Rust - Chapter 303



Only Krnovel

RUST [RUST]-303

Where did the problem start?

“Fuck···.”

An age of lawlessness was coming. An age where force and violence, rather than lawlessness, became law.

After sending the audio recordings and documents, Chief Den Brown lamented:

The United States of America is a country that has never had a coup d’état since its founding. Since it is based on mutual checks and balances with strong civilian control, it is a country where a military coup d’état is difficult, except in the case of secession and civil war.

If we look at the current situation only from the results, it seems that the military has revealed its ambitions, but it should be seen that it was not a planned action from the beginning.

If it was a planned process, there would have been no internal whistleblowing, and it would have been impossible to avoid the information network that various agencies had laid out within the military.

‘It must be because of cannibalism.’

Chance, greed, and cannibalism would have eaten away at the top of the Defense Department and the Strategic Command. Since then, they have been growing their influence by cutting off bunkers and eating them one by one like lunch boxes.

The SWAT team that entered the VIP bunker was attacked by cannibals. The bunker-like environment was familiar to the SWAT team. The fact that they were attacked in such a place means that the cannibals were not just cannibals.

In a situation where the true identity of the enemy was not known, it was incomprehensible that he chose to crawl into the bunker based on the story that most of the cannibals appeared to be women and children.

I wondered why there were operations that could kill people with cancer, such as the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, and the Afghanistan War, and it turned out to be the same as the current situation.

A situation where the enemy cannot be clearly distinguished, the enemy has an advantageous terrain, and some units are isolated. Support units were sent, but the result was…

Even though the differences in race and religion were clear on that side, making it easy to distinguish between friend and foe, the situation was complicated. But now? Isn’t the situation even more difficult?

‘Even if it’s cannibalism, isn’t it essentially an infected person? A person infected with a mutated virus.’

‘Isn’t there a cure? Since the recipe has been revealed, it’s a situation that can be resolved naturally with time, so I don’t understand why you’re saying that we should escape unconditionally.’

‘If you look at the route of spread of cannibalism in Europe and Italy, there are circumstances that suggest it is related to areas densely populated with Chinese people. The same goes for domestic outbreaks. It may not be a simple mutant virus incident.’

‘But that doesn’t mean we can abandon the VIPs and the isolated SWAT teams.’

‘I agree. We need to subdue the cannibals and secure the VIP bunker before we move.’

I tried to stop the FBI and the DEA, but instead, I was treated strangely. The result was that they all ended up doing what they thought they should do.

“The FBI is sending additional support to the VIP bunker. They want to confirm your intention to join them one last time. What should we do?”

“···I understand how you feel, but tell them that our priority is escape. I hope the operation is successful.”

Despite repeated attempts to dissuade them, this is the result. Even if they succeed, the damage will be significant, so wouldn’t they have pushed the agents in knowing that?

“Okay, then what about the rescue team we’re sending to Washington, D.C.?”

“Cancel and we prioritize escape.”

Dan Brown took a sip of the cold water and shook his head vigorously. He had to come to his senses. This was not the time he had been. This was not before the nuclear explosion.

Even though I knew it wasn’t true, my habits were frighteningly acting the same as before.

after-

“Ready to escape.”

“Okay. Go.”

To New York.

======

======

Maru checked the file sent by Chief Den Brown and was lost in thought.

‘Is this a threat?’

The first thought that came to mind was a threat. It would have been something that Chief Dan Brown, who had explained the situation with a burning heart, would have jumped up and down if he had known, but Maru had no choice but to accept it that way.

So, it’s like, ‘If you had come when I told you to, and gone quietly and cut when I told you to, it wouldn’t have gotten to this point, but you kept mumbling and ended up like this. So, live well from now on.’

Isn’t that right? What if a cannibalistic disease suddenly breaks out in the bunker where the federal government leaders are taking refuge and chaos breaks out?

