Rust - Chapter 764



Only Krnovel

RUST -764

Kim Yang received a video transmission from Erica on her private airship, the Black Drake. Erica on the screen looked uneasy for some reason.

‘I thought this girl had grown up. Didn’t she?’

I didn’t even see the residual thoughts of a human being, just the residual thoughts of a pigeon, and I can’t believe how crazy it is. I guess I’ll have to spin around for a long time to raise it strong.

‘The nurse needs physical training, and the hood girl would be good at guerrilla warfare. And what would be good for this girl? No. Let’s gather them all together this time and make them suffer through the severe cold. If we finish before winter, we can go to survival training.’

Ms. Kim planned out the entire curriculum in her mind.

[···Rain. The pigeon committed suicide.]

[Suicide? Chicken dove? Are you sure?]

What is this sound of someone pulling out rice cakes?

[It’s definitely suicide! He committed suicide! Okay. Suicide!!!]

[Hey. Speak quietly. Are you crazy?]

This guy is suddenly screaming and making a lot of noise. My eardrums are about to burst.

Is it broken?

In the video, Erica’s seizure gradually stopped as Kim Yang spoke in a cold, cold voice.

[Okay. Calm down and slow down. Tell me. If he committed suicide, there must be a reason.]

[I. Was. Terrified. Death kept clinging to me. It clung to me. All my comrades were dead. Dead. Dead.]

Erica’s story is interrupted, repeated, and twisted, as if the taste has gone somewhere.

‘The pupils… are slightly dilated. Ugh- this is getting annoying.’

Kim Yang had seen people like this change many times.

Even the targets who were on the verge of death often had a slight taste. The cripples who failed their tasks and were on the verge of death were also like that, and those who were betrayed and left alone were also slightly out of their minds.

From experience, it’s true. Squeezing and squeezing a person with a bad taste won’t produce anything good. It’ll just distract you for no reason.

[Ah- That’s enough. So the pigeon was scared of something and committed suicide. You worked hard. So change the guard next to you.]

[Yes? Yes.]

Psychometry is an important human resource. It was natural that they were under 24-hour security in the field.

[Give her a tranquilizer and put her to sleep. Don’t leave her alone.]

[All right!]

[Don’t even send him to the bathroom alone. And in this situation, send him to the medical team in the home country. To the neuropsychiatric department. If he needs a detailed diagnosis, take him by supply ship.]

[Yes. I will do that.]

Erica’s voice was heard from the other side of the screen. She could hear a small voice saying, “It’s okay,” but she was not the kind of escort who would disobey the orders of the second-in-command. The video stopped with the sound of being dragged.

Kim Yang’s gaze turned to the brightly lit Namsan Tower in the distance and the surrounding area. Then, he saw Namsan and its surroundings simultaneously sink into darkness.

‘A large-scale blackout? He caused such a large-scale blackout by himself?’

What on earth did you do···.

Anyway, it seemed like the highest dignity had become the highest dignity.

‧

‧

‧

Psychiatrists and psychologists who reviewed Erica’s footage unanimously agreed.

“It is clear that he suffered severe psychological trauma.”

“Over time, anxiety reactions can become entrenched. It is important to seek treatment early.”

Contrary to popular belief, psychological trauma does not lead to natural recovery.

Since it was not a visible trauma, I thought it would naturally fade over time and be forgotten, and the scar would become a scar on my memory, but it wasn’t.

Mental wounds tend to burrow into the brain, eat away at the heart, and rot from within. Mental illness is a wound that causes a person’s personality to change little by little and causes a person who appears normal to actually rot away alive.

Just as painkillers are used as narcotics to forget physical pain, so too are drugs used as painkillers to escape mental pain.

Erica was immediately sent back. Erika, who had fallen into a deep sleep thanks to the power of the sleeping pill, was packaged and transported to the Holy Kingdom. She was accompanied by a 24-hour bodyguard.

‧

Na Ju-yeon received a visit from the psychiatrist who was assigned to treat Erica.

“So? You need psychiatric medication?”

“Yes. Since people with psychic abilities are still people with abilities, there are not many clinical results on how existing psychiatric medications will work.”

Even people with psychic abilities are people with abilities. Even for anesthetics and sleeping pills, they had to use higher doses than normal people. However, if psychiatric medications were prescribed in that way, it would be difficult to guess what kind of side effects would occur.

Erica’s dedicated physician had no choice but to ask for help from Na Ju-yeon, who was rumored to be a genius in the pharmaceutical industry.

“Please give me your medical records. I will check them and get back to you.”

“please.”

It wasn’t just psychiatrists who came to see her. Psychologist’s office also came to see her.

“Mayeon… no, you want to use virtual reality simulations for psychotherapy?”

“Yes. I’ve heard that they’re using it for military training. If it’s a virtual reality, but it’s so sophisticated that it’s indistinguishable from reality, then it can be used to help with psychotherapy.”

Since I had completed a round of basic training, I had some spare time on the connection. Given the performance of the quantum computer, there was no problem with stuttering even if I added the conditions necessary for psychotherapy.

“So what are you going to do?”

“In cases like this, I plan to start by confronting the issue rather than avoiding it.”

“Face to face?”

“I’m going to try to approach it by facing the problem head on.”

Na Ju-yeon’s expression hardened slightly.

“Have you discussed this with a psychiatrist?”

“The psychiatrist suggested that we first administer medication and then monitor the progress while providing psychological counseling, but I think differently. It’s not because I’m a psychologist, but because psychiatric medication isn’t a panacea.”

The counselor argued that if the virtual reality is almost identical to reality, problems in the mind can be found more quickly, and that only by identifying the problem can the situation be analyzed, diagnosed, and treated.

“Let’s first check the cause of the problem.”

It was a virtual reality simulation. So, since the user’s memories were automatically linked just by accessing Mayenshi, Na Ju-yeon thought it would be easy to figure out what kind of psychological shock Erica had received.

“We will also log in and check, so get ready.”

“Anytime is possible.”

“Then let’s connect right now. Remember, the patient’s memories are being reconstructed. Whatever happens there, there’s nothing we can do. We can just watch.”

“All right.”

That’s how virtual reality access began.

Wooooow-

The power consumption of quantum computers is starting to skyrocket. Since the nuclear fusion power plant is being built on a floating city, power is still supplied by modular nuclear power plants.

The artificial intelligence Diana immediately declared a power emergency and began controlling the power supply.

[For one hour from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM, all facilities except some industrial facilities···.]

Detroit, a city that had never lost its light since the introduction of modular nuclear power plants, was plunged into darkness in an instant.

A quantum computer that sucks up a huge amount of power and tries to reproduce something. Na Ju-yeon had an intuition that it was trying to reproduce something about Maru that it couldn’t reproduce in Mayen City.

Woooooooo——-

It’s on the verge of shutting down, even after consuming all the city’s electricity.

okay.

Maybe this was my chance to learn Maru’s secret.

Na Ju-yeon shouted inwardly.

‘Just a little more.’

‘A little bit. A little bit more.’

Annoyingly, the artificial intelligence Diana applied the brakes.

[Adjusting the performance of quantum computers. Power supply restrictions begin.]

[What are you doing now?]

Na Ju-yeon protested.

[Due to a sudden power outage, there is an increased risk of major production facilities in Detroit being affected. We have taken the necessary measures.]

But, this is a chance to see his hidden secret.

[I have the basic authority over the safety, maintenance, and upkeep of the city. The current power problem is a danger to the safety of the city, so I will take necessary measures.]

The artificial