Rust - Chapter 257



Only Krnovel

RUST -257

Chief Dan Brown’s briefing begins with the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War.

[···There is currently fierce fighting in Beijing.]

[Superhumans who appear to have been sent from the Northern Theater Command are setting up defensive lines in key areas of Beijing…]

Street fighting is essentially like taking civilians hostage and attacking them, so it will only leave a negative impression on the citizens of Beijing. The Chinese government could not help but take advantage of that.

As Maru thought, the Chinese government released CCTV footage of the battle and exposed the existence of superhumans. Starting with reporting that superhumans were a kind of biological weapon created by the Northern Theater Command, they claimed that the current attack was an indiscriminate terror attack on Beijing citizens.

In the streets of Beijing, superhumans were a nightmare. With just one physical ability that was three to four times that of an adult male, they were extremely dangerous.

Compared to regular soldiers who could only weigh 40-50 kg in full combat gear, superhumans who could use weights of around 150 kg were a terror in the confined battlefield of urban warfare.

One person carries and fires several small anti-tank missiles. Even if you think about it simply, he carries a heavy machine gun, a rack, and ammunition all by himself and attacks. Overwhelming operational capabilities.

The power loader type exosuit that the US military is pushing to produce and distribute could be sufficient to respond, but considering the athletic ability and agility unique to superhumans, it was inferior. The battle scene hidden by the Chinese government clearly showed this.

[···This is a scene where Chinese soldiers armed with exosuits are attacked by superhumans.]

A woman with a knife jumps out of a window, avoiding bullets fired from an exosuit. A woman leaps up, grabbing the arm of the exosuit that is following behind and sticking its gun out the window. The extended blade pierces between her helmet and neck.

The armament and firepower were not inferior, but it was impossible to do parkour while wearing the exosuit. It was also difficult to jump out of the exosuit and climb up like rock climbing. It was a functional limitation.

The footage of the superhuman and exosuit engagement showed the necessity and potential of exosuits, while also revealing their limitations.

[The Chinese government has announced that it is successfully defending itself using new weapons, but the analysis of the Power Analysis Laboratory predicts that it will not be able to hold out for another 48 to 72 hours.]

Why not just escape Beijing? Even if the symbolism of Beijing is important, if the chairman and the leadership escape without insisting on defense, it would be fine.

If they know in the faraway United States that they are targeting nuclear security codes, wouldn’t they know the parties in China even better?

As if he had guessed Maru’s thoughts, the lieutenant colonel next to Chief Dan Brown spoke.

[The Chinese Communist Party’s central government cannot abandon Beijing.]

[The moment Beijing is abandoned, it will not only mean that we are on the defensive in the civil war, but]

[Because it serves as a basis for judging that the central government has lost control over the local government.]

China was already in a complicated situation. With talk of the current president seeking to remain in power for a long time, conflicts between political forces were reaching a peak.

There were several assassination attempts on key figures, including the commentator. Accidents continued to occur, such as a gas pipe exploding when a vehicle carrying the commentator passed by, a tunnel collapsing, or a warehouse containing a large amount of flammable materials exploding.

The broadcast passed it off as a simple accident, but everyone knows that it was actually an attack targeting the Chinese president. That is why leaving Beijing in such a complicated situation was the worst possible situation.

[···Yes. That is also the reason why they are desperately trying to protect Beijing by revealing the existence of the superhumans that they had been secretly hiding.]

The moment Beijing is abandoned, the risk of China splitting into several parts increases.

[···It was a broadcast that took public opinion and psychological warfare into account. It reported that the superhumans who infiltrated Beijing were impersonal biological weapons, and so it instilled the perception that they were dangerous.]

[Those who watched the broadcast would first think of bioweapons when they hear the word ‘superhuman.’ And the image of Bukgu Jeon-gu as a warlord who conducted human experiments to create such bioweapons was created.]

[If we succeed in defending Beijing, the central government that stopped the Northern Theater that attacked Beijing with biological weapons. The central government that did not abandon the citizens of Beijing even when danger was imminent. That positive image will be added.]

Chief Dan Brown added to the lieutenant colonel’s story. The lieutenant colonel had a blank expression, but inside he was growing annoyed.

Was it easy to become a United States officer? No.

If you’ve become an officer, you should fulfill your duty to defend the country. Why are you talking so much?

If you give an order, you carry it out. Isn’t that the attitude of a soldier?

What on earth is this, explaining and urging in such detail?

The lieutenant colonel, who felt like he was going to burst while watching Chief Dan Brown’s ramblings, spoke expressionlessly.

[···That may be a trick, but the truth is that we have received information that we cannot escape from Beijing.]

[There is also intelligence that the opposition, which opposes the chairman’s long-term rule, is trying to take advantage of this situation to eliminate the chairman and key figures.]

It is said that the evacuation route used in emergencies such as nuclear war collapsed. The story is that when they almost got killed while trying to escape from Beijing, they turned to defending Beijing.

[We are defending in several layers by mobilizing new hidden weapons, but there is a high possibility that it will collapse.]

