Rust - Chapter 287



Only Krnovel

RUST [RUST]-287

Chief Den Brown took a deep breath, frowning at the throbbing headache.

“Haa- This is driving me crazy.”

Was it a hallucination? No, there was definitely a person. I remember the impression clearly. How could I mistake him for a white male who weighs 200-220 pounds? I didn’t dream with my eyes open.

‘Fuck.’ The manager reached into the drawer, took out a pill, and poured it into his mouth. The feel of the gun next to the bottle was vivid.

“Manager. It would be a good idea to take a day off today…”

“Yeah, I guess we should. We were already reaching our limit. What did you say? A shelter in the Minnesota area was attacked by rats.”

“Yes, shelters 11 and 16.”

It was a shelter in the easternmost part of Minnesota, bordering Wisconsin, and next to Wisconsin was Michigan, the state where Detroit is.

“Where was the area where the mutant rats appeared last time?”

“It’s western Michigan.”

“Really? Right next to it is the place that Vladimir Maru and Miss Kim cleaned up.”

“Yes.”

At that time, Maru and Kim Yang swept it once, and after that, the federal army and the national guard used large-scale artillery fire and napalm fire to burn down the entire area where rats appeared.

After that big sweep, the rats stopped making noises and there was talk of coyotes and wolves, but the rats were poking their heads back in. It seemed like the reproductive capacity of those annoying rodents was still there.

“Mark the locations of mutant rat reports and the areas where they were found on the map.”

Red dots began to appear. The most common areas were along train stations, highways, and rest areas.

“There’s no way these little rats would use the transportation network, right?”

“Generally it is difficult.”

“Whew- Well, let’s say it’s not normal, and we use the CCTV on the road… damn it, EMP.”

The EMP recovery rate was only 1-2%. The West, where semiconductor-related companies are concentrated, was hit hard, and Texas, which had started operating a new semiconductor production plant, declared secession from the Union.

There was a shortage of all materials, not just semiconductors. Fortunately, the eastern region, including New York, was less affected.

Was it luck? Luck when using tactical and strategic nuclear weapons? Why didn’t the nuclear weapons fall on the important eastern regions? Small questions began to pound on my head as if they were rocks.

Kkeung- He swallowed a small groan as various pieces of information flashed through his mind and then disappeared. What if the location of the nuclear strike and what he thought was an error in the Chinese missile were not errors?

Worst case scenario. What if someone leaked the coordinates of where the federal and national guard troops were stationed in the West? Why didn’t the East get nuked? A hydrogen bomb dropped on New York would have put them in a state of stupor.

The list of people who invested in the Chinese virology lab and where they lived unfolded in my mind. The prickling headache felt like a razor blade cutting through my brain.

A headache that gradually subsides only after shaking your head to interrupt your thoughts.

“Whew- First, check all the areas where rats have appeared and spray rat poison.”

Ecosystem? What do you want? Animals that haven’t mutated yet? If the monster rats keep breeding at this rate, they’ll all turn into rat poop.

“They said they had already tried to use rat poison to exterminate them in several places, but it didn’t work.”

The rats that were told to eat did not eat, but other animals ate them and died.

Most of the factories that produce rat poison and CS bullets there have been shut down due to the EMP aftermath. It was clear that if the stock ran out, something stupid would happen again.

ha ha ha.

Chief Dan Brown, who had been smiling hollowly, picked up the phone.

What if a horde of fucking rats settled in the city and started breeding? It was horrible to even imagine. Before that happened, we had to kill them by any means necessary.

“Connect me to Marine General Gilbert Brown.”

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Maru did not overlook what had happened at the Japanese thieves’ hospital.

For example, a food chain. At first, rats came into the hospital, and cats followed them. The rats and cats started attacking people, and among the infected people who were pushed to one side, mutations occurred.

In this way, each floor was loosely divided into areas with lots of rats, areas that were cat territory, and areas with mutants. In this way, the burglar hospital became an open hunting ground. If rats were left alone, there was no way the area around Vladiak Tower would not have ended up like that.

“I need to fix the CCTV.”

If not the entire downtown Detroit area, at least the CCTV in key locations and around the Ark Tower needed to be fixed.

Mutated beasts were a problem, but so were people. There had already been two attempts to invade from the outside. Would that be the end? The odds were high that it wouldn’t be.

“Why don’t you just use crow?”

“That’s dangerous.”

If you just look at the important points, there are over 40~50 places, and you want to turn all of those places into crows? It’s possible to monitor and attack, but what if you don’t want to attack? What if it’s just someone passing by?

“That’s true. What about the electricity that powers the CCTV? The power coming into the city was blown away because of the EMP.”

“I should try bundling solar panels and batteries.”

In these times, solar panels and batteries that work? Will they last? Kim Yang tilted her head.

“What if someone takes it away?”

“They’re here. Just tell them to guard them.”

Caw?

Kim Yang nodded as she saw a crow lifting its head while eating the rice cake the nurse had given it. It seemed like there was no reason for crows to steal. They were secretly quite persistent.

CCTV installation and repairs were carried out quickly. CCTVs were installed in 51 key locations and the existing ones were repaired. Maru, who had completed the solar panel and battery connection, went straight to the next step: catching rats.

“Diana, how’s the VX gas synthesis going?”

[The number of 40mm grenade types currently manufactured is 43.]

It was a semi-handmade situation, and because it was a very dangerous nerve gas, it took quite some time.

“I also request that they be manufactured in liquid grenade and mine types.”

[Delivered.]

