Rust - Chapter 453



Only Krnovel

RUST -453

The sight of black smoke rising in thick clumps was clear even from afar.

“What happened?”

Maru checked the situation as soon as he saw it. It was possible because the communication network was kept alive all the way to the Detroit area.

[There was a missile attack.]

“Where?”

The PD paused for a moment and then answered.

[The radar range is greatly reduced, so it is not accurate, but the AI’s calculations show that it flew in from the direction of Tully.]

It just so happened that Maru had come to shake off the hair.

If you look at the time of the attack, it was around the time the tracking chip implanted in the woman who was working on the drug was discovered by the guys. Or maybe while being hit by the bunker buster.

“Are you saying we should just go?”

[

Those crazy kids were the ones who started the attack after they had already touched him. Maru was beyond dumbfounded and angry.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have used nukes instead of bunker busters.”

Toledo was already a place where China’s nuclear weapons had fallen. Putting a tactical nuclear weapon there wouldn’t change anything.

[No matter how much the radiation risk is reduced, a nuclear weapon is still a nuclear weapon. It was a good thing they didn’t use it.]

PD calmed Maru down.

“First, let’s open the lids of the guys we caught. We need to show them that if you touch them, they’ll get into trouble.”

Anger is anger, and the damage was different. Five missiles were dropped, hitting one coal storage and two thermal power plants. The remaining two were said to have fallen nearby.

The bunker buster hit the target properly, but the ballistic missile only had a 60% hit rate. Should we be thankful?

[Probably because it was shot from close range, the error would have been reduced. Even if the signal from the location tracker was cut off, it would have been enough to correct the location before then.]

Seeing that there were surface-to-air missiles attached, it seemed that it would be difficult to operate an airship comfortably in the future.

“The new drones aren’t as effective as we thought.”

The missile-shooting ability was also good, and it was usable when Diana directly controlled it, but its own artificial intelligence was much worse than expected.

[The crows are amazing.]

Disabling a missile by touching its fuse with a pot or frying pan was a feat that would be impossible with a drone.

The same goes for patrols and surveillance. Even if the new drone boasts powerful firepower with a 12.7mm coil gun, it seems difficult to completely replace the crow.

[It is virtually irreplaceable considering it is immune to electronic warfare attacks and can be used for bombing or airship protection.]

So Virginia Langley and the military were after the crows. Maru knew it too. He knew they were seriously after the crows. He had to manage it properly.

“I’ll send you the data I’ve secured first, so let’s talk about the details after I’ve organized the data.”

[All right.]

The airship Maru was riding slowly approached. The blue sky of Detroit, devoid of crows, was somehow replaced by black smoke.

======

======

The PD was breathless after seeing the files and tactical camera footage that Maru had sent. It was definitely out of the ordinary for him to go in alone and cut down a facility.

No matter how good the Ripper suit’s functions were, it was the same. Even if they were special forces, it was impossible to wipe them out on their own. Unless there was some kind of providence intervening.

‘If I had been just a little bit late, the situation would have changed, and likewise, if I had been just a little bit late, it would have been dangerous.’

If the airship had not been attacked by surface-to-air missiles, it would not have fired back with bunker busters. Then, of course, the secret passage security system would have worked normally, and even with the Ripper suit’s stealth function, it would have been caught.

If they had blown up the underground passage, that would have been the end of it, but he naturally avoided that danger. That’s how Vladimir Kalin finally crushed his enemies.

If there ever was a mythical being, it would be Vladimir Kalin.

The PD took a deep breath.

He was right.

Yes, that is not wrong.

Everything he had experienced, everything he was doing now, all formed one great flow. Helping save humanity by Vladimir Kalin’s side. Maybe that was the purpose of his existence.

“There is an emergency meeting, so please come to the conference room after checking the materials for 30 minutes.”

He contacted Ms. Kim, the nurse, and the psychometry, and looked through the remaining videos and files. The more he looked, the more his faith grew and his belief became stronger.

As soon as the airship landed, Maru headed straight to the conference room, where everyone was already gathered.

“Let’s start by opening the lid.”

Without any further greetings, Dr. Brain Dungdung was immediately mobilized. The brain container bubbled up and made a peculiar sound, but no one paid any attention.

At first, even though he became Dr. Brain, he was seen as a ‘personality’, but as time passed, he began to see himself as just an information extraction terminal.

Dr. Nodungdung noticed this and started to bubble up even more, but Maru responded calmly.

‘You pretended not to remember, you pretended not to know, and now you’re just making up laws? You’ve become so brainless, and your conscience and sense have all floated away?’

A brain-boosting information extractor was embedded in the head of the security chief, who had been neatly cut off at the secret laboratory.

The information appeared on the monitor as the gurgling sound from the information extractor, which stretched out like a tentacle, and the bubble sound from Dr. Noedungdung mixed together.

“Tsk, what a waste of time.”

The only other place related to another area was Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh was already a swamp, so there were no new places. I had to grab my head again.

Who would have thought that a woman with a location tracker would be discovered and run away after being shot a few times with a bunker buster?

“Still, it’s fortunate that we have information about those wearing hazmat suits.”

If I had stuck an extractor in my head and got a virus while extracting information without knowing anything, that would have been tiring. It was true, but it was regrettable in many ways that that was all the information there was.

The PD continued the story as if trying to soothe such regret.

“Looking back at what we have learned so far, it has become clear what our enemies are doing.”

PD, who had previously referred to Virginia Langley and the military as such, has now clearly defined them as the ‘enemy.’ If it had been said that the conflict had erupted within the fence called the United States, it was not like that anymore.

The South seceded from the Union, this side drew the line and declared itself an independent kingdom. And then that kingdom was attacked.

