Rust - Chapter 290



Only Krnovel

RUST -290

Maru scratched his head.

What should I say… When I saw the work, it felt so grand, or rather, blocked? It seemed to go well, but my head was tingling with a subtle feeling that it didn’t go well.

“You know that place I went down to earlier? The place I called the shelter.”

Caw?

“Yeah. There. If anything crawls out of there, don’t touch it. If anything goes in, don’t stop it. And if anything happens, don’t go in there. Got it? Tell them.”

VX gas has a long persistence. It is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. There are literally no warning signs until symptoms appear.

If they were to eat a corpse contaminated with gas, it would obviously be dangerous for the crows as well. The crows immediately responded to Maru’s words telling them not to pay any attention to the underground shelter.

Kaaaak-

“Okay. Call the guys back from the long-distance reconnaissance separately. It’s a special meal.”

Kaaaaaa

Yeah, that’s right. It’s quite a rare thing in today’s world. Maru solemnly handed over a plastic bag containing various snacks.

The crow, which usually flies quietly without making a sound, seemed to be in a hurry and began to make a croaking sound as it flew towards the flock floating in the sky.

There was a small commotion, and then a few crows that had come back from a long-distance reconnaissance came down, moving hesitantly and expectantly.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

When I held out a black plastic bag, the crows cawing in unison answered and went to one side with bags containing various things, sharing the things they liked.

I wondered how they opened the plastic bag, but they started to lightly tear it open with their sharp claws and eat the contents. Watching them eat while whispering to each other gave me a strange feeling.

It felt like watching a soldiers’ dinner. Hmm- Anyway, if you’ve worked hard, shouldn’t you have some small pleasure? Whether it’s a person or an animal. Maru left the place so that they could eat comfortably.

“Now I don’t have to get in the middle.”

“I have a rough idea just by feeling.”

It was mainly the nurse’s coaching that made it possible to have a conversation, not a conversation, but a feeling-based conversation. At first, it felt strange because it was ticklish, but when I applied it to my emotions as the nurse advised, I was able to communicate with the crows to some extent.

Assuming that Maru himself was very sensitive to feelings and sensations, the nurse was simply amazed at how he could communicate with the crows.

The crows communicated with the nurses, but they also made a lot of noise.

I would do things like take the nurse’s hairpins off, steal the snacks (usually hot dogs) the nurse was holding, or do other mischievous things. I would get caught and get scolded by the nurse.

The nurse was strict when scolding the crows. It was strange in many ways, both the way the nurse scolded them as if she was teaching children and the way the crows got scolded when she scolded them.

“Ah. Right. It was the underground shelter yesterday. The guys observing over there.”

Maru stopped the nurse from calling the crow.

“Don’t call me Busan-ssi. What’s going on?”

“They said there were a lot of rats near the underground shelter yesterday.”

In the old ecosystem, crows did not need to hunt mice like owls or barn owls, but this was not the case in the changed environment.

In order for a flock of crows of ten thousand units to eat and exert their strength, they needed enough easy and plentiful prey. In this situation, the perfect prey began to increase, and that was rats.

For the crows, the mutated mice that had grown larger were a great prey. The problem was that it wasn’t just the crows that had become smarter, but the mice as well.

The rats, smart enough to eat half of a person and set traps with corpses, did not just sit there and let it happen. Crows that hunted alone one or two at a time were also attacked by a pack of rats.

“I told you to be careful around the underground shelter, so if there’s a problem, they’ll take care of it.”

“Ah- yes. Then can I give snacks to the kids who worked hard?”

Maru nodded and added a word.

“Don’t give them too much because they’re cute.”

“···sure.”

It was a nurse who was slightly slow in answering. While walking and talking about crows, we arrived at a restaurant. In the restaurant, Miss Kim was grilling meat as compensation for her exhaustion.

Flowing meat juices, bursting saliva. Worship the taste yourself!

Meat is a reward for my hard work yesterday. The sight of the meat being placed on the grill with a look on his face.

Do you know the power of the cow that lives in the grassland against the current of the river?

Your taste buds will scream at the tenderness of the flower that comes from deep within, and your pride will crumble at the extreme softness!

Kim Yang, who was concentrating on the meat, sensed something and quickly looked at the floor and the nurse. The chopsticks that were aiming for the deliciously cooked meat stopped in midair for a moment, and Kim Yang’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The nurse shook her head as if she was not surprised by those eyes, and quickly ran towards the tray.

“Why is the nurse nagging me when I was eating well?”

“I didn’t mean to.”

How do you see people? Yeah.

“How about your hair? Is there anything strange?”

“It’s okay.”

Since I was affected by the psychic powers, I didn’t know what kind of side effects there would be. Kim Yang added a word to Maru’s worries.

“But let’s put that aside and talk.”

If you’re going to sneak some sirloin and put your chopsticks in it… you might as well bring more meat.

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Twelve people, including Derek Coster, a powerful psychic, have gone missing.

In fact, it was assumed that the entire Derek team was dead, but they had to keep their supply contract with Riser Pharmaceuticals, so they sent a company-level force despite the burden…

“Everyone missing? Does that make sense?”

