Rust - Chapter 60



Only Krnovel

RUST -60

Ki-soon, who had just hung up the phone after saying goodbye, suddenly shouted.

“Hey- I told you not to sharpen the knife, right? Then go over there and do it. Why are you coming in front of me while I’m on the phone? Huh?”

Despite Gi-sun’s words, Maru kept his mouth shut and sharpened his knife. The sound of “saaaaahhhhh” was eerie.

“No, really, what kind of legendary hometown, strange story, or something like that are you filming? Why are you doing that? Why are you sharpening your knife like you have a grudge?”

Swish- Saaaaak-

Crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch

Ah- Ki-soon gave up on Maru’s bizarre sharpening. Okay, you sharpen it, I want to hit the rice cake… the rice cake… the rice cake. Thud, thud, thud! Ki-soon slammed the file she was holding onto the floor.

After some time of grinding and beating, a limousine from Hotel Charlotte arrived.

“Am I a kid? I’ll go alone.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“The parcels will continue to arrive, and we have to do that if we want to set sail tonight. Oh, by the way, I’ll send a text message to Miss Kim, so she doesn’t get lost.”

“Is that okay? That… that woman, the killer.”

Maru snickered at Gisun’s quizzical expression.

“If you don’t want to be a killer, a brat, or Kim/Yang, you’ll figure it out.”

“Oh my- Is this real? Look at that kid, he’s so bloody. What’s Kim/Yang? Oh. Just imagining it. Ugh-”

Even if it was a joke, it was so brutal, wasn’t it not a joke? Then there was a problem… I needed to talk to Ms. Kim too. After all, we would have to roll around together for a long time after we set sail.

Maru got into the limousine with his new sword and his favorite Bowie knife. At least this time he wasn’t wearing a bunch of rose-colored swords because he was going to a hotel…?

No, wait. Why the fuck are you carrying a knife?

In the limousine heading to the hotel

Maru sent a text to Kim Yang.

[Wherever you are, go straight to the yacht. Keep your bearings. Don’t stray to the side.]

This is the longest text I’ve ever sent. What if I send something this long and they don’t understand it? Hmm – I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Maru reviewed the movements of the old man who was rotten. There was certainly a lot to think about.

That old man. He was slower than me, but he blocked it. He was weaker than me, but he counterattacked.

how?

A word that suddenly came to mind. ‘Late arrival preemption’.

Move later and subdue the one that moved first.

Wasn’t that just some empty talk, like a martial arts novel?

In my second year of middle school. When I was learning kendo, my instructor would hit Maru’s head like a moktak (a wooden gong). That was because my instructor was big, fast, and strong, so I thought my head, which was relatively small, slow, and weak, was like a moktak (a wooden gong).

But that wasn’t it. That old man showed a side of that ‘late starter’ thing. Will he definitely win next time? Or will that old man perfect ‘late starter’ and beat me in reverse?

The old man’s subordinates were also quite strong. They were not in line with reality. They wore armor made of hard materials and mainly engaged in close combat, so they did not look modern at all. Why on earth would they wear such armor and engage in close combat? It was not something I should say as someone who prefers to use swords, but I was curious as to why they engaged in close combat when they had good guns.

When I confronted the Kukri, I realized that the Kukri was not simply a dagger. Since the center of gravity was forward, it was definitely not a centrifugal force-based attack. The battle axe was not an easy weapon either. In particular, the axe throw was difficult to dodge at close range. It was also difficult to block, and the mace and morning star were almost impossible weapons to block. I was really terrified when the morning star grazed my shoulder.

If there was one thing he realized after killing and dying like that, it was that he was not an absolute strongman. What if he had attacked while complementing each other instead of attacking one after another? At least if he had attacked like a long-range sniper? It was dangerous because he was fighting such weak enemies that his liver was swollen.

“We will soon arrive at our destination, the main building of the Charlotte Hotel. I hope you are comfortable.”

The limousine driver broke my thoughts with a quiet voice.

Kkeung- Maru opened his closed eyes and looked outside. The Charlotte Hotel, which was visible after climbing the hill and passing the well-maintained park, was certainly nice. But why am I sweating so much? It was fine.

When the limousine stopped, a doctor and a nurse were waiting. There was even a bed, probably because he was so badly injured.

