Rust - Chapter 164



Only Krnovel

RUST -164

The exosuit stood up threateningly.

[What help?]

Kim Yang’s firm voice.

[You want to be good? Go over there and be good.]

Although the kindness may not seem like the kindness it is, the murderous meaning hidden within is well conveyed.

Help? What?

It was exactly like that when I got involved with Southeast Asian drug dealers. They would get involved with things like helping each other. When you get involved with those guys, the results aren’t good.

The situation is a little different now, as I just collect materials and help out when I have the time, but that makes me even more upset.

‘Where did you get your heart?’

Kim Yang was dissatisfied. She understood that she could be mistaken for a male soldier because she was wearing an exosuit, but she still felt bad.

백정에게 달라붙는 년들도, 그걸 바라보고 있는 찝찝하게 생긴 새끼도, 뭣도 모르고 가슴부터 디민 옆에 있는 년까지 모두 마음에 들지 않았다.

‘Should I tip it over?’

Miss Kim glanced at the floor and sat quietly.

The women distanced themselves a little, wondering if Kim Yang’s protest was effective. Maru tried to ignore the heavy feeling on his arm and spoke calmly.

“I would like to meet the commander here.”

“··· Are you speaking to Commander Brown?”

When I heard the name, it was correct. The head of the Department of Homeland Security was Dan Brown, and he said he was his cousin.

‘I guess he’s still alive.’

I thought that if I mentioned the name of the person in charge, there would be no unnecessary misunderstandings or friction. For example, stupid situations like, ‘I can’t hand over the data to mercenaries’ or ‘This data belongs to the Ministry of National Defense.’

“Yes. Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert Brown.”

“This way.”

It was Maru who was following the youngest’s guidance. The three girls, unable to do anything, wandered around Kim Yang like satellites.

In Maru’s eyes, it was the same old thing with the same rice. Even though he was only 2 or 3 years older than her, he was still catching kids.

[Hey. Take it easy.]

[···Okay, I understand.]

Judging by the lights on in the hallway, there seemed to be no problem with the power supply.

[Can I charge it? There’s an outlet.]

[I’ll check.]

[If it’s charging, do it at least a little. If not, put it in standby mode to save power.]

[Okay.]

The answer was Kim Yang, who was very good at talking. I think I missed something. Ah! Director Yoo! If it’s Director Yoo, you should know Kim Yang’s face, right?

Maru looked around. As expected, there were CCTVs attached to the ceiling here and there. They must be watching this way.

[Don’t take off your helmet, keep it on. There are CCTVs everywhere.]

[···What about rice?]

I have to eat… I have to eat. I’m trying to eat everything to live, and it’s time to eat.

[I’ll be back soon, so let’s take turns eating there and back.]

[···Okay, I understand.]

The youngest led Maru into the room next to the barricade. The room was filled with various odds and ends.

“Be careful.”

As the youngest warned, it was hard to keep up. Beds and other things were piled up to the ceiling, creating a maze. At first glance, it seemed like there were no gaps, but there were places where you could escape.

‘Will it collapse?’

I touched it with my hand and saw that it wasn’t just piled up, but welded together. If it was a mutant larger than a person, it would definitely get tangled up and not be able to get through the gap.

‘It’ll be hard for even an exosuit to get through’

As we passed through the maze of rebar junk, we came to a place where one wall had a circular opening. The youngest strode into the opening.

“This way.”

Here and there, civilians were seen holding guns. Some of them looked like high school students no matter how you looked at them.

Knock knock knock

People were huddled behind the barricade, trying to suppress even the slightest cough. Their faces were filled with exhaustion and despair. People who clearly wanted to rest rather than have the will to survive were gathered there.

The youngest led Maru through the crowd. There were very few American soldiers standing out.

“How many survivors are there?”

“It would be about 500 people all together.”

About 300 civilians. The exact number of American soldiers is unknown, but it is said to be no more than 200.

“500 people? Is the supply okay?”

“Supplies are plentiful.”

