Rust - Chapter 405



Only Krnovel

RUST -405

Maru, who returned to the snowmobile, released a reconnaissance video.

“Barbed wire? Bones? Is this a cannibal city?”

“I don’t think so.”

“?”

“If you were a cannibal, you wouldn’t be warning people with human bones like that.”

After hearing Hood’s words, Kim Yang, who had been thinking quietly, nodded her head slightly.

“That could be the case.”

“If cannibals had taken over the city, they would have opened it up wide and made it look safe, making it easier for people to gather. So that it would be easy to lure people from nearby villages.”

So what are those bones?

“I think they probably don’t accept outsiders. We don’t accept refugees. We don’t want you to come in. We’ll kill you if you come. That’s the kind of information I think they have.”

“······.”

Maru listened to Hood’s interpretation and looked at the video. The scene was surrounded by layers of barbed wire and iron fences. The barbed wire area was so bad that it reminded him of trench warfare during World War I.

‘Is the only reason for building such a stubborn barbed wire fence just a warning?’

It was considered impossible to penetrate the barbed wire, which was laid down to waist level at the lowest and up to 3m high, without being detected.

Even a cannibal with physical abilities far surpassing those of an ordinary person would have difficulty crossing that. The same goes for the floor.

If it was simply a high barbed wire fence or fence, then it might be okay, but if it was a space woven like a spider web, then it would be difficult.

Moreover, considering that the corpses and mutated monster carcasses that could be seen here and there in the barbed wire area were left as they were, it seemed like it was not a simple warning, but an extremely effective defense.

“Think of the snow that has piled up now.”

“eye?”

“······.”

Maru, who had been silent, opened his mouth.

What does it mean that barbed wire is visible even when snow has piled up?

If there is barbed wire even under 3~4m of snow, does that mean they built a fence that was close to 8m high from the beginning?

Or was it that when the snow piled up and froze solid, they laid new barbed wire and fence over the buried barbed wire?

It was strange, since the entire city would not have been covered in barbed wire and fences during the initial stages of the incident, when public power was still in place.

It was something to ponder in many ways that such a large-scale construction project was carried out in a situation where an EMP was sweeping through the area in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion and cannibals were running rampant.

“I see. I guess it must be quite a powerful force.”

“Whether it’s strong or not, at least you have to show it.”

The road from Detroit to Pittsburgh was about 285 miles (460 km), or only about 200 miles (320 km) in a straight line.

It was too close to pass by. The location was exquisite, right in the middle of New York and Detroit. I don’t know what the future holds for New York, but it wouldn’t be good if a powerful force were interfering in the middle.

At the very least, Kim Yang’s argument that we need to look into how the city is run and who has taken control of it was valid.

The problem is how to infiltrate.

“The fact that the barbed wire is laid like that shows that they don’t want to come in, but they don’t want to go out either. It’s important to know what kind of force they are, but I don’t think they should go in to check.”

“It’s dangerous weather for flying a plane. What are you going to do?”

They said the bitter cold had eased a bit, but the temperature was still hovering around minus 40 degrees Celsius.

“crow.”

At Maru’s answer, attention was focused on the nurse and the crow who had been quietly listening.

to?

Caw?

The cold wind, which was below minus 40 degrees, inflated the paraglider’s canopy (parachute). Crows clung to the paraglider as it rose, cawing and pulling it into the air.

[Didn’t I tell you to be quiet?]

The creaking sound of the bells and whistles has died down.

Boo- Boo- The paraglider that had risen crossed the barbed wire area and landed gently on the roof of a ten-story building.

[Good work. Go back and warm up.]

Thud thud thud – The crows return to the snowmobile. Maru stands in front of the door leading down, ready to go paragliding at any moment.

Squeak-

The door was open, perhaps because the snow on the rooftop was being cleared frequently. A swaying shadow began to descend the stairs.

