Godzilla Earth: Origin (Patreon)

Volume 2 Chapter 90: Monster Planet (Part 2)

Crack, clang—

Electric power resumed. With the backup generator activated underground, the subterranean conference room was bright once more.

“The power’s back. Whew, the circuits aren’t completely fried. Looks like it’s just the line leading to the main power source that got burned.”

“There’s no issue with the main power itself; an unmanned robot has already gone to check. Districts 7 through 13 are all fine, but above District 7 there’s some intermittent damage… Probably only a portion of the wiring got burned.”

“Faulty wiring, huh… Sheesh, that scared me. I thought it was on the same level as Kaiser Ghidorah destroying the entire power system.”

“What are you thinking? Kaiser Ghidorah was killed by Godzilla a while back. It’s never coming back, thank goodness.”

Five minutes later, power was fully restored.

Everyone gathered below breathed a sigh of relief, discussing how fortunate it was that only part of the circuit had failed and not everything.

“Hey, come over and help. All the surveillance cameras just lost power suddenly and need to be restarted.”

“Got it.”

In the underground command center, everyone was busy controlling equipment and rebooting systems throughout the shelter. They also activated the broadcast to explain the cause of the recent power outage, hoping to reassure the civilians above.

“What is this…”

However, as they worked, someone noticed something unusual. While reconfiguring the systems, they found that all the surveillance cameras at the shelter’s entrance were no longer functioning.

Not a single one could be brought online.

That was definitely not normal.

General Zhang, who had been awakened by the emergency shutdown, sat in the command center. Seeing the grim looks on everyone’s faces, he walked over, patted someone on the shoulder, and asked:

“What’s happened?”

The technician looked tense. After the initial shock of being tapped on the shoulder, he relaxed upon realizing it was General Zhang. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, he said:

“We can’t get any of the four gate cameras outside to respond… But the internal lights on the same circuit are working fine, so it’s not a wiring problem. General, I’m worried that there might be hostile forces outside preparing to attack our shelter!”

As soon as he said this, the look in the other Generals’ eyes changed.

General Zhang asked around further, and all of the techs felt that there was a high chance the surveillance devices had been physically damaged from the outside. Since there was no issue with the electrical circuits, the only likely cause was that the cameras themselves had been destroyed.

“Deploy the emergency unit to the first floor immediately. Broadcast instructions for everyone on the first floor to evacuate down below.”

Having confirmed the seriousness of the situation—especially considering the EMP attack earlier and the destroyed cameras—it was very likely a terrorist strike.

Who would dare attack a human shelter at a time like this?

That would be the ultimate act against humanity!

“Also have the first floor launch reconnaissance drones. Where’s the satellite imaging? Check the vicinity of the shelter in real-time.”

“If the attackers are armed, the emergency unit may open fire without reporting in. They have the authority to respond at their own discretion.”

Whoever dares assault humanity’s shelter at this moment must be dealt with severely!

“Yes, sir!”

General Zhang had a counterterrorism background, so he was fairly familiar with these procedures. First, he ordered the drone control room on the upper section of the first level to launch reconnaissance drones. Then, he ordered the evacuation of everyone on the first level and dispatched the emergency unit to capture whoever was attacking the shelter.

All departments swiftly began carrying out their orders—but just then, the surveillance monitor at the entrance to the first level caught something suspicious.

“General! General! The main door on the first level is being slammed—something is hitting the door! General, something’s out there hitting the door!”

After scanning one of the screens, an observer’s face changed drastically. He immediately reported what he’d seen and projected the feed for everyone to watch.

What appeared on-screen first were the residents fleeing the first level, looks of panic on their faces as they ran down two staircases next to the main door, as though running from something. This seemed odd because, in the evacuation broadcast, upper management had merely instructed them to leave—there had been no mention of a terrorist attack. Under normal circumstances, that shouldn’t have caused them so much fear.

Yet in the footage, everyone was looking in terror toward the same spot: the main door. Following their line of sight, those in the command center finally saw what the observer had wanted them to see.

On the projected monitor image, a massive bulge had been pounded into the door. Even though the door was dozens of centimeters thick, something outside had created a deep indentation in it. And the shape of that indentation… was almost human.

A person…? That’s impossible. How could anyone cause a visible bulge in a steel door that thick?

Something utterly beyond reason was happening before the eyes of the people underground. As they stared at the projection, another impact occurred.

Boom!

It sounded like some sort of explosive detonation. The door bulged outward again by nearly a dozen centimeters. The ceiling shook from the force on the other side, sending dust falling down. It was unimaginable what kind of power was assailing them from outside.

Those who were already fleeing in terror became even more panicked, running and stumbling blindly, no longer caring about anyone in front of them. Naturally, tragedy ensued. Some were knocked to the ground and trampled, as people scrambled to escape downward in a crowded mass—yet none dared get close to the door.

On the door’s bulge, one could now clearly see the faint outline of a bizarre face. What was happening out there?

“General, the drones have been launched. They’re heading toward Gate Three…” someone reported in a low voice. Indeed, the drones were already airborne, moving toward the third gate that had been struck. If all went according to plan, they would soon see what was slamming against the door from outside.

Just then, in the video feed, fresh impacts came—and not just one.

Boom!!

One impact, but two new dents.

Boom!!

No, that made three. More deep pits appeared in the door. Many people in the crowd cowered in fear, their heads in their hands.

The door was becoming severely deformed, with five vaguely human-shaped bulges hinting at something outside.

Boom!

Each blow rang out like a death knell.