Rust - Chapter 380



Only Krnovel

RUST -380

The Seoul sky was a hazy gray.

“···Export volume has decreased?”

“Yes. The demand for treatments and other medicines is decreasing rapidly.”

A wrinkle appeared between the eyebrows of Na Ju-yeon of the Ojin Group.

A situation that is difficult to understand with common sense. Just a few months ago, they were engaged in a war of nerves with each other, saying things like, “I was wrong. Please sell the medicine.” and “I will faithfully fulfill the contract. Please help me.”, while trying to secure additional supplies.

“Is there a perfectly copied drug out there?”

“After checking, it appears that is not the case.”

If it’s not because they’re making the right medicine, then why on earth would they do that? The cure doesn’t rot, and if you think about the future, you should stockpile as much as possible.

“Instead, they say they want to replace weapons with imports.”

“Weapons? Weapons instead of cures and other medicines?”

“Yes. Tanks, armored vehicles, self-propelled guns, mortars, machine guns… We are acquiring almost all of the army’s equipment.”

“It’s not good.”

They were free because they had almost a monopoly on the supply of food, energy, raw materials, etc. through exports of medical treatments, but if the situation changed like this, it would be dangerous.

“What happened to the southern region?”

“As you expected, farming has become difficult.”

The eruption of Mt. Fuji may have had some effect, but the real impact on the southern part of the Korean peninsula was the volcanic dust in the Kyushu region. The volcanic ash, dust, and the rain mixed with it devastated the soil.

They tried to revive crops and soil by spraying clean water, but that didn’t last long. The water in reservoirs and dams was also contaminated by rain mixed with volcanic dust. The acidified water and various toxins mixed with the dust slowly but surely ate away at the southern region.

Water and soil pollution were serious, and extreme climate abnormalities were also difficult to cope with.

It seemed like the high temperatures and heavy rains of July and August were finally coming to an end, but the temperature suddenly dropped in just a few days. The weather, which had changed as if we had skipped over fall and entered early winter, was frightening.

In early October, the central region began to see ice at dawn, and by mid-October, frost and black ice could be seen in the southern region as well.

“It’s going to be a long, harsh winter.”

“······.”

In the southern region, where it is not easy to see snow and ice even in the middle of winter, seeing thin ice in mid-October was like a trailer for a long, long winter.

“Mr. Chairman, if we continue like this, it will be difficult.”

“I have no choice. I’ll go to Ulleungdo.”

We had already started moving residents from Ulleungdo to the mainland and moving some facilities to Ulleungdo, but that was preparation for the worst.

“Mr. Chairman! The construction is not finished yet, so it is dangerous.”

“It will get more dangerous once winter really starts.”

The number of troops selected for the war with China alone exceeded 2 million. Up until now, there was no problem because the Ojin Group had almost exclusively imported and supplied food, energy, and essential raw materials. If that part began to waver, there was no way of knowing what would happen.

It was practically like ruling half of Seoul and southern Gyeonggi Province, but looking back now, there was nothing left.

There was too little time to form a political party and gain political power, and not enough time to solidify control based on economic power.

‘I thought whoever controls the metropolitan area would control the Korean peninsula···.’

It was almost done. Almost. If only the export of therapeutics had continued for another two years, and if only the import of grain, energy, and raw materials from Russia and South America had gone as planned, it would have been possible.

But since those two premises collapsed, the metropolitan area was nothing more than a poisoned chalice. Na Ju-yeon had no intention of continuing to drink from that chalice. Who would like it if she continued to drink and died?

‘If exports of medical supplies decrease, which in turn reduces imports of food, energy, and raw materials, there will be problems, so it’s obvious that they will use that as an excuse to mobilize the military.’

The government was still playing the martial law card. Rather than being dragged around like this and losing power, there was a high probability that they would try to turn things around.

With over 2 million troops, there was no way they wouldn’t target them… The moment a food and energy crisis occurred, it was obvious that they would mobilize troops under the pretext of maintaining public order.

