With Ryan's order, the sleeping war machine that was Star Fire roared to life with a sound that could shatter the old world order.
Within a single hour, every satellite communications channel on the planet, every fiber-optic network, even the outdoor screens mid-broadcast of entertainment programming, were forcibly hijacked by Star Fire's root-level protocols.
There was no lengthy preamble. The screen showed only a real-time satellite image of Africa, that dark-gold shadow spreading outward, consuming everything, like a tumor latched onto the Earth, pulsing wildly.
The emergency summit convened on the highest-encryption channel, codenamed "Dawn."
Holographic projector beams crisscrossed inside Star Fire's command center. The faces of world leaders who normally held the reins of nations were, to a person, etched with shock and drained of color.
"Ryan, we've received fragmentary intel from what's left of the forces on the African front." Graham's voice trembled slightly. Behind him, aides were frantically drawing red lines across the map. "Those 'dark-gold spores' have already breached the Mediterranean coastline. If we don't resort to extreme measures now... I'm talking full nuclear saturation, half the planet is going to turn into that crystal!"
"Nuclear strike?" Ryan tapped his fingers lightly against the tabletop, the sound crisp and clear in the dead-silent channel. "Mr. President, if you think dropping those glorified firecrackers is going to work, be my guest. But odds are the blast shockwave will launch the dark-gold spores into the stratosphere and accelerate global assimilation tenfold."
The room fell into deathly silence.
"Then what do we do?" The Russian delegate slammed his palm on the table and shot to his feet. "Watch Africa disappear completely, then wait for our turn?"
Ryan tilted his head slightly and gestured to Jill.
Jill stepped forward, sharp and commanding in her deep-blue Star Fire uniform.
She flicked her fingers across the display, enlarging the image of the dark-gold monster Carlos had nearly died to capture onto the center of the holographic screen.
"Ladies and gentlemen." Jill's voice was calm and cutting. "This isn't a conventional bioweapon infection. What Wesker deployed is an ecological restructuring medium called 'dark-gold Ouroboros.' It doesn't just rewrite DNA. It rewrites the structure of matter itself. Every assimilated individual becomes an extension of Wesker's will."
The dark-gold monster on the screen emitted a high-frequency pulse. Its cold killing intent seemed to pierce through the display and reach into every soul in the room.
"A normal person's immune system is tissue paper against this thing." Jill continued. "But over the past several years, Star Fire has conducted deep analysis of the G-Virus, the Progenitor Virus, and numerous mutant strains. We've completed development of a broad-spectrum antibody sequence. Our vaccine can't kill the restructuring process outright, but it can wrap carbon-based organisms in a protective layer that blocks immediate genetic rewriting by the spores."
"A vaccine... you actually have a vaccine?" One head of state's voice climbed several octaves, eyes blazing with the wild joy of a drowning man spotting driftwood.
"Not just one type. A full-spectrum antibody barrier covering all variants." Ryan picked up where Jill left off, his tone level but carrying the steady weight of someone in total control. "Star Fire is laying all its cards on the table right now. Not to take over your countries, but because to fight this war, we need your industrial capacity, your logistics networks, and every combat-ready soldier you've got. Star Fire will provide all technical support, antibodies, and equipment designed for these dark-gold monsters."
The politicians, each nursing their own agendas moments ago, went quiet.
They looked at the land vanishing on the screen, then back at Ryan's unshaken face. Under the pressure of extinction, every last shred of geopolitics and power struggle looked pathetic.
"What do you need from us?" The Asian delegate broke the silence first, voice firm. "All transport assets in Asia are on standby. We can take over vaccine distribution across the Asian theater immediately."
"Russia's deep-water fleet can coordinate with Star Fire to blockade the Mediterranean sea lanes."
"U.S. strategic air command can transfer to Star Fire's chain of command at any time."
One by one the major powers nodded, and in barely thirty minutes, the Dawn Accord reached consensus.
That moment was destined for the history books.
Three hours later, the global lockdown went into effect.
It was not only the largest-scale blockade in human history, but the most sweeping joint operation ever mounted.
From JFK in New York to Sheremetyevo in Moscow, from Daxing in Asia to Heathrow in London, tens of thousands of massive transports in every livery imaginable, all bearing the unmistakable Star Fire emblem, thundered into the sky.
Below the clouds, warships carved through every ocean. Star Fire's reception fleets formed the core, flanked by the navies of every participating nation, forging walls of steel thousands of kilometers long that sealed the African continent inside a ring of open water.
Civilians around the world watched the livestream of something no one had ever imagined: soldiers from formerly hostile nations loading vaccine crates side by side on the same transport aircraft. Star Fire researchers linked up with local scientists in labs across the globe, walking them through antibody dilution and inoculation protocols.
"Ryan, the whole world is moving." Jill stood at the edge of the deck, gazing out at the horizon thick with transport aircraft, her voice soft with awe.
Ryan watched the satellite map and its pulsing green signal dots, a real-time progress bar of vaccines rolling out across the planet. He set down his cup, eyes distant and sharp.
"This is just step one." Ryan spoke slowly. "Wesker kicked off the tidal wave. What we have to do is make sure that wave crashes against a seawall built from all of humanity. Get word to Chris and Leon. Have them make the final mobilization push. Once the global defense line holds, we're done playing defense."
"Copy." Jill nodded, resolve hardening across her striking features.
The wind on the deck surged harder, snapping Ryan's black coat behind him.
On that horizon where golden dawn bled into the dark-gold shadow of the end, humanity's last hand had been played, every chip pushed to the center of the table.
This was a world war, a fight with civilization's survival as the stakes. Under Star Fire's lead, the scattered sparks of a fractured world were converging into a blaze fierce enough to burn away every shadow.
[This novel is now COMPLETE. Read the entire series right now on Patreon: patreon.com/NiaXD]