Chapter 511 Think Tank Emergency Network Integration: Several Solutions Finally Emerge

Imperial Capital.

In the conference room, no one had the heart to touch their cups of water, which had long since gone cold.

The screen on the wall was still on.

It wasn't showing street scenes or a car chase. It was just a constant stream of incoming peripheral intelligence.

One moment, it was news that pursuit forces in a certain district had changed direction. The next, it was a new blockade appearing at a certain intersection. Then, another route was temporarily cut off. Item by item, they were all brief. Yet, each one weighed heavily on everyone's heart.

Elder Zhao sat at the head of the table, his fingers pressing against the surface. After watching for a moment, he finally spoke, "Does our ad-hoc think tank group have a plan?"

The words were not heavy, but as they fell into the conference room, everyone's nerves tightened. Because everyone in the room understood: the people currently available had already been deployed. The lines that could be pushed forward had already been pushed. From here on out, it wasn't about who was more anxious, but about who could figure out a way forward first.

In fact, when the previous two orders were issued, a third had already gone out.

Establishing a temporary think tank group wasn't just for show. It wasn't just to hold a meeting and take notes. It was, in the true sense, about gathering all the available brainpower together.

Everyone knew that what mattered now wasn't just reaction time, but the speed of thinking.

To put it more bluntly, in the current situation, relying solely on the comrades on the front lines risking their lives to stall for time wouldn't produce a final result. Someone had to be in the rear, figuring out the next steps as quickly as possible.

Therefore, from the moment the order was issued, the relevant people were all pulled in.

Some were still in their offices revising documents. Some were preparing to attend to their own affairs. Others had just come out of another meeting room and, without even catching their breath, were called away by a single sentence.

The notification was simple. The time was urgent. The requirements were direct: find a media room nearby immediately, start a video call immediately, and join the group immediately.

The composition of this temporary think tank group was very mixed. But the more mixed it was, the more useful it was at this moment.

Some were people from the high-level secretarial offices. Usually, they seemed unremarkable, but when it came to times like this, their minds turned very quickly. Their ability to extract information, judge the stance of various parties, and weave fragmented information into a coherent line was excellent.

Another part consisted of people from the national think tank. These people dealt with a lot of things on a regular basis. They were very familiar with the external environment, how Country A might respond, and the operational methods at a public level.

Bringing in more, there were also well-known professors from universities. These people might not often appear in such settings, but their strength was not in making polite conversation. It was in grasping the key points quickly and thinking quickly. Especially when encountering such unconventional situations, sometimes, people outside the same system were more likely to come up with different perspectives.

When Elder Zhao gave this order, he was very clear. Now was not the time to worry about rigid divisions. If someone could be used, use them. If they could be pulled together, pull them together. Figure out a solution first, then talk about anything else.

And so, phone calls were made one after another. Notifications were pushed down one by one. Those who received the news basically didn't ask much. They didn't have time to ask much, either. They just listened while walking, taking notes while listening, and then found the nearest media room.

Some were in office buildings of certain units. Some were at research institutions. Others had already left their offices but were forced to turn back.

Soon, a temporary video conference was forcibly set up just like that. The video feeds were not uniform. The backgrounds were not uniform. Some had white walls behind them. Some had conference tables. Others had staff rushing in and out visible in the background. But no one cared about any of that.

Every person who connected, once seated, their first task was to request materials. They needed locations. They needed timelines. They needed the road maps of Washington State. They needed the last valid information on Professor Liu. They needed the basic situation of that family of three. They needed the stance Country A had already displayed. They needed everything.

Next to the high-level conference room, an office that didn't originally seem very conspicuous had been temporarily cleared out. The number of people entering and leaving the doorway was much higher than just a moment ago. This room was now the temporary think tank office.

There were no frills inside. Just rows of computers, screens, and a few administrative staff running back and forth. Some were answering phones. Some were noting down key points. Others were responsible for immediately summarizing information transmitted from different lines and throwing it onto the screens.

