Gravadamoni was one of the five ecological restoration zones established by the World United Government, a place that everyone in the world envied and desired to live in.
Outside the car window stretched boundless greenery. In terms of forest coverage alone, the Earth now had a much greater forest area than during the nuclear war era two hundred years ago.
However, its ecology had not fully recovered because this green expanse was devoid of life.
There were no animals, no shrubs, and even the trees and grass were of a single species. Although this greenery appeared vibrant, it was essentially no different from a desolate wasteland.
The forests covering the planet today were merely new breeds of plants created by humans after the nuclear war. The original native plants had long since perished under constant nuclear explosions and radiation.
Initially, in order to transform the barren surface, humans created resilient plants in laboratories that could withstand strong radiation and survive the super nuclear winter.
They scattered these plants in every corner of the planet, hoping that it would return to the era of lush greenery.
While the greenness had returned, true vitality remained elusive.
After global forest coverage was achieved, humans even attempted to release a series of genetically modified animals into nature, aiming to restore natural balance.
However, during the process, humans discovered something. Due to the inherent absence of the food chain, the animals they released either couldn’t adapt to the environment and starved in the wild or exhibited explosive vitality, resulting in pest and animal infestations.
Even if humans consciously released multiple species of animals to establish a food chain, it proved futile. The planet was vast and empty, and without human intervention, as long as a herbivore found itself in a place without natural predators, it could easily multiply uncontrollably.
Furthermore, the natural predators themselves were too fragile compared to herbivores that could eat anything.
Factors such as slow reproduction rates and difficulty in finding food often result in the release of herbivores being hunted down by predators, leaving only a few individuals. Then, when these surviving animals rapidly reproduce, they reach a point where even reintroducing predators would lead to disaster.
In such a situation, people were unable to rebuild the entire ecological system of the planet. Instead, they opted for a secondary solution by enclosing specific areas and establishing controlled ecosystems within them. Through human intervention, they gradually created stable regions.
The World United Government established a total of five such ecological zones and built cities around these zones, promoting them as the future and dawn of humanity.
These areas boasted beautiful flora and fauna, purified air, and filtered seawater, making them the best places in the world. Only the wealthiest and most influential individuals could reside there.
Akiyama believed in it.
“Sir, we have arrived.”
As he gazed at the smiling faces of the family on his phone, Akiyama became somewhat immersed in them. It wasn’t until the driver reminded him of their arrival that he put his phone back in his bag, stepped out of the car, and looked around.
“The buildings in the South Zone have been almost completely leveled. There are charred bodies everywhere and extremely high levels of radiation. Near the point of impact, the breath of that titan pierced through the floating city’s levitation panels, causing seawater from below to flood the surface. The entire South Zone is sinking. I’m sorry, boss, but in this situation, they…”
Although he had already seen such devastation in the photos, the actual scene was more horrifying than he had imagined.
Buildings reduced to skeletal remains were surrounded by white cloth-covered bodies. The stench of burned flesh permeated the air, mingling with the smell of disinfectant, creating a nauseating odor.
Relatives of the deceased knelt before the white cloth, weeping. Their cries were heart-wrenching. From each building, medical personnel in protective suits occasionally carried unrecognizable “bodies” towards temporary shelters, racing against death, trying to save as many lives as possible.
But it was too late, it was already too late.
The race against death was often futile. Most of the time, the result of an all-out rescue effort by medical personnel only meant adding another body under the white cloth.
With each occurrence like this, people’s spirits plummeted further. This was the most devastating catastrophe in terms of casualties since the nuclear war, a misfortune for the human race.
In this suffocating world, Akiyama felt somewhat lost.
“Are you Mr. Akiyama from the emergency rescue team?”
While Akiyama was still stunned by the scene, a group of journalists in radiation suits, who were interviewing a medical professional in the distance, noticed him.
