Rust - Chapter 740



Only Krnovel

RUST -740

When I suddenly saw Ms. Kim crying loudly, I knew that it was definitely right to confiscate it.

When I first worked with Chairman Shim, I received a gold bar. Thinking back to when Ms. Kim made a gold bar and carried it around, if I gave her something like a spider or ant made of gold now, there was a high chance that she would become attached to it.

What if the expedition commander is so busy sending and polishing gold crafts whenever he has time? Even if there is an assistant AI, what if he is so busy with his attachment to gold ants that his judgment is delayed?

Just the possibility of that being the case made it right to confiscate all goldsmithery.

And there was another reason for recovering all the gold crafts that had been discovered. Before the Marune family went bankrupt, they had traveled the world frequently, and had even been to Taiwan on a family vacation.

I also went to the Jinguashi Gold Museum. It was when I was in middle school, but I vividly remember being amazed by the intricacy of the goldwork.

At that time, I saw various crafts including golden ants. The problem was that there were clearly not as many golden ants as shown in the video that Kim Yang sent.

At most twenty or so?

However, the number of golden ant artifacts appearing in the video you are watching now is at least in the hundreds.

Among the twelve animals, there was only one rabbit, and the rest were things I had never seen before, so it was strange, but what was even more surprising was that there were five large gold bars that looked exactly like Jinguashi gold bars.

‘You’ll know when you check.’

Because it may look the same on the outside but have something different inside.

[···That’s why I said I had a feeling. It’s true. So I’m-]

[···That’s what I was talking about last time. The story about the separation of powers with Ki-soon.]

[In my experience, 99% of the time when I go into the bathroom and when I come out, it’s different. It’s true.]

[If they share power, they’ll start saying things like “he’s a true leader” right away, but after a little while, they’ll start stirring things up in the name of the people, saying things like “citizens’ right to know” and so on. It’s obvious.]

Miss Kim, who had been wailing without realizing it, spoke passionately with the determination to save at least one person, but her opponent was Maru. There was no way it would work.

“Is that so?”

[···The coil gun alone is enough to catch low-level cannibals, but what do you think when singularity weapons start coming out?]

Kim Yang raised her voice, perhaps because she felt frustrated with Maru just listening.

[What would happen if we could replace the crows and wolves that patrolled and maintained security with technology?]

Maru nodded.

“I’ll make a gold exhibition room for you once you return from the expedition. Just be careful and come back safely.”

[Really? Really? No. Wait – that’s not it. If you apply the same thing as increasing technical skills, it’ll just suck air into people’s lungs.]

“Okay. I’ll put your name on the front of the exhibition hall too.”

[I promised. Seriously. I’m recording this right now. No… Wait, that’s not the story. Seriously, it’s not about the separation of powers. Seriously.]

Miss Kim was momentarily confused.

“I told you, I understand. And make sure to cover up your traces and don’t stay in Taiwan too long.”

[Then what about our kids’ rewards? If we just break down a few 1kg gold bars, we can make a gold ring. How about a Taiwanese commemorative ring or something? If not a ring, something like a badge would be fine.]

“Why are you doing that there? You should do it here after the expedition is over.”

[No. Hmm. But since it’s an expedition, wouldn’t they be able to do that much?]

“The supply ship will arrive soon, so we can load supplies there and load the gold onto the supply ship right away.”

[···Okay, I understand.]

Even though I answered obediently, Maru didn’t just let it go.

“Every single ant has been captured. Don’t think about anything else.”

[···huh.]

Kim Yang, who was answering with a drop of cold sweat, suddenly came to her senses.

[But it’s not a true separation of powers. People will definitely do stupid things because they trust their technical skills. It’s true. People tend to return to their old habits when they have support.]

“It hasn’t been decided yet. I’ll think about it.”

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Volcanic eruptions and the spread of dust did not only have negative consequences.

As with all living things, they tend to avoid things that are painful or poisonous, and this is no different for birds.

The direction of migration of migratory birds changed to avoid the aftermath of the volcanic eruption, and resident birds that used to gather in groups were not seen in the area affected by the Japanese volcanic eruption.

[Except for the highland areas of Taiwan, bird movements were not very active.]

Since we were already in Taiwan, it would have been nice to recruit Taiwanese crows, but it is said that the Taiwanese crows refused to join us.

