Rust - Chapter 449



Only Krnovel

RUST -449

Bam-

The indoor stadium, which had been filled with tears of repentance and groaning cries, suddenly fell into silence with Maru’s appearance.

Maru said, calmly going to the center.

“The guy who stole the grenade, the guy who took the medicine, come out.”

“Huh? Medicine?”

The nurse’s eyes widened when she heard the word medicine.

“There was a gang of crows in the nest.”

“Eh? The crow is a gang?”

As soon as Psychometric Erica saw the nurse, she ran over to her. Then she grabbed one of the nurse’s arms and started making a fuss.

“Oh my, oh my, oh my, what are these wounds on your hands and arms???”

“It’s okay. I just brushed against it.”

The nurse who tried to gently pull away the hand that Erica was holding on to, but failed to shake off the psychometric arm that was tightly holding both of her hands.

Certainly, her arms were clearly marked with scars that looked like crows’ beaks and talons had scratched them. If they had been properly torn, the flesh would have been torn off in chunks, but the crows didn’t seem to go that far.

As Maru looked around with a slightly furrowed brow, he saw crows burying their heads on the floor and pretending not to know. They were crows expressing with their whole body, ‘I didn’t touch it.’

“These kids. Ha-”

Did I save too many? Is this what happens when I save about 20,000 out of 25,000? I decided to skip it since the number of crows that were connected to the crow gang would decrease significantly anyway.

“Apply it to the wound and put the rest away.”

A rapid hemostatic treatment developed by the US military.

Maru handed the round container of ointment to the nurse and said while looking at the crows.

“The guy who stole all kinds of explosives, including grenades and smoke bombs. The guy who took the white powder, come out.”

I changed the word to white powder in case they didn’t know the word drug, and a few crows came out, timidly and tapping. They came out with a low jump-like movement typical of birds.

“Erika. Check on them.”

“As I said last time, crows are a different species, so psychometry doesn’t work on them.”

“I’m not asking you to read their minds like you’re translating them. You can probably tell where they’ve been and who they’ve met, just like in a photograph. And since they can speak human language, you might be able to salvage them. Give it a try.”

Will that work?

I wonder if it’s just a residual thought left at the scene. It’s not even a person.

Erica, who had been hesitating for a long time, grabbed the wing of the crow that had come forward and displayed her power.

While the psychometry was checking the crow, Maru thought of the researcher who had a wealth of knowledge about animals. It wasn’t enough to just keep discipline. If it was going to last long, it was necessary to understand the crow.

“Diana. You know that researcher who was very knowledgeable about animals? Connect me with him.”

[Connecting.]

A moment later, the researcher received a phone call.

[Ah- Yes. Go ahead.]

“I’m contacting you because I have a question about crows.”

Maru immediately summarized the situation and relayed it.

The researcher sighed as he began to hear the story of a group of crows that did not listen to orders, and that they had even stolen weapons and precious metals, and were now touching medicine.

[First of all, I think there is a misunderstanding about crows.]

“What kind of misunderstanding are you talking about?”

[Crows were animals that were considered to be non-human persons even before they mutated.]

“What does that have to do with misunderstanding?”

An explanation that does not mean that animals are smart.

[This means that even if you are not human, you have a personality. You have a self, and you have the cognitive ability to distinguish between yourself, your environment, and the group, and furthermore, you have the ability to understand the situation, problem-solve, and empathize.]

The researcher said that they use non-human personality to mean that they are clearly different from other animals, beyond just being smart and playing chess.

[Just as people form friendships and peer groups with people they are close with, crows are the same. Naturally, there are groups that follow orders, groups that don’t, and groups that don’t care at all. Just like people.]

He said that this is similar to the situation where the people or citizens do not follow the president or mayor’s orders.

Likewise, when a national problem arises, crows also work together to solve the problem.

“Then what happened to all the orders I gave you so far?”

[···Is it because of fear, terror, or survival? People also follow the orders of the dictator who gives them food. If we go a little further, they may have thought of them as religious beings like the rats that offered sacrifices.]

Maru made a bitter expression.

So are you saying that some people thought of him as a dictator who gave them food? Or that some people saw him as a divine being who gave them food?

“Terrorist dictatorship and religion? That’s true.”

[Yes. It seems that they judged it to be advantageous for survival there.]

My first encounter with crows was after fighting a flock of birds.

After that, crows strangely followed me around, and later on, wherever I went, they would circle overhead and close the distance.

Looking back now, it would not be wrong to say that the crows’ actions at that time were a religious belief mixed with tyranny.

[Crows are smart. They wouldn’t have gathered like this just because of fear. There must have been a religious effect, and most importantly, it seems that they chose to coexist because it was effective for survival.]

“You chose coexistence and retreated, but the group size grew and you felt like you had grown a bit, so are you saying that you took a look at the liver?”

[Haha- You could think that way. In a way, that might be true. But even if crows act like people, they are not people.]

“Is that so? Even though the crows spoke?”

[The parrot family speaks. It is difficult to see that as communication. There have been cases where it appeared as if they were speaking in certain situations, but…]

“It wasn’t an imitation. He said he wanted a republic.”

[Yes? A republic?]

The researcher’s voice cracked as if he was surprised.

“They demanded a salary and rights in return for supporting the political system of the Republic. And that in gold.”

[Oh my goodness. Do you understand what the word republic means? Then the currency too… Ah-]

The researcher let out an exclamation as if something had occurred to him.

[Ah- There was a study like that. It was an experiment to see if crows could use vending machines.]

It was an experiment where a vending machine was installed that dispensed food when trash from the street was put into it.

While other birds did not understand the mechanism of putting trash in and getting food out, crows understood it and began to use the vending machine in earnest by picking up trash and putting it in.

