Fifty minutes after the mine shaft attack;
Fortress 76 confidential meeting.
Zhou Zhengde pushed open the meeting room doors. The other seven attendees looked over at once. He gave a slight nod and hurried to the last seat at the conference table.
At the center of the long table sat Fortress 76's governor, a burly, kindly-looking uncle with graying hair.
The very one Kong Nu had called soft and mushy.
Two women sat at the governor's sides. The slender, intellectual-looking woman on the left, who looked like Zhou Zhengde's older sister, was his mother, Head of Internal Affairs Zhou Meiying.
The newly arrived Biological Affairs Minister was absent. In that minister's place sat two middle-aged men in military uniforms.
"Captain Zhou is here," the governor said gravely. "Let's begin. There are only two minor matters."
Zhou Meiying spoke first:
"The fortress was suddenly attacked by Blade Beasts. Following an investigation, this small group appears to have been a roaming underground pack. There are currently no signs of General-Class or Sub-General Class Blade Beasts. The Frontline Command Center has determined it was an isolated incident and is strengthening terrain surveys around the fortress.
"Fortunately, Major Ling Tong, the Half-Human Mech, was recuperating at the fortress, and the Blade Beast attack was quickly suppressed.
"We lost sixty-two mine workers. Two soldiers were injured while moving through the tunnels. The procedures to provide support for the families of the deceased are already underway."
The governor spoke solemnly:
"First, we offer our condolences to the deceased.
"Second, this attack has been properly resolved. Since more than a hundred Blade Beasts were involved, should we publicize this within the fortress? Keep your remarks brief."
The attendees spoke in turn:
"I don't think we should for now. It would cause unnecessary panic."
"We are located behind