Rust - Chapter 334



Only Krnovel

RUST [RUST]-334

I thought the crazy pseudo-religionist would drag it out, but Roger Dawson became anxious when they cut it to a clean 30-second cut.

I thought about nitpicking and tangling it if it dragged on for too long, but it was blocked from the beginning. Regardless, the PD started talking first.

“Then let’s get straight to the point. You need large-caliber firearms and ammunition?”

“···Yes.”

“Five .50 caliber machine guns, three Barretts with shortened barrels and 12-round magazines.”

“thank you.”

It was a good feeling. First, use the machine gun for base defense and then use the modified Barrett instead, it’s not bad. If you take your time and gradually increase the number of heavy weapons, good things will happen.

“You should be grateful. In a situation like this, you can’t live without money, right? So are you going to just say thank you in words?”

“···yes?”

“Shouldn’t we show it through actions rather than just words?”

Both hands are heavy. That’s what the PD’s eyes were saying.

There is no need for apologies only with the mouth or thanks only with the tongue.

Show me the evidence.

Proof of gratitude.

Heavy.

“······.”

The village chief, Roger Dawson, swallowed hard.

“Would you ask someone who can’t even solve a mutation to do something difficult? I don’t expect much. I just hope they don’t forget that gratitude and appreciation.”

The PD’s mouth and eyes as he spoke were cold.

“Ha- ha- I guess so. Thank you very much.”

In response to Roger Dawson’s answer, the PD handed over a picture. It was a portrait of Vladimir Kalin’s face.

An oil painting with a cool air and the unique smell of paint. Anyone who looks at it can tell that it is a well-painted portrait. It was a work of art painted by a person.

‘This isn’t a photograph, this is a portrait? Why this?’

The PD spoke in a serious voice to Roger Dawson, who was blinking. Swish- Portraits filled the room on one side.

“Hang this portrait in every home and community. And remember who gave you the gun. Once a day. Thank you. Really.”

“yes?”

Former Homeland Security agent and current survivor village chief Roger Dawson, something was brewing in his stomach.

Isn’t this what dictator bastards do? Putting their faces in people’s homes and public places.

The PD smiled coldly at Roger Dawson, who was about to reflexively have a seizure.

“I’m not asking you to believe or worship me. I’m asking you to be sincere in the gratitude you mentioned. If you can’t do that, then don’t accept it. Or, bring an appropriate price.”

A corresponding price, knowing that without a large-caliber gun you can’t catch a mutant?

Knowing that?

······

So that’s what you mean?

Is the picture an excuse and the truth is that we want to share?

Well then, that’s right.

What the cults did was the same: seeking profit.

Roger Dawson leaned forward slightly.

“If you give me a gun, I will hunt and split the proceeds in certain proportions.”

“Okay. I’ll go with the standard terms and conditions.”

Start with a basic 7:3, add 30% commission, add 10% for firearm warranty insurance, and add 10% for tactical camera rental to ensure fair field inspection. Ammunition separate.

Wait. So 7:3 is 70. Subtract 30% from here and get 49? No, what commission is 30%?

If you subtract 10% from that, it’s 44.1, but you’re going to subtract another 10% for camera rental fees?

Then 39.69? You’re ripping off over 60%?

“Surely not. That’s the principle, but I’ll just accept a clean 60%.”

The PD is seen putting the portrait he had handed out back together one by one.

Wasn’t the portrait just an excuse?

“Wait. I’ll do that. I’ll do a portrait. I’ll hang it on the wall and do it once a day. Thanks. I’ll do that.”

“Would you like that? Then let’s go with a clean 7:3.”

Huh? Wasn’t it free if you hung up a picture?

The PD smiled affectionately at the confused village chief.

“No way.”

Think about it carefully. Did I say I was giving it to you for free?

“······.”

“Right?”

“It’s not a payment fee, so what is that fee?”

“It’s the cost of dispatched personnel.”

I could roughly tell how much supplies they had secured through the tactical camera, but I could fool them by rotating the camera or something.

It is said that dispatched personnel were introduced to resolve such distrust.

Caw-

“These are dispatched personnel?”

