Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 244, Section 242: Dawn Shield

The monsters ravaged Tokyo as lava fell.

It can be said that the authorities have prepared many contingency plans, but they don't have any good countermeasures for the current urban warfare between the enemy and our side. They don't have many troops stationed in the rear, and even if they are urgently mobilized, they can only do so much.

Even if a large number of troops are withdrawn from the front lines now, without a systematic defense, it would undoubtedly be suicide missions.

The best approach would be to execute beyond-visual-range strikes, avoiding any contact as much as possible.

But those monsters have incredibly sensitive noses and specifically target crowded areas. You can't exactly launch a sweeping attack on those densely populated spots, can you? What kind of Russian-style rescue operation would that be? If you were to make such a decision, you probably wouldn't even need a military court trial.

Compared to this proposal, the Prime Minister suddenly felt that another proposal that had been making him hesitate was not so unacceptable.

Tokyo Bay, the Kaga is being converted into an aircraft carrier.

The prime minister and a group of senior officials were urgently evacuated here when Mount Fuji erupted for the first time, forming a temporary headquarters.

If they had been even a step too late, they would have had no choice but to hide in underground bunkers when the lava rained down on Tokyo.

"According to reports from the front lines, the monsters that have appeared in various locations have all shown the same shield as those in Kofu City, which is difficult to break. Although there are far fewer of them, each one is extremely powerful and enormous, and ordinary firepower is simply ineffective."

"Moreover, these monsters dissolve rapidly after they die, leaving a mass of matter that returns to Mount Fuji. According to experts, this may be a form of resurrection."

The Defense Minister's voice was hoarse, and his entire body was already soaked with sweat.

The Prime Minister stared silently at the images of various monsters causing destruction on the screen, and at the red dots on the map representing the appearance of monsters.

Slowly, his gaze stiffly shifted to the screen in the middle, which showed Mount Fuji, whose lava eruptions had temporarily ceased, but which was still spewing out large amounts of volcanic ash.

At that moment, he knew he could no longer afford to take any chances.

Mount Fuji, the sacred mountain in the hearts of the Japanese people for thousands of years, has been defiled and has become a nightmare and a jinx for all of Japan.

Since there's no way to deal with the monsters, we have to consider targeting Mount Fuji itself.

The principle of "capture the king first" applies worldwide.

As for what might lead to consequences such as an eruption of Mount Fuji or nuclear radiation.
We need to survive first! Besides, isn't there an eruption right now? Is volcanic ash harmless?
"Prime Minister, the cameras are ready."

".good."

He turned around, walked to a makeshift camera, took a deep breath, and dialed a number.

The phone rang for two seconds before being answered.

"Your Excellency the President," the Prime Minister's voice was somber, "I am the Prime Minister of Japan, and on behalf of all the people of our country and the cities suffering in distress, I earnestly appeal to our allies."

"We earnestly request your country to carry out a saturation strategic strike plan of the highest intensity towards the target area of ​​Mount Fuji—including, if necessary, the use of all destructive means, including nuclear strikes."

The entire command center was silent. Cabinet members lowered their heads, knowing that they could prepare to step down.

"For the survival of humanity, and to cut off the source of disaster, we have no other choice. Please provide assistance."

The Oval Office.

The communicator clearly transmitted the request signal in Japanese simultaneous interpretation.

The president listened with a somber expression, his hands clasped together.

The Stars and Stripes and the presidential flag in the background appear exceptionally bright and eye-catching.

When the interpreting ended, he faced the camera and gave an expression that was a mixture of compassion and determination, full of dramatic tension.

“Prime Minister,” he began slowly, “please believe that in this darkest hour, the United States stands with Japan. We will never abandon our allies struggling in this catastrophe. These twisted monsters are the common enemy of all mankind! To strike them is to defend the future of humanity!”

He made an extremely resolute accordion gesture: "As Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces, I order the immediate execution of the strike plan targeting Mount Fuji! All available strategic platforms, enter the highest level of alert and standby! Authorize the use of all necessary forces!"

He emphasized the last few words, the meaning of which is self-evident.

He turned to his solemn-looking assistant, who immediately opened the famous nuclear briefcase.

The president inserted the key and performed biometric authentication with the practiced ease of a rehearsal, a series of actions faithfully recorded by the cameras.

The whole process was eerily quiet, with only the faint ticking sound of the machine verifying the authenticity.

After completing the perfunctory authorization, the president addressed the camera, adding in a declarative tone:
May God bless our world and our people.

The camera was cut off.

