"Ugh!"
Several people, Leah included, let out muffled groans as the sudden sonic and electromagnetic shock hit them, bringing a wave of intense dizziness and nausea.
"Communications are down!" Leah's heart sank. She tried pressing the emergency communication button inside her helmet, but there was no response.
She looked at the others. Everyone was making the same motion.
Worse still, the microenvironment status lights built into their chemical protective suits had gone dark.
The respirator flow displays had vanished.
Only the cylinders on their backs were still feeding air through physical valves. The hiss of airflow had become the only proof that the system was still working.
They had been completely cut off.
They had lost contact with command, and even radio communication between team members was gone.
Leah forced herself to stay calm. She quickly had everyone check their respirator pressure gauges, flashlights, and the mechanical sights on their weapons.
Fortunately, their flashlights and headlamps used independent batteries and were still working.
The mechanical parts of their weapons were intact.
The physical pressure gauges on the respirator cylinders showed more than five-sixths remaining.
In other words, the task force had already been inside for over three hours.
Carver looked at Leah, pointed at the door, then at his own ear, shook his head, and made a "continue?" gesture.
Leah looked at the sealed door, then glanced back at the corridor behind them, where no one knew what might be hiding.
They were now at the edge of the area where the interference outbreak was centered.
Retreat?
According to command's contingency plan, if communications were cut off and could not be restored, they were supposed to consider withdrawing.
But the mission objective was right in front of them.
Behind that door was very likely the core of the "Black Fire" contamination, and the source of the electromagnetic interference.
If everything went smoothly, they only had to get inside.
Leah glanced at the mechanical watch on her wrist. The hands were still moving. They had only just passed the halfway mark of the scheduled operation window.
She swept her gaze over the team's faces and, just as expected, saw the same absolute trust on every one of them. You decide, we follow.
Leah gritted her teeth and signaled with her hands.
Proceed according to plan. Breach the door.
After entry, the entire team would switch to absolute silent operation mode.
The primary objective remained locating and marking the main contamination source or interference source. Depending on the situation, they would either plant explosives or attempt to retrieve the data.
If they encountered an impossible threat, they would follow the "green line" evacuation markers and find a way out. Survival came first.
Jonathan nodded and focused on the explosive device again.
Soon, there was a muffled boom.
The lock and hinges blew open, and the heavy alloy door tilted inward, revealing a narrow gap.
An even stronger foul wind surged out through the opening. Even filtered through their chemical protective suits, it made their throats tighten.
Mike was the first to push the warped door open with his blast shield. Everyone's gun barrels and headlamp beams aimed into the space beyond at the same time.
Leah followed closely behind, and the rest of the team stepped through the doorway one after another.
They had lost contact with the rear. Ahead was the unknown. At that moment, the only things the task force could rely on were the weapons in their hands and the comrades beside them.
...
Industrial Park command center, top floor of the Block B office building.
In stark contrast to the front line where the Spearhead Task Force was, this place was brightly lit, with indicator lights flickering across various instruments.
A huge screen stood in the center, displaying the task force's position. The squad's last reported location was marked by a blue dot.
Calista stood in front of the map, arms crossed, her face expressionless. Her eyes were locked on the blue point representing Leah, Carver, and the others as it moved extremely slowly toward the red area that represented the Central Control Room.
Time passed second by second.
The blue dot crossed the edge of the red area and continued deeper in.
"Task Force reporting. We have entered the outer main corridor of the Central Control Room. Environmental interference has increased significantly.
We expect to approach the core contamination or interference source area soon. Communication quality is beginning to drop."
Leah's voice carried worsening electrical static. Danny immediately adjusted the equipment, trying to filter it out.
"Command copies... keep reporting..." Calista responded at once.
Immediately after that, the speakers produced nothing but hissing, crackling noise, along with faint syllables from Leah's side that might still have been continuing but could no longer be understood.
At that same moment, the movement of the blue dot seemed to pause for the briefest instant.
The command room fell silent. Everyone stared at the communication status lights and that blue dot.
"Danny, boost signal gain. Switch to the backup frequency!" Calista said, anxiety breaking into her voice.
"I'm trying..." Danny's hands moved rapidly across the control console.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
Aside from noise, no useful information came through the speakers.
The blue dot began moving again, extremely slowly, for a short distance. Then it stopped completely very close to the edge of the red area and no longer updated.
"Calista, we've completely lost signal on the main encrypted channel! Signal strength is zero!" Danny shouted in disbelief.
"I'll try switching to the backup channel... no response!
Emergency channel... no response!
All directed radio contact with the Spearhead Task Force is completely cut off!"
"Danny, try broadcast mode! Full-band call!" Calista took a sharp step forward, her hand clamping down hard on the edge of the console.
"Broadcasting... no answer! Repeating call... no answer!" Sweat had already broken out across Danny's forehead.
The command room was so quiet a pin drop could have been heard.
Danny frantically repeated the call. "Spearhead Task Force! This is Rock Fortress! Respond if you copy! Task Force! Leah! Carver! Mike! Respond if you can hear me!"
The blue dot stayed frozen on the map. The speakers carried nothing but background static.
Calista's body went rigid. She stared at the motionless blue dot, her mind going blank, her ears filled with Danny's increasingly hopeless calls.
Time seemed to stretch and freeze in that moment.
Her sister, Carver, Mike, Turner, Wells... fourteen people.
Her finest warriors, her most trusted companions, her own blood-bound sister.
All of them had vanished inside that chemical plant marked in red, just a breath away from the target.
A bone-chilling cold shot from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head. Calista gasped several times, her heart feeling as if an invisible hand had clenched it hard, squeezing so painfully she could barely breathe.
Danny, who had been trying to call the team, was shocked to see the muscles in Calista's cheek twitch faintly out of her control.
For the first time in front of so many subordinates, those gray-blue eyes that were always calm were filled with almost blank panic and terrible pain.
She did not move. She did not speak. She did not even blink. Her body only swayed once before freezing in place.
"Calista..." Danny called tentatively.
That one word jolted Calista awake.
She abruptly closed her eyes and took a quick, deep breath. When she opened them again, that vulnerability had been forcibly pushed down, and she made herself stay composed.
"Danny, activate every backup communication plan.
Ground long-wave radio, maximum power, directed at Block D.
Activate the wired relay signal amplifiers we previously placed around the outskirts of Block D and try to connect through them.
Check whether this could be an equipment failure on our end."
"Yes! Yes!" Danny answered as if he had grabbed hold of a lifeline, then began operating the controls frantically.
...
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