Noda Kaname had aged a dozen years in just a few days. His hair had turned completely white, and his face was covered in wrinkles.
His resignation was inevitable, but before stepping down, he still had to come and take the blame one more time. Being prime minister to this extent was enough to bring anyone to tears.
But he had no choice. If he could still be made to take the blame, it meant he was still useful for that. If he couldn't even shoulder that, what good was he?
"Sir!"
Noda Kaname carefully weighed his words. "As agreed, we've completely destroyed our nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction. Is there anything else you require of us?"
The sheer submissiveness in his voice made Kitajima Maki furrow her brow. In the end, though, she only sighed inwardly and said nothing.
Fang Cheng smiled faintly. "I wouldn't call it a demand. I just want to make a deal with you."
A deal?
Noda Kaname didn't believe him for a second. He thought Fang Cheng was just looking for another chance to shake them down.
He put on an interested expression. "Please, go on."
Fang Cheng took a sip of tea. "I can make all the monsters in Area 11 disappear. Oh, except for Hokkaido."
The moment he finished speaking, the entire reception room fell silent.
Noda Kaname's eyes widened. He thought he'd misheard and glanced at the others. Their expressions were much like his.
They looked utterly incredulous, as if to say, "Are you messing with us?"
It had been nearly two hundred years since monsters first appeared. Humanity had paid an unimaginable price trying to wipe them out, yet had failed. Instead, the monsters had steadily encroached on humanity's living space.
Now Fang Cheng was casually claiming that