Rust - Chapter 359



Only Krnovel

RUST -359

Tudadadang!

Ta-da-da-dak!

Jose was conflicted by the sound of gunshots ringing out behind him.

Should I turn back? Or should I go find Erica and take her out? The gunshots began to die down behind the slow footsteps.

Then that’s right. Since all the team members were warriors of one hundred men, it was clear that they would be dealt with quickly. Even though I thought that, the sticky anxiety stuck to the soles of my feet and wouldn’t go away.

A mouth that won’t open even if you want to shout, ‘Erika! Over there!’

Reason and instinct playing separately. Reason believing that his colleagues would have solved it and instinct telling him to run away quietly. Jose’s face, experiencing that terrible sense of discomfort for the first time, was covered in cold sweat.

‘Fuck. Fuck.’

As if he were a wooden doll that couldn’t be turned around, Jose began to run forward, deeper and deeper into the darkness she had run to.

I wonder how far I had run, but I could see Erica climbing up a ladder in the distance. Just as the oxygen mask I had put on to enter the sewer began to cloud my face, I reached the top of the ladder.

Gasp, gasp – A shadow fell over Jose’s head as he forced himself to swallow his roughly rising breath and climbed the ladder toward the bright light.

The circular light gradually dimmed as if it were a solar eclipse. Jose suddenly raised his head. He saw a manhole cover slowly closing.

“What the heck. It’s Jose! It’s Jose. Open it! Open the lid!”

Yeorika’s face, which glanced down, turned blue as if she had seen something she should not have seen, and then disappeared.

“Close it quickly. Quickly.”

I was momentarily dazed by the voice of Yeri, who was urging me.

‘Bitch. Fucking bitch.’

‘I gave my heart to that bitch. What the fuck.’

Let’s go up and see. Jose gritted his teeth and climbed the ladder.

Jose, who was climbing the ladder one step at a time, suddenly felt a tingling sensation in his calf.

Shrieked with pain as if my entire body was suddenly being ripped apart simultaneously from my calves to my thighs and sides.

“Kwaaaaaaaah- Open up! Save me!”

Something was wriggling outside Jose’s oxygen mask as he shouted. Tentacles? Feelers? The brown body that had been climbing up the outstretched arms turned its body back as if it didn’t like the bright light.

What the fuck!

Shashashashasha

Aaaah …

The screams and the squeaking of shells were silenced by the creaking of a thick lid.

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Director Den Brown’s face turned red.

bang!

The agents sitting on either side of him remained silent despite the dull sound of the desk being slammed down.

“So. The cause of the disappearance was a cockroach? Is this Japan? In the United States, and in New York, on the East Coast, does that make sense?”

If it were the West, it would be understandable that it was buried on a cargo ship crossing the Pacific, but this was the East. The Atlantic, not the Pacific.

“A special execution team was deployed, but only one person survived.”

“All the guys with powers died and only one survived? And that was because he was attacked by a cockroach?”

“The video quality isn’t great because it’s an underground waterway, but it’s footage captured by a tactical camera.”

The atmosphere became strange as the search team, who occasionally made light jokes while watching the images on the large monitor, entered deeper inside.

A lighthearted joke followed as if to lighten the heavy mood, but the agent paused for a moment as the female agent, who seemed to be having a fit and was soon leaving the group, explained.

“I am Jerika Lisbon, a psychometrician. She is the sole survivor.”

“Then why don’t you call me right away and check for me?”

“As the footage just revealed, Yerika Lisbon suffered a seizure that appeared to be the aftereffects of using her powers, and then went AWOL, abandoning her colleagues, according to on-site testimony. She is currently under quarantine.”

“okay?”

The video rolled back. One of the laughing and chatting members lowered his head and looked up at the ceiling, and then suddenly, shiny things fell to the floor.

“What—-?”

“Oh MY–”

The special forces, mostly comprised of those with enhanced physical abilities, began fighting in an instant, but the gunshots and sparks in the blurry footage soon died down.

“So. Are those damn things the ones responsible for this disappearance?”

“Yes, it is. Above all, it is not a simple insect movement.”

The method of approaching with as little noise as possible and then attacking all at once. The movements were so coordinated that it reminded me of a military operation.