The red glowing CCTV camera meant that it was functioning normally. It meant that there was plenty of power. It was like that at first, but it was definitely subtle when I went inside.

While other nearby areas had their power plants blown away by the EMP and were being darkened by candles and torches, here even the buildings that were nearly empty had their lights on.

‘It looks like there’s some electricity left.’

The same goes for bright hallways and offices. What should we think of brightly lit offices, even though there is not a single person working there?

The street outside the window was the same. There were no cars or people on the road, so the street was completely empty, but the streetlights and signs were on.

Maru jumped down from the third-floor window without hearing anything on the first or second floor and looked around. Even from a distance, there was a subtle sense of discomfort, but when he entered the city, it was definitely strange.

‘The snow removal work went well.’

The first floor should have been buried in snow, with a depth of about 3m to 4m, but the roads and sidewalks were neatly maintained. Except that there were no cars or people in sight.

‘It’s not here either?’

I walked around for over 30 minutes, but there was no one there.

Population 300,000, 3 million people in the metropolitan area. Are there no people in Pittsburgh? Then what are the lights that are on so brightly? Inducement? What do the lights that are on and the occasional fireworks that shoot up into the sky mean, as if the infrastructure here is intact?

[Where is the most crowded place in Pittsburgh?]

[If it’s a place with a high population density, it would be downtown.]

High-rise buildings were densely packed on the triangular piece of land where two rivers met. All but two of the bridges that had been built to make it easier to travel between the two rivers had collapsed.

There was no reason to go through the bridge. You could just cross the frozen river anyway. The swaying shadows headed toward downtown.

======

======

Inside the snowmobile, a nurse handed out jerky to the crows who had worked hard.

“It’s cold and you must have suffered. This is a special meal, so eat it and rest.”

Kaaaak-

“You want two more? Are you saying you don’t want to eat them?”

The nurse spoke seriously as she thrust a piece of jerky into the beak of a crow that was shaking its head.

“Don’t be greedy, don’t be lazy, and know when to do something. You know when he gets angry.”

The crow nodded slightly as it quietly bit the jerky the nurse offered.

“great.”

The nurse, who was lightly stroking the plump, puffy crow as if wearing a winter coat, was surprised at the feel of the hand.

“This isn’t flesh, it’s hair.”

Kaaaak-

well

It was a feather that was puffed up to hold air, increasing its thermal insulation.

“So, it’s winter fur?”

Caaaak

Shrug shrug-

Caw caw-

The nurse said with a look of ‘Oh, great’ to the crows who were bragging that, unlike cheap humans, we can even shed hair.

“They’re all winter feathers. Then I guess we don’t have to worry. Let’s go find our people.”

Caw?

In the hands of the smiling nurse was a camera specifically for crows.

[I found someone. He’s clearing snow from the roof of the building at the end of the delta-shaped area where the two rivers meet.]

[good job.]

How did the nurse find it?

I glanced up at the sky and saw a crow flying across the dark night sky.

[Giving the crows a special treat.]

[Of course. Take care on your way.]

It was so cold that they were only sent out for reconnaissance whenever possible, but looking at what they’re doing now, it looks like they could be deployed for cold-weather operations in a short period of time.

[That building over there.]

[That’s strange. It’s not like they’re monitoring it with CCTV.]

Maru quickly headed for the stairs. It seemed like it would be difficult to take the elevator. The moment the fire door leading to the emergency stairs opened, all the CCTV cameras in the hallway turned their cameras toward the emergency door.

[There is a sensor on the door.]

Clank – the sound of a fire door locking, there was a system that not only had sensors but also opened and closed automatically.

[All the electronic equipment here seems to be fine. The CCTV and the door are now locked automatically.]

[Just get out of here.]

[Wouldn’t it be better to retreat first, hack, and then go in?]

[No, I need to at least see their faces to see what kind of guys they are. Upload the video the crows took.]

[It’s not clear because I couldn’t get close enough.]

