Rust - Chapter 1038
Only Krnovel
RUST [RUST]-1038
Holy Kingdom. Water City.
Maru called a meeting after receiving the urgent report from Kim Yang.
“They said they applied for asylum in Korea.”
Among the forces hiding in Kyushu, Kyoto, and Hokkaido, Japan, the forces hiding in Kyushu crossed over to Korea.
Because Korea had once experienced a cannibal regime, its hostility toward cannibals and vampires was sky-high.
If he had even a little bit of knowledge of the situation in Korea, he could not have been unaware of it. Even though he knew it, he crossed over to Korea using the name of the Holy Kingdom as a shield.
“The Korean government is asking what to do with them.]
[Because we have a ceasefire. Doesn’t that mean Korea doesn’t care?]
Ki-sun shook her head at Kim Yang, who told her to just let go.
[They have the technology. If we let go, they will try to negotiate with Korea using the technology.]
It was a secret organization that had been active even before the great disaster. It was dangerous to allow an organization that exchanged information with secret laboratories in Japan, virus research institutes in China, and pharmaceutical companies in the United States to do business with the Korean government.
[Yes. Even in Korea, where the public sentiment toward cannibals and vampires is not good because of the cannibal regime, the upper class may be different.]
[Upper class? I swept all that away at once.]
During the cannibal regime, people who could be considered upper class, including politicians, businesspeople, media, military, artists, culture, medicine, and the legal profession, dreamed of becoming cannibals and staying in power for a long time.
Their grand plan to become the world’s number one cannibal nation through an exploitative economy based on forced conscription and the sale of infants and children using pregnancy benefits was uprooted by Maru and the Sacred Kingdom.
But is that really true? Even if the cannibal is gone, the cannibal’s desires remain. Desire tends to seep deeper into those who fight against it.
[Because the desire for power and the desire for advancement cannot disappear from people.]
[······.]
I could understand what Ki-sun was saying. It was because Kim Yang herself was the embodiment of desire. Not only the desire for special food, but also the longing for a great seat next to her.
It wasn’t triggered because he was unofficially acknowledging her now, but it was certain to flare up again if someone tried to take his place next to him.
[So you’re saying that organization is polluting Korea?]
[I guess you could call it pollution. It’s something that stimulates the desires you had.]
Na Ju-yeon, who had been quietly listening to the conversation between Kim Yang and Gi-sun, interrupted.
[How about bringing it to North America?]
“This way?”
Kim Yang’s eyes lit up at Na Ju-yeon’s story. When she brought her to North America, she could ‘swallow’ it in the middle, and she didn’t know what was there, but she could ‘gulp’ it down.
Since when did you start to give cannibals and vampires a break? Wouldn’t it be the same if it were the other way around? They would have definitely done the same. Yeah.
[Because below Vancouver, Seattle is empty.]
Seattle was a city that had been swept away by the Empire, the Confederacy, and the Holy Kingdom. Even though the fires of war had ravaged the city, many of the reinforced concrete buildings remained, and some of the facilities that could not be taken down remained.
“Let’s give Seattle a place and bring our technology? They won’t give it to us easily, will they?”
[Once we settle in and restore the facility, it will be possible to extract information.]
Na Ju-yeon said while looking at the hood. This side was a hacking expert and his AI assistant, Samantha. There was also a group of rats trained by the hood as informants.
[Huh- I guess it’s okay.]
[The Korean government must also be interested in their technology. They even applied for asylum in Korea.]
“Why did you come to Korea? You just wanted to see if you could eat it raw.”
The corners of Maru’s mouth rose fiercely. They had several large ships, including destroyers. With that kind of power, they could have gone down to the Philippines or Indonesia and taken a position.
Besides, Southeast Asia is currently engulfed in war. They are willing to accept cannibals and vampires as long as they have the power.
Why did you come to Korea instead of Southeast Asia, where the war made it easy to obtain human flesh and blood? Even though Korea had been under a cannibal regime before, there must have been considerable hostility towards it?
I am confident.
There must be a reason.
‘You’ll know what they’re trying to do in Korea when you go there.’
I took a break for about two months and decided to go see the sinkhole monsters that remain in Korea.
[Don’t forget that they can communicate with each other.]
Ki-soon, worried that he might suddenly start stabbing, advised him. During the incident in Indonesia where they tried to kill Maru, there was evidence that the vampire mercenary had used psychic waves to communicate long distances.
