Chapter 256 - 144: Saturation Information Delivery

Chapter 256: Chapter 144: Saturation Information Delivery

Director Wang seemed to have anticipated the crowd’s reaction. He adjusted his glasses, his voice carrying the distinct calm of a scientist as he continued.

"The satellite was only operational for an hour, but in those sixty minutes, the information we gathered was worth far more than we ever expected—and far surpassed the cost we had been prepared to accept."

He switched on the wall projector, his finger moving across the screen where eight points of light were still clearly marked.

"Besides Jiang City, there are eight other known strongholds with large-scale survival facilities and significant disaster-resistance capabilities. They are: Dragon City Shelter, Starfire Shelter, Dawn Shelter, Steel Barrier, Deep Blue Shelter, Kunlun Base, Yundian City, and Ming Pearl Port Shelter."

As he read each name, the corresponding point of light flashed. Each of these names represented a key node in the nation’s pre-catastrophe strategic plan—they were civilization’s designated Noah’s Arks.

"During this brief communication window," Director Wang paused, as if weighing each word, "we were fortunate enough to establish contact with six of them, conducting basic information confirmation and exchanging encrypted data packets."

Six points of light turned a soft green: Dragon City, Dawn, Steel Barrier, Deep Blue, Kunlun, and Yundian City.

"They all have their own problems to face, but their situations are relatively optimistic. Order remains, and the flame of civilization is not yet extinguished." Director Wang’s tone grew heavy. "Food shortages, energy crises, zombie sieges, internal conflicts—every shelter is trekking through its own personal hell. But they all made it clear: they’re still holding on, still fighting, still trying to restore production, and still striving to maintain and expand the flame of civilization."

He took a deep breath, his gaze falling on the two remaining gray points of light—Starfire and Ming Pearl Port. ℯℯ𝑙.

"However, we received no information from Starfire Shelter and Ming Pearl Port Shelter. No reply signal, no outgoing calls, no response to our broadcast. We couldn’t even detect any electromagnetic radiation consistent with the energy consumption of a large base. There was only dead silence."

Those two words, "dead silence," pierced everyone’s heart like an icicle.

"There are many possibilities." Director Wang’s tone reverted to the objectivity of a researcher. "Their equipment could be completely destroyed, their energy reserves totally depleted, their communications hub ruined, or they may have deliberately chosen to maintain radio silence for some unknown reason. And of course, there’s the worst-case scenario: that there are no longer any living people there left to communicate."

The classroom grew so quiet you could hear dust settling. The soldiers’ breathing grew heavy, and Xu Mo could feel his own heart thudding in his chest. Those two gray points of light looked like a pair of festering wounds on the map of humanity’s last remnants.

"We cannot—and we absolutely will not—allow ourselves to ignore a potential stronghold of our compatriots simply because we are uncertain."

Director Wang’s voice suddenly rose, filled with a heroic, almost tragic determination. "This fragile satellite communication has proven unreliable! One successful launch, one precious hour-long communication window, and then a crash. We can’t afford to wait for the next ’Jiang City Two’—that could take six months, a year, or even longer. And with every uncertain day that passes, our compatriots could be marching toward despair, or... they may have already fallen into the abyss."

He scanned the audience below, his gaze sweeping over every face, some young, others weathered by hardship.

"Therefore, after an emergency consultation with the six shelters we contacted—yes, in that one hour, we not only exchanged information but also established a preliminary framework for emergency cooperation—we have jointly decided: for Starfire and Ming Pearl Port, we will launch ’Operation: Saturation Information Delivery’."

"The plan is simple, but it demands immense courage and sacrifice." Director Wang’s finger tapped the point of light for Ming Pearl Port. "We will dispatch one hundred independent Messenger squads toward Ming Pearl Port Shelter. Any personnel shortfalls will be filled by tomorrow. Each squad will be one person, one vehicle, carrying an identical core information packet, the latest situation report from Jiang City, an encrypted communication protocol, and the ’Flamekeepers’ Mutual Aid Initiative’ jointly signed by our seven shelters."

He then pointed to Starfire. "Then, the day after you depart, another one hundred Messenger squads will set out toward Starfire Shelter. Same configuration, same mission."

"One hundred squads, one hundred potentially different routes, one hundred independent attempts." Director Wang’s voice echoed in the spacious classroom. "One route is bound to avoid the deadliest threats. One Messenger is bound to be lucky enough to cross this 3,500-kilometer road through hell. And one message is bound to finally reach the hands of the survivors at Ming Pearl Port—if they still exist."

"This is the meaning of ’saturation.’ We are no longer pinning our hopes on the success rate of a single path or a single team. We will use numbers to fight against the countless variables and deadly accidents along the way. We acknowledge the fragility of the individual, but we believe that if just one of our one hundred attempts succeeds, this mission will be worth it."

Hearing this, Xu Mo sucked in a sharp breath. ’A hundred people, and they might never return. A hundred lives bet on a "maybe."’

Xu Mo understood the logic. In an apocalypse where communication was severed and the path forward was unknown, this was perhaps the only cold, rational method to maximize the probability of success. This wasn’t a reckless gamble; it was a cruel calculation based on probability.