25: Mr. Li, Dragon Soul, landed in Pripyat!
"Dead?"
Wu Tian was stunned, a little surprised, and at the same time, a little sad.
Could it be true, as the old saying goes:
Good people die young, while villains live for a thousand years?!
Those who fought on the front lines during the nuclear reactor explosion accident, those who worked tirelessly for more people to survive, all died from the agonizing nuclear radiation, from the torment of illness.
Yet the culprits, on the other hand, have lived until now?!
"Haha..."
What kind of irony is this?
A monstrous rage erupted from the depths of Wu Tian's heart!
He didn't know why the trials back then failed to truly expose these culprits, nor did he understand why those who should have been responsible for the people's lives and safety abandoned morality and their bottom line for their own selfish desires.
But the one thing he was certain of was this!
He was determined to uncover the truth of Chernobyl!
If the truth was indeed as this old man, Sinikov, said it was.
Then he would spare no effort to ensure that those who had yet to pay for their crimes would meet their demise at his hands!
..."Hmm."
Sinikov nodded painfully.
"After the explosion, Gatilov attempted to conceal the truth."
"Several of them were ordered by Gatilov to inspect a non-existent reactor, were exposed to massive amounts of radiation, and died on the spot!"
"Some were ordered to manually open water valves, and they too were fatally contaminated by massive radiation!"
"Others, unable to evacuate in time, lingered for two months before also succumbing."
"Then you..."
Wu Tian frowned.
"You want to ask why I, also in the control room, am fine, right?"
"..."
Wu Tian nodded, tacitly acknowledging it.
"I was responsible for the emergency shutdown button at the time, so after pressing the button, I was left in the control room to monitor other data, and because of this, I escaped a disaster."
"Therefore, I also kept myself useful, wanting to make the truth of that year public, so that my deceased colleagues could receive the honor they deserved."
"The laughable thing is..."
Sinikov scoffed.
"As a survivor, I naively thought that my survival was meant to restore the truth!"
"But..."
"Reality taught me a harsh lesson!"
"At the trial!"
"No one believed the truth I spoke; instead, everyone implicitly trusted the so-called 'truth' spoken by Gatilov, Fomin, and Bryukhanov!"
"Haha..."
"This is truly ironic!"
"Truth??"
"Who cares, anyway?"
"..."
"Then why didn't you appeal? Why stay in... this place?"
Wu Tian asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Haha..."
"Appeal, speak out?"
Sinikov shook his head, disheartened.
"Do you think I haven't tried these things?"
"Do you think Gatilov and his kind would be so foolish as to let me hold leverage over them, giving me a chance to threaten their comfortable lives?"
"Too naive!"
"I can only linger in this terrifying, radiation-filled ghost town, waiting for an opportunity!"
"Only by outliving them!"
"Can I make the truth public!"
Sinikov's eyes were bloodshot!
...Wu Tian fell silent; he had discernment!
Even though this time, truth seemed to stand only by Sinikov's side, even though his was the only faint voice in the world.
But Wu Tian believed it!
He believed every word Sinikov said!
Because if Sinikov were truly lying, why would he have stayed in the radiation-filled Pripyat for thirty-four years?
Wouldn't colluding with Gatilov and the other two have been better?
Wouldn't living a life of luxury and wielding immense power in Ulan Country and Bear Country be better?
He had no reason to lie!
Because this... was the truth of that year!
..."Really? I saw different things online; it seems this Sinikov was the real culprit behind the nuclear reactor explosion, right?"
"Emmm..."
"Although the records I saw online are the same as yours."
"But from Sinikov's expression and demeanor, he doesn't seem to be lying. I believe there's another story behind what happened that year."
"I'm confused, bros."
"I'm a bit unable to distinguish the truth now!"
"Don't worry about it. Just look at who is living the best and most comfortably right now, and you'll know. Everyone has seen Sinikov's situation. Are there any experts who can do a human search on Gatilov and those three?"
"Let's see how they're living, and won't the truth come out soon?"
"..."
"What the person upstairs said makes sense!"
"I'm the strongest hacker in Dragon Country; I'll go find the information right now!"
"May I humbly ask, why are all the big shots in Dragon Country?"
...After speaking everything hidden in his heart, Sinikov took a deep breath, and a flush of * * appeared on his pale face.
He reached out and pointed to the voice recorder on the table.
"Did you record everything?"
"Hmm."
Wu Tian nodded.
"It's all recorded!"
"Can..."
"Can it help?"
Sinikov opened his mouth, asking in a low voice.
After so many years in the darkness, his heart was already scarred and devoid of hope.
"Yes!"
Wu Tian said with certainty.
"The means of information dissemination now are incomparably more advanced than thirty-four years ago."
"Don't worry."
"I can't guarantee anything else, but I will do everything in my power to ensure that everyone in the world can hear this recording!"
"Good..."
"Good!"
Sinikov nodded, saying "good" twice.
Then he lay down peacefully on the bed.
His cloudy eyes, illuminated by the moonlight, appeared hazy.
"Sigh..."
Having received Wu Tian's promise, Sinikov felt a sense of loss in his heart. He reached out and pointed to some fresh food and drinks in the room.
"I don't know if you brought food and water to this ghost place, but I still have some here."
"If you don't mind, help yourselves!"
"Okay."
Wu Tian nodded.
He knew that after speaking his mind, although Sinikov's inner turmoil had been released, wasn't this also the sudden collapse of a long-held obsession?
He hoped... that this kind and stubborn old man could make it through tonight... After eating a little with the fatty, Wu Tian and the fatty found two separate rooms and went to bed early.
What they experienced today was truly too intense.
Both of them were utterly exhausted!
Not long after lying down, the sound of steady breathing, along with the fatty's thunderous snores, came from inside the room...
Meanwhile, at the Pripyat airport.
A military helicopter and a civilian airliner landed on the runway almost simultaneously!
Two groups of people quickly disembarked from the planes.
"Dr. Li, why did you come personally?"
A young man in combat uniform chuckled towards an old man on the other side.
"Haha..."
The old man chuckled.
"Captain Wu, aren't you here too?"
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