Rust - Chapter 353



Only Krnovel

RUST -352

Oh my. This is a bomb.

‘Why did it have to be Dan Brown?’

I thought it would be best to connect with a powerful family, the military, or someone else who was interested in rejuvenation. Even if I had good abilities, it was a problem.

“As you know, this is dangerous. That’s why I opened it.”

The floor was completely covered with ice.

[I know.]

“I was going to burn it right away, but I kept it because I thought I would get tired if rumors spread that I had been caught here. I didn’t think anyone would believe it even if I said I had burned it. I didn’t want to end up as a chicken instead of a pheasant.”

[I guessed so.]

This gentleman was not just guessing, he was certain of it.

Anyway, he’s a decent guy who can do business with others, so what if he hugs a bomb and it explodes?

Maru was slightly worried.

I wasn’t trying to be a bother, but this was an opportunity to hear what you thought.

“Wouldn’t it be better to throw it in the South or to throw it to a powerful force? To be honest, I’m trying to divert attention away from this side.”

So, it is impossible to secretly hand it over to the Department of Homeland Security.

It means that you can give what you want, but not in secret. If the aggro is drawn to this side, it’s like putting the cart before the horse, so if you want to take it, you have to make sure to take the aggro as well.

[···That’s a bit risky. There’s no guarantee that it can be recovered, and there are more intact research facilities left than expected, so it’s hard to predict what the results will be.]

You’re changing the subject.

“Wouldn’t that be better? If word got out that the other side had a big, beefy chunk of uranium, everyone would be saying they’d do something about it before they could make a bomb.”

[That’s a dangerous idea.]

“Because I’m in danger right now.”

[······.]

Is it dangerous?

Vladimir Kalin?

Dan Brown felt bitter for some reason. They had worked together many times, but he had not left Vladimir Kalin’s side. The subordinates were angry at the director’s silence.

(Director, we shouldn’t be dragged away like this.)

(Yes.)

Dan Brown decided to call back later and cut off communication for the time being. He needed to hear the thoughts of his new subordinates.

“Do you know why Vladimir Kalin reacts this way?”

“I think it was because of the attack at the Detroit hospital.”

“There were raids, but there were also attacks by unidentified people.”

“I don’t know the identity. It’s a well-known fact that the company sent mercenaries to Riser and annihilated them.”

“Forcing military ranks also backfired.”

“Once you have been given a rank, whether by force or otherwise, and the state has called you, you must follow. Vladimir Kalin must be put on a leash, by any means necessary.”

There have been many hardliners among the Homeland Security agents who have succeeded in taking over New York. Not because they succeeded, but because they have seen firsthand the reality of what the United States has been ruined in the process.

From cannibals bent on taking over New York, to the deeds of powerful families and financial institutions, to deep-rooted criminal organizations.

Although New York and the East Coast had sound infrastructure, the inside was already rotten to the core. In this situation, Vladimir Kalin’s attitude was enough to incur the wrath of the Homeland Security agents.

Director Dan Brown, who had been looking at those agents, opened his mouth.

“Didn’t we talk about this last time? Did you all get tested for the virus?”

“······.”

“People who haven’t been tested for the virus or cognitive abilities are to be excluded from the meeting.”

“······.”

“What are you guys doing? Those who haven’t done it, go out and get tested first.”

A few people got up from their seats one by one. After those who were reacting emotionally left, the conversation continued.

“So. Why do you think Vladimir Kalin is reacting like that?”

“I think it’s because of military life.”

“Military life? So it’s because of your experience serving in the Korean military?”

“yes.”

Dan Brown pretended not to know anything and led the story.

“What does that have to do with that kind of behavior?”

“I think it’s because of the experience of having to follow absurd orders and being treated unfairly when put in a position to receive orders.”

“The orders given to soldiers are supposed to be orders for the sake of the country. Does it make sense to say that serving as a soldier is absurd and unreasonable? Even if there are problems with the Korean military, that seems like going too far.”

“As you know, Korea has a conscription system.”

“Throw away the things you already know and just get to the point.”

“I think the problem is not the conscription system, but the social perception of soldiers.”

The problem was not the difficult and bad military life and environment, but the social atmosphere that bordered on mental abuse. The atmosphere that looked down on and ridiculed soldiers was the problem.

An environment where the media and broadcasts openly talk about the military being a place to play for two years and rest comfortably, even though it wasn’t something you wanted to do. A society where stories that treat soldiers like potential murderers are broadcast without filtering.

People who openly use derogatory slang toward soldiers, local merchants who take advantage of soldiers, and even send mocking letters of condolence. What if Vladimir Kalin experienced such unimaginable things?

The conference room was buzzing.

“So. Are you saying that because of those memories, you have no intention of being loyal to the United States?”

“If all that was left were ridicule and insults even after serving the country, then I think that would be possible.”

“In fact, it is true that the military also thought of him as a useful knife.”

Fortunately, Vladimir Kalin himself seemed to have no enemies. In fact, Dan Brown tried to show that the United States was not like that.

I tried to make Vladimir Kalin experience that service to the country comes with respect. Those bastards wanted to swing the sword they got their hands on as fast as they could.

It was an attempt to forcefully, and in fact forcibly, force military ranks into people and make them work.

Since being deployed to the Chinese operation, Vladimir Kalin has started to refuse to contact us at all unless he wants to or it is absolutely necessary, and we have less and less ways to move him.

The best thing is that Vladimir Kalin believes in the United States, is devoted, and is rewarded and respected, creating a virtuous cycle. So I compensated him sufficiently and provided him with as much convenience as possible. But in the end, this was the limit.

‘Is it just that we’ve reached a point where we can share our innermost feelings even a little?’

If you hated Homeland Security and yourself, you would have used this to your advantage.

“So what do you want me to do?”

