Chapter 655: Chapter 61 Episode 3 Ooparts

Ishihara stared at Kenzo with slanted eyes.

“Kenzo, salt is just salt. Ameko wouldn’t enjoy grilled foods with salt like some Korean (from Joseon) in the Ituri jungle. Although, grilled okapi belly on mahogany charcoal would be delicious.”

Ishihara grinned sarcastically.

“According to a report by Matsushida Ueno, the older the salt sediment layer is the higher the lithium content is. I do cautiously assume that Ameko’s purpose may be lithium,” said Kenzo.

Kenzo’s response was hesitant. Ishihara tended to disregard uncertain speculative remarks.

“Lithium? The lithium that Yomiuri made a fuss about the next generation of food?” Ishihara asked back.

Kenzo breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the boss didn’t show any sign of anger.

“Yes, sir. Matsushida and Sony have launched prototypes. Lithium batteries are said to be much more powerful than manganese or nickel batteries. The Ueno report was certain that lithium batteries were going to be the main force of the battery market.”

“Yoshi! It’s not oil or uranium. It’s lithium. Is lithium that expensive? Expensive enough for Ameko to make a fuss?”

“If you’d want to say that it is expensive, then it is. If you’d like to say it is cheap, then it’s cheap. In Japan, the market price is around 500 yen per kilogram. With international market price, it is traded at five times the price of copper. As usage increases, prices are likely to explode.”

“Oh! It’s not a big deal. I’ll just have to see who falls back as if I am watching a sumo game.”

Ishihara lost his excitement. He paid a lot of attention to it and turned out that it was just some mere mineral that had not even been commercialized. It was difficult enough to deal with the Hamaoka nuclear accident at the moment.

“Lithium is a hydrogen bomb tritium extraction catalyst. It’s a mineral that the U.S. reserves as a strategic resource. You should not take it lightly.”

Kenzo drew back the attention. It was not an easy matter for him, who was suffering from the trauma of nuclear bombs.

“It is a little strange. I just remembered. Ameko has been stockpiling lithium and tritium for decades in Kingston. The amount they stockpiled could smash this Earth dozens of times if they produced hydrogen bombs with them. Yet, they’re mobilizing the Marines to build a permanent base for lithium? Don’t you think something is off?”

“That’s an excellent insight. A large supply ship was escorted by a destroyer into the port of Dar es Salaam. Lithium may not be the purpose.”

“Is that so? Are they trying to overturn Mobutu?”

“There’s no reason for Yankee to touch the obedient Mobutu. He would become a headache if he sided with Brezhnev. We need to send an informant. Tenzo’s satellite image information is limited.”

“We lost contact with the people of the overseas department. The results are obvious if we send people that are similar to them. The success of Pearl Harbor was because we had Nakano School (founded by the Japanese Army in 1938. During World War II. Secret intelligence agents who specialized in espionage and conspiracy were trained. It was popular for their elites that were almost-inhuman-superhuman). We don’t have enough manpower because the old cowards disbanded Nakano. I have been telling them that we need to train special forces from earlier days. If only the old hags listened. Should we send an SAT (Special Assault Team)?”

Ishihara crumpled up his face. It was obvious that even if the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office staff were dispatched once again, they would melt in the jungle.

“There’s a concern of causing a misunderstanding with the CIA. If there is any discord between the U.S.-Japan alliance, we will be losing more than gaining.”

Kenzo was freaked out by Ishihara’s projection. Japan did not have the right to collective self-defense. When the SAT collided with the U.S. military, Japan would be the one getting beaten up.

“Yoshi, you’re right about that. How nice would it be to have a psycho(best) agent like Abaddon or Black Mamba? Sheesh!”

Ishihara smacked his lips. Spending 10 billion yen on super luxury agents such as Abaddon, who went missing after smashing a secret base in Syria and a terrorist training center, and Black Mamba, whose existence was ambiguous, would be well worth the price. The reason why he knew the existence of Abaddon and Black Mamba was because CIRO exchanged information with the CIA.

The ability to carry out impossible operations without hesitation and the brutality of killing 100 or 1,000 people without mercy suited his taste perfectly. Tracking of the Black Mamba was attempted through the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, but the trail was vague like fog.

“There is Higashi Honganji. Ninjas can’t reveal their identity, and even if they do, we will just play innocent.”

