Rust - Chapter 186



Only Krnovel

RUST -186

Detroit.

The nurse closed the window because of the sound of gunfire outside, even though it was well past New Year’s Day. Unlike the bright downtown area, she could see a burning ruin in the dark, deserted area in the distance.

I vividly recalled the fires that broke out everywhere because of the earthquake and tsunami. I thought of the patients rushing in, and the people who started going crazy when they were told they couldn’t take patients because of the coronavirus.

At that time, Japan was burning.

All that could be heard in the burning smoke were curses, rage, and screams. At that time, she always lived there with her windows closed.

I’ve always kept the windows open since I came to America, but today was particularly noisy. Maybe that’s why? When I closed the windows, the scene of the chaos at that time was so vivid.

[···Some of the Marines, including Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert Brown, returned first··· An emergency meeting began as news of the acquisition of top secret information reached the White House and Congress.]

[Wolf Broadcasting has released an exclusive video. The video, sent by an anonymous informant, clearly shows the unbelievable situation in Japan. We ask that viewing be restricted in homes with young children.]

The nurse sat down in front of the TV without realizing it when she heard that it was news related to Japan.

A video was broadcast a moment later. It showed a swarm of giant rats and cats the size of leopards attacking people.

A group of cats, thought to be cute pets, are running around hunting and eating people.

The nurse couldn’t stand the sight of the giant cockroaches and changed the TV channel. The other channel was showing a story about troops deployed to Japan.

[···In modern warfare, the most important thing is information. It is important to understand the enemy’s location and situation, and the location and situation of our forces, and respond accordingly. However, in Japan, it is impossible to respond in real time···]

[There were cases of communication failures in Afghanistan. However, these were either temporary failures or problems with the special terrain of the mountainous region. Satellite communication using artificial satellites was mostly possible.]

[But Japan is different now. Because of the volcanic ash and smoke that has risen into the stratosphere, the local situation cannot be known even using satellites, and communications are also down. It appears that operational control is virtually impossible.]

[Are you saying that the rescue operation will fail?]

[It is meaningless to discuss success and failure at this point. What is the point of knowing in real time whether the operation was successful or not? The most important thing now is to secure a means of communication.]

[···What does the Department of Defense currently think about this···]

[In order to secure a communications network… we plan to install buoys equipped with repeaters throughout the operational area.]

The scene changed and CG appeared. A buoy was a type of sign floating on the sea. When the sea was foggy, it served as a warning light to indicate a safe route, and also indicated dangerous elements such as reefs under the water.

In the past, they used to attach relays, radars, and underwater detectors to buoys. It was an old method that is not used much these days with the advancement of technology including satellite communication networks, but it was a good method in the current situation.

As the map unfolded, a screen appeared showing multipurpose buoys laid out in the waters of northwest and north-central Japan. Then, red lines were drawn between the buoys, one end reaching to Korea and the other end reaching to the Kanto region of Japan.

The Pentagon spokesperson opened his mouth, ending with a video of the line that reached Korea rising into the air and heading to the Guam base and the United States.

[···Currently, multipurpose repeaters equipped with radar and underwater detection capabilities are being installed in the operational area··· It is expected that this will enable real-time understanding of the battlefield situation.]

What if they both die? It doesn’t seem like they’ll die, but considering they say there are monsters, is it dangerous? The nurse thought of Miss Kim.

Dori dori.

‘There’s no way that girl would die.’

There was no way that a little devil-like girl could die. Maru-san was also a great person. The nurse who thought of the two people thought of the family member(?) who had recently joined.

‘Does the kid who wears a hood never change his clothes? Or does he just wear clothes of the same design?’

Every time I saw him, he was always wearing the same clothes. He was also wearing a mask and ski goggles, so I couldn’t tell what he looked like.

‘They said he was a hacker.’

Should I ask her to eat together? What if I misunderstand? Because of the voice changer, it was hard to guess her gender. Even though she covered it with a hood, it still felt thin, but these days, there are many men who are thinner than women.

‘Huh? Since you say you’re a hacker, wouldn’t you be able to find out information about Japan?’

Should I ask?

Dori dori.

Let’s just keep studying. I think I passed the document screening this time. I wonder if I could get in on the first try if I do well. Then I won’t hear people say I can’t earn my keep.

[···If you add a sonar to the radar, won’t the production cost go up?]

[Regarding the criticism of excessive spending···]

The nurse turned off the TV and started studying. She had to keep the noise about paying for food quiet.

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The atmosphere of celebration and cheer soon died down.

The number of troops that set out together to escort over 500 refugees was over 300. Of the escort force consisting of Marines and Army, only 58 troops, excluding Maru and Kim, arrived at the port.

This time, those who had succeeded in escaping were those on the outskirts, and most of the troops were fighting in their quarters. That’s why the Marines insisted that they should regroup and go straight to help their comrades.

“It is quite possible to do so using snowmobiles and snowcats loaded onto transport ships.”

“The orders I received were for transport, not attack support. I have no authority to send out a rescue team or to remove supplies.”

In Japan, heavy snowfall occurred once or twice every week to ten days. In addition, the snow was not melting due to abnormal weather and lower temperatures than usual.

The camp in Tottori Prefecture requested supplies for the smooth transport and deployment of troops, and a transport fleet carrying snowmobiles, snowmobiles, and winter equipment rescued them while en route to the camp.

“It’s a rescue mission. If you have the equipment, you can easily rescue your allies.”

“Transportation is an operation, sir. You know that supply is an operation, don’t you? I repeat, the operational orders I received are rescue and transport.”

The Marine Corps sergeant looked furious.

“Aren’t you the captain with the highest rank here? Are you saying you’re going to abandon our isolated forces?”

