Rust - Chapter 365



Only Krnovel

RUST -365

Come to think of it, there were giant rats in Japan and in the US too.

‘?’

Were rats and cockroaches fighting over territory underground?

The cockroaches’ forces were dwindling, so the rats came across them while poking around?

But why now of all times? And here at that?

Maybe it was the other way around.

Is it possible that cockroaches and rats have allied and attacked?

It was hard to imagine that cockroaches and rats would unite like humans, but it was impossible for cockroaches or rats to form a colony like this in the first place.

‘Ah. I don’t know.’

Ms. Kim’s head was itchy. Telepathy continued.

[These guys have weird teeth!]

Kim Yang’s exosuit was a model that used cutting-edge new materials without sparing any effort. That’s why it was fine when fighting cockroaches or giant rats.

In contrast, the exosuits used by the ‘Ark Revolutionary Guard’ could only use lower grade materials than those used by Kim Yang.

Even considering the differences, the armored exosuit was not an easy piece of equipment. Even with its thin armor, it had bulletproof performance on par with an armored vehicle.

‘On a rat’s teeth?’

Think about it later.

Ms. Kim reacted immediately.

[Come out after setting fire.]

[All right.]

In a situation where communication was cut off underground and the mutated monsters gathered, the effect of communication failure worsened, and telepathy was playing a key role in the communication failure.

If telepathy is this useful, what about psychometry?

Would he like it too?

It was Kim Yang who was growing increasingly greedy for someone with psychometric abilities.

Whoosh whoosh-

The rats failed to pursue Bravo Team as they fled, spraying flamethrowers.

Bravo Team, who joined Alpha Team, looked miserable. Their armor plates were scratched here and there. If they had been just a little bit later, their arm armor might have been completely torn off.

[report.]

[No power outage.]

Proof that the decision to set fire and withdraw quickly was right. If they had made a decision like holding out there or sending support, I don’t know what would have happened. Maybe that’s why the atmosphere was good. The atmosphere was a little more trustworthy for Kim Yang.

[What would you like to do?]

[That’s it for today.]

After sending the guards first, the last remaining Kim Yang blew up the small and cute V’s x and contaminated the passage. Since the residual effect of V’s x blocked this passage, we can just enter from here tomorrow.

Ms. Kim came out and immediately began explaining the situation using telepathy.

[Say that again.]

[It wasn’t just cockroaches, there were also giant rats inside the sewer.]

[so?]

[There are teeth marks on the mass-produced exosuit armor.]

It wasn’t ripped off in one breath, but if it had been bitten and torn continuously, it would have fallen off little by little. As he listened to Kim Yang’s explanation of the situation, something came to mind, and Maru opened the lower drawer.

A knife occupying one side of the drawer caught my eye. The claw knife, processed like a karimbit, was an heirloom that Director Yu had kept.

At that time, there were two knives that were recovered. The ones that Kim Yang was trying to sneak were the ones that Maru had recovered and kept. They were light, strong, and above all, had cutting power that defied common sense. They were knives that felt different from being sharp.

One of the two is being studied diligently, but it is difficult to find the cause with current technology and science.

It was not logical in the first place that a knife that looked like a cat’s claw could rip bulletproof vest or armor.

If you look closely, the beaks and talons of crows were the same. They were beaks and talons that could easily pierce and tear through the metal plates of ordinary cars.

The mutant monsters that have been confirmed so far are similar.

Texas wild boar tusks tearing holes in the sides of armored vehicles, gray wolves and coyotes ripping apart motorcycles and cars, and grizzly bear claws crushing trucks and armored vehicles.

Maru was lost in thought as he scratched the sample bulletproof plate on Director Yu’s desk with his knife.

I’ve seen the data from the research on the mutant monsters captured during the Yellowstone incident, but there was no byproduct with the same level of performance as Director Yu’s knife.

How many wolves and coyotes did you and Kim catch? There were plenty of byproducts like claws and teeth, but the knives made from them were not as good as Director Yu’s. What could be the reason?

‘Is it a difference in the extraction method or processing method?’

