strictlysupreme Chapter 688 Weighing
Chapter 688 Weighing
"Not exactly a mushroom weapon in the traditional sense,"
Wilkins corrected.
"These are specially designed small tactical mushroom mines, their power strictly controlled within a specific range."
"They are designed to produce enough destructive power to stop a large-scale ground offensive, but without causing widespread mushroom contamination or civilian casualties."
"At least... in theory."
Howell turned, walked to the window, and gazed out at the Washington Monument.
His mind raced, weighing the pros and cons of this plan and its possible consequences.
"This... is a betrayal of our European allies,"
He said finally, his voice low.
"By planting mushroom weapons on their territory without their knowledge."
“If anything were to leak out… we would completely lose their trust.”
Wilkins nodded, his expression serious.
"Yes, Mr. President, this is the most sensitive part of the plan."
"But please consider the other side - if the Dragon and the Bear really take over Europe, what will our allies face?"
"Their sovereignty will be taken away, their resources will be plundered, and their people will live under the rule of those damned inferiors!"
"By comparison, the limited damage from mushroom mines seems an acceptable price to pay."
Howell turned around with a pained look on his face.
"Tell me more about this plan. These mushroom mines... how are they deployed? How are they controlled?"
Wilkins walked to the President's desk and took out a red folder marked "Top Secret" from his briefcase.
He placed the folder on the desk, opened it, and pulled out a map of Europe.
"According to the plan," Wilkins pointed to several red lines marked on the map, "we will plant mushroom mines at these key locations."
"Bolang and the border between the Mao Bear, Czechoslovakia and the Mao Bear, Bear Pressure and the Mao Bear, and Aodili and the border between the Bear Pressure."
“These locations constitute Europe’s ‘first line of defence.’”
Howell gazed at the map and noticed that the red line not only marked the national border but also extended to some key strategic locations - major transportation hubs, bridges, mountain passes and river crossings.
"These mushroom mines will be deployed covertly by a dedicated team of CIA agents,"
Wilkins continued to explain.
"They are designed to be highly camouflaged – some are disguised as normal infrastructure equipment, others are completely buried underground."
“Each mine is equipped with an advanced identification system capable of distinguishing between ordinary civilian vehicles and military equipment.”
Howell frowned. “How reliable is this recognition system?”
Wilkins's expression showed a hint of hesitation. "Frankly, Mr. President, about 95 percent reliability. That's about as far as we can go."
"In some extreme cases, these weapons may fail on their own, beyond our control."
“But remember, these mines do not trigger automatically. They require an activation signal from our remote command center.”
"So, what about the control system?" Howell asked.
Wilkins flipped to another page in the folder, revealing a complex schematic of a control system.
"Each group of mushroom mines is connected to an encrypted remote control system. This system has a triple security guarantee - first, it requires your authorization code as the commander-in-chief;"
"Secondly, it requires confirmation from the Secretary of Defense; and finally, a tactical assessment by the on-site commander is required. Only when all three conditions are met can the mushroom mine be activated."
Howell fell into deep thought, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table.
“What about the risks? Besides the diplomatic risks, is there anything else I should know about?”
Wilkins took a deep breath. "The biggest risk is the spread of radiation."
"Although these mushroom mines are designed to produce limited radiation, under certain meteorological conditions, the radiation cloud could spread to civilian areas."
"Our models predict that in a worst-case scenario, tens to hundreds of thousands of civilians could die or be exposed to radiation."
Howell suddenly raised his head, a flash of shock in his eyes: "Hundreds of thousands? This... This is almost the scale of genocide!"
“That’s a worst-case scenario, Mr. President,”
Wilkins hurried to explain.
"In reality, we will choose to activate mines when the weather conditions are most suitable and evacuate civilians who may be affected in advance."
“But… yes, the risk does exist.”
The office fell silent. Howell stood by the window, his back to Wilkins, his hands in his pockets.
His body lines seemed unusually tense and his shoulders trembled slightly.
“Any other options?” he asked finally, his voice barely a whisper.
Wilkins shook his head, though Howell couldn't see the movement.
"I'm afraid not, Mr. President. At least not one that can be implemented anytime soon."
"It would take months for our conventional army to reorganize and send to Europe. According to our intelligence, the Russians and the Chinese could begin their offensive within two weeks."
"But the most important thing is that even if we send reinforcements, we may not be able to defeat the reinforcements from Longguo and Maoxiong on the front battlefield..."
Hearing this, Howell turned around and instantly woke up as if he was splashed with a basin of cold water.
His face wore an expression very different from the fury he had just shown—one of calm, almost detached determination.
“If we implement this plan, how long will it take?”
"The mushroom mines have been produced and are stored in secret warehouses across Europe," Wilkins replied. "Deployment teams are on standby. Considering the complexity of the deployment and the need for confidentiality, we need approximately 72 hours to complete the deployment."
Howell walked back to his desk, picked up the detailed plan in the red folder, and read every page carefully.
Wilkins stood aside, remaining silent, giving the President time to digest the information.
The plan detailed the location of each planned mushroom mine, the equivalent of each mine, the radiation range and the expected destructive radius.
There are also a range of weather models that show the likely paths of radiation spread under different wind directions and weather conditions.
Finally, there is an ethical assessment report that attempts to provide some moral justification for this extreme action.
"This plan...how many people know about it?" Howell finally looked up and asked.
“Besides you and me, there are only five of us,” Wilkins replied. “The Secretary of Defense, the Director of the CIA, two top mushroom weapons experts, and the Special Forces commander who’s conducting the field survey. Each of the deployed agents knows only their own small piece of the mission and has no idea of the bigger picture.”
Howell closed the folder and tapped his fingers on the cover.
"Are we truly prepared to shoulder this responsibility, Wilkins? How will we defend this decision in the eyes of history?"
Wilkins' expression grew more serious. "Mr. President, history is written by the victors."
"If we fail to act, and if Eurasia falls into the hands of China and Russia, then we won't even have a chance to face the judgment of history."
“We will be losers, a footnote in tomorrow’s world…”