Rust - Chapter 309



Only Krnovel

RUST [RUST]-309

At the words, “Take care of the nurse,” Ms. Kim looked up at the floor with her eyes wide open.

“What about Dr. Hood?”

“Shouldn’t you be quiet?”

Samantha and Tria are both high level. They must have analyzed the current situation in their own way. It would be a shame if they made a mistake in their judgment.

Hood, which was mainly responsible for information warfare and security, was virtually closed after the Internet and satellite communication networks were cut off.

So, Samantha, who had spare computational resources, was assigned to work as a research assistant in the lab, and the doctor was working with Tria on various research fields, so there shouldn’t be any problems. If anything happened…

Ms. Kim slightly moved the tip of her chin to indicate that she understood the situation.

“What about other people?”

“······.”

Maru is sparing with her answers. Diana tells me that even within Vladiak Tower, opinions are divided on the topic of cannibalism.

The trend is that those who moved in through HOLY advertisements tend to be negative, while those who were already there and the families of the agents tend to be neutral or positive.

Why can’t we be concerned about the spread of cannibalism?

Because, aside from the waves of infected and the attacks by strange guys, there weren’t any major crises at Vlad’Ak Tower.

There were some pretty dangerous things that happened here and there, but that was only Maru and Kim’s experience, and the residents didn’t experience any direct crises, so it was a relaxed reality.

“To rip it out? Or to shake it off?”

This happened because the Ark Tower was almost completely safe. Maru said calmly to Ms. Kim, who thought that in order to fix it, she needed to either weed out the people who were to be sent to the newly expanded area or get them out of the expanded area.

“Everything will work out as it should.”

It was better to do things peacefully and in a natural way. Even though most of the researchers had gathered after seeing the HOLY advertisement, Maru judged that it would be better to avoid killing and chasing people indiscriminately if they wanted to go long term.

“Wouldn’t that be annoying?”

“What can I do? It’ll get better later.”

Even if it was a little annoying, it would be much better once the system was established. Maru thought so.

“Get the nurse together quickly. We’ll leave right away.”

“Okay. Ah- How many days do you think about and prepare for?”

“Based on 2~3 days.”

Kim Yang nodded and quickly brought the nurse over. Still, she was a nurse who was quite skilled, perhaps because she had experience using the power loader type exosuit while making the VX trap. Her face seemed curious as to why she was being taken.

“They have been living independently for six months, so I am taking them with me in case they need medical support. Make sure to pack enough of the necessary medicine.”

“Ah? Old-”

PD Michael was slightly moved. How could he be so merciful, even when he went to see those he had not accepted? The PD had many thoughts as he watched him do this, even though he had the ability to heal them in an instant, just like he had healed his own burns.

“It would be easier to drive, but the road conditions are bad and you might attract unnecessary attention, so I’ll walk.”

Since everyone was equipped with exosuits, marching 7-8km per hour was easy.

As Maru led his party on their journey to the northern part of Detroit, the atmosphere at Vlad’Ark Tower began to become more peculiar.

Lately, one of the two, Vladimir Kalin or Yania Kim, has always been attached to the tower. Even if they were away, they moved to a distance where they could return immediately if contacted.

But the place I was leaving now was different. If I went by car, it would take about two hours to get there and back, but if I went on foot, it would take a whole day.

However, since they went on foot and not using a vehicle, it was certain that the tower would be empty for at least two or three days.

Wheeeeeeing-

Perhaps because the construction was carried out in three shifts 24 hours a day, the outer wall construction section was almost finished. A short break came to the construction site, which had been mobilizing exosuits and small and medium-sized heavy equipment. After finishing their meal, the workers, who had been chatting in small groups of three or four, gathered in the empty lot, more than twenty in number.

“Didn’t I tell you not to hang out like this?”

“This isn’t the Ark Tower, and we’re outside, so there’s no AI surveillance, right?”

This was a construction site. There were no CCTVs or sensors to serve as the eyes and ears of the artificial intelligence.

“Team Leader, are you sure you can live with this kind of treatment while being constantly monitored?”

“It wasn’t our fault, was it?”

“That’s right. Is it so wrong for one person to save another?”

“Didn’t you say that whether you’re a cannibal or an anger management infected person, you can live a normal life as long as you have a cure?”

“······.”

The team leader was silent. The agents’ emotions gradually grew more intense, as if they thought that silence was tacit consent.