“Yeah. That happened in Japan too.”

Director Den Brown’s eyes changed.

There was a record of cockroaches ambushing and attacking in the snow. At that time, the cockroaches, which were as big as a palm and roamed freely even in the cold winter, were controversial. However, the cockroaches in the video were 3~4 inches bigger than that.

Various pieces of information began to form in his mind. The incident of cockroach attacks in Japan, traces of bodies being carried away, and if these cockroaches were the same as the Japanese monster cockroaches, then the disappearances could also be explained.

‘If you took the victim’s body away.’

Where did the wheels come from? The terrorists disguised as Chinese tour groups came to mind. They were touring major national parks and major cities and causing a stir.

‘The Yellowstone National Park Incident.’

What if they spread not only the mutant virus, but also cockroach eggs or something like that? Or did the Japanese refugees bring eggs or baby cockroaches with them in their luggage?

There was nothing they could do about China or Japan. China was divided into seven parts and at war, and Japan was ruined. It was impossible to hold them responsible.

Director Dan Brown gulped down the cold water. The bitter coolness ran down his throat, cooling the heat in his head. He had to deal with the situation now, not the cause.

“Did you get the sample?”

“They dragged away all their bodies, leaving no trace.”

Although there may be a difference in size, its habits are very similar to those of Japanese cockroaches.

“What happened to the cockroach samples we brought from Japan? I thought they finished studying the samples?”

“I was doing dedicated research at the Riser Pharmaceuticals Biology Laboratory and the Virginia Tech Research Institute… and it was lost.”

Riser Constraints fled with all their data, and Virginia was devastated by a concentrated nuclear attack. That means there is no data.

“We must obtain samples no matter what and find their weaknesses.”

“What if we use pesticides?”

Director Den Brown said, pointing to the monitor screen with his chin.

“Does that look like just a simple insect to you?”

“······.”

Looking around, it seemed like half of the agents were ‘actually just big cockroaches’.

Everyone was tested for mutant virus infection and cognitive ability, but still like this. Director Dan Brown, whose chest suddenly felt tight, drank ice water one after another.

“What we’re fighting isn’t just some big cockroach. As you can see in the video, it’s a monster that instantly wiped out Team 5 of the Special Enforcement Unit.”

When agents armed with exosuits and heavy weapons raided the sewers to catch the cannibals, they were hiding without a trace.

“What about VX gas? Didn’t I hear that they dealt with it like that in Detroit?”

“Do you think New York is like Detroit?”

I knew that Vladimir Kalin had planted VX in the Detroit basement, slaughtering enemies who had infiltrated from the outside and killing monster cockroaches and rats.

The area around the Bradley Tower in downtown Detroit is already sparsely populated, so even if VX gas had been sprayed underground, there would have been few casualties.

Besides, given Vladimir Kalin’s behavior, he probably didn’t care about casualties and just ransacked them. There wouldn’t be much of a problem there, but this place is New York, which is as dense as a bean sprout container.

What if you sprayed something like VX gas underground, and it leaked? Would it be safe to fill all those damn underground spaces with VX gas, all those underground passages and railroads, all connected to a complex web of underground waterways? Would that be okay?

“First of all, securing samples and conducting research is a priority in order to find an effective way to kill them. Do you understand?”

“yes-”

Director Dan Brown continued his story, looking straight into the face of the agent who had suggested using VX gas.

“If we can’t find the weakness despite research, or if other methods don’t work, we’ll have to use VX. So you figure out an effective way to execute the operation. And if you were to spray VX gas, create a simulation report on the expected effects and damage.”

“···yes.”

We’ve lost too many experienced agents. So we have to do our best to train them. Director Den Drown gave meticulous instructions one by one.

In this way, the nights at the Department of Homeland Security were brightened by the lights of the night shift.

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July and August were tough months, with many suffering from dehydration and heatstroke.

Despite its privileged location adjacent to the Great Lakes, the unprecedented heatwave was no match for the city. If the air conditioners had not been turned on, the sweltering heat would have killed hundreds of people, and the sweltering heat would have continued until September.

“It would have been dangerous if we had not received and transferred additional modular nuclear power plants and opened mines to generate thermal power immediately.”

[Isn’t it too much to spread to the outskirts?]