“Well, it’s not easy…”

Ishihara blurred his sentence. He had already contacted the governor of Higashi Honganji once. Ninjas specialized in environmental adaptability and viability. Although it was the best card to operate in a tropical jungle, the fact that he was the godfather of Yakuza and the requirements felt tricky.

The first condition was to allow the establishment of a new missionary school. The second condition was to hire a Higashi Honganji student as a special agent. Even if he wanted to agree to it right away, the problem was the subject who shackled Higashi Honganji.

MacArthur also restricted Higashi Honganji’s missionary activities when closing Nakano School. This was because Higashi Honganji cooperated with Nakano and trained Kamikaze. Higashi Honganji could not establish a new missionary school or increase the number of its students.

He secretly raised his students through the Hamong family, a collateral descendant, but there was no place to use them. As he sent his students to Yakuza as a desperate measure, he unintentionally overshadowed the stigma of being the main house of Yakuza, and CIRO was in a dilemma where they could not utilize the best intelligence resources because they were wary of the U.S.

“It’s time for us to speak up, sir. We can’t keep being wary of Ameko forever, can we?”

Kenzo scratched his pride a little.

“Yoshi, the empire can’t keep being wary of others forever. Tell the school board, if they find out the objective of the U.S. military and secure a base in Mambasa, we will grant the conditions. Kenzo, take charge of this operation!”

“Yes, sir!”

Kenzo saluted the heels of his shoes and turned around.

“Kenzo, has the UMA flight tracking been successful?”

Kenzo stood still while holding the door handle. When it came to UMA, he had nothing to say.

“I’m sorry, except for the witnesses’ statement that he disappeared eastward…”

“Well then, get out!”

“Yes, sir!”

Ishihara glared at the ceiling as if Garuda was there.

“No way CIA would be betraying… What the hell else is it?”

Mirror imaging was the first principle to watch out for when analyzing information, but they could not possibly suspect the CIA. Even if it wasn’t the U.S. but some greater country, they could not create a predator that tore and ate the Nure-onna like its paper.

“Is it a sign that the world is going downhill?” Ishihara murmured.

His eyes were still on the ceiling.

The Higashi Honganji Presbytery readily accepted Ishihara’s proposal. “The sword is there to be used whether as a radish cutter or to cut a person, not to be kept in the sheath,” said Ryoma Matsuda, the chief of Higashi Honganji. A sentence that smelled bloody, showing the identity of Higashi Honganji.

Choi Do-sik, who was revived like a phoenix through the Great Law, led a group of literary students and left for prose. Next to Choi Do-sik, as if she was a shadow, was a female ninja with her hair down to her hips. She was a narrator called Lacetz (Rakshasa).

Following the Soviet Union and Japan, France also dispatched additional process squadrons and intelligence teams to the Areva Resource Development Headquarters, 130 kilometers south of Mambasa.

Executor Davis’ intention was to entice the Marines under the pretext of a rebel attack and entrench the Mambasa Triangle into a permanent semi-territory. The intention was quite successful, but the situation was beyond control due to excessive attention.

In eastern Zaire, there was a messy battle and a ruthless murder game that took place every day due to the intertwining of spies from powerful nations; U.S. troops and various armed warlords.

Hae Young was immersed in the work by going up and down the fault zone without being aware of the urgent situation. Even if she knew, nothing would have differed. What mattered to her was the fossil to prove her hypothesis, not the battle.

Smash! The blade of the hand drill broke. Fossil excavation required delicate movements. Once concentration got scattered, iron-hard metamorphic rocks relentlessly ate through the drill bits.

“Oh, death must feel like this!”

Hae Young flopped down. Ngpanwaza was a highland of 1,700m above sea level with temperatures rising and falling by 30℃. If she was to continue for one more hour, she might collapse from exhaustion.

“Do they ever get tired?”

30 Marines were collecting samples nonstop like ants, going up and down the slope of the incision site. The soldiers wore military uniforms that covered their entire bodies and were equipped with full-face helmets. It was a wonder how to endure the heat and lack of oxygen.

The Marines picked it up and bagged any rocks that seemed a little weird, fossil or not. They were completely useless minerals, such as semi-translucent obstruction stones, crystal rods with developed joints, magnetic iron ore, etc. She didn’t like it but stopped caring. It was none of her business what they collected as long as they designated a working point.

