Rust - Chapter 158
Only Krnovel
RUST -158
How did they clear away the snow that had piled up over 4 meters in such a short period of time?
How could they clear away obstacles buried in the snow? Could they have removed abandoned cars and debris from collapsed buildings by hand?
Small snow removal machines whirred out of the tunnel.
“Prepare for battle!”
“To your positions!”
“Helicopter ready for takeoff.”
“Get down quickly.”
Small excavators and bulldozer-like vehicles with caterpillar tracks have been armed with snow removal equipment. The excavators are equipped with flamethrowers, while the bulldozers are armed with 20mm machine guns and anti-tank missile launchers.
Hwaruk – Flames rose in front of the flamethrower.
Weeeeeeeing- The machine gun aligned its crosshairs and various information flashed on the pilot’s helmet.
A mechanical sound is heard behind it. A fully automatic turret with a 12.7mm machine gun and a high-velocity grenade launcher is installed in the small body.
The head-up display (HUD) displayed real-time information from drones and radar data. The front is marked in blue and white.
A red shape, as if glowing red, loomed inside the cold snowball.
“Eleven o’clock. Flamethrower on standby.”
A low, rumbling sound began to be heard from far inside the tunnel of snow that had been dug.
■■! ■■■■■■■■ ■■■■
A screen appeared on the HUD, a bright red wave filling the tunnel.
“···atmosphere.”
The sound of a flock of people rushing in echoed outside the tunnel.
“Shoot!”
As the machine guns and cannons that had been aimed opened fire, flames poured down as if they were going to tear apart the tunnel.
Something that had filled the tunnel with flames from the armor-piercing bullets could not even get out.
“Stop. Cease fire!”
The red-hot gun barrel fell silent, emitting a cloud of steam. A trickle of bright red blood flowed out from the entrance to the white tunnel.
“advance!”
What the HUD-equipped soldiers found inside the tunnel was a swarm of rats that must have numbered in the thousands.
That was the sound of a rat? What kind of sound would that make? Even a fucking rat is an animal.
“Compared to the data, the size difference is too big?”
“okay.”
According to information from those who escaped from Japan, there were large cockroaches and rats. They said rats the size of a person’s forearm, but what is a frozen forearm?
“It should be between 50 and 55 pounds.”
“This is crazy. One baby rat weighs over 20kg…”
It was the weight of a large dog. Its size didn’t seem small compared to that of an adult female. It certainly would have been difficult if these things had kept coming. It was dangerous, but that was all.
There’s no way the Marines would have been pushed back by a big rat like this. So what?
“The cockroaches might have gotten bigger, too. You said they were the size of your palm? They could attack you two to four times bigger than that, so warn the soldiers in advance and make sure they don’t get upset. Take a few as samples and burn them all.”
“All right.”
The tunnel dug through the snow during the day was bright white all the way to the deepest part. The pure white space was filled with the corpses of rats, the floor was soaked with blood, and the white snow was stained red by the blood it had sucked out.
“Check the ammo. Tell them to save their bullets.”
“four,”
shit.
They were using too many bullets to catch those rats.
The captain spat as he kicked the tattered rat, which was riddled with holes in it.
‘Wheels, rats, birds, fish and mutant barnacles.’
The captain reminisced about the information. He said that the infected people had trouble controlling their anger. He said that as time passed, they became more like zombies.
‘That’s not the problem.’
The ones with intermittent explosive disorder weren’t the problem. The problem was the mutant infection. The mutant was said to eat people’s brains and hearts. The mutants, who had physical abilities far superior to humans, were said to become more intelligent the more they ate people.
‘There must be a variant. It’s right to think that the rescue team collapsed because of the variant.’
Intermittent explosive disorder? There was no way the Marine Corps rescue team would melt into something so soft. The biggest problem was probably the mutation and supply.
It’s so dirty.
“Contact headquarters and ask for more coal.”
When the helicopter was able to move, we had to stock up on supplies as much as possible, even if it meant losing everything later.
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A large force of over 10,000 men landed in Japan, but was forced to evade due to bad weather. The situation was such that they were only able to eat, let alone conduct operations.