It is predicted that they will not last long because there are many hidden enemies. In other words, there is a high risk that the nuclear security code will be leaked to the other side.

[The common conclusion is that the nuclear security codes must be stopped before they fall into the hands of unknown forces.]

So, what he was saying was, fly to Beijing right now and either get the nuclear codes or destroy them.

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Kim Yang, who was listening to Maru’s story, looked at him.

‘Isn’t bird strike dangerous?’

I would have to take a plane to get to Beijing. I wondered if that would be possible.

“They said that if you pour CS bullets on the runway and the surrounding area, it’ll be okay.”

“Did you take ours to use it like that?”

It wasn’t 100% safe, but it was a huge improvement over the 50% or so accidents that occurred during takeoff and landing.

“That’s right. They say that once you get it going, you can replace just about anything.”

“It would take a lot of money to do that. What are you going to do when you use it all up?”

Imagine covering the airport and surrounding area with CS smoke. It seemed like an unimaginable amount of material would be needed to cover such a huge area with CS smoke.

“Isn’t America nicknamed the Celestial Empire for nothing? It doesn’t require any complicated techniques to pull out CS bullets. They’re confident, so they’ll use what they have like water.”

As Manager Dan Brown advised, the best move was to pass on the CS bullets when their value was at its peak.

Strictly speaking, the United States was not a country lacking in resources or raw materials. The resources on the American mainland were expensive to exploit and were not used because they were being used sparingly. There was also no need to produce them at a high cost when they could have been imported cheaply.

Terrorism turned everything upside down. With the Seattle bombing and the EMP attack, China’s involvement was revealed, and America, blackened by Uncle Sam, silenced corporations.

‘Make it first! Calculate after the Nazis and the Japanese have been trampled.’ That’s the history and tradition. The companies involved kept their mouths shut and went into production.

Things like CS grenades, flashbang grenades, hand grenades, and 20-40mm grenades began to be produced like cans of cola at a cola factory.

In February and March, things that were worth calling for dropped to half their peak by early May. It felt like looking at a coin graph. When it went up, it went up endlessly, but when it started to fall, it fell without a bottom.

The production line for the Power Loader type exosuit has begun construction at a crazy pace, with a target of four months from start to finish, and the armored personnel carriers have also begun preparations for mass production.

As the possibility of the Power Loader type exosuit becoming standard equipment increases, the main armament is likely to be reorganized into 7.62mm and 12.7mm. The 6.8mm used in the new rifle has thus fallen into the abyss.

“It was definitely a bit weak in Japan.”

The results of using 6.8mm on mutant monsters were not as good as expected. Considering that the caliber of the chain gun that Kim Yang mainly used in Japan was 7.62mm, and that was also close, it was definitely the case.

“But. The woman with the knife in the video. Where have I seen her before? Or not?”

Kim Yang tilted her head and narrowed her eyebrows. Maru’s hands, which had been sharpening the knife, stopped for a moment.

“Beijing engagement video?”

Nod.

Listening to what Kim said, I felt like I’d seen her face somewhere before. Where have I seen her?

“japan?”

So, the Japanese House of Councilors who went down the slide with style. She looks like the woman I was looking for.

“The woman I saw in Japan. You know that woman? The woman from some family.”

“Ah- I couldn’t recognize you because your face was a bit dry. It’s that woman. Yeah.”

Miss Kim frowned again.

“Then why did you attack Beijing with the Northern Front Supermen?”

It was definitely a bit strange for him to come from a famous family in Japan and go all the way to Beijing, China and wield a knife.

“That’s right… You’ll know when you go there. The building is well-guarded. If anything happens, they’ll close the door.”

Kim Yang nodded her head rudely, as if she was worried about everything.

Maru, riding on an electric motorcycle, waved his hand once.

Wheeeeeeing-

The low motor noise disappeared along with the aftertaste.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, the closest to Detroit.

The Air Force Research Laboratory was located here.

As soon as Maru arrived, the briefing began.

“The defense line is collapsing faster than expected.”

The situation in Beijing, which was expected to last at least 48 hours, was getting worse by the minute. Not only were those opposing the Chinese central government starting to operate in secret, but the actions of the superhumans were becoming increasingly violent.

Before the CCTV footage was released, there were at least traces of concern about not crossing the line, but after people started talking about biological weapons and impersonal weapons of war, they started acting without any hesitation.

“We must arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport before it is taken over by rebel forces.”

The objective of the operation. To obtain or destroy China’s nuclear security codes. The closed Beijing International Airport was used because the Chinese government unofficially requested assistance.

The key is whether we can get there before the airport falls.

After a short briefing, a large aircraft began to approach one side of the runway.

The now-retired Strategic Reconnaissance SR-71, which was identical to the aircraft commonly known as the Blackbird, was on standby as an experimental aircraft without an official name.

“The three teams will operate independently. Good luck.”

A moment later, thick darkness broke the sound barrier.

Four hours later, a black eagle landed on the closed Beijing Capital International Airport.