The radiation from the top floors of the Tokyo Electric Power Company had already dissipated.
Hiroshi Osamuichi was unable to understand.
Normally, such intense nuclear radiation would take at least a decade, or even several decades, to dissipate. The affected range, moreover, would not be limited to just the top floors; the entire Chiyoda District could potentially fall within the nuclear radiation exposure zone.
Yet, according to instrunt readings, there were no signs of nuclear radiation in the air on the top floors. Only a slight residual radiation, low enough not to harm humans, was detectable on the desiccated corpses resembling mummies.
Hiroshi Osamuichi rembered the nuclear power plant had six reactors and 1.37 million tons of nuclear wastewater. Could all that radiation just vanish?
It defied all the knowledge he had acquired and overturned his fundantal understanding of the world.
Hiroshi Osamuichi stood in the conference room, looking at the bodies that seed as if they would crumble at the slightest touch.
He frowned deeply and, not staying any longer, turned to walk out of the room.
DING. The elevator doors opened.
Hiroshi Osamuichi glanced over as several people erged from the elevator.
The leader was petite, with long, lightly curled blonde hair draped over her shoulders. She wore a gothic dress, a mix of black and red, resembling a large doll walking down the street.
It was Emily from the Special Case Unit.
Hiroshi Osamuichi sighed inwardly. He had said it was impossible to stop the Special Case Unit, yet so still wanted to try.
"Long ti no see, Morimoto, Okayama." Hiroshi Osamuichi stepped forward to greet them.
He was a graduate of Tokyo University and had been good friends with Okayama Buji during their ti there; he also knew Morimoto Chiyoda.
"Hiroshi, it really has been a long ti," Morimoto Chiyoda said with a hint of surprise, smiling. "So you've joined Division 1 of Public Security. How have you been lately?"
"Not bad," Hiroshi Osamuichi said with a smile.
"Let's catch up over there." Okayama Buji approached with a smile and clapped Hiroshi Osamuichi on the shoulder. "Morimoto, you two go inside and take a look. Don't delay your work."
"No problem." Morimoto Chiyoda took the cue; she wasn't in the mood to catch up with Hiroshi Osamuichi.
But to completely ignore him and start investigating the scene would seem a bit cold, considering he was an acquaintance from their student days, after all. She had to show so courtesy. Okayama Buji's excuse allowed her to bypass the basic pleasantries.
Okayama Buji led Hiroshi Osamuichi to the end of the corridor, where floor-to-ceiling windows offered a view of the Chiyoda District outside.
There was no one else around.
Hiroshi Osamuichi didn't mince words and complained, "Why bother coming up here? Isn't it more relaxing to wait for the report down there? Unlike us, the Special Case Unit has the favor of the CIA and the Police Director; surely you can get more information."
His words carried a sour tone.
Compared to the Special Case Unit, Division 1 of Public Security was like a stepchild. Their daily routine consisted of facing various inquiries from the National Public Safety Commission, pressuring them with questions like, "Why is there no progress?" and comparing them to the Special Case Unit, without considering their limited resources and information.
"That's true, but Emily likes to investigate the scene herself; she doesn't like waiting for reports at ho," Okayama Buji said with a wry smile.
Hiroshi Osamuichi chuckled. "You don't have it easy either."
As he spoke, he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, offering one to Okayama Buji.
Okayama Buji didn't usually smoke, but cigarettes were indispensable during such exchanges. He didn't refuse and took one, lighting it.
The conversation between the two n opened up.
Hiroshi Osamuichi exhaled smoke through his nose, his face filled with awe. "It's unbelievable. Nuclear radiation potent enough to cause bodily decay and death dissipated in such a short ti, leaving no impact. Millions of tons of nuclear wastewater vanished without a trace of moisture at the scene, and the six reactors stopped—or rather, disappeared. So this is what a Superpower user can do. It completely transcends scientific understanding. This Tritium girl is like that, and so is Dio. What's the use of us chasing such monsters?"
Hiroshi Osamuichi's eyes showed a trace of confusion as the smoke from his nostrils slowly faded into the air. Yet the doubts in his heart lingered, unresolved.
Dio was already outrageous enough; this Tritium girl was even more so—completely beyond the pale. Her actions had overturned all comprehensible common sense.
Six nuclear reactors, millions of tons of nuclear wastewater, gone just like that. Is this really sothing humans can do?
"I don't know," Okayama Buji shook his head and sighed. "At first, I just thought of Dio as a high-IQ criminal with so ideal. As I dug deeper, I found out he was a Superpower user, and then later I discovered..."
He paused, not continuing. Matters concerning the Different World were classified by higher-ups and couldn't be disclosed to outsiders, not even to those in Division 1 of Public Security.
"Anyway, if you asked to describe my current state of mind, it's that my original worldview and my common sense about this world have completely shattered."
"Sounds truly desperate."
