Rust - Chapter 413



Only Krnovel

RUST-413

A rescue request has come?

“You wouldn’t have immediately concluded that he was missing just because contact was lost. There must have been some reason to conclude that he was missing. If he even sent an emergency signal to request rescue, there must have been a reason, right?”

[I will play the communication log file.]

Diana played the recorded file as if telling us to listen to it ourselves.

[Beep- We’ve lost contact with those who entered the mine.]

[*^&^%^*%&-구#$%^조.구^%%$조.살%^%7려.살%&^*려&^%&$^%#)]

This is···.

“Connect to the mining village.”

[Connecting.]

[Connecting.]

···

[I am not receiving any contact.]

[The connection appears to have been lost.]

“Didn’t they even lay all the wire cables there?”

“That’s right. I laid the cable just in case there was a problem with the wireless communication.”

When Kim Yang tilted his head, Hood also felt something strange and checked the mining village data.

Maru’s forehead wrinkled as he listened to the audio file over and over again.

Even though we installed repeaters densely to prevent radio interference, wireless communication was cut off. We also laid wired cables in case of an emergency, but those were also cut off.

If it was only one side that was having problems, then that would be fine, but if it was happening on both sides at the same time, that meant someone had intentionally cut off the communication network.

“Diana. All other satellite villages should be on emergency alert.”

[The emergency alarm has sounded.]

“All other mines are under control. Stop mining and evacuate. Entry into the mines is now prohibited.”

“Also, we are banning contact with outsiders and bringing in outside materials.”

[Transmitted. Do you wish to declare a level 1 emergency?]

“Declare it.”

After declaring a state of emergency, Maru immediately contacted the chemical laboratory in the Vladiak Tower and requested mass synthesis of VX gas.

[Normal nerve gas can be used quickly, but previously used nerve gas takes time.]

If it’s VX gas, then it’s VX gas. What are you talking about? We’ve used up all the remaining gas in Pittsburgh, so we need some kind of supply. And right away.

“Please produce as much as possible as quickly as possible.”

Maru, who had requested the production of nerve gas, started playing the recording file again and listening to it over and over again.

“···? What is it?”

“Do you hear any sound in the background?”

“Noise in the back?”

“Yes. That noise. Diana, isolate the noise and play it back.”

[Play.]

A sound that was repeated regularly. It was a creaking, scratching sound.

======

======

New York.

The Department of Homeland Security was on high alert. The official announcement said the deputy director had died in an accident, but the sharp-eyed agents thought otherwise.

“Is that how it ended up?”

“You must have known that the director wasn’t such an easy person, so why did you do that?”

A considerable number of people, including the vice-president, were on the list of the deceased, and when you look at the list, most of them are from the so-called hardliners, so there was noise here and there.

‘The vice-president attempted a coup and failed.’

‘The director set a trap to deal with the hardliners.’

‘They say there are brainwashed agents.’

‘Someone is targeting Homeland Security.’

Before the rumors could die down, a large-scale operation was launched.

“Isn’t that where the harbor is in southern Brooklyn and southern Queens?”

The fact that so many missing people were reported in an area bordering the sea was suspicious in many ways, as it coincided with the area where the cannibals had escaped.

“Are they cannibals?”

“It could be because of the cold wave.”

If he was reported missing because the electricity and communications were cut off due to the cold wave, it is possible that he froze to death at home.

“What about the Federal Bureau of Investigation?”

“They say there are strange signs that the communication cables and wires have been cut.”

Some places were cleanly cut, while others were tattered. The traces were not consistent, but one thing was certain: it was not a natural phenomenon. If the electricity and communications had been cut off artificially, who would have done it?

“In the cold wave, the cannibals are numbered.”

“Didn’t you say that the infectivity has decreased?”

Initially, the cannibalism was spread by droplet infection. Soon, the infectivity decreased to bodily fluid infection, and later it was not transmitted by any contact. Infectivity was extremely low.

“Since the number has decreased significantly, they must have used any means necessary to increase the number. What about the test kits?”

“We need to test at least 100,000 units, but it is woefully inadequate.”

Tsk-

We are out of stock of the testing kits essential for distinguishing between cannibals and ordinary people in the field.

“We cut up paper cups and make them into test papers. I heard they use them that way in the South.”

“···Don’t do that.”

It was also a task to waded through snowdrifts that were nearly 15 feet (4.5 m) deep.

The scene was filled with Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, New York Police Department officers, and SWAT teams, who arrived on sleds loaded with gear and pulled by snowmobiles.

“How are things?”

“We have lost contact with a reconnaissance party heading toward the Brooklyn and Queens coasts.”

The Belt Parkway was a road that ran along the southern coast of New York City. For some unknown reason, the southern part of the road was impossible to scout.

“Isn’t it possible that birds attacked?”

“That’s not it. The flock that settled in the John F. Kennedy Airport area was unresponsive.”

“Is that so?”

“How about we start from the north, taking the Belt Parkway as the boundary?”

“Let’s do that.”

“Yeah.”

The New York Police Department and SWAT teams stood guard while Homeland Security and FBI agents cleared the building’s interior.

[Something’s weird here.]

[How is it weird?]

[If the power goes out, the emergency generator should automatically turn on so that the elevator can be used.]

[however?]

[The emergency generator is running, but the elevator suddenly stops working.]

