Rust - Chapter 396



Only Krnovel

RUST -396

Kim Yang blurted out as she looked at the red and white Earth.

“It’s not even half and half. What is that?”

At the word ‘half-and-half’, Hood glared at Ms. Kim, but Ms. Kim smirked and said, ‘That girl’s been into that lately.’

Well, unlike Unit 1, Unit 2 wasn’t properly folded. You should just shed a tear. Where are you going to glare at? Are you being so arrogant that you said it was half and half?

“This is definitely strange. I’ve heard that global warming accelerates desertification and turns the Earth red. But isn’t it the exact opposite to say that it could lead to an ice age?”

The results were polar opposites. Another study even showed a planet where sea levels rose so much that more than 30 percent of the United States was underwater.

Desertification and sea level rise?

Are you saying there is no water or there is a lot?

Scientists predicted a world turned into a desert by extreme droughts and high temperatures, a world completely frozen by an ice age, and a world submerged in water by rising sea levels.

“I understand desertification and sea level rise due to global warming, but it’s hard to understand what you mean by an ice age.”

The nurse muttered softly as she looked at the map where Japan was. Japan was obscured by thick dust, making it impossible to identify in satellite images.

Maru looked out the window. The wind was like a blade that was suddenly blowing. The wind mixed with small, fine grains of sand, like snow, was swirling like a sandstorm.

The average temperature outside in November is -15 degrees Celsius. The average temperature in Detroit in November is 2 degrees Celsius.

It was clearly an abnormal climate.

They said that temperatures dropped to -8 to -12 degrees in December, January, and February, so if the temperature continues to drop at the current rate, it could drop to -25 to -30 degrees.

I thought the apocalypse would not happen because of the spread of the virus, but it almost ended in a nuclear war. If it had been different, it would have ended in a nuclear war and the destruction of the Earth, but neither the US nor China went that far.

I was wondering how to avoid that and solve it, but then cannibals and mutated monsters started to overflow. And now. A completely unexpected threat was approaching.

Extreme climate change.

Desertification, ice age, maybe even rising sea levels.

We were able to survive the Ice Age to some extent because we had mines and modular nuclear power plants. We had already built a smart farm system in the tower, so we had no problem with food.

Desertification was the same. Would the five Great Lakes, which are larger than Korea, really dry up? Even if the five Great Lakes did dry up, it would be difficult for all the groundwater to dry up.

‘Water is the problem.’

But it wasn’t sea level rise.

‘The heavy rain is like that too.’

If the power generation facilities and systems gathered underground were flooded, it would be the end. Considering the water supply and the fact that they could travel by waterways if necessary, they chose a city located near the Great Lakes and rivers, but if there was a flood, it would be difficult.

“Let’s start reinforcement work so that we can prepare for all scenarios.”

From insulation reinforcement work and flood prevention work.

“And we will hand over the climate research data to the artificial intelligence Diana, Tria, and Samantha to analyze them respectively.”

The nurse raised her hand slightly.

“What about the crows?”

“Tell them to go into the nearby buildings to escape the cold. They said they’d be given food separately.”

It was fortunate that crows were omnivorous.

I thought it would be okay to boil the beans and give them to them, or to make them into soybean meat and give them to them.

“I was able to avoid the cold like that last time, but it will be difficult if the severe cold continues.”

“I told you I’d put in a coal stove. Just be careful to ventilate it occasionally.”

Since you’re smart, you’ll know how to take care of the stove.

“If the temperature drops like this, people will have a hard time holding out.”

It was as the PD said. Those who had been able to survive by exterminating cannibals, infected, and mutants in the Detroit area were living among themselves.

There was no particular reason for them to join us either. Even if they did join, we would have created a satellite village and have them live there.

But if the bitter cold continues like it is now, it was obvious that more people would come to join in order to survive.

“That’s good. I’ll send it to the empty village this time.”

It would have been a matter of taking them into the satellite village abandoned by those who left for New York.