"It is that desperate. We're just ordinary people. The technology we used to rely on has beco unreliable. Things beyond our imagination will continue to happen in the future."
Okayama Buji didn't hold much hope for the future. If anything, he hoped the world would at least continue to exist, allowing him to wake up in the afternoon, drink a cup of hand-drip coffee from Hoshino Coffee Shop, and watch the bustling crowds commuting outside his window. With the way things were developing, he truly feared waking up one day to find no commuters outside, only streets overrun by alien Demons hunting humans. The city would be filled with wails and screams as the world faced a catastrophic doomsday. Would a savior appear then? He didn't know, but he desperately hoped he would never witness such a scene.
Hiroshi Osamuichi glanced at him and asked curiously, "With such oppressive thoughts, why do you still insist on going on? I don't want to get involved in these things, but I don't have a strong enough backer to leave. You, on the other hand, should be able to get out of this ss, right?"
"Osamuichi, soone always has to lead the way," Okayama Buji said, looking up, the cigarette smoke drifting slowly from his hand. "Right now, we are powerless. But maybe in a hundred, a thousand years, our efforts might beco a light illuminating humanity's path forward. Isn't that how humanity makes progress, step by step? Those who first proposed scientific ideas were branded heretics and demons by the church, and ostracized by society. Imagine the suffering and despair of those who pursued scientific truth back then; countless must have fallen on that path, seeing no hope ahead. If no one had carried that torch forward, barbarism would have triumphed over truth. It's their perseverance that allows us to live as we do today."
"The fact that you still harbor such romantic notions ans you're not desperate enough," Hiroshi Osamuichi teased, then changed the subject. "I'm getting married on the sixth of next month."
"Congratulations! If I'm still alive and free then, I'll definitely co to celebrate."
The conversation shifted abruptly from grave global matters to a personal milestone. Neither Hiroshi Osamuichi nor Okayama Buji found the transition sudden. After such a heavy topic, a lighter one was needed to ease the tension.
Hiroshi Osamuichi smiled. "Whether you co or not isn't a big deal, as long as you don't skimp on the wedding gift money. When are you getting married?"
"I've stopped thinking about that sort of thing," Okayama Buji shook his head.
Hiroshi Osamuichi's gaze flickered oddly. "You couldn't still be in love with Morimoto, could you? Co to think of it, back when we were at Tokyo University, we did so foolish things trying to win her over."
"Haha." Speaking of that ti, Okayama Buji also smiled. "The stupidest part was, after doing all those things, we never actually confessed our feelings to Morimoto."
"No way we could have said it out loud," Hiroshi Osamuichi said, his lips curving up as he recalled those youthful days. "Whether in studies, sports, or looks, Morimoto was unrivaled at Tokyo University. The number of boys pursuing her could have filled several classrooms. We could talk to her, but we never confessed those kinds of feelings."
At this point, Hiroshi Osamuichi suddenly rembered. "I recall we even fought over Morimoto. You were ruthless back then, kid."
"As if you showed any rcy! My right eye was blackened. I didn't dare et Morimoto for three days, fearing she'd ask why. When I saw her again, she hadn't even noticed I'd been gone for three days."
"Haha, what was the reason we fought again?"
"Not sure. I've forgotten." Okayama Buji shook his head.
Hiroshi Osamuichi pondered for a mont, then gave up trying to rember. Although he recalled the fight, he couldn't recall the specific reason or the day it happened. All he knew was that, at the ti, the fight felt necessary.
"Those were really nostalgic tis. Back in school, I was desperate to graduate. After graduating, I found myself wanting to go back. Perhaps that's proof of my life's failures."
"Don't pour salt on my wound." Okayama Buji took a fierce drag of his cigarette.
Back in school, he thought his Ability could change everything. It was only after entering the tropolitan Police Departnt that he realized his Ability couldn't change anything; he could only be changed. The position he held today was thanks to the Okayama Family, not himself.
Hiroshi Osamuichi patted his shoulder. "Co to think of it, Dio's appearance might not be a bad thing. At least it gives you and Morimoto a chance to et. Work hard; maybe you still have a shot."
"For a toad like , it's enough just to gaze at the swan," Okayama Buji said with a bitter smile. He wasn't a Superpower user; he couldn't turn himself back into a high school student.
Hiroshi Osamuichi glanced at Morimoto Chiyoda, who was walking out of the conference room ahead, and chuckled. "I wonder who this 'flower of Tokyo University' will end up with."
"That was decided a long ti ago."
"Okayama, do you know sothing?"
"If we're both still alive next ti we et, we'll talk then." Okayama Buji deliberately left it vague and headed towards the Special Case Unit.
Hiroshi Osamuichi complained, "You haven't lost your sly mischievousness one bit."
With that, he laughed. Nothing pleased him more than seeing that this roguish friend from his student days hadn't changed a bit.
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