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The autumn breeze blew away the unbearable summer heat and brought a long-lost coolness...... CAiHoNgWeNXuE。

In this wonderful autumn season, the bright maple leaves are once again dyeing the forests of the Ou Mountains in northeastern Japan, and from a distance, they look like smoke and mist, and they are as brilliant as clouds.

However, in the mountains and fields of the here and now, there are no children picking up autumn leaves, and it is difficult to find climbers.

This is because this is Fukushima, the second piece of radioactive waste created by mankind after Chernobyl as a result of the nuclear power plant accident.

Although many years have passed since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which was so tragic and full of foreign appearances that foreigners could not laugh or cry and shame the Japanese that it was extremely humiliating, the radiation intensity around the Fukushima nuclear power plant has remained at a rather frightening level.

So, apart from a few cornered unlucky guys, basically no one wants to stay in this wasteland of deadly radiation.

Chinese New Year's Eve The five-year-old senior electrical engineer Battlefield Hara Seibei is one of the unlucky ones living in this desolate wasteland.

In the faint morning light, the former Seibei engineer who had just finished working overtime all night on the battlefield, wearing a somewhat wrinkled old suit, holding a document bag in his right arm and a lit cigarette in his left hand, looked tired and stepped on the withered yellow fallen leaves, slowly walking on the streets of Futaba Town.

Looking around, whether it is the gorgeous red maples all over the mountains or the sparkling golden bay, it is impossible to arouse his interest. And the surrounding empty, quiet, depressed and dilapidated street scene. It made him feel a strange silence and loneliness!

Looking at the whole of Japan, except for the Fukushima area, which has been moldy for eight lifetimes, I am afraid that there is no town with many buildings and buildings, and there is not a single person or car on the streets during the day, only the cold autumn wind blows the fallen leaves on the ground, and the emptiness and silence are like ghost towns...... No way, the average radiation level here. It has reached 1,500 times the area around Tokyo, and it is a terrifying death zone and a literal radioactive wasteland. As a result, the people who once lived here have long since left. All that remained was a dead silence of streets and houses.

Standing in the dead silence of the street, looking at the deserted town, the battlefield Hara Seibei engineer sighed and closed his eyes. While contemplating the prosperity of this place in the past, I can't help but recall my life as an office worker in Tokyo a few years ago.

-- Every morning, wearing a crisp suit and holding a briefcase, he hurried into the crowded subway at seven or eight o'clock in the morning. After a busy day at work, he and his colleagues and boss had to go to the "izakaya" for a mental exchange that seemed to be a pastime but was actually a torment, and Zuihou dragged his tired body to take the "final electricity" at about 11 o'clock in the evening, that is, the last train back to the deserted home - his wife and children had already fallen asleep - day after day, year after year. This is typical of the life of a Japanese office worker.

In the past, the former battlefield Qingbei was also extremely tired and even hated this boring and toiling life of "worker bees", just like countless office workers who drunkenly shouted "so stressful", "hard work", and "almost overworked" in small bars. But now that I think about it. But I have a lot of nostalgia for that dull and boring day - no matter how hard and stressful the life of an office worker is, it is always better than staying in a nuclear radiation zone and being accompanied by deadly radioactive materials all day long...... This horrible life is stronger!

But this is also a helpless thing, who calls his uncompetitive ex-wife will be obsessed with a new religion or a cult at some point. And she quickly reached the point of going crazy -- not only did she participate in some debauched evil gatherings, but she also donated tens of millions of yen of her family property to the sect leader behind his back. What's worse is that she also secretly borrowed a dizzying amount of usury from the gang, squandered it at a so-called religious ceremony, and then credited it to his husband, who knew nothing. …,

Alas, how could such a quiet and gentle good woman in school become such a religious fanatic?

zuihou, who has gone completely crazy, even wants to force her own daughter to dedicate herself to the cult cadres, saying that it is "purification" and "blessing...... Thanks to the daughter's refusal to die, breaking the head of the god stick and alarming the neighbors, it did not lead to the worst result.

