Rust - Chapter 600



Only Krnovel

RUST -600

Maybe it was luck. Or maybe it was a curse…

The distance he took was short because he was a clone with a badly injured Achilles tendon. As a result, the karambit that was trying to cut off Naru’s head just passed through the air.

Gyaaaah!

A high-pitched scream rose up, deafening.

“Oh. Don’t come!”

Naru’s survival instinct suddenly kicked in, and he rolled his legs and pulled the wheeled chair out.

And then the clone limped towards Naru, who had run away while sitting like that. Naru threw the laptop at the clone and then jerked her butt back again.

Knock knock-

The cloudy eyes of the clone that persistently follows Naru.

‘You’re struggling to survive like this, but you’re forcing us to die?’

The pain felt on his face as it was eaten by rats. The clone raised his knife again.

Gyaaaah!!!

The claws of anger slashed downwards as if cutting through the screams of the main body.

The struggle to avoid sharp claws is over.

‘Get out!’

“no!!!”

Knock knock!

Kwadang-

The center of the wheeled chair collapsed backwards, causing the body to flip over.

The claws of death cut through the air once again.

Unfortunately, there was no third chance.

Because the soldiers outside pulled the trigger without warning as soon as they entered the tent.

Thud, thud, thud!

The .45 caliber machine gun fired, and red flowers bloomed on the body of the clone that was limping towards Naru.

Pubberbug!

The clone, who had been shot dozens of times all over his body, seemed to fall forward, but then rushed forward with his last breath.

!!!

The claws of revenge were swung with determination towards Naru, who was slowly backing away.

bang!

Boohoo!

Gyaaaah!!!

The bullet embedded in the clone’s head, the slashing karambit knife, and Naru’s scream all came together at the same time.

dump-

The cold gaze of the officer who had blown off the clone’s head swept over Naru, who was writhing and clutching her face.

Thud thud thud – swish –

The officer, who had been checking the surroundings while pushing away the corpse of the clone with a hole in its head with his foot, reported immediately to Major Brooks.

“The emergency situation has been resolved.”

“Ahhh! Face. My face!”

Even as Naru clutched her face and cried desperately, the officer’s voice remained calm.

“The clone that caused the error was killed.”

“The main body seems to have some damage.”

A deep, diagonal scar ran across Naru’s face.

“There is no danger to life.”

“Blood! Face! Aaaah!”

Even though the blood was flowing out in gushers, the officer’s eyes were cold.

“Yes. We will evacuate you after first aid.”

At the officer’s nod, the medic inserted a syringe into Naru’s neck. Naru’s body, still curled up in the same position as when she had a seizure, began to convulse slightly.

“After first aid, take him to the lab right away. What about the other clones?”

“Communication has been lost.”

“Is there radio interference? You said you installed a repeater?”

“The repeater has lost its response signal.”

A slightly annoyed frown formed on the officer’s face.

“The rats chewed up the repeater. … or something went wrong with the clones.”

“······.”

After the officer reported the situation to the major, a short while later an order came down directly from higher up.

[□□□□-□□-□□□□□□□-□-□□□]

“Yes, I understand.”

In short, the order is to catch clones and rats.

The officer called his men together.

‘therefore.’

Recall or destroy all currently produced clones. The choice is yours.

We will continue the operation to secure the factory area outside Brooklyn that the clone troopers were promoting.

“2nd Platoon, go down and secure the clones. If they don’t follow orders, you can dispose of them. Just don’t let them escape.”

“Yeah, okay.”

The platoon members somehow had no intention of hiding the smiles that rose at the corners of their lips while answering loudly. The officer shook his head slightly and added a word.

“If you’re going to do that, don’t do it inside. Come out and do it. Come out.”

“Yeah- Ser-”

After finishing his answer, the sergeant started to scold his men.

“Come on, you little pigs!”

“It’s time to lift your heavy butt.”

“Move quickly.”

“Pretty people are waiting in hell.”

“We go in descending order.”

“Whew—ah—”

The platoon, high on combat stimulants, parachuted into a large hole.

And there was nothing but a swarm of rats scurrying about.

======

======

The ambulance driver took out a cigarette and lit it.

Chiik-

Red flames spread across the cigarette and white smoke melted into the air.

“Hey. Are you the only one who’s bleeding? Give me one too?”

“······.”

