Rust - Chapter 525



Only Krnovel

RUST -525

Detroit.

The heart of steel and coal that beat vigorously from the 1940s to the 1970s has long since rusted red. The city that was depicted in movies and novels as a bankrupt city, a crime-ridden area, and a place where even public safety was privatized has now become the central city of the Holy Ark Kingdom.

Detroit was able to produce massive amounts of electricity as a result of securing several modular nuclear power plants through deals with the Empire. The abundant electricity helped the city survive the harsh winters and became the driving force behind the city’s reconstruction.

Two workers on the outskirts of the building sit down to rest. Just a year ago, the construction site was filled with various heavy equipment, including power loader-type exosuits that had been used for military purposes.

“The weather is crazy.”

“Yeah. I turned around.”

The seven months of severe cold ended in an instant as if it were an illusion.

The mercury soared in an instant, and it seemed like spring, but it was actually summer. Even in early April, the temperature at dawn was below zero, but by mid-May, it was approaching midsummer temperatures.

Ironically, tropical nights began to run rampant from the end of May. Detroit is located near the Great Lakes, a large lake famous for its five lakes, so it is not a place where heat would come easily.

“If things continue this way, the temperature at night will exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit.”

“38 degrees? That’s dangerous. By the way, we decided to standardize on Celsius, but do we still use Fahrenheit?”

“It’s stuck in my mouth.”

“Don’t make mistakes while working unnecessarily. Change from now on.”

In a time when there was a space shuttle explosion due to a mistake between inches and centimeters, unifying weights and measures was an important task.

“Ugh- That’s a habit, so is it easy to change?”

“If you make a mistake and cause trouble, the fine will be heavy.”

“By the way, the shade is also a steamer.”

“Whew- I guess it’s a good thing we have plenty of time to rest.”

Even at night, the temperature rose above 38 degrees Celsius. And there was high humidity on top of that.

In this sweltering heat, I had to assume I wouldn’t be able to sleep without air conditioning.

“It’s a good thing we have air conditioning, otherwise we would have died.”

“I heard that a lot of people died in other villages last winter.”

“They say we’re going to be billed for electricity now too?”

“Now that I’ve received my salary, I have to pay it.”

Until now, electricity had been provided almost free of charge by the kingdom, but from October, electricity bills had to be paid as before.

“Wouldn’t it be cheaper than before?

“I don’t think that would happen since the kingdom owns the power company.”

“I guess so?”

“then.”

The core infrastructure was kingdom-owned. It belonged to the state and to the king.

Throwing a performance-based bonus feast without proper performance meant that one was touching the king’s property and the kingdom’s property, which was tantamount to beheading.

Not a figurative guillotine, but a real guillotine. It was a famous story that the guys who were trying to eat it raw while saying they had related experience got caught while designing it and ended up in the guillotine.

“I like it when the punishment is severe. How many bastards have been living for years after making a lot of money by swearing?”

“I don’t know about anything else, but the kingdom has that one thing down.”

It was a kingdom that began by rooting out fraud and false accusations, and then embezzlement and breach of trust. Violent crimes were summarily punished, needless to say.

Thanks to the powerful security force using artificial intelligence and crows, Detroit’s streets are lively at night. The streets are now safe enough for a woman to go to the convenience store alone even after the sun has set.

The night streets free of robbers, gangs, and drug dealers soon became the pride of the kingdom. Even though people were free to go anywhere, they did not leave the kingdom. It was the beginning of the kingdom’s revival.

Ki-soon and Maru, with their heads wrapped in bandages, passed by behind the workers who were taking a break and chatting away.

“Everyone looks energetic.”

“What about the South?”

“The atmosphere isn’t bad there either.”

“But why is your face like that of a corpse?”

“You should try having a hole in your head too. You want to laugh? Fuck. This is still what it feels like to have a hole in your head.”

“The bone has healed completely, so stop joking around. So what do you have to say?”

“What are the test results?”

“Is that what you wanted to ask? You said you wanted to get some air, you brat. You’ve become a total newbie.”