“Watch your words, sir.”

“The fighting continued until dawn today. It has been less than 12 hours since we left the city. If we use snowmobiles and snowmobiles, we can get there in less than an hour, and if we provide fire support with heavy machine guns and mortars, it is quite possible.”

“Stop! Boss! Get out. Right now!”

The sergeant went out, glaring at the captain.

“Fuck. Communication? Communication yet?”

“Contact is not possible in the waters near the camp because the repeater has not been installed yet.”

A relay station spread like a buoy in the ocean. It is a device that acts as both a detector and a relay station. Although it has not been installed in all areas yet, the United States has been making a media play that they have spread new relay stations in the ocean to respond to communication disruptions caused by volcanic ash.

The viewers didn’t know, but it was a broadcast to check other countries. They’re monitoring us by placing detectors and repeaters all over the ocean, so don’t do anything stupid. If you don’t want to make a big deal out of it, do it moderately.

Whether it was because the groundwork was effective or because there was no intention of attacking the transport ship in the first place, the transport ship was able to move without incident.

The problem wasn’t the base, but the performance. The performance was worse than expected.

“What about those guys who decided to spread it in the camp waters? Are they doing it right?”

“I’ll check again.”

The atmosphere on the bridge was not good. Regardless, Ms. Kim was busy opening the donut wrapper. Opening and eating, yum yum yum. Opening and chewing, yum yum yum.

The cold atmosphere on the bridge loosened up a bit as he continued to push in despite his bulging cheeks like a squirrel. It was so ridiculous that it was strange to feel annoyed because he was eating so blissfully, so everyone ended up just laughing in vain.

Ms. Kim felt like everyone was focused on her for a moment. She took a big bite and rolled around, looking around.

“???”

“Eat slowly. No one will steal your food.”

Kim Yang, who had been rolling her eyes and looking around, nodded her head once to Maru and then became serious again. In an instant, she transferred seven donuts and reached out for her eighth target.

The captain, whose head had started to swell, asked Maru for his opinion.

“Good work. I thought you said you were from the Department of Homeland Security?”

“Yes, it is under the Department of Homeland Security’s Special Operations Division.”

“You must have had a hard time coming all this way.”

What is this captain? Is the Department of Homeland Security going around doing domestic work while Virginia is in charge of overseas work? Maru just laughed.

“I saw the footage shot with the tactical camera. There were a lot of empty spaces, so…”

It was a natural thing. When I was going to have to cut too much, I turned off the camera and didn’t even start filming.

“I had no choice because battery management was necessary.”

“··· Is that so? As I was watching the video, I had that thought. I thought that with you, who has a stealth device, and her, who is equipped with an exosuit, you could gradually push away the enemies.”

Captain, do you see? That was what he thought, but Maru answered without changing his expression.

“As I mentioned earlier, the battery is the problem. Whether it’s a stealth device or an exosuit, it’s useless without power. With limited power, the best we can do is create and protect a retreat route. And it’s physically impossible.”

“Physically impossible? What do you mean?”

“If you kill one every ten minutes, that’s six per hour. Even if you kill one per minute, that’s 60. But the number of enemies we’ve confirmed is at least in the thousands. At the very least, it’s in the thousands.”

“······.”

“If you were to ask why I didn’t kill them when it seemed like I could kill them in the thousands by slowly killing them while avoiding bullets and landmines?”

Maru said, quickly handing the captain the sword he was carrying next to him.

“You can try it yourself. Why it’s physically impossible.”

“······.”

Hmm. Hmm. The captain cleared his throat and let out a sound that was stuck in his throat. Kim Yang, who had been eating munching, looked around with her mouth full, as if she had not expected Maru to say something so openly.

“I’m sorry if that’s how you felt when I said that. I didn’t mean to blame you.”

The captain spoke with a groan every now and then.

“To be honest, it’s true that it’s quite burdensome to continue like this. It’s dishonorable that we didn’t rescue our isolated allies when there was a chance, but only followed orders.”

“If you need manpower, you can just recruit volunteers. We have to move on to the next job.”

The captain looked as if he didn’t know that.

“Was there another operation?”

“Time is running out as the search results could lead to a rescue operation.”

Maru had no qualms about it. He had to find Ki-sun, who he had lost contact with, and rescue her if something happened.

“If there is a ship going to Busan, Korea, the two of us would like to go there.”

Since it had come to this, Maru told the captain that he would transfer to a transport ship heading straight to Busan.

“···Do that.”

“thank you.”

Among the fleet consisting of eight frigates and four transport ships, one transport ship and two frigates were headed to Busan Port.

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Busan Hotel Charlotte

Sim Eun-young couldn’t just sit there and listen to what the man sitting in front of her was saying.

“So. What is the gist of what you are saying? ‘We need the materials you have for the reconstruction of Greater Japan, so hand them over.’ Is that it?”

The man showed this and laughed.

“It’s good that you understand quickly. Now is the chance to repay the favors you’ve received so far.”

Sim Eun-young realized that the man was speaking sincerely. It wasn’t a concept or an act. It meant that he was really thinking like this.

Are you crazy? How can you say something like that in a situation where you can’t even ask for help? Sim Eun-young looked at the man quietly. His eyes were sparkling. He wasn’t someone she could talk to.

Of course, it must be because he believes in something. Then what does he believe in? Why does he come here alone and say something like that?

‘Is that it?’

“So, Mr. Nakasone Heisei, I have a question. Is this request an official request from the Japanese government?”

“Request? Government? You’re mistaken because you’re full.”

The man smiled, showing his teeth. A sharp, stabbing murderous intent was directed at Sim Eun-young.

“It is an order.”