magic high school

Chapter 5: The Nuclear Bomb "Fat Man"

Li Ge fell silent, looking at the group of veterans, unable to express his feelings.

Perhaps, even with all the Soviet soldiers present, these few "reincarnated" helpers wouldn't have been able to fill the nuclear reactor with cement. The quality of these outsiders was far, far inferior to that of the Soviet soldiers...

"Unless, we can completely react with all the nuclear waste that is still radiating," he murmured, as if only the fat man could hear him.

But Li Ge isn't Godzilla; he really can't unleash an atomic breath or conjure up a supergalaxy with his bare hands, but that's obviously impossible.

"Li Ge, I have another way!" The fat man seemed to have been thinking the whole way, and at this moment, he seemed to hear Li Ge's voice, and seemed to have finally finished his calculations. He said, "I'll become a nuclear bomb. I can detonate myself and then completely neutralize the nuclear leak here through the nuclear explosion."

Li Ge: "?"

He didn't point out the question mark because he thought there was something wrong with him, but because he thought there was something wrong with you, the fat guy.

What do you mean you can detonate it? What do you mean... wait a minute? Fatty?

Li Ge's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Yes, Li Ge, you guessed it right. I'm from Nagasaki Prefecture, so I can become a 2.2-ton nuclear bomb 'Fatty.' It's a tradition in my hometown. Fattys here have a once-in-a-lifetime moment of glory." Fatty smiled, revealing his big white teeth, and gave a thumbs up.

Dude, so you're this "fat guy" after all this time?

No, huh?

Li Ge was now completely bewildered, his brain starting to ramble incoherently, as if fighting back and forth. He even wondered if he had heard a really ridiculous joke: what did it mean that a fat man from Nagasaki Prefecture could have a yield of 2.2 tons?

You don't have a younger brother named "Little Boy," do you?

It was only then that Li Ge realized just how exaggerated and unreasonable the "comedic" ability of the clown mask left by her parents was. After all that, she realized that she herself was a comedic character.

However, looking at the fat man, Li Ge suddenly asked with a touch of sadness, "Fatty, if you explode, will we ever see each other again?"

Although they hadn't known each other for long, Fatty was willing to sacrifice himself to help Li Ge block the lantern bearer, and he encouraged and helped her every time. After such a short period of getting to know each other, Li Ge really thought that Fatty was already a close friend.

"Perhaps, if you come to Chernobog again next time, we'll have a chance to meet again." The fat man gave another thumbs up, revealing his gleaming white teeth. "After all, even if I self-destructed, I would only lose one day's memory."

Losing... a day's worth of memories...

For Li Ge, the next time she met the fat guy, he would completely forget what happened today and would still consider them old classmates.

"Now is the peak of our youthful passion, Li Ge!" The fat man took a deep breath, pointed to himself, and said, "Leave the cleanup of the pollution source to me. Let's go crazy!"

"After all, this is the only glorious moment of my life as a fat man from Nagasaki Prefecture!"

"Thank you, Fatty..." Li Ge said. He felt like crying, but when he saw Fatty saying these things in the funniest, most nonsensical way, he was amused instead.

The fat man abruptly interrupted the Soviet soldiers' conversation, saying, "Comrade-in-Chief, I have an idea! I can transform into a 2.2-ton yield, fully reactive nuclear bomb. As long as I can be transported to a radiation source, I can find a way to detonate myself and neutralize all the nuclear contamination!"

In that instant, Li Ge sensed that even the Soviet soldiers were showing expressions of confusion.

However, they soon accepted the premise that the fat man could turn into a nuclear bomb and began discussing the specific details.

Although there are no nuclear engineering experts here, they can blow things up by feel. As long as the nuclear explosion can penetrate the reactor, they will have won.

It is no longer a cement-cast stone coffin used to slow down the leakage of nuclear radiation, but a complete and thorough neutralization of nuclear radiation.

Nuclear radiation is originally just pollution caused by incomplete reactions in a nuclear reactor. If the reaction is complete, the energy of the radiation will be completely converted into heat, which is why nuclear explosions can clean up nuclear pollution.

Although it was abstract, after discussion, everyone agreed that the plan was feasible, even more feasible than the previous plan to create a stone coffin by pouring cement.

And so, the plan was set.

The Soviet soldiers had an underground track leading directly to the nuclear reactor, filled with deadly nuclear radiation, and a mining cart that should still be barely usable.

The original plan was to use this track to completely pour cement into it, but now, it will become a nuclear missile silo.

However, the radiation concentration below was a dose that even these Soviet soldiers, who had become bizarre, could not withstand. Even there, the corpses would gradually turn into bodily fluids, and the radiation suits would melt away.

Therefore, the previous mobilization was truly their last mobilization before their deaths.

Before heading into the tunnel, the fat man began taking out various pieces of equipment from his toolbox that Li Ge couldn't understand and assembling them. The Soviet soldiers watched quietly, their dim blue lights flashing rhythmically with the fat man's movements, as if cheering him on.

Li Ge stood on the outside, watching all of this.

He quickly tidied the straps of his tool bag one last time, then smiled and said, "Keep an eye on my bag. Next time... um, next time."

Li Ge slung the tool bag over her shoulder, which seemed capable of producing countless wondrous gadgets.

Suddenly, the lantern-carrying monster walked up to him and gently touched his shoulder with the empty "head" of its head.

"You should leave," he said.

"We are all dead, but you are still alive, you still have a future..." The lantern bearer spoke in English this time, and Li Ge understood. In his previous life, he was a graduate student who failed the postgraduate entrance exam, so he still knew basic English, even though the Soviet soldier's English was also stumbling.

It was during the Cold War, and the Soviet Union took its Cold War adversaries very seriously. Therefore, English education was still important, and at the very least, the commissioners could speak some basic English.

At that moment, all the Soviet soldiers turned their heads and looked at Li Ge.

They were covered in fatal wounds. Li Ge seemed to be hallucinating. He seemed to see countless figures rushing into the radiation, fighting against an unseen enemy with their own flesh and blood. Some fell, some took their place. There were mothers crying as they said goodbye to their sons, and wives embracing their husbands before watching them walk towards death...

The final image is of an unfinished sarcophagus, and countless souls standing around it, never to leave.

Those were scenes from their lives, but now all that remains is this ruin, and the group of immortals who have always guarded the nuclear reactor are all in ruins.

All the Soviet soldiers turned around in unison, facing the reactor, raising their tools—shovels, picks, searchlights, benches, or even empty hands—and stood in neat rows, like soldiers awaiting inspection.