Chapter 102: The One Called Godzilla (Seeking First Subscription)

It had been two days since the massive, unidentified creature nearly tore through Tokyo, leveling nearly half of the world’s most populous metropolitan area with nothing but its sheer mass and size.

The Japanese government had taken no action during the catastrophe. They were hopelessly entangled in a mountain of bureaucratic red tape and layers of redundant legal documents, failing to reach a single decision even after the monster had departed. No one dared to bear the consequences of a rash action that might fail. And even if an action were to succeed, the subsequent investigations into the breach of legal protocols would be enough to destroy anyone’s political career. Thus, in true Japanese fashion, since no one wanted to shoulder the responsibility, the safest course was to do nothing at all.

There was, however, a Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary named Rando Yaguchi. He possessed a youthful, hot-blooded idealism and had wanted to step up and do something. But coming from a long line of politicians, he was quickly suppressed by his father’s protégés and old associates, who wouldn't let him risk his neck. After all, had not Prime Minister Okochi himself, fearing the responsibility of "ordering the Self-Defense Forces to harm the citizens," ordered an attack to cease just as the armed helicopters were about to fire, simply because two people had not yet evacuated?

*You’re in such a rush to take the lead—what’s the matter? Are you trying to embarrass everyone?*

Nevertheless, because of his drive to defeat the monster, he ended up leading a Monster Countermeasure Task Force once the destruction had ended.

On the day the monster left, Tokyo—outside of the devastated areas—returned to normal. Traffic, commerce, entertainment... everything seemed unchanged. Those who were not affected immediately threw themselves back into their daily lives.

"Snap."

A beautiful woman with deep-set eyes, a high nose, and mixed Eurasian heritage smiled as she tossed a file onto the task force’s table. Among the sea of Japanese civil servants dressed in stiff suits, her casual attire stood out sharply.

"This is all the research our nation has on Godzilla. Gentlemen, please, help yourselves."

Everyone present knew that "our nation" referred to the United States. Two of the team members whispered among themselves.

"They have research data on a nuclear-powered organism and even had the leisure to give it a name. As expected of the world’s greatest superpower," one member remarked in awe.

"Tch! Forget the data; for all we know, Godzilla was created by them and then broke loose!" Another replied, though his tone was laced with resentment, his admiration for American technological prowess was self-evident.

"By the way, the team leader only found her a person, and she’s already sharing such vital intelligence... heh heh." As he spoke, the team member glanced teasingly between the handsome man and the beautiful woman.

But just as the woman from the United States was about to spread a rolled-up blueprint across the table:

"Bang!"

A large group of heavily armed Caucasian soldiers escorted the Japanese Prime Minister, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, and a man who looked like a scholar into the room. The scholar’s eyes turned red the moment he saw the blueprint.

"Kayoko Anne Patterson!"

"That is the research result of Monarch! You have no right to make it public!"

Faced with the arrival of the military, Kayoko was not surprised, only somewhat disappointed.

"Dr. Serizawa, I thought you would be chatting with the Prime Minister for a while longer before coming here. If you’re here already... you must have dragged the Prime Minister here by force, didn't you?"

She was right; the dignified Prime Minister Okochi now looked utterly bewildered, his hands raised in surrender under the muzzles of the soldiers' guns.

"Ahem!" The white-haired Chief Cabinet Secretary tremblingly raised a hand to signal for silence, then turned his head to explain to the Prime Minister in a slow, measured tone.

"Well, it’s like this. Monarch is a secret organization affiliated with the United States that has a cooperation agreement with Japan's top leadership. As you know, our country has changed over a hundred Prime Ministers in the last ninety-plus years."

"Of course, the Prime Minister is undoubtedly the highest level of government! But Monarch’s contact with our government is actually quite limited, and it is... inconvenient if the collaborators of a secret organization are changed too frequently."

"Therefore, aside from the times when they are in contact with Monarch, the Prime Minister is usually unaware of its existence. You surely understand, don't you?"

Understand! Under the barrel of a gun, one had to understand!

"That is not important." Serizawa didn't want to waste effort on these matters; he kept his eyes locked on the blueprint in Kayoko's hand. "That is the research result submitted by Monarch to the President of the United States. Regardless of how you, as a Senator, obtained it, making it public now is illegal!"

Even with Kayoko's eloquence, she couldn't refute this point, but her eyes darted around, and she realized she could approach it from another angle.

"This research result will help the Japanese government defeat Godzilla. It has been ashore for less than half a day—look at those collapsed buildings! Look at the piles of corpses beneath the rubble! Look at the homeless refugees left in the wake of the disaster! Who knows what terrible catastrophe it will cause next? Isn't it only right to give humanity a weapon to fight back?"

The Japanese present were breathing heavily, their anger flaring at Kayoko's words. Anyone recruited by Rando Yaguchi into the task force held a bit of patriotism and a deep hatred for Godzilla. Kayoko took the opportunity to cast a suspicious look at Dr. Serizawa.

"Or do you believe that humanity should just let Godzilla hurt us?"

"I have heard that your family has always held a certain reverence for it!"

Hearing this, many of the younger members grew so angry that they subconsciously let out curses at the man standing beside the Prime Minister. The hot-tempered ones, seeing that the soldiers had no intention of firing, were ready to roll up their sleeves and start a fight!

But even under such condemnation, Serizawa’s attitude remained firm. Or rather, at his age, having seen so much of the world’s splendor and strangeness, he was not easily shaken.

"Do not attempt to stir up hatred between humanity and her, Kayoko."

"I revere Godzilla, but not *this* Godzilla. The situation of this Godzilla is clearly written in my report. It was discovered in the Mariana Trench as a juvenile, and its genes were already polluted by unknown factors. That is why we were able to keep it contained beneath the Fukushima nuclear plant, hoping to study it for a fleeting moment in its long life cycle without being sensed by *that* Godzilla."

Serizawa’s questioning continued. "Now, according to the algorithms provided by Dr. Brody, the fluctuations triggered by its rapid growth are already enough to attract her attention!"

At this point, Serizawa looked at Kayoko as if she were a lost soul beyond saving. "You want to attack, even kill, this mutated Godzilla. You think you’ve found a weakness, that you have the upper hand. But have you considered what her attitude is?"

"If your act of attacking her kin makes her furious, what will this tiny island nation use to deal with *two* rampaging Godzillas?"

"Two?!" Rando Yaguchi, listening from the side, muttered in a daze.

Such a terrifying creature—there are two of them on Earth? A monster capable of destroying the fruits of decades of human labor within half a day—there are two?

He suddenly felt as if he no longer recognized the Earth.