Rust - Chapter 289



Only Krnovel

RUST -289

Big-

The head of the man who was greeting me popped up.

[Huh? Huh!]

The nurse’s panicked voice came through the communicator, but Maru stretched his head from side to side and brushed away the blood and flesh stuck to the knife.

The nurse stammered, wondering whether she was surprised that he had cut off the neck of the person who was greeting her, or shocked that he had swept away the enemies without any questions or answers as soon as he saw them.

[That. It’s okay to just kill···]

“You saw the video. Miss Kim is acting strangely. She might have the ability to send hallucinations or auditory hallucinations, but we have to kill her quickly.”

Maru was firm. Looking at the small screen in the corner of the HUD, Kim Yang, who had been shooting at the air, seemed to have regained consciousness and calmed down. Kim Yang spoke through her heavy breathing.

[Haak- How- Aha- How did it go?]

“It’s been taken care of.”

The screen that Kim Yang sent went down along with Maru’s answer.

Kiyuyuyung-

[Ahhhhhhh- Are you okay?]

[S-quiet-]

Ms. Kim sat down as if to say, ‘I’m going to rest now. Don’t touch me.’

Maru had no lingering desire to capture them. It was true that it was a headache, and it was true that he was curious, but he was going to capture those who might be mentally ill and take them to the tower? Who knew what would happen.

If she were a simple telepath, Kim Yang wouldn’t have ended up like that. At the very least, she had to be using hallucinations or auditory hallucinations. What if she was showing an illusion of a mutant invading?

Maru didn’t ignore the uneasy feeling. Uneasy guys? Why are you looking at that? In these times.

‘Not the military.’

They were all armed with Ripper suits and mass-produced exosuits. Yes. Not Ripper suits, but something similar to Ripper suits.

If they were the military, there would have been no reason to bother wearing something else. They would have come in wearing ripper suits like the guys who came last time. The exosuits that some of them were equipped with were the same. They were definitely lighter than the models used by the military.

‘I’ve lost contact with Dan Brown, so I don’t know what’s going on.’

In other places, AI has been used to secure security, so I can’t hack as leisurely as I used to. It’s inevitable that the latest information is behind, but when these guys suddenly appear, my thoughts become complicated in many ways.

I was curious as to why there were more than 10 guys doing this in Detroit, not just one or two. But more importantly, they did something to Ms. Kim.

I don’t know what their abilities are because they’ve all been wiped out, but the important thing is that they’ve been talking. And they’ve been talking secretly in the front yard… What kind of conversation is that with those guys?

It was a waste to regret it after messing around. So if you regret killing someone and regret not killing them, then you are saying that you will regret killing them.

[Huh? Isn’t that the opposite?]

If you don’t kill, you’ll have a chance to recover even if you regret it, but if you kill, isn’t that the end? Isn’t that what most people think? Life is easy to kill and hard to save.

What was the reason you became a nurse or a doctor? Wasn’t it because you had a passion for saving lives and treating people? That’s what Ono Nanae said.

He was an ordinary person who chose the path of a medical professional with the intention of living a life of saving and treating people, although he was not as dedicated to serving the sick as some famous and admired people.

However, both Maru and Kim seemed to take life too lightly. Let’s say they kill monsters, so I can understand killing the infected, but weren’t they people just now?

He wasn’t sick, and he wasn’t threatening anyone with a gun. But you’re saying you’ll regret killing him? The nurse’s expression turned gloomy.

“You’ve experienced kids who took drugs. Don’t you remember? Kids who took drugs and got sick in Japan?”

[···How do you know those people took drugs? They killed them as soon as they saw them.]

Oh. Don’t you understand?

Maru shook his head slightly. If Ms. Kim had seen this, she would have rolled it over for a whole week, saying that it was because she was out of it. Rolling it over is convenient, but it’s still a bit much to just roll over a nurse, who is a high-level worker, so Maru, who is kind, explained it in detail.

“That’s not it. The problem is that if the authors’ powers are psychic, they can make other people feel like they’ve taken drugs.”

[to?]

The nurse’s eyes grew wide on the small screen of the HUD.

“Say you have a psychic ability that allows you to show people illusions. Think about Kim Yang’s behavior. Our footage didn’t capture it, but you acted like there was a person there. Think about the chair you’re sitting on looking like a monster.”