If there’s a good chance that the Secretary of Defense will become the acting president, and the commander of the Strategic Command may have been working behind the scenes, then what do you really want me to do?

“Are you telling me to go and cut them all up?”

“I guess?”

It was Ms. Kim who was nodding and making an expression that said, ‘Yeah, that’s right.’

“Huh? It doesn’t look like it to me.”

“Then what are you talking about? If not the sound of cutting, then what?”

“Uh… So it’s a warning? Doesn’t it mean to tell me to be careful?”

“That’s a threat, and it means you should think carefully before you cut.”

‘Tsk tsk – How dare she be so naive.’ The nurse was puzzled by Kim Yang’s expression, wondering if that was really true. No matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t seem like a threat. Listening to the two of them talking, it seemed like there was some kind of resentment?

“Diana. Can you check the situation in Washington, DC?”

[It is difficult to confirm.]

The floor was a little stuffy. It had been getting worse since the nuclear explosion. The number of places without internet was increasing, and the quality of the satellite-based communication network was also getting worse.

[The situation is expected to become more serious as the aftermath of the war has led to an explosive increase in debris.]

The United States, China, and Russia had satellite interception systems, and the United States and China attacked each other’s satellites.

As a result, the debris generated when the satellite was destroyed began to spread throughout the satellite’s orbit, causing a chain reaction of problems.

The beginning of a vicious cycle in which a satellite collides with debris, is damaged, the debris from the damaged satellite spreads further, and more satellites are destroyed, creating more debris.

It was the end of the satellite era and the end of the space age, because there would be no way to get through the debris that covered the entire Earth.

“I guess we can assume that satellite communications and the Internet will soon be cut off?”

[Yes.]

Oh really-

======

======

[Beep- beep- thu—-]

[Chijijijik- thu—-]

Ki-sun turned off the satellite phone.

“Why aren’t you answering the phone?”

“No. It seems like the satellite communication is not good.”

Maru’s father, Ha Hyun-seok, grabbed Gi-sun’s hand. It was a rough hand like dry leather.

“Yeah. Maru said everything was fine. I have to see that guy get married. My heart feels heavy because I feel like I’ve become a burden to him as a father.”

“Don’t say that. You should see Maru doing well. I heard he’s really successful in the US, so he’ll come right away when things get better.”

Ha Hyeon-seok smiled bitterly like a skeleton at Gi-sun’s teasing.

“When did the guy who said he was going to Japan go to America?”

“Didn’t Maru tell you? He went there last October.”

Ki-soon felt a stinging sensation for a moment. It was because he was the one who told her not to contact her family while escaping so that they wouldn’t catch her. Ki-soon quickly changed the subject.

“Maru really succeeded. He started working with the U.S. government. He said that he was so good that he already received citizenship.”

“Yeah. He wasn’t like that when he was little, but I was worried because he kept it in his mind. That’s good. That’s good.”

I wanted to show my children that I was successful. That’s why I tried harder. Even though I knew that things in this world aren’t achieved through effort alone, I couldn’t help but keep going.

This was especially true for Hyun Seok-in, who was running a solid company that was one of the few mid-sized companies, if not a large corporation.

Maybe if I hadn’t taken on the challenge and just maintained the status quo, I might have been able to support my children. Maybe if my wife hadn’t been a guarantor.

If I had admitted that I was lost and let everything go, my illness might not have gotten worse. But that was all in the past. In the past.

When I was healthy, I was concerned about my appearance and success. When I lost my health, it wasn’t my health that I lost. It was my life and my future. I lost them all.

“I hope you and Maru are doing well too.”

“I’m sure you will.”

Ki-soon consoled Ha-hyeon-seok and came out of the hospital room.

After Ki-sun’s mother passed away, and she was living in a household controlled by her half-brothers, Maru’s house was like a refuge for Ki-sun.

He had a close friend named Maru, a cute Naru that he kept in his heart, and Maru’s parents who loved him more than just a friend.