Caaaak!

So that 30% fee is the crow rental fee?

======

======

The crows moved in groups of five.

There was no problem on the ground, but it was a problem when I went underground or inside a building.

“Are these things going to change shifts on their own?”

“This is absurd.”

Outside, large crows would swarm us, and when we went inside the building, smaller crows would swarm us.

“It’s not strange. The crows in our neighborhood were smart too.”

“That’s beyond smart.”

Huh?

Caw?

Crows were shaking their heads as if they had no idea what was going on, preening their feathers. They even covered their poop.

“Don’t birds just poop when they’re new?”

“I know.”

Whether it was a result of their belief in not being disliked by Maru or a result of miraculous training, the crows were able to hide their poop more than 90% of the time.

Since I had to predict when it would come out and wait in advance, there was a downside to having to sit in one place for a long time even though I wasn’t constipated, but it was surprising that the bird didn’t poop on the floor.

“No. There was a chicken on an animal show last time, and even chickens raised at home have a tendency to poop.”

“really?”

“That’s what I’m saying. Would I say something useless?”

“I wish there was internet.”

“I heard that the intranet in Ark Town has been running since yesterday.”

“I heard they’ve restored it from there. It’ll be coming to our village soon.”

In the walled town of Vladivostok, infrastructure began to recover quickly. A modular nuclear power plant capable of powering the small town for more than 100 years was restored to power. Water and sewerage services began to run again.

With only electricity and running water, Vladivostok Tower has become a nostalgic reminder of its glorious past for outsiders.

“Fuck. Shut up and get to work.”

“What the hell are you talking about again?”

Rustle-

“Who are you?”

“Hands up!”

Perhaps because they were survivors who had been through all kinds of hardships, the guns were aimed in unison. The crows had taken flight at some point and were scattered in all directions to observe the situation.

‘Weren’t we supposed to be fighting together?’

‘I don’t know.’

The rustling sound in the far corner suddenly stopped.

“Don’t shoot. It’s a person.”

Even with the old man’s low voice, the gun did not lower.

Even if the damn infected were like that, even if they were mutants, regular bullets wouldn’t work. Would large-caliber or armor-piercing shells (AP) work?

The mutants had many stages of regaining intelligence, so they were generally speechless. If the mutants could speak properly, it would mean that they had eaten a huge number of them.

Still, the mutant could be judged by its appearance. It was over 1.5 times larger and had a muscular body that was clearly visible.

“Come out into the light!”

“Don’t shoot. I’m going out.”

A human figure was briefly visible through the long beam of tactical lights.

“Stop!”

The survivors took white paper cups out of their bags and rolled them.

“Spit on it.”

“Salt…? Saliva?”

“Stop nitpicking and just spit.”

“Yes. Yes. I’ll spit it out.”

The moment the black shadow reached out to the white paper cup, the crow in the left corner cried.

Caw!

At that sound, the muzzles of the survivors who had been on guard at the rear shifted to the left. The tactical lights scanned the floor, but there was nothing.

“doesn’t exist.”

“This way too.”

“Why is that stupid crow crying?”

Kaaaak!

Caaaak!

“Shut that thing up.”

“Hey- Shut up!”

At the moment when he was threatening the crow that had just flown up, something stuck to the ceiling was illuminated by the tactical light.

“Fuck! The ceiling! It’s stuck to the ceiling.”

Whoosh- As the gun barrel pointed at the ceiling, a distinct figure became visible. Those hanging upside down and crawling across the ceiling. They were cannibals.

“Shoot!”

Tudadadadadak!

7.62mm armor-piercing rounds belched fire. Flames poured out of the 100-round drum magazine.

Kyaak!

Aaaah!

The cannibals hanging from the ceiling fell like acorns in the wind.

Even if one had physical abilities three to four times greater than those of an average person, it would have been difficult to withstand armor-piercing bullets that could pierce reinforced concrete with one’s bare body.

Likewise, no matter how experienced they were as survivors, it was impossible to block the concentrated attacks of cannibals with physical strength three times greater than that of adult males without taking damage.

Aaaah!

“Save me!”

