Rust - Chapter 679



Only Krnovel

RUST -679

The President’s Residence in New York.

Dan Brown was checking the text message that Ki-sun had sent. Was he trying to send a text message when he felt regretful that he had left the emergency contact network after the abolition of the non-aggression pact, the withdrawal of the embassy, ​​and the closure of the trading post?

From Dan Brown’s perspective, the Holy Kingdom went too far. If nothing else, its monopoly on the singularity was inevitably an act of self-appointment that would make it an enemy of other nations.

‘No matter how much of a mess other countries are in, order will be restored over time.’

If the cannibals were to take power, where would they attack? Of course, it would be the Holy Kingdom. They would want to see the end of the Holy Kingdom before it becomes too developed to handle.

‘We should have had proper relations with either the Confederacy or the Empire.’

The Holy Kingdom was woefully underpopulated considering its territory size. Assuming that it inherited all of Canada, the population of the Holy Kingdom was estimated to be around 4 million, or at most 5 million, making it uncertain whether it could maintain or defend its territory.

‘It is dangerous to replace all human resources with artificial intelligence.’

In normal circumstances, utilizing assistive AI or using drones or robots is not a bad idea. But what happens in a wartime situation?

There were a few people who had awakened the ability related to hacking, electronic paralysis, and electronic device control. The range of the ability was narrow enough to not directly affect the front line, but it was enough to infiltrate as a spy and paralyze important facilities.

What if the AIs of the Holy Kingdom, Diana and Samantha, were paralyzed? What if the supercomputers or quantum computers were disabled? The Holy Kingdom’s defense system would completely collapse.

The reason the Confederacy reached out to the Empire for reconciliation was because the Holy Kingdom’s weaknesses were obvious. This was also the reason why there were now opinions within the Empire that they should join hands with the Confederacy and divide the Holy Kingdom.

Dan Brown looked again at the text message that Ki-sun had sent.

[···The Southern Confederacy has effectively collapsed. Due to the nature of cannibals and vampires, when a superior individual dies, they are free from dominance. They have no choice but to fight each other for the position of superior individual. The moment they give up fighting, they are destined to be dominated.]

I knew it. This was also the reason why the Empire did not accept cannibals or vampires. The moment they accepted cannibals or vampires, liberal democracy would fundamentally become impossible.

[···We successfully captured the headquarters of the Virginia Langley Company. Most of the executives were disposed of, but Chairman Joseph Meyer escaped. The scenario prediction results show that there is a very high possibility that the Virginia Langley remnants and Joseph Meyer will carry out a biological terror attack.]

That’s something the Holy Kingdom should be concerned about. Is this a ploy to keep Joseph Meyer from being covered up by reminding him of the war on terror?

‘You’re young.’

Do you think such a cute threat would work?

[···Enemy attempts to seize Newport News Shipyard and the Holy Kingdom’s 2nd Carrier Squadron have failed.]

Dan Brown’s eyebrows moved slightly.

The Newport News Shipyard was staffed with personnel and troops from the Empire. It was where a new aircraft carrier was being built, to be shared between the Holy Kingdom and the Empire.

That place was attacked?

The attached photo file contained photos of the gruesome scene.

[With the failure of the attempt to seize the new aircraft carriers and the 2nd Carrier Strike Group at the Newport News Shipyard, it is predicted that the Empire will be the enemy’s next target.]

‘······.’

[If we take control of the upper echelons of the Empire, we will be able to continue the war against the Holy Kingdom with the help of the Empire.]

‘Is this how you plan to control it?’

This was a matter of fact-checking first. What if that photo was an elaborate CG? With the technology of the Holy Kingdom reaching a singularity, forgery of a photo would not be a problem.

‘Even if it’s true, it’s the same.’

It didn’t matter now that the new aircraft carrier, nearly finished, had been handed over to the Confederacy. It was winter.

The harsh winter has frozen the area surrounding the Newport News shipyard and the harbor, meaning that new aircraft carriers cannot be launched and taken in.

In other words, the only one who actually suffered damage was the Holy Kingdom. That is why Dan Brown judged the texts and photos sent by Gi-sun to be a deterrent.

The same goes for provoking the Empire and the Holy Kingdom into a war. How do they gain control of the upper echelons of the Empire?

The contagiousness of cannibals has been reduced so much that it is virtually impossible to spread the infection. The conditions for becoming a vampire are also likely to be strict.

It was already a known fact that it was not easy to become a cannibal or a vampire, and even if one could, one would be subject to the dominance of a superior entity.