Kim Yang, who was displeased with the fact that half of the people in the so-called satellite village were reactionaries, seemed to be taking too much care of them.

“If you’re going to move them out of the circular railway, you better do it right. You want to expand them? Then you have to do it naturally.”

[···Okay. And don’t forget that we’re going to inspect the construction site for the 2nd Circular Line later.]

“Do we really have to do something like an inspection?”

[Of course. It’s a matter of responsibility and duty.]

Maru’s mouth watered at Kim Yang’s resolute answer. What kind of inspection is it that involves a sense of responsibility and duty? It seemed as if she had escaped the side effects of the mutant virus, but Kim Yang had become subtle in another sense.

Even though it was October and the weather should have been cool and the leaves were turning red, the muggy weather was not going away.

“The weather is fucking horrible, why don’t you go and get in the way of my work?”

[Because of the weather, they are using the excuse of inspection to tell people to rest a bit.]

It’s driving me crazy. I wonder why they are so obsessed with inspections.

Since I had the experience of going around and around in circles whenever a star rose, whether it was raining or snowing, I could only laugh when told to go and rest.

“It’s so gloomy, why is it so hot?”

The climate is contradictory: the sun is hazy but it’s sweltering hot.

I thought that since we had a nuclear war, we would have to worry about a nuclear winter, but that wasn’t the case.

Despite the obvious abnormal weather phenomenon, the construction site was full of energy day and night.

‘People say that if you inspect, people will rest?’

Maru’s gaze stabbed Kim Yang.

‘Even though the road is hard, everyone is smiling and doing it.’

It was Ms. Kim who turned her head away, pretending not to know.

“It’s still hot outside. Is it okay to do this?”

When Maru asked a question while inspecting the construction site, the site manager answered with a moved face.

“We achieved the highest efficiency by working 24 hours a day in four shifts. Since we work 6 hours a day, everyone is doing well without any physical problems.”

“I see. Please make sure you give them enough time to rest. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to post them at any time.”

“thank you.”

It was an unfamiliar feeling for Maru to inspect a construction site. After living a life of being inspected, he suddenly found himself in the position of inspecting. Kim Yang, who was following closely behind Maru, who was feeling restless in one way or another, whispered.

[Turn your head to the left once···]

Maru’s head instinctively turned to the left. The whispering continued.

[After a slight smile there, wave your hand.]

“···What are you doing now?”

I can’t say that it’s to make the great next door seat a fait accompli, Kim Yang answered with a smile.

[Support? Security?]

“Support? Security? What’s support? No, that’s fine. Do you think you need security right now?”

In the sky, crows were circling around like tornadoes, and automatic turrets with CCTVs were everywhere. But here, security?

[Anything that is for the safety of the highest dignity is a given.]

Ms. Kim raised her head proudly.

[The abnormal climate analysis model has been completed.]

Maru said as he boarded the train to Vladislav Tower, hearing Diana’s report that had just come in.

“Let’s talk about it later.”

[···Okay, I understand.]

Beep beep beep-

The train, with white steam and black smoke billowing out, slowly began to gain speed.

Whoosh-whoosh- whirr- a passing scenery.

Just because it was a steam locomotive, it wasn’t something to be ignored.

A representative example is the British LNER Class A4 steam locomotive. This steam locomotive, which ran from the 1930s to the 1960s, not only ran at an average speed of 140 to 150 km/h, but also showed a monstrous ability to reach a top speed of 204 km/h.

Of course, the trains that ran the Detroit Loop Line were not that fast, but they were still good enough to get an average of 40 to 50 miles (64 to 80 km).

The end of the scenery of a steam locomotive running along a circular line. The Vladislav Tower, glowing crimson, was getting closer and closer.

[···The current abnormal climate is caused by various factors···.]

[There are likely to be rapid temperature changes starting from the end of October.]

[Therefore, heating measures are urgently needed··· The most important part of the current satellite village relocation preparations···]

[We’ll pause our climate analysis for a moment. We have an emergency communications request from the Department of Homeland Security. Should we connect?]

“Connect.”

A brief greeting and then the main topic.

[Do you remember the monster cockroach we encountered during our mission in Japan?]

It was Director Dan Brown who brought up the cockroach story.