The heavy atmosphere in the office seemed to instantly lighten by half.

The senior advisor beside him reopened the nuclear briefcase and whispered, "Mr. President, the yield of the non-nuclear hydrogen bomb in Plan Three is limited; it may not be able to completely destroy the target as expected."

The president leaned back in his chair, his previous expression of pity replaced by a calm contemplation: "What a pity. Then let's use the safest option. Tell the strategic commander, according to the first-level plan, four 4-kiloton bunker-buster hydrogen bombs, plus saturation-type conventional bunker-buster bombs, right?"

"Yes, the plan is codenamed Dawn Shield. However, the pollution will spread with the volcanic eruption over a very large area. Even with the most advanced methods, the cost of cleanup will be considerable, especially in the Tokyo metropolitan area. If evacuation and subsequent cleanup are not carried out in time, the death toll will be horrific."

"The clean technology can be exported to Japan, ha, whatever the price, they'll have to agree. Data collection priority is set to the highest. We need the most comprehensive impact effect data; this is a once-in-a-lifetime testing opportunity."

In reality, hydrogen bombs are not as clean as many people imagine. They still require fission as a trigger, which is the same as atomic bombs. When the quantity is large, pollution will spread.

Now we do have a non-nuclear hydrogen bomb, but its yield is quite limited and the technology is not yet mature. Otherwise, the President would not have given up this legitimate opportunity to conduct the experiment. After all, an experiment is just an experiment, and nowhere can it have the sample size of Tokyo.

After the Prime Minister hung up the phone, he seemed to age ten years in an instant.

He nodded to his subordinates, straightened his collar, and began an urgent national address, announcing a state of emergency and the distribution of nuclear protection supplies to all parts of the country.

Cities near Mount Fuji, including Tokyo, all sounded nuclear alerts. However, most people in this situation wouldn't bother to distinguish between this alert and a regular one.

The rooftop of the shopping center command center in Fujiyoshida City.

The monster's figure moved around the city, and the air was filled with smoke and the smell of gunpowder.

Ping Shenglong stood on the edge of the rooftop, watching as several ferocious, enormous monsters crawled out of the block and charged toward their conspicuous location.

The tremors beneath my feet intensified.

"Evacuation is complete! Get on board!" came the shout through the headset.

Ping Shenglong took one last look at Mount Fuji in the distance, then turned and walked quickly towards the nearest military transport helicopter whose rotors were churning up dust. A team member at the door reached out to meet him.

Just as he was about to board the plane, the building shook violently. A monster had charged in, smashing through a wall of the shopping mall. Smoke and dust filled the air, obscuring the monster's form, with only its roars escaping.

"go!"

The helicopter suddenly ascended, and amidst the violent turbulence, Ping Shenglong gazed down at the city below.

Various unmanned aerial vehicles continue to hold their ground throughout the city.

But how long can they last with limited ammunition replenishment? The answer is obvious.

The city is shrinking rapidly, and their goal is to retreat to a second, more rearward, and theoretically safer, defensive node.

Although Tokyo is currently in chaos, this chaos is barely acceptable compared to the potential appearance of hordes of monsters. They cannot abandon their well-organized defenses and rush back to support Tokyo; that would be suicide.

We can only hope that the extraordinary beings in Tokyo can step in and resolve part of the issue.

National Center for Mental Health Hospital.

A temporary shelter on the second basement level.

The heavy blast doors were tightly shut, isolating most of the apocalyptic clamor of the world above, but the muffled explosions and the tremors of the building structure still beat like drums, synchronized with the hearts of everyone huddled there.

The air was thick with the smell of sweat and pungent fear. Under the emergency lights, faces were pale, eyes vacant or filled with terror.

"Master, Director," a young caregiver's voice trembled uncontrollably, breaking the heavy breathing in the shelter, "Up there... there are still some patients up there... in the intensive care unit and the general wards... him... them."

She didn't dare to say what to do next, as if she herself felt it was unrealistic.

Chief Takeda's face was grim.

What should we do? Should we open this life-saving door now and rush out?

How many of those patients, especially the dangerous individuals in the compulsory care ward, would obediently comply at such a moment?
Not to mention what they just saw: the lava that landed on the restaurant across the street, and the ape-like monster that crawled out of it. That thing ate people like it ate berries, and it would even peel them (remove their clothes).

Going up now is incredibly risky!
But he couldn't say that directly, because this wasn't the real end of the world, and he had to maintain appearances.

His lips moved slightly, as he was about to concoct a plausible excuse, when his trusted doctor, a middle-aged man who was usually very good at reading people, saw this and immediately reprimanded the caregiver sternly.