Are there people who would willingly choose slavery over losing their freedom? Even if there were one, it would be a very small minority.

[···2 The commander of the carrier battle group and the officers of the rank of colonel have been turned into cannibals. It appears that Joseph Meyer has the means to turn his opponents into cannibals.]

It might have been true, but it might not have been.

The text message that Ki-soon sent was too one-sided and convenient to trust.

[-Tiee-Tiee- Your Excellency the President. The Confederate envoy has requested an audience. President Joseph Meyer of the Virginia Langley Company has arrived in person.]

Dan Brown’s gaze turned to the text message that Ki-sun had sent.

“Tell him to wait a moment.”

Tirik-

(Do you want to delete it?)

(YES.) (NO.)

After a while, Den Brown’s fingers moved.

Tirik-

(deleted)

‧

‧

‧

Ki-soon waited for Dan Brown’s answer.

“Ah, this is driving me crazy.”

If you read it, you read it. If not, you didn’t. If there was some kind of reaction, I would have tried poking at it, but there was no reaction, as if I had decided to chew it raw.

‘Have you met Joseph Meyer?’

According to Maru’s story, the warmth of the corpse had not yet disappeared. But if he was meeting Joseph Meyer, it meant that there was a direct means of transportation from the Newport News Shipyard to New York.

The fastest means of transportation at the moment is the airship. And since it was a bitterly cold winter, the story goes that the Empire possessed a new type of airship.

‘Ah. This is driving me crazy. The Empire was giving away the new airship they were developing with so much care?’

Perhaps the Confederate empires of Joseph Myers and Dan Brown had been joining hands for some time.

‘Both of them were heads of intelligence agencies.’

Virginia Langley and the Department of Homeland Security. Even if they weren’t on good terms, they were both agencies that handled information. It wouldn’t have been strange if their higher-ups knew each other.

As I thought about it, it seemed like the stronghold defending the Newport News Shipyard had been breached too easily.

‘Information has leaked that the core of the fortress’s defense system is artificial intelligence.’

Ki-sun forced her negative thoughts to remain neutral.

No matter what, they wouldn’t have openly joined hands. The Empire’s main enemy was the Confederacy.

But is that really true?

Could it be that they joined hands strategically to steal the technology of the Holy Kingdom that has reached a singular point?

I couldn’t guarantee no.

If Maru knew, it was obvious that he would suggest a preemptive strike against the Empire.

‘Huh? Wait?’

Ki-sun’s head jerked stiffly to the side. An enlarged map of the Holy Kingdom and the Imperial European Continent came into view.

The map, colored in red and blue, showed a mercenary force from Montreal advancing toward Switzerland, and a sign from Nowruz rescuing refugees along the western coast of France.

An arrow flashing across the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of France. It meant that Narouz was coming across the Atlantic Ocean.

‘You called all of the Naruz? Why? Where?’

I wasn’t called to defend the Newport News shipyard. That’s where Hee-yeon and Director Yu’s clone unit went. Then what are you going to do with the thousands of Naruze?

Why did you call Naruz now when you didn’t call him during the Southern Alliance preemptive strike? Unlike the first time, Naruz now has combat experience.

That means there are thousands of combat clones with combat experience. Ki-sun’s eyes traveled between Europe and New York.

no way.

really.

real.

No, right?

‘Say no.’

Kisun sent a text message.

‧

‧

‧

Maru headed to New York in a private airship.

[Hey. What are you going to do with Naruzu?]

What are you doing?

[That’s not true, is it?]

What is that?

[You’re not trying to cause trouble in the Empire, are you?]

What the hell is going on? It’s all just karma.

[A two-front war isn’t real. The Confederacy was only neutralized in Texas, while the other six states were intact.]

The remaining six combined are about 40% of Texas’ population, so why are you so scared?

[Please answer. Seriously. I wish.]

Maru granted his friend’s wish.

[answer.]

······.

It was Maru who seemed to hear Ki-soon’s screams across time and space. Hehe- Maru laughed and sent the text properly.

[Joseph Meyer must be caught, no matter what.]

[So that’s why Naruzu called?]

[uh.]

[Are you planning to go to all-out war with the Empire?]

[I’m not, but if the Empire has Joseph Meyer around, there’s nothing it can do.]

[Crazy. You want to fight the Empire? Right now? Is this real?]

[Calm down. I’m not suggesting an all-out war. I’m just going to kill Joseph Meyer and those hot guys and get out.]

