Using the MC system to pretend spiritual revival

Chapter 210 Is this thing a mutation caused by nuclear contamination?

Fukuoka, the standby cabinet office of the Sakura Kingdom, the temporary highest meeting room.

Due to the failure of military operations.

Cabinet leaders and officials of all ranks hurriedly relocated to this place far from Tokyo.

At this moment, Abe, looking somewhat tired from his journey, was sitting in the conference room with the other cabinet ministers.

They all stared at the screen with gloomy expressions, and no one spoke.

As you can see in the scene beside it, the blackish-purple, bloated, and twisted monster is still leisurely floating above the city of Tokyo.

After all parties withdrew, the remaining resistance fire had ceased.

Everyone could only watch helplessly as the monster occasionally shot out a thick beam of white light.

They plowed through the city's ruins, but were powerless to do anything about it.

Although road closures and information blocking measures have been implemented, Japan need not worry about the scandal of this attack spreading widely.

However, the destruction of large areas of international commercial streets and numerous buildings in Tokyo, the area most famous for its cherry blossoms, has undeniably reduced the actual benefits for everyone present.

Which of the people present, and their families, doesn't own a large amount of property in Tokyo?
Looking at the screen right now is like watching someone take money out of your pocket; your face will naturally turn ashen as if your parents have died.

This oppressive atmosphere lasted for a long time.

Finally, a thin, bespectacled old man sitting in the corner appeared—the Finance Minister.

A dry voice broke the silence.

"...Just now...most of Ginza was destroyed..."

As he spoke, the short old man stared intently at the screen behind his glasses, his old eyes bloodshot and filled with dense blood vessels.

Those around him understood his strong reaction and couldn't help but shake their heads.

Mitsui Taiji, Finance Minister of Sakura.

He is also the current head of the Mitsui family, an ancient financial dynasty in Sakura, and one of the biggest controllers behind Ginza.

Although the others present had some businesses in Ginza, none of them owned as many as this withered old man.

Today, Ginza is one of the biggest economic pillars controlled by the Mitsui family.

The monster has destroyed most of the building, which is undoubtedly a heavy loss.

While the others were mourning for him.

The old man, Mitsui, who was serving as the Minister of Finance, was panting heavily and gradually recovered. He did not collapse from the huge shock.

But his face remained so gloomy that it seemed as if water could drip from it.

He then abruptly turned his head, staring intently at Prime Minister Abe, who was sitting at the head of the table, with bloodshot eyes.

"...Nuclear bombs...Why aren't we using the ultimate weapon yet?! Are we just going to let this damned monster continue to wreak havoc?!"

He practically forced those words out through gritted teeth.

However, after he finished speaking, no one responded for a long time; the group just looked at each other.

In the end, it was the relatively composed chairman, whose nameplate on the table read "Kenji Ito," who spoke up and broke the awkward silence.

"Please calm down, Mr. Mitsui. It's not that we're letting the monster run rampant and refraining from using nuclear weapons."

He first offered a rational reassurance, and only continued his explanation after the other person turned to him.

"Leaving aside the fact that the shock and heat released after a nuclear bomb explodes in mid-air would cause even greater damage to the city itself."

"Even if we disregard these factors, we should decisively use nuclear weapons."

"Assuming that in the best-case scenario, a nuclear bomb can eliminate the monster, the sheer force of a nuclear explosion cannot be concealed by road blockades or information disruptions."

"At that time, the whole world will see the embarrassing state of the cherry blossom country and our indifference towards our people."

"At that time, massive foreign exchange losses and capital withdrawals will follow, and our losses will be even greater..."

Subsequently.

The young and promising chairman of the Sakura Public Safety Committee then elaborated in detail on the reasons why nuclear weapons could not be used, from various aspects such as economy, reputation, fame, and transportation.

As an island nation with numerous ports and a strong hold on important shipping lanes, the financial families behind the ministers present rely heavily on maritime transport and import/export for most of their revenue.

Compared to the commercial real estate that the Mitsui family focuses on, the losses suffered by others are not actually crippling.

Naturally, no one wanted to suffer even greater shipping losses for the sake of the Mitsui family head's losses and anger.

As the Minister of Finance, Mr. Mitsui naturally understood this principle as well.

Looking around at everyone, even Abe, who always acts as a rational and objective person, he nodded slightly in agreement.

His face fell, realizing he was powerless to change the decision that was about to be made.

His energy and spirit vanished instantly, as if he had aged ten years in an instant, and he slumped into the table and chair.

He understood that this time, if things went wrong, the Mitsui family might face ruin due to enormous losses...

No one paid any attention to the change in his expression.