So, after everything was revealed, he had to divorce his hopeless ex-wife who had gone mad and ended this nightmare marriage. Next, in order to save expenses and pay off debts, the battlefield original Qingbei had to sell his ancestral single-family house and his own private car, move into a dilapidated apartment with his daughter, and push away all the scenes of entertainment, save money, and do two or three jobs at the same time......

However, although the battlefield was already forgetting to sleep and eating, and even overdrawing his life to earn money, according to his repeated calculations, if the terrible interest was taken into account, he would have to work hard for at least fifteen years before he could pay off all the usury borrowed by his ex-wife.

Fifteen years! After working hard for a while, the battlefield Kiyobei who was already exhausted and exhausted really didn't know if his body, which was not originally strong, could support him for fifteen years under this ultra-high-intensity working environment.

Even if, fifteen years later, he finally managed to pay off his debts, it was only zero when he swiped his card. What should I do with my daughter's college tuition?

As a result, just when Kiyobei Hara, who was mired in usury, was uncertain about his future, a representative of TEPCO suddenly approached him with the leader of the gang who had lent money, and put forward a very tempting condition: as long as Kiyobei Battlefield Hara was willing to work at the Fukushima nuclear power plant for three years, TEPCO would help him pay off all his debts at once, in addition to a salary of 20 million yen a year.

-- Since the Fukushima nuclear power plant resumed normal power generation, the Fukushima nuclear power plant has been working in a nuclear radiation zone that has caused a lot of noise. So the staff of this nuclear power plant has been difficult to recruit. Although TEPCO has changed its stingy attitude of not hiring permanent workers if they can use labor dispatch workers, and has not only provided generous benefits, but also offered a high salary of 50,000 yen a day for temporary workers who have not graduated from junior high school in each country, it is still difficult to recruit new employees who are in short supply. Everyone is talking in private: "...... Whoever goes to Fukushima is sent to death, and no one is rare for such a deadly job! ”

As a result, TEPCO, which has always been in cahoots across the country, immediately turned to the "Kuza" (the Japanese transliteration of the yakuza) for help. Soon there was a ragtag army of homeless people, AIDS patients who didn't have a few years to live, former gangsters who were hunted down by the gangsters, and debtors who owed the gangsters a lot of money to loan sharks...... There are even mentally retarded people and foreign stowaways!

-- Working in the Fukushima nuclear radiation zone is basically gambling with your life. But the problem is, instead of being hacked to death by the gangsters right now. The corpse is then stuffed into a cement bucket and thrown into Tokyo Bay to feed the fish, but it is better to wait until a few years later to die from an overdose of radiation.

However. For TEPCO, which is in league with the gangsters, it is easy to find a ragtag army of hard-working people -- in any case, homeless homeless people, unlucky gangsters, and debt-ridden guys are more or less in Japan, where the economy has been sluggish for decades -- but it is not so easy to recruit high-quality and highly educated professionals who are truly excellent electrical engineers with senior resumes and rich work experience.

However, for a normal power station, such high-quality personnel are indispensable - if such a group of laymen with no electrical knowledge are really relied on to manage the nuclear power plant, then the result is definitely a larger-scale nuclear disaster soon! …,

As a result, the battlefield Kiyobei Hara, who was mired in usury, came into the field of vision of TEPCO. And soon handed him an olive branch - and the desperate battlefield Kiyobei had to grit his teeth and accept the gambling job in despair. He first advanced half a year's salary, handed over his daughter to her grandparents to take care of, and then carried his luggage alone. I came to the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which looks like a ghost town.

As of this day, the battlefield original Qingbei has been in this empty and dead radiation wasteland for a full twenty-eight months.

――――――――――――――――――

“…… Drip-Drip-Hello! Battlefield Hara-san! See you again this time! Why didn't you stay in this hellish place! ”

With the crisp sound of a horn, a military Humvee drove through an empty street full of fallen leaves, and then stopped with a sharp brake next to the battlefield Kiyobei Hara. Then, a car window was slowly rolled down. A black man in camouflage poked his head out of the driver's seat and waved at him in greeting.

