Rust - Chapter 732



Only Krnovel

RUST -732

Even though it was small, its core was still a core.

It’s something that can be roughly placed within the range.

···was.

[···Captain.]

[Keep shooting.]

The thick volcanic ash and dust that had been blown up by the nuclear mortar explosion slowly restored the previously obstructed vision, albeit blurry.

A dreamy landscape of mushroom clouds rising one after another in the distance, followed by endless dark waves. The shock wave of a nuclear mortar shell exploding 4km ahead shook the air and shook the ground.

Kuuuung!

——-

Kuuuung!

Amid the explosions and the sound of explosions, something small was becoming more and more distinct.

The guards fired their mortars without stopping, following Kim Yang’s orders. 3km, 2km, and finally 1km, the gray air burned with endless succession of small nuclear explosions, and the sky was covered with snow-like fallout, followed by an endless black-gray wave.

Small but powerful.

It’s not like nukes were useless.

Those who were hit directly at the center of the explosion were torn apart and vaporized. However, those who were just a little bit away from the crater survived.

Things that blindly rushed in while their bodies were on fire and covered in volcanic ash and dust like scabs. Even though the flames would have killed a normal living creature the moment they were set ablaze, they continued to run a few more steps.

A scene of them heading towards their base while burning themselves in the flames in the face of such burning death.

[1km ahead!]

[Captain, the distance is too close. If you get any closer, you won’t be able to shoot.]

[Nuclear mortar rounds are exhausted. This is the last.]

[Shoot.]

Kuuuuung!

A nuclear mortar exploded just 1km away. A small crater was created, proving that it was a nuclear explosion, and the things inside were seen vaporizing.

The fallout that had fallen due to the powerful shockwave was scattered in all directions again. The field of vision that had been clear up to 1km ahead gradually became gray and blurred, and they were captured on the screen as they surged forward like turbid waves.

[Start concentrated fire]

The coil guns of the guardsmen and the automatic turrets began to pierce the space with their distinctive noise.

[Booby trap activated.]

The booby trap using a nuclear grenade exploded, causing small mushrooms to grow from the heat and debris, but the fact that the booby trap went off meant that they had crossed the 500m barrier.

It means that their movements are getting faster and faster.

[Napalm! Napalm!!!]

[Lay down the napalm first!]

A dull explosion accompanied by napalm fireworks and flashbangs dyed the area around the base. In a split second, the colorful flames faded away, dissipating like a last afterimage.

[Fuck.]

[What are those kids?]

Their roots were clearly organic, but they were not afraid of the fire, as if they had sprung from a volcano.

Before I knew it, all that was left were traces of flashing lights and flickering flames through my field of vision, which had begun to feel stuffy and blocked up again.

[······.]

Ms. Kim was secretly shocked.

It was small, but it was nuclear. It was a nuclear mortar shell that could easily blow up a 500m radius. I fired dozens of them. Not one or two, but dozens. But I couldn’t stop them.

No sense of pain?

Are they the ones whose fear has been heightened?

Did the volcanic ash and dust stick like scabs and act as armor?

Tissues that melt like pus are fire resistant?

Or maybe this corrosive, melting air somehow reduces the power of the tiny nucleus?

Yeah, maybe it was the sticky, heavy, gray air itself that was the problem.

Maybe that’s all the reason…

[Retreat to the second line!]

[Continue firing and retreat to the second line!]

[Take the autoturret!]

also.

The time I had to endure was long and very long.

======

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The executives of the Holy Kingdom were speechless after seeing the combat video urgently sent by Kim Yang.

‘Do you have the firepower to push back even an armored regiment?’

The small nukes weren’t useless, but they were noticeably less effective than expected. It felt like the firepower that would have wiped out a wide area if it had been a human or an insect was reduced by half.

‘It wouldn’t matter if we used a 120-megaton hydrogen bomb, since it would erase a radius of more than 40 km.’

I couldn’t use it recklessly. Above all, if I used a strategic nuke in that ominous space and that strange sinkhole was dug up again, there would be no answer.

‘The problem isn’t simply that the air is polluted with volcanic ash and dust.’

Maru’s keen eye, trained in real-life situations, pointed out the key points in the combat footage.

“It seems like the monsters’ shells act as a kind of armor plate.”

“That space seems to be corroding the same side.”

[That thing. Is it alive?]

Hood, PD, and Ki-soon started to look for something strange in the footage of the fight. Among them was Ki-soon’s unexpected question of whether or not he was alive.