The video call feeds were all gathered here. On a large screen, it was divided into many small windows. In each small window was a face. Some wore glasses, heads down as they flipped through materials. Some held pens, writing something quickly on paper. Others were already speaking directly into the camera. Sentence after sentence. No one was beating around the bush. Because at this moment, no one had the leisure to do so.

An administrative staff member hurried in carrying materials. As soon as they put them down, another person handed out the records they had just organized. Others stood in front of computers, fingers tapping rapidly on keyboards, stuffing the suggestions from different people into a framework.

Sorting them out one by one. Analyzing them one by one. What was feasible? What was too slow? What carried high risk? What could be connected right now? These things kept popping up, and kept being filtered out.

Some ideas, as soon as they were spoken, were immediately addressed by others. "That won't work, not enough time." "That's not stable either, the other side will react immediately." "We need to change the angle here, we can't follow the conventional route." "We can keep this point, expand it further."

Others, while talking, would stand up to grab a map. They would spread the map on the table and gesture at the screen. Some were looking at the road structure of Washington State. Some were watching for potential changes in the stance from Country A. Others had already started thinking ahead. If the first step went wrong, how to handle the second step.

The brains in this room were all twisting towards one place: bringing the people out first. Getting them out of that trap first. Everything else came second.

In the high-level conference room, the on-site leader responsible for liaising with the think tank group had been standing near the door the whole time. He had a headset on. He held a pen in one hand. In the other hand, he held the pages of records that had just been sent out.

As soon as new content emerged from next door, he had to catch it immediately. Then filter it. Then organize it. Then pick out the parts that could be immediately sent into the conference room.

He had been standing until now, and his legs were a bit numb. But he still didn't dare to move. Because something new could come out at any moment.

After Elder Zhao finished asking that question, the conference room fell silent again. No one urged them. No one pressed for details. Everyone was waiting. Waiting for a plan that could actually move forward. Even if it wasn't the best, at the very least, it had to be something they could use right now.

The faces of the several old comrades in the room were not looking good. This was not only because they had been up for a long time. It was also because they all knew in their hearts that every minute of delay now increased the danger in Washington State by another notch.

Professor Liu was on the run. That family of three was also on the run. The covert lines were holding the line outside. Country A clearly wouldn't let go easily. At such a time, every second of silence in the conference room made one's heart feel heavy.

An old comrade looked at the screen, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. He wanted to say something, but the words stopped at his lips. Because what needed to be said had already been said. Saying it again now would just be repetition.

Another one took off his glasses and pressed his brow with his hand. Putting them back on, his gaze still hadn't left the screen. Elder Zhao didn't ask a second time either. He knew very well that at a time like this, urging was useless. Those who should be fast were already at their limit.

In the temporary think tank office next door, the atmosphere was equally tense. A member from the national think tank had just finished expressing their view. On the other side, a professor from a university immediately followed up. No pleasantries. No padding. Just pure substance.

"This direction cannot just look at the surface movement lines." "We also have to factor in the next few moves of the other side." "Otherwise, halfway through, the back will be blocked."

Another person from the secretarial office, holding the summary they had just organized, quickly added, "The current public stance from Country A is still adamantly claiming they haven't arrested anyone." "Can we use this against them?"

On the other end of the screen, someone immediately responded, "We can use it, but only half of it." "Using too much will force them to change their stance." "The rhythm must be controlled."

This kind of conversation continued, one wave after another, without stopping. All the computing power, all the wisdom, and all those normally unseen thinking capabilities were brought to bear at this moment. It wasn't to create a pretty document. It was to save lives.

In the high-level conference room, time continued to move forward. The second hand on the wall moved tick by tick. The atmosphere became increasingly tense.

Finally, not long after Elder Zhao's words fell, a voice suddenly came through the headset of the on-site leader responsible for liaison near the door. He immediately raised his hand to hold the headset. He tilted his head slightly and listened carefully for a few seconds. The expression on his face changed as well. It wasn't relief. It wasn't panic. It was a kind of tension that comes from finally waiting for something to emerge.

"Alright, I understand." He replied. Then he lowered his hand and immediately turned to look at the head of the table. In the conference room, everyone's eyes fell on him at once.

The on-site leader took a breath and said, "Elder Zhao, there are several plans."