There was indeed a reason why the Department of Homeland Security had continued to request coal and stoves. I wondered why they had been transporting coal by airship every day since the mines were turned on, and it seemed that they had anticipated this and were preparing for it.

Certainly, there were many prestigious universities in the East, and each school was conducting research in various fields in cooperation with government agencies, so various research results would have accumulated.

‘Shall we go and shake it again?’

Hood looked at Maru as if he had the same thought. Maru shook his head as if he was going to go and clean up the university and the research institute. Not now.

When I went there and saw it for myself, the situation in New York was a bit strange. They banded together to catch the cannibal, but after they caught it, they felt even more uneasy.

“What’s important now is maintaining the mining town and the railroad···.”

[Emergency communication from the morgue.]

Diana reported the emergency.

“What’s going on?”

[Something strange is said to be happening with the corpse of a surrogate mother brought from New York.]

What a strange thing. Maru wasn’t curious.

If it was a surrogate mother’s body, they were going to do something like artificial insemination through the U+ program. If they had done something to Director Yoo’s egg, what strange thing could have happened when she had been dead for 12 hours? Whatever had happened, it was definitely not normal. Maru just wanted to deal with it cleanly.

“Incinerate immediately.”

They brought it here to burn it to destroy the evidence, not knowing what they would do with the body if they left it behind. Almost at the same time as the order to burn it, Diana gave an additional report.

[It is reported that the fetus inside the corpse appears to be alive.]

[Would you like to burn it?]

It’s been 12 hours since the surrogate mother died and she’s still alive?

Maru’s forehead furrowed. The people looking at Maru. Psychometry had an expression that said, “No way,” and the nurse had her eyes wide open.

Kim Yang’s eyes were narrowed and she had a face that said, ‘What kind of monster is that?’ Hood and PD were whispering something to each other, as if they had something else going on.

If it was a corpse, they could just burn it, but there was a living fetus inside the corpse…

Ms. Kim blurted out.

“That’s funny. If he were alive, he would have been wiggling around in the airship long ago…”

“Ah- That’s not it. There are cases where the fetus survived even though the mother died. There are also cases where the mother died but the child was successfully saved through surgery. And if the child is alive, you wouldn’t kill it, right? Right?”

“Hey? Why are you so friendly?”

“No, it’s not. They say he’s alive. It’s a miracle. And the child is a child.”

“That’s right. A child is a child, and a monster is a monster. Are you sure he’s still a child?”

“Likewise, it’s not like you can just say that they’re monsters.”

“I heard that’s the U+ program? How did Director Yoo do it?”

“···That’s not it. Even so, we have to save the child first. What crime did the child commit? The child should be saved, right?”

“What if that’s a cannibal?”

“Can’t we decide then?”

“You’ve grown a lot, Unit 1.”

“···That has nothing to do with it.”

Psychometry vehemently agreed with the nurse’s words and looked at Maru’s expression.

If it was certain that he was a cannibal, he wouldn’t have hesitated, but he wasn’t sure. Maru, who had been thinking about it to the point of furrowing his brow, made a decision.

“Is gynecological surgery possible?”

[There are specialists among the medical staff.]

“Try it. After the surgery, the surrogate mother’s body will be cremated immediately. If the baby dies during the surgery, it will be cremated immediately.”

[Delivered.]

Maru frowned again.

Can a newborn baby become a cannibal? What can they do if they don’t have teeth?

Even if Director Yoo had become a cannibal, would his eggs have instantly become cannibal eggs as well?

Oh man, it’s complicated.

Ms. Kim shook her head at that sight.

After he made his decision, he became angry.

The nurse and the psychometry were sticking together, saying, “That’s good.” and “That’s fortunate.” Then, Hood, who was talking to the PD, raised his hand and said.

“We don’t have any baby products. What’s even stranger is that there are no children in Vladivostok.”

Not one? Really?

“There are families with children aged 5 or 6, but no families with children under 3.”

“Isn’t that strange? You don’t have a child.”

“Even if you have a child, it’s a problem. There are no related products. There are no basic products like baby bottles, diapers, or formula milk, and there are no vaccines that are essential for children.”

