Rust - Chapter 382



Only Krnovel

RUST [RUST]-382

Maru had expected those who had gone to New York to die fighting cannibals, marauders, and mutants, but he was mistaken. Judging from the footage Kim Yang had sent, they had unleashed a 2,000-strong, heavily armed mob.

“Ha- This is really.”

The bewilderment was short-lived, as the first snowfall in early November began and temperatures began to drop. The group heading to New York, which had been razing a town of such a small size, had no choice but to stop halfway through. It was because it had started to snow.

A week after receiving the first video from Kim Yang, the second video arrived.

It was a video of people who had leveled a small town and were taking things like cash, gold, and luxury watches.

It was absurd. Maru laughed in vain at the fact that the people who attacked the village to get food and water had not taken anything but food, water, or weapons.

“I don’t know. Really.”

In fact, Maru could understand and tried to understand people who were looking for freedom and daily life. What was the reason Maru got blood on his hands? Wasn’t it because he wanted to be free from being tied down to a company or organization? Wasn’t it because he wanted to find a small daily life?

Since Maru himself had fought and fled to find freedom and a normal life and had finally settled in America, it was true that he had mixed feelings when they said they were leaving for New York, shouting for freedom and a normal life.

Maybe that’s why I let them leave under the pretense of being annoying.

If you fight and die against cannibals, mutants, or mutated monsters, the surrounding area will be cleaned up.

If cannibals or marauders attack them, you can check the hideouts of the cannibals and marauders and clean them out.

They gave various reasons, but deep down, it must have been because they were shaken by their desire to leave in search of freedom and daily life.

If you were going to stop them from leaving, you would have gathered them all together and just spewed life into them, half of them would have peed themselves and passed out, and those nearby would have passed out, so where would they go?

That’s why Maru sighed when he heard the news of two thousand people turning into locusts.

“It’s difficult. Being human.”

“Yes. Before the world became like this, people lived under the illusion that everyday life would always be around. How do you think people who lived without knowing that everyday life was actually close to a miracle would act in a world that was going to end?”

After work, I stop by the market, buy what I need from the shelves, fill up the gas tank at the gas station, come home, take a warm shower, have some chicken delivered, drink a cold beer, and turn on the TV. I just lived without knowing how easily these small and natural daily routines could break like glass.

How do people behave when their daily routine is broken?

In a broken daily life, can we be sure that we will be able to live while abiding by the law and morality even if others ignore them and do whatever they want?

Can we say that those who turned into grasshoppers in the video are particularly evil?

That’s just how humans are.

PD was talking about that.

The reason why we immediately start looking for money and valuables as soon as we find food and water is the same.

“Even if you leave to find freedom and a normal life, cash and valuables are important. Haha. Since New York’s infrastructure is maintained, money and valuables will be used, right? Then you should take them with you. Right?”

Maru laughed bitterly at the PD’s joke.

It was strange. Looking back on one’s past through the actions of others.

“I can’t deny it.”

PD took this opportunity to bring up the topic of Maru’s self-deprecating answer. He wanted to restore credit and monetary transactions, not the current barter system.

“If we allow people to spend their money here, the confusion among the satellite villagers will be reduced.”

“···So, are you saying that we should create an environment where we can use cash or valuables again?”

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be money. After all, the current method of resource distribution has its limits.”

“Let me think about it some more.”

It was dangerous to use dollars as they were. The same goes for simple money. In some novels, bullets and cartridges were used as currency. Wouldn’t that be better?

“The distribution of repaired and recyclable home appliances collected from nearby areas is gradually reaching its limits.”

“Is that so?”

“I think it’s a good thing. The increasing demand for home appliances means that life is becoming more stable.”

If there were power shortages, or if survival was threatened every day by attacks from infected people, cannibals, and mutants, there would be no demand for used appliances.

Second-hand home appliances began to be used, and small factories began producing various daily necessities. It was difficult to handle all of this through barter.

“We definitely need to find a way to trade.”

“Yes, the sooner the better.”

That way, people will start to feel closer to each other, and those who have fled here will be able to settle into the warmth of everyday life.