"Idiot! Do you know what's going on outside?! Time is of the essence! If you want to do good deeds, go yourself, don't drag everyone down. You deal with those guys every day, don't you know how long it will take to convince them to evacuate? What if the monsters break in if they delay?! Director Takeda had to make this painful decision for the safety of all of us!"

“Yes! It’s true that you want to save people, but have you thought about what will happen to the dozens of lives here?” Someone immediately chimed in, their voice shrill.

"It was so difficult for us to get down here."

The accusations instantly overwhelmed the caregiver. Her face flushed crimson, and shame made it hard to breathe. She could only lower her head and stammer through a sob, "I...I'm sorry, sob...I didn't mean it."

Takeda's tense nerves relaxed slightly, and he gave his confidant an approving look.

He cleared his throat and, in a somber and helpless tone, tried to calm those around him: "Sigh, don't I want to save them? They are all our patients, but their conditions are critical. We must prioritize the greater good and ensure the safety of the majority of them—"

Guts!

Before he could finish speaking, a violent earthquake, far more intense than before, suddenly struck.

The entire underground space shook violently, the ceiling creaked overhead, and dust fell in a flurry.

Then came a sharp crack, and a crack appeared in the ceiling in the middle of the shelter!
"Ahhhhh!!"

"The top collapsed?!"

"A monster! Is it a monster?"

"Let us out! Let us out!"

"Damn Dean Fujiwara, I knew he must have embezzled that money back then!"

Cries and shouts raged inside the shelter.

Takeda waved his hands in vain, trying to maintain order: "Quiet, quiet, don't panic! This is a shelter, the structure is reinforced," but his voice was completely drowned out.

Amidst this hellish chaos, *chi*
A thin line shot out from the crack in the ceiling, and Takeda was looking up, his mouth agape as he roared at the commotion of the crowd.

And that strand of black silk instantly slid into his wide-open mouth.

"Yes, gu!!!"

Takeda's eyes bulged out instantly, and a strange gurgling sound came from his throat as if he were being choked.

He tried to struggle, but his body seemed bound by invisible shackles, frozen in place. The next second, from the crack in the ceiling, even more black threads cascaded down like a black waterfall bursting its banks!

These black threads, like dyed spider silk, instantly wrapped around Chief Takeda's head.

They coiled and tightened, covering his entire body in the blink of an eye, forming a constantly writhing and struggling black humanoid cocoon.

The scene instantly silenced the chaos, leaving everyone present dumbfounded.

"Uh, coo coo." A muffled sound, like an owl's coo, came from inside the black cocoon.

"Chief...Director?!"

Takeda's confidant was closest and witnessed this horrific scene; his mind went blank!

He let out a scream that sounded inhuman, scrambled around, and was the first to lunge at the heavy blast door.

Forget about dignity and colleagues; they all vanished in the face of the overwhelming fear of life and death. All he wanted now was to escape this horrible place!
"Open the door, open the door now!!" He frantically twisted the wheel, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"Help!"

"Don't catch me!"

"Let me out!"

The shelter completely collapsed, and everyone rushed towards the only exit like madmen.

The cracks in the ceiling resembled the wounds of a living creature, from which even more black threads gushed forth.

Like sentient tentacles, they whizzed through the air with a chilling sound, dancing wildly and penetrating into the bodies of individuals.

puff!puff!
The sounds of piercing were incessant.

One by one, people rushing toward the exit were precisely pierced through the thighs, shoulders, and backs by black stockings. They tried to grab onto anything they could, but to no avail, screaming as they were dragged off the ground by the powerful force.

Then, more black silk wrapped around them, turning them into black cocoons that hung in mid-air, accompanied by continuous, muffled gurgling sounds.

"Close it, close it now!"

The group of people who ran out were worried that the black silk would spread out, so they quickly held onto the door tightly and kept turning it, waiting for the pulling and tugging inside until the banging and wailing sounds inside gradually stopped.

Only then did they flee to other places, still shaken.

Suddenly, the faces of some of the strongest men shifted, and then their expressions changed instantly.

"No, it's just a monster, what's so scary about it?"

"That's right! We can handle these mere insects that are only worth a few pennies."

"Weapons! Quick, find weapons! Let's go kill the monsters!"

To the astonishment of the others, these men found a few sticks and steel pipes that could barely be considered weapons, and then rushed towards the stairwell.

"Are they... insane?" The remaining people murmured to each other, speechless for a moment.

(End of this chapter)