Rust - Chapter 399



Only Krnovel

RUST -399

“So there are only two survivors?”

“······.”

“···I don’t know.”

The two men said they were having a hot time in the cargo hold when they suddenly heard screams and gunshots and hid inside a box.

‘I heard that if your eyes meet, it’s instant, so I didn’t think it was possible.’

Actually, seeing people like that in these times made Maru feel uneasy. It’s not a bad thing for two adults to do it, but when you hear gunshots outside, don’t you think, ‘I have to check what the problem is?’?

“But there are many dangerous cases.”

[Is this your experience?]”

“···That’s right. If you tell me not to go but you do, something will definitely happen.”

“Yes. It’s dangerous to go out because you hear screams outside.”

The two people who said, ‘I have no intention of risking my life on SNS,’ added.

“Curiosity killed the cat.”

“It is arrogance to think that you can do something that others cannot.”

Listening to them talk, it seemed like the two of them were a good match for each other.

But wasn’t it the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation?

[What is your affiliation?]

“I’m with the New York Police Department’s External Cooperation Division.”

“I work for the Inspector General’s Office in the New York City Department of Justice.”

The police department may be like that, but why the Inspector General?

Maru put the two people back in the box and searched the cargo hold. There were no more survivors.

The horde of rats that came in like a high tide and then disappeared like an ebb tide after the corn died down were nowhere to be seen, having fallen out of the range of the motion detectors and biometric detectors.

[Is everything okay?]

[No problem.]

[Be careful down there too, as rats can dig their way up through the snow.]

[All right.]

Surely people had to see it with their own eyes. Dick and Dewey were moving briskly only after being terrified by a single rat.

And after half a day, no additional survivors were found.

[I guess I’ll have to stay on the airship today.]

[Is that okay?]

Dick’s voice trembled slightly. How surprised I had been when I returned to the airship. The sight of hundreds of rats swarming the corridors was like a scene from a horror movie.

[The sun will set soon.]

[···All right.]

Although the temperature was minus 50 degrees, the airship cabin and cargo hold were not as cold as expected, perhaps because they were buried in snow. It seemed to have an insulating effect like an igloo.

After a light dinner, Maru began talking to the survivors.

[What about New York?]

“Traffic was paralyzed due to the heavy snowfall, and the water and sewer systems were all in disarray.”

“The number of missing people has skyrocketed.”

So far, the lowest temperature in New York has been around -20 degrees Celsius. It wasn’t as cold as I thought because it was near the ocean. The problem was the amount of snow. There was nothing we could do about the snow that piled up and froze in an instant, reaching a depth of nearly 5 meters.

“The problem was that a blizzard was coming in and traffic accidents were starting to occur.”

The accident quickly became a mess as the sudden heavy snowfall delayed the recovery effort.

As the snow continued to pile up, temperatures dropped, and roads began to become blocked one after another, the moment snow removal and accident recovery stopped, traffic came to a halt.

“Transportation was a problem, but water supply and sewage problems also occurred at the same time.”

There was chaos everywhere as the pipes froze.

“As for water, we can melt the snow that has piled up outside and drink it, and as for feces, we can excrete them and throw them away, but when the electricity and gas started to cut off, we couldn’t do anything.”

At one point, the electricity and gas went out. We depended on electricity and gas for heating, so it was really dangerous when that went out.

“There are places where communication is cut off.”

Eventually, even areas where communication was cut off began to appear. At first, I thought it was a temporary and minor problem caused by heavy snowfall and passed it over, but it wasn’t. The frequency of accidents gradually increased.

The crew that went out to repair the electricity and communications system had not been heard from for several days, and the number of areas without contact gradually increased.

Starting with electrical and telecommunications repairmen, the number of missing people increased rapidly. In addition, people who went to look for the missing people and the police disappeared one after another, and now problems were occurring block by block.

“The Department of Homeland Security said that the rats could be cutting off the electricity and communications, and that we should call in the newly recruited military, but the city government and the council are against calling in the military without solid evidence.”

[Is this solid evidence?]

“You can’t say that a few large rats are evidence. New York used to have a lot of large rats and cockroaches.”