“It’s not communism, it’s a dictatorship over distribution···.”

“Shouldn’t you at least show a vision of what you’re going to do going forward?”

“Are we cattle? We are human, not cattle!”

“······.”

“Even if everything else is tolerable, it is difficult to understand why they keep information about a cure secret and have no intention or plan to obtain a cure to treat cannibals or those infected with the virus.”

“Isn’t a human life the life of a fly?”

Human life was not the life of an insect. It was not something to be killed or thrown away so easily.

Above all, they were patriotic. In the military, in the Department of Homeland Security. Yes, they were people who were dedicated to protecting the United States of America.

They chose to stay because it was safe and they thought rescue operations would become more active from here on out, but paradoxically, it was Vladimir Kalin and Yania Kim who seemed determined not to be rescued for the sake of their safety.

With this much material available, why don’t they rescue more survivors?

Why are you, with all your might, standing by and watching the federal government crumble?

Why aren’t we actively pursuing a cure?

Why do you take human life lightly when you have the ability?

“It can’t go on like this.”

“Does it make sense that we are fooling around with just 500 people when we could be saving tens of thousands?”

“If we can just block AI, we have a good chance of winning.”

“Even without artificial intelligence, it is entirely possible to operate a defense system using a control room computer.”

So, the idea is to physically isolate the supercomputer to block artificial intelligence and take over the tower using a regular computer.

A possible gap because there was a backup system built to prepare for various situations. Various pieces of information that he knew as a security guard were mentioned, and even though the plan gradually became more specific, for some reason the team leader remained silent.

“······.”

“Team Leader!”

“Decision!”

As the emotional excitement that had been urging a decision turned into tension, the tension turned into betrayal toward the team leader, and the betrayal turned into silence, the team leader’s mouth, which had been tightly shut, opened.

“Stop talking nonsense, stop talking nonsense.”

“Team Leader!”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. If you have a brain, think about it. Think.”

The team leader looked around and said.

“How many days has it been since you were punished for disobeying orders?”

“Isn’t it strange that you said it with your own mouths? Why do you think those who know nothing about human life would spare you?”

“Did you save me because you were bored? Huh? Let’s think about it. Think about it. Why is everyone so excited?”

The atmosphere calmed down in an instant.

“Vladimir Kalin, Yania Kim, neither of them are left? At this point? Don’t you think that’s strange?”

“······.”

“······.”

“Are you saying that leaving the seat empty is a trap?”

“Whether it’s a trap or not, it’s not something you can do right away according to a hasty plan based on emotion.”

When the team leader said, “Now is not the time,” and “This is not it,” some of the agents nodded reluctantly, while others, seemingly unconvinced, roughly left the scene.

The colleagues tried to dissuade those who were leaving, but the team leader stopped them. They had to take responsibility for their own choices. It wasn’t something that could be suppressed.

“Just let it go.”

“Is that okay?”

“It’s each person’s choice.”

Kaaaak-

As if that were true, the team leader frowned at the sound of the crows croaking.

Tsk- what bad luck.

Kaaaak-

======

======

Wheein-

“It’s better than I thought.”

This was Maru’s evaluation using the exosuit. First of all, there was almost no stamina loss even after moving 7~8km for over 2 hours. It was an exosuit that could be used even while equipped with a ripper suit, and was modified so that it could be put on and taken off instantly in an emergency situation.

If the power loader type with the frame exposed is this good, how good would the exosuit dedicated to Kim Yang be? Kim Yang immediately reacted, perhaps sensing something in Maru’s eyes.

[?]

“Is it really good?”

Kiyung- Maru said, embarrassed by Kim Yang’s action of turning her head away.

“I just thought it was really good.”

[Why are you suddenly doing that?]

You can’t move around while swinging a sword when wearing an exosuit. You said you weren’t going to use it, so why are you suddenly being greedy?

“I tried it and it seems to preserve my stamina and it’s actually pretty good.”

[It’s a power loader type, so it’s quick to attach and detach, but mine takes a long time.]

One of them, Ms. Kim, changed the subject.

[But they told me to follow them?]

A single crow flew in from a distance toward the crows following them in a large circle. After a while, the circle seemed to become a little noisy, and a group broke away and headed towards the Vladislav Tower.

“I didn’t tell you to do this or that, Diana. What happened at the tower?”

[No issues detected.]

There’s no problem, but the kids who were following along well are like that? Hmm-

“Let’s take a quick break and then go.”

