Rust - Chapter 751



Only Krnovel

RUST -751

Maru remembered Detective Baek.

Seoul. He was the one who came to investigate when the World Group’s CEO was killed in a semi-basement room.

“······.”

[I thought of that detective. He looked like he had a good personality, but he was a very persistent and tenacious old man.]

Ki-sun also recalled his memories. He was the detective who had doggedly pursued him when he had been fused with a crab and was taking care of the work of Na-ju-yeon of the Ojin Group.

When I re-watched the combat video that Kim Yang sent me, I felt a sense of discomfort. So should I say that I felt a determination to capture him at all costs?

Maru trusted the expedition team, but there must be other people with abilities like detectives with tracking abilities. What choice would the government and martial law command make if they created a system that allows them to freely deal with such people?

If they decide to capture the expedition force, will they spare the common soldiers and low-level cannibals and deploy them? They are mobilizing K-9 self-propelled howitzers, so what will they do if that gets blocked?

Maru’s eyebrows rose slightly.

“What time will you arrive?”

The assistant AI started calculating.

[It is expected to take 1 hour and 41 minutes.]

“Assuming we ditch the jet engine this time and increase the speed further?”

[It is expected to take 1 hour and 13 minutes.]

Even if the jet engine was blown, it didn’t matter because there was a motor that could carry out normal navigation.

“Do that.”

The graceful curved aircraft picked up speed.

‧

‧

‧

Kim Yang, a former professional, always had an ironclad rule of thinking of an escape route before working.

In a case like this, I didn’t think about an escape route because I could just throw the small children and fly into the sky, but it was difficult when I saw the information being transmitted in real time from the stratospheric reconnaissance airship.

[A large number of aircraft were captured moving in the northern part of Gyeonggi Province.]

[The number of aircraft is estimated to be over 130,000, with a maximum prediction of 150,000.]

[Flight identified. It’s a pigeon.]

There is information that nearly 150,000 pigeons flew up at once. That means they are mutated pigeons. Are you saying that 100,000 mutated pigeons were just left near Seoul?

[Flight speed 150~180km.]

[Check flight direction. This is it!]

[30 minutes until arrival.]

Ms. Kim could sense it intuitively.

That pigeon. I raise it. Just like our crows.

Over the East Sea. If you mobilize a fleet of aircraft waiting at the boundary between the stratosphere and the troposphere and use new drones with small children, you can finish off 150,000 pigeons in an instant…

When news spreads that the Holy Kingdom has come and wiped out the pigeons, all the cannibals will go into hiding.

In a situation where we don’t know how many cannibals there are who have upgraded themselves by eating fetuses and newborns, who will take care of the aftermath if they hide?

‘I might have to go round and round for a few years.’

Just as Ki-soon is rolling in as the Governor General of Canada, there is also the possibility that Yang Kim himself could suddenly be appointed as the Governor General.

‘There is a high probability of that.’

Dori dori-

Kim Yang opened her eyes wide. That wasn’t it.

You’re saying you’re the Governor of the Holy Kingdom in Korea?

The cannibals have created their own playground, and the governor is there?

Is there any reason to cheer for Korean independence?

That ending was absolutely to be avoided.

The biggest problem is that the air defense is weak.

Until now, only the Holy Kingdom had operated an air force. Air raids were the Holy Kingdom’s job, and the enemies were the ones getting beaten up, but now it’s the other way around.

[All automatic turrets are turned to anti-air defense!]

[Change the turret bullets to monster bullets.]

[Set up barricades and bunkers on the roof.]

30 minutes until the pigeons’ airstrike. And it will take about an hour until the K9 self-propelled artillery battalion arrives.

[Crows gather.]

About 100 crows had come down together for a reconnaissance mission.

[These are gas grenades and anesthetics that cause itching and hives. Drop them on the K9 self-propelled howitzer.]

Caw? (Don’t you use nerve gas?)

[When the worst happens, there has to be an escape route.]

The worst case scenario that Kim Yang thought of was that the Holy Kingdom would take over Korea like Canada. What would happen if the story of killing ordinary soldiers with poison gas came out in that situation?

[So blowing it up with poison gas or small nukes is out.]

Kaaaak. (Humans are really strange.)

Caw. (Yeah.)

Isn’t killing someone the same whether it’s with a gun or with poison gas?

Hey. So you’re saying that you’re using a different gas so that it doesn’t kill you?

If you’re not going to kill me, then why are you telling me to go?

Kaaaak? (But if it’s a self-propelled gun, isn’t it prepared for chemical, biological, radiological warfare?)

Caw? (Right?)

[What are you muttering? Let’s go quickly!]