When we tried to send them back to Korea until the abnormal weather calmed down, China and North Korea protested. They were furious, saying, “You sent a large number of troops to rescue Japan, but now you’re sending them to Korea? What are your intentions?”
There was also the problem of supply. The importance of supply is something that can be emphasized several times, but the moment this obvious issue is combined with urban warfare, guerrilla warfare, and the terrain and climate, there is no answer.
So, is this a situation where Afghanistan comes to mind? It wasn’t Afghanistan, but it was a similar mess.
The only route from the US mainland to Korea was through the Bering Sea, the northern part of Hokkaido, the southern part of Sakhalin, and from western Japan to the East Sea of Korea. Even that route could be blocked by floating rocks and mutated barnacles at any time.
The same goes for air transport. Up until now, we could go around and somehow get to Korea, but what if the volcanoes in Hokkaido and Sakhalin erupt? What if Mt. Baekdu erupts as well?
It was a route that had to be moved in the opposite direction. That is, it had to be transported by air from Europe across the Atlantic Ocean, through Russia, Central Asia, and China, to Korea. It was a route that was terrifying to even imagine.
What if the situation becomes prolonged? Even Show Me the Money has its limits. If you start throwing in $8 or $10 to distribute $1 coins, how will you cover the costs?
The local situation is very dire. Only some parts of western Honshu, Japan, are barely making it back, and the Pacific and South China Sea shipping routes have been effectively blocked by submarine volcanic eruptions, making fuel supply difficult.
As a result, the operating rate of thermal power plants began to hit rock bottom. The route to Korea was still alive, so they could get Russian natural gas through that route, but Japan lost its government due to the Great Tokyo Earthquake.
Even the temporary disaster government that was created after that has evaporated. Now, each local government is fending for itself. If Japan has no government, why are they giving gas?
In this situation, can the US military comfortably spend the winter without supplies? Japan is currently unable to even take care of its own displaced people.
Within a few days, the size of the Japanese refugee tent village in front of the US military base was rapidly growing. Across the barbed wire, Japanese people, exhausted from the cold and hunger, were gradually increasing.
“I guess I’ll turn back.”
It was just crazy. I tried to solve the situation quickly by sending troops to attack, but the result was a mess, to the point of being a total mess.
“Can’t we just starve them all to death or leave them to freeze to death?”
That was the problem. Word had spread, and refugees were flocking to the makeshift camp.
“In the Korean government?”
“It’s a mess there too. The sea route is blocked, so import routes from Australia and Europe are effectively blocked. And as a result of China’s export restrictions, stocks of daily necessities, including food, are quickly running out.”
China has done it again. The final blow was when they banned the export of food and daily necessities to Korea, using the excuse that the Japanese disaster caused climate change and that next year’s crop harvest was uncertain.
Imports from Europe and Australia have been blocked, and imports from the US have also decreased as shipping routes have been extended. In that situation, China, China?
South Korea was also in chaos when an unprecedented food crisis was predicted. It was not a situation where they could say, “The Japanese children are starving to death. Give us food to feed the refugees. Give us more supplies for the US military.”
“Something terrible has happened! There has been a major outbreak of violence!”
“What? What are the Japanese police doing!”
“I tried to calm the situation down, but I got caught up in it.”
“···What about Tottori Prefecture? What did the local government say? Shouldn’t they be sending more police or Self-Defense Forces or something?”
“I am not receiving any contact.”
“These kids!”
Are you trying to avoid responsibility in this situation?
“The mob is approaching the base! What should we do?”
There was no equipment for suppressing protests. Water cannons? Tear gas? There was no reason for such equipment to be here.
“···Broadcast a warning. Fire a warning shot. If they ignore it··· Follow the defensive rules.”
“···All right.”
The warning broadcast blared several times.
Warning shots began firing a few moments later. More warning shots followed.
As if ignoring him, the angry men’s cries continued towards the base.
“You’re crazy.”
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Gunshots rang out across Detroit, piercing the night sky. The gunshots toasting the New Year pierced the night sky. It was a Detroit-style New Year’s celebration.
