Players Invade Cyberpunk-Chapter 872 - 282: We Declare Nothing Happened_2

"What?"

"Bakemonos! Who the hell did this!"

Even Huang Ban Meizhi, who is usually calm and composed, couldn't help but sweat on her forehead.

A nuclear leak is not a 'small matter' like using military technology to nuke Huangban Tower, even dumping waste into Night City's groundwater is trivial in comparison.

After all, Mizuki doesn't drink that water, so it wouldn't harm her in any way.

A nuclear explosion would at most destroy one tower. Reinforced concrete buildings are still very robust, and the fission reaction of a nuclear bomb would be relatively clean, with at most a few kilograms or dozens of kilograms of radioactive material. You just need to hide for two or three years and then come back.

But nuclear pollution can easily involve hundreds or even thousands of kilograms. If it's wastewater, it can even reach hundreds of tons. If an explosion sends this waste into the sky, the whole of California would suffer. Not even Mizuki could escape radiation contamination.

Night City itself might be doomed.

At that point, companies would lose more than just lives, but also assets worth billions of Orokin!

"Investigate! Find out who did this!"

Upon receiving this news, Metris's hair stood on end, and everyone present had a grim expression, 4000+ just like that.

But immediately, with another news arriving, her expression turned strange.

"What do you mean we built a laboratory under Taiping Continent?"

"What do you mean that the radiation dispersion track likely points to a military technology reactor?"

"What do you mean an out-of-control experiment led to a rogue AI controlling the Hellhound and Little Beidou AI, and this nuclear leak is probably related to them?"

"Damn it! Why wasn't this brought to our attention earlier!"

Metris let out a sharp scream. She wanted to drag out and flay alive the person on the other end of the communication line.

A reactor left unattended underground for decades, how could you dare?

And why mention such an important issue only now!

The only good news is that there are several Intelligence Bureau agents currently undercover in Dog Town, and some are directly involved in the Little Beidou Laboratory issue.

"Get me Solomon Lid immediately."

But Lid was also stunned to hear military technology inquiring about the Little Beidou issue, though, since Little Beidou's experiments were military technology assets, he didn't think much of it.

"We've already destroyed the server room and are preparing to take down Hansen in the Gemstone Cyan building. The underground Horizon Mercenaries are still engaged in a firefight with the Hellhound units on Basement -2, and no unexpected events have occurred so far."

It wasn't the agents or mercenaries who did it, then who?

Could it really be that rogue AI?

"Isn't it over?"

Metris wanted to ask what exactly the New American Intelligence Bureau agents do, but she felt like she had no standing to criticize, given she didn't even know about the laboratory.

"The analysis report is out; they suspect the nuclear waste storage tank was damaged by external forces, leading to leakage. Most of the nuclear waste was discharged into the ocean through cooling pipes, and a small amount might have entered Night City surfaces through air exchange, but the reactor itself shouldn't have been impacted much."

"I'm not interested in analysis reports; I need a solution."

"There is one, Director. The current best plan is to concentrate the radioactive sources as much as possible and seal them entirely with radiation-blocking materials, such as cement, boron sand, and graphite. Speed is crucial; if too much radioactive material enters the atmosphere, it will be too late to seal it then."

After hearing the employee's analysis report, Metris pondered over whom to send on this suicide mission when someone pulled her aside into a secluded corner.

It was Deputy Director Ryan Duke, whose expression was unusually solemn.

Metris asked, "What is it?"

Duke asked, "What do you think the success rate of this plan is?"

Before Metris could speak, Duke provided the answer.

"AI analysis shows that due to the reactor being underground and the passages being too narrow to transport large quantities of anti-radiation materials, the success rate is less than thirty percent. Now with the Netherworld Dog, rogue AI, and Horizon Corporation fighting wildly inside, who can interfere? Plus, if it fails, both you and I will carry the blame."

"But if we do nothing, then this matter has nothing to do with us."

Metris pondered, right.

The most important thing as an employee isn't how competent you are but how capable you are at shirking responsibility.

More effort, more mistakes; less effort, fewer mistakes; no effort, no mistakes: that's the iron rule.

After all, Metris didn't even know about Little Beidou before the nuclear leak. It has nothing to do with her, but if she gets involved and fails to stop the leak, the blame will likely fall on her shoulders.

After all, with such a big event, someone will have to take the fall.

"But we can't just sit here doing nothing, so..."

Metris had already made up her mind in secret.

Duke understandingly nodded, "We have to buy them time because the big shots have their own big problems to worry about."

Soon, this message was passed to the high-level executives related to military technology, and they maintained an uncanny unity: no outsider must know about this, and the confidentiality level must be raised to the highest. Otherwise, Huang Ban would use this as an excuse to completely expel military technology from California.

Subsequently, the big shots needed to seize every moment to do something vital to their lives and fortunes—transfer personal assets.