cicada

Chapter 1524 "Blooming"

Ten hours ago.

A group of uninvited guests arrived at Miyajima, more than ten kilometers southwest of Hiroshima. Fu Ling led a few junior agents to climb Mount Miya, the highest peak on the island, but the group was stopped by police officers as soon as they reached the top.

"Who are you? What is your purpose here?" The police officer looked at the group with suspicion.

Fu Ling took out her identification and calmly pointed to the wooden box carried by the little spy, replying, "We are employees of Kadokawa Pictures. We are here to film the city sunrise. This is the camera."

The officer took the identification, looked at it, and after confirming there were no problems, he bowed sharply and handed the identification back: "Excuse me, Private Marseille."

Film companies during wartime had close ties with intelligence agencies. Since the other party had a legitimate reason to stay on the mountaintop, the police officers did not want to cause trouble and turned around and left.

Watching the police officers walk away, Fu Ling nodded to the junior agent: "Assemble the camera."

Upon hearing her order, the junior agents opened the wooden crate, skillfully assembled the camera parts inside, and pointed the lens at the city of Hiroshima across the bay.

After they finished, one of them asked in a low voice, "Why did headquarters send us to film Hiroshima? Are the US military going to bomb it again?"

When the US military bombed Tokyo a while ago, they filmed the destructive effects of incendiary bombs, which is why the little spy asked this question.

"Shut up. Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. Don't forget the family rules."

Another junior agent glanced at Fu Ling and muttered a curse at the speaker: "If you want to survive long in this line of work, you have to learn to control your mouth and eyes."

The little spies dared not speculate any further and obediently began preparing for the filming. Fu Ling stood on the edge of the cliff, gazing into the distance. The sky gradually darkened, and Mount Mi was utterly silent.

As the city lights gradually dimmed, Fu Ling began to consider the purpose of the headquarters' arrangement.

First, something is bound to happen in Hiroshima, with bombing being the most likely scenario.

Because Hiroshima suffered minimal damage in previous bombing raids, and its urban layout and buildings remained largely intact, it was deemed worthy of bombing.

Furthermore, the relatively flat terrain and dense urban structure of Hiroshima helped concentrate the blast shockwave and expand the area of ​​damage.

Furthermore, Hiroshima, as one of Japan's most important military centers, was the location of the Second Army Headquarters and possessed numerous military supply facilities, arsenals, and transportation lines. Bombing Hiroshima would severely damage the morale of the Japanese army.

Secondly, the bombs dropped by the US military were not ordinary bombs or incendiary bombs.

Because the US military had already dropped these two types of bombs on Japan several times, and the Military Intelligence Bureau had also filmed them, there was no need for headquarters to send them to do the same work.

But what kind of bomb could it be? Fu Ling remembered the equipment they were carrying for this mission and immediately called out to her subordinates, "Bring the equipment here."

Before long, the little spy brought out the equipment hidden in the woods—several sets of one-piece chemical protective suits.

Unlike ordinary chemical protective suits, these suits, which were temporarily modified according to headquarters orders, had lead blocks added to the lining, and the mask lenses were replaced with welder's goggles.

Fu Ling carried the heavy protective suit, recalling the orders from the mountain city: strictly prohibiting approaching the urban area, and in case of any abnormal situation, immediately taking stable iodine tablets and undergoing thorough disinfection before returning to the safe house.

Combining various clues, she was shocked. Could the US military be about to deploy biological weapons?
Thinking of the horrors of biological weapons, Fu Ling hurriedly instructed her subordinates to be prepared and to take iodine tablets and put on protective suits as soon as they heard the air raid siren.

The junior spies weren't stupid either; they guessed the same possibility, and their expressions became tense, their palms sweating.

The next morning arrived in the blink of an eye. The morning mist had not yet dissipated, but the citizens of Hiroshima came out of their homes one after another, and the streets gradually regained their vitality.

Just after eight o'clock, the sounds of cicadas and sporadic car horns reached Mishan. Fu Ling, who had stayed up all night, showed no signs of fatigue, her eyes constantly scanning the sky.

Just as she was wondering if the headquarters' intelligence was wrong, loudspeakers throughout Hiroshima started blaring. The citizens of Hiroshima reacted quickly and all ran toward the air-raid shelters.

"Take your medicine now!"

Fu Ling shouted, threw the iodine tablet into her mouth and swallowed it in one gulp, then quickly put on her protective suit.

At the same time, a B-29 bomber appeared in the sky above Hiroshima, with the words "Enola Guy" written on the left side of the nose.

This B29 belonged to the 509th Mixed Flight Group. After taking off from Tinian Island, it maintained high-altitude cruising and was not intercepted at all.

A U.S. military pilot peered out the window. The fog below had cleared, visibility was good, and the outlines of rivers, bridges, and streets were clearly visible. The pilot pressed his throat communicator and gave orders.

"Perform final preparation procedures."

The next second, the Enola Guy entered its final course, flying over Hiroshima at the pre-planned speed and altitude.

At 8:15 a.m. Tokyo time, the B-29's sights were aimed at a bridge, the automatic bomb release system was activated, and huge bombs fell into the air through the open hatch.

On Mount Mi, the junior agent slowly turned the camera crank, while Fu Ling stood beside him, holding a telescope and aiming it at the sky. They quickly spotted the black dot.