Breaking the silence, Ms. Kim spoke.

[Our contract only covers catching cockroaches. Isn’t rats not included in the contract?]

[so?]

[How about making it an option to catch rats and get psychometry?]

[Psychometry? Telepathy and Face-to-Face?]

[That’s right. That’s the one that was quarantined because of a mistake.]

The telepathy that was mediating was slightly shaken. It seemed to be agitated, perhaps because it was a mental ability.

[Should we take it out on the condition that we also subdue the rats?]

[I wonder if it would be possible to negotiate using the video of the fight with the rat]

It wasn’t a bad idea. However, Maru thought at first glance that psychometry was a skill that was suitable for investigation.

It seemed like things wouldn’t be easy, since he was a talent coveted by the Department of Homeland Security, the New York Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other agencies.

[···Okay. I’ll try to negotiate. You’re doing well. You worked hard today.]

While we were on the subject, I immediately called Director Dan Brown of the Department of Homeland Security. Dan Brown’s voice sounded somewhat haggard.

Not knowing that the culprit who destroyed his mind was Kim Yang, Maru got straight to the point, starting with the incident that occurred in the culvert.

Dan Brown, who had been thinking of narrowing the distance between them by lamenting Yania Kim’s mental attack and talking about this and that, gave up. Anything was fine as long as it wasn’t an endless repetition.

[There’s a giant rat in the sewer?]

“Video of the engagement will be uploaded soon.”

As soon as Maru finished speaking, Den Brown fell silent, having received the footage of the encounter with the rat.

[This one. It looks to be about the same size as the rat that was involved in the disappearance incident in the old village.]

It was dangerous to think that such things were thriving in one corner of New York City’s underground water system. ‘Man-eating cockroaches, crazy rats.’

The rats that appeared in the village disappearance incident were not a matter of size. Their size was their size, but their cunningness that was the biggest threat.

The rat pups who cut off communication networks, ambushed enemies, dug holes to set traps, and even played the role of the poison masters who encouraged attacks that ignored death.

If Vladimir Kalin and Yania Kim weren’t there at that time, it would have been a dangerous situation.

I thought we had annihilated them by blowing up the entire suspicious area according to his idea, but they were growing stronger in one side of New York’s underground waterways.

Maru didn’t give him time to think and made the deal right away.

“The contract was to get rid of cockroaches, right?”

[···Yes.]

“Instead of exterminating the rats, how about handing over the psychometric ability user who is currently isolated?”

[that···.]

Maru persistently tried to guide the choice, but it wasn’t easy.

After a moment of silence, Dan Brown said he needed time to think and asked to be in touch again.

It seemed that psychometric abilities were rare in that area as well. The fact that they were considering isolating and disciplinary action against such a valuable person meant that he was a problematic ability user.

‘Wouldn’t it be better to just use a brain-boosting biometric terminal?’

They say that if you put an information extractor in a normal person’s head and extract information, they will become stupid or die, but if you were going to extract information anyway, a brain-like biometric terminal would be much more advantageous.

Anyway, if you aren’t a psychometric user, I’ll suggest something else. Maru waited leisurely.

======

======

Director Den Brown called a meeting.

He released a video of his encounter with the monster rat and explained the current situation. Some agents understood the conditions set by Vladimiru, while others were extremely angry.

When you defend a city in the Middle East, how is that different from saying you went there to stop the Taliban and then not stopping ISIS if they come?

“I found a monster rat in the sewer, and you want me to give you more if you want to get rid of it? Are you out of your mind?”

“It’s too much.”

Agents who have a negative view, saying that the responsibilities and obligations of being a citizen of the United States have been sold off and that they seem to be trying to rip it off at every opportunity.

If the situation were normal, I would understand, but isn’t that not the case now? The United States of America was practically half in a coffin. Not figuratively, but in the dictionary, ‘the country is on the verge of ruin.’

The East. And only New York State and its vicinity were recovering, the rest was not in chaos. How can you be selfish in this situation? Even if you are a mercenary by nature, shouldn’t there be a limit?

Director Den Brown had a headache.