Tadadadadadadang
Tudadadadadak
The roads were deserted. Who would drive around with gunfire everywhere? The roads in the remote areas and slums were empty.
A corner of a dark road with a broken streetlight. A hazy darkness rippled and Kim Yang’s head popped out.
Clank. Clank.
I used a cheaper bullet because I felt it was a waste to use an expensive bullet, but it ended up being a jam.
Huh- As expected, you have to use expensive bullets.
I didn’t want to waste my money on gangsters, so I bought something on sale at the local gun store, and this is what happened.
‘I guess I’ll stop here for today.’
It’s a shame, but still, twenty-three?
Because I couldn’t confirm the kill of the last one.
‘Yeah, twenty-three.’
Detroit was comfortable, after all. Ms. Kim quickly returned to the hotel. Maru was sitting on the sofa watching TV news. Even though she was just sitting there, she was able to create a good atmosphere.
Kim Yang recited the slogan on the wall in his mind.
[Think and shoot.]
Did you think and shoot?
···Yes. I only thought about the guy who would shoot me.
[Let’s do well and be kind.]
Did you do a good job?
···Yes. Everyone did a good job.
Did you keep it today?
Yes, I kept it.
There was no shame in the slogan, and it did not bother me even if I used cheap bullets.
That’s why Ms. Kim was happy today too.
Miss Kim nodded and looked satisfied on her own. Maru glanced at Miss Kim and then turned his gaze to the TV.
Using the information from the hood, I was clearing out the criminal organization bases around the building. It was a preemptive cleanup operation to free up some of Kim Yang and prepare for the future.
Detroit at the end of the year and beginning of the new year was almost a lawless zone, so there was no particular problem with Kim Yang’s activities in a concealment robe.
In case any problems arise there, we took control of the CCTV cameras in the area where Ms. Kim worked, and even hacked her cell phone, so we were able to clean up the situation perfectly.
Even though the gangs were killed in droves, it seems like they were just fighting each other. That was the end of it. For one reason or another, Hood’s workload had increased, but Hood’s desire for a supercomputer could not be quelled by overtime.
“How many are left now?”
“···3 places.”
Kim Yang was down sharply. If there were three, it could have been done in one day.
“There’s not much time left, so let’s end it on a good note. You know?”
“··· They say there are a lot of gangs 8 miles down too.”
“Once we finish sorting this out, then.”
“Okay.”
Then I was able to clean it up again. Miss Kim recovered slightly.
[···This is sad news. Do you remember the time when we sent a large force to rescue the isolated unit in Japan?]
[There is news that refugees who flocked to the vicinity of a US military base are rioting as rescue operations are in danger of being disrupted by sudden climate change.]
[···This is a video sent by the accompanying war correspondents.]
Refugees, enraged, rushed toward the barbed wire fence. Despite repeated warning broadcasts and shots, they continued to rush forward.
Even though the barbed wire was wrapped around their entire bodies, they ignored it and began to surge forward. People stepped on each other, and whether the people crushed underneath died or not, they surged forward like a tsunami.
The screen changed at the sound of a gunshot. A broken base and blood pooling on the floor appeared briefly on the screen.
[···Because the mob attacked the base, I had no choice but to give orders according to the defense guidelines.]
[Amid criticism that the refugees were suppressed with harsh measures, it is affecting future rescue operations…]
[They said they would deploy cutting-edge weapons, including new rifles, for this operation… but in reality, the operation itself was in a situation where it would fall through]
[Here’s the news. There’s talk that the massive volcanic eruption in Japan is the cause of the current abnormal climate. Dr. Michel’s team at the University of Washington···]
[When we look at the case of the global temperature dropping by about 1 degree due to the aftermath of the Icelandic volcanic eruption, the current situation is more serious because more volcanoes have erupted at the same time on a larger scale.]
=Beep=Beep=Beep=
The intercom rang.
There’s nothing to cry about at this hour…
[Vladimir Kalin. You are from the Department of Homeland Security.]
Ha- Maru let out a small sigh and turned off the TV.
“Don’t send me up, tell me you’re coming down now.”
Did you come here in person?
Tsk-