In order to prevent that, they had been maintaining a close relationship with the US military in Korea, but that didn’t seem to last long. This was because most of the US troops originally stationed in Korea, including those who had participated in the China War, had been ordered to return to the mainland.

The transport fleet was provided by Charlotte in Busan, which will probably be under the protection of the US military until the moment when the US troops return.

What happened after that? It was the Nakdong River duck egg. Right now, we are providing treatment to the US military, but what will happen after they all go to the US?

It was clear that the US military, having lost its real deterrent, would only express deep regret. At the end of the line, there would be the already divided Ojin group.

The world was heading towards its end. Not just any end, but a strange end. The animals were slowly mutating.

‘It’s already too late.’

Na Ju-yeon judged calmly.

In the US, there were areas that resembled war zones because of rapidly mutating animals. Korea was not like that, so we were at ease, but not anymore.

In Korea, there have been incidents in the provinces that have been affected by animal mutations. For example, a person was attacked by a radiated Asiatic black bear, a pack of wild dogs attacked a livestock farm, and even a farm owner was seriously injured after being pecked by his own chickens.

Although no extremely large specimens have been discovered yet, this meant that animals with increasingly vicious personalities were appearing.

Eventually, it was clear that Korea, like the United States, would be attacked by mutant monsters.

“We need to move quickly. We will use the houses that people are using to make up for the lack of accommodation. We will move the employees and their families first.”

“All right.”

“What happened to attaching Director Kim to Manager Kim Ki-soon?”

“It’s going well.”

“How long will it take?”

“It looks like it will take at least six months to properly search.”

In order to respond, I had to know the cause. The current treatment, a drug that suppresses anger management disorder, only suppresses the desire for cannibalism.

In this way, when violence is suppressed and time passes, people who have anger management issues often naturally overcome it and improve.

‘What about cannibalism?’

Will cannibalism naturally lose its desire to eat over time?

A thought that has nothing to do with the discussion of immigration or the sending of people to China and Japan to find the cause of the mutation.

Aftereffects, reinfection, DNA mutations, appetite suppression in cannibals, if appetite was suppressed, what physical changes did existing cannibals have?

Even the intelligence sent by the US Department of Homeland Security began to mix up. And the net of that thinking even reached the currently declining volume of exports of therapeutics.

No way. Cannibalism spreading?

Or, are you going to use cannibalism…? How?

The information I received from the Department of Homeland Security, the story of Riser Pharmaceuticals’s Geese Riser becoming a cannibal came to mind. The process of how the head of the pharmaceutical company became infected was strange, but what happened after that was also strange. Instead of suppressing his cannibalistic desires by taking the cure, he drank a shake made of ground up people.

Was being cannibalistic really that attractive?

To the extent that it is chosen by the president of a pharmaceutical company?

There were many good points, such as enhanced physical abilities, high resistance to disease and poison, and fast healing. It was almost like an evolution, except for the cannibalistic desire.

‘Cannibals form superior and inferior entities.’

‘The cannibalism spread among criminals, but as higher-ranking individuals began to appear among the subordinates, the indiscriminate spread voluntarily stopped.’

‘The transmission of cannibalism, which was initially transmitted through droplets, has rapidly weakened, and infection through saliva is now the main method.’

And the latest information is that a video was sent from the Department of Homeland Security stating that they are not cannibals but demons and must be eradicated.

Beetle – It was Na Joo-yeon who caused dizziness.

“Mr. Chairman!”

“are you okay.”

“I made a mistake from the beginning. I was too greedy.”

“······.”

Maybe it was because he was anxious to hear that he had become a big shot in America. Maybe it was because he was trying to increase his influence by using food, energy, and raw materials. Bigger than that person.

I couldn’t make the same mistake again, like he did. It was right to put safety first.

“This time, we will also move the headquarters. We will take everything that can be taken. Move all the raw materials, equipment, and personnel that can be taken to Ulleungdo.”

The rumor that the upper class in New York, USA, voluntarily became cannibals suggests that other countries also likely did the same.

What would happen if cannibals took power, especially in the political and military circles? Would they try to import a lot of cures?

