28: Chapter 27: The Remaining Five Forbidden Zones – Let's Get Moving!

However, perhaps due to staying in the nuclear radiation for too long, the indicator light on the communicator flickered twice, followed by the crackling sound of static.

After the connection was established, before Luo Yu could even report the situation, a roar came through the receiver.

"Luo Yu? Is that Luo Yu! Speak!"

It was not the cool, calm voice of Su Qingxue that he had expected, but rather the iconic loud voice of General Zhan Kuang, mixed with undisguised anxiety and anticipation.

"General, it's me."

Luo Yu held the communicator a bit further away and rubbed his ears: "Don't shout, I'm still alive."

"..." There was silence on the other end for half a second, followed by an even louder commotion; judging by the background noise, it sounded like a cup had been smashed.

"You kid... do you know what the satellite captured?" General Zhan Kuang's voice was incomparably excited and happy: "Just a moment ago, the green radiation clouds that have shrouded Death Valley for thirty years dissipated, they have already started to clear! It won't be long before we can see the sand on the surface on the satellite cloud map!"

"It's nothing." Luo Yu glanced at the Little Lizard dozing with its eyes closed on his shoulder and said with a smile: "The two Twin Scorpions have been dealt with, and I cleaned up the nuclear radiation while I was at it. The current radiation level is about five percent of what it was before; the rest is just physical residue."

"Five percent..." The sound of General Zhan Kuang gasping on the other end was clearly audible, "What about the Twin Scorpions? Those are S-class monsters!"

"They weren't S-class; they had already evolved to S+." Luo Yu answered very concisely, "They have already been completely destroyed."

"Holy shit!" General Zhan Kuang swore directly.

This is Death Valley! The one with the highest radiation level, largest area, and most troublesome of the Dragon Kingdom's eight major restricted zones!

Just like that... it was finished in three days?

There was no helping it; after Luo Yu entered Death Valley, the nuclear radiation was so high that all detection equipment failed, and they had absolutely no idea what was happening inside.

"You can send people to pick me up now."

"Good! Good, good, good!" General Zhan Kuang said the word "good" three times: "You wait there; I happen to be free now, so I'll personally fly the transport plane to pick you up! Also..."

He paused, his tone becoming solemn: "Lieutenant Luo Yu, no, I should call you Major Luo Yu now."

"What?"

"Higher-ups just issued an order; you have been promoted to Major. We will hold the rank conferment ceremony when you return this time."

"..." Luo Yu tightened his grip on the communicator.

It took 2 days to go from second lieutenant to Lieutenant Luo Yu.

From Lieutenant Luo Yu to Major Luo Yu... it took 6 days.

This speed is like riding a nuclear warhead straight into the sky.

"Additionally, a victory banquet has been prepared for you; just say whatever you want to eat!" General Zhan Kuang laughed heartily, in a great mood: "You haven't eaten for three days, so don't be polite with me, kid."

"..." Luo Yu opened his mouth. He wanted to say he wasn't hungry. Really not hungry.

Having absorbed the feedback from so much nuclear radiation energy, he now felt he could go three days and three nights without eating or drinking without any issues.

But... never mind.

"Whatever, just let the General arrange it."

"Fine! You wait there!" The communication cut off.

Luo Yu put away the communicator and looked at the Little Lizard dozing on his shoulder.

"Full?"

"Hiss hiss."

The Little Lizard responded lazily and flicked its tail.

Luo Yu smiled. This guy is certainly comfortable; it sleeps right after eating.

Immediately, Luo Yu subconsciously opened the system panel to take a look.

[Current evolution progress: 33.8%]

[Host level: A-rank peak]

[Spirit power: 980,000 / 1,000,000]

He was only one step away from S-rank.

"Five restricted zones left." Luo Yu muttered to himself: "If I eat them all..."

He calculated in his mind. The nuclear waste in the remaining five restricted zones added up to about 280,000 tons.

According to the current ratio, it should be able to increase his evolution progress to... seventy percent?

No. Luo Yu shook his head. As Godzilla's strength increases, the required energy will become more and more.

"Conservatively estimating, reaching sixty percent would be pretty good."

Thinking of this, Luo Yu had a headache.

The amount of nuclear waste required to evolve from the growth stage to the mature stage is terrifying.

The global annual production of nuclear waste is only 150,000 tons, and Godzilla ate 200,000 tons of nuclear waste that had accumulated in the Dragon Kingdom's Death Valley for so many years in this one meal.