-- Because they were worried about the spread of nuclear contamination and could not trust the radiation information released by the Japanese government, it was an unwritten rule that since the outbreak of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, the US Forces Command in Japan at the Yokota base in Tokyo had privately sent individuals to the Fukushima radiation zone every once in a while to measure the radiation intensity of the area with a Geiger counter to see if there were any bad things going on that were being concealed by the Japanese.

Obviously, for every American GI who cherishes his life at the Yokota base, this is an unfortunate errand to avoid.

Zuihou, this honorable task fell to the head of the black corporal Clark, who had been transferred from the battlefield in Afghanistan and had not even left the airport, when the gendarmes were surprised to find that Corporal Clark had 20 kilograms of "poppy products" and almost the same amount of marijuana in his luggage, as if he was planning to open a "Afghan souvenir direct sales store" at the Yokota base......

Worried that he could not find the relevant unit to replace the dead ghost, he immediately arrested Corporal Clark into the interrogation room, threatened and intimidated him, and then asked him to make a multiple-choice question - either press the matter and act as if nothing had happened, at the cost that Corporal Clark must volunteer to serve as a "Fukushima nuclear radiation scout"; Either go to court-martial, and "promise that you will be dealt with according to the strictest regulations......

As a result, Corporal Clark, who was caught, had to bite the bullet and "bravely enter the nuclear radiation zone" again and again. During this period, in addition to running red lights and violating Japanese traffic laws many times, this Corporal Clark was also quite conscientious. Every time, I really came to the periphery of the radiation zone to listen to the situation, and I never cheated, let alone rape schoolgirls along the way like the American soldiers stationed in the Ryukyus......

Because of the strange "Japanese English" that is unique to the Japanese, Clark quickly finds and becomes acquainted with the engineer of the battlefield Hara Seibei, who studied in the United States throughout the Fukushima nuclear radiation zone, and is the only person who can speak fluently to Clark in American English.

“…… Aren't you here again, too? Mr. Clark! Alas! You and I are not free! ”

On the battlefield, Kiyobei dropped the cigarette in his hand. He crushed the cigarette butt with the sole of his shoe, and replied in a fluent American English, "...... Excuse me. Can you give me a ride back to the dorm? I had been working overtime last night, and my legs were so weak that I couldn't walk! ”

“…… OK！ Come on! The black corporal grinned. Revealing a mouthful of neat white teeth, "...... There's someone on my side who wants to find you, too! Hi! Beauty, the person you're looking for is here! This is the former Seibei engineer stationed at the Fukushima nuclear power plant! ”…,

Belle? What beautiful woman would come to a hellish place like the Fukushima nuclear radiation zone? Could it be the local aborigines who are nostalgic for their homeland?

The battlefield hara Kiyobei frowned a little confused, and then saw the back door of the Humvee slowly open, revealing a slender calf.

Next, a young woman in a yellow jacket and knee-length plaid skirt, black hair with a shawl and an angular face jumped out of the Humvee SUV with a hearty smile. He said hello to the former Seibei engineer on the battlefield and briefly introduced himself: "...... Hello, Mr. Seibei Battlefield! I'm sorry to bother you! I'm Wang Yao, an intern reporter at the Japan office of China's Southeast Daily. I came to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Mr. Clark's car because I wanted to do a series of interviews with the staff who are staying here......"

She smiled and stretched out her right hand to the battlefield Hara Kiyobei, "...... Mr. Seibei Hara. Would you like to be interviewed by me? ”

The former engineer of the battlefield, who had not been in contact with a young woman for a long time, was stunned for a while before hesitantly holding the hand of the "female reporter".

――――――――――――――

The roar of car engines, echoing repeatedly through the silence of abandoned towns, was extremely harsh and loud.

Corporal Clark's Humvee SUV makes several laps through the streets of Futaba Town, which have fallen into disrepair. Countless dry and yellow leaves were lifted, and soon they arrived at the staff quarters of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, one of the few places that was slightly more popular in this desolate and dead radioactive wasteland.

It was originally a magnificent bank building, with a beautiful bronze statue of the beckoning cat and a fountain pool erected at the door, but at this time it was a mess, with weeds growing madly in the flower beds, and patches of sludge can be seen on the statue of the beckoning cat, leaving traces of the time when it was once submerged by the sea.

