The Meeting

By the time Gao Zheng and Lin Chenxing arrived at the conference room, all the department managers were there, but only a handful of the directors had shown up.

Gao Zheng asked Li Yueqi, "How many directors can make it today? Have they all been notified?"

Li Yueqi answered respectfully, "They've all been notified. Six have confirmed they can attend. One director can get here in half an hour, and three are uncertain. The remaining eight are in other provinces and cities and can't attend."

Gao Zheng nodded, glanced around the room, and slowly sat down. Lin Chenxing took the seat right beside him, on his left.

One of Xingyan's directors, Guo Qichang, looked to be in his fifties or sixties. With his arms folded across his chest, he leaned back in his chair and asked, "Old Gao, what happened today? Why call a meeting so suddenly? And Young Director Lin is here too. Does he have another new idea?"

The other directors who had made it to the meeting looked straight at Gao Zheng, eager to hear what he had to say.

Gao Zheng glanced around. Once he saw that everyone was seated, he cleared his throat and said, "This meeting was called suddenly, but what's at stake is extraordinary. This will determine the fate of our entire group going forward."

His words startled everyone in attendance, directors and staff alike, and set their minds racing with speculation.

Seeing their reactions, Gao Zheng continued with satisfaction, "I'm sure you've all heard about the animal attacks happening around the country."

"Today, the internet was flooded with reports of animals attacking people, leaving them missing or dead. All the cases have one thing in common: they've happened in the past few days."

He Qishun, one of the directors in attendance, narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly. "We've all been following these incidents, of course. So are we about to make a major shift into the pharmaceutical and security industries? There must be more to it than that, or you wouldn't have called this meeting in such a hurry."

Gao Zheng glanced at He Qishun, his displeasure evident. "Of course I wouldn't call an emergency meeting over something like that."

"Old He, think about it. How many of the animals in the reports from around the country are ones you recognize?"

He Qishun smiled. "Not many reports have actually captured those animals on camera. Most are speculation. And you know what the internet is like these days—plenty of fakes and people jumping on the bandwagon. Who knows how many of these reports are credible?"

Ma Tianxing, another director, furrowed his brow. "Old He, as the saying goes, better safe than sorry. Besides, if these were just rumors and people stirring up trouble, the internet wouldn't be in the state it's in now. And quite a few reports came from official sources."

"If that's the case, then it's worth taking seriously. But I think we should investigate first."

The room broke into discussion. Gao Zheng raised a hand, and when everyone fell silent, he rested both hands on the table and tapped the surface lightly with one finger. "Director Lin, tell everyone what you experienced."

Lin Chenxing nodded and, with a grave expression, clearly recounted everything he had seen along the way.

Just as Lin Chenxing finished speaking, the last director to arrive, Meng Chang, entered the conference room. Seeing the serious atmosphere, he smiled and asked, "What happened? Why so serious?"

Gao Zheng looked at him. "Old Meng, you made it."

Then he turned to Li Yueqi. "Xiao Li, give Director Meng a copy of the notes you just took, and explain things to him."

Once that was arranged, Gao Zheng turned to everyone in the room. "Let's take a ten-minute break. Think over what we've discussed, and then we'll talk about how the group should respond."

After a brief commotion, the ten-minute break was over.

Gao Zheng asked Meng Chang, "Old Meng, do you have any questions? Go ahead."

Meng Chang nodded. "As Young Director Lin said, the pack of wolves they encountered had changed quite a bit from ordinary wolves. The county's report on the monkeys also mentioned that some seemed to have grown a single horn. So I'd like to know: why have these creatures changed so drastically? Even the RR Virus has only made us humans stronger. Based on the theory of species evolution and research into human origins, animals and humans should share some common patterns in their evolution. But the differences we're seeing now seem far too great."

The directors and department managers in attendance could only feel helpless at his question.

Gao Zheng gave a wry smile and waved a hand. "I shouldn't have asked you first. This isn't something we could figure out."

"The main question facing us now is this: since this has already become a reality, what should we prioritize?"

Ma Tianxing looked toward Zhang Guangkai, the manager of the Administration Department, and asked, "Manager Zhang, did you get an answer to the question I asked you to look into during the break?"

Zhang Guangkai reported, "We just contacted the authorities. They told us to have every village, community, and business prepare emergency supplies in advance, keep pets out of the same room, and limit going outside. They said things would return to normal after the cleanup operation. They gave no answers about anything else."

After hearing the official response, Ma Tianxing proposed, "Based on what they said, I think the situation is indeed as serious as Director Gao and Young Director Lin said. The departments responsible for supplies and logistics should get moving right away. Since the cleanup crews aren't expected to reach us for three days, we should suspend work temporarily during that time, keep an eye on all entrances and exits, and set up early warnings in case animals attack. We can resume work after the cleanup in three days."

He Qishun shook his head and offered a different opinion.

"I'm sure the cleanup will greatly reduce the animal attacks, but some will inevitably slip through. Given how aggressive these animals are now, those that get away will cause us serious problems. Relying on the cleanup alone is not enough. We need to speed up the expansion of our security forces." There was a note of unmistakable certainty in He Qishun's voice.

Gao Zheng gave a slight nod, signaling for Guo Qichang to share his thoughts.

Guo Qichang sat up straight. "Both of you make good points, but you're assuming these animals might attack our base."

"Over all the years we've had a base here, how many wild animals have you seen around it?"

"At least in the few years I've been here, I've only seen some birds and rats. So I don't think we need to overreact. As long as we don't go out much, we'll be safe here."

Meng Chang scoffed at his argument, speaking with disdain. "Don't underestimate rats and birds. If they mutate and become highly aggressive, they could be even more dangerous than the animals in the woods."

Gao Zheng and Lin Chenxing suddenly saw the point. They exchanged a glance, urgency filling both their eyes.

Gao Zheng immediately spoke up. "Director Meng raised a point we hadn't considered. The situation may be even more serious than Director Lin and I discussed earlier. We need to add another measure to our plans: clear out the rats and other vermin in and around the base, and install protective netting overhead in all the base's passageways."

"Director Lin, go over the preliminary measures we came up with."

Lin Chenxing had already organized their discussions from the office and the walk to the meeting in his notebook, so he read out each item in turn.

"1. Bring in a construction crew to reinforce and thicken the wall around the base, and install protective netting overhead in all the passageways inside. Leave some openings in the wall for attacking targets outside."

"2. Install cameras to ensure there are no blind spots in the area around the base."

"3. The Logistics Management Department will..."

"4. The Human Resources Department will be responsible for hiring security staff..."

"5. Each workshop will assign people to clear..."

"6. The Administration Department must maintain communication with..."

"7. Starting tomorrow, all employees will take part in group morning exercise."

"8. The Production Department will set aside some capacity to manufacture explosives, in case of emergencies."

"9. Purchase a quantity of knives, swords, guns, and other conventional weapons, and sharpen them."

"10. Notify the other branches and bases to communicate with the authorities and make preparations as soon as possible."

"That's all for now."

After Lin Chenxing presented the proposed measures, Guo Qichang asked in confusion, "Is it really necessary for all the employees to do morning exercises?"

Lin Chenxing replied, "The RR Virus has improved everyone's physical condition, but based on what I experienced this time, it still isn't enough. Those animals have improved far more than we have. As Director Guo knows, people who exercise regularly are in much better shape than those who don't. When danger strikes, they have a better chance of reacting and fighting back in time. If we train, then even if those animals start attacking the base, we'll have more people capable of responding."