[······.]

“It’s okay if they’re objects, but what if people are seen as monsters? Wouldn’t they start shooting each other like crazy in an instant?”

[······.]

“Don’t be so easy-going. It’s not just you who’s in trouble, it’s also putting other people at risk.”

[yes···.]

Maru put the decapitated head and body of the man into a preservation bag and went into the underground shelter.

‘This is. Young.’

It was definitely strange. It was definitely an uncomfortable space, just like what I saw in the video. There was only one entrance, one passage, and even the shelter was connected by a door, so if you locked it from the outside, you couldn’t get out from the inside. It was a strange structure.

It was strange that there was only one entrance, and the internal space structure felt more like a prison or concentration camp than a shelter.

The ventilation system was poor, and there was nothing proper, including water supply facilities and even toilets. Even if it was an old nuclear bunker facility from the 60s or 70s, it was America. There was no way such a facility would be normal in America.

‘If it’s not normal, there must be a reason.’

It was like I came to catch a rat and found something strange.

After passing the first room and entering the second room, I saw Kim Yang’s exosuit, which had collapsed. Kkiiyyung – It looked sagging. It seemed as if all of its energy had been drained.

“Are you okay?”

[···I’m going to die.]

“Drink this, and if you can move, let’s go out.”

When Maru handed her an energy drink, Kim Yang opened her helmet and gulped it down. The blood vessels in her eyes burst and left behind traces of blood, like tear stains, making it look like she had shed bloody tears.

“If it’s too hard, take some more rest and then go.”

“Okay.”

Chik- Kim Yang put her helmet cover back on and got up. Groan- With a forceful sound, the exosuit began to move. Kim Yang, who was walking outside, tilted her head when she saw Maru not following her.

[Not feeling?]

“You go out first. I’m thinking of taking a quick look around here.”

[Is it okay without a backup?]

“Back up in a narrow space. Go out and do some farming.”

Kim Yang waved her hand as if to tell her not to worry about farming and went outside. Maru slightly opened the hatch leading to the next space.

The sharp senses told him if there was any life in the inner space, if there was any living being. Although he didn’t feel anything special, Maru didn’t relax.

Because machines have neither life nor survival. They cannot sense or perceive things like mines, booby traps, or automatic turrets.

Kkaduk- I bent the chemical light and put it inside, and a green light illuminated the darkness.

Then, Maru continued to throw lights. If Kim Yang had thrown one, checked it, and then threw another one, lighting up the room little by little, Maru did not do that.

Maru broke 4 or 5 at a time and scattered them in all directions. Then he broke 4 or 5 more and scattered them in all directions to brighten up the space before entering the hatch.

‘What is this place?’

“Diana. Check the Detroit emergency servers to see if they have any shelter schematics, and see if you can find anything similar to this structure.”

[Search begins.]

If the two rooms we passed were bedrooms with beds and indoor tents, this was just an empty lecture hall-like space. There were three hatches on the right wall of the large, almost rectangular space that we had just opened, three on the left, and one in front. So there were seven hatches, eight doors if you include the hatch we opened and came in through.

[Search results with same structure 0]

It was strange. Why wasn’t it there?

Maru approached the first hatch on the right. The moment he touched the door with the circular lock, he felt uneasy.

My curiosity to know the situation and my concern about whether I really had to dig up something unsettling clashed. What if something strange pops out here?

If I just leave it, strange people might gather in the front yard and do something, but I don’t want to just leave it. Swish- A veranda that examines the floor and ceiling. Since it was a space that had been made into a nuclear shelter, it seemed difficult to destroy it with just a bomb.

‘It’s a waste to use a bomb. It’s also funny to just leave it. So.’

Maru, who had pulled out Eclipse, began to cut off the circular handle while keeping the hatch locked.

Creak- Thud- Crush- Thud- The thick, round iron handle hit the cement floor with a heavy sound. Maru, who had smashed all the hatch handles, called out to Ms. Kim.

“Have you had a little rest? If you’re ready to move, grab a welder, VX gas, and some booby trap materials from the trailer toolbox.”

[What’s inside?]

Kim Yang asked, wiping her face with a wet tissue.

“I don’t know. Just block it.”

[Just? Okay.]

