Radioactive Leak (2)
Just in case, I decided to check the Gori Nuclear Power Headquarters, which had recently been incorporated as a new outpost.
There were a total of eight reactors at the Gori Nuclear Power Headquarters.
From Gori Units 1 to 4, and right next to them, Shin-Gori Units 1 to 4.
Except for Gori Unit 1, which had been permanently shut down due to aging, all the others were operating normally and generating electricity.
The amount of electricity produced by the reactors was immense enough to cover all the electricity needs of the citizens and then some.
'Just like with solar power facilities, the surplus electricity seems to be converted directly into money.'
That alone was reason enough to occupy nuclear power plants across the country.
Because the amount of money coming in each day would change drastically.
'No problems here.'
Fortunately, there were no particular issues at the Gori nuclear plant.
'Among my current territories, the one closest to the Wolsong base in Gyeongju is...'
The Ulsan Homeplus outpost.
If something had gone wrong at the Wolsong base, it was highly likely that there would be some changes in nearby Ulsan as well.
'The Eye of the Absolute.'
I checked the outpost at Ulsan Homeplus, but at first, I couldn't detect any differences.
People seemed to be living their daily lives as usual.
"Where are we going today?"
"Thinking of heading up to Buk-gu. Haven't explored that area much yet."
"Ah, I hope we find a pristine foreign car again today, like yesterday."
Perhaps because of the presence of the vampire king, the progenitor, and the relatively low number of monsters, Ulsan still had many intact vehicles.
And being an industrial city, it had a lot of expensive foreign and luxury cars, which drew many citizens to Ulsan to scavenge them.
Those two were just one such party.
"I won't even hope for a foreign car-just something decent would be nice."
"Yeah, true."
Even used cars traded for hundreds or thousands, so it was inevitable that people would flock here.
On top of that, they could hunt monsters and loot supplies from abandoned
homes.
As long as they could handle the goblins roaming around, Ulsan was practically a treasure trove.
'There are a lot more people now.'
Those who had diligently leveled up in the instant dungeons now had physical abilities strong enough to overpower a few goblins even unarmed.
Plus, firearms were being loaned out to about one in every three people, so very few were afraid to roam around Ulsan.
'The average level is quite high, too.'
As expected from those who had cleared the goblin-level instant dungeons-everyone was above level 20.
Though hunting orcs was still a bit tough, with guns it was doable, and they could handle a group of goblins barehanded.
That was the general level of the parties active in Ulsan.
'At least inside the outpost, everything looks fine.'
I moved my view to the rooftop to check outside the transparent barrier.
The sky looked peaceful, except for the heavy clouds.
But then-
Tap-tap-tap-
...What's that?"
I felt something striking the transparent barrier-particles even smaller than grains of sand.
So subtle that one could easily miss it without focusing.
Sensing that something was off, I immediately activated the Eye of the Absolute with a layer of dark energy.
Whoosh-
And at that moment, the sky's appearance changed dramatically.
'This is...!'
Northeast.
From that direction, a massive cloud of radiation-contaminated air was expanding.
The only fortunate part was that the airflow was heading in the opposite direction-more of it was blowing out to sea rather than toward here.
Even so-
Tap-tap-tap-tap-
Tiny particles were now continuously hitting the transparent barrier-it was definitely radiation.
It was already affecting this area.
Only then was I sure.
'The Wolsong base has exploded.'
That faint tremor I had felt all the way at Gori was the shockwave from the explosion of the Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant.
I immediately used the Ring of Communication to send a message to all my vassals.
[Evacuate all citizens into the safe zone immediately.]
Then, I used the telepathy ability I had acquired from Kim Dabin.
[Attention, all citizens.]
Kim Dabin's telepathy had limitations.
You needed to know the recipient's face and name, and you couldn't send telepathy beyond a 10km radius. Even that range had increased due to leveling up and the power of the stars.
But there was one exception: telepathy with me.
No matter how far apart we were, as long as she was within my territory, she could always hear me.
Because every territory I had declared as my domain was connected to my mind.
And because of that-
[Return to the safe zone immediately. For the time being, leaving
the safe zone is strictly prohibited.]
Anyone near the area could receive telepathic messages.
The house zone itself acted as a catalyst that amplified telepathic abilities.
[Once again, we urge all citizens to return to the safe zone immediately.]
Thanks to Kim Jaehyun's swift response, countless citizens were able to avoid radiation exposure-but not everyone was so lucky.
Those who were far from the safe zone couldn't receive Kim Jaehyun's telepathy.
This included the rescue team led by Section Chief Baek Seungmin.
However, they were among those who could feel the gravity of the situation most acutely.
"Cough!"
