Rust - Chapter 660



Only Krnovel

RUST -660

[Take off your helmets. Everyone.]

As soon as the words left her mouth, Kim quickly took off her helmet.

I took it off in 1 go.

Phew-

With a sound, the face of Ms. Kim, who was tense, was revealed inside the helmet that had been taken off. She was wearing a wetsuit-like undergarment that covered her head, but her face was visible.

Maru glared at Ms. Kim for a long time and gestured for her to go over there. Ms. Kim quickly put the helmet she had taken off back on and took a seat at a 45 degree angle next to Maru.

The guards and the soldiers who were mobilized to move the gold also began to take off their helmets one by one. Maru looked at them one by one and began to sort them.

[What… all of a sudden?]

[I don’t feel good.]

Isn’t it true that those who imitate things can’t only imitate things with objects?

It’s not like they just burned the British kids who went to France to pillage and kill them indiscriminately. They probably weren’t so mentally driven that they would openly set fire to anything if they had even the slightest suspicion.

Maru thought it was reasonable to see it that way. It also felt awkward to just ignore it.

[That. The kids who came in later were a bit strange, so I got rid of them.]

Kim Yang, who was holding a 20mm Vulcan cannon and taking a stance from behind, handed over the video data. The video recorded by the tactical camera appeared on Maru’s HUD.

The video started with two people supporting an unconscious person, and then the disguised monster was disposed of under the leadership of Kim Yang.

[Good find.]

[It wasn’t like two people had to support each other···.]

It was strange that he came in so openly, rather than one person supporting him and the other guarding the rear.

The response that followed was equally good.

Kim Yang did not let his guard down and kept watch. He arranged two teams of three facing each other, so that unless he could catch six people at the same time, he would have to be on watch.

[good job.]

Maru, who says he did a good job with his mouth but doesn’t stop sorting the guards. The side that definitely feels safe is the right side. If something feels even a little off, he sorts them to the left.

[Is he weird too?]

[a little.]

However, there were more people classified to the left than expected. When Ms. Kim saw that there were nearly 10 people classified to the left, she swallowed without realizing it.

[Isn’t that too much?]

[It’s nothing more than a form of mimicry. If it’s even a little bit strange, it’s right to classify it.]

Although he was currently relying on his intuition to roughly categorize them, Maru planned to conduct a thorough inspection of all of them once they arrived in Detroit.

[I took off my helmet and checked, so it’s okay, right?]

[I wish that were true, but I still feel uneasy. Until the reason for this uneasy feeling is revealed, I will classify it as is.]

[If you want to be sure, wouldn’t it be better to bring in a psychometer?]

[It’s dangerous.]

If you want to use psychometry, you need to expose at least one arm, and if a black tentacle attacks that area, there’s no answer.

[Right. Okay. Then what about the kids on the left?]

[We need to quarantine them first.]

The floor was thorough.

Now there are only two people left. But they are just standing there blankly.

[Over there. Take off your helmet and come here.]

[······.]

[······.]

The last two people left had not taken off their helmets.

[Hey. What are you doing? Take it off quickly.]

[What’s wrong with you guys?]

The guards on the left urged them to take off their helmets, but the two men stared at the floor as if they didn’t hear them.

As if telling me to come closer.

Maru didn’t say anything twice. Maru took brisk steps and Kim Yang lifted the 20mm Vulcan cannon.

The two men, who had not taken off their helmets, responded to Maru and Kim Yang’s reaction. The two men were reaching for the 12.7mm machine gun that had been placed on one side to move the gold bars.

Maru, who was walking briskly while holding Eclipse, suddenly stopped.

Thump – the heart is on alert.

A tingling sensation rising.

When the guards were being sorted out, they could have taken advantage of the gap to sneakily pack their weapons, but they moved around so blatantly? At Maru’s signal, Kim Yang pulled the trigger on her 20mm Vulcan cannon.

Doo doo doo doo doo!

Mr. Kim immediately moved the gun after the first shot aimed at his head missed.

