4: Chapter 4 Negotiation and Shock

Baijiang City First Nuclear Power Plant, Command Center.

This was a semi-underground reinforced concrete structure with walls eight meters thick, capable of withstanding the shockwaves of a nuclear explosion.

The Command Center was brightly lit, with over a dozen huge screens monitoring various data from the Nuclear Power Plant in real-time.

At this moment, a middle-aged man in military uniform was standing in front of the screens, his brows tightly furrowed.

His name was General Zhan Kuang, the commander of the Baijiang Defense Zone, holding the rank of major general, an S-rank Awakener, responsible for the security and defense of the area surrounding the Nuclear Power Plant.

"Report!"

A soldier rushed into the Command Center and gave a military salute.

"A suspicious individual was discovered at the three-kilometer cordon, claiming to be able to handle nuclear radiation."

General Zhan Kuang didn't even look up: "A lunatic? Send him straight to the Third Hospital."

"It's not that," the soldier swallowed hard. "His ability... can really absorb radiation. Just now, an E-rank Radiation Rat was drained dry by his pet, and its radiation level dropped to zero."

General Zhan Kuang stopped what he was doing.

He slowly turned around, his gaze sharp: "What did you say?"

"The radiation level dropped to zero," the soldier repeated. "We used three detectors to confirm it repeatedly. The radiation energy inside that Radiation Rat completely disappeared, and the corpse even turned into a dried carcass."

In General Zhan Kuang's eyes, an expression of disbelief flickered, and he remained silent for a few seconds.

"Bring him here."

Five minutes later, Luo Yu was brought into the Command Center.

He looked around, his gaze finally falling on General Zhan Kuang.

This man was burly with a powerful aura, and the golden general's stars on his shoulder straps were gleaming.

"You are that Awakener?" General Zhan Kuang sized up Luo Yu, his gaze lingering for a moment on the Little Lizard on his shoulder.

"Yes," Luo Yu nodded.

"What is your name?"

"Luo Yu."

"Ability rank?"

"F-rank."

General Zhan Kuang frowned: "An F-rank can absorb radiation?"

"To be precise, it can absorb it," Luo Yu pointed to the Little Lizard on his shoulder. "My ability is to control this Mutated Lizard, and its ability is to devour radiation."

General Zhan Kuang walked up to Luo Yu, looking down at him from a height.

"Do you know what place this is?"

"I know," Luo Yu did not flinch. "Baijiang City First Nuclear Power Plant, reactor unit one leaked, the surrounding ten kilometers is a restricted zone, piled with massive amounts of nuclear waste, as well as a large number of mutated creatures."

"Then do you know what the crime is for trespassing into a military restricted zone?"

"I know," Luo Yu said calmly. "I am not here to cause trouble; I am here to turn myself over to the state."

"Hahaha!!" General Zhan Kuang narrowed his eyes: "You are turning yourself over to the state?"

"Yes." Luo Yu pointed to the Nuclear Power Plant outside the window and said: "You have nuclear waste that you cannot dispose of, and I have a pet that can eat nuclear waste. To the state, I am a talent."

"..." General Zhan Kuang fell silent.

He turned and walked to the display screen, pulling up a set of data.

"In the reactor unit one leak area, the radiation level is ten thousand times the normal level, and the storage area is piled with three thousand tons of nuclear waste. The annual processing cost exceeds three billion."

General Zhan Kuang turned around and looked at Luo Yu.

"Are you sure your pet can eat all this?"

"Not sure," Luo Yu said honestly. "But we can try."

"Try?" General Zhan Kuang's expression became serious: "Do you know what the consequences would be if some uncontrollable accident happened? The entire Baijiang City would be contaminated by radiation."

"That's why I came to find you," Luo Yu shrugged nonchalantly. "If I went to eat it secretly on my own, that would be dangerous. Now that I've come openly and honestly, you can monitor the whole process. If there's any problem, you can stop it immediately. Isn't that safer?"

General Zhan Kuang stared at Luo Yu for a long time, then suddenly asked: "What do you want?"

"Very simple!!" Luo Yu breathed a sigh of relief internally and held up three fingers: "First, I want a legal identity. I don't want to have to sneak around every time I come to eat."

