Chapter 491: The photoshopped emoji

Historical lessons are often rendered worthless.
The Fukushima nuclear disaster, which shook the world, cleaved a deep, unfathomable chasm in the course of human civilization, its repercussions still reverberating.
Suddenly, politicians worldwide turned pale at the mention of nuclear power, waving the politically correct banner of "denuclearization."
They turned to alternative energy sources that sounded greener, more environmentally friendly, and more likely to sway voters.
However, the ideal was grand, but reality was harsh.
These supposedly brilliant individuals quickly discovered that after all their efforts, on this blue planet, in terms of power generation efficiency, none could rival nuclear energy.
The so-called alternatives were nothing more than a farcical attempt to patch up one problem while simultaneously creating another, ultimately leading to only one result:
Power grid crises and energy shortages.
In the end, the enormous bill of this "green transition" fell squarely on the empty wallets of every ordinary citizen.
Even so, countries still treat the construction of new nuclear power plants as a monstrous threat, remaining tight-lipped about it.
After all, the sarcophagus of Chernobyl and the ruins of Fukushima—these two monuments to human folly and arrogance—have already left an indelible mark of fear on the collective subconscious of the public.
Nuclear energy has always been a double-edged sword hanging overhead.
On one hand, it's the power of creation; on the other, it's the potential for catastrophe.
And the final push that truly brought this horse back into the race was undoubtedly the war that swept through Eastern Europe.
A single explosion on a natural gas pipeline brought not wealth, but the energy anguish of Europe and the world.
The global natural gas supply system was instantly paralyzed; the cost was ultimately borne by millions of ordinary people.
That war was not a child's play between two nations.
The global food supply war has scorched earth, causing global food prices to skyrocket like a runaway horse.
Economic sanctions and the roaring explosions of pipelines have brought natural gas supplies to a halt, driving prices to astronomical levels.
However, behind this seemingly chaotic global drama, an unseen hand is quietly manipulating the strings.
This mysterious force lurks like a ghost behind every geopolitical conflict.
It precisely fanns the flames of each crisis, pushing natural gas and food prices to desperate heights.
And now, the most outrageous move has occurred!
This "warmonger" manipulating events behind the scenes has turned around and, posing as a "guardian of world peace and environmental protection," has poured a staggering one billion US dollars into the account of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)!
At this moment, in the IAEA's conference room, a group of well-dressed elites whisper among themselves, their faces showing shock like photoshopped memes.
"Am I seeing things? A billion? In US dollars?!"
"A company—and I mean, not a country, but a single corporation! Casually pulling out a billion US dollars…
This is absolutely unprecedented in the history of the IAEA!"
"Even national funding hasn't been this generous! A company just casually tossed out a billion?"
"I've never even heard of receiving such a thing!"
"What's so strange about that? That's 'Fang Huan'!"
"Now everyone knows that Fang Huan is printing money at a rate that even the Federal Reserve would be ashamed of."
Fang Huan!
The name itself represents a legend, a myth!
Media and entertainment? They control Netflix, a streaming giant comparable to Hollywood, and Picpic, a short video kingpin.
Financial capital? Their Fang Huan Exchange is a ravenous beast that devours global hot money.
The biotechnology field? During that global pandemic, their vaccine was the only lifeline!
And that's not all! The vast blue ocean is already filled with the flags of "Fang Huan Shipping," becoming its private inland lake!
"I heard that Fang Huan is now the most profitable organization in the world, bar none?"
"Who knows the exact figures? The core industries they hold in their hands aren't even publicly listed."
"My God, a business monster of this size, and governments around the world just stand by and watch it grow unchecked?
At this scale, even antitrust laws are barely enough to contain it!!"
Seeing the atmosphere in the meeting room increasingly resembling a denunciation of Fang Huan, the Secretary-General coughed lightly, pulling everyone back to reality.
"Ladies and gentlemen, those complicated political games are not for us to discuss.
Leave them to those suit-clad politicians to worry about.
We just need to do our jobs."
Antitrust?
We're too far removed from them.
Those present are all technocrats; they only care about one thing—atoms, and how to control them.
"So, Fang Huan invested this billion dollars, the real purpose being to get us to intervene and stop Japan from discharging the nuclear wastewater from Fukushima, right?"
"Yes. Their exact words were that they hoped we could conduct another investigation 'more rigorously and precisely.'"
"But the reason Japan decided to discharge it was because the storage tanks were already overflowing, and they had no other choice, right?"
Initially, Japan did indeed dutifully build countless massive storage tanks to hold the contaminated cooling water.
But the more they stored, the more warehouses were built, as if money was no object, until finally, they reached their limit.
“Besides, didn’t our investigation team already conclude that there was ‘no problem’?
Furthermore, many developed countries, including France, are discharging treated nuclear wastewater every day, aren’t they?”
“That’s true, but Japan has a history of falsifying data, which severely damages their credibility. That’s one point,” one expert scoffed.
“Secondly, as for ‘insufficient storage space,’ frankly, it’s just an excuse.”
If Japan is willing to spend the money, they can build as many storage tanks as they need, even dozens of warehouses.
They simply don’t want to spend too much money and are afraid of domestic unrest, so they’re just making up an excuse.
The safest solution is to build permanent underground storage facilities.
But Japan refused, citing “frequent earthquakes and unstable geology.”
The experts present all knew perfectly well that this was pure nonsense, just a clumsy excuse to avoid bearing the costs.
"So, Fang Huan's real demand is for our government to step in and suppress, or at least delay, the issue of the Fukushima pollution discharge?"
"More than that. They want us to issue an 'official statement,' a strongly worded statement:
Emissions will not be permitted until the IAEA conducts a more detailed and transparent investigation and confirms absolute safety!"