“There is no short-term solution.”

“Even if the relationship improves over time, what’s important is Director Yoo’s body.”

“That must be secured.”

“I agree. If it’s a clue to rejuvenation, even powerful families and companies will cooperate.”

“It must be managed directly by the Department of Homeland Security, even at the risk of harm.”

Director Den Brown contacted Maru again.

“I need Director Yoo’s body.”

[Are you sure it’s okay? As I said before, I can’t just give it to you. I can’t keep it a secret either.]

“Okay, then. What are your conditions?”

[The exchange condition would be a modular nuclear power plant. Depending on the power generation capacity, I would like 2 or 3 units.]

crazy.

Director Dan Brown half-cursed when he heard Maru’s conditions. His subordinates, who listened in on the speaker phone, had the same reaction.

“Transport from here···.”

Dan Brown tried to evade the question by saying that there was no way to transport it, but then closed his mouth. Because there was an airship.

[We will bring the modular power plant and exchange it on site.]

The most critical asset for maintaining the infrastructure in the East was the modular nuclear power plant, as the South was running on thermal power while the West and Central were virtually without electricity.

If we had sent not one, but two or three modular reactors to the Vladislav Tower, everyone would have known. This was not something that could be kept a secret.

One modular nuclear power plant can generate enough electricity to power a small city, so why would we want more?

The reason for running 3-4 modular nuclear power plants in the Vladivostok tower is that there is no need for that much electricity.

‘Are you trying to run a factory?’

What are you trying to do?

In any case, it was concluded that Director Yoo’s body had to be secured. Chief Dan Brown neatly concluded the deal.

“Okay, let’s talk about the details later.”

[I hope this happens as soon as possible. Now that word has spread, there will be a lot of people after this.]

Director Dan Brown finished the call and quietly closed his eyes.

There was no card to negotiate with. What Vladimir wants is either power generation facilities or nuclear power. Since he cannot give nuclear power, the only thing he can give is modular nuclear power plants.

Retrieving Director Yu’s body by force was out of the question. Infiltrating Vladiak Tower was impossible even with the airship. Because of the crows.

Even if you managed to infiltrate while avoiding the crows, the defensive capabilities of the Vladiak Tower were beyond imagination. There were many other reasons why it was impossible to infiltrate the tower and retrieve the body.

Even with the existing information and facilities, if they were continuously strengthening their defense facilities? It would have been right to exclude things like forced recovery.

“Electricity. Why do you want a modular nuclear power plant?”

“It looks like they’re trying to turn the production equipment around.”

“That power is enough to run heavy industries on a small to medium scale.”

“I think it’s dangerous.”

“Military force is dangerous, but if you are trying to create some kind of city-state centered around the Bloody Ark Tower, it may cost you even more in the future when it comes to recovering it.”

We can’t just let that massive amount of electricity go to waste. And it’s true that there’s a lot of infrastructure that can be restored if we just get electricity flowing properly.

What if we took control of the Detroit area using our abundant power?

What if the idea was to take over the entire Rust Belt region using the electricity generated from modular nuclear power plants as a catalyst?

There were still many small and medium-sized mines with mining potential in the Rust Belt area. If the modular nuclear power plants were turned on to revive the mines, and the revived mines were turned into thermal power plants, steel, and chemicals, a force that literally no one could touch would emerge.

“If you look at Vladimir Kalin’s behavioral patterns and character analysis, that’s not possible.”

“It’s not an individual problem, it’s a group problem. If there’s a center, it’s bound to gather.”

“That’s right. When people gather together, power naturally emerges.”

“The problem is that Vladimir Kalin has already become the center of gravity, whether he wants it or not.”

“I agree. He will likely be a stumbling block to the future reconstruction of the United States.”

“Yes, you must not hand over the modular reactor.”

Even if that analysis is correct and sound, the Department of Homeland Security should be able to see beyond it.

‘It might be a good idea to hand over the entire central and northern part.’

If we conquer the center and the south, the rest will follow naturally.

======

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Maru, who had agreed to hand over Director Yoo’s body to the Department of Homeland Security, focused on scouring the western region.

“Hey. That horse keeps following me?”

Kim Yang smiled sinisterly as he watched the black horse madly following the airship.

‘As expected, a great leader. Has he surpassed the limits of the species?’

Kim Yang, who had been watching the black horse chasing the airship and wandering around for over a month, made a face like that. Maru, who was upset, stopped the airship.

“Let’s see. Why are you following me like that?”

“Hahaha – I understand.”

Director Yoo’s belongings, with a clear knife cut mark on one side, were slowly walked by with Ms. Kim wearing a cowboy hat.

Heeeeeeeing-

Purrrrrrr-

It was a black horse that would chase after Maru as much as it wanted, but would start swearing as soon as Maru showed his face.

“Hey. Is that a mare?”

“?”

“Can’t you see that? It’s a male.”

“!”

Heeeeeeeing-

In the direction that the black horse was staring intently, there was Miss Kim.

Huh? Me?

As Maru saw Ms. Kim blink in bewilderment, he quickly moved away. Then, the black horse strode towards her and stuck its head into Ms. Kim’s.

It was a forced selection.

Uh- um- is it good?

Miss Kim, who was laughing out loud, jumped onto the saddle.

Purrrrrrr- The scenery looked different when seen from the top of the rumbling black horse.

So does that mean that even the Black Horse recognized his greatness?

Hohohoho- hahaha-

“Huh? What?”

At the nurse’s surprised voice, Ms. Kim proudly straightened her back and chest.

Dagdakdakdak

The black horse, moving naturally, went towards the nurse and made a move to shake off Ms. Kim, who was on the back.

Like this fuck.

Clank-

At the same time as the sound, the black horse quietly passed the nurse. Slowly. Mournfully.