Baek Seungmin's face hardened as he watched a young child coughing up blood.
He had been chosen by Kim Jaehyun and had formed a contract of subordination, awakening his powers.
His ability allowed him to share part of his own life force, which had often been used to save people in critical condition.
But it was no use for the patient before him.
No matter how much power he poured in, there was no sign of improvement.
"Ever since that explosion..."
There had been a large, ominous explosion-and after that, children began coughing up blood.
"Just what was that...?"
Baek Seungmin's team was composed entirely of former firefighters. Their mission was to provide supplies to those who hadn't received citizenship and guide any willing individuals to the safe zone.
They had crossed the mountains from Ulsan to this place in Gangdong because of a plea from a survivor they had met in Ulsan.
It was a desperate request to save their family.
"Mister..."
"Hm?"
"Am... am I going to die? Cough!"
The child's skin was ravaged by radiation exposure.
Not only were internal organs failing, but red rashes and peeling skin had started to appear.
"I... I don't want to die...!"
Gritting his teeth, Baek Seungmin poured his life force into the child.
But...
It wasn't long before the child's suffering ended.
There wasn't even time to grieve.
"Chief Baek! Other people are starting to collapse, too!"
Now even adults were showing severe symptoms.
They were collapsing, red rashes appeared on their skin, and in the worst cases, they began vomiting blood.
One of the crew members, after checking the conditions of the people, approached Baek Seungmin with a grave expression.
"Chief Baek. These appear to be symptoms of radiation exposure."
"Radiation exposure?"
"Yes. It seems that explosion just now might've been a nuclear blast."
"A... nuke?"
Baek Seungmin widened his eyes and asked again.
"You're saying a nuclear bomb just dropped?"
"No. Not exactly..."
The crew member, older than Baek Seungmin, had spent his life as a firefighter in Busan and had undergone extensive training for various emergencies.
So he was able to deduce the situation with near accuracy.
"It's most likely that the Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant exploded."
"What?! Then..."
"We have to leave this place immediately."
"But..."
Baek Seungmin looked at the fallen survivors with trembling eyes.
A voice urged the hesitating chief.
"If the symptoms are progressing this rapidly, it means they've been exposed to an enormous amount of radiation! If we want to save even a few, we need
to act now!"
Baek Seungmin clenched his eyes shut and gave the order.
"We're evacuating immediately. Those whose symptoms have worsened..."
It was a cruel decision-but to save at least some of them, it had to be made.
"...We're leaving them behind."
They spread the word about the situation, and the relief team prepared to leave the area.
The people who had been here were the lucky ones.
Due to the presence of vampires, the number of monsters was low. And because it was a small countryside village, it had managed to stay out of the vampires' sight - a fortunate village.
But the end was unbearably cruel.
"Urgh... uuurgh..."
Even those whose bodies were still intact—many of them couldn't leave with the relief team.
They had chosen to stay and die with their families.
An old man, looking sadly at a dying man, spoke.
"Those who are leaving should go quickly. Those who can live, must live."
"...I'm sorry."
Baek Seung-min bowed his head as he looked at the dying people who had been left behind.
"It's fine. They say the world's ending, right? I'm just glad I got to see my son's face before I die. Thank you for bringing him to me."
While they were evacuating to the safe zone, the weakest among them were the first to fall.
Before they made it halfway, most of those without citizenship had already died. Just before arriving, a few of the firefighters collapsed and lost
consciousness.
By the time they finally arrived at the outpost, battered and broken-
"You've done well."
"Jaehyun...?"
They were met by Kim Jaehyun, who had come out to greet them.
Even though the civilians were gathered as quickly as possible, the damage
was severe.
[Civilian Ahn Ho-cheol has died.]
[Civilian Song Moo-yeol has died.]
Ever since the explosion, reports of civilian deaths had been coming in steadily.
'They must have been near Wolseong Base when it exploded.'
The only fortunate news was that those exposed to radiation showed dramatic recovery the moment they entered the safe zone.
You could tell just by how Baek Seung-min and his group, who had been emitting radiation after exposure, recovered the moment they passed through the transparent barrier.
'Summon Retainer.'
After summoning Kim Da-jeong, he asked her to treat the unconscious ones, then turned to Baek Seung-min.
"What happened?"
"...I'll report."
Summing up what he was told, the radiation leak was now at a level where a person could die within a few hours.
'Still, the hopeful thing is that those with higher levels are less affected by radiation exposure.'
Everyone who had passed out had combat levels in their early 20s.
In comparison, Baek Seung-min, who had reached level 30, appeared relatively unharmed.
'If it's someone with a retainer-level rank, they should be able to endure it to some extent.'
In that case-
'If things go well, we might be able to resolve this crisis.'
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]