So, things like polio vaccines and such.

There’s nothing of that kind among the items piled in the container? Even if that’s true, how can it be that there aren’t any pregnant women in Vladivostok Tower after almost a year of living there?

The information officer was Hood and the artificial intelligence Samantha.

So you’re saying it’s true that there aren’t any? Clearly, they had all been thrown into the container. But are you saying there really aren’t any?

It’s understandable that there are no vaccines for children, but there are also no powdered milk or diapers. The PD supported Hood’s words.

“I checked it too.”

“There’s nothing we can do. We’ll prioritize securing products related to infants and toddlers.”

I had to find some stuff nearby since I didn’t know what would happen in New York. I thought I could trade it with the satellite towns for a higher value.

“Let’s tell the satellite village to first look for baby supplies, especially consumables like formula milk and diapers.”

Should we say that it’s fortunate that we found the problematic part in advance?

“Ah- Also- I think everyone needs to get a health checkup by now. And- Infertility related tests. It’s really strange that there hasn’t been a single new pregnancy in almost a year.”

The nurse gave her opinion.

There were over a thousand people living in Vladyak Tower alone. If you expand to the town, it is now over 7,000, and if you include the satellite villages, it is close to 20,000. Even if you take away 2,000 from the middle, it is 18,000. It is definitely strange that there are no pregnant women in this population.

“Let’s do that. Let’s get a health checkup as soon as possible, and while we’re at it, let’s get a virus test as well. As soon as we’re done, let’s do the same for the satellite villagers.”

Ms. Kim listened quietly and then said something at the end.

“Cannibals are just making a breeding ground and increasing their numbers, so is this something to be excited about? If they all think they’re using contraception, is it a big deal?”

“······.”

“······.”

“Uh- uh-”

The nurse made a broken sound.

“We’re going to do health checkups, virus tests, and infertility tests anyway, so let’s do them. And since we’re talking about stockpiling supplies for infants and toddlers, we’ll have to do it someday.”

Maru sorted out the situation.

And the results of the health checkup that started like that came out strangely.

“So there are no problems for ordinary people?”

[Yes.]

In terms of health and fertility, there were no problems for the general public who were not infected with the virus. However, the simulation results showed that those who were infected and recovered were likely to have a lower chance of pregnancy.

So, Maru and Ms. Kim are likely to have difficulty conceiving. The results also show that it is not easy for other people with the ability to have children.

“By the way, nurses are like that too.”

“He’s not normal either, so what’s strange?”

‘Just looking at you talking to a crow, doesn’t that seem abnormal?’

‘No, it was normal last time I checked for viruses. Just a normal person.’

‘Pure?’

Miss Kim smiled and narrowed her eyes.

Maru turned away from Kim Yang’s gaze. In any case, if we only look at the simulation results, the possibility of cannibals naturally increasing through reproduction was low.

The same goes for reproduction through infection. Initially, cannibalism was transmitted through droplet infection or even a small bite, but the virus extracted from the recent cannibal corpses was not transmitted through simple droplets. The transmissibility was greatly reduced.

[The genetic analysis results are out.]

The baby that emerged from the surrogate’s body appeared to be normal on the outside. The nurses and psychometry were relieved that the genetic test results showed no mutations that would lead one to believe that it was a cannibal.

As the weather continued for several days with temperatures between -20 and -30 degrees, as the PD had predicted, people who had been living independently and hiding here and there asked to join in order to survive. December arrived without any particular problems, such as sending people to the empty satellite village as planned.

“Isn’t this thermometer broken?”

[The thermometer is normal.]

“Really. It’s below minus 35 degrees. How long do you think it’s going to be like this?”

[It’s hard to predict. According to the Ice Age hypothesis, the northern part of the United States could see temperatures drop to -60 degrees Celsius.]

“Minus 60 degrees?”

[Yes, I think it could get as cold as Oymyakon in Russia.]

And that night, the thermometer read -40.

[A Homeland Security blimp has crashed nearby.]

[This is an emergency rescue request.]

It was a minus 57 degree night.