336: Chapter 336 New Life!

Half an hour later, the meeting chairman coldly struck the gavel.

"According to the votes of the Five Permanent Members and other member states, I declare that the nation of Japan's proposal has not been passed..."

Hearing this result, Kurokawa Saki was struck as if by lightning.

"No, you can't do this," the Prime Minister roared in the meeting room like a shrew.

"There is no evidence that the Noir Organization is actually Third-Party Technology? What evidence do you want? Do we have to wait until that space-based strike actually falls, turning Tokyo into ruins and laying out the corpses of tens of millions of people here, for it to count as evidence?"

"By that time, will voting still have any meaning?! Will there still be a need for the Security Council to exist?"

"You all clearly know in your hearts that these are just excuses from Third-Party Technology..."

Kurokawa Saki looked at everyone in the meeting room and spoke unwillingly, adding a hint of mockery, "Since when did you all become so afraid of this company that you don't even dare to speak up? Right, they cooperated with you, so why would you care about the life or death of Japan? You're all a bunch of hypocrites..."

"Prime Minister Kurokawa Saki, please mind your words! The Security Council's vote is based on facts and the principles of international law. Your constant accusations that Third-Party Technology disregards life are simply nonsensical!"

The American representative, Laxson, said with dissatisfaction, "Based solely on your speculation and panic, you want us to abandon our bottom line and initiate sanctions against a legally registered multinational enterprise? This is not the logic the Security Council should operate on..."

The representative of the Central Continent also looked at him coldly. "As for why our side opposes this, you should be clear about what you have done in the Central Continent."

"..."

Kurokawa Saki walked out of the United Nations Building with a face as pale as ash. Ever since this company announced it would strike Japan, it felt as if this matter was predestined; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't change the fact.

Five hours remained until the space-based strike.

No, there must still be a way.

Kurokawa Saki suddenly thought of something, his eyes lighting up. He decided to do it; he would tear away Third-Party Technology's fig leaf and completely expose this matter to the public.

Having made his decision, Kurokawa Saki ran out.

A live broadcast to the entire world began, and the Prime Minister looked into the camera with a tearful, pleading expression.

"People watching all over the world, I am the acting Prime Minister of Japan, Kurokawa Saki. Perhaps you have just finished dinner, or perhaps you are preparing for sleep, while I and my tens of millions of compatriots are waiting for a death sentence pronounced from space. There are less than five hours left."

Kurokawa Saki's voice spread throughout the world via various media, attracting the attention of countless onlookers.

"Many people ask, what exactly did we do wrong to deserve such a fate? It's simple: because we offended a company. To be precise, a day ago, we attacked their scientists. This is their retaliation against us. The Noir Organization is actually just a front put up by Third-Party Technology!"

This confession, which caught everyone by surprise, caused global public opinion to explode instantly. Shock, cursing, and sudden realization followed; most people finally understood what was happening.

Before the camera, under the gaze of hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide, Kurokawa Saki bowed deeply.

After maintaining it for over a minute, he slowly stood up.

"This bow is on behalf of the Japanese government, to express our deepest apologies and irrevocable regret to Third-Party Technology and all those involved for the mistake we made a day ago."

"We were wrong. Our despicable sneak attack, attempting to steal what did not belong to us, has cost the lives of our Prime Minister and many officials, as well as the city of Tokyo, which is now riddled with scars."

"But no matter what we do or how we try to save ourselves, this company refuses to let us go..." Kurokawa Saki's tone was sorrowful.

"But—!"

Kurokawa Saki's tone suddenly shifted, carrying a resolve to go through fire and water for the sake of tens of millions of people:

"I admit the faults of the Japanese government. We are willing to accept sanctions under international law, to pay compensation to the victims, and to spend ten or even twenty years making up for our past despicable actions! But Third-Party Technology gives us no chance for atonement. What they want is not justice, but absolute obedience—to make the whole world kneel before their hegemony!"

"Using Space-Based Weapons for an indiscriminate destruction countdown against the entire city of Tokyo and the tens of millions of civilians on Honshu Island—is this called retaliation?"

"This is called ethnic cleansing! This is called a crime against humanity!"

"They want to use the ruins of Tokyo to establish their authority over the world! They want to tell all nations: look, this is the consequence of defying us. The rules of the future world will be written by us and measured by our Orbital Cannons!"

Kurokawa Saki's voice was impassioned: "I am tearing all of this open and exposing it to the light today, not to beg for mercy or hope for rescue from other nations. I also know that in five hours, Tokyo might truly become a living hell."

"But at the very least, I want to tell history, and tell the cities and nations that may face the same fate in the future,"

"When a company's military power expands to the point where it can judge a nation at will, the entirety of human civilization is standing on the edge of a cliff, and no one can escape..."

The final image of the live broadcast was Kurokawa Saki's compassionate and awe-inspiring appearance.

After the truth came out, the world was shocked.

Social media servers in various countries were on the verge of overloading. Topics like #TokyoCountdown, #ThirdPartyTechnologyAntiHumanity, and #HumanCivilizationCliff occupied the top of global trending lists at rocket speed, with related discussions exceeding one billion in ten minutes.

Massive protest marches broke out all over the world to stop the space-based strike and oppose technological hegemony.

But what puzzled people was that Third-Party Technology had not issued any statement from beginning to end, remaining indifferent even to Kurokawa Saki's self-exposure; only many products in their official store were discounted by ten percent.

Time passed second by second, finally reaching the end of the countdown. The moment the countdown hit zero, the world seemed to hold its breath.

00:00:00

A sense of desolation permeated all of Japan, especially among the residents of Honshu Island. Everyone's face was filled with fear and anxiety, and many were praying to the gods.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

After the countdown ended, nothing happened.

Tokyo still stood amidst the darkness and sporadic, chaotic fires.

The residents of Japan showed joy in their eyes. Kurokawa Saki, who was now far from Tokyo, breathed an even greater sigh of relief and clenched his fists in excitement. He had succeeded; the company had ultimately given up the strike. After all, who would disregard public opinion and launch an attack regardless of the consequences?

The heavy stone weighing on Kurokawa Saki's heart crashed to the ground, turning into a relaxed smile, and his eyes even moistened with the relief of having survived a disaster.

However, just as he and the residents of Honshu Island relaxed...

The sky lit up!

A brilliant light descended from above, piercing the night sky. It wasn't the gentle warmth of the rising sun, but a blazing white light steeped in the power of destruction.

Like a falling star, the moment that blazing white light hit the ground, a ball of light more dazzling than the sun erupted in the center of Tokyo. As the light expanded, the prosperity of the entire city of Tokyo vanished in an instant, turning into dust in the blink of an eye!

The aura of destruction suddenly surged, transforming into a mushroom cloud that propped up the sky and earth, many times more majestic than the silhouette of all of Tokyo!

Hundreds of billions of tons of building debris and dust were swept into the sky by violent energy. Scorching light rain splattered everywhere, like a death ceremony covering heaven and earth, frozen in the firmament.

Beneath the mushroom cloud, the continental plate where Honshu Island was located emitted a dull tremor, groaning under the unbearable burden.