Chapter 549 - 538: Scientific Research Storm_1

Futaba District.

This is the district closest to the Fukushima First Nuclear Power Station, a mere 5 kilometers away by car.

Even without nuclear contamination, the massive earthquake of 2011 had a severe impact here, and after six years, almost the entire population of Futaba District had relocated, with less than one-tenth of the elderly remaining.

Apart from these elderly individuals, the only permanent residents were the staff of the Edo Electric Power Company, who had established several experimental rice fields here, hoping to gauge the recovery from contamination through annual harvests.

When the IAEA convoy entered the area, Tian Zhan saw people working in the rice paddies in the distance.

He jumped out of the off-road vehicle and gazed upon the foreign land, feeling a strange discomfort.

Here, the average radiation level exceeded 50 millisieverts, more than 20 times the normal value, but fortunately, it was still within controllable limits, and short-term entry did not require protective radiation suits.

Colonel Bailey, who belonged to the Pacific Fleet, also got out of the car. He was one of the rare US officers who could speak Chinese and had been assigned to ensure communication and coordination for the rescue team.

"Tian, look at these people clinging to the past, we need to gather them, distribute US dollars, and then relocate them."

Tian Zhan could quite understand the elderly’s attachment to their land, but he calmly replied,

"Allowing residents to return to contaminated land to live is inhumane; we indeed should take over this place."

The area around the nuclear power station was initially designated as a military control zone, extending from Miyagi county to Soma city on the bottom, and to Fukushima city on the left, encompassing about 5,000 square kilometers of land and an adjacent 5,000 square kilometers of maritime area.

Such a large area was more than sufficient; even a 10 million-ton hydrogen bomb would have a blast radius of only 15 kilometers, and a smaller 200,000-ton one would only have a radius of two or three kilometers.

Later, the IAEA proposed the establishment of an emergency response team, and the military control zone was transferred to the rescue team to become the "Fukushima Emergency Control Area," with efforts made to avoid contact with the military as much as possible.

But the rescue teams from other countries except America were still in preparation, and what Tian Zhan saw now were actually bona fide soldiers of America, just with their insignia removed and a red ribbon tied on their shoulders.

What, has the establishment of the Fukushima Emergency Control Area been agreed upon by the Island Country?

Tian Zhan automatically ignored this question, as by the time he had arrived, the perimeter of the control area was already being gradually outfitted with camps by the soldiers.

While they were inspecting Futaba District on-site, a patrolling F16 flew by at low altitude and supersonic speed.

After witnessing the F16 disappearing into the distance, he lowered his head only to find an old man standing in front of him, sizing up both him and his adjutant-cum-interpreter.

The old man looked at him with perplexity, examining his East Asian features, then his gaze fixated on his epaulette, his eyebrows furrowed tightly together.

The interpreter took a step forward and asked in Japanese if he needed anything, to which the old man blurted out,

"Are you the Eight Routes Army?"

The interpreter’s expression stiffened, and Tian Zhan quickly asked what the matter was.

"Captain, he’s asking if we are the Eight Route Army," the interpreter said.

Tian Zhan: "..."

He hadn’t expected to encounter an Old Ghost from the Showa Era here.

Currently, his identity was as the captain of the IAEA Anti-Chemical Emergency Support Rescue Team, but he still had yet to officially retire and transition, so after thinking for a moment, he extended his right hand, making a "V" sign:

"Tell him, we are no longer called the Eight Route Army, but we are still the soldiers of the people!"

After the interpreter conveyed the message, the old man’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed stiffly to the ground.

Colonel Bailey, standing by, widened his eyes at the scene and asked in confusion,

"What did you say to him that scared him so terribly?"

Tian Zhan adjusted his uniform and said indifferently,

"Guilty conscience makes one nervous.

Colonel Bailey, let’s confirm the stationing point again, I think that location is more suitable."

...

B-level Base.

"15 days, and we’ve directly raised 2.44 billion US Dollars."

Academician She looked at the fresh news with emotion. The IAEA’s post-disaster donation phase had ended, and to his surprise, it had all been gathered in just half a month, even exceeding the target by nearly 25%.

Of course, it’s not that people around the world are all kind-hearted; over 80% of the donations came from the East Asia region. Everyone wanted to avoid delays in the radiation cleanup operations.

Domestically, major enterprises competed to show off with high donation figures, and though they gave out a lot, they could earn it back quickly. Xinyuan Company even officially donated 300 million RMB, with employees raising 84 million, totaling 384 million RMB in donations.

This fundraising speed was terrifying; not even the wild charity concerts of Audrey and Michael Jackson in the 90s could match this pace. It could only mean that the people in the Asian region are too enthusiastic about international affairs.

"Who knows how much the IAEA will make this time? What other shenanigans are going on? Nuclear bombs only cost so much, they’re making a killing."

Lin Ju also agreed, a whole 2 billion US Dollars, even if the expenses for multinational rescue teams were included, there would still be a surplus.

So much for the leadership’s free rescue operations, they sure don’t skimp on doing business.

It’s said that this idea originally came from America—truly a sly move.

The two were now casually chatting in the base’s engine warehouse, where the robots were packing high-performance engines into wooden crates and loading them onto unmanned flatbed carts, ready for air transport to Jingu.

Xinyuan Company’s stockpile of over sixty 280-ton-class high-performance hydrogen-oxygen engines had truly made Academician She covetous. Whether for use in Core Stage One or retrofitting nozzles for the second stage, they were exceptional. Consequently, the Aerospace Agency snapped up twenty engines in one go for use in non-Long March series rockets.

Each engine cost 40 million, totaling 800 million RMB for the order, and that was with a one-time 20% discount from Lin Ju.

While they were talking, Lin Ju’s body stiffened suddenly, standing there in shock.

[Alert: Base newly added A+ Grade Scientist: Stephen Hawking, expertise: astrophysics, theoretical physics, mathematics, etc., research bonus increased by 0.5% (theoretical focus)]

[Alert: Base newly added A+ Grade Scientist: Roger Penrose, expertise: mathematical physics, astrophysics, quantum physics, etc., research bonus increased by 0.5% (theoretical focus)]

[Alert: Base newly added A+ Grade Scientist: Bob Roster, expertise: quantum physics, condensed matter physics, mathematics, etc., research bonus increased by 0.7% (theoretical focus)]

[...]

A series of system alerts flashed crazily, repeating like background noise, and a succession of A+ Grade Scientists kept pouring into the base’s research institute, bringing a continuous sense of palpitations.

"Lin Ju, what’s the matter with you?"

Academician She was greatly surprised by Lin Ju’s sudden change in expression. The latter, after leaving a remark about an upset stomach, hurriedly left, leaving Academician She pondering over what he had eaten for lunch.

By the time Lin Ju rushed to the restroom, the stream of information in his mind hadn’t ceased, and he even glimpsed an "S Grade" message flashing by, causing him to feel a tingle on his scalp.

He immediately thought of Ye Changsi’s plan to absorb scientists from The World Things Association. Had it actually succeeded?!

At the very least, there were a few A Grades, but the majority were A+, and there was even an S Grade?

Over a hundred such strong research forces, even if they did nothing but research, would result in an astonishing increase in the base’s research efficiency alone, at least doubling the improvement.

With such a terrifying harvest, what kind of reaction would the system have?