Chapter 601 - 589: Madam Long Falls

At approximately 18:00 on the 13th, as Lin Ju boarded the Y-20 aircraft to return to his country, he could still see the spectacular mushroom cloud on the horizon.

The second hydrogen bomb caused a 45-minute communication blackout on Yuanwang Seven, indicating that the yield was definitely more than the declared 700,000 tons based solely on this fact.

In the instant of the explosion, it seemed as though a super sun, dozens of times brighter, had risen from the ground, even casting long shadows from ships tens of kilometers away, turning the sky a ghastly pale.

The resulting mushroom cloud even covered the distant sky, making the area appear as if it had prematurely entered a gloomy and dim night, reminiscent of a storm at sea where the center presents a similar scene.

Upon the restoration of communication, they received a series of messages from home:

The first was about the yield; just 10 minutes after the explosion, planes flew to the blast zone and accurately measured the explosion’s yield to be as high as 1.25 million tons, 80% more than the expected yield.

So what were the consequences of this explosion? Pilots who went to survey reported that they could no longer find the landmarks of Fukushima Power Station...

The first explosion had already damaged the geological structure of the nuclear power plant. Before the residual heat from the first explosion had dissipated, a second strike was launched, directly collapsing the land around the power station for hundreds of meters, leaving behind a bay with an almost perfect circular shape.

Furthermore, due to the high temperature and pressure of the nuclear explosion, the land around the cliffs of the bay was compacted, exceptionally smooth, and covered with a significant amount of glassy material, which was easily distinguishable during an aerial survey.

If radiation were not a concern, this would be an excellent deep-water port...

As for the cleanup effect, there was no doubt; unmanned boats approaching the radiated waters collected samples and found that short-term radiation levels rose rapidly but would return to normal within a few days after the explosion.

The worrying residual contamination of the nuclear power plant proved to be minuscule, indicating that the cleanup of Reactor No. 2 had also yielded ideal results.

The second cleanup operation leaked more of its power to the exterior, with preliminary estimates suggesting over 900,000 tons – nearly nine times that of the first bomb, explaining why it appeared so much more spectacular to observers.

This also brought an unexpected effect: airborne residual radiation was somewhat cleared.

Most of the power of the first hydrogen bomb was released underground, but it also destroyed many surface tanks storing contaminated water, which would have caused significant pollution to the air and soil upon dispersion.

However, the second hydrogen bomb had an abundant yield leakage, incidentally addressing some of the residual radiation, tremendously reducing the yield requirement for the third hydrogen bomb – whether America would agree to that remains questionable.

As for why the yield did not match the announced figures, Russia provided an explanation: their nuclear expert Anton Eugene had made a miscalculation and was now suspended from duty, and he would undoubtedly be punished severely.

This reason was hardly convincing, at least not to Lin Ju, who had consulted a domestic expert on nuclear equipment before boarding the plane. The expert had only hinted:

"According to the personnel warning lines demarcated by the IAEA, the maximum controllable safe yield is between 1.2 to 1.3 million tons."

This made Lin Ju quite doubtful about what America would do. The first bomb with 340,000 tons, the second with 1.25 million tons, would they accept an intermediate value with a yield of 1 million tons? This is highly suspicious.

Clearly, due to the unexpectedly high yield of the second bomb, this cleaning operation had taken on a different flavor – or perhaps it was never just a simple radiation cleanup plan.

Perceiving that the situation was developing beyond expectations, Lin Ju made the decision to return to his country without hesitation, suspecting more complications could arise.

Similarly, the majority of the base staff and executives returned as well, as they could not stay abroad too long. Having witnessed two nuclear explosions, missing the third wasn’t a big deal to them.

By the time Lin Ju landed in the Capital, he indeed heard America’s reaction.

...

"We strongly condemn Russia’s unprofessional, imprecise, and utterly irresponsible actions. Such falsehood and concealment have severely threatened regional security and increased the potential danger to the residents of the radiation zone.

This unprofessional conduct also led directly to the injury of a pilot and the casualties of seven innocent people, the first instance of nuclear weapons causing harm in the 21st century, a serious challenge to international peace.

What’s more terrifying is that the radiation residue levels in the controlled area are far higher than expected...."

John stood on the lawn of Colorado State University, delivering his speech with vehement vigor.

Behind him were numerous members of Congress, adding a luxurious array to the press conference.

It was now only 7 a.m., and more than three hours had passed since the second hydrogen bomb was deployed. The high-level elites finally deigned to emerge from the Cheyenne Mountain Bunker, though they still dared not venture too far.

The launch of the E-4B Doomsday Command Aircraft had naturally put them on high alert. The yield exceeding the expectations concerned John for two hours, and it took him nearly 40 minutes of hotline calls to settle his doubts.

The IAEA’s cleanup plan A was actually the most perfect, taking into account the clearance effect while controlling the extent of the blast as much as possible, thus reducing subsequent reconstruction costs. Technically, it was the optimal solution.

However, John was highly dissatisfied with the yield sequence in the plan and ultimately found an excuse to execute plan B, in agreement with Russia which had the same idea.

Plan B was very satisfying to John, incrementally increasing from front to back, with the Pacific Fleet delivering the final, largest bomb, a perfect fit for his status.

However, Russia didn’t keep its word and brought out a 1.2 million-ton hydrogen bomb, while the Pacific Fleet had truly only prepared a 1 million-ton yield bomb!

God damn motherfuckers!

What further outraged John was that one hour after the explosion, the Pacific Fleet first discovered a group of intruders who had taken advantage of the intermission to enter the blast center 4.5 kilometers away by small boat.

In the end, this small team, consisting of six Islanders and five foreigners from four different countries, failed to capture the close-ups of the nuclear explosion as anticipated. Instead, they were severely injured by the high temperatures, the massive overpressure, and the overwhelming radiation. By the time a drone found them, seven were already dead, and the remaining four were in poor condition, all with severe burns. It was estimated they wouldn’t survive the night.

The rescue team that discovered this immediately organized a larger search party, looking everywhere for any individuals that might have slipped through the net. They didn’t find any audacious tourists, but they did discover the wreckage of a U-2 plane.

The Pacific Fleet immediately recognized it as a U-2 that had entered the radiation zone to collect samples not long ago and had lost contact after the explosion. They initially thought that the communication system might have been damaged in the nuclear blast, but it turned out that the plane had crashed.

According to the preliminary investigation at the scene, the crash seemed to have been caused by the pilot’s failure to adjust attitude in time, leading to the aircraft facing the blast shock on its side, which caused the slender left wing of the U-2 to be blown off. The pilot’s attempt to bail out failed, leaving him charred in the cockpit.