Rust - Chapter 134



Only Krnovel

RUST [RUST]-134

The video quality was poor.

A long-distance video taken with a small camera. Dust is flying and a cartel member holding a mate clashes with an Asian man with a gray knife. The fight ensues in an instant. Sparks fly as iron clashes with iron.

“That person?”

“I am one of the Japanese who recently became naturalized.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Close range combat with drugged cartel guys. Did that Japanese guy use drugs too?”

“We are not sure yet, but we will be able to confirm through further reporting.”

The two people gradually move away from the camera. And then, all of a sudden, the Asian man disappears.

“Unfortunately, this is the end of the video.”

“······.”

“······.”

“As you can see, there is a guy with the same weapon and tattoo as the cartel member who wiped out the DEA special forces around California. The problem is that there are more and more of these guys.”

“Did the Japanese who fought the cartel members also use drugs?”

“One full-time employee is managing it, so I think we’ll be able to get more details when we report back.”

“Whether it’s medicine or not, it seems like the best specialist in close combat, but is it difficult to scout?”

“According to the person who accompanied the Japanese rescue team as a guide, there seems to be a problem with organizational life. I don’t know about freelancers, but scouting doesn’t seem easy.”

The presenter suggested a break and went outside when his cell phone vibrated.

“What? You can’t connect with the staff on site?”

It was not a good sign that there was no contact after the video was sent. Most of the missing or dead employees showed a similar pattern: either right after reporting, or right before reporting.

“Have you confirmed the location?”

“Once you’ve confirmed the location, send a helicopter quickly!”

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The nurse got out of the SUV and quietly headed toward Ms. Kim. While sorting the gold, Ms. Kim waved a gold nugget to the nurse as if showing off. The nurse’s head darted back and forth like a cat, chasing the nugget.

The staff stood guard in front of the black body with a tense look on their faces. Maru saw this and smiled and raised his hand.

“I told you to burn it, what are you doing?”

“Wait a minute. Why do you keep trying to set it on fire? If you hand this over to the company, you will receive compensation. No, I promise you that you will receive compensation.”

Kim Yang turned her head at the word compensation. ‘I caught him, but you didn’t say anything earlier, and now that Baekjeong is here, you’re giving me compensation right away?’ The employee had now given up. He couldn’t even understand why he could understand such a look.

“No, that’s not it. I’ll make sure you get the compensation first, and then you can figure out what to do. Does it matter who killed you? That’s not it. What matters is that you can get compensation with this body, right?”

Kim Yang nodded at the employee’s protest. I caught him, and they’re even offering a reward, so why bother burning the body? She looked at the floor with an expression on her face.

Maru wondered what to do with this.

“I don’t know why you want to burn it, but this is a very important matter that could be directly related to the security of the United States. I would appreciate it if you would consider the national interest.”

The employee’s words were not unreasonable. There were no stab marks on the body that Ms. Kim had killed, so it seemed unlikely that it could be connected to her. When Maru seemed troubled, Ms. Kim quickly asked the employee.

“How much is the compensation for this?”

“Wouldn’t it be a million dollars? No, it would be more than a million dollars.”

Kim Yang’s expression changed. This is important, you say? But it’s only $1 million? You’re a rich American, right? But $1 million? How many mouths are there?

Sweat dripped down the employee’s face. Before he knew it, Ms. Kim was recording with her cell phone.

“A million dollars? Definitely more?”

“I will definitely check.”

“check?”

You said you were going to pass? You’re changing your mind.

Kim Yang glared at the employee with narrowed eyes. Oh? Now that I think about it, I had something to say.

“He said he sent the video earlier.”

“?”

“!”

Maru looked back at Ms. Kim. Her eyes, demanding an explanation, became increasingly colder.

“So. The video of the fight with the cartel. The rookie said he already sent it.”

“······.”

As Maru’s cold gaze turned to the employee, the employee began to hiccup. It was Ms. Kim who was watching the situation with an expression that said, “I know how you feel.”

“What kind of video did you send?”

“Cartel. Kkeut- the part where the knife-wielder fights the hiccup- but the distance is far so hiccup- properly···”

So, that means it wasn’t captured properly because the distance was too far. I wanted to check what was sent and to what extent, but the employee’s cell phone had already been burned.

‘Ha- this is really.’

The urge to just cut it up and cut it up came rushing in. His hand unconsciously grabbed the knife handle. ‘Should I cut it?’ Maru hid that thought and looked at Ms. Kim, and his mind suddenly came to him.

Kim Yang, wearing latex gloves that she had prepared for some time, was holding the gun that the gang had been holding with an expression that said, “Death in the line of duty. Death in the line of duty. Death in the line of duty.”

A look that said, ‘Don’t use a knife, use a gun. If you’re going to die, do it as a gangster would do.’ The staff was so focused on Maru’s murderous intent that they couldn’t pay any attention to Ms. Kim.

At that sight, Maru unconsciously chuckled. The impulse that had suddenly risen up subsided. As the murderous intent that had settled like frost disappeared, the employee who had turned pale from shortness of breath let out a breath.

Huh-hic-huh-

Hup-daughter-guk-hu-

The employee held his heart area while hiccuping and taking a deep breath at the same time. The employee collapsed in pain as if his heart was going to burst. As Maru’s life force was released, Ms. Kim sulked.

After the sudden impulse subsided, Maru was able to think about the situation a little more calmly. What if the employee said that he would take responsibility and compensate? It wasn’t impossible. Even the barnacles were compensated.