[···Get out of the elevator. Now!]

[Huh? The door won’t open.]

[Tear it off and come out.]

But is it too late?

Ting. Ting.

The elevator fell with the sound of the elevator fall prevention device breaking.

“It wasn’t just an accident. They were messing with the elevator.”

Agents searching other buildings immediately checked the elevator, but found nothing.

“The building suddenly collapsed.”

It wasn’t just the elevators that suddenly crashed that were the problem. Dozens of people were killed at once when perfectly good buildings collapsed.

Even under adverse conditions where various accidents occurred, agents from the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were able to find the scene with clear bloodstains.

“This way.”

A passage discovered in the basement of an old building in southern Brooklyn and Queens.

“Is this connected to the underground waterway?”

In one corner of the basement, there was a scene of torn clothes strewn about. Every piece of clothing was soaked in blood.

“I guess they ate him alive.”

Woof-

A few of the weak-stomached agents began to vomit.

It’s a cannibal.

It was clear that the cannibals hiding in the sewer had eaten the people.

“The passageway connecting to the culvert is a bit strange. It seems too small for an adult to pass through.”

“······.”

A tunnel dug towards the culvert. After calming down and looking again, it certainly looked narrow.

“The traces left here are also strange. Do cannibals eat even bones?”

“······.”

“······.”

Would they slaughter people and take them here? Why bother?

no way.

Not a cannibal?

then?

Before the team leader could gather his thoughts, urgent radio transmissions poured in.

[The snowmobile got stuck in the snow.]

[Sled. The sled is being sucked in whole.]

‘There! Hey- battery. Get the battery first!’

‘Ammo. Ammo too!’

‘Ahhhhh – Save me!’

A sound was heard on the radio. At first it seemed like an accident, but then gunshots and screams began to mix together.

“What is the enemy? What happened?”

While everyone was focused on the radio, they surrounded the agents.

Beep-beep beep- beep beep beep-

“Team Leader!”

“What? What the fuck. Respond. Respond! What the hell is going on?”

The moment the team leader grabbed the radio and shouted, thud – the old ceiling collapsed.

The mood in the Homeland Security Situation Room was heavy.

“···You lost all your snowmobiles and sleds?”

“Yes.”

“Casualties?”

“···Could not be counted.”

“Why?”

“Communication was cut off with reports of snowmobiles and sleds being sucked into the snow.”

Not only are elevators crashing and buildings collapsing, but you’re also getting sucked into the snow?

“What about the police? You have a SWAT team there? Did they find out anything?”

“doesn’t exist.”

Director Dan Brown’s face crumpled. So the Homeland Security agents who searched the building are missing, but the police standing guard from afar are unharmed and have found nothing?

Outside the window, a snowstorm began to rage.

======

======

The VX gas was released faster than expected.

[It will be less powerful than what I used before.]

“Thank you for your effort.”

It’s a shame that the quantity is a bit insufficient, but since the production speed is fast, it seems like it would be okay to use it by distributing it intermittently.

“Do you need that much? You’re not planning on filling the mine with gas, are you?”

Instead of answering Hood’s question, Maru silently takes the gas tank.

Kim Yang, who was filling the dedicated exosuit with gas grenades, answered instead.

“Didn’t you hear the sound just now?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The sound of a rescue signal.”

“What does noise have to do with this?”

“If you listen carefully again, you will hear a gnashing sound.”

“So you’re going to fill the mine with gas? If you look at the mine structure here, there are several safe areas, including shelters. Shouldn’t we at least check those?”

Maru, who had been silently collecting the gas tank, opened his mouth.

“A gnashing sound could mean there’s a pack of rats.”

“······.”

The heavy atmosphere made the hood quiet. Maru’s voice pressed down on that silence.

“Or maybe it’s just some kind of deception, like there’s a swarm of rats.”

“······.”

“But that’s not the point. What’s important is that there’s something in the mining town that can cut off the communication.”

“What does that mean?”

“The rescue request said that they lost contact with the people who entered the mine. So that means they can cut off any communication.”

Isn’t it weird?

Are you saying that those who know how to cut off communications cut off communications in the mine and left the village to request rescue from outside? What should we think about the fact that they cut off communications right after they made a rescue request at the last minute?

Hood’s face hardened at Maru’s explanation.

“Does this mean a trap?”

“okay.”

“If it’s a pack of rats, there’s no need to use poison gas. Tear gas would be enough, right?”

“It’s difficult to clean up with tear gas.”

This was especially true if they were rats, as their numbers would quickly increase.

“If we spray a large amount of nerve gas, we may have to abandon the iron mine. The toxic gas could flow into the groundwater and contaminate the water source.”

Hood’s words made sense, but Maru thought differently.

“Why are iron mines important and why are water sources important?”

“yes?”

“Why should that be important in this situation?”

If you give up the mine and the miners, it doesn’t matter what the profits are or what the pollution is.

The most important thing is always safety and survival. With those words, Maru departed.

Maru and Kim Yang, who arrived at the mining village, made several broadcasts asking if there were any survivors to come out, and then immediately released the nerve gas.

Puhwaaaaak-

Jjieeeek-

Click-

[■■■■-■■-■■-■■■■■■-■■-■■-■■■]

Maru and Kim exchanged glances at something that tickled their brains.

‘Is this crazy?’

‘hit.’

There was a strange rat.