When we first started the rescue operation, we planned to use the stolen hospital as a supply base, so we filled it with supplies.

It was to accommodate a rescue team of nearly 1,000 people and two additional deployments. It seemed that supplies would be insufficient due to the increasing number of refugees and survivors, but once the outer defense line was breached, the death toll began to pour in.

The number of survivors dwindled in an instant, either fighting to death or going mad, and as a result, food, weapons, and ammunition became more abundant.

The youngest one had a bitter smile on his face while talking.

“Will I be able to return alive?”

In movies and dramas, whenever they say things like, “Then, I’ll definitely send you back, so just follow me,” “Just trust me,” or “We can all return alive,” I always think, “Why bother?”

Why did he say that? Was it because of hope? Was it because of responsibility? Whatever the reason, he felt uneasy after being in a similar situation. Maru chose to remain silent.

“······.”

“······.”

Now that I think about it, I feel like I’ve seen this guy somewhere. Maru tilted his head slightly.

I didn’t notice it at first, but it definitely looked familiar. Have I seen it somewhere?

“You speak English well.”

“No. Most kids these days do this.”

“Really? Where do you live?”

“Home? Korea. I live in Seoul.”

Isn’t it? I think I saw it in Busan. That is, when Director Kim and Manager Lee Ki-young fought, I think I saw it then.

“How did a Korean come to Japan? To visit a relative’s house?”

“I came from work.”

“rectal?”

“Yes. I got a job at World PMC. I came to Japan on a business trip. This is what happened.”

This guy is that guy. The guy in Busan. The guy who stabbed Manager Lee Ki-young from behind. Did he get into Director Yoo’s line?

“I’m talking about the husky-voiced woman on the barricade side.”

“Director Yoo?”

Maru took off his mask.

“Is that woman the director?”

“Yes. He is the one who is actually leading the World PMC.”

“I see. So there’s nothing like that between World PMC and the US military?”

“Yes. We are in charge of civilian control and security. We work well together, so there were no particular problems or anything.”

It was said that Director Yoo was doing a good job.

“It’s amazing given the circumstances.”

“He is a great person.”

If the early refugees had not been beaten and trained and pushed into the defensive line, they would have been swept away. Director Yoo was the one who pushed them in equally, regardless of whether they were women, children, or old people.

“Here it is.”

The youngest one guided us to the innermost ward.

“Then, go ahead and talk. I’ll be waiting.”

“No. Don’t wait. I told you there were plenty of supplies.”

“yes.”

“Give your comrades plenty of 7.62mm armor-piercing bullets and about ten servings of food. No, fifteen servings.”

“For 15 people?”

“uh.”

“Is this okay as combat rations?”

“No problem. Something with a lot of meat.”

“All right.”

“Please take care of me.”

Maru, who had sent the youngest off first, explained the situation to the soldier standing guard in front of the sickroom. When he followed the soldier’s guidance and went inside, he saw the commander lying half-lying on the sickbed.

“Yes. Welcome. This is Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert Brown.”

“I am Vladimir Kalin, a mercenary from the Department of Homeland Security.”

“A Homeland Security mercenary. Did he send you?”

“Yes.”

The corners of the lieutenant colonel’s eyes, filled with fatigue, furrowed slightly. He smiled faintly as if he was reminiscing about something. ‘That idiot did something useless…’ The lieutenant colonel muttered to himself and looked at the floor. His eyes were sharp and different from before.

“What did you say?”

“Here it is.”

Instead of answering, Maru handed over a document. The lieutenant colonel’s eyes twitched as he read it.

“Are you saying that no one arrived?”

The special forces came and went three times. But no one returned alive? Maru answered in silence.

“······.”

“I see.”

If I had sent the original file, the data would have been lost.

“So what do you plan to do? It won’t be easy to escape.”

“I’m thinking about it. Just take it for now.”

What Maru took out was a walkie-talkie.

“The radio? Does it work?”

“I don’t know how long it will be possible, but it is currently possible up to a distance of 4 to 5 km.”