But that was when Ki-soon was there. The negotiations were entirely Ki-soon’s. It was possible because Ki-soon sent samples to the Department of Homeland Security and the university labs, and took a stance to avoid being targeted by Virginia.

Negotiating with Virginia in the current situation? It was hard. Moreover, some of the videos of fighting the cartel were uploaded, and if the employee’s testimony is added, it would be difficult to see any free movement in the future.

Although Virginia was more comfortable with self-defense, it was dangerous to continue like this no matter how much I thought about it. Maru sat down and looked at the employee who was gasping for breath. His heart seemed to be not feeling well.

‘I can’t help it.’

No matter how much he thought about it, there was nothing he could do. Maru took out the business card that Ki-sun had left behind. It was the phone number of the head of the Department of Homeland Security.

So the staff made the long journey to Arlington County.

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The Department of Homeland Security, who received Maru’s call, came flying in like crazy. Perhaps because they thought they were being pushed back by Virginia, they flew to the scene in less than 40 minutes.

“Thank you for contacting us.”

“No. I know you’re busy, but let me explain the situation first.”

Maru talked about what happened in Virginia, starting with an incident at a rest stop involving a cartel and gangs.

“I was a little disappointed with the follow-up. I thought Virginia would have been the first to know if a cartel or gang was attacking. It was very dangerous to be suddenly attacked.”

“I see. I heard there’s a serious shortage of manpower there these days. Incidents are breaking out here and there, and it’s a problem caused by people not wanting to let go of what they have.”

The manager immediately launched Virginia Dis.

As the name of the organization is the Department of Homeland Security, it needs to have some sort of definite presence at least in the domestic intelligence and counterintelligence fields, but the existing agencies were not cooperating properly.

Especially Virginia and the FBI. Even if it is like that overseas, what good would it do if they cooperated in the domestic intelligence and counterintelligence fields?

The FBI was also annoying, but Virginia was really nagging. They didn’t ask for cooperation even though they were suffering from a manpower shortage, and they were struggling not to let go of domestic counterintelligence and intelligence. And then, every time there was a budget audit, they would always criticize the Department of Homeland Security for having duplicate budgets, so they really had no enemies.

Recently, the presence of the Department of Homeland Security has been lost and the Department of Homeland Security has been portrayed as a villain or a dark figure in movies. Virginia and the FBI have done more to deserve criticism, but it is really frustrating that the Department of Homeland Security is getting the blame.

In the meantime, he had missed a major incident like the barnacle incident right before his eyes, but he was a manager brimming with enthusiasm when an incident related to the crystal he had been keeping an eye on came to him on its own.

“Then you’re saying that this body is special?”

“As you can see, I took the full force of the grenade’s explosion with my body, but only a little bit of shrapnel went in.”

Looking at the marks left by the grenade explosion, it was definitely not a normal wound.

“Even though I fired a 9mm armor-piercing bullet at close range, it failed to penetrate the space between the eyes.”

“Huh! The armor-piercing bullet didn’t penetrate the skull? How did you catch this?”

“I was barely able to kill him after putting a grenade in his mouth.”

“Indeed. If these things were to be found wandering around, they would certainly pose a serious threat to national security.”

The chief was very satisfied after hearing Maru’s explanation. Those who couldn’t even shoot bullets properly were threatening the security of the United States.

“About being chased by cartels and gangs.”

“Please feel free to speak. We will be happy to assist you in any way we can at the Department of Homeland Security.”

“I think the information may have leaked from somewhere.”

“I see. Then how may I help you?”

“Even if we leave the shelter provided by Virginia as is, I would like you to help us build a separate shelter.”

“Are you talking about Shelter? Hmm- Do you have an area in mind?”

If Ki-sun’s prediction was true, he didn’t know what would happen in the future. But if he was going to go somewhere uninhabited and stay there, there was no reason to come all the way to the United States.

A city with convenient transportation, ample land, and a decent cultural life. A city with many empty buildings that can be converted into shelters, and where materials are easy to obtain.

“I’m thinking of Detroit.”

“Detroit. Good choice.”

Detroit, a steel and automobile manufacturing city, was overcoming bankruptcy and starting to rebuild. It was recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is showing signs of recovery, but many buildings and lands are still abandoned.

“How do you plan to build the shelter?”

“I would like to renovate a building in the city center and make it.”

Fighting in the wasteland made it clear that it was dangerous to build a shelter in the middle of nowhere. It was safer to stay in the city center, in a place with lots of people.

“Okay, I understand. I’ll prepare it that way.”

“thank you.”

Maru and the manager were both satisfied.

And just as the Department of Homeland Security personnel were halfway through clearing the scene, a helicopter from Virginia arrived.

Although the Virginia staff protested strongly, the Department of Homeland Security, which had already loaded the bodies and left first, began to act like “what are we going to do with the boat?”

Since the Department of Homeland Security director-level personnel were in charge of the scene, there was virtually nothing they could do to interfere.

It was also difficult to grasp the situation there. Like a fish in water, the Department of Homeland Security officials, who were excited for the first time in a while, thoroughly marked Maru and Ms. Kim, so the Virginia officials could not even properly hear the situation.

In the end, the Virginia cleanup team returned with nothing.

“Don’t worry. We will manage it ourselves from now on, so even in Virginia, we won’t be able to do anything to you.”

The manager consoled Maru and his group with a proud face.