[They say there is so much to eat in Taiwan that there is no reason to leave.]

“Even though we’re affected by a volcanic eruption, there’s still plenty to eat?”

[It seems that the supply of meat was smooth.]

“···I see.”

In the situation where the Taiwanese occupation force was present, there was only one meat that was in abundant supply. Maru gave up on the Taiwanese crows.

“How is the Taiwan airport? Is it difficult for planes to take off?”

[You may be able to get the results, but you will have to take considerable risks due to volcanic dust.]

“It doesn’t look like it’s that seriously contaminated based on the video?”

[Even fine dust can cause a lot of damage to jet engines.]

To say that aircraft could not take off from Taiwan meant that the southern warlords could not project air power to Taiwan.

Maru checked the map after Diana’s answer.

‘In just one day, they will realize that something is wrong with the Taiwanese occupation forces.’

It’s only a matter of time before Kim Yang’s expeditionary force lays waste to the occupation forces’ bases in Taiwan.

‘According to the information extracted, it is not known that they belong to the Holy Kingdom because the commander of the occupying forces did not report to the southern warlord headquarters.’

However, it is not as if the evidence was completely erased. There were bases close to cities and towns, so it was assumed that there were witnesses.

‘There’s nothing we can do about it, with over 30,000 drones flying around.’

Even when attacking the Southern Alliance, drones and robots were used. If the seven Chinese and Southern Alliances were connected, it would take a long time, but it would be known that the Holy Kingdom Expeditionary Force attacked the Taiwanese Occupation Force.

The remnants of Virginia Langley, who were operating as a guerrilla organization, could have leaked information, which could have led to various entanglements with the Southern warlords.

‘Should we just launch a preemptive strike?’

After a moment of deliberation, Maru decided not to touch the Southern Clan. Even if the expedition force won the battle against the Southern Clan, there was little to gain.

There was no intention of occupying southern China, and the expedition had to leave anyway. What would happen if the southern warlords were destroyed and the expedition left?

If the neighboring forces take over the weakened southern warlords, the only result will be an enlarged warlord.

Seven Chinas could turn into six, and perhaps as a result, five or three. There was no need to induce such a situation.

“Make sure to monitor southern China and the Taiwan Strait.”

[Stratospheric Airship. Moving to location.]

Maru, who had made the decision regarding the expedition, immediately checked the status of the construction of the floating city.

“What is the status of construction of the floating city?”

[The basic construction is now complete.]

It was worth the effort to produce modules steadily throughout the winter. The main thing was to mobilize a million ants.

Although they are said to be ants that can only do simple labor, a number exceeding 1 million is a gangster in itself. Above all, the biological cement(?) that the ants make by chewing materials and mixing them with saliva has better properties than most building materials.

It was not easy to extract the materials needed for large-scale construction within a certain time frame, so ant cement was a good alternative.

“Once you build the nuclear fusion power plant, make sure to install the resonance barrier and defense system first.”

[Delivered.]

Originally, the plan was to complete all construction and then install the defense system, but Maru changed the construction order.

‘I think I need to think about it a little more, both in terms of Canadian public sentiment and in terms of Ms. Kim’s story.’

The development of technology using quantum computers and grape clusters has been tremendous. Even if we limit it to technologies that can be used in the real world right now, resonance shields and barriers have already been developed.

From nuclear fusion to coilguns, miniaturized reactors and nuclear batteries, technologies decades ahead of their time were being released in real time.

The topics currently being studied include transportation systems utilizing the Earth’s magnetic field, mass drivers, and orbital cables.

The entire field was being reorganized day by day, and factories for basic materials and parts were being built.

‘The pace of technological advancement is too fast. If things continue this way, there won’t be much of a problem stopping mutant monsters. Once it’s deemed safe, people’s minds will inevitably change.’

Will people still want to be citizens of the Holy Kingdom even after they have gained overwhelming scientific and technological power? Will they be content to stick to the basic principles of safety and survival?

Maru’s eyes sank heavily.

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Let’s say you have the ability to see people’s emotions, what should you do when you know that that person has malicious intentions toward you?

If someone knows that you are smiling and doing everything you are told to do, but you have feelings of malice, ridicule, and contempt, what would happen to someone who can read your emotions like that?