“Please lie down here.”

No, Maru, who was trying to say that he was fine, suddenly felt chills and lay down on the bed. The vital check began and blood was drawn. After examining various things, the doctor pushed the bed and headed to the infirmary in the hotel basement.

“Are you feeling cold or chills right now?”

“Yes. A little.”

“The pulse is also like that, and it seems like a more detailed diagnosis is needed, but in my opinion, it seems like a cytokine storm.”

“yes?”

“Your immune response is unusual, as evidenced by the high white blood cell count in your blood. We’ll start testing right away.”

Uh- I just want to put the knife aside for a moment…

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“If you look at the increased pulse, initially increased cardiac output, then decreased cardiac output, azotemia, elevated aminotransferases, excessive bleeding, and higher than normal bilirubin levels, you’re looking at a cytokine storm.”

Sim Eun-young nodded at the doctor’s words.

“There won’t be any problems with the treatment, right?”

“Yes, it was not dangerous because we were able to start treatment early.”

“Okay. You are an important guest at Hotel Charlotte, so please take good care of me.”

“yes.”

Sim Eun-young stopped by Manager Lee Ki-young while she was there to check on Maru’s condition.

Chief Lee Ki-young suffered a punctured stomach, a 9mm bullet lodged in his right shoulder and forearm, and severe graze wounds. Although no vital organs were injured and it was not a critical situation, he would have had to recuperate for at least four to six weeks.

In a situation where it is not known when work will come in from the Seoul headquarters, it was a loss for someone like Manager Lee Ki-young to be lying down. Of course, it was also a loss to use this, but even if we could not win the fight with the headquarters, we should not lose. At the very least, we should become independent and spin off in order to make a profit.

It was right to use it, since even holding it on the ground would put Shim Eun-young’s life at risk. Shim Eun-young said as she took out an ampoule and gave it to the doctor. It was a transparent, faint pink-colored ampoule.

“Don’t use all of it, but inject it little by little into the wound on the stomach with a needle. Also inject it into the gunshot wound on the back in small amounts and check the progress.”

“Speak directly to the refund office? Okay.”

The doctor carefully injected an ampoule into Manager Lee Ki-young’s affected area. When the pink liquid touched the affected area, it began to bubble as if it had been sprayed with disinfectant. When he wiped away the white bubbles with gauze, smooth skin was revealed, as if he had never been injured.

omg-

The doctor gasped, gasping for breath.

This is a miracle. This medicine is a miracle medicine. This is… This is a medicine that has changed the paradigm of trauma treatment so far. No matter what anyone says, it is a Nobel Prize winner.

If such a medicine existed in the world, if only I had this, I could have saved countless people from accidents. I unconsciously tightened my grip on the ampoule. If only I had this, if only I had this, I would be world-famous…

He met Sim Eun-young’s eyes. Unlike her gentle smile, Sim Eun-young’s inorganic eyes were looking at him. The ampoule in his hand. He held the ampoule tightly without realizing it. Cold sweat flowed down his body and his breathing became rapid.

‘What am I thinking···.’

The doctor, who had been living as a vassal of the Sim family for three generations, swallowed hard. He thought that if this was a normal medicine, there was no way the Sim family would not reveal it.

If only the effects were considered, wouldn’t it definitely be a Nobel Prize? If Simga had developed a normal drug that could win a Nobel Prize, wouldn’t he have made it public? Even if he had done it in Japan, he would have gained enormous fame and profit, and if he had done it in Korea, it would have been Korea’s first Nobel Prize in medicine. This would have also gained enormous fame and profit.

But the fact that this wasn’t disclosed meant that this medicine was related to the dark side of Simga. Will I die? Will I be silenced? Why did you show me this medicine? Sim Eun-young, who had been quietly watching the cold sweat run down the doctor’s face, opened her mouth.

“Professor Min, your Min family has been following the Shim family for three generations, or if you include your daughter Min Hwa-yeong, it’s been following the family for four generations, right?”

“Yes. That… is right.”

“That’s why I showed you.”

It’s a kind of reward. Trust. The corners of Sim Eun-young’s eyes, whispering softly, curved like the wings of a crane.

‘So please don’t disappoint me.’

Mr. Min was even more scared by those words.

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Manager Lee Ki-young felt light.