Although sarin gas was easy to make and quick to produce, Maru chose VX gas.

This was because it had low volatility and thus had good persistence, and its toxicity lasted for almost half a year in a closed space.

“VX is a bit risky to use, but it’s definitely good for catching things.”

Kim Yang also supported Maru’s choice, as he had some knowledge of gas. Kim Yang was someone who knew how to do things roughly, except for things he didn’t know.

“I’m going to destroy their habitat. I’m going to spread them mainly underground so they won’t come this way.”

“Good idea. But didn’t you say there’s a nuclear bunker nearby?”

There were several shelters, including an old nuclear air defense facility, not far from the Bloody Ark Tower.

It was an old facility built in the 60s or 70s, but it was a sturdy facility adjacent to a Detroit building, so there was a chance that people would be there.

“I have to check if there are people first, and then I’ll open it.”

Maru, who said that, looked at Kim Yang with a tired expression.

‘Okay. Go. We’re going.’

‘Why me again?’

“If anything happens, I’ll have to spray VX gas.”

“What about the Homeland Security guys and nurses? They can do that too.”

The power loader exosuit was vulnerable to poison gas. It was said that it was difficult for agents or nurses to reach it.

‘Then I’ll go? I think it’s because I have a special exosuit that’s so powerful.’

Kim Yang turned her head at Maru’s gaze.

Kiyungkiyung-

The exosuit, emitting a shrill noise, entered the underground passage. It was the passage leading to the shelter closest to the Vladiak Tower.

The exosuit, armed with a 40mm high-velocity grenade machine gun and a rocket launcher on each shoulder, walked without hesitation into the long darkness.

[There’s a lot of trash on the floor.]

[Confirmed.]

The trash strewn on the floor suggested that there were people there, as most of the trash bags were instant food wrappers.

[Strange. No fire.]

[If you win, shoot first.]

Whether it be a torch or a campfire, humans tend to light fires in the dark, but there was not a single light in the straight underground passage.

It’s definitely a strange situation. The overflowing trash means there are people, but there’s no sign of them or light.

Kkiyungkkiyung-

At the end of a long corridor, a steel door resembling a submarine hatch appeared.

[approach.]

Kim Yang turned the lock and sent two drones through the gap. Information came in from the drones that went inside with a low sound.

[No infrared response.]

[No motion detector response.]

[Throwing chemical light.]

Kim Yang broke a chemical light stick and threw it into the gap. Green light began to fill the space little by little. There were bunk beds lined up along both walls of the fairly large shelter, and there were indoor tents in the center.

Kkadak-

Kim Yang, who had secured her field of vision by throwing chemical lights here and there, moved along the right wall. The two-story bed made of iron frame had obvious traces of age.

[Have you seen it?]

[uh.]

A clean blanket on an old bed. The blankets on both bunk beds against the right wall were almost new. If the refugees had moved elsewhere, would they have left the blankets behind?

[I repeat, if there is any difference, just shoot first.]

[Okay.]

At the end of the right wall where the bunk beds were lined up, there was another hatch leading inward. Instead of going in, Ms. Kim searched the left wall and the middle tent one by one.

On the left bunk bed, just like on the right, there was a blanket still intact, and inside the indoor tents in the center, things like suitcases and backpacks were left behind.

[No people. No movement detected by the motion sensor. Let’s go inside.]

[The signal is ambiguous as you go further in. Install a repeater before going in.]

[Okay.]

When we installed a repeater on one side, the images and sounds were transmitted with much clearer clarity.

After completing the connection test, Ms. Kim opened the inner iron gate and let the drone in. The information the drone sent from inside was the same as before; there was nothing caught by the infrared detector, and the same goes for the motion detector.

Kick- thud

Kim Yang, who had broken the chemical light and thrown it through the crack in the door, went inside.

[approach.]

Miss Kim, who started checking from the right, paused for a moment because of a sharp, stabbing headache. ‘Did you lack sleep?’ Miss Kim, puzzled, continued her search.

On the right, just like before, there was a bunk bed. Kim Yang approached the bed cautiously and frowned.

Here too, the blanket was just left there. Even the way the blanket was disheveled was similar. That is to say, even the folds and creases that would occur when you cover yourself with the blanket and then get up on your left side were very similar.

Kick- thud

As each light was cast, rows of bunk beds and traces were revealed.

[Have you seen the exact same trace?]

[···okay.]

It was definitely strange. People aren’t machines, and if something had happened, they should have been in a state of panic and confusion. And they should have been in a state of chaos. But what the heck is this trace…

Maru imagined that the people who were lying down would wake up at the same time as if they were sleepwalking, and move in the same way at the same time. That way, similar traces would be left.

In the video, Ms. Kim looked calm. As she turned along the right wall, there was an iron door near the center, and an identical hatch was hanging in the same location.

[I’ll check the left and center. Ugh-]

[what’s the matter?]

[It’s okay. I suddenly got a headache. I’m okay now.]

[Don’t overdo it.]

[Okay]

Miss Kim, who was checking the second-floor bed on the left after passing the iron gate, suddenly stopped.

[thereupon!]

Kim Yang, who was sticking his gun forward. Is there something? Maru glared at the video. There was nothing in front of him, which was softly illuminated by the green chemical light.

The information coming from Kim Yang’s exosuit was the same; there was no response from the infrared images or the motion detector.

[Who are you!]

Only Kim Yang’s sharp voice filled the video.

[Shut up! How did you get in here?]

There was nothing and no one in the video. So what was Ms. Kim looking at?