Elias continued, "Additionally, we have installed hidden caras at multiple points throughout the periter and currently all feeds from these caras are transmitted directly to our outposts and monitoring stations within the town."
At this, a few murmurs of agreent rippled through the room as the effort to maintain a real-ti surveillance system was comndable, but Aiden, was already seeing a potential flaw.
"How effective has this setup been so far?" Aiden asked, his gaze still locked on the screen.
Elias turned toward him, expecting the question. "It has served us well in the short term and we have received early warnings about the last two beast waves thanks to this system. Without those alerts, we would have been caught off guard."
Aiden nodded slightly but didn’t look entirely convinced. "That’s good… but we can’t depend on this forever as these caras can malfunction or being damaged by mutated beasts easily. Also considering our limited resources, we don’t have the luxury of repairing or replacing these caras frequently."
Amira, who had been quietly listening, inclined her head slightly in agreent. "He has a point," she said, "We can’t afford to rely on these equipnt when we have no way to manufacture replacents."
Elias exhaled and nodded. "We know and have already encountered this issue firsthand. During the last two beast waves, almost 70 to 80% of our caras were destroyed or damaged beyond repair so we had to replace them entirely, and even now maintaining them has been a problem."
A heavy silence settled over the room as the weight of the issue sunk in. They needed a better solution—a way to maintain their surveillance without the constant risk of destruction.
Then, Elias’s expression shifted slightly saying, "But… we’ve already been working on an alternative solution with the research team and have found a way to overco this problem."
That piqued everyone’s interest, even Amira straightened slightly in her seat as her eyes sharp with curiosity. "Go on," she prompted.
As Ezzie pressed a button, and the screen changed to display a schematic diagram Elias continued. "We’ve designed a new type of detection sonic device—one that doesn’t rely on visual input or fragile hardware."
The room went quiet, all eyes on the new image on the screen.
"Instead of caras, we’ve developed a device that emits low-frequency sound waves at regular intervals and these waves oscillate frequently, covering a designated radius." He pointed at a demonstration model on the screen, showing how the waves spread out in ripples as it scanned the area around them. "Whenever sothing passes through the area, the waves get obstructed, triggering an alert. While we won’t imdiately know if it’s a human or a beast, we will know that sothing has entered our territory."
Aiden folded his arms, clearly intrigued. "And these devices—they’re sturdy? Reliable?"
Elias nodded. "Yes as unlike caras, these don’t require fragile optics or continuous power input. They can be buried underground or mounted in concealed locations, making them much harder to destroy."
A few mbers exchanged impressed looks. This was a significant upgrade.
Elias added, "Once an alert is triggered, the nearest outpost can deploy drones to visually confirm what set off the sensor. That way, we can investigate threats in real ti without relying solely on caras."
The logic was sound, and Aiden could already see the tactical advantage.
"This is a much better approach," Aiden said approvingly. "We’d still get early warning signals, but now we aren’t risking expensive equipnt every ti a beast wave cos through."
Amira, who had been silent in thought, finally spoke up. "Alright, we’ll go ahead with these devices but do we have enough materials to mass-produce them?"
The question was crucial. Securing a 200-kiloter periter with these devices wouldn’t be an easy task.
Elias exchanged a look with Ezzie before answering. "That’s the challenge as we have so resources, but not enough to cover the entire periter right away. However, we can prioritize key areas—high-risk entry points, main travel routes, and areas where we’ve had previous beast wave activity."
Amira nodded, taking a mont to process. "Then we move forward with a phased approach. And secure the most vulnerable zones first and expand gradually."
Aiden leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "How long until the first batch is ready?"
Ezzie responded this ti. "We can have the first deploynt units ready within the next three days. After that, it depends on how fast we can manufacture more."
Amira glanced around the room, ensuring there were no objections. When no one spoke, she nodded decisively. "Then we’ll move ahead with this plan. But—" her tone sharpened slightly, "don’t use up every last device. Keep a few available for our patrol teams moving outside. They’ll need them more than anyone."
Elias acknowledged the order with a nod before pressing a button on the monitor as the map zood out, shifting their focus to the territory beyond their protected periter.
"Now that the surveillance update is done," he continued, his voice steady, "let’s move on to our next point—the region outside this 200-kiloter zone so from now on lets call it central zone."
A hush fell over the room as everyone knew this was the real challenge.
Ezzie tapped a few keys, and the screen expanded to reveal a much larger section of the Federation’s map while several red and yellow markings dotted the area beyond their secured periter.
Elias pointed to the screen. "For our second phase of reconnaissance, we will be pushing outward to cover a 500-kiloter radius from central zone."
The mont the words left his mouth, murmurs rippled through the room.
That was more than double what they had already covered as the 200-kiloter periter had taken them over a week to establish—now, they were aiming for more than twice that.
Aiden and Mayra remained silent, their expressions unreadable as they continued to listen.
"I know what you’re thinking," Elias said, "This is a massive jump, and it will put a heavier burden on our teams. But here’s why it’s necessary."
Ezzie highlighted three large cities and seven towns scattered within the 500-kiloter radius.
"In this expanded zone, there are three cities—one major and two smaller ones. All three have fortified walls and appear to have so degree of defense against the mutated beasts." Elias continued. "These locations are important because they are likely to have the highest concentration of survivors."
The screen shifted again, marking over 30 villages within the sa range.
A flicker of hope stirred among those in the room as cities with walls ant survivors, resources, and potential allies. "Beyond that, we have seven sizable towns scattered throughout the periter. These towns don’t have walls, but their populations are estimated to be over tens of thousands each. Based on that number, we can assu that they’ve raised so form of defense, though we won’t know for sure until we get there."
The monitor then shifted, showing 30 additional markers, all colored yellow.
"These represent approximately 30 villages in the region." A heavier silence settled over the table. "We don’t know if these villages are still standing or if they’ve been overrun. Based on reports from refugees we’ve rescued, many of them were abandoned as survivors fled to the nearest towns or cities for safety."
Aiden exhaled, rubbing his temple. He already knew what that an as the survival rate for smaller, isolated villages was uncertain at best.
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