11: Chapter 11 Preparations

The first thing after the launch of project dawn was not to study gemstones, nor to formulate strategies—

Instead, it was giving Su Mingyuan a full meal.

In the military region cafeteria, four dishes and a soup were placed before him, with all-you-can-eat rice.

He hadn't eaten a proper meal in two days.

As Su Mingyuan picked up the bowl and swallowed the first mouthful of rice, his eyes suddenly grew hot.

He buried his head and frantically shoveled down three bowls of rice, ate the four dishes completely clean, drank the soup until the bottom of the bowl was exposed, and finally used a steamed bun to mop up every last drop of soup on the plate.

The young soldier on guard duty stood to the side; having eaten at the military region cafeteria for three years, he had never seen anyone eat so fiercely.

After finishing his meal, Su Mingyuan was led to a clean single dormitory.

It had a bed, a desk, an independent bathroom, and even a television.

Twelve hours ago, he was still squatting in a rental house with five yuan and thirty-four fen in his pocket, smelling all over of crude oil, unable to even afford the rent.

In the upper right corner of his vision, blue numbers quietly ticked away—[52:43:19].

"Su Mingyuan, oh Su Mingyuan, the best move you made in your life was calling that 110."

...

At 9:00 a.m. the next day.

Building No. 3 of the military region, operational conference room.

When Su Mingyuan was brought in, over a dozen people were already seated inside.

Unlike last night's lineup—

Last night's session was a decision-making level "believe-it-or-not" meeting.

Today's session was an execution-level "how-to-do-it" meeting.

Zhao Jianguo sat in the primary seat, with Tao Zhe on his right hand and a middle-aged soldier Su Mingyuan had never seen before on his left hand, wearing a single gold star on his shoulder epaulet—the Deputy Commander of the Southern Jiangsu Military Region and Commander of the Special Operations Brigade, Fang Zhiyuan.

Fang Zhiyuan had a chiseled face, high cheekbones, deep eye sockets, and looked as if he were aiming when gazing at people.

Zhao Jianguo skipped the pleasantries and spoke directly:

"Today's meeting has only one topic—"

"How should we prepare for the second transport in two days?"

Tao Zhe was the first to stand up.

He walked to the whiteboard, picked up a marker, and wrote down the first line of text:

[Core Variable: Teleportation Formation has been upgraded to portal]

"Before discussing the specific plan, I want to remind everyone to pay attention to a key piece of information."

Tao Zhe turned around, his gaze sweeping across the audience:

"Su Mingyuan used a 'temporary teleportation Formation' for his first transport—a two-meter-diameter circular pattern appeared under his feet, the countdown hit zero, and he was plucked up and thrown across."

"But after he returned, the System gave an upgrade prompt—"

He wrote it down word by word on the whiteboard:

[Temporary teleportation Formation upgraded—portal (temporary type).]

"Pay attention to the phrasing." Tao Zhe tapped the three words "portal", "It's no longer a 'Formation', but a 'portal'."

"What is a Formation? It's a circle on the ground; you stand on it, whoosh, and you're gone."

"What is a portal?"

He turned around, his gaze very bright:

"A portal is a passageway that can be traversed."

"It has an entrance, an exit, and a duration."

"If this upgrade isn't just changing a name—that means the form of the next transport might be completely different from the first."

The conference room was silent for two seconds.

Zhao Jianguo reacted first: "Are you saying this 'portal' might allow more people to pass through?"

"Precisely."

Tao Zhe drew two comparison diagrams on the whiteboard.

On the left was a circle—Teleportation Formation. Annotation: Instantaneous transmission, single-person binding, two-meter range.

On the right was the outline of a door—portal. Three question marks were placed after the annotation.

"The logic of the teleportation Formation is 'people standing in the circle are transported away.' The range is two meters, at most stuffing two or three people, and it's a matter of an instant with no time window."

"But if it upgrades into a portal—"

Tao Zhe tapped the outline of that door:

"A portal can remain open continuously."

"The number of people who can pass through a door opened for ten seconds versus sixty seconds is completely different."