"It seems... I have to let the country find a way."

...

Two hours later. The transport plane landed at the edge of Death Valley.

General Zhan Kuang was the first to rush down the ramp, followed by Su Qingxue and the security team.

"Luo Yu!" General Zhan Kuang walked over with big strides, looking Luo Yu up and down: "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." Luo Yu shook his head.

General Zhan Kuang breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to look into the depths of Death Valley.

He was stunned.

He didn't know when the sky had started turning blue.

There was no pungent smell in the air, nor was there the radiation pressure that made people's skin numb.

"This..." General Zhan Kuang took out a radiation detector.

Beep, beep, beep — [Radiation value: 500]

Five hundred times. It had already dropped to a safe range.

"You really did it..." General Zhan Kuang's voice trembled slightly, and his eyes reddened as he looked at Luo Yu.

"Do you know? Thirty years ago, I served here."

Luo Yu was stunned for a moment.

"Back then I was still a recruit, watching with my own eyes as this place turned from a yellow desert into a black dead zone."

General Zhan Kuang took a deep breath: "Many of my comrades died here."

"Some sacrificed themselves during nuclear tests, others sacrificed themselves while clearing out mutant beasts."

"I always thought that I would never see Death Valley return to its original appearance in this lifetime."

He raised his hand and patted Luo Yu's shoulder hard.

"Thank you."

"On behalf of those sacrificed comrades, thank you."

Luo Yu showed a serious expression, "This is what I should do."

"Let's go." General Zhan Kuang wiped the corner of his eye inadvertently: "Let's go back and eat; after eating... you should take a good rest for a few days!"

"No need, I want to continue."

"Continue?" General Zhan Kuang was a bit confused, "Yes!"

Luo Yu nodded and said: "Since I've already started, I might as well get it all done in one go. Besides, Godzilla is so strong now, I should strike while the iron is hot!"

"..." General Zhan Kuang didn't know what to say; he could only sigh in his heart that having Luo Yu was truly the good fortune of the military.

...

Baijiang Defense Zone core base. Canteen.

General Zhan Kuang specially arranged a table of sumptuous dishes.

Braised pork belly, steamed fish, stir-fried pork kidneys, spiced beef... over twenty dishes in total.

Luo Yu sat at the table, looking at the table full of food, feeling a bit helpless.

He really wasn't hungry. But... it was truly hard to refuse such hospitality.

"Eat! Eat up!" General Zhan Kuang sat opposite him, glowing with health, and picked up a large piece of braised pork belly for Luo Yu: "I know Awakeners consume a lot, so I specially had the kitchen staff make this urgently."

Luo Yu ate a few bites, forcing himself. The taste was good. But... he really couldn't eat it.

He felt that the energy in his body was too abundant; he didn't need food for replenishment at all, and even a burp might contain nuclear radiation.

"How is it? Is it to your taste?" General Zhan Kuang looked at him expectantly.

"It's quite good." Luo Yu forced it down. To divert his attention, he put down his chopsticks and said: "General, let's not rush to eat; where is the next target?"

"So urgent?" The smile on General Zhan Kuang's face stiffened: "You've been back for less than two hours."

"I'm not tired." Luo Yu showed an expression that suggested he hadn't had enough fun yet.

"This..." General Zhan Kuang looked at Luo Yu's enthusiastic expression, feeling a bit helpless, yet also relieved: "Fine, since you have this heart, then we won't waste time. The information on the remaining five restricted zones is all here."

He took a tablet out of his briefcase and handed it to Luo Yu.

"The fourth one is the 'Rotten Swamp' in the Southern Frontier, an S-class restricted zone. The terrain there is complex, full of poisonous gas, nuclear radiation, and soft mud; heavy equipment cannot enter at all."

Luo Yu took the tablet and swiped it casually: "No problem, that's the one. I want to set off now."

"Now?" General Zhan Kuang glanced at the table full of barely touched food, "You haven't even eaten two bites of this meal..."

"I can just eat dry rations on the road."

Luo Yu stood up and adjusted his collar, "Every day those radiation levels remain, it's a threat to the surrounding people."

Alright! These words were said with righteous indignation, making General Zhan Kuang's eyes heat up. He immediately slammed the table: "Good! I'll arrange the transport plane right now. This time I'll assign two escort planes to fly with you; the grandeur must be fully displayed!"