Is there only one plane?

Fu Ling's voice, transmitted through the hazmat suit to the junior agent, sounded somewhat distorted. Everyone looked through the binoculars, but only saw the bomber rapidly departing. For some reason, the bomber was retreating at an astonishing speed, even leaving black smoke trails from its engines—a sign of the engines operating at overpowered speed.

The camera clicked away as Fu Ling watched the plane fly further and further away. Suddenly, a flash of light streaked across her vision①, which was still very dazzling even through the highest-grade welder's goggles.

Immediately, a huge red fireball rose into the sky above the city, expanding at an astonishing speed, and the shockwave it generated swept over buildings, forests, and roads.

At the epicenter, roof tiles of a house were blown into the air like leaves, the main structure of the house completely collapsed, and the people standing in front of the door disappeared instantly.

It wasn't blown away, nor was it blown to death; it was like firewood after it had burned, which was completely reduced to nothingness by a gust of wind.

Aboard the Enola Gay in the air, the tail gunner removed his goggles and looked back at a spectacular mushroom-shaped plume of smoke rising from the ground, at least a mile wide, with a fiery red core.

The plume of smoke, like an angry monster, hurtled in all directions at nearly 10 miles per minute. The city of Hiroshima had vanished, and the earth was ablaze.

Housing, offices, temples, hospitals, shops, kiosks, restaurants, factories, buses, schools, animals, people... all became fuel.

The once sturdy steel structure melted like a candle, and rubble and human bones fused into an unrecognizable mass. The clock with its molten hands lay silently on the ground, recording the exact moment of the explosion.

Tens of thousands of Japanese died, and where they had died, only a small pile of charred, smoking ash remained scattered among the ruins of Hiroshima's streets.

The moment the flash went off, Fu Ling and the junior agent immediately lay prone with their backs to Hiroshima, as required by headquarters. Although they didn't know why, everyone strictly followed the orders.

The group trembled slightly, not because they were cowardly, but because this weapon was beyond their comprehension.

Only then did everyone hear a loud bang, so loud it sounded like thunder exploding overhead.

The agents atop Mount Mi also felt the power of the shockwave; the air became viscous as the strong winds passed, and everything began to shake violently.

Several junior agents got up and desperately held down the tripod, finally managing to stabilize the camera and prevent it from flying into the air.

As the aftershocks subsided, the sky turned an unnatural blue, the leaves remained motionless, and the whole world fell into silence.

If it weren't for the mushroom-shaped column of smoke still visible in the distance, the little spies would have doubted whether they were dreaming. But the burning city doesn't lie, and the trees blown askew by the wind don't lie either.

After a long while, Fu Ling murmured, "The war is over, we can go home now."

Having been away from the Republic of China and infiltrated the enemy's heartland for more than ten years, she missed the Osmanthus Duck of Nanjing and the brothers who had fought alongside her.

An hour later, the communications center of the 509th Mixed Battalion on Tinian Island was packed with people, including senior officers and technicians, all waiting for news from the Enola Guy.

To stay alert, everyone gulped down black coffee, their hearts pounding.

Did that weapon explode?
Was the Enola Gay shot down?

Tired, haggard, and tense faces kept looking at the wall clock. The clock ticked away, and at 9:19 a.m., the radio's indicator light came on.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the telegraph operator quickly copied and deciphered the coded message. After finishing, he waved the telegram paper around and loudly announced the good news.

"Weapon deployed, target confirmed visually! Aircraft normal operation after bombing!"

"Good job!"

Cheers erupted in the communications center; people hugged each other, threw their hats into the air, and everyone knew that the war was now in its final countdown.

Because all of Hiroshima's communication equipment was destroyed, the Japanese government received the news later than the US military. It wasn't until the afternoon of that day that Tokyo learned from various sources that Hiroshima had been destroyed by some kind of powerful bomb.

However, the Japanese leadership blocked the news and told the public that the Hiroshima disaster was caused by a meteorite, while still clamoring for "fighting to the death" and "one hundred million people dying for the Emperor."

mountain city.

Zuo Zhong received two top-level coded telegrams, one from Gui Youguang and the other from Fu Ling. Sunlight streamed onto the table, making the pristine white paper seem to glow with warmth.

The flowers have bloomed; the photos will be sent back to my hometown shortly.

Southeast Asian guerrillas reached an agreement to jointly form a political party to participate in postwar elections and promote national self-determination.

After reading the secret telegram, Zuo Chong went to the rooftop alone and stood silently for a long time, looking at the bustling street, filled with mixed emotions.

After more than a decade of bloody battles, the sacrifice of tens of millions of people, the loss of vast swathes of land, and countless patriots leaving their homes and children behind, risking their lives to defend their country, we have finally seen the dawn of victory.

Zuo Zhong let out a long breath, as if to sweep away the pent-up emotions in his chest, and then he narrowed his eyes.

The reaction of the Japanese high command was exactly the same as in history. In that case, it is time for Okamoto Shigenobu, the spiritual mentor of the pro-imperial faction and the mastermind behind the 226 Incident, to make a comeback.

① With a small yield, the main kill zone is already outside 3–4 kilometers away, and 15 kilometers is insufficient to trigger acute radioseptic disease.