As the Kyushu organization was currently centered around high-ranking vampires, it was possible that they were in contact with each other. Maru nodded lightly at Ki-sun’s words that they should avoid a situation where they would have to fight with all the faction organizations that had signed a truce if they were to act rashly.
“Look.”
Ki-soon let out a small sigh at Maru’s answer.
=====
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The empire was in chaos.
This was because the Imperial military and parliament were completely blown away. As the minutes of the meeting recorded in stenography were leaked while the scene of the incident was being cleaned up, the situation grew out of control.
‘It is true that His Majesty the Emperor has passed away.’
‘Are you saying that broadcast was real?’
‘More than 300,000 Imperial Army dead?’
‘You little shits. How can you say there are no prisoners?’
‘If that broadcast is true, then Prime Minister Dan Brown is dead too.’
‘The military and the parliament were annihilated. Is this also the work of the Holy Kingdom?’
‘They said that wasn’t the case. They said a monster killed him.’
‘Monster? What monster?’
The gathering included generals who were operating in the field and lawmakers who had been absent from meetings due to work on the mainland.
“What should I do?”
“Once you know the information, you can make decisions about what to do.”
“Let’s be honest. Is the Holy Kingdom responsible for this terrorist attack?”
A video was shown of special forces from the Defense Ministry entering the conference room and filming the incident.
‘Koooooooooooooo—-‘
It was a sight of a huge mass of flesh regenerating and collapsing.
“You’re a monster.”
“It is presumed to be a biological weapon.”
“How did that thing not only enter the maritime city, but also invade the conference room?”
A member of the National Assembly who is well-versed in bioengineering said.
“It is possible that this is a bioweapon utilizing rapid mutation.”
“A normal person can change like that?”
“Yes. You all probably know about the sinkhole monster. A person infected with the sinkhole monster will erode and mutate in an instant, becoming a sinkhole monster. If they used that rapid erosion and mutation to create a bioweapon, it’s not impossible that such a monster could emerge.”
“Okay, let’s say that’s true. Then what do we think about the monster appearing in the conference room? Surely it didn’t know there was going to be a conference and infected it in advance?”
There were many stories, but no one knew who used the bioweapon or why. There was no reason to believe that the Holy Kingdom did it.
“Whether there is a reason or not, isn’t the Holy Kingdom the main enemy? They announced that they had created a bioweapon.”
“I agree. First of all, we need to stir up public opinion.”
“I disagree. If the goal is to stir public opinion, then simply announcing the facts is sufficient. An unidentified biological weapon stormed the conference room. It massacred military generals and members of the National Assembly. This alone should be enough to add substance to the story, so there is no need to mention the Holy Kingdom.”
“If it is not the Holy Kingdom, we will lose trust again. What happened because of that broadcast from the Holy Kingdom right now?”
[You know, if you decide that too easily, you’ll probably regret it.]
“Who are you?”
Despite the tight security, everyone drew their weapons at the sound of the woman’s voice breaking in. The woman, ignoring the alarm bell and the tense atmosphere, gestured for the stenographic material and spoke.
[Hey. There’s a collaborator here, right? A new human mercenary who helped the dead emperor. That’s me.]
“How did you get in here?”
[And we have come to collect our dues. As you can see from the records, your predecessors paid us and voted to join us.]
“Let me ask you one last question. How did you get in here?”
The woman smiled.
[The way the Emperor told us. So, stop turning off the noisy emergency bell. What are you going to do? Please tell me. We can’t wait any longer. By tomorrow. Let me know the results.]
“Is that all you want? To provide living space in the maritime city and provide blood supply.”
[That is enough of a reward for helping the Emperor.]
“Then. If the price is sufficient, can you help in the war against the Holy Kingdom?”
[It’s difficult right now. We’ve also suffered a lot of damage.]
“I’ll give you an answer by tomorrow.”
Two days later, the Empire made an official statement that the Great Hall had been attacked by an unknown force.
(What is believed to be a biological weapon raided the conference hall. Many military members and members of the National Assembly were confirmed dead and missing···)
The Empire was once again seething with excitement after the announcement of a short video recorded by a tactical camera belonging to the Defense Forces Special Forces.
‘Did you see that? Who the hell would do something like that?’