"Second, I want resources. My pet needs a large amount of radiation to grow, and I hope to have priority in obtaining the rights to process nuclear waste from various places."

"Third..." Luo Yu paused: "I want protection. My ability is very special, and surely others will be jealous. I don't want to be kidnapped one day while walking down the street."

"Your requests are not excessive," General Zhan Kuang said in a deep voice after listening. "Now I need to confirm your ability first."

"No problem," Luo Yu shrugged. "We can do it now."

General Zhan Kuang turned to the soldier and said: "Go to the storage area and get a piece of spent fuel rod. Choose the one with the lowest radiation level."

"Yes!"

Ten minutes later, a heavy lead box was brought into the Command Center.

The lead box was opened, and inside was a metal rod the thickness of a fist, its surface shimmering with a faint blue light.

The detector showed that the radiation level of this fuel rod was five thousand times the normal level.

An ordinary person would die if they got within ten meters.

"Is this okay?" General Zhan Kuang asked.

"Yes," Luo Yu placed the Little Lizard on the ground and smiled: "Go ahead, it's time to eat."

The moment the Little Lizard saw the fuel rod, its eyes actually erupted with red light. Now, following the command, it scurried over on its short little legs and took a bite of the fuel rod.

"Snap." The sound of metal breaking.

"Snap, snap, snap." The Little Lizard chewed the fuel rod to pieces as if it were eating potato chips.

Everyone in the Command Center held their breath.

The numbers on the detector began to drop. 5000... 4000... 3000... 2000... 1000...

In just thirty seconds, the radiation level dropped to zero.

That fuel rod had turned into a pile of grayish-white powder.

The Little Lizard let out a burp and wobbled back to Luo Yu's feet.

The whole room was deathly silent.

Everyone stared at this scene, dumbfounded.

A technician said with a trembling voice: "This... this is not scientific... radiation energy cannot disappear out of thin air..."

"It didn't disappear," Luo Yu squatted down and patted the Little Lizard's head. "It was eaten by it."

General Zhan Kuang took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart.

"Your pet... how much more can it eat?"

"I don't know," Luo Yu shook his head. "It's still in its larval stage, its appetite should only grow larger."

"Hiss!!" General Zhan Kuang gasped. If this Lizard could truly devour radiation indefinitely... then its value would be simply immeasurable.

Tens of thousands of tons of nuclear waste are produced globally every year, and countries are plagued by this headache.

If the Dragon Kingdom mastered this ability... General Zhan Kuang dared not think any further.

"Wait a moment." Thinking of this, General Zhan Kuang turned and walked to the corner, picking up an encrypted phone. "I need to request instructions from my superiors."

Luo Yu nodded and sat down on a chair.

The Little Lizard crawled onto his lap, curled up, and closed its eyes.

Luo Yu could feel that its body was slowly growing.

That fuel rod just now had increased its evolution progress by 0.5%.

Although it wasn't much, it was still much better than the cobalt source at the hospital.

And... Luo Yu glanced at the system panel.

【evolution progress: 0.6%】【Distance to next stage: 99.4%】【Estimated requirement: 2000 spent fuel rods, or 300 tons of nuclear waste, or 10 kilograms of enriched uranium.】

The corners of Luo Yu's mouth couldn't help but twitch a few times.

This appetite... it really is a gold-swallowing beast.

But it didn't matter. Now that he had made a connection with the state, never mind 2000 fuel rods, even 20,000 wouldn't be a problem.

Ten minutes later, General Zhan Kuang hung up the phone and walked back.

"My superiors have agreed, but there are a few conditions."

"First, you must join the military, be granted the rank of second lieutenant, and your codename will be 'Monster'."

"Second, your pet must undergo a comprehensive examination to ensure there is no danger."

"Third, all actions must be carried out under military supervision; you are not allowed to act on your own."

"Fourth..." General Zhan Kuang stared at Luo Yu, then said earnestly: "Your ability belongs to the state's SSS-level secrets and must not be leaked to the outside world."

Luo Yu thought about it and nodded: "That's acceptable."

"Very good." General Zhan Kuang extended his hand. "Welcome aboard, second lieutenant Luo Yu."

Luo Yu also stood up and shook his hand.

"Pleasure working with you, Commander War."