“Keri, do you have a spare bit?” Hae Young shouted at Keri, who was working in the G sector.

“I don’t have it, either. Should I ask them to bring it?”

Keri pointed at a cyborg on an all-around-security mission in a saluted position. They played three roles: bodyguards, monitors, and task assistants.

“No, thanks. I need some rest.”

One should rest if one was tired. Fossils would get damaged if her fingertips were numb. Hae Young, who was standing up, stumbled and fell over.

“Oh, my!”

Keri came running to help.

“It’s an early sign of heatstroke. You need to cool yourself down with cold water.”

Keri carried Hae Young down the cutting area. Four cyborgs shadowed. The ground shook like a wave just as they arrived at the base camp.

“It’s an earthquake. Evacuate immediately. Evacuate immediately!” Keri picked up the walkie-talkie and yelled.

Marines that were on the mountain slopes rushed down. The ground fluttered as they left the cutting area. CRRMMMM! The earth cried.

“Run, run!”

Keri and Hae Young yelled.

“AHHHHH!”

The Marines screamed and ran for their lives. The upper part of the 200-meter-high cliff, which they did not dare to climb, collapsed. QUAAA! A huge pile of dirt and rocks swept down towards a distant valley.

From sector F to sector H, the nodule disappeared without a trace, and an additional 300m-long incision appeared outside of sector G. Dense cloud of dust flew and twirled. Fortunately, there were no casualties.

“Oh, my!”

The frightened Hae Young stared blankly at the natural disaster. If the drill bit hadn’t been broken, she would have been done for.

“Lynn, you must be blessed by an angel!”

Keri tapped Hae Young on the shoulder with a freaked-out face. If he hadn’t left the workplace with the spirit of chivalry, it would have been over.

“Angel’s blessing my ass!”

Hae Young made a complaint. If she was protected by an angel, she wouldn’t have been dragged into a hellhole like this. PFFT! The radio indicator blinked.

“The nest. Is everything all right?

“I’m sorry, unfortunately, everything’s fine.”

Keri choked up. He almost lost his life, so his words couldn’t be nice. The terrain changed frequently due to continued aftershocks, but Professor Samuel pushed for exploration.

“Hahaha, don’t complain. It’s the fate of a mole underground. Report the situation.”

“From sector F to sector H, the fault surface disappeared and additional incisions were revealed.”

“You must be very frightened. Leave or continue the work on your own accord.”

“All right, Roger!”

Keri shorted the radio and huffed.

“Damn old man, trying to milk everything.”

The next day, Hae Young made a blue dot on the route map and climbed the incision. Terrified Keri didn’t come out of the workshop and remained in the nest. The steep cliff collapsed, forming a surface of about 60 degrees. It was alright for climbing, but the weakened ground could collapse at any moment. She shuddered at her own recklessness, but resonance moved her body.

She felt for the strata carefully along the collapsed incision. The lower part of the incision identified by the mass spectrometer was a gneiss fault area of the Precambrian period 1.4 billion years ago. If the upper strata were close to the Cambrian period, fossils were highly likely to exist.

The reason why no animal or plant fossils were found in the Precambrian stratum was because of low oxygen concentration. If there was not enough oxygen, organisms with bones or tissues could not appear. This was why paleontologists were not interested in the Precambrian period.

Hae Young did not believe in the theory that only green algae existed during the Precambrian period. Whether it was 600 million or 700 million years, they were both the same time frame that humans could not estimate. Scientific truth could be produced as many times as possible if only a few conditions were met.

People were easily fascinated by the word “scientific”, but necessary and sufficient conditions did not always exist between science and truth. How do people judge a case that happened hundreds of millions of years ago?

What if the crust flipped over like a pancake mold (Boong-eo-Bbang: fish-shaped pastry) and all the traces went hundreds of kilometers underground? Who could guarantee that there had been no environment similar to the modern Earth somewhere in the long four billion years?

In the upper part of the stratum, intruded metamorphic rocks were widespread. This vein intrusion was a geological makeup where uranium deposits were likely to develop. The basal conglomerate layer was clearly a Precambrian metamorphic rock that had been subjected to folding action.

“Bingo!”

Hae Young’s face brightened up. It was a stromatolite fossil. She carefully collected the stromatolite with a dental electric drill and meticulously recorded them on the card.