It was clearly a serious injury, and even with proper treatment, it would take four, no, six weeks to heal. That was my experience with being stabbed. But… there was no bandage on the stomach that should have been wrapped tightly. When I opened the hospital gown, I saw a smooth stomach.

“Fuck-”

The swear words just came out naturally.

‘What is this?’

Rather than the joy of being cured, I started to sweat. Is it normal for the place where I was stabbed to become smooth without a trace? Is this a miracle? Special makeup? If it was a joke, it was too much. Was it a nightmare? Did I wake up from a nightmare that was too realistic? Then what is the hospital gown?

[Manager Lee Ki-young, the CEO has called you. Will it take a long time?]

“No. Tell them I’ll be up right away.”

[All right.]

‘What on earth have you done?’

It seemed like the new female boss had a lot of secrets. A woman’s secrets are innocent, but this wasn’t the case. What if other powers found out about this? Should we just leave it alone? Everything related to it would fall apart.

‘I quit smoking for nothing.’

It’s been like this since birth, but I guess it’s not an easy life to live. Lee Ki-young shook his head.

“So. Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes. I was surprised at how good it was.”

Sim Eun-young’s eyes furrowed. Lee Ki-young felt like he was sweating coldly. He didn’t know why, but he felt nervous. He was nervous, but he had to ask what he had to ask.

“Boss. I, I···.”

“You can think of it as a special medicine that can quickly heal the wounds of the manager. It is not a large amount, and I don’t know if I can get it again, but I thought it would be good to use it on Manager Lee Ki-young, so I used it. I will not accept questions or theories about it.”

When he came in first, Manager Lee felt like he had been hit first. But what can he do? That’s what happened.

“Uh- yes.”

“The reason I called you, manager, even at this late hour is because of this person.”

The CCTV footage showed Maru lying asleep in a hospital bed.

“Isn’t that him?”

That was it. But why was it in our hotel?

“While this manager was receiving treatment, he contacted me. He agreed not to be hostile to us and to accept the courtesy of Hotel Charlotte.”

Ah- That’s fortunate. At least I won’t have to run into that thing. But why? The president continued talking, reading Manager Lee Ki-young’s gaze.

“At first, he asked for treatment for the injuries he sustained on his arms and legs. So I started treatment, but the immune response was excessive, so if it had been a little late, it would have been dangerous. It wasn’t a big problem because it could have happened up to that point, but Dr. Min, who was in charge of the treatment, found something strange.”

Sim Eun-young handed the documents to Manager Lee.

The manager silently accepted the document and examined it. Although there were some technical terms, he had no trouble understanding it.

“Is this true?”

“That’s the interpretation of the results of the blood test and cell test now.”

This is its weakness.

A critical weakness.

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It was a strange feeling. That feeling when the common expression, ‘My body doesn’t feel like my body’ becomes a reality? My temperature went up and down, I was sweating and drying out, it was a mess. My mouth was dry and cracked, and drinking water didn’t moisturize it.

Maru instinctively looked for a knife. If not a Bowie knife, then an old man’s knife. The knife lying next to the sickroom door. He reached out but couldn’t reach it. Something like a knife that couldn’t reach the tips of his long fingers. Ah- somehow he felt like tears were coming.

dripping

Maru put his hands away as if nothing had happened and lay down. The knife, yes, he needed the knife. His heart was beating fast for some reason. His breathing was shallow and rapid. A faint sweat began to come out.

“Are you feeling better?”

The voice of the hotel manager. A neat and strangely voice-like voice. Maru turned his head slightly. He saw the manager with long hair and wearing a luxurious suit. Behind him were one or two city officials. The manager had a slightly stiff expression, as if he was dissatisfied with something, and the other one was expressionless and showed no sign of anything.

He tried to answer, but his voice wouldn’t come out. Maru frowned without realizing it. The two people standing behind the president were tense as if they would react at any moment as Maru’s expression distorted. He could feel it. It was as if he had become a dud.

Maru shook his head, swallowing his bitter expression.

“Even if it’s difficult, you have to listen to what I’m telling you now.”

‘I’m also having a hard time deciding and talking about this. My mind may change as time goes by.’

At the boss’s small voice, Maru’s gaze turned to the knife that was out of sight, then to the boss.