“Are you alive?”

[I don’t know much about medicine or biology, but… if a burn or something like that goes beyond a certain limit, you can’t move and die, right?]

It is true that if a person or animal suffers severe burns, they will be unable to move and will die.

But the monsters in the video were moving even though they had serious full-body burns. How? Could it be that they only looked like that and weren’t actually burned?

“It looks like a chemical burn.”

Diana added an explanation to Na Ju-yeon’s passing remark.

[Chemical burns refer to wounds damaged by acids or bases.]

It is said that burns can occur not only from flames or acids, but also from bases. Ms. Kim only said it was corrosion, but she could not confirm whether it was corrosion by acids, corrosion by alkalis, or damage caused by the activity of bacteria, viruses, or nano machines.

[The exact mechanism cannot be analyzed based on the engagement video alone.]

Ki-sun suddenly felt an eerie feeling.

A scene of monsters reaching out their hands towards Ms. Kim, who is floating in the air.

Is that the look of someone hunting for prey?

What is the meaning of the actions of entangling each other, rising up and aiming for Kim Yang who is floating in the air?

why?

Want to eat?

Organisms are abundant right next to us?

Why would you want to target something that’s wrapped in a hard shell and floating in the air?

Because it was her second life, Ki-sun’s thoughts were able to change direction once again.

What does it mean to be alive?

What exactly can we call a living being?

If you eat, poop, move, and reproduce, are you saying you’re alive? If your heart doesn’t beat, are you saying you’re alive if you eat, poop, move, and reproduce? If your brain is dead, what if you eat, poop, move, and reproduce?

Ki-sun cursed softly.

The mutant virus outbreak has sparked debates about how to view living zombies, patients with anger management disorders, and mutants.

Ironically, a past debate that seemed completely unrelated to the situation the expedition was facing was in touch with the truth about a world that was falling apart.

‘If that state is a living state.’

The existing concept of being alive had to change.

And what if they are dead?

I had to admit that it was a kind of fantasy that had become reality.

Because the dead things are making a fuss.

‘······.’

How can we eliminate unscientific things? Wouldn’t it be more effective to find equally unscientific methods?

‘So the counters for those things are things like holy water or divine power… what the hell. Is there something like that?’

In Ki-sun’s eyes, Na Ju-yeon’s somewhat tense appearance entered. Maru’s gaze was looking at Na Ju-yeon.

At that moment, thoughts that had been floating around in Gi-sun’s head in no particular order continued.

‘Dead but alive.’

‘Erosing the living.’

‘Can manipulate or control what has been eroded.’

‘Ability to move and exert force beyond the generally known range of motion.’

‘Move without fear of gunshot wounds, stab wounds, or burns.’

That was made by Na Ju-yeon···.

Before Ki-sun could come up with an answer, Maru’s voice was heard quietly.

“Those. They look different, but they seem similar to Director Kim’s characteristics. What do you think?”

‧

‧

‧

Na Ju-yeon revived the dead Director Kim. In groups. That’s why the name of the personal security team that was created was Director Kim.

Director Kim, who was killed by Maru, was revived with a crimson ampoule brought from a secret Japanese laboratory and mutated, but Director Yoo killed him himself and Na Ju-yeon secured his body and made him into Director Kim.

It was a long time ago.

“It’s like reviving a corpse and being able to control it.”

Na Ju-yeon nodded, unable to hide her nervousness at Maru’s question.

“I think they are similar. But there are differences.”

Maru waited as if telling her to keep going. Na Ju-yeon felt her mouth dry. From her experience playing in Mayen City, if she made a mistake in this kind of atmosphere, it was over.

If you twist it, the information extractor gets stuck in your head and you get a thunderbolt ending. Your neck gets cut and you get a thunderbolt ending. First, the information is extracted and you get a new grape bunch body ending, etc…

Maru in Mayenshi was merciless when he judged something to be hidden or a problem. And it was likely that Maru in reality was the same.

Na Ju-yeon swallowed her dry saliva without realizing it and began to tell her story.

“As you know, the crimson ampoule is an ampoule related to rapid treatment.”

At that time, when Chairman Shim Eun-young’s body double was dying in the secret laboratory in Japan, the guard tried to revive him using a red ampoule, but the result was a runaway with erosion and proliferation. Maru personally killed Chairman Shim’s body double, who had turned into a monster.

