Rising Rays of the New Century: Tale of the Japanese Empire

Inspection of the Construction Site

Originally, I was going to tell a story about an anti-Japanese faction of a warlord that kidnapped a company employee and threatened the Japanese government, and then the National Police Agency's overseas counterterrorism unit is deployed to solve the problem! But it seemed to get out of hand, so I decided to end the trip on a safe but disturbing note. Sorry for the delay.

- Bokutotsu Zen'u

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April 7

Lengshuijiang City, Loudi, Hunan Province, People's Republic of China

Loudi and Lengshuijiang, located adjacent to Changsha in the center of Hunan Province, are China's leading mineral resource areas, with a treasure trove of underground resources including antimony, natural gas, coal, iron ore, zinc, lime, and many others. In the past, numerous warlords fought fierce battles over these overflowing resources, but now they are under the control of the Ban Clique who ruled Changsha.

Now, the Japanese government and companies that formed an alliance with the Ban Clique are constructing the Changsha Underground Station in the city of Lengshuijiang. In addition, the construction of a subway railway is underway at the same time. This was started as a yen loan project under the agreement of both parties to sell the mined resources to Japan and transport them safely.

Miyato and the other members of the delegation had visited the construction site on the morning of that day in Lengshuijiang City. The general supervisor of the work at the site, Japanese company employee Saiaki Matsuo, explained the project to the delegation. At the aboveground work site, heavy machinery is being used to transport earth and sand discharged from underground to another location, and segments and other construction materials are being brought in. Many of the workers on the ground seem to be local residents, and Chinese is the language they are speaking.

"Segments brought in from Japan are lowered into the basement by crane, and from there they are transported to the work area by transport trucks. The tunneling shields are all operated remotely from the ground, with only a few workers underground to monitor the operation. The construction of the segments is also mostly automated, so there is no danger. In the aboveground and underground work areas, there are many locals as well as Japanese working on the site."

Matsuo explained the situation on the ground. He then led the delegation to the site. He stood in front of a small concrete building protruding from the ground and began to explain again.

"That entrance is the way to the underground site. I will take you to the tunneling shield."

Matsuo opened the door to reveal an elevator that led diagonally down to the basement. The delegation followed Matsuo's lead, got into the elevator, and headed for the underground tunnels being excavated.

Main Dining Hall, Construction Site

Later, after inspecting the underground work area, they inspected the tunneling shield control room above ground and the interior construction of the underground station. When the sun was high in the sky, they went to the cafeteria where the workers gathered. There was a long line of workers waiting for their lunch at the cafeteria. They lined up at a machine that serves automatically prepared meals, which has seven serving slots, and when the workers held up their IC cards, which identify them as legally employed workers, to the reader, food is placed on trays set up in the serving slots.

The meals are almost identical in appearance, but they are not all the same. The balance of calories and nutrients is adjusted according to the employee's age, weight, and nutritional status. The employees brought the food out one after another and sat down at one of the long tables lined up in a row to begin their meals.