‘The Holy Kingdom has released the test subject.’
‘You idiot, if it were the Holy Kingdom, they would have bombed it with crows at that time.’
‘Do you think the maritime city air defense network is a joke?’
‘The air defense network, the defense system, and the maritime city operation system were hit and collapsed.’
‘Honestly, if it were the Holy Kingdom, there would be no need to cram in things like that.’
If there were any enemies who could attack the Empire other than the Holy Kingdom, there would be only the cannibals and vampires of the torn Confederacy. Public opinion in the Empire flowed as Maru had expected.
However, the newly formed imperial leadership reached the bloody truth through a deal with a female vampire.
“Use the stealth module and use a knife as your weapon.”
“Coincidentally, the first person that comes to mind is King Vladimir Kalin of the Holy Kingdom. Am I the only one?”
“He just came to mind first because he’s famous. The problem is that it’s something that any high-level ability user or cannibal can do.”
“Well, it’s certainly possible for a strong person or a high-level cannibal.”
Even for those with physical abilities, mass murder was possible with just one knife in their concealment equipment.
“Is it possible that this is a case of slander?”
“She is also a high-ranking vampire. A vampire with keen senses. But what should we make of the fact that she was unable to make a conclusion despite meeting Vladimir Kalin in Indonesia?”
They were people who had a lot of thoughts.
“What about the Holy Kingdom?”
“The advance stopped right there.”
“How did your request for a conversation go?”
“They say they have nothing to say. They say they will remain where they are.”
“Are you saying that you will just stay where you are without negotiating a ceasefire? And refuse to talk?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then what?”
“It is said that before we can talk, His Majesty the late Emperor must formally acknowledge and apologize for attempting to assassinate the King of the Holy Kingdom.”
It was something that was mentioned on the fucking Holy Kingdom broadcast, but it was different to officially acknowledge it. And they had no intention of taking on that burden.
“Anyway, it seems like the Holy Kingdom has no intention of advancing further or escalating the war.”
“Let’s buy some time. We also have a lot of problems that need to be solved right away.”
Time passed, with the front lines between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom remaining intact.
‧
As the long winter ended and spring passed by, the weather immediately turned into summer.
By mid-June, the temperature was approaching 30 degrees. The temperature, which should have been around 20 degrees in normal years, had been fluctuating rapidly for several years.
Winters are getting longer and harsher, and summers are getting hotter as a reaction to them. In the western wilderness, temperatures are rising past 45 degrees and approaching 50 degrees.
What was more dangerous was that when the snow that fell in winter melted and disappeared, a drought would begin. And at any moment, torrential rain would pour down. A crazy climate where more than 200mm of rain would fall in a day.
As droughts and heavy rains alternated, the land was swept away and eroded. Landslides and the loss of roads were also a problem, but what was more dangerous was that buildings could not hold up.
It was the result of several years of crazy weather with an average annual temperature range of 100 degrees, from -50 degrees to +50 degrees.
It was not easy for wooden houses to survive climate change, which even reinforced concrete buildings would have difficulty withstanding. Although the Holy Kingdom had been able to survive to some extent through building maintenance and exterior construction from the beginning, this was not the case elsewhere.
Even in the Empire itself, wooden houses were destroyed by sudden strong winds, heavy rain, and hail. Even a single hurricane could turn them into scorched earth.
The southern region was even worse. The area swept by a giant tornado resembled a carpet-bombed battlefield.
Smart farms made of vinyl houses and makeshift buildings could not withstand the violence of nature. The same goes for genetically modified corn and soybeans.
Because the purpose of genetic engineering was to make the plants resistant to certain companies’ herbicides and certain diseases, they were actually more vulnerable to sudden climate change.
The Empire has once again attempted to develop genetically modified crops that can grow in high temperatures, but the effects of mutated viruses have made the desired manipulations difficult.
“The RNA of the mutant virus has an effect.”
“It’s difficult to continue like this.”
“We need to work on smart farms and labs in maritime cities.”
“The facilities of the offshore city are not yet perfect.”
“Are you saying we should take GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) crops to the coastal cities? All the original seeds will be contaminated.”
“Mutant viruses and GMOs are reacting. It is already dangerous.”
Plants were already strange. There had been plants that didn’t freeze to death in temperatures of -50 to -60 degrees Celsius, and didn’t burn to death in temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius.
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