With her precise marksmanship, she pierced the torso and limbs of both men in one shot.

Churiq- Choaaaak-

The helmet was crushed as holes were ripped through its torso and limbs. Two tentacles sprouted from the helmet, which had turned into an irregular slime, and shot towards the floor.

Crunch- crunch-

The tough tentacles were cut off like raw squid and rolled around on the floor. Napalm flames shot at the writhing tentacles. The guards nearby quickly prepared their weapons and fired flamethrowers.

Whoosh whoosh-

Kieeeeeeeee-

The black monsters, their tentacles cut off and burned, released their disguises and fired psychic waves. The guards who had been firing flamethrowers at the powerful psychic waves covered their ears and groaned in pain.

Kiriririk-

And then the black monsters that leapt towards the neutralized guardsmen. They abandoned their helmet-disguised appearances and transformed into bouncy balls, targeting the guardsmen.

[Where-!!!]

Those who had transformed into balls and gained momentum spread out like a quilt. And then Eclipse swung towards them.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

A long black line stretches out, as if time and space have stopped for a moment.

The floor was slashed repeatedly, as if tearing apart the hardened space. Once horizontally, once vertically, and once diagonally.

Thud thud thud-

Shredded black chunks fell to the floor.

[Gasp- gasp- Go. Thank you.]

[Ugh-]

The guards who were suddenly hit by a psychic wave and almost ‘bossed’ were thanking the floor. And during that brief gap, tentacles sprouted from the arms of the guards who were giving their thanks.

?

!

A surprise attack that targeted a situation that was thought to be over. The tentacles shot out right in front of him, but Maru avoided the tentacles’ attack by taking a step back.

The tentacle that had been stabbing while scattering sharp, piercing sounds, whipped around like a whip and aimed for the floor.

Crunch-

Maru cut off the tentacles that were fiercely wrapping around him with a flick of his arm and headed straight for the guards.

The faces of the guards, who were surprised by the tentacles sprouting from their own arms and didn’t know what to do, were reflected in Maru’s eyes.

‘Fuck.’

Eclipse’s direction slightly changed as it headed towards the tentacled guard’s head, slicing through the tentacled forearm.

Thump – a sense of warning.

Maru kicked the arm that was falling to the floor with his foot and turned around to draw the blade horizontally. A solid line drawn in a circular shape.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

About 20 tentacles sprouted from the arms, thighs, and calves of the guards on the left, targeting blind spots on the floor.

The tentacles that were fired simultaneously, aiming at the blind spot, were cut off at the same time, as if they were being sucked into a circle drawn with black lines.

Parallax- parallax- parallax-

Wriggle wriggle – Wriggle wriggle –

Maru hurled a napalm grenade at the clump of tentacles fluttering on the ground, then charged straight towards the guards he had sorted to his left.

[Stretch out your arms and legs!]

It took the blink of an eye to clear the limbs of the tentacled guards.

‧

‧

‧

Kim Yang’s face was distorted as he stopped the two men disguised as 20mm Vulcan guns. He tried to shoot their heads, but their balls shook wildly like molluscs.

So I instantly adjusted the angle to align the torso and limbs, and that was the start. All ten people that Maru had classified as having a strange feeling had black tentacles growing out of one of their limbs.

The sniper’s keen eyesight noticed that the black monster had not eaten away at his arms or legs, but was merely clinging to the outside of his exosuit.

Unlike the situation where the head was engulfed, it came in disguised as an exosuit.

Normally, the exosuit’s auxiliary AI should have detected the anomaly, but the black monster bastard. There was clearly something preventing the auxiliary AI from noticing it.

I tried to support Maru right away, but it was nearly impossible to keep up with Maru running wild in the closed space with the gun.

At first, the conscious guards assisted Maru with flamethrowers, but that was only once. Maru turned his head as he quickly eliminated the monster cub that had attached itself to the exosuit’s limbs.

Maru’s gaze was directed at a pile of gold bars.

‘uh?’