“One of the key ingredients of the rapid treatment is made from humans infected with the mutant virus.”

That was something I knew. It made me feel dirty knowing that that was why China and Japan were intentionally trying to mass-produce infected people. Maru nodded.

“It was the same for Director Kim. To revive him, we needed someone seriously infected with the mutant virus or a corpse. We needed to have the substance produced by the mutant virus.”

The substance was strange. It responded to certain frequencies or psychic waves, multiplied, eroded, and formed a web-like structure, yet it was not a living organism.

So, the story is that Na Ju-yeon modulated the frequency at which the unknown substance reacted, and as a result, she was able to control the Kims who were revived by erosion.

[Ah- This is driving me crazy. So, if the substance created while the mutated virus proliferates in your body accumulates in your body, it becomes a medicine pouch that automatically accumulates the ingredients of an acute treatment drug, or an unidentified organization takes over your neural network and turns you into a zombie controlled by a specific frequency.]

“It’s not 100% true, but it’s not unlikely.”

The representative examples were Maru, Kim Yang, and those who had awakened their abilities. They were clearly infected with the mutated virus, but they not only overcame it, but also gained abilities.

“I don’t think that’s the right story to tell now, so let’s stop there.”

Maru interrupted Gi-sun and Na-ju-yeon’s conversation. What was important now was the expedition team fighting on the scene. There was a slight delay, but the situation that had actually unfolded a few minutes ago was not good.

“Then Director Kim’s weakness could be their weakness. Right?”

“Yes, it is possible.”

You could use methods to hack into their psychic waves or specific frequencies. If you had nano particle technology that uses a type of conductive polymer hydrogel (CPH: Conducting Polymer Hydrogel) rather than a tissue made of cells, there would be a way to neutralize them.

[What the- is this some kind of fantasy technology?]

If we could use genetic engineering and nanotechnology to create and control living organisms as biological factories, it would be almost magical.

So, the result of trying to copy something from another world using science and technology is the beginning of this shitty situation.

Maru’s eyes sank into a deep, sunken look.

“Okay. Let’s see if we can hack them right now.”

“That’s because you need to have samples and multiply the neural network structure to a level where you can hack it.”

Maru’s eyes turned cold.

“So, there’s nothing we can do about the mental waves. That’s right. Nuclear. Nuclear. The EMP generated when a nuclear explosion occurs will have an effect over time. When Director Kim was tested, the erosion organ that was hit by a strong electromagnetic pulse showed an abnormal reaction. 18 minutes? No. It took about 20 minutes for the abnormal reaction to occur.”

‧

‧

‧

33 minutes was a long, long time.

If it weren’t for the small nuke, I wouldn’t have lasted even 20 minutes.

The deep trenches dug in the stronghold have become squirming moats, and even the container-sized barricades are in danger.

I should have held out for 13 minutes, no, 12 minutes more. I wasn’t sure if I could hold out for 5 more minutes.

‘Should I blow myself up?’

I absolutely couldn’t let them catch me. They definitely had erosion abilities.

‘no.’

I didn’t want to die.

I never thought I’d die fighting these monsters.

There was also quite a bit of gold.

The great next door was almost ready.

[Chijik- Just hold on a little longer. They’ll get confused.]

Kim Yang felt like she was going to burst into tears when she heard Maru’s communication. It was a hopeless situation. She thought that this might be the last communication, but she pretended to be arrogant.

[Don’t worry. Yeah.]

It would be dangerous if that monster were to eat away at himself, his personal guard, and his auxiliary AI. He had blown off the heads of the two contaminated ones, but he had no idea how much information had been leaked in that short moment.

[To the center.]

[Go down to the empty lot!]

[It’s Wonhyeongjin. Wonhyeongjin!]

[Shoot the guys sticking their heads over the barricade.]

Now, monsters began to climb up the barricade one by one. The guards retreated and formed a circle in the open space to make a last stand.

And her hand reached for the detonator.

Kreuk-

The monster’s head sprang up over the barricade and snapped to the side.

?

A guard fired a bullet into the monster’s head, causing it to turn in a direction it couldn’t turn back from.

puck-

The tissue expanded like a bubble from the half-blown head and the head rose. One. Two. Three. Four.

Woohoooooooo!

The monster, whose head had hung open like a bunch of grapes, fell over behind the barricade, unable to support the weight of its suddenly enlarged head.

Kim Yang’s eyes grew wide.