The crowd that had just surrounded the medical professional, making it difficult to move, suddenly rushed towards Akiyama with microphones and cameras, raising a barrage of questions:
“I’m a reporter from NHG TV. Can you tell us about the extent of the disaster?”
“Mr. Akiyama, Mr. Akiyama, I’m a reporter from CCB TV. What are your thoughts on this catastrophe?”
“I’m from TTVC, do you know that the whole world is paying attention to this disaster? What can you say about the sudden appearance of the titan?”
…
All sorts of microphones and cameras nearly pressed against Akiyama’s radiation suit. He waved his hand, indicating that he had other matters to attend to and couldn’t accept interviews. As he walked away from the crowd, he pushed aside the microphones that had come too close.
The number of journalists kept increasing, and just when Akiyama was becoming increasingly impatient, the crowd of reporters suddenly dispersed, and a few soldiers in military radiation suits approached him.
“You are…”
Akiyama looked at the leader among them, while the other soldiers shooed away the journalists, preventing them from disturbing him.
“I’m Zhang Peng from the Asian Rescue Team. Our team leader heard that you were coming and specifically sent me to pick you up.”
As the leading soldier introduced himself, he also mentioned his background.
Pointing towards the distant rows of makeshift tents, he said, “Please, we have been waiting for you for quite some time.”
“Ah, yes, sure.”
Faced with the soldier’s enthusiasm, Akiyama felt somewhat overwhelmed. In the conservative Far East region, it was uncommon to encounter such warm greetings upon meeting someone.
However, despite feeling overwhelmed, he knew he had a task at hand. Upon hearing that the rescue team had been waiting for him, Akiyama quickly followed Zhang Peng towards the tent.
On the way there, Zhang Peng also discussed the three major rescue teams and their respective areas of operation in this rescue mission.
The sudden calamity of the colossal beasts caught everyone off guard. After the attack on Grafadamoni, the world went into a frenzy. Currently, the top 19 trending topics online are all related to the colossal beast, with the remaining one discussing official rescue operations.
It can be said that the world’s attention is focused here. The World United Government immediately dispatched tens of thousands of elite medical and rescue professionals, forming these three teams, to rush here overnight and provide aid to various regions.
The Asian Rescue Team, to which he belonged, took the initiative to undertake the most difficult and heavily radiated South Zone rescue operation. The American Rescue Team was responsible for the west, and the European team for the east. The initially smaller Local Rescue Team was assigned to the relatively simpler northern region.
However, there was still a small portion of the Hokkaido Local Rescue Team that insisted on working in the South Zone, all because of Akiyama’s connection.
“They all said they wanted to find your family and refused to leave one by one.”
Along the way, Zhang Peng spoke to Akiyama about those foolish members of the Local Rescue Team who chose to stay in the dangerous South Zone.
Even after the major rescue teams had assigned their areas, they insisted on remaining in the most perilous South Zone. This gained the respect of the members of the Asian Rescue Team, although they were similar in their determination.
In their conversation, Zhang Peng seemed to be quite familiar with his subordinates, as if they had known each other for hours, even though it had only been a couple of hours at most. Yet, he displayed such warmth.
Were the people from Dahua all like this?
This puzzled Akiyama, who was naturally introverted, from the Far East region, making it difficult for him to understand.
Not long after, Akiyama and Zhang Peng arrived at the base camp of the Asian Rescue Team. Several isolation tents had already been set up there, ready to accommodate the patients who had just been rescued from life-threatening situations.
Having survived the disaster and receiving care from medical personnel, many of the people were now able to speak and were joking around.
There were also those who had found their loved ones alive, creating a sharp contrast with the outside world.
After coming here from the death-filled outside, Akiyama’s mood improved significantly. He and Zhang Peng quickly passed through the patient area and arrived at the largest tent.
At first glance, he saw a subordinate inside the tent conversing with another senior military officer. He wanted to greet them, but upon seeing the expression on his subordinate’s face upon spotting him, he seemed to understand something.