The flaming tentacles, the writhing of a monster that had been disguised as an exosuit limb and then severed, and suddenly Maru’s gaze, glaring at the gold bars, was reflected in Kim Yang’s eyes.

‘Why gold···?’

Before you can even tilt your head, Maru slices the gold bars.

Eclipse, which makes a heavy sound and shatters a pile of gold bars.

‘Even if you cut it, gold is gold. Why use good gold? Since you’re going to melt it down and make coins anyway.’

Kim Yang was puzzled by Maru’s antics. He must have cut the piled gold bars in half. Suddenly, golden tentacles sprouted from the gold bars.

[?]

uh?

As if he had been waiting, Maru cut off the gold bar with tentacles growing out of it, and then ground the whole gold bar up as if he had been possessed by a human blender.

There were tentacles that succeeded in attacking at every moment, but there were rapid healing agents and neutralizers on this side. Even if one arm was broken or the shin was broken by a strong tentacle attack, it was not possible to stop Maru.

[Melt everything at once.]

The entire cargo hold loaded with gold was engulfed in flames.

[Then why didn’t you just burn it instead of cutting it?]

[Just in case there’s anyone with fire resistance.]

Even if it’s heat resistant, if you cut it up and burn it, it’ll die.

ah-

The Supreme Dignity was indeed great. Kim Yang could only nod.

======

======

Na Ju-yeon and her research team quickly analyzed the mimetic monster they brought as a sample.

“It is not a life form that can be considered to have originated naturally on Earth.”

Quantum computers, grapevines, and artificial intelligence have helped solve problems that would have taken years of research in a day or two.

“What’s strangest of all is that although it is a living organism that can infect, penetrate, and erode its host, it doesn’t have the ability to properly reproduce.”

If there is no host, it will naturally become extinct over time. Even when alone, its survival period is short.

“It has been confirmed that they reduce their energy consumption by pretending to be something and then hunt by moving when their prey approaches. What’s unique about it is that it has a greater ability to affect radio waves and electronic devices than regular mutant monsters.”

[That’s definitely strange. It has a short lifespan, can counter electronic devices, can mimic humans, and if something happens, it can erode the head of the person and mimic humans? I don’t think it would have those characteristics unless it was created for a specific purpose.]

Ki-sun, who had connected to the meeting using text messages, posted a message.

“I agree with the Governor’s opinion. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but the electronic counters are particularly strange.”

Hood also agreed with Gi-sun’s opinion.

“That’s definitely true. Realistically, if humanity can’t use electric civilization, their survival ability will inevitably be significantly reduced.”

The PD’s thoughts somehow touched on a slightly sensitive topic.

It was a given that it would be safe to distribute electricity supply to coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear power. But at some point, everything from heating to cooking and even driving vehicles began to turn to electricity.

What would happen if, in a situation where other energies are gradually excluded and a living system that runs only on electricity were to suddenly become unavailable?

What if there was an enemy who couldn’t use electronic devices? Could the city survive? Could the country survive?

“It’s an empire now, but honestly, it’s strange that they had secured modular nuclear power plant technology in the United States. And they were also operating special supercomputers and artificial intelligence.”

Kim Yang received the PD’s words.

“It was also strange that they were operating an unidentified altar in Japan. They knew that it was weak to fire, and they knew that the tentacle monsters had telepathy. More importantly, they were sealing it(?) or something.”

Maru interrupted the conversation between Kim Yang and the PD.

“Up to there.”

If you look at it that way, the actions of China, the EU countries including the UK, France, and Germany, and even the Russia-Ukraine war are all connected. Even Korea.

“First, let’s solve the problem of the imitation monster.”

At Maru’s words, Na Ju-yeon organized the information about the imitation monster.

“They can’t reproduce without a host, and their mobility is also reduced in winter and summer to conserve energy. Their lifespan is also short, so they will likely naturally disappear when their host disappears.”

“What if it comes to North America?”

“It would be a disaster.”

Because North America is full of things to host, whether it be cities or fields.