As we see a growing number of countries reducing their imports of therapeutics and increasing their imports of weapons, we wonder what choices their upper classes have made.

When the role of the therapeutics decreases and arms exports take its place, will those who have been dragged around until now remain still? Even with an army of over 2 million?

What if the upper class of Korea made a similar choice to the upper class of New York? What if an army of two million people fell into the hands of cannibals?

It was a race against time.

“Mobilize all your resources. No matter how much it costs, we must finish the work before the heavy snow piles up.”

“I will do that.”

“And… let’s cancel the search operation. Right now, we need to prioritize defense. Send Chief Kim Ki-soon and Director Kim to the Ulleungdo construction site.”

“Manager Kim Ki-soon, is it okay if Charlotte is used to defend Japanese refugee camps?”

“Tell Chairman Charlotte Sim that this is an emergency and that we will have to temporarily remove personnel. In return, tell her that you will provide her with a cure.”

“I will do that.”

Under the hazy sky, Kim Ki-soon spat.

I’m not even training a fucking dog.

“Everyone, pack your bags. The chairman wants you to go to Ulleungdo.”

Men wearing black sunglasses nodded despite the lack of sunlight.

“What? If you guys leave, how are we going to defend this place? Didn’t Charlotte send you here? It’s a breach of contract.”

A man wearing a U.S. military uniform growled at Ki-sun.

“Calm down, Ensign Roy Stern.”

======

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Detroit, Vladivostok conference room.

“Anyway, I think we can say that New York took a breather from this operation.

“Yes.”

Maru, who had been thinking quietly, opened his mouth.

“Telepathy, psychometry. What should I do with these two people? If you have any suggestions, please let me know.”

While everyone was quietly lost in thought, Ms. Kim raised her hand.

“No matter what I tell you to do later, I have to control you tightly now so you can’t think of anything else! I’ll control you.”

‘Um, you have to go on a separate business trip?’

Looking closely at how things were handled in New York this time, it seemed like small-scale command was possible. If I was going to turn it in that direction, it seemed like it would be better to give it more experience.

People wouldn’t think it would be easy to recover equipment left behind by looters, mutants, or cannibals.

The reason they followed people was not only because they would not readily return the equipment they had plundered, but also because they wanted to subdue the ones they had already caught. And honestly, there was no one as optimized as Kim Yang when it came to catching those scumbags.

‘I just got back, where are you sending me now?’

‘I told you it was easy.’

‘I’ll make a person with telepathy and psychometry. I can really do it well.’

The eyes of the one who wanted to send and the one who did not want to go crossed.

“How about I talk first?”

Hood turned his head towards Kim Yang and glared at the half-faced hood.

‘What? Should I call it a slap in the face in this situation?’

Hood continued his story, ignoring Kim Yang’s blazing gaze of relaxation.

“Telepathy and psychometry are psychic abilities. They are good at reading the minds of others. Depending on the strength of their abilities, they may even be able to read memories.”

So, a PD who was somewhere between fanatic and idealistic was dangerous. Likewise, Maru and Kim Yang also seemed to have strange thoughts. The only person they could talk to honestly and have a normal conversation with was themselves.

Honestly, it’s embarrassing to think that my past is being exposed to them, but… If I could open my heart like that and become close to them? It wasn’t bad for both of us.

“······.”

“······.”

Maru thought for a moment and then answered.

“That would be difficult.”

“Why? I am the best person for the job.”

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re the right person or not. It’s not good to know too much information.”

“······.”

Hood was an information officer. He had to know all the information, including the security information of Vladiak Town. What if telepathy or psychics knew all that information? That’s why Maru was against it.

When Hood’s opinion was dismissed, Kim Yang’s burning anger quickly disappeared.

Sure. ‘I’ll watch. Half and half.’

But the aftertaste remains.

“Then who do you plan on leaving it to?”

“Nanae. Can you take care of those two?”

The nurse was startled by Maru’s words.

“Huh? Me?”

Yeah you.

Eeeeeeeet—