There was hope in the lieutenant colonel’s eyes. Although it was impossible to escape alone, it was possible if we went forward and back in cooperation with the forward base outside.

“I can’t give you the original data. Do you understand why?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“I can’t go with you either. As you can see, this is why.”

“······.”

It was certainly impossible to escape with a lieutenant colonel in that condition. The manager would be upset, but what could he do? If that didn’t work out, he had told me to just take the data. In the first place, the important thing was not the people, but the data.

“You have a heavy mouth.”

“······.”

“···Being tight-lipped is also a virtue.”

“thank you.”

“I heard you have an exosuit. Can you help us with the escape operation?”

“It’s not something you can decide alone.”

The lieutenant colonel nodded coolly at Maru’s answer. ‘It’s a military operation, so follow along.’, ‘It’s an emergency. If you want to do something, do it.’, I thought he would say that, but Maru nodded coolly, which made me feel strange.

======

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The story ended well.

The lieutenant colonel was a man of principle. He did not try to force Maru, nor did he try to be unreasonable. He was responsible for the lives of 500 people, so I thought he would use that as an excuse to do something. But he did not.

Doing things the right way in a time of crisis is not as easy as it sounds. Do you get along with people with the last name ‘Brown’? Even the head of the Department of Homeland Security said so.

Maru checked the USB and file in his pocket. It was a USB containing quite thick copies of documents and research materials.

“I guess the conversation with you went well?”

A husky voice. When I turned my head, there was Director Yoo standing with his back against the wall.

“What do you think? Have you thought about it?”

“···I want to talk to my colleagues.”

Maru felt uncomfortable. Although his speech was husky and soft, he felt uncomfortable. Was it because of the preconception that he was a world group?

Since we had already washed our identities, there would be no problem as long as we didn’t get involved again. If it wasn’t because of prejudice, then why was it so uncomfortable?

His mouth was smiling, but his eyes weren’t.

As Maru slightly opened his head, the sound of a ball being hit was heard.

Tick-

Whirly- Director Yoo whistled as he turned the Colt Python around and put it back in its holster.

“That’s great. You, your senses are killing me.”

‘Crazy bitch? Are you crazy?’ What did you just do? Even though it was an empty gun, you aimed it at me? Did you pull the trigger? Maru felt a sudden surge of anger. The murderous intent that was sharpened was directed at Director Yoo.

Director Yoo’s eyes widened as he faced the murderous intent. His white teeth stood out and his lips drew a long curve. Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee- A torn smile. The diagonal scar on his face twitched with joy.

Maru woke up with a start at that sight. He came to his senses. This was not the right woman. The murderous intent that was quickly extinguished. Maru became calm as if nothing had happened.

Director Yoo said in a trembling voice, feeling it.

“Why? Why? Why?”

“?”

‘Why?’ What, why?

“Should we try a little more?”

“What the fuck.”

Maru couldn’t hold it in anymore and swore. ‘Shit- I didn’t say she was this kind of girl.’

Director Yoo spoke to Maru, who was venting his anger at Ms. Kim for not knowing English. He didn’t seem to care at all that she was openly swearing at him.

“You. How much do you earn?”

“······.”

How much money are you making all of a sudden? Should I just cut them? If I cut them? And then what? Are you going to cut all the people here? Maru regained his composure.

“We had a good knife sleuth in our company, but he’s gone.”

“······.”

I think I know that story too. Maru kept his mouth shut.

“You’re much better than him. What do you think? It’ll be hard to give you the position of director or managing director right away, but I think you could become a manager.”

“······.”

“Don’t you think so? You’re the head of a World Group affiliate? Don’t you know that World PMC is well-known in this industry? Oh! That’s right. You said you were connected to the American intelligence agency, right?”

“······.”

“You said you were a mercenary for the Department of Homeland Security? Honestly, I don’t know much about the Department of Homeland Security, but I do know Virginia. But, Virginia and the Department of Homeland Security, they’re all the same. They’re fucking assholes.”

Director Yoo said with a smile.

No, please don’t laugh like that. Your eyes aren’t laughing. Damn it.