“In Pittsburgh, they experimented with using psychic powers to control cannibals.”

He probably saw the liver. He knew the cannibal’s weakness, so if it was possible for a normal person to awaken the ability to control the psyche, he would have tried to go that way.

“In Seattle, they were doing a demonstration experiment with a cannibal queen and a princess to replace her.”

Using the data obtained in Pittsburgh, we conducted experiments to expand the dominance of the cannibals. We confirmed the possibility through the queen, and studied a replacement individual in case the queen became out of control or became a problem.

An entity that can resist the dominance of a superior entity. An entity that can control cannibalistic desires, that is, an entity that can survive by only feeding on blood.

“That was a study that was connected to the blood sucker that we were studying in Wilmington. It was a study on converting cannibals into vampires.”

This was a study that attempted to erase the weaknesses of cannibals, using vampires from folktales, legends, and tales as a motif.

“Except for the weakness of being dependent on humans, cannibals are a species that is at an advantage in survival. Our enemies are researching ways to eliminate that weakness.”

It was in the same vein as the new human project pursued by Geese Raiser. There was even a deputy mayor of New York who aimed for a social system centered around the new human.

“In Toledo, they were conducting experiments to reactivate a weakened mutant virus. Those wearing the hazmat suits were the agents and researchers who had been infected during the experiment.”

The infectious power of the mutant virus was drastically reduced. If this was reactivated and applied, it would be easy to control people.

Even if the militia rises up or a riot breaks out, it will be possible to infect them and turn them into lower-level cannibals in an instant. If they become lower-level entities, the nobles who have become higher-level entities through dominance research will be able to absorb them all.

and.

“If their goal is to become a being that dominates humanity, there is another thing that must not be forgotten. It is that they are after ‘rejuvenation.’”

They conducted research on higher entities while also conducting alternative research on bloodsucking. What was the end result? Domination and physical strength.

There is power and money.

So what’s left?

Eternal life.

If eternal life is difficult, youth is.

So, I was aiming for ‘rejuvenation’.

By maintaining the physical advantages of a cannibal through blood sucking and adding ‘rejuvenation’, he literally becomes an ageless being. It was like the birth of a noble who was not afraid of the sun, silver, or garlic.

“Since they are scattered in a tangled network, it ended with just a missile retaliation, but as time passes and their power stabilizes, they will definitely come in looking for signs of rejuvenation.”

“You turned it over to Homeland Security to avoid that?”

It wasn’t for nothing that Maru handed Director Yoo’s body over to Dan Brown of the Department of Homeland Security.

“In the end, I came back here.”

The Homeland Security lab was raided, and Maru accepted the person who turned the U+ program into their power. As a result, Director Yu Mark II was born, and he is busy changing dirty diapers.

How long can information be kept confidential?

The enemy was already targeting the crow.

The enemies were those who had specialized in espionage and information warfare for decades. They were filtered out once through psychometry, but it was not the end after being filtered out once.

The enemies were persistent and sticky, and no matter what method they used, they would eventually find a way out.

“So you’re saying we should fight them?”

“I think that’s what’s going to happen eventually. Otherwise, we’ll end up as food for them.”

The problem was that this side was at a huge disadvantage. The enemies were scattered all over the United States, and this side was clearly exposed.

“······.”

“······.”

Maru’s expression was cold as he chewed over the PD’s words.

They had to fight. Even if they said they wouldn’t fight, it wasn’t a situation they could just let go of. Maru had already interrupted their research at least four times.

If you add up all the times I’ve watered them, including raiding the Air Force base and watering them in New York where they were working, I couldn’t count on one hand.

“I guess we have no choice but to continue to attack first. First, let’s attack all the places listed in the information provided by LA Charlotte.”

Using airships to drop bunker busters and air-to-ground missiles.

“We’re just trying to kill as much time as possible.”

“It’s dangerous. Besides, a missile attack would cause more damage to us.”

“We’ll shake them up with missile attacks and try to get them to escape through the secret passage.”

If you run away right away when you’re attacked like in Toledo, you won’t be able to escape. There are many ways to harass them if you just grab the heads that have the information.

For that to happen, the return of the crows was necessary.

If it was a ballistic missile, there was nothing we could do, but if it was a cruise missile, the crows could intercept it. Even a surface-to-air missile targeting an airship could be easily intercepted by the crows.

Until the weather cleared and the Aegis ships could be brought in, the crows had to be active.

“Show the files I brought to the crows right away.”

“Uh- uh.”

It was a shocking sight to see how the crows were treated by the guys in hazmat suits, and how the crows were being re-educated in the indoor stadium.

This is a video that tells the story of a man luring someone by offering them medicine to make them feel good, gold, and a nest, and then dissecting them alive.

“But it’s still medicine. It’s no use for kids who are addicted to medicine.”

Kim Yang’s voice was firm. I knew it because I had seen it many times while working in China and Southeast Asia. Those who went to the drug store never came back.

“Crows with addiction symptoms should be classified separately.”

“Eh. But everyone is working hard···.”

“It’s not a matter of effort. It’s a matter of survival. What if even one drugged crow comes out and sells this information?”

“······.”

“Crows know human letters. They can type on a keyboard with their beaks to transmit information. Since they have learned to speak, they can also extract information by combining words. Drugged crows are not trustworthy.”

The nurse had no choice but to remain silent in the face of Maru’s firm decision.

It seemed that about 20% of the crows present were on drugs.

20% of 20,000, a whopping 4,000. I was diligently trying to make them repent.

[The cocoon shuttle has returned.]

[Data has been received. This is an urgent report.]

The hood and the man who were dispatched to the cocoon returned.

“Urgent report? Has the civil war in New York ended?”

[New York declared an empire.]

what?