“Mr. Akiyama, this is the casualty report up until just now.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Yaro.”
“Mr. Akiyama, here are the reports on building damage and evaluations of nuclear radiation intensity. The situation in the southern city district… is not optimistic.”
“Hmm, hand me the data. You should take a rest, Zhang.”
“Mr. Akiyama, the senator is calling for you, and Mr. Akiyama, your wife will definitely be fine!”
“I understand. Thank you for your wishes. I’ll go there shortly.”
“Mr. Akiyama, what time is the press conference scheduled for today?”
“2 PM. By the way, help me send this disaster report to General Arita. You can all leave after that. It’s already late.”
“It’s not a problem… How can we possibly leave today… Moreover, compared to me, you should take a proper rest. You’ve been acting a bit crazy today…”
…
First login, 15 hours later.
March 17th, 2208, exactly 04:00. The Hokkaido Government Hall was still brightly lit, with everyone working diligently.
The government hall was supposed to close at 19:00, but today no one was resting. Every person forced themselves to stay alert, handling the continuous flow of reports in their hands.
“The population survey for the North City district is in. 8,720 deaths and 12,321 missing persons…”
“The total number of affected buildings has been fully accounted for. There are 1,450 buildings completely reduced to ruins, and a total of 53,191 buildings contaminated by nuclear radiation…”
After 14 hours of intense work, everyone’s energy was completely drained. However, under such high pressure, no one quit, and no one complained.
Because they knew that by working one more minute, they might be able to save more lives.
“The casualty reports for all the districts, east, west, south, and north, have been compiled. The severely affected areas with a possibility of a large number of survivors are here, here, and here. Planning team, we need you to plan the fastest rescue routes. We apologize for keeping you up tonight.”
“Akiyama, what are you talking about? As the Minister of Emergency Management, you must be the most exhausted… Don’t worry, we’ll handle the planning. You go and focus on your tasks. Rest assured, we will find them.”
“Okay then, goodbye. I’m hanging up.”
Ending the live broadcast, Akiyama Ryo walked out of the remote projection room, dragging his exhausted body through the hurried crowd and squeezing into the elevator.
“Floor?”
“The top-floor conference room, thank you.”
There weren’t many people in the elevator, as most would send documents via computer if the floor was too far away.
Usually, highly classified documents would be sent in paper form for security reasons, but today was different. It was too busy, and if they relied on people to deliver classified documents, the efficiency would be too slow.
So today, regardless of the type of document, everyone is using computers. In fact, to obtain real-time information about the disaster, the government’s internal network is directly connected to computers on-site.
If there were skilled hackers, this would be a good opportunity to breach the government’s network and potentially gain fame in one fell swoop.
Under normal circumstances, some people might take advantage of this opportunity to do something, but today is not a normal day.
“We’ve reached the top floor.”
“Okay.”
Stepping quickly out of the elevator, Akiyama Ryo exerted his remaining energy and jogged down the corridor to the entrance of the conference room. After knocking on the door, he pushed it open.
“Akiyama-kun, you’re the last one. You’re a bit late.”
“Sorry.”
Upon entering the room, Akiyama Ryo’s first glance fell on his superiors and several ministers of equal rank, as well as two generals from the stationed military.
They were sitting at the edge of the conference room’s round table, wearing serious expressions as they gazed towards the center of the table.
At the center of the conference room’s table, several dozen motionless figures were projected in three-dimensional form.
Below these projected figures, a countdown was nearing zero.
He had a general idea of why the senator called him here.
Nodding in acknowledgment and offering another apology to the seated individuals, Akiyama Ryo found the nearest seat and sat down. Like everyone else present, he focused his gaze on the projection in the center of the table, waiting for the countdown below to reach zero.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0.
As the countdown reaches zero, the motionless figures in the projection began to show slight movements. They “came alive.”
Similar to the people at the round table, the projected figures also sat upright, facing the individuals at the round table, and delivered their emergency plans discussed by various departments over the past ten hours in English.
“Senator Amano, after discussions, the committee has decided to temporarily halt trade in the northern port area of Hokkaido and designate it as a temporary rest and refit area for the Indian Ocean Fleet until that thing is subdued.”
“Generals Luo and Alexei, together with Senator Amano, you should prepare the port where the fleet will dock. The fleet is scheduled to arrive at… your location tonight at 20:00. We hope you can clear the port before their arrival.”
“All docking vessels will be redirected to the urban areas of Tokyo, Osaka, and Busan. Additionally, Mr. Chester, the Pacific Fleet Commander-in-Chief, will arrive at your location promptly at 20:00 to discuss the detailed process of this joint operation.”
“The detailed information about the Indian Ocean Fleet will be sent later. Generals Luo and Alexei, as representatives of the local garrison, your main task in this operation is to support the local material supply for the Indian Ocean Fleet.”
“This is a military proposal. As for the disaster relief plan for Gravadamoni… due to the local government’s current loss of administrative capabilities, Senator Amano, we entrust the urban planning to you.”
“An hour from now, rescue teams from Asia, Europe, and the Americas will arrive. The Minister of Emergency Management of Hokkaido should prepare for reception and coordinate the rescue efforts.”
“Rescue supplies, including emergency food, clothing, and temporary housing, will arrive at your airport in three hours via airlift. We need at least three airports cleared for transportation.”
…
“These are the results of our discussions. Farewell, for the future of humanity.”
“Farewell, for the future of humanity.”
The projection disappeared.
The meeting lasted for a total of 35 minutes. During this time, representatives from various departments of the joint effort informed the upper management of the Hokkaido urban area about their emergency rescue and subjugation plans. They devised a detailed plan for everything, from post-disaster reconstruction to the subjugation of that thing. Every matter was quickly processed and digested.
After the meeting concluded, Akiyama Ryo returned to his work. Three hours later, having completed all his tasks, Akiyama Ryo boarded a dedicated vehicle. He was personally heading to Gravadamoni to welcome the rescue teams from different regions and oversee the on-site command.
In the car, he looked at the wallpaper on his phone, featuring the smiles of three individuals, with the words:
“A family never separates.”
His heart remained restless for a long time.