NOVEL NEXT Chapter 110
The advancement of technology pollutes the environment. People often say that, but it’s just the talk of those who don’t know any better. The reality is different. Contrary to common belief, scientific progress has helped restore the environment.
Look at Earth, once covered in lush greenery thanks to advanced science. It’s not the advancement of science that devastates the world and destroys nature. If anything, it’s the opposite. It’s insufficient technology and excessive greed.
Humanity and their desires are what always leads to destruction. Some foolish environmentalists claim that technological progress pollutes the environment, but that’s just a reflection of their intellectual level.
“—You want to restore City Z?”
“Yes. Don’t you think it’s time to stop leaving the city in such a state of devastation?”
I suggested to the Boss about restoring City Z. It was disappointing that it had been in our Evilus Corporation’s hands for months, yet it was still lying unused.
I also thought it would be nice to restore it in a way that looks good for others. They say City Z used to be vast grasslands where beastmen used to frolic in the distant past. It might be good to tear down all the current buildings and create a massive plain.
After hearing my proposal, the Boss pondered for a moment, humming as if considering it before nodding in agreement.
“Alright. I grant you permission.”
“Surprisingly easy to get your approval?”
“Well— of course, I know that you don’t have a good track record with the things you’ve suggested… but I feel like even if this goes wrong, it won’t lead to anything catastrophic.”
“Yeah, at most it’ll be like Jack and the Beanstalk.”
“What’s up with beans…?”
The Boss tilted her head, not getting the joke. I brushed it off lightly. As she said, the chances of this project going wrong were very low.
Even if something did go wrong, it would probably only lead to overgrown trees breaking through the clouds. The chances of a monstrous biohazard sprouting were incredibly slim.
Back in the laboratory, I immediately began to create chemical fertilizers for City Z. If there’s one advantage of being a villain, it’s this. On Earth, even if a new substance to restore the environment was discovered, it would take a long time before actual use and would require annoying reviews— but as a villain, I didn’t need to worry about any of that.
Breaking the law is part of a villain’s skill set. Of course, if side effects occur, it could be a disaster… but that wouldn’t happen. I was planning to create a fertilizer that had been used for over decades on Earth.
Unless someone intervened maliciously, my research was bound to be correct.
My research can never be wrong.
* * *
“Ugh-!”
“Bam!”
As Galm and Levitan swung their fists and feet towards the buildings in City Z, gigantic structures made of concrete and steel began to collapse instantly.
These buildings had withstood decades, even centuries, but they were not sturdy enough to endure the power of S-class villains who transcended human logic.
The buildings with collapsing foundations could not hold their weight and crumbled down, while Ayle, floating in the air, lightly waved her staff, causing the dust to settle and the debris to gather in one place.
[Titan Kick!]
[Falcon Punch!]
From a distance, Titan and Falcon were head-butting the buildings as if they couldn’t lose. With the help of super robots that exceeded S-class in raw power, an entire city began to be utterly wrecked in no time.
Before half a day had passed, seeing City Z completely demolished, I gave instructions to my assistant who had followed me.
“Meister, activate it.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Hey now, you should call me Professor.”
Meister, who got a smack on the back of the head, grumbled but activated the machine he brought. The gate unleashed immense power and began sucking up the debris of the fallen buildings.
The debris that crossed over the gate would be swallowed by the sun, which surpassed thousands of degrees Celsius. It was an eco-friendly waste disposal system that freed us from the issues of environmental pollution and hazardous materials.
The machine, propelled by the Meister’s superpower, explosively sucked up the trash, and the crumbled debris vanished in an instant. A city full of buildings became an empty plain in no time.
“It got clean in a flash… So what are we going to do now?”
“There’s still some cleaning up to do underground… but let’s leave that for later. Should we test if there are no issues here first?”
“Then what in the world did you gather all these people for?”
Levitan was very curious about why I brought super robots, along with herself, Galm, and Ayle, for the sake of just demolishing a city.
I smiled as if to say just watch, then scattered the seeds I had prepared beforehand and sprinkled chemical fertilizers on top.