‘Oh, I’m having a seizure.’ The startled crows split into twos and threes and scattered in all directions.

‧

Kurrururur-

K9 self-propelled howitzers were moving in a long tail, making a dull sound.

Although it was a slow speed of 30 to 35 km/h, the sight of the 18 steel batteries moving in a single line was intimidating in itself.

“You’re crazy.”

For executives, it was enough to stay cool in a command vehicle with air conditioning blasting out of the blue, but that wasn’t the case for the K9 self-propelled howitzer.

In this crazy summer like today, it’s normal to move at night or in the early morning. What the hell was going on up there, they were telling us to go out at 9AM when the scorching sun was starting to set in.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

“Just open the hatch and go, it’s okay.”

The squad leader’s expression turned rotten at the driver’s answer.

“It’s okay, damn it.”

30~35km/h was the same. If it was a real emergency, shouldn’t you be driving at 45km/h or faster? Even 45km/h wasn’t a speed you could call a speed.

‘Shouldn’t there at least be a proper officer on the lead ship?’

Don’t leave it to an unfortunate being like you who was discharged from the military as a private indefinitely and was promoted to sergeant, and now to staff sergeant.

Kaaaak-

Even though I was going out with my upper body exposed, there was no answer to the heat that exceeded 33 degrees in the morning. They said that the daytime high temperature might exceed 40 degrees, but it might even go up to 45 degrees, let alone 40 degrees.

“Fuck, I asked for some air conditioning.”

There was a rumor that the new K9 would have air conditioning, but that was already two years ago. What kind of mind is it that the weapon of a country that is a summer and winter dog idiot doesn’t have air conditioning?

There are some kids who console themselves by saying that at least they don’t have to worry about freezing in the winter because there are heaters, but that is ignorant of reality.

It was chilling to think about what they did last winter when their oil imports were cut off. Would they have left their engines idling to standby?

I really wanted to quit and turn things around, but the problem was the disadvantages my family would face if I did, and the money I would receive in CBDC (central bank digital currency) would also be cut off.

The amount itself wasn’t a large sum, but considering the skyrocketing prices, it didn’t seem right to buy something at home in a fit of anger and use that as an excuse to get discharged.

Kurrururur-

The road shook with vibrations mixed with the rough engine noise.

‘They say the target is an abandoned golf club. You’re just telling me to shoot without any reason?’

They said it was an emergency, but about an hour after departure, they changed their words to say it was an emergency drill. And then they sent out 18 questions?

The guy who was forced to serve in the military for five years was warning me that this was the same situation as now.

Kurrurrurrur-

Caaaak!

Isn’t that the sound of a crow? I heard it before too, but it’s strange.

Even in this noisy environment, he could clearly distinguish the crows’ cries.

The ability to hear sounds from quite far away when focused, and to distinguish and hear only the sounds you want. I developed this ability, but I kept it hidden.

This was because there was a rumor going around that if you awaken your ability, you would be taken somewhere, regardless of what ability you had manifested.

And the conversation between executives that he overheard was the same.

‘Let’s just pack up all the picky guys.’

‘That’s what I should do. These kids are opening their eyes wide and barking.’

‘When the puppies were puppies, they would act like anything was wrong, but when they were being packed, they would cry and beg, it was just funny.’

The word “packaging” overlapped with the scene of several people being transferred. And there were only rumors about where they were transferred, but they were not in the unit where the rumors about them being transferred spread.

‘I checked during the joint training, but it wasn’t there.’

So where did those who were transferred go? They said they were packaged, but no matter how much I thought about it, the word package didn’t sound positive.

Although he occasionally heard strange sounds like that, he neither asked the executives nor pretended that he had heard them by chance.

He closed his eyes and concentrated.

Kururururur- The sound gradually became smaller, and the sound he was looking for gradually became clearer.

Kaaaak?

Caw.

Kaaaak.

Cut.

The sound of crows crowing sounds like they’re having a conversation. Are there really that many crows around?

Even the sound was maintained at regular intervals.

That means it’s a mutant monster.

“stop!”

[stop!]

[stop!]

When the lead gun stopped, all 18 self-propelled guns stopped.

[Sheriff. You little punk, why did you suddenly stop? If you were going to stop, shouldn’t you have reported it first and then stopped? Are you being sarcastic right now?]

A shout mixed with profanity burst out from the communicator.

“There are mutant monsters around.”

[What? A mutant monster? You crazy kid! What the hell is going on? When was it that all the mutant monsters on the roadside were pushed away? And now you’re talking about mutant monsters.]

“It’s a crow. The crows are surrounding the battery.”

[Hey! Get out of here. You crazy bastard. Why are there mutant crows here? Don’t you know I sent them all away to the countryside?]