“How can you believe that rats are hunting people, cutting off their power, gas, and even internet cables? It’s more realistic to think that the Department of Homeland Security is trying to take over the military.”

[······.]

New York rats were famous for their size. They were often seen cutting down wires and cables.

“It’s something that can be outsourced to a company that specializes in catching rats. It’s a bit odd to have to mobilize the military just because of rats.”

“Mobilizing over 80,000 troops to catch rats? Who would understand that?”

‘There must have been some information.’

It looks like he didn’t bring any data with him when he escaped from Homeland Security headquarters to New York. So he must be saying there’s no evidence.

[Was the rat found in New York this big?]

Maru asked, pointing to the swarm of rats swarming the hallway.

“No, the evidence presented by the Department of Homeland Security was less than this.”

[How did the airship crash?]

“We attempted an emergency landing due to a power system failure, but a sudden blizzard struck and we crashed.”

It was a power system issue. The sudden low temperatures could have caused problems with the motor, but it was most likely caused by rats.

‘There probably aren’t hundreds of them hiding on the airship. They must be from around here.’

The holes I had seen when I entered the airship. I remembered the holes the size of a plastic bottle that were here and there in my eyes.

It was likely that a New York-based rat had cut the airship’s power lines, and that the crashed airship had been attacked by Canadian rats.

Maru finished talking to the survivors.

It must have been frustrating to hear him talking about evidence while the rats were causing a ruckus. Perhaps he sent the airship to take the psychometer and secure solid testimony. The cargo hold was full of supplies and was a down payment.

So why did the NYPD and the Inspector General’s Office come? Even if the police did, the woman who said she was from the Inspector General’s Office was suspicious.

[Take off the wolf skin.]

[What should Nade and Kalu do?]

[The body was placed separately in the cabin.]

[ancient.]

As soon as day broke, the party set off for Detroit.

Before leaving, Maru exploded tear gas canisters to fill the airship. This would prevent the rats from touching the wolf’s skin or body.

[Can’t you hear the wolf?]

[okay.]

It was quiet for a long time, perhaps because rumors had spread among the wolves.

Pokdeuk- Pokdeuk-

We arrived at the lighthouse where we had stayed for the night, with only the sound of our feet crunching in the snow to be heard.

[It seems like something came and went nearby.]

[Look around carefully.]

The area around the lighthouse was full of traces of Busan.

Tiny footprints the size of a thumb are left here and there.

[Isn’t this a rat footprint?]

[I think so?]

[But is the rat this big?]

Judging by the distance between the forelegs and hind legs, the body would have been about 15 to 16 inches (38 to 40 cm).

[There are also traces inside the lighthouse.]

[Is the door okay?]

[He must have climbed up the wall.]

[Ha- All the groceries I left behind for emergencies were stolen.]

It was clear that the rats had gone to check out the lighthouse.

[Clear the snow in front and install a motion sensor. Also help the two people there.]

“yes?”

“yes?”

[To clear the snow.]

“ah-”

“······.”

They began clearing the snow that had piled up around the lighthouse. Since physical enhancement was no easy feat, Dick and Dewey’s digging was destructive.

[There is a mouse hole here.]

[There’s also this one.]

[Stay away.]

[?]

Maru immediately opened a small V-shaped X-bullet and stuffed it into the mouse hole, then blocked the hole. It was almost like blocking the hole with ice, so there seemed to be no way for gas to leak out.

Later, when the snow melted, there would be chaos, but it was hard to find any signs of life nearby, so it didn’t matter. Maru, who had detonated VX gas and tear gas in every hole, decided to take a break early.

[The night watch is done in shifts.]

The couple decided to go their separate ways. The man, Dewey, and the woman, Dick and Joe, took turns. Dewey suggested switching places with Dick, but Dick shook his head after seeing Maru’s reaction.

[Hey, be patient. Why are you saying that to a woman who has a lover?]

[Doesn’t the goal go in because there’s a goalkeeper?]

[Crazy. Can’t you tell by the atmosphere right now?]

[It’s not that the atmosphere is crazy, but if this keeps up I’m going crazy. Damn.]

Contrary to my worries, the night passed without any problems.

Maru also detonated tear gas at the lighthouse to erase the smell and went out to the frozen lake. He walked for another half day, erasing his tracks at the very back.