After a moment, a verdant area began to form rapidly on the sand of the desert.
As soon as I looked up, the green zone began to form in an instant.
“…Huh?”
“It doesn’t seem to be a problem. Let’s just spread it around here and check back in a week. For the remaining week, we’ll decide to dismantle the underground facilities…”
“Hey, Scientist—! W-What’s this!?”
“Huh? What do you mean… it’s just weeds.”
“No, no! I’m asking how there’s grass growing in this desert!”
With a skeptical glare, Levitan pointed at the ground where the grass had sprouted, while I tilted my head as if to say, “I don’t get it.”
“If you plant seeds in the soil, plants grow. Didn’t you know that?”
“How could I not know that?! And I know that grass doesn’t grow in a desert either!”
“That’s because you didn’t use fertilizer. With fertilizer, plants can thrive even in barren land.”
Levitan glared at me as if I were speaking nonsense, but what could she do? The grass right in front of us proved that I wasn’t wrong.
After scowling at me some more, Levitan, unable to believe it, snatched the seed and fertilizer from me and cautiously began to scatter them in the middle of the desert.
And soon after, the ground where she had scattered them started to sprout grass like crazy.
“What the… is this… fantasy?”
“It’s science, actually.”
“That’s ridiculous… This city can grow grass…?”
While saying that, Levitan stomped on the grass a few times or pulled it up to check and even bounced around on it.
She was acting like a puppy seeing grass for the first time, stopping for a moment to stare blankly at the sandy hill.
“…Is it possible for grass to grow there too?”
“Yeah, once we confirm nothing’s wrong.”
“Okay, then here too…”
Sniffle—.
Standing barefoot on the grass, Levitan started to tear up. After pondering why she looked so emotionally unstable for a moment, I remembered that she was a resident from City Z.
Decades ago. Before she was kidnapped by Omega Industries. And before Omega Industries completely destroyed City Z through resource mining.
Back then, this city must have been filled with lush greenery.
She must be lost in that nostalgia right now.
‘—I’m glad I did this.’
Watching my companion so joyful made me think that restoring nature was the right move. And if the restoration plan for City Z goes well? We might be able to paint the entire world green.
What if it works? It could dye the entire world green.
To somewhat reverse the damage caused by the indiscriminate development of humans in this place. That was the scientist’s homework who fell from another world.
* * *
The sound of footsteps, too light, lands in the middle of the desert.
Next to him was a mysterious man wrapped in bandages. The man, who had been flying in the sky, carefully set down the girl he was holding and opened his mouth.
“We’ve arrived.”
“… Is this really City Z?”
“Yeah. It’s definitely on the map.”
The man said this while double-checking the map and compass. According to his senses, this was the heart of City Z. In other words, a crime-infested city that resembled the slums of beastmen. He had once seen this place in an old video.
It was filled with dirty filth and garbage, and the buildings looked as if they were about to collapse any moment without repairs. But now? Those beastmen, let alone the city itself, had long since disappeared.
“It’s strange… It’s different from what I saw in the video.”
“They said something was going on, so I guess this is part of it.”
“Did they erase the city overnight?”
“Seems so.”
“Just how terrible a weapon did they create…?”
In a situation that could only be misunderstood like this, the Flower cautiously wandered the ground. An instinctive step. A moment later, the Flower discovered an area brimming with incredible life force on the outskirts of the city.
A rare patch of greenery left in this desertified city. A tiny meadow where grass thrived.
“Oh dear— how pitiful… you guys are the only ones who survived in this ruined city?”
The Flower approached the grass as she spoke. Moments later, the grass touched by the Flower began to wither and decay.
Having absorbed the grand life force, the Flower closed her eyes in prayer before the deceased plants.
“I’ll take you to a wider place.”
The Flower, having devoured the life force, took pictures of the city that had turned into a wasteland without leaving a trace and then soared into the sky, cradled in the man’s arms.
Not a single trace of the two remained.
* * *
The next day.
Back in City Z, I let out a groan as I looked at the withered and decayed grass.
“What the heck is this? Why is it all rotten?”