“…… Miss Wang Yao, this is our staff dormitory, where everyone from engineers to handymen live. Hey, it looks shabby! ”

Kiyobei was the first to jump out of the Humvee, and then pointed to the reinforced concrete building that looked dilapidated despite some renovation in front of him, and said to the "Miss Chinese Reporter" who followed closely behind.

“…… In order to provide us with a relatively safe living environment, the dormitory is surrounded by a layer of newly researched cheap radiation-resistant composite materials...... "He gestured to the temporary white panels on the walls and roof of the building.

“…… As for the true radiation protection of this thing, according to the results measured by everyone with the Geiger counter......" Battlefield Hara Seibei Engineer shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile, "...... Well, all I can say is that this thing is basically like the anti-radiation film for mobile phones and computers, and it's better to have it than nothing, at least it can have a little psychological comfort......"

“…… Alas, I can't imagine that the famous 50 warriors of Fukushima would stick to such a difficult, harsh and dangerous environment, day after day, year after year, to protect the safety of Tokyo and half of Japan......"

Female reporter Wang Yao sighed in admiration, "...... To paraphrase our country's jargon, you are the loveliest group of people! ”

-- In March 2011, when Japan was hit by the triple blow of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear leakage, and when the Fukushima nuclear crisis broke out in full swing, when the entire Shijie was expressing shock and ridicule at the Japanese authorities' extremely clumsy disaster relief operations, as well as all kinds of cowardice, indifference, absurdity, mutual deception, disregard for human life, and even the terrible performance that almost destroyed the country's image, a group of respectable Japanese people stood up and stuck to their posts to deal with the crisis after the nuclear disaster. used his own blood and life to smear a rare bright color on this dark and decadent history of disaster. …,

News media around the world dubbed the "Fukushima 50" or "Fukushima 50 Dead" and praised them for "fighting to the death like cherry blossoms!" "Risking his life to save his country from nuclear danger, Shijie was moved by his extraordinary courage!" "I interpret the spirit of bushido with my own life! It is a corporate warrior of the Heisei era of Japan! ”

-- While the evacuation radius around the Fukushima nuclear power plant was repeatedly expanded, and everyone else was evacuated to safety, these people resolutely stayed in the most dangerous places and built a safety barrier for Japan with their lives.

Since each nuclear reactor at the Fukushima nuclear power plant needs at least a dozen people to control, the four failed nuclear power units will need a total of 50 people...... Therefore, the legend of the "Fukushima Fifty Warriors" was born.

The legendary Fukushima Fifty Warriors are mainly from TEPCO Industries, a subsidiary of Tokyo Electric Power Company, Hitachi Works, which manufactures nuclear power plants, and Kashima Construction Co., Ltd. Most of them are over the age of 50, and some will retire from the workplace in a few months.

However, after the outbreak of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, these venerable old men said: "The country has such a big thing, and the people who do this work must rush forward!" "And at the cost of their own health and even their lives, they will build a barrier to protect the nuclear power plant.

In the most dangerous of those days, after the Self-Defense Forces, the police, and the fire brigade fled in defiance, these elderly people poured seawater into the exposed nuclear fuel in order to prevent the fuel from completely melting, and the thousands of tons of radioactive fallout that leaked out of it would cause half of the Japanese people to suffer. According to the New York Times, these 50 unsung heroes who will not withdraw from the death may be the hope of Zuihou who has turned the tide in the Japanese nuclear crisis.

As time went on, and as the nuclear crisis eased, TEPCO sent additional staff to the Fukushima nuclear power plant. However, they still take turns in groups of 50, so they continue to be called the "Fukushima 50 Warriors" by the outside world.

By now, the so-called "Fukushima 50 Warriors" have become synonymous with the people left behind at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

However, for the heartfelt praise of the Chinese female journalist, the performance of the former Qingbei engineer on the battlefield is somewhat strange.

“…… The cutest person? That's how Chinese newspapers and media praise us? He smiled wryly and sighed, "...... It's a pity that we've never seen ourselves like that, and neither have TEPCO and the government......"