Am I going to have a mental breakdown?

Won’t you fall into distrust of humanity?

Or, on the contrary, might he be trying to escape from human distrust and prove that the fragments of emotion he is seeing could be wrong?

That was the situation for Ki-sun.

There were brothers who tried to bury their half-brothers in a valley because of their share in the group.

After the Valley incident, her father, who had included an inheritance clause that would have the group’s shares returned to society the moment Ki-sun died, suddenly passed away.

Following her father’s will, who had wished for family harmony until the moment of his death, Ki-sun buried everything in her heart. From that moment on, Ki-sun had two choices.

Will you follow your mom and dad’s will or will you seek revenge?

Ki-sun remembered the time in Busan when Chairman Shim had tempted Ki-sun to come under him. At that moment, when he had said that he would lend him strength if he wanted revenge, the reason he had refused the offer was because of Maru.

A friend who risked his life for you.

I couldn’t go under Chairman Shim, saying I wanted revenge, after deciding to go with Maru, who jumped in without a moment’s hesitation in a situation where they could have both fallen to their deaths in the valley.

The human nature of the brothers who tried to immerse their younger brother in the broth for the sake of the stake.

The great mother, who insisted on killing Ki-soon’s mother and father, saying that she could not let her anger go.

The character of a father who wanted harmony until the end, even though his children and wife tried to kill someone for money.

The human nature of a mother who prayed for her children to live freely and happily without being consumed by revenge.

A human being who risks his life when his friend is in danger, even though they don’t share a single drop of blood.

Ki-soon’s perspective on humans had to be polar opposites. He intentionally focused on the latter.

Maintaining a positive view of humanity. Otherwise, now that I can see emotions, I couldn’t stand it.

At every moment, Ki-soon had to endure the gap between what she saw, what she knew, and what she experienced. She thought that was the only way to keep Maru’s judgment from going to extremes.

‘I thought it was dangerous to give rights to AI and animals.’

Thinking about dividing power in half?

If we use AI and animals, we could practically create an absolute surveillance society. If Maru were to go that way, Ki-soon would try to stop him.

This was because humans were not beings that could be suppressed forever. Maru was also a person who would bounce back like a spring when suppressed.

Maru decided that he would not get involved with the US government or military, even though he was a mercenary. And he says he monitors and controls other people?

In a world where people with such abilities and awakened capabilities are emerging, trying to establish a surveillance and control society is like holding a bomb that is sure to explode.

Ironically, Maru was the first to think about sharing power.

‘I will manage only the military and research side, and delegate the internal affairs side to people elected through elections.’

At that moment, the pent-up alienation that Ki-sun had been suppressing rose to the surface. So, he ended up saying things he would never have said before.

“Hah- Fuck.”

Ki-soon had no choice but to fight the growing sense of disgust. The sense of alienation deepened as he realized that he was Ki-soon and at the same time a clone.

‘This is not a situation where you can worry about it alone.’

Historically speaking, Maru’s decision was right. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and this is especially true in today’s technologically advanced times.

But if you look at it from your own perspective, where you can see the emotions, and if you look at it from the perspective of your experience as the Governor General of Canada, and facing the people, you come to a completely different conclusion.

Ki-sun contacted the PD and explained the general situation.

[Are you saying that you are trying to link the right to vote with the military draft?]

“Yes. It seems like the direction is to basically divide powers so that those who have served in the military can become politicians, and likewise, only those who have completed their military service can vote.”

The same was true for residency permits. If you want to live in a safe place, you have to do unsafe military service. Maru thought that there was no such thing as a free ride on security.

At the end of the show, the PD opened his mouth.

[He may have made that decision on purpose, but… if we look at the current situation, there is a high probability that conflict will arise.]

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Kim Yang’s expedition team, which had finished its resupply in Taiwan, rose into the sky.

Kim Yang was annoyed because the crows in Taiwan were so full that they were just babbling. There are crows in southern China, too, but they are a bit different there because of the southern warlords.

“Going to Korea. Check the route.”

[Destination is Korea. Check route.]

[Checking route.]

[Safe route confirmed.]

[Route fixed. Destination is Korea.]

Was it Ulsan? Changwon?

They said that somewhere in the south, crows flock together.

‘I guess I’ll just have to go and look for it.’