I also monitored that US President George Walker had contacted General Mike ODonahue, stating that the Manhattan lockdown had caused huge losses to the United States economy, and requested the General to order the lifting of the city's lockdown.'
'Oh? And what did the General say?' William asked.
'The General flatly refused to execute this order.'
After speaking, a look of confusion appeared on Cortana's glowing blue face, and she said to William: 'Boss...'
'According to Dr. Halsey's judgment, the containment object codenamed Green has reached Exafanistei level. If not handled carefully, it may cause the destruction of human civilization.'
'But why... why does the US Government ignore the data we provided and insist on lifting the lockdown of the city?'
'And those news media and people on the internet, calling the actions of the Marine Corps a violation of human rights, and also calling for the lifting of the Manhattan lockdown.'
'I think... they are simply too stupid.'
'Heh.' William shook his head and smiled:
'Cortana, it won't be long before you understand Rabelais' saying that "Ignorance is the mother of all malice."'
'The data on deaths and projected deaths we provided is really just a string of numbers to the high-level US Government.'
'If they lift the blockade and it endangers their own safety, they will lick their faces and say it's Umbrella's fault.'
'So, don't pay attention to them.'
-------------------------------
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