When the driver silently handed over a cigarette, the soldier snatched it up as if he had been waiting for it and hurriedly lit it.

“Wow, really-”

The soldier who had been blowing donut smoke with a look of determination to live was acting cute.

“But is it okay to be this relaxed?”

The driver shrugged at the soldier’s words.

“The facial bleeding stopped a long time ago, so I’m okay. They told me to go to the lab after first aid, but if a clone corpse comes out, I’ll take it with me.”

“Really? But I saw earlier that there were plenty, so give me one more.”

Since possession of drugs was subject to summary judgment, cigarettes were used as a means of barter in the back alleys of the empire. The same was true of strong alcohol.

As the end deepened, the demand for alcohol and cigarettes increased, but supply continued to decrease as demand increased.

This was because the international supply chain (Global Supply Chain) linked by division of labor was being broken according to the Global Value Chain (GVC).

Alcohol was produced in the empire, so it was possible to cope with it, but not with cigarettes. The price of cigarettes was skyrocketing to the point where people enlisted in the army just to receive cigarettes.

The driver was doing him a great favor by just giving him one. But now another?

The driver’s thoughts of ‘When did I see this kid…? He’s crossing the line?’ were cut off.

This was because the claw pierced the back of the neck, tore through the vocal cords and trachea, and then dug between the ribs inside the armpit, puncturing a lung.

The soldier next to him was the same. Boom- The decapitated body slowly became quiet, without even giving a moment for a low breathing sound to escape.

A ripper suit appeared, its hiding parts broken and looking like rats had eaten through it here and there.

What are you going to do?

You have to kill the main body.

Killing is dangerous.

Why? We have to kill the main body to be free.

Right. Let’s kill him.

Where are you going after killing me?

I must go to the Holy Kingdom.

Your Majesty.

We killed the main body, will you accept us?

You were on bad terms with the main body.

That’s different from killing someone.

Although it was based on the main body’s memories, the clones were confused because the memories of Director Yu, the assassin, and the martial arts expert were mixed together.

Memories related to social life and daily life are all my main body’s, but since various human relationships were mixed in with other battle-related memories, I was at a loss as to what to do in this situation.

The clones put their heads together to think about strange things like, if there are no witnesses, it’s assassination, you have to hit hard when you hit, it’s easier to kill than to fight, and no matter how dirty a bastard is, if you put a gun in their mouth and pull the trigger, they’ll become good.

Is it really not okay to kill him? Wouldn’t the king like it instead?

That’s right. I’ve been giving the King a headache.

Wouldn’t it be better if we did it for the main character?

If you think about it, the original girl and I have the same DNA. We even look the same.

Four out of six people were leaning towards killing it. The clone who had initially opposed killing the main body was once again strongly opposed.

I want to kill you too, but I can’t.

What if the king doesn’t like it?

So, it was right to minimize the risk.

Besides, the incident that just broke out was not originally planned.

Everyone, think calmly and make a judgment.

We haven’t even received confirmation of asylum yet.

The incident suddenly broke out, and it was not yet decided whether to send the asylum application through the crow. Even if the asylum application was approved, it would be dangerous to kill the main body, so kill it now? That was not it.

The important thing is not to kill the main body, but to be free, right? Right?

I agree.

okay.

The entity that changed the atmosphere of killing presented a reasonable alternative.

So let’s use the main year as bait.

The matter was resolved, and it was clear that the pursuers would be on the hunt. So, the alternative was to use the main year wisely.

Just like the old lady used us as bait?

That sounds fine.

Yeah, that would be good.

What are you going to do?

One of us becomes the main body.

so?

and?

The main body is disguised as us and thrown somewhere else.

good.

approval.

Then who will play the main role?

me.

me.

me.

···

‘No. These bitches.’

The clones looked at each other.

The debate over who would become the main body ended sooner than expected, because in order to live as the main body, it had to be able to connect with other clones through mental waves.

So, in order to take over the command duties that the main body had been doing, it had to be able to convey opinions at least, if not compulsory orders.

There was only one clone who could communicate using a weak mental link, and she took over the main body’s role.

Okay, then let’s get ready.

Should I peel off the skin on your face?

······

I had no luck last year. My face was ruined.

It’s a monster claw knife, so it must have been poisoned.

That’s right. If you don’t treat this quickly, the wound will rot.

The clones muttered curses one after another.