I started out by leaking the video to raise awareness about the dangers of monster rats, but it ended up having the opposite effect.

That’s because it looked like a video of a team of armored exosuits not fighting properly, but just running away to avoid a swarm of rats.

How strong can a rat’s teeth be?

Armed with a 7.62mm minigun and a flamethrower and wearing a special armored exosuit that covers the entire body, it doesn’t even properly stick to itself and just sets fire to the ground and comes out?

“The conditions are also outrageous. I guess you could have guessed that we would need more psychometric abilities here, and yet you are asking for them.”

Psychometric ability. A psychic ability that allows one to read residual thoughts and, if a little further, even read the thoughts or memories of a subject.

It wasn’t just the Department of Homeland Security that needed it. They had to line up, divide it into N parts, and use it sparingly, but they wanted to take it away?

Director Dan Brown decided to take a break to cool down the heated atmosphere.

“Let’s talk again after dinner.”

When he was full, his nervous reactions and sharpness would subside a bit. Even though I gave him time, he couldn’t relax.

[CEOs of Wall Street companies, heads of powerful families, and members of the Federal Reserve requested meetings.]

Why did they flock here in droves, ignoring all requests for help in rebuilding and in hunting down cannibals?

Director Den Brown said with a bitter laugh.

“Raise alert level. Tell everyone to arm themselves and stand by.”

[Delivered.]

Director Dan Brown donned a full-body bulletproof vest that resembled a bodysuit and headed to a large convention room.

“··· Just in case, bring a diagnostic kit too.”

[Yes? Okay.]

The conference hall, which can accommodate hundreds of people, was packed.

Even though those with influence both positive and negative were gathered in one place, Director Dan Brown sat calmly and asked why they were gathered here.

“I came because I wanted to hear about your future plans.”

“If you have questions about policy direction, that’s the job of the state government, so if you came to the Department of Homeland Security to ask about that, you’ve come to the wrong place.”

“I came to realize that the Department of Homeland Security is the de facto power behind policy enforcement.”

“Was the intolerance and eradication of cannibals done with the consent of the state or city council?”

“Or was there an emergency order from the state or city government?”

“What’s so shameless about carrying out a large-scale massacre?”

Director Dan Brown spoke as shouts from all sides rang out.

“The eradication of cannibals was based on the unique authority held by the Director of Homeland Security. If you have come here to hold me responsible for eradicating cannibals, then I think you have come to the wrong place.”

The calm response caused the entire conference room to murmur. Soon, fully armed Homeland Security agents entered the conference room carrying paper cup testing kits.

Heavily armed agents took up positions, distributing diagnostic kits, armed with machine guns, shotguns, grenade launchers, and even flamethrowers.

“What are you doing? Are you threatening me now?”

“Because cannibals are hard to identify from their appearance.”

A white paper cup was placed in front of the seat.

“You know how to do the test, right? Just spit.”

A man who looked like an old rich man raised his hand. He handed over the microphone to indicate that he had something to say before the examination.

“First of all, I agree that the decision on treatment of cannibals or immediate execution is within the authority of the Director of Homeland Security.”

At those words, the conference room, which had become quiet, became noisy again.

“However, the reason we are gathered here is to confirm the will of the Director of Homeland Security, who is in fact the real power.”

Director Den Brown answered without a second’s hesitation.

“My will is simple: Rebuild the United States.”

And you are the ones who turned a blind eye when the United States was at its most difficult, but then slowly started crawling out as the eastern part of the country, centered around New York, began to slowly get back on track to normalcy.

The old man continued his story, paying no attention to Director Den Brown’s gaze, which seemed to be looking at filth.

“Indeed. Then let me ask you. Do you think that when you rebuild the United States, you should inherit the legitimacy? And do you plan to rebuild the United States by forming a provisional federal government in the eastern region centered around New York?”

“exactly.”

What are these bastards trying to say?

“Okay, I see. Then let’s talk about interest first.”

Interest? What are you talking about all of a sudden?

“If we are to assert the legitimacy of the United States and formally assume the federal government, shouldn’t we first resolve our debt obligations?”

This is crazy.