Eh? You want to try the humanoid girl's iron fist too?

Seeing Eric's serious expression, Paul also became serious. He sat up straight in the recliner, his back ramrod straight.

"Tell me what happened, Eric?"

"The Seventh Fleet will completely withdraw from Yokosuka Port within the next two months, and the base facilities will be handed over to the Japanese for their own disposal."

"Have the people in the White House gone mad?"

"No, they were prepared. That's all I can tell you. Anyway, the harbor is going to be very lively tonight."

The noisy telephone on the bulkhead suddenly rang loudly. Paul picked up the receiver without thinking.

"This is the wing commander... I understand, I'm coming right now." He hung up the phone. "The helicopter squadron has already taken off."

"Then let's go too."

Eric arrived at the aircraft carrier command center in just two minutes and took charge of the nighttime recovery operation.

The soldiers in the intelligence gathering and combat zone next door were almost driven crazy by the constant stream of information. They were all so busy that they didn't have time to rest. They were either filling out reports or making phone calls.

The bustling atmosphere was almost comparable to a scene from a war.

……

Camp David, the presidential retreat.

“The situation is far too complicated,” the National Security Advisor commented. “I don’t like it to have gotten to this point.”

“I’m the same,” President Waller agreed, “but is it necessary to delegate the authority to launch weapons to the Ronald Reagan Strike Group?”

"From my perspective, I suggest you be demoted."

"However, many people would say that fire should only be used in self-defense, Waler!"

The president picked up his glass, flicked the rim with his finger, and said self-deprecatingly, "I wonder how many people are hoping I'll get out of here now."

After he finished speaking, he turned around, picked up the phone, and dialed the Minister of Defense.

"Forward this order to the USS Ronald Reagan and notify the battle group that I want them to conduct full-scale combat readiness air patrols."

Any movement beyond 200 nautical miles must be reported immediately. If an intruder enters within 200 nautical miles, the battle group commander may decide whether to take action.

If a submarine is encountered, the warning radius is 50 nautical miles. Any target that enters this warning range must be destroyed!

When he issued the order, his voice was accompanied by the imposing aura he had developed from being in a high position, making it impossible to tell that he was a fool who was constantly being berated by reporters at press conferences.

50 nautical miles is the limit. In past anti-submarine exercises held within the navy, someone actually managed to ambush an aircraft carrier battle group with torpedoes at this distance.

Although many coincidences are common, when they are linked together, they become unprecedentedly shocking.

Volume 1: The World Before the Great War: Chapter 136 Earthquake

The unusual actions of the U.S. Navy immediately became the biggest news in Japan, and anyone you asked on the street could say something about it.

However, most of them believed that this was standard practice for Americans.

After all, the Russian Pacific Fleet has been operating in the waters of the Southern Kuril Islands, and the two have been at odds since the beginning of the Cold War.

On January 5th, the festive atmosphere had faded, but all signs indicated that the problems in Japan had become more serious.

In an effort to de-escalate the situation, the Heritage Management Office held a press conference to explain the reasons for their visit to the Shinfuyama site and promised to conduct a more thorough sealing operation after the inspection was completed.

To be honest, this promise had some effect.

Besides the ferocity people displayed in the recent protests, there was also a kind of rage born of exhaustion, containing impatient doubt:

We've been protesting for over a month now. When are these bastards finally leaving their homes?

Winter break was almost over, and Raphael had no intention of returning to high school. She sat at her computer, looking at a map, pondering the purpose of the U.S. Navy's sudden mass departure the previous night.

Because she wasn't part of the Seventh Fleet, she could only learn the most basic information online—the "Ronald Reagan" carrier strike group was about to head to the waters off Iwo Jima for training.

Why go so far?

Confused, she first tried to call Director Harry, but all she heard was a busy signal.

Raphael desperately wanted to contact the agency, but the dedicated line the CIA had given her was now a dead number.

Something's happened!

She woke up the still-sleepy Lingyin, and told Feibiao to put aside her breakfast preparations for the time being, and together they went into the garage workshop to take stock of the firearms, equipment and supplies on hand once again.

Suddenly, Raphael noticed the lights swaying back and forth, and the tables and chairs in the armory were shaking. She turned to Rin and said, "Don't shake your leg..."

Lingyin looked at her and said, her voice trembling, "It wasn't me, it was an earthquake..."

What place is it?

“Futaba District, Fukushima Industrial Zone, eastern offshore, Level 9.”

Asuka glanced at Raphael with a puzzled look. They were both thinking in the same direction: the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet had perfectly avoided the effects of the ocean earthquake.

"The tsunami warning height is 6 meters."

"Damn it, the problem isn't with the ruins, but with the coastal nuclear power plant in Futaba County."

Raphael knew that all the units operating there were General Electric's first-generation commercial boiling water reactors, whose safety performance was highly questionable.