However, the tense atmosphere was broken by the conversation, and everyone stopped being silent and began to express their opinions.

After the atmosphere of the meeting was enlivened.

The other officials, both high and low, who were sitting in the back row of the meeting room, could only keep their heads down and dare not make a sound.

Gradually, I mustered up my courage and began to report and compile statistics on other matters.

Soon, after much discussion, a conclusion was reached.

Judging from the damage shown on satellite maps alone, the current direct economic losses are estimated to be as high as 50 trillion yen.

This doesn't even include the subsequent collateral losses.

The casualties and individual economic losses are countless.

They continued forward with the monster that hovered in mid-air, temporarily named "Crawling Catastrophe".

Although the attacks decreased, the opponent's strange beams of light attacks visibly thinned out.

But the economic losses continue to rise every minute of every second.

As the meeting continued, Abe's expression grew increasingly grim.

One loss report after another covered the table.

After a while, the report ended, and I took a deep breath to calm myself down and put the mess aside.

He then looked up at the Vice Minister of Defense Affairs, who had temporarily assumed command of the defense forces after the Minister of Defense was dismissed for dereliction of duty.

"How's the situation progressing in the lockdown zone?"

Upon being suddenly asked a question related to himself, the acting Minister of Defense, who had been looking slightly nervous, immediately straightened his expression.

He stood up immediately and gave a concise and efficient report.

"Reporting to the Prime Minister! Sixteen main roads and fifty-four branch roads leading to other cities in the Tokyo area and surrounding districts have been blocked!"

"Soldiers have been stationed in areas where people may cross the river, and high-density helicopter patrols are being conducted."

"In addition, some riots broke out at checkpoints, but they were suppressed in time."

At this point, his tone softened.

"As per previous instructions, the first rescue team entered the Tokyo lockdown area an hour ago to begin the search and rescue operation for key personnel."

"Everything is progressing well so far!"

Here, Abe, who had finally heard some relatively good news, slowly relaxed his tightly furrowed brows.

He then showed his appreciation and nodded slightly to the middle-aged man who was temporarily serving as the Minister of Defense, to show his approval.

"Well done. Now that the Minister of Defense has been dismissed for his mistakes, we need outstanding generals like you who are working hard for the strength of the Sakura Empire to step forward!"

On the other side, the middle-aged man, who was standing upright with a solemn expression, suddenly realized the implied meaning of promotion in those words.

He looked up in shock, then his eyes immediately lit up with ecstasy.

After regaining his senses, he quickly put his hands together and bent down deeply.

"Yes! For the greatness of the Sakura Empire, this is my lifelong wish!"

After expressing his opinion, his gaze shifted as if he had suddenly remembered something, and then he immediately looked up to report.

"Reporting to the Prime Minister! In addition to the intelligence on the Self-Defense Forces' work, there is another discovery I would like to report to you." Upon hearing this, the interim Minister of Defense, eager to make a name for himself, nervously watched the Prime Minister's expression.

Seeing that he looked up with interest and nodded to indicate that he could speak, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Without daring to delay, he quickly took out the conjecture that a warship commander had sent him not long ago.

"That's right, Your Excellency!"

"Before the meeting, I had a sudden inspiration to associate the location where the monster leaped out of the water with its current location."

"Then it was discovered that since its appearance, the other party had been moving slowly through the air along an almost straight path."

"Anything that hinders its actions along the way will be attacked; clearly, it has a strong purpose."

As he spoke, the operator beside him readily retrieved the real-time satellite map and marked it as instructed.

Sure enough, the monster's route, which started in Tokyo Bay and had already broken through Tokyo and was about to enter the outer districts, formed a clear straight line.

Moreover, after the forecast was extended, this line runs through the entire central part of the Sakura Country, Tokyo and the surrounding areas.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged military officer was still speaking energetically.

"...In conclusion, I have reason to suspect that this monster, for some currently unknown reason, aims to reach a certain location along this line."

"My speculation ends here. The buildings or factories along this route are either unremarkable."

"Either it's too far away, or there's only one port that's a few dozen kilometers away that's relatively close..."

He continued speaking at length, but Abe had already ignored what came next.

He just stared blankly at the real-time satellite map on the screen, and at the empty sea at the end of the straight line on the map, his expression gradually freezing.

Then, he silently turned his head and exchanged glances with the other four cabinet ministers below the stage, whose expressions were also different.

The others might not know, but these few knew exactly what was in that vast strait that wasn't marked with any ports or tourist attractions on the map.

Beneath the hidden rock walls on the seabed lies a nuclear waste discharge point that has been in use for over a decade.