As the group settled down and began to rest, the crows also began to land around them and rest. Among them, one crow hurried over and jumped up onto the nurse’s shoulder, then tapped its beak on her helmet as if it was knocking.

[Ah- Mr. Crow, you can hear me well even without taking off your helmet, so it’s okay. Is there a problem?]

Cackle cackle. Cackle crack.

[Huh? Really? So that’s it?]

Caw caw

[Huh? Just wait a minute. I need to talk to Maru first.]

Kka-ah-ah

[No. I told you I’m not scared.]

“What’s going on?”

As Maru looked at the nurse, the crow that met his eyes immediately bowed its head.

PD was excited inside. In the sky, crows were preparing his path, and behold! The sight of crows crouching before him!

[Eh-again. The nest… no. The people doing the outskirts expansion work are hiding their claws?]

[What the heck are you talking about?]

The nurse chose her words when Ms. Kim asked her to explain in an understandable way.

[So. It seems that among the people doing the expansion work, there are those who are after the nest···.]

[I knew it. This time, I’m done for!]

“Sit down. Sit down for now.”

Maru, who had made Kim Yang sit back down after she had jumped up, gestured towards the Vladislav Tower.

“So what about the crows?”

[The nest-, uh- I heard that if you touch the tower, you will be disposed of. So I said that I should tell Maru-nim first.]

Oh- Ms. Kim, who had exclaimed in admiration, looked at the crow brightly. The crow blatantly avoided Ms. Kim’s gaze as if asking what was going on and picked at its feathers with its beak.

“Diana. Did you hear that?”

[Confirmed. Security level changed to highest level.]

Maru, who had been communicating with Diana, sat down and looked at the flock of crows resting. It seemed like he had heard the conversation. Oh, really.

“Keep the rooftop door and emergency exit door open so the crows can get in.”

[Open the rooftop exterior door. Open the emergency exit on each floor.]

Since the crows had taken the initiative, it seemed like we should just wait and see how they would resolve it. Maru spoke to the crow that was sitting on the nurse’s shoulder and nodding its head.

“Don’t touch the innocent people. Can you do it?”

Caw-

“Okay. Go ahead.”

Foodduck – The flying crow quietly disappeared in the direction of Vladiak Tower.

======

======

Wheeeeeeing-

Kuung- Weeeeeing-

The construction site was chaotic.

A cry of resentment, drowned out by the noise of exosuits and heavy equipment.

“The team leader has changed. When do you mean later? A month? Two months? A year?”

“Fuck. When did you emphasize patriotism? Now is not the time? Is there a time for patriotism?”

What about the people who are dying? What will be the justification for this after all the survivors have died?

“Let’s just do it.”

“what?”

“Once we start, won’t everyone, including the team leader, respond?”

“What if I don’t respond?”

“Are you abandoning us?”

“I saw what you were doing earlier. It was cheap, wasn’t it?”

Caaaak

“Oh. What a surprise. What unlucky thing for a crow to suddenly fly… Hey-”

“why?”

As I turned my head while answering in a mumbled tone, I saw this scenery.

“What the Hel···.”

Crows sitting densely along the construction site were glaring at the two people. Instinctively and reflexively, they looked for guns, but all the weapons had already been returned.

The two men who were swearing softly looked around. All they could see from one end to the other was a black wave. At one point, thousands of crows suddenly appeared and the two were startled.

‘Since when has it been like this?’

‘Wasn’t it there just a little while ago?’

It seemed as if it was possessed by a ghost. There was clearly no sound of wings flapping or any other signs.

“Why are these kids acting like this all of a sudden?”

“Be quiet. Don’t provoke me.”

Food Duck

A crow flew up and landed on the helmet.

“What’s wrong with this kid?”

“I guess you’re good.”

“Shut up and clean this up.”

“Hey- don’t provoke me.”

A crow that had been innocently looking around on top of a yellow hard hat suddenly tapped the hard hat.

‘What are you doing?’

Knock, knock, knock – A crow descends to the front edge of a hard hat, making a noise.

Soon, the crow hanging in front of the helmet popped its head out as if doing a peek-a-boo, and our eyes met.

“Zola- What the hell- What are you looking at? Fuck.”

The moment when a man starts swearing because he feels uncomfortable with the crow’s black eyes and the bird’s characteristic tilting of its head as if observing.

Cock-

The beak pecked out the man’s eye.

Kkaaaaaaah!