An image that appears on the HUD.

A person was seen clearing snow from the rooftop.

As soon as Maru saw the person, he felt something uneasy. He began to look closely at the person, feeling an uneasy feeling that was hard to express.

[Enlarge the image.]

In the gradually growing screen, there were three people clearing snow. Why does it feel so awkward? It’s just a normal video of people clearing snow.

In that moment, Maru’s pupils widened slightly.

[Crazy. What temperature is it outside right now?]

[It’s minus 42 degrees.]

The people clearing the snow were wearing thin clothes. It’s minus 40 degrees, and they’re clearing the snow wearing clothes like that? Maru started running.

widely-

Boo-

A staircase leading to the rooftop, climbing half a floor in one step.

Chul-chul-

The blue light turned red.

The sound of the fire door locking as if to prevent you from going to another floor as you climbed the stairs. The door leading out to the rooftop was also glowing red, but it couldn’t block the floor.

Kujijijik.

People who just keep clearing away the snow even as the rooftop door swings open with the lock part ripping apart. The discomfort felt in that terrible sense of discomfort.

Cannibal?

There was that subtle discomfort I felt while wrestling with cannibals.

Even if he was a cannibal, he couldn’t possibly be walking around in such thin clothes in minus 40 degrees Celsius, right? Maru thought so.

I thought it was gloves, but it wasn’t gloves. His fingers were blackened and swollen from frostbite. He wasn’t wearing a mask, but his facial skin was blackened and dead from frostbite.

It was just moving with the strong vitality characteristic of cannibals.

One of the cannibals working on clearing the snow slowly turned toward the torn door and spoke through his gaping mouth.

“Who. Are. You.”

The floor hidden in the darkness moved sideways without a sound. And the gaze of the cannibal turned its head toward the floor moving like a shadow.

‘You see through the Ripper suit’s hiding place?’

Maru, who was about to cut off his neck and enter, put the sword he had pulled out back into its sheath because of a strange feeling of unease.

“Why did you come here?”

There is a sense of discomfort, but no sense of crisis. Even though they are in a standoff situation, the other two continue to clear their eyes.

Sag-geuk- Sag-geuk-

Maru spoke as it was, at the sound of the snow being pushed away with a snow shovel.

[I came here because I heard there was a petrochemical complex nearby while trying to get the chemicals I needed.]

In the midst of the silence, the sound of snow being cleared suddenly stopped.

“lie.”

Ughhhhhh-

Kaaaa-

The guys who had been slowly clearing the snow with a strange sound suddenly rushed in as if nothing had happened. The blackened, frostbitten skin tore and blood flowed out.

Thuduk- Towards the two red lines drawn towards the floor, turning the white snow red. Ting- Maru drawing his sword as if pulling a trigger.

The red line and the black line that tore through the rippling space intersected for a moment.

Quaddukduk-

With a dull thud, two heads rolled across the snow.

Even after witnessing the overwhelming swordsmanship, the remaining man raised his voice with a distorted face.

“Your body feels good.”

What? This kid.

The awkward feeling suddenly became dirty.

For a moment, the sensation that had been tickling my mind disappeared.

[They’re heading that way!]

[They’re not infected. This movement. They look like cannibals.]

“You. What···.”

Seoksuk-

Is this kid trying to buy time with his snout while a horde of them swarms him?

[Where did you get the most of it?]

As soon as a dot appeared on the map spread out on the HUD, Maru, who had been running in that direction, sprang up from the edge of the rooftop. Maru, who had been soaring upwards and then falling in a parabolic arc, was blocked by a building.

Kwajangchang-

The tempered glass burst with a sword strike and Maru, who had been rolling inside, ran forward without slowing down.

[Send the crows in turns to check the situation.]

[Eh. Hi-]

[Snowmobile further away. Go to the limit of communication.]

[Okay, but what is it? It looks like a cannibal.]

The cannibals were running wild like a wave of infected people.