"The supplies that can be transported through a door one meter wide versus three meters wide are also completely different."

"Even—if the portal remains open continuously, we can continuously transport supplies back and forth through this portal within the three-hour stay period."

Fang Zhiyuan's eyes lit up for a moment, but he quickly suppressed it:

"These are all speculations. What if the upgrade is just changing a name?"

"It's entirely possible," Tao Zhe nodded, "so we must prepare for both scenarios."

He drew a dividing line on the whiteboard, writing "Conservative Contingency Plan" on the left and "Optimistic Contingency Plan" on the right.

Conservative Contingency Plan: The portal is still instantaneous transmission, with only Su Mingyuan able to pass through.

No one else can enter the Otherworld.

Optimistic Contingency Plan: portal = a true "portal".

It remains open for a period of time (duration unknown).

Multiple people can pass through.

Supplies can be transported in large quantities.

The ceiling of project dawn will be significantly raised.

Fang Zhiyuan spoke, his voice sounding like sandpaper grinding against an iron plate:

"If it's the conservative plan, we're going to bet a national strategic-level project on a civilian who has never received any military training?"

He glanced at Su Mingyuan, his gaze direct and straightforward:

"Young man, it's nothing personal. But last time you dealt with those hundred-plus zombies, you relied on luck."

Su Mingyuan fell silent.

Because Fang Zhiyuan was right.

If there hadn't been crude oil under his feet that day, if the zombies' speed had been a bit faster—he would be a pile of bone fragments right now.

Tao Zhe tapped the whiteboard, pulling the topic back:

"So for this transmission, the top priority is to figure out the actual form of the portal. What does it look like? How long does it stay open? How wide is it? Can it allow other people to pass through?"

"How to verify it?" Zhao Jianguo asked.

"We'll see when the time comes," Tao Zhe's reply was very crisp, "the moment the portal opens, all answers will naturally be revealed. But we must prepare in advance—if the door can really allow multiple people to pass through, we can't just stand at the door staring blankly."

He opened his notebook:

"My suggestion is that before the transmission is triggered, a complete team should be assembled around Su Mingyuan. Fifty combat personnel, ten scientific researchers, fully armed and on standby at all times."

"If the door opens and passing is possible, the team will enter immediately."

"If the door only allows Su Mingyuan alone to pass through—then he will act alone, carrying the equipment and sampling devices we have prepared."

"No matter which situation it is, we won't lose out."

Zhao Jianguo was silent for a few seconds and slowly nodded.

Fang Zhiyuan added: "I will personally pick the combat personnel, all drawn from the Special Operations Brigade. Weaponry will require special approval—automatic rifles, submachine guns, sniper rifles, plus incendiary bombs. When dealing with zombies, flame-based weapons work best, which Su Mingyuan already verified last time."

Zhao Jianguo: "Approved."

Tao Zhe continued:

"I will request various research institutes to select and send scientific researchers. Good health, capable of adapting to high-intensity work, preferably with field expedition experience."

"Sampling equipment—air analyzers, soil sampling tubes, water sample containers, radiation detectors, waterproof cameras, GPS terminals, walkie-talkies, satellite phones."

He paused: "And food and water, at least a three-day supply for each person."

Zhao Jianguo frowned: "Isn't it only three hours?"

"Just in case."

Tao Zhe's voice was very calm, but what he said sent a chill down everyone's spine:

"Our understanding of the teleportation System comes entirely from Su Mingyuan's single account and one experience. When the System says three hours, is it definitely three hours? What if the rules change? What if there's a malfunction?"

"What if he can't come back?"

The conference room was quiet for a full five seconds.

Su Mingyuan's Adam's apple moved.

Unable to return.

He had never thought about these three words before.

"Preparing three days' worth of supplies is just in case." Tao Zhe closed his notebook.

Zhao Jianguo made the final decision:

"We'll do as Dr. Tao said. Brigade Commander Fang is responsible for the combat personnel and equipment, Dr. Tao is responsible for the research team and sampling plan, and the Security Bureau will cooperate with confidentiality."