Chapter 255 - 143: Dandelion Plan

Chapter 255: Chapter 143: Dandelion Plan

"Third," Conductor Zhang’s gaze sharpened. "Given the nature of this mission and its strict confidentiality requirements, you have one last chance to back out before I disclose the details. The moment I begin, you will be considered an official member of the Dandelion Plan. From that point on, anyone wishing to quit will not be permitted to leave. You will be placed in isolation and under surveillance to ensure secrecy until the mission is complete or the confidentiality period ends. This is not a joke."

He paused for a full ten seconds, letting the weight of his words sink in.

"You have three minutes to decide. If you want to back out, you may stand and leave the classroom now. Someone is waiting outside to escort you and handle the next steps. After three minutes, anyone still here will be considered to have joined voluntarily and accepted all terms."

The classroom fell deathly silent, the only sounds being heavy breaths and the faint rustle of clothing.

Xu Mo’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’Top-secret classification? Confidentiality? Quitting means immediate isolation?’ The scale of this was far greater than he had anticipated.

This was no ordinary reconnaissance or eradication mission. Any relief Xu Mo had felt at the prospect of leaving Jiang City for a while instantly vanished, replaced by heightened vigilance and an even more intense curiosity.

Xu Mo knew he was on the verge of uncovering the deepest secrets at the heart of Jiang City.

He sat firmly in his seat, not moving a muscle.

Among the survivors, some faces began to shift, their eyes betraying their inner turmoil.

Finally, a man who looked to be in his thirties raised his hand. After Conductor Zhang nodded in acknowledgment, the man stood up, embarrassed, and hurried out of the classroom with his head bowed.

Once the first person left, a second and a third followed. In total, another seven or eight survivors chose to withdraw. Perhaps they were deterred by the risks, or maybe they didn’t want to be shackled by a lifelong non-disclosure agreement. Or perhaps they simply had a visceral aversion to a mission that was so utterly restrictive.

Xu Mo noticed that the soldiers remained perfectly still; not one of them rose. Their eyes were resolute, as if they had long since made their decision—or perhaps, as soldiers, their duty left them no other choice.

When the three minutes were up, Conductor Zhang scanned the room. The original group of over eighty had shrunk to about sixty. As for the survivors, only two remained: Xu Mo and a gaunt, gloomy-looking man sitting in a corner of the front row, his head bowed so low his face was hidden from view.

Conductor Zhang’s gaze rested for a moment on Xu Mo and the gaunt man. Without another word, he simply nodded.

"Very well," he said, his voice grave. "Since you’ve all chosen to stay, you are now officially members of the Dandelion Plan. Next, our lead scientist for the project, Director Wang Hongzhen, will brief you on the mission’s background and objectives."

He stepped aside, yielding the lectern.

The man who had been standing behind Conductor Zhang, Director Wang, stepped forward. He was a spectacled man in his forties with a scholarly air, though his face was etched with fatigue. He took a deep breath and walked to the lectern.

He opened a thick folder, glanced at the audience, and adjusted his glasses. His first words were like a depth charge, detonating in Xu Mo’s mind and sending shockwaves through the entire room—

"Everyone, I must first share a piece of top-secret information that has not yet been made public. Our recently launched experimental communications satellite, Jiang City No. 1, lost contact with the ground less than an hour after entering its designated orbit and achieving stable operation. Based on the limited tracking data and analysis we’ve managed to collect, we believe it has crashed."

Despite their strict discipline, the soldiers couldn’t help but let out a wave of stifled gasps and sharp intakes of breath. Of the two survivors, the gaunt man snapped his head up. As for Xu Mo, he felt a cold dread shoot from the base of his spine to the crown of his head.

’The satellite... crashed? Less than an hour after the successful launch and the city-wide celebration? The authorities covered it up? Why? How did it crash? Sabotage? Malfunction? Or was it... something else...’

Countless questions flooded Xu Mo’s mind. He finally understood why the mission was on such a massive scale, and why the secrecy was so absolute.

The murmurs in the classroom died down instantly under a sharp glare from Conductor Zhang, but the palpable atmosphere of shock and gravity was too thick to disperse.

Director Wang seemed to have anticipated this reaction. He adjusted his glasses and continued, his voice retaining the characteristic calm of a scientist. But his next words sent an even deeper chill through Xu Mo...