“There are definitely crows. There are at least a few dozen, and up to a hundred.”

[Where are you? Where are you! Look at the sky. Where’s the crow? You piece of shit, get behind me.]

Taking advantage of the gap left by the 18 self-propelled guns, the crows hiding among the trees and bushes all flew up.

Kaaaaaaah!

Caw!

He immediately bent down and closed the hatch.

“Emergency! Close the hatch!”

Of the 18 self-propelled guns, only three, including him, responded in time.

[Keeeeek! Gas bomb?]

[The crow uses a gas grenade!]

[Ouch, it itches. Help me!]

[The antidote isn’t working. Mom-]

Desperate screams pouring out from the radio.

“Po. Po squad leader.”

“Shut up. What about the chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear device?”

“It’s in operation.”

What should I do?

Since I was in the lead and the road ahead was clear, I could just go ahead.

“Captain, you should take a look at this.”

The camera mounted on the external inspection periscope displayed the situation outside on the monitor. There, the figures of executives beyond human movement were vividly captured.

‘A knife? Where did the knife come from?’

Executives attacking crows by jumping 4 to 5 meters at a time. Everyone was speechless at the extraordinary sight of them jumping up and down like something out of a martial arts movie.

Officers holding knives in one hand and pistols in the other attacked the crows, but the bullets had no effect and the crows fought back, dodging the sword strikes with their fingers apart.

“These fucking things!”

The captain, who had been swinging his sword in the air, could not hold back his anger and shouted. The shout was so loud that it could be heard inside the closed hatch of the self-propelled gun. No matter what anyone said, it was not a voice that a human could produce.

My heart was pounding just hearing it, but the crows continued to attack as if they were completely unaffected.

Boo-wook – A long, split wound opened on his back. And thick blood poured out. Blood that was too dark to be called red soaked the captain’s back.

The captain, who found it cumbersome, tore off his coat and ran towards the self-propelled gun, stepping on it and jumping into the air.

And the crows did not deal with such a captain, but attacked the other officers. Boohoo- The command vehicle in the middle slowly started to move and tried to break away from the formation.

A few crows flew towards the command vehicle, clutching bombs that looked like grenades.

“Isn’t that a bomb?”

“The crow is carrying a bomb.”

“······.”

A car door flies open as one of them grabs the door handle and bangs on it. One opens the door and the other throws a bomb in.

The bomb was delivered to the driver, who had a blank expression, as if he didn’t know that the crow would open the car door. Clank- The crow quickly shut the door again. And then the command vehicle was engulfed in flames.

“Napalm grenades?”

“Where did these crazy crows come from?”

Starting with that, the officers were engulfed in flames one by one and burned to death. Even the captain, who had desperately resisted, was eventually hit by a bomb that appeared to be a napalm grenade and turned into charcoal.

“Well. Shouldn’t we run away?”

“Did you see that?”

The artillerymen were speechless when they saw the command vehicle engulfed in flames.

Those who chose to take cover in the self-propelled gun had no choice but to surrender after holding out for only a few hours. As time passed, the temperature inside the self-propelled gun, heated by the blazing sun, exceeded 65 degrees.

“Ha. I surrender.”

pop-

What greeted them was a tranquilizer bullet.

‧

‧

‧

While the crows disabled the self-propelled guns, the pigeons continued to fly south. Without even flying sideways or conducting reconnaissance, the pigeons immediately found the base where the expedition force was located.

[How on earth did you find those?]

[Maybe you can read a map?]

I thought it might be possible for a pigeon to be as smart as a crow.

[Isn’t it too big to see it that way?]

The pigeons, which should have been slightly smaller than crows, appeared larger than the crows of the Holy Kingdom. The sound of the pigeons, which had bodies as large as geese, flying was eerie, like the sound of a swarm of locusts.

[Coming.]

[Concentrate fire.]

I had to kill as many as possible before they realized their firepower. The problem was the cannibals. As soon as the pigeons arrived, they started digging in more persistently, trying to disperse the firepower.

The pigeons formed a large circle, signaling an attack. The circle that had been circling around suddenly broke off in the middle and began to swoop down like a snake.

[firing!]

The automatic turrets prepared on the roof of the stronghold fired. Pigeons swooped down into the red rain pouring from the ground into the sky.

And what was caught on Kim Yang’s HUD was…

It was a grenade that the pigeons were clutching tightly.

[Bunker! All rooftops go into the bunker!]

A chain of explosions were caused by grenades falling like pine cones.

‧

‧

‧

An elegant white aircraft hovered in the air.

[Arrived above base. Stealth activated. Should we descend?]

“Open the hatch.”