Gaston operated the controls with Ayumi. He was merely an adjutant who didn’t have control of the situation. The free world wasn’t so free after the world ended. The streamers that were watching the scene were under control. Surveillance around the area has become tighter because of the exploits of viewer-hungry individuals trying to close in.

“You can take a rest if you want to,” Ayumi said.

“Don’t worry,” Gaston replied with a firm voice. “I am used to sleepless nights. And, do you think I can sleep with that kind of monster floating outside the country?”

“Yeah, I get you.”

Ayumi has not been sleeping as well. Gaston had been here for the past hours. They were taking turns in managing the controls of the Overwatch. She was making use of this time to command units within the area and instruct on what street or district they will place them on.

“Looks like there are so many that are eager to get a piece of this.”

“One piece is valuable enough. I can’t blame them for trying their best to get something out of this.”

Ayumi typed in something. A screen floated and projected footage of individuals trying to get past the drone walls. The drone walls comprised three types of drones, namely air, land, and sea units. Most of the drones were on standby mode and were getting their batteries constantly charged with the solar panels on their backs. The area that this drone wall covered was about three hundred fifty-four thousand three hundred seventy-two and eighty-four hundredths square kilometres.

They implemented this method to make sure that with disasters such as these. That there will be no suicidal idiot who would have to mess it all up for the good people of the world trying to make it right in this world. Other than that, there were many fleets heading to the islands of Toshima, Niijima, Kozushima, Mikurajima, and Hachijo to hide from the beast. They stranded most of the foreign ships in Yokohama to prevent them from being attacked.

A high concentration of ichorium means that eventually there would be biomass entities heading to said location. There was an unease in the air and the plummeting of many goods was hurting the economy. What Gaston noticed in those days was how tense the people around him were. He rarely gets out of the control room unless there was a need for bathroom breaks, but he could still see that there was a heavy look on the faces of the employees.

This was their home. This was the place of their birth and now a gigantic creature is threatening it. The worst part of it was that they are part of the team that will be responsible for the lives of the people of this country. Gaston admired their ability to be calm externally, but sometimes their professional demeanor would crumble for a moment. Other than Ayumi, Gaston thought it would be best if he didn’t contact other employees. Some would call him anti-social for that, but considering his experiences as a freelancer, this was the best course of action when working in a foreign environment.

“Back then I would have delusions about fighting in the front, thinking that it will take only that to solve the problems,” Gaston thought. Thinking of the last years, he thought of how brutish and idiotic his actions were. If it wasn’t for the Golden Gate incident, straightening him out. How could he just remain still in this room?

No one could remain so ignorant after being slapped with reality. Gaston thought to himself that it was already good that he didn’t have to be so active in the field all the time. Guess she saw me that one time. Gaston thought of how the Red Valkyrie looked at him.

His eyes dilated for a moment before it regained its form. He stood up and watched over some of the footage while making sure that he regulated all the data regarding the Babaika Company. The Babaika Company was now actively patrolling the coastlines of Japan. The lower-ranking grunts were watching the streets of Japan, making sure that none of the citizens got involved in any trouble that might come.

The logs that he was sifting through had countless reports on what the grunts of the Company were encountering. There were also troubles with local police who felt like the Babaika Company shouldn’t have the right to interfere with their policing.

Gaston sorted out and filtered through most of the troubles. He filtered low-priority cases and directly handled through data logs regarding the higher-ups and the movements of the Babaika Company in relation to the high-priority operations.

"Looks like the mining business got disrupted, but Lady Romanov sure is taking this time to publicize the company.”

Gaston opened a website on his AR-module and saw articles and interviews of the Lady within the past few hours. They showed her confidence through all the articles and even the shortest interviews showed her charismatic smile. Articles titled to her name and the publicity that she and Babaika Company were getting were absurd.

He sorted through the photos and found pictures of her in Arabia in her early days. There were also images of her bloodied alongside Jakob and the Red Valkyrie. The Lady also had terrible publicity that came with the good. Most of them are under the positive ones.

While everyone was busying themselves to this threat. She appeared on news sites and entertained reports all over the globe in her conference somewhere in Neo-Tokyo. She knew how to appear and express herself. Gaston thought she knew how to capitalize on this disaster. The stock of the Babaika Company was at an all-time high.

Other than that, there were no movements regarding the BEHEMOTH that was slowly swimming towards the shores of Japan. According to outlets and insider information directly inside the Consortiums. The beast was recuperating. There were no signs of injuries on the beast, but experts believed that the place where the beast came from must have the beast's use of most of its bioenergy.

That was good news, but it was also a problem. The giant monster could start moving anytime. Japan and its allies, whether it’s prepared, will have to deal with this beast. Gaston just wished that there were no other problems other than the BEHEMOTH considering that there were also the Ahra Cult to worry about.

His guts told him the bastards might have a hand on this BEHEMOTH appearing. But his reason told him that without sufficient evidence, he couldn’t act on it. It occupied his thoughts. Gaston, however, chose to put this problem in the back of his head. One problem at a time, he thought again.

***

Gaston took a break after staying in the control room. He went outside of the consortium. He stood on the rooftop alongside the others, who took this time to get some fresh air. There was a weak wind that brushed his hair. His black suit was resisting the small window. Neo-Tokyo itself was unlike what he had seen before. The sight of the skyscrapers that once reflected the multi-colored lights being gone made for quite an eerie view. Those who had the budget had already hid their buildings underground while the ones made of concrete were still on the ground, protected only by sheets of metal.

