The official channels cryptically speak of an unspecified environmental disaster while a plethora of far-fetched theories and “uncovered truths” scour the World Wide Web and beyond. A volcano erupting, a chemical factory exploding, a nuke going off, a satellite crashing, secret experiments gone terribly wrong, a meteorite impact, or the always-popular aliens. It will be up to the players to find out for themselves.
What is certain is that all hell broke loose in Lamang after the event. Mass hysteria and panic ensued, and UNLRA mounted an evacuation mission to get as many people off the island as possible. All UNLRA personnel and a majority of the survivors left the island, and the entire area has been put under international quarantine, with all the UN members agreeing not to trespass.
Seeing that the island was practically abandoned, many organized crime groups, pirates, and other lowlifes gathered in Lamang to plunder what was left or even claim the island entirely, engaging in skirmishes with the Lamang Armed Forces, who were ordered to stay behind and guard high-value targets. The first PMC, hired by their powerful clients to explore the area, arrived shortly after, followed soon by two others. After establishing a foothold in the region, they all started advancing towards what was now known as Ground Zero.
A series of well-coordinated strikes, far too professional for the bandits roaming the island or even Lamang Armed Forces, was then launched against the PMCs, and they lost almost all their previously taken territory. Suffering heavy casualties and loss of equipment, the PMCs started recruiting new soldiers of fortune to help them retake the region, assume full control of Ground Zero, and complete any tasks from the myriad of clients with some stakes in the area. The player, a former member of Special Operation Forces, is one of these new recruits.