Maru tried to half-joke Ki-sun’s question, but it was no use.

“So what was the result?”

“···What a mess this is.”

Something like a crustacean shell was embedded deep inside the skin. It was unknown why this happened. It was a bizarre phenomenon that could not be explained scientifically.

The same goes for the tentacles growing out of the scalp. I couldn’t figure out why they weren’t just tentacles, but tentacles that resembled barnacle genitalia.

And what do those numbers mean?

One genital tentacle per claw. This was the general structure. However, Kisun had hundreds of tentacles on his head. In human terms, this means there are hundreds of tentacles there.

The results of Ki-sun’s physical examination were so inconclusive that they were debating whether he should be considered a human being. If it weren’t for Maru, he would have been designated as a key research subject and dismantled into pieces.

“Because researchers in the field of hair loss and vitality are paying attention.”

“Hair loss? You fucking thought of hair loss after seeing that?”

Ki-soon has learned a lot.

“What. I showed him the battle footage and he kept his mouth shut.”

“······.”

“But. Why did you do that?”

“······.”

It wasn’t like he killed to survive, but rather mass murdered to catch clones. It wasn’t like Ki-soon.

“Don’t ask questions after opening the lid and looking at everything. You know what I mean, you saw it.”

“Yeah. I see. So what are you going to do next?”

In the memories pulled from his brain, the only thoughts he had were capturing the clone and escaping the Imperial Army’s encirclement.

I just thought so, but the tentacles slaughtered the imperial army on their own. So it’s the tentacles’ fault?

no.

It wasn’t Maru’s view. Ki-soon had handed over her internal conflict to the tentacles, even though she knew that the tentacles would kill people.

“If I say I want to go back south, will you let me go?”

“What the hell. Go clean the floor again?”

Maru thought it was a good idea to extract information from the brain using the Brain Dungdung Information Extractor. No matter what kind of nonsense Ki-soon said, he could guess the reason why she was talking nonsense.

It was the same now. Judging by the way he kept babbling about going back south, it seemed like it would take a long time for him to come to his senses.

“······.”

“Don’t make excuses about Naru or our family.”

When the Ojin Group was established in Ulleungdo, several countries attacked Ulleungdo. In the attack, Maru’s father died and his mother went missing. Only Naru managed to survive and entered the United States.

“You also feel that something is strange.”

“······.”

In Maru’s eyes, the relationship between Ki-sun and Na-ru was strange. It was similar to his relationship with Na-ju-yeon. Just as Na-ju-yeon was obsessed with him, Ki-sun was obsessed with Na-ru.

“Does it seem normal for Najuyeon to be obsessed with me? But you’re doing that to Naru?”

“······.”

According to the information extracted from Ki-sun’s brain, Na-ju-yeon did something to Maru. And it seemed like she did not do just one thing, but several.

‘It was the same when I saw it in Seoul. You said it was a love potion, right?’

I guess that’s what he used. But when it didn’t work, he seemed to have used some kind of medicine. Maybe it was because of those medicines that he felt the knot and the touch.

“If Na Ju-yeon’s obsession with me is because of the medicine, then you are to Na-ru···.”

“stop···.”

Ki-sun’s face was distorted to a miserable degree.

What Na Ju-yeon said. If being cursed symbolizes medicine, then it also means that Gi-sun’s obsession is because of the medicine.

So who gave the medicine?

Na Ju-yeon? That wasn’t it.

Given the nature of the medicine, if Na Ju-yeon had taken it, Ki-soon would have become obsessed with Na Ju-yeon.

So it definitely wasn’t Na Ju-yeon.

Then who?

The medicine may have been made by Na Ju-yeon, but who gave it to Gi-sun?

The answer was simple.

Because I just found out who Ki-soon is obsessed with.

“Fuck···.”

“······.”

Let’s say that Na Ju-yeon, who gave herself medicine when the medicine didn’t work, is like that. Then why on earth did Na-ru give medicine to Gi-sun? What was Na Ju-yeon thinking when she gave the medicine to Na-ru?

“You know that and you still do that? I said my feelings for Naru are all because of the drugs.”