Later on, people started using trash as currency. There were crows that exchanged trash for shiny things.

As crows competitively searched for trash in exchange for food, the surrounding trash disappeared. The crows had to travel longer distances to find trash.

There the crows thought. Does this have to be made of only trash? The amount of food varies depending on the weight of the trash. Then what would happen if they put something heavy in?

The result is that instead of searching for trash, they start to eat food by inserting rocks or branches around them.

[···The crows took food from nearby rocks instead of trash. That was the end of the experiment. Does that mean the crows were bad or committed a crime?]

Indeed. The question is whether it is wrong to steal grenades and smoke bombs.

“So you’re saying that crows may not have the concept of wrongdoing?”

[Yes.]

“I guess that means that since there is no reason to judge whether drugs are a crime or a bad thing, they would have been treated the same way.”

[Yes, that is very likely.]

“It’s ambiguous. Anyway, I understand.”

The researcher’s explanation explained a lot, but it still couldn’t be an excuse.

The fact that nearly 10% of the crow chicks did not listen meant that there were at least that many who did not respond to fear, did not see us as objects of faith, and did not choose to coexist with us.

‘If we count the guys who were causing trouble at indoor stadiums, there are even more.’

Whether the crow was a non-human entity or not was a question for later. The mere fact that it had revealed its hidden beak and talons was reason enough to be alarmed.

[What do you plan to do?]

Maru responded to PD’s message without wavering.

“You don’t know the law? Then just tell me the regulations.”

[I might run away right away.]

If what the researcher said was true, there would definitely be crows running away.

“If you want to freeze to death, then go. You probably won’t be able to fly.”

Did I treat him like a good guerrilla for nothing? It was impossible to fly away in a situation where I was crying and praying for repentance, saying that I had survived the muscle pain.

“And we’ll have to wait and see the psychometry results, but it looks like someone’s after the crows.”

[Ah- I see. Certainly bombs and precious metals are like that, but medicine···.]

The agency that came to PD’s mind. Virginia Langley. There were many rumors that this place was connected to drug trafficking. Rumors that they were doing business using drugs and weapons in various places including South America.

“Because there are some people who are good at brainwashing people with drugs.”

As soon as I heard that the drug had been discovered, Virginia Langley came to mind.

[We will complete the citizenship project as quickly as possible.]

“Do that. At least you should have complete control over Detroit and its surrounding areas.”

[Once finished, we will restrict entry and movement based on rank.]

By requiring citizens to always carry their citizenship when going out and controlling their entry and movement according to their citizenship level, the activities of spies could be immediately controlled.

“And. The crows···”

I didn’t really want to, but I needed a way to control the crows. If crows were inhuman entities or something, it would be difficult to manage them just by keeping discipline in check.

It was so cold now that I couldn’t run away and was stuck, but what if I ran away as soon as the weather cleared up? I didn’t know if I would come into contact with a crow in Virginia Langley, so it was not a time to be picky about the means.

[yes.]

“Isn’t there a way to make the crows settle down completely like the tribute rats?”

PD was a little embarrassed by Maru’s words. It was because he had planted faith in the tribute rat with battle stimulants, HOLLY scriptures, and bombs.

[···The offering rats and crows are very different. It is difficult to give you a definite answer.]

While Maru and PD were talking about the crow problem, Erica succeeded in reading something with psychometry.

“Ugh- Person?”

Kak-

The crow that had been repeatedly croaking with a loud voice reflexively began to croak. It looked as if it was in full military discipline.

As Maru’s gaze turned to the crow, the crow immediately took a stance as if it was burying its head in the ground.

“person?”

“Yes. There are humans involved with medicine.”

Maru’s brow furrowed at Erica’s answer. The prediction was true.

“and?”

“Uh- I said I would give the crows medicine and food and a new home.”

He said he was trying to scout the crows. And the crow gang that disobeyed orders and stayed in the nest was planning to join them.

Ms. Kim, who had been listening to the story while sleeping, offered her opinion.

[How about just getting rid of everything except career positions? If you think about the total, it seems like it would be better to just get rid of everything.]

The idea is to kill all the crows except for the two thousand or so career crows.

“That’s not true. All the crows that should have been punished are dead. And the kids here did as they were told. They received some really tough training here. They repented and stuff…”

[Didn’t I say this isn’t the time to think emotionally? What if I get hit? What about the airship? What if they get on that side and bomb this place?]

“No, they all repented and became faithful.”

[How can you be sure of that?]

Little by little, emotions began to creep into the voices of Ms. Kim and the nurse.

“stop.”

[······.]

“······.”

At Maru’s firm voice, both people shut their mouths at the same time.

“Look around.”

“······.”

[······.]

The crows were looking this way.

Although they couldn’t hear what Ms. Kim said through the communicator, they could tell from the look in her eyes that the nurse was trying to protect them.

A look of fear, tension, and anxiety.

From trust in the nurses to awe and faith in Maru.

The crows’ eyes showed a variety of emotions.

Maru, who had gathered his thoughts for a moment, spoke to the nurse.

“Give me a chance. The crows will stay here for the time being. No going out except for those with experience. Educate them properly.”

“Uh.- Uh- Thank you. Thank you very much.”

Even if you follow others on the outside, you may have different thoughts on the inside, so I gave you psychometry.

“Erika helps Nana.”

“yes.”

The nurse nodded her head slightly in gratitude.

“Miss Kim and the guards will remain in their escort.”

[···Okay, I understand.]

Maru gave it a chance.

The crows must have noticed it too, as the low-lying atmosphere slightly eased.

“Did you all hear that?”

According to the nurse

Knock!

Knock!

It was the crows that answered in one voice.