That was a secret facility that was completed and put into use during the previous prime minister's term.

If he remembered correctly, the location of the coastline that route pointed to was almost exactly as described.

If this monster really is connected to that sewage outlet, then things are in serious trouble...

The thought of that twisted monster still hovering over Tokyo, and its tail that clearly resembled that of a whale.

Videos circulating online showing various marine creatures mutated due to nuclear wastewater contamination flashed through Abe's mind.

Beads of cold sweat quietly seeped from their foreheads.

Thinking of these terrible speculations, Abe could no longer sit still and hurriedly grabbed the microphone to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I just remembered something I forgot to mention."

"Due to the monster that is rampaging through Tokyo, a large number of factories and pipeline facilities will inevitably be damaged."

"Here, I propose that a group of people be assigned to inspect the pipelines, with a focus on the discharge pipelines of the nuclear wastewater treatment plants built in recent years..."

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"..."

As soon as the Prime Minister spoke, relevant personnel immediately stood up in response.

After making these arrangements, Abe's expression relaxed slightly.

Although I was still uneasy, I could only pretend that nothing had happened.

Fortunately, having spent many years in officialdom, he had long since developed a good mindset.

It took less than half a minute to adjust it.

He glanced at the time, then slowly stood up and, with the help of his secretary, put on his outer robe, forcing a fake smile on his face.

"Alright, everyone, the reporters are in position. It's time to go and calm the public down."

Upon hearing this, the cabinet ministers, including Kenji Ito, who were sitting opposite him, followed by officials of all ranks further away, stood up one by one.

They then followed behind Abe according to their rank.

Following the corridor of the temporary Cabinet Office, we headed towards the emergency press conference venue, which was already set up and bustling with activity in the square.

At this time, the outside world.

As the group of people in sharp suits entered the venue.

Under the watchful eyes of a noisy crowd.

A red carpet was laid out on the high platform where the pieces were piled up.

One after another, highly familiar high-ranking officials from Japan took office.

Instantly, the crowd gathered outside surged forward.

But they were quickly stopped by a human wall of uniformed security personnel.

The air was filled with numerous banners and shouts from the people.

However, only a few reporters who had made prior arrangements were able to enter the inner circle and wait to be interviewed and asked questions.

As the microphone was struck, a series of static sounds emanated from the speakers throughout the square.

Standing at the very front, Prime Minister Abe, dressed impeccably, read from his prepared remarks with a formulaic smile.

I answered questions from a group of pre-arranged reporters.

One by one, clarifications were issued by the political leader of the "Sakura Nation" regarding the sudden road closures and the inability to contact the Tokyo ward.

The speech then became intense and passionate.

Gradually, the accumulated inertia of rule over the years calmed the restless crowd and even sparked a wave of praise.

However, in a corner that no one noticed.

A man wearing a mask, a cheap gray T-shirt, glasses, and with messy short hair was standing in the crowd with his arms crossed.

He listened to the eloquent speech on stage, nodding and applauding from time to time.

Then, as if in high spirits, he took out what looked like a glass bottle of beer from his crossbody bag and took a big gulp without hesitation.

A pungent odor filled my brain.

The next moment, after swallowing the pale yellow liquid, Sato's expression immediately twitched, and he silently put the glass bottle down.

Like an ordinary member of the public watching a spectacle, one can only coldly observe the "clown" on stage, who is vividly depicting a future that has never come to pass.

"Pah~pah~pah~"

"That speech was truly wonderful..."

Sato had a cold smile on his lips as he spoke, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a cigarette and putting it in his mouth.

Immediately afterwards, he pulled out a tissue and stuffed it directly into the beer bottle that was already open.

"Click~"

The crisp sound of the lighter instantly attracted the attention of several people nearby, including the security personnel on guard a few meters away.

Sato simply moved the cigarette dangling from his mouth, raised the beer bottle in his hand, and smiled.

"Hehe~ Want a bottle?"

Seeing the security personnel look away, Sato didn't hesitate to bring the flame from his lighter closer to the inconspicuous tissue stuck in the bottle opening.

"Boom~"

Flames suddenly shot up, and orange-red flames instantly spread across the tissue paper, shooting straight into the pale yellow liquid inside the bottle.

In an instant, the previously normal flames were tinged with an eerie yellowish-white color and began to emit wisps of pungent black smoke.

At the same time, the flames spread instantly, scorching Sato's hand that was holding the bottle.

Accompanied by crackling and burning sounds, the skin and flesh quickly shrink, blister, and then crack.

However, Sato seemed oblivious, raising the bottle to his lips and taking a deep drag on the cigarette he was holding.

"Huh——~"

(End of this chapter)