And what was shot at the cannibal who approached was-

pop—

It was a net gun.

======

======

The events taking place in the surrounding villages were captured on tactical cameras and passed on to the artificial intelligence Diana and Samantha.

“What about Tria? Can’t she be fixed?”

[It doesn’t seem to be a unit problem.]

After the doctor left, Tria had no contact and was only assisting with research as her computational speed had noticeably slowed down.

Maru was dumbfounded. So, the hardware was fine, but the software performance suddenly dropped. He was tempted to just throw it away, but this was the reason the supercomputer came here in the first place.

It was predicted that if it was erased carelessly, hardware damage would occur. Should it be discarded? Or should it be maintained? In this situation, the decision was made to discard it, and in order to avoid discarding it, they entrusted it to Maru. After that, Hood pushed Samantha in to take over the supercomputer, and as a result, the current balanced system was created.

Red Tria

samantha in blue

Diana in green

The first one to take root was Tria, and no one knew what would happen if Tria was erased. Not even Dr. Jack Nees.

“No contact from New York?”

[Yes, Dr. Jack Neese is said to be missing.]

“What about the Internet?”

[They say it takes time to connect in New York.]

Has the containment begun already? It could have been possible.

A blue light began to flash. It was Samantha.

[Dawson Town Vigilantes engage cannibals. 1 dead, 2 wounded, 2 cannibals killed, 2 captured.]

Maybe it was because it was the first village to be built, or because it had many former agents, but it did a pretty good job. With four cannibals, it would be enough to take down a platoon in an instant.

[The crow’s warning and the net gun were effective.]

If you look at the video Samantha uploaded, it was definitely like that. They set up a net, tied it up, and then induced a jump to catch it with a net gun. Even with muscle strength three times that of an adult male, once they were caught in the net, it was over.

The crow’s warning was also important. If we had missed the cannibals that were sticking to the ceiling, we would have been wiped out.

‘I guess complaints about fees will go away.’

As expected, they were kids who earned their keep.

[The frequency of encounters with cannibals is increasing.]

As the search area expanded, we entered the territory of the cannibals, but there was something odd about it. A red dot on the map Diana had posted.

The first village was densely packed with red markings symbolizing engagement. It was the village where Roger Dawson was the chief.

“I think something is strange.”

Miss Kim’s eyes lit up as she ate the mango shaved ice.

“There must be something hidden behind it, so they’re only flocking there, right?”

It was clear that he had planned to eat it alone after agreeing to a 5:5 ratio. He must have covered it in honey so the cannibals wouldn’t know. That’s what Kim thought. Maru thought differently.

“Or the destination is here.”

If you draw a long line, the end of the line passes through Dawson Village, towards the main gate of Vladivostok Town, and the market.

“we?”

“okay.”

The cannibals were smart. They had no mental retardation and their memories were intact. They headed this way?

Okay, that could be true. So what? You know what’s here, and what’s going to happen if you come here, but you still come? You just come, but you don’t know what’s going to happen?

Anyway, it was strange. Maru’s eyes suddenly became heavy.

“Where is the secretary?”

[I’m in Lab 13. I’m currently experimenting with cannibalistic disease transmission.]

What experiment?

I told them I could experiment freely…

crazy.

“Get your gear. Let’s go to Lab 13.”

“Now? Got it.”

It’s mango bingsu. I couldn’t even eat half of it.

I didn’t like that secretary from the beginning.

Kiyongkiyong

As Kim Yang’s exosuit loudly entered the lab, the researchers suddenly blocked his way.

“The experimental equipment here is sensitive.”

“What if you keep pushing in like this?”

Researchers desperately clinging to the exosuit.

“Please wait outside for now. Outside.”

“This is a first-class laboratory, and yet they are doing this so carelessly…”

[Get out of the way! Where’s the secretary!]

While Yang Kim was drawing aggro from the front, Maru used the stealth function of the Ripper suit to sneak in. The flesh-colored banquet that unfolded in front of Maru changed into a ripple effect, perhaps due to the commotion caused by Yang Kim.

‘They said they were researching infection···.’

“All actions stop.”

The hot air has cooled down.