[No, damn it. Your Majesty. Make sense. Where would Joseph Meyer be? The Imperial Council, the Chancellery. The most luxurious hotel? You’re not suggesting that we turn New York upside down and start an all-out war with Naruj? Why are you doing that? Seriously.]

[If Joseph Meyer gets away this time, it’s really dangerous. You know how terrible the guerrillas are. They can even create cannibals. Just think of that spreading to the Empire and the Holy Kingdom.]

[I’m not against capturing them, but we could negotiate with the Empire.]

Negotiating with the Empire. Sounds good. But it wasn’t all that great when you consider that the Empire had been talking about negotiating with the Confederacy, Britain, and France.

If they were to negotiate, who knows what conditions they would set? What if they asked for nuclear fusion technology or quantum computing technology? Should we hand that over?

Maru could never do that. If the core technology was lost, safety and survival would be threatened. Let’s assume that the empire has nuclear fusion technology and quantum computer technology. What would they demand next? An artificial intelligence that has reached the singularity? A brain-booming information extraction device?

What if they asked for information every time they had to cooperate with the Empire? The first time was important in everything. Now that they had decided to keep some distance from the Empire, there was no reason to be fooled by giving in to unreasonable demands.

[I have to kill Ki-soon now. Now that I am certain that Joseph Meyer has gone to New York.]

[······.]

A little later, Ki-soon sent a slow text message.

[You know how dangerous it is? It’s Dan Brown and the Empire who know you well. They must have prepared for you. Whether it’s a machine, a power user, or whatever.]

[Okay. Just in case, prepare some field mice, crows, and wolves.]

Maru chuckled as he felt like he could hear Gi-sun’s sighs from here.

[I’ll prepare you so you can enter the Hudson River right away.]

This was the route the rats used when New York was in danger of being eaten by rats, and the route they used to escape New York.

[If possible, don’t kill Mr. Den Brown. I really don’t know what would happen without him.]

[What kind of a bastard am I? Killing everyone indiscriminately? I wouldn’t kill a cannibal, but I wouldn’t kill a normal person.]

Ki-soon sighed at Maru’s text. I won’t kill him, but if I shoot him, he’ll kill me. All she could do was pray that Mr. Den wouldn’t touch him.

The Canadian side was squeezed out and sent to the Texas front of the Confederacy. Ki-sun began preparing for war with a prayerful heart. Animals, including field mice, crows, and wolves, began to gather in Montreal.

‧

‧

‧

He wanted a private meeting, but Dan Brown called him the Chairman of the Imperial Conference. That means he wouldn’t meet him alone.

Calling him to the conference hall meant that he wanted to speak in front of the members of the Imperial Diet and the heads of each department.

No matter what the story was, I had to see it as an intention to end the pros and cons on the spot. Even though the situation turned out differently than expected, Joseph Meyer had a blank expression. He had a poker face and a leisurely pace.

But that wasn’t the case, as the connection with the commander of Carrier Strike Group 2 at the Newport News Shipyard was lost.

Did the Holy Kingdom guys attack? If so, they noticed the attack too quickly. That means they came right after we left the Newport News shipyard.

‘The Holy Kingdom was too quick for them to notice.’

Shortly after boarding the airship, the connection with the lower entities suddenly disappeared, as if under concentrated attack.

What is even stranger is that the last emotions sent by the lower entities were ‘fear.’ and ‘death.’ How can we understand that the subordinates who had been instilling fear and death died while struggling in the ‘fear of death’? Even the commander of the carrier battle group died feeling ‘peace.’

‘What the hell is going on?’

Squeak-

As the door to the Imperial Conference Room opened, the interior of an unfamiliar conference room came into view.

“under?”

Joseph Meyer’s expressionless face crumpled slightly.

The Imperial Conference Room was completely sealed off with bulletproof glass. Joseph Meyer sat in a seat that was like a private study room, with no water, just a paper cup.

‘Are you here?’

‘I’ve already booked my luck.’

Several members and officials exchanged sermons. Joseph Meyer looked at Dan Brown, who was sitting in the center seat.

I don’t know why they did this, but it wasn’t a bad idea. There were already enough people who had turned to this side, and they were confident in their ability to influence public opinion.

And the reason was revealed.

Dan Brown spat into the paper cup in front of him and said,

[Before we begin the meeting, please spit into the paper cup in front of you.]

Dan Brown held up the paper cup he had spit on for everyone to see. There was no change. So does that mean the paper cup in front of him was a cannibal identification kit used during the cannibal outbreak?

The conference hall was plunged into silence.