“You’ve been inside my head and you’re saying that?”

That guy Kisoon. He had liked Naru for quite some time. Naru also followed Kisoon well. But that was in the past. Now that the probability of Naru being the one who took the drug was almost 99%, it was meaningless.

“Ha- Byung- Ao- Kid.”

“······.”

Maru spat on the floor.

“I should ask Na Ju-yeon to make an antidote.”

“You’re going to the South?”

“By the way, damn it, make some Naru people.”

“···It could be that you were aiming for it to come out like this now.”

Maru, who was walking briskly, suddenly stopped at Ki-sun’s words.

“When you sent me to Seattle, did you think about this?”

“Maybe so. I guess it’s almost like that.”

If we send Ki-sun to Seattle, it is certain that he will run into the Imperial Army. I told him to retreat on his own if it is dangerous, but as long as there is a plot device related to Naru, Ki-sun will not retreat easily.

If Ki-sun, in tentacle monster mode, kills the Imperial Army, the Empire, which knows Ki-sun’s appearance, will contact Maru, and Maru will probably have predicted that he will head to Seattle to see Ki-sun.

So what’s next?

What will Maru do after he catches the wind?

If you talk to Ki-sun, you will find something strange, and the moment you find out about the medicine, you will definitely have to come see Na-ju-yeon herself.

What will Maru do when he goes down to the south and meets Na Ju-yeon? Should he leave Na Ju-yeon in the south and tell her to make medicine and send it to Detroit? Or should he take her to the Sacred Ark Tower?

“Then I guess I’ll have to go further. I’m curious to see how far that fucking bitch can see.”

“Me too···.”

Creak-

With a dull noise, Ki-soon fell to the floor like a frog, his jaw turned. Maru, who was looking at the CCTV, nodded and said.

“Did you check it now? Send the guards this way. Tie this kid up and lock him up, and call a meeting. We have to stop by the Ojin Group in the south.”

[Okay, I’ll call the meeting to order.]

Diana responded immediately with a green glow.

======

======

Video calls are now possible thanks to repeaters installed from Detroit to the Newport News Shipyard.

It would have been difficult for the Holy Kingdom alone to install the repeater in such a short period of time, but it was possible with the help of the Empire.

The Empire also needed to communicate with the Kingdom, including the Newport News Shipyard, so it was no problem for the two countries to work together to install a relay station.

In the first video conference using that relay, Hood raised his voice.

[It is dangerous to go directly to the south.]

Dangerous? Me?

As Maru’s eyebrows twitched, Hood explained further.

[The South is the home of Virginia Langley. You never know what might happen.]

“So should I be afraid of that?”

[Your Majesty the King may not be afraid, but I, we are afraid.]

At Hood’s desperate voice, Maru glanced around. Everyone was nodding as if they agreed with Hood’s words.

Ugh-

“But it’s most certain that I go. Na Ju-yeon. If Chairman Na has seen this far, it might be more dangerous for someone else to go.”

“It might not be dangerous.”

Kim Yang tells the story after a long time.

“Anyway, it’s true that Chairman Na likes our Supreme Dignity. Instead of trying to decide the outcome there, why don’t you just bring him here? If you sneak in and bring Chairman Na, I don’t think there’s any need for Supreme Dignity to move.”

[That’s right.]

Maru felt bitter at the magnificent reality in which everyone’s opinions were in agreement.

“Huh- Okay, then who wants to go?”

“I’m confident in that kind of strategy.” (I’m confident in that kind of strategy.)

As soon as Maru finished speaking, Director Yu Mark 2 raised his small hand, but was ignored by everyone.

“What do you mean, you fucking idiots?” (Do you fucking idiots ignore people?)

“You can’t go to Link. If you lose a clone in the South, you’ll be in trouble.”

Director Yu Mark 2 was unable to overcome his anger even after Maru’s explanation.

There was a lot of heated debate over who should go.

When the heated discussion took a brief lull, the nurse blinked and said,

“Uh- Again- How about we just call them out? Why not send our kids to tell them to come out?”

Caw?