The Bitter Fruit Planted by Humans (1/2)

Flying for minutes and fighting for seconds—the flight time far exceeding the combat time was truly absurd.

As a light fighter, the cockpit of the GUTS Wing 1 was too cramped to perform any rescue operations, so Zhou Hong had to fly back to base at top speed to pilot the brand-new GUTS Wing 2 for the mission.

By the time the rescue work was finished, dusk had already fallen. The crimson glow of the setting sun merged the sky and the sea into a single shade of red, and amidst the shimmering, rippling waves, the fighters returned to the TPC Far East Headquarters.

It was at this moment that Daigo heard something in Shinjoh's words that made him feel quite uneasy.

Although Shinjoh claimed it was just a rumor, Daigo could not settle his mind.

He scurried over to Rena's side in a few steps, blurting out some rather dense, "straight-guy" remarks.

He was promptly left in the dust by Rena, and Zhou Hong patted Daigo on the shoulder, offering comfort: "Women are just like that sometimes. No matter what happened, apologizing is always the right move."

"I don't get it, Ah Hong. What does that even mean?"

"Why bother trying to understand? Just apologize and be done with it." Zhou Hong didn't understand it either, yet he spoke with the confidence of a seasoned veteran.

Because he had participated in the operation, Zhou Hong was kept in the Command Room to prepare for the post-battle debriefing.

"The analysis report on that monster is out."

"Its body is carrying a massive amount of radioactive rays." As Yazumi said this, he suddenly looked up. "According to our observations, that monster is likely a fish that mutated after a leak from an underground nuclear test site."

"The monster, codenamed Raybeak, is a massive source of radiation."

As Yazumi spoke, he looked at the teammates who had just returned from the rescue mission with a hint of fear in his eyes.

These guys had just returned from deep within that very area.

"Which son-of-a-bitch did this? If they were standing in front of me, I'd bash their brains in," Zhou Hong's face darkened, and he cursed aloud.

Dumping nuclear waste into the ocean or whatever—they can all go to hell!

The plot never mentioned this! Wasn't it supposed to move on to Izu after the battle?

Is this the true face of the world?

He knew his own immune system would be fine, but he certainly couldn't go home now.

Moreover, he would have to be even more careful about eating fish in the future; this nuclear test had effectively cut off the path for future generations.

Munakata and the others also wore somber expressions; they were the ones who would have to go back to take anti-radiation medication and undergo decontamination.

Suddenly, Zhou Hong's expression changed, and he shouted: "Yazumi, seal the doors to the Command Room and lock down the corridors! Don't let the Director in!"

Megumi Iruma reacted instantly. The Director had left the Command Room midway through due to other business, and now that the operation was over, his personality dictated that he would certainly return to check on things.

"Yazumi, lock the Command Room doors and notify everyone at headquarters to stay away from the path the GUTS team took. Send the message immediately."

"Broadcast the alert and tell the people at the rescue station not to leave; implement full quarantine measures."

The Command Room was now practically filled with radiation carriers.

They had already walked through corridors and other areas, but since they hadn't lingered, it was unclear how much contamination had been left behind.

There was no time to worry about whether the Director had been exposed outside; with so many radiation sources in this room, he absolutely could not be allowed to enter.

"Let's move away from the Captain and Yazumi," Munakata immediately set an example, sitting back and moving a long distance away.

Although it might be of little use, increasing the distance between each other gave people the feeling that they would probably be fine.

"No wonder I felt a bit dizzy after coming back." Hearing these words, Shinjoh began to succumb to the delusion that he was a goner. "Am I never going to be able to say goodbye to Mayumi?"

"I just started dating Minako, too."

"Hey! Stop being an idiot, it's not that easy to die!" Horii slapped his thick thigh in anger. "I will solve these problems."

"Horii! I'm counting on you, think of something fast!" Munakata shouted.

"Leave it to me, it'll be absolutely fine." Horii thumped his chest loudly.

Not for anything else, but for the sake of his future happy life and to keep on living, he had to go all out.

Given Horii's miraculous track record, Daigo and Rena were not panicked in the slightest.

On the contrary, Shinjoh, who had only just started dating thanks to his sister's help, was exceptionally anxious.

Sure enough, after waiting for a short while, Horii brought out a reliable-looking device.

According to him, eliminating the radiation wasn't difficult; the troublesome part was repairing the cells, which took up most of the time.

Watching the radiation levels on the detection instruments drop rapidly as the device restored the altered cells to their original state, Zhou Hong, a brute force fighter, was left stunned by the black technology.

After all, if they could crack something like a shrinking ray in a short amount of time, they certainly had ways to deal with these old-fashioned wartime hazards.

Director Sawai, unable to enter the Command Room, joined the meeting through other means.

The large screen in the Command Room displayed Director Sawai's image. "I have already learned about the situation regarding Raybeak through the data."

"The bitter fruit planted by our human experiments is something we must now bear ourselves."

"The enemy comes not only from distant alien planets; our own actions are causing changes in places we cannot see."

"In the depths of the far-off ocean, or hidden deep within the earth."

"That monster is a victim of our human experiments; the harm we inflicted upon it has rebounded onto us, and you have all felt the consequences of its actions."

Everyone had personally experienced the negative status effects caused by the nuclear radiation; if not for our advanced technology, we would have all been "laughing and joking" our way to a game over before long.

"We have failed Raybeak."

"However, that monster—Raybeak—must be eliminated by any means necessary."

"Everyone, give it your all."

As a massive, mobile source of radiation, the impact would be terrifying if Raybeak were left to roam unchecked.

The mutation of fish, the radiation threat to coastal areas, and even the possibility of ships out at sea being attacked by the monster—the lingering radiation left in the wake of Raybeak's movements would be an invisible threat constantly looming over the people.

Although the order was to give it their all, the current lack of underwater reconnaissance equipment made it impossible to determine Raybeak's exact location.

After hearing Director Sawai's words, everyone could only return to their rooms to sleep, waiting for the chance to track down Raybeak's trail tomorrow.

Vote for me! The second update will be at ten o'clock, or perhaps even earlier; I'm doing my best to slack off while on the night shift!