Maru and Kim Yang welded all seven hatches in the auditorium. They cut off the handles and welded them, so it’s going to be a struggle to open them.

“Let’s make a booby trap with VX gas. Oh, and block the ventilation holes too.”

If you sneak in and open the lid, VX gas will greet you. Kim Yang nodded at Maru’s words. Then that’s right, Baekjeong as expected. The aftertaste was long and long.

======

======

“All of Derek’s team. We lost contact.”

“Without even an emergency signal?”

Derek Koster was the most powerful psychic in existence. Not only could he create illusions that seemed real, but he was also powerful enough to indirectly brainwash others if given enough time.

It was hard to understand that he had no time to send an emergency signal. And didn’t Derek go alone? Didn’t 11 team members go together? Did 12 people, including Derek, lose contact at the same time?

“Yes.”

“Isn’t there a problem with the communications network?”

The communication network was unstable due to EMP. Communication was maintained using individual satellites and Sky Link, but it was inevitable that transmission and reception failures would occur occasionally. In particular, when many mutants gathered together, electromagnetic interference sometimes occurred, making long-distance communication unstable.

“It has been confirmed that there is no problem with the communications network. Above all, there is no response to Julia’s telepathy either.”

The fact that there was no response to Julia’s telepathy, who had the ability of mid- to long-distance telepathy, meant that death was almost certain.

“12 people were wiped out? What the hell happened….”

Derek Koster was tasked with recruiting Director of Homeland Security Dan Brown and securing the Vladiak Tower in Detroit, while also staying in Detroit to secure and manage the materials, which led to a lot of problems.

“First of all, the supply of riser constraints is important.”

“Huh- Right. It’ll be hard to manage the materials without Derek.”

“A large number of personnel are needed to maintain stable control.”

“··· It’s serious.”

The reason for turning the facility in Detroit was for several reasons. It was a city that could be accessed via the Great Lakes and rivers even if the land route was blocked. It was a city with a fairly large population that no one would care about if it went bankrupt. It was a city where people could be okay even if they died or went missing in large numbers. Detroit was the right fit for these conditions.

“There’s nothing we can do. Once the export is complete, we’ll freeze the Detroit facility.”

Although it was a shame to freeze a perfectly good facility, it was better to take a conservative approach until we found out why someone with Derek’s abilities had died silently.

In the dark of night, the mercenaries who traveled by ship arrived in Detroit.

At the end of the underground passage leading to the facility, what they saw was a welded hatch.

“What the fuck is this!”

“Have you ever seen such a crazy kid!”

Who on earth would do something like this? The mercenaries were muttering. It was already a task that had to be done carefully and quickly, but this was getting tiresome.

“Where are we going for the emergency exit?”

“It’s impossible because there are crows nesting there.”

The emergency exit side was unusable.

“Damn it. Plasma cutter. Get the plasma cutter from the ship.”

Because it was a facility converted from a nuclear bunker, the steel hatches were thick and thick. After tearing open one hatch for almost an hour, the mercenaries entered, only to find another hatch welded on the inside.

What was really wicked was that they cut off the hatch handle and welded it to the lock, making it impossible to open without tearing the entire hatch apart.

“개새끼가!”

“What kind of crazy guy did this!”

“Is the facility exposed?”

“Considering that the materials signals are intact, it does not appear to have been exposed.”

If the facility had been exposed, there would have been no materials left.

“Fuck. Then why the hell is this happening?”

“Tear it off quickly.”

Chijijijijik – A hatch that is slowly cut open, sending red sparks flying.

Surely the inside isn’t all like this? Please. There’s no time. Just give me a moment. The mercenaries’ earnest prayers were in vain, and all seven hatches inside were welded shut, a mess.

And a moment later, one of the mercenaries standing guard at the entrance collapsed and started foaming at the mouth.

“Hey- Hey- Why? Krrrrrrrr–”

Like black paint spreading across clear water, the mercenaries began to collapse one by one and convulse.

“Gas? Gooooo-”

A man, panting, groped desperately for his empty pockets and froze. He had not brought any antidote because he was on a material transport mission. Who would have guessed that there would be a poison gas attack in Detroit? The facility had been turned into a giant tomb.

[Chiik- Report the situation.]

[-Beep situation- Report!-]

The unresponsive sound of a walkie-talkie lingered through the basement.