It wasn’t just one or two teams. It was a company-sized force.

“It appears that at least Category 3 rats have taken up residence in the basement shelter.”

1- A mutation that is simply larger in size. Its original instincts and ecology remain the same.

2- As size changes, instincts and ecology change. Omnivores change to carnivores, or individuals that used to act alone start forming groups. Etc.

3- Start using your head beyond your instincts.

“Even so, over 100 people. That number is not even a proper signal···”

When a large number of mutant monsters gather together, strange phenomena occur. The most common strange phenomenon is communication failure. Could it be that Derek’s team was also attacked by rats?

Derek Coster was a powerful psychic, but he had limitations: he could not interfere with multiple minds at the same time.

If it was a single powerful monster, it would have been possible, but if it was a swarm of rats, it would have been difficult to handle with the mental abilities. The accident had already happened, and the future was important.

“What about the transport ship?”

“We retreated as soon as communication with the main force that entered the facility was lost.”

“We didn’t lose the transport ship. Even if there was a Category 3 anomaly, it’s still a company of troops. It’s hard to understand how that many people couldn’t leave any news.”

“I hope not, but it could be a Category 4.”

If category 3 means that they have somewhat overcome their instincts and become smart, that is, they have the intelligence of a 5-year-old to a 7-8 year-old, category 4 means a stage that goes beyond simple intelligence. In terms of judgment and reasoning ability, it is practically on par with the intelligence of a human being over the age of 15.

“A Category 3 or 4 rat infestation has taken hold in Detroit?”

“This is the most plausible hypothesis as of now.”

According to the information, there were signs even before the nuclear war. How many towns near Detroit were eaten by rats? Not only did they cut the electricity, the telephone lines, the internet cables, but they also dug traps.

Even though the Federal Forces and National Guard, on Vladimir Maru’s advice, created a sea of ​​fire with incendiary bombs and struck them down, they would not have been able to annihilate them.

What if the surviving rats were rapidly breeding and growing in numbers in the Detroit underground, waiting for their chance? It was a plausible hypothesis.

But what was important now was not the hypothesis, but the supply of the Riser pharmaceuticals. The fact that they had lost a large number of troops and had nothing left. The fact that they might fail to transport the materials and thus miss the supply of the Riser pharmaceuticals was important.

“Other operations will be suspended for a while, and we will first procure materials from the West and South, and then complete the delivery.”

“Okay. How do you want to restore your youth?”

It was Director Yu, who was gradually increasing his power in the western region. This side was also not normal. If he continued on this path, there was a high possibility that he would become a regional warlord. No, he should have been considered a small warlord already.

“If numbers are the barrier, then we need to take that barrier down. Send in some more decent guys to the Bakum team.”

“Is this Bakum Barak? I understand.”

Bakum Barak was a black African with strong physical abilities, as well as a kind of mental debuff ability. A powerful ability that can spread fear, anxiety, and confusion to multiple enemies at once.

If he were sent, the warlord game would be destroyed in an instant. What if the curtain of humanity was removed? No matter how great Director Yu’s ability was, it was meaningless. There is a limit to being alone. Since ancient times, there is no advantage in numbers.

“What about Detroit?”

“For the time being, let’s just keep an eye on things.”

In a city where Category 3~4 rats are starting to swarm, even a flock of crows have made a nest. Whether it’s a modular nuclear power plant or a supercomputer, they have no place to run away since they have legs, so they should first recover their youth and then slowly cook them.

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Near Nob Hill in San Francisco.

“Captain. Did a hydrogen bomb explode here?”

“That’s right. Since this one is completely blown away, something big must have fallen.”

“Wow – did you see that? The whole place up ahead is completely clear.”

Director Yoo, ignoring his subordinates’ whining, nodded. San Francisco had quite a few hills. Although the sizes were different, if you were to compare them, it felt like Busan or Seongnam hills were blown up. Because they were reinforced concrete buildings with hilly terrain, many of them survived even a nuclear explosion.

“Don’t look for random things, just look for groceries.”

The first thing we need to secure is food.

No matter how much food was collected, there was no end to it. The number of mouths eating increased much faster than the speed at which food was secured.

Purururung-

“Yeah. I’ll look for hay too.”

Director Yoo patted the back of his horse’s neck and thought. I came to America to kill all the bastards, so what am I doing now?

He suddenly felt the urge to beat them all up, but the bastards followed him, as if they had already been defeated first.

Whenever I saw the shadows of those bastards following me around, saying they would pay for my life, the madness and anger that had been building up inside me would turn into something hazy.

Their race, culture, and language were different. But why did these lumps appear to have their shadows?

“Long live the hill!”

“Captain. Is this underground warehouse in good condition?”

“Hey, everyone, be quiet.”

“Can’t you see the captain’s expression right now? He’s on the verge of getting angry.”

“There’s no way our captain would do that.”

“You fucking idiots,” Director Yoo snapped.

“Shut up! Are you doing anything with your mouth? Hurry up and move!”

These little piglets.