Ki-sun was distressed as he watched that shelter slowly being destroyed.

I found out later that the reason Maru’s family went bankrupt was because of Ojin Pharmaceuticals, and that Maru killed President Naojin.

Not in a metaphorical sense, but in actual murder. In reality, they are enemies, but Na Ju-yeon said that Maru liked her. Is she in her right mind?

‘No. Is it a good thing I’m not in my right mind?’

The same thing happened in the hospital room right away. The Chinese war was overflowing with wounded soldiers, and the mutant virus outbreak and the wave of treatments were overflowing with patients. If it weren’t for Na Ju-yeon, Maru’s father would have died without receiving proper treatment.

“Ha-I’m going to turn around.”

Maru’s father, whose health is rapidly deteriorating, is a concern, but Maru’s mother is also a problem. She is undergoing drug rehabilitation, and she has changed as a person.

She used to be a very active woman, to the point where she seemed a bit noisy, but now she seems to have completely changed, being quiet and inactive.

I tried calling Maru’s mother, who was somehow unresponsive, to let her hear Maru’s voice, but the satellite phone wouldn’t connect.

‘Why is the satellite phone always down?’

After finishing the interview, Ki-soon headed to the Charlotte headquarters. She had to tell Na Ju-yeon’s story. The funny thing is, why didn’t she just call or send it by email?

‘No, the Ojin Group is under strict surveillance right now.’

It was Ki-sun who remembered Na Ju-yeon’s words. So, Ki-sun, who seemed to have no connection with the Ojin Group, was decided to be a messenger or an errand boy.

“Fuck. You wouldn’t kill me, would you?”

She was a scary older sister, you know. Oh? Now that I think about it, it was Maru who killed the stand-in older sister. That best friend was himself. Is this starting with a two-strike?

Ki-soon, who looked calm on the outside but was very nervous on the inside, met Chairman Sim Eun-young.

“I never expected that Mr. Ki-sun would come here.”

“Me too.”

“Yeah. What’s going on? It didn’t end well for us.”

“I know. But the situation at the time was unavoidable.”

Chairman Shim sat up straight as if telling her to continue. Ki-sun said while looking at her sunken eyes.

“It was the bodyguards, not Maru, who used the unidentified rapid cure. Maru even went so far as to stop them from using the red cure.”

“So there is no responsibility?”

“What responsibility? Who risked their lives fighting in Japan? Who saved them from death, whether it was Chairman Shim or the body double? We are not responsible for the body double’s death.”

“That’s not it. Who took his own life with a knife? They said he killed him because it was dangerous, but who decided how dangerous it was?”

Ki-sun kept her mouth shut.

The relationship between Dae-Bang and Chairman Shim seemed deeper than expected. Whatever the reason, it didn’t seem good to add anything more here, so all I could do was remain silent.

As Ki-soon listens quietly, Sim Eun-young begins to talk, having calmed down a bit.

“So. Why did you come to me?”

“I came here on the orders of Chairman Na Ju-yeon of the Ohjin Group.”

At Ki-soon’s words about the Ojin Group, the already heavy atmosphere calmed down.

“Is it a message? Try it. Just make sure that what Chairman Na Ju-yeon said is exactly the same as what he said.”

“yes?”

“If something happens because you say something different from what Chairman Na Ju-yeon said, remember that the responsibility lies with you, Mr. Kim Ki-soon. So. Say what Chairman Na Ju-yeon said without making a single mistake.”

“······.”

Ki-sun, who had planned to start off with a gentle conversation about this and that, couldn’t hide her bewildered expression. Ki-sun closed her eyes tightly and spoke as Chairman Shim glared at her as if telling her to hurry up and talk.

“Please give me all the original research materials that Charlotte has. Then… I will give you my life.”

“I want to live…”

Chairman Sim Eun-young muttered as if she was savoring the words, “I will give you my life.”

What the fuck-

Ki-sun wanted to cry.