======

======

New York. President’s Residence Conference Room.

President Den Brown was reviewing the Bloody Mary program materials.

‘······.’

What the President was looking at was Vladimir Kalin. So, it was about his sister, but what he was really thinking about was Vladimir Kalin, who founded the Holy Kingdom with a single sword.

If he had been in the Empire… if they had used him to mass-produce clones, they could have made the United States of America great again. Thinking about it made my mouth water.

‘Is it because she’s his younger sister?’

The fighting power of the clones made based on Vladinaru was better than expected, as if the genes had gone somewhere.

Above all, drug sensitivity is the best. Even with a small amount of combat stimulant, physical abilities are significantly improved and there are almost no side effects.

The problem was the controllability of the clones, which is why they had no choice but to use Vladinaru Kalin as their commander.

There were some minor issues, but the carrot and stick of incentives and financial treatment had a surprising effect. It was reported that she, who used to grind out clones like basic units in a game, was starting to find efficiency.

President Dan Brown could only laugh in vain after reading Major Brooks’s emotional report. Should he say that he was glad that the financial treatment was working well?

[Mr. President, we have encountered a problem with the Bloody Mary program that is undergoing field testing.]

“No way. Did Vladinaru Kalin have an accident?”

Have you developed a tolerance for financial treatment? You’re not that kind of woman.

[No. The clone tried to kill Vladinaru Kalin.]

“······.”

The clone was fragging?

Dan Brown felt dizzy for a moment.

The term “pregging” originally meant throwing a grenade, but after the Vietnam War, when incidents occurred in which soldiers killed their superiors with grenades during fighting, the term came to mean killing a superior.

Vladinaru Kalin’s clones were well-brained and highly drug-sensitive. They were easier to control and use than the clones created by Director Yu with the U+ program, so they were going to mass-produce them once they passed this field test, but something happened.

“Fuck···.”

[Currently, the clone that caused the error has been killed, and Vladinaru Kalin’s life is said to be in no danger.]

President Den Brown quickly grasped the situation. It would have been better if the problem had occurred early, so that the cause could be quickly found and corrected.

“Recover all of the first batch of clones. If they are difficult to recover, be sure to dispose of them.”

[All right.]

“And. The clones produced in the second batch will be suspended from shipment until the cause of the problem is found.”

[four.]

Under orders from Chancellor Dan Brown that not a single clone be missed, a special team was formed to pursue, capture, and kill the clones.

======

======

Ugh-

Naru opened her eyes to the hot pain she felt on her face. The peculiar pain and tingling sensation that comes with waking up from general anesthesia tormented her.

She spat out boiling phlegm and looked around with a weak face. She was not in a hospital, but in an ambulance.

“Here-here-”

My throat felt like it was cracked, like a dry field had split open. My throat hurt a lot when I spit out phlegm, but it was even more painful when I tried to talk.

That sound she hears in her ears.

“What happened? The clone tried to kill me!”

“···We are currently assessing the situation.”

A poisonous voice was heard outside the ambulance. It was a voice I had heard many times before.

“If you say you’ll figure out the situation after it happens, that’s it?”

“······.”

What is this? Naru thought of the clone that tried to kill her.

“What good is a person after he is dead? Answer me. Answer me.”

“······.”

A low, bass voice cut in, as if to cut off the shouting voice.

“Let me check the situation again. You said you subdued the clone while being kidnapped?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“How did you subdue him?”

“As you can see, I used anesthesia.”

Naru’s memories became jumbled and confused when she heard a woman’s voice outside the ambulance.

Squeak-

The ambulance door opened and a fully armed soldier popped his head out.

“Check it out.”

A soldier who was holding a small terminal towards her as she lay down. Beep beep beep.

“The chip has been confirmed inside your body. You are a clone.”

“Deal with it.”

Naru heard the soldier’s words and felt goosebumps all over her body.

Die.

Die.

Die.

My whole body began to warn of death.

I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that I’m going to die if I keep doing this.

“Uh-uh- uh-uh-”

My heart was pounding so hard that I started to feel nervous and a cold sweat ran down my face.

‘No- no. I’m not a clone.’

I desperately opened my mouth, but my voice wouldn’t come out properly.

“Ah- no- no- I’m not-”

Gunshots rang out as powerful psychic waves swept across the area.

Crash

bang!