======

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People were murmuring in front of barricades set up at the entrances to the city.

“Two thousand people? We can’t let that many people in.”

“It’s starting to snow. Can you give me some shelter from the snow for a moment?”

“Stop talking nonsense and get out. This place is full.”

“······.”

I tried to enter the city to escape the blizzard, but the city was already full to accommodate 2,000 people. Above all, I could not tolerate the idea of ​​allowing 2,000 heavily armed people into the city.

It’s not like cleaning up after an outsider’s shit happens once or twice, but when 2,000 heavily armed people are shitting on you, there’s no answer.

“Are you going to hand over your weapons? You won’t. What are you relying on? And neither are we. What are you relying on to bring you into the city?”

But people outside thought differently.

“What? Those kids are trying to kill themselves.”

“Hey. Do you still have the dynamite?”

“Are you crazy? That’s a city. A city with a population of 100,000 people.”

“so?”

“Why is that? If you fight, you’ll all be defeated.”

The city was better defended than expected. If they fought, it seemed certain that both sides would suffer enormous damage.

“It is difficult to find a town or city that can accommodate 2,000 people at the same time.”

“I guess we’ll have to split up.”

“The old village chief… Damn it- he’s got it in his mouth. Let’s gather together as the village leaders and survive the winter. Let’s hold out until the weather gets warmer. Then we’ll leave.”

“Okay. How are we going to communicate?”

“How about sending it by courier once a week?”

“That should be enough.”

The group split up into groups from the old satellite villages and dispersed to nearby empty villages. They were a group of about 200 people who decided to spend the winter and set out again in the spring. And there were those who were just waiting for the huge group to disperse.

“Khuh- Attack···.”

The flares fired by the night watchmen lit up the sky. Boom-

“It’s pretty good.”

“Even so, they are still livestock.”

“Hey- Do you know how hard it is to stab someone without killing them in one go?”

“It looks like it’s getting a good response. It must be good.”

“Kill them moderately. If you don’t want to wander around in the cold wind.”

People shouted as they saw the guys talking nonsense.

“The enemy!”

“It’s an attack!”

Shadows moving between the flares falling from the colorful sky.

“Phew. Hurry up.”

“It’s a cannibal. A cannibal has attacked.”

“Make a firework! Make a firework!”

“Clump together.”

The number of cannibals that attacked the village divided into groups of 200 was only about 15. So I thought I could stop them, but the result was disastrous. I killed five or six cannibals, but I left nearly 100 casualties, and about 100 people were taken away.

Those who came to help were speechless at the horrific sight before their eyes, amid the flares and loud gunfire.

“Are you in your right mind?”

“Ugh-uh- What about the wife? What about the people?”

“What attacked you? What happened?”

“Cannibals… It was them.”

I couldn’t believe it. I had experience fighting cannibals in Detroit. If they devastated over 200 people, did that mean there were dozens of cannibals attacking them?

That wasn’t it. The cannibals were only fifteen or sixteen. But over two hundred of them couldn’t last thirty or forty minutes. What’s the difference between when we fought in Detroit and now?

“Is it because of the crow?”

“It might be because of the difference in night vision goggles and also because of the booby traps.”

“The biggest thing was that I couldn’t use the exosuit.”

“Fuck. I should have brought the batteries.”

“I know what you were going to do.”

The crows that always warned us first were gone. The night vision goggles that were always convenient were gone. The booby traps were gone. And most importantly, the exosuits.

The result was the scene that unfolded now. People buried the dead, collected the wounded, and returned to their respective villages. And what awaited them was a village that was already in ruins. The ones who had waited for them to come to help had attacked the place where they were.

That was the beginning. People were being attacked here and there, one by one. The number of people who had been close to 2,000 was reduced by half in an instant.

[These are using their heads.]

“I was watching the situation with a silent drone,” said Ms. Kim.

[I think we should pursue carefully.]

[It’s okay to chase. They’ll do it. We just have to be careful about what falls to the ground.]

Kim Yang took the lead, pointing out that crows flying high in the sky silently followed the cannibals.

After about two hours, when the cannibals had finished hunting and were starting to relax, Kim Yang and the ‘Holy Ark Knights’ raided their base.