In the 70s, the BWR boiling water reactor was certainly advanced.

Compared to pressurized water reactors, boiling water reactors are theoretically much less likely to experience pipe ruptures and core meltdowns due to their simpler systems and fewer pipes and welds.

The problem is that these units are already 50 years old.

What's even more disastrous is that... the power station's wave-resistant facilities are insufficient to withstand the waves, and its backup emergency generators are located underground, rather than at a higher position where they could avoid the waves.

If seawater floods into the basement where the generators are stored, it means that these five units will have no backup power, their cooling cycles will malfunction, and ultimately lead to a steam explosion.

Therefore, backup diesel generators are crucial for maintaining the power supply of a power plant in emergency situations.

When Asuka heard Raphael's exclamation, he immediately inquired about the status of the Futaba County nuclear power plant.

“The backup generator was destroyed by the seawater,” she said.

After a long silence, Raphael suggested, "Let's prepare to leave too; this place is doomed."

How could that be?

"The facility's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, is playing dead, and no one in the political arena has come forward to express their stance."

This is already a warning sign.

"What did Chief Harry say?" Lingyin bit her finger. "Didn't he tell us to stay here and wait?"

"Indeed, we must stand by."

Raphael felt uncomfortable all over at the thought of it.

Even though the sensors in various parts of my body didn't send any abnormal tactile signals, it felt like the discomfort was completely simulated by my mind.

"I just think... with most people's attention drawn to the nuclear power plant accident in Futaba County, the care of the Nobuoyama ruins is very likely to be in trouble."

"You mean, illegal intrusion?" Asuka exclaimed in surprise.

If we consider it this way, it is indeed very possible that not everyone can guarantee that their energy and attention will remain focused on the direction they should be paying attention to.

She chuckled awkwardly and said, "Nothing should happen, right? Haha?"

The lattice containing the collapse fluid in the ruins is indeed very solid. There are two ways to open it: one is to use the facilities inside the ruins, and the other is to use high-energy explosives to forcibly destroy it.

Japan's control over explosives is barely adequate; it is very difficult for ordinary people to obtain high-grade explosives and detonators for detonation.

A simple natural disaster is tolerable, but if misfortune strikes again and people make mistakes, then it's all over.

Lingyin took out her iPad and said, "News reports say that the reactor operator urgently inserted the fuel control rods to cut off the chain reaction."

"It's meaningless."

Raphael commented indifferently:

"It is correct that a normal shutdown requires the insertion of control rods into the reactor core."

The problem is that even after the chain reaction ends, the short-period nuclides in the fission fragments continue to decay rapidly, releasing a large amount of heat.

In addition, the critical reaction requires reaching the critical mass, although the critical mass of a bare, highly enriched uranium metal sphere is only 48.8 kg.

However, the critical mass also varies with density, reflective layer, and geometry.

The uranium salt solution also needs to consider the moderating effect, ensuring that a continuous chain reaction does not occur after the control rod is inserted…

"Raphael, have you forgotten the abundance of fuel pounds?"

Asuka deftly inserted the fully loaded magazine into the receiver and then pressed the release button to hold the magazine empty.

With a clatter, the bolt engaged, and the firing pin reached its designated position.

At this point, simply pulling the trigger will ignite the primer of the bullet with the firing pin.

Her tone was icy, and her face was cold as she said:

"The fuel rods in the reactor core weigh several hundred tons. Even if the enrichment is only 2%, the mass of uranium reaches several tons or even tens of tons."

Although such a large amount of uranium gathered together will not undergo a fission reaction, the heat generated by the decay alone is enormous.

"A total of 880 tons."

Raphael took a deep breath. The next thing a normal person should do is to send a diesel generator set from another location to the power plant to restore external power supply.

It has to be done before the remaining passive cooling water is burned off, otherwise the dry-burning state will lead to core meltdown.

In addition, the crew operators should immediately try to clear the hydrogen gas that has accumulated above the pressure vessel to avoid a hydrogen explosion.

In this regard, she could not offer any help and could only leave it to TEPCO to handle the situation on its own.

The next focus will be on the Nobuoyama Ruins in Fukushima City. Hopefully, the management there will be strict enough to prevent it from developing as she envisions.

Curious members of the public can sneak in without much trouble, but they don't know how to avoid surveillance or erase their tracks, and they'll be arrested very quickly.

What's truly terrifying is the presence of combatants with ulterior motives, who could infiltrate and trigger a real crisis.

hum-

The phone vibrated, and Raphael grabbed it, opened it, and yelled at the person on the other end, "Did you all know this would turn out like this?!"

"Raphael, calm down."

"How can anyone stay calm in this situation?"

"Under current technological conditions, earthquake prediction is impossible. Earthquakes can only be warned after they occur, not predicted in advance; this is a consensus in the scientific community."