His eyes surveyed Neo-Tokyo. “Look at us, so afraid of a monster,” Gaston thought. The wind felt good sometimes. He lifted his finger and electricity went out with a crackle. He pocketed his hands and stared at the scenery of Neo-Tokyo while basking in this cool wind.

After a while, he took out his mobile device. He brought out his contacts and tried contacting Janna. There were no answers to his calls or any messages. He pressed on the home button with his gloved finger. Gaston navigated the touch-screen interface of his mobile and played a mobile game for five minutes before exiting it.

Gaston spotted the vending machine next to the doorway leading down. He bought a can of coffee and took a sip. He remained seated on one of the concrete benches. The building having a spot like this was quite something. There was only a railing, and although there was netting just below in case someone fell. It was quite dangerous if one was not careful. Not that he was complaining about such privileges and although there were many who were taking a break on the rooftop. Few wanted to stay too long with how the anti-air guns and the automated weapons systems were moving so menacingly.

He browsed through the news section of his phone and saw that there was only news of the BEHEMOTH and the Companies. There was a livestream of the House of Representatives arguing about the situation. The Nation Diet was quite busy, and they gathered most of the officials to discuss this problem. The Prime Minister was also actively taking part in this discussion.

Although there was a live-translation. He wasn’t so bothered about the Leader of the Opposition, the Prime Minister, Speaker, and Vice Speaker arguing. At least it wasn’t as problematic that it had to take his attention. The netizens were violently protesting and commenting about this livestream. Gaston took note that there were people who were not happy about the appearance of the Babaika Lions and the USS Sable just hovering above Yokohama.

Other sites also showed that there were protests happening in Nagatachō, Chiyoda, where the National Diet Building was located. They were protesting about the entrée of foreign forces in their county and the involvement of ‘mercenaries’ in protecting their country. They were calling the Prime Minister weak. But these people were a minority compared to the support that he was getting from the rest of the city who found his choice wise.

The mix bag of reactions was to be expected. Gaston was about to tune in to another stream when he saw something that made everyone on the rooftop stare at it in alarm. His stance changed. He reached out to the pistol he was holstering and glared at the split-realm opening.

An alarm rang out and immediately the turrets and anti-air systems in the city started a concentrated fire. Before the monsters could exit out of their holes, the defenses dropped them. The loud meaty splat was Gaston’s cue to get out of the rooftop. He, along with the rest of the employees, retreated to the safety of the building.

Gaston hurried to the control room where he saw Ayumi reach out to the ground forces. He hovered his hands on the control panel and received reports of split-realm openings in areas around Chiba. Soka, Yashio, Matsudo, Ichikawa, Urayasu, and Koto reported multiple split-realm openings. They reported the threat after their neutralization and, from the looks of it, the city of Edogawa was still under attack by TYPE-2’s and 3’s.

“You said it’s Daigo-ji temple that is being attacked? Are there any casualties?”

Gaston searched up the temple and then tuned in to any reports coming from the area. He was about to read a report when his encrypted line showed an incoming call.

“Adjutant,” Boris called. “We need Overwatch support.”

“Roger that.” Gaston brought out his own laptop and connected his identification code to the Babaika Lion’s system. “What are your coordinates, over?”

“It’s UTM 54N-398254-3950293.”

Boris said slowly and clearly.

Gaston typed in the coordinates and saw that the coordinates pointed at Edogawa City. “Situation report,” Gaston ordered.

“Multiple split-realm openings, and possibly TYPE-2 and TYPE-3’s are approaching. There are also sightings of flying types over the sky, over.”

“Is the Rook Squad with you?”

“They’re here.”

“I repeat, there are multiple split-realm openings over the area. Soka, Yashio, Matsudo, Ichikawa, Urayasu, and Koto have received threats as well.”

“What are our orders then, Adjutant?”

“Relate information to the nearest Bridge. I’ll be handling Overwatch as requested.”

Gaston was in charge of the two rookies. He preferred if the acquaintances he had would survive. But since they were far from Neo-Tokyo, he could only offer limited support.

“Adjutant,” Boris reported. The heaviness in his tone made Gaston’s brows meet.

“Report, over”

“It’s a storming event, Adjutant Hardy.”

Gaston’s face hardened.

“Rook Squad, prioritize your escape.”

Gaston then switched to communal comms.

[Personnel on this line with bio-shields and powered suits are to take defensive positions. All Breakers are now under the UEDF and the Consortium law. Storming event is coming, I repeat, a storming event is coming, and thus expect biomass entities in hordes, over.]

Gaston turned towards Ayumi.

“Ayumi, storming event in Edogawa.”

“Copy that.”

Her voice sounded grim as she started commanding available units to reinforce and blockade the city of Edogawa.

Gaston went back to his control panel and his laptop and issued a reinforcement order. He inserted the coordinates of the area and issued an eight hundred eighty-one thousand forty-six and seven hundredths square meters of predicted total area.

It was not unexpected that such an event would happen when there was a giant carrying concentrated ichorium on its body heading to the shores of this country. Gaston only thought that there would be many lives lost before the giant could reach them, it seems.