Boom!

[Don’t spare grenades and flashbangs!]

Flash! Kwaaaaang!

[Don’t go in and burn it with a flamethrower!]

Puhwaaaaaaaah!

Kkaaaak!

[Don’t shoot them, just let them burn to death. Screaming will only discourage them.]

[A cannibal is holding a hostage.]

It was no use to Mr. Kim. If we hadn’t come, wouldn’t he have been eaten? Is he alive because he’s alive now? He was going to die anyway?

[Just shoot!]

Thud, thud, thud!

Kim Yang added one point to the ‘Holy Ark Knights’ who moved without questioning his orders.

[Clear.]

[The lowest level has also been cleaned up.]

Whether it was intended to be a breeding ground or a pen, the cannibal’s hideout was easily home to over 300 people who had been brought in from all over the place.

As Kim Yang and the Knights’ exosuits swept away the cannibals, the trapped people screamed.

“Please save me!”

“What if I just leave!”

“don’t go!”

“Please let me go!”

[Let’s start with our equipment]

Honest Kim Yang first packed up the Ark Town equipment and then released the people.

Those who were about to become the cannibal’s lunchbox were cornered by Kim Yang and the Holy Ark Knights, but she coolly shook them off and moved on to the next location.

Those who escaped after being attacked and taken away were left in a state of shock. They realized the horror of cannibals. They were gripped by an extreme fear of those who looked exactly like humans but ate people.

When I was in Vladivostok, I realized the hard way why there was a rule that if you encounter survivors during a search, you should hand them your diagnostic kit first.

Although the number of people who set out from Detroit was reduced by about half, there were still considerable numbers of people who were caught from various places.

Those who survived without a purpose naturally joined forces with those who had a purpose in New York. As a result, their power grew again.

A group that was reduced from 2,000 to 1,000 due to cannibal attacks, but grew back to 2,000 by absorbing those who escaped from the breeding grounds.

“If we stay scattered like this, we will continue to be attacked.”

“Damn it. What happened to the weapons they stole?”

“All the heavy weapons we brought from Ark Town are gone.”

“You said it was an armored exosuit? Where is it from?”

“I’m not sure, but I heard they were special forces.”

“The military? The military was nearby?”

“Aren’t we the bait?”

“That may be true. The military was supposed to go after the cannibals, but when they couldn’t find their base, they just let us get attacked. In order to find the cannibals’ base.”

“Those fucking dogs are using citizens as bait?”

“I’m not sure, but from what I’ve heard from people, it seems likely. They said they refused to help because they had to move on to the next operation.”

Is the operation important? Shouldn’t the military protect the citizens?

“Exosuits and heavy weapons?”

“It looks like the military took it.”

“That’s what it takes to make a living in New York!”

“Why is the military taking that?”

Since the exosuit and heavy weapons were items used by the military, everyone nodded in agreement that they had been recovered from the military.

The group, which had shrunk to one thousand and then increased to two thousand, moved very cautiously.

The knight spoke to Kim Yang, who was watching from afar.

[I found a new cannibal hideout. What will you do?]

[You know how to do it, right? If you do, go and try it.]

The knights had a hard time understanding what she was saying.

[yes?]

[We’ve caught it together a few times. Now you guys go and catch it yourselves.]

Was that the sound?

[All right.]

[And if you want to change affiliations, just tell me anytime.]

The door of the ‘Ark Revolutionary Guard’ is always open. The Great Republic’s Revolutionary Guard is much better than the Holy Opium Knights. It was Kim Yang who tried to sell, but it was no use.

After the Knights left to hunt the cannibal, Kim Yang stared blankly at the swarm of locusts moving cautiously in the distance.

By the way, how long will they last?

If you’re going to go, go in a flash.

That night, an unusual cold wave struck.

Kim Yang gritted his teeth in the bitter cold that pierced through his cold-weather performance.

Wheeeeeeing-

A silent drone soared through the cold air to check on the locusts.

[······.]

The empty lot where two thousand people were sleeping under the dawn was eerily quiet. Not even the usual coughing sound…