The group successfully returned to Vladivostok before the sun set.

======

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Kim Yang’s eyes lit up when she saw the wolf skin he had brought as a sample.

“Oh- this is good.”

It was different because it was the fur of a wolf that had survived temperatures below -50 degrees Celsius. Kim Yang recognized it right away and coveted the wolf skin.

“There are six more on the airship, so put those down.”

“There are six more, so can you give me one of these?”

“I brought it to leave it for the researchers.”

“The coyote and wolf I caught last time weren’t like this, so why is this so different?”

“It must be because of the weather.”

“weather?”

The mutant monsters were so great that they could adapt to extreme weather conditions, even temperatures below minus 50 degrees Celsius.

Kim Yang tilted her head as she listened to Maru’s explanation.

“But why the crows?”

Aren’t they mutated kids too?

At Kim Yang’s question, people’s eyes turned to a crow sitting in a corner.

The appearance of a crow that has grown plump and fluffy. Just as winter sparrows become plump, the crow’s once sleek appearance has disappeared and it has become round.

Caw?

I don’t know anything. It was a crow that turned its head with an expression and started to preen its feathers.

“Lupin?”

“······.”

“······.”

Caw?

What is that?

Are you guys not going out because it’s cold?

“Be on alert all the time except on snowy days.”

“Oh. It’s minus 50 degrees?”

“The wolves are running around just fine, and the little mice are scurrying around, so why can’t they do it?”

!!!

The crow, which had been preening its feathers as if it didn’t know anything, shook its head repeatedly.

“Hey. If you ate well, then do your work properly.”

It was a crow that started to tilt its head at Maru’s firm voice.

“It seems like Canada and New York are in chaos. Be on your guard.”

Kaaa- kaaaak

“It’s cold, so how about we change shifts often? Then it’ll be fine.”

The nurse continued to console him, but the crow that had been crouching on its head flew up to deliver the news. It was the end of a comfortable winter vacation.

The floor that had sent out the crows opened the screen. In the video was a crashed airship.

“We’ll have to use Erica’s powers to know for sure, but the tracks here suggest there were a few rats on board when they left New York. And it looks like they damaged the airship’s power system, causing it to crash.”

PD and Hood’s expressions became serious.

“It doesn’t look good.”

“···It’s dangerous.”

“······.”

“Isn’t that obvious, considering the rats that attacked the village cut off the power and set traps?”

Is that something to make such a fuss about? We cleared it out with napalm and artillery fire?

When the weather clears up, wouldn’t it be okay to just sweep them all away and bomb them?

“It’s one thing to cut off electricity and internet and isolate a village, but I think this is even more dangerous.”

Hood continued to explain PD’s story.

“What if the rats realized that it was an airship? What if they crashed it knowing that it was going to call for help?”

Even during the village raid, they had paralyzed the power and communications. What if they went one step further? What if they knew what the airship was and crashed it on purpose?

“What’s more troubling is that Canadian rats attacked the downed airship.”

How did it know to attack? It would have been hard to notice since it fell from the sky. It was as if it was waiting nearby, knowing where it would land.

Kim Yang’s expression changed as he realized the meaning of those words.

“The rats in New York and the rats in Canada responded to each other?”

“Nothing is certain, but as you can see, the results are like that.”

A look inside the airship. The cockpit and hallway cabin are clearly stained with blood.

“Rats have an active energy metabolism, so they have to eat a lot. Since they ate all the people on the airship, they had to move to another place to find food, but they were lying in wait…”

This means that there is a possibility that mutations have occurred in that direction as well.

“First, let’s look at the survivors. Erica. Analyze them both.”

Nanae patted Erika, who had her eyes wide open.

“Yes? Yes.”

Two survivors came inside.

“Then let’s all say hello first.”

People shook hands and greeted each other. Then it was Erica’s turn. The moment Erica grabbed the woman’s hand, the woman twisted Erica’s arm and tried to stick a pen into Erica’s neck.

Kaaa-

Before Erica’s scream could even erupt.

Crunch-

The arm of the woman holding the ballpoint pen was cut off.

A gunshot rang out from the pistol that Tang Kim Yang had pulled out.