"I believe our earlier assessment was correct." Zhang Kan was the most authoritative voice in the room. "Nanjing's garrison encountered evolved beasts of a higher class. Based on the pattern we've observed around Hefei — barren zones, abundant zones, and the Oasis arranged in irregular concentric rings — and given that we directly observed a fireball impact at Huoshan, with our own area only struck by scattered light clusters, it follows that any meteorite fragment deposits would be concentrated at Huoshan itself. By that logic, there may be a site near Nanjing similar to the Huoshan Oasis — one that has produced evolved beasts beyond any known biological category. That would explain why the Nanjing garrison felt compelled to deploy nuclear weapons. Twice."

Commander Zhu Li finished his cigarette and spoke. "What I find remarkable is this: most of the camp's conventional firearms have already corroded or seized up. Even our one remaining batch of armor-piercing rounds was ruined during maintenance when the propellant specs were compromised. Given that level of material degradation, how is the Nanjing garrison keeping nuclear weapons in launch-ready condition?"

Zhang Kan adjusted his glasses. "Nuclear weapons maintenance protocols are exceptionally rigorous, but with the right technical personnel working alongside iron people, it isn't impossible. And we can't rule out the existence of iron people whose bonded vehicles are nuclear delivery systems."

Zhao Weiliang's expression remained grave. "The core question is — what kind of evolved beast requires a nuclear strike to address? Detonating a nuclear weapon on your own national territory is not a decision anyone reaches lightly. I don't believe any commander would authorize that unless there was genuinely no other option."

"There may be something even beyond the Iron-Eater," offered one of the Research Institute's deputy directors. "Nanjing is a riverside city, not far from the coast. Ocean evolved beasts could travel up the Yangtze and reach Nanjing."

"Exactly." The biology specialist across the table picked up the thread. "The Iron-Eater's body mass already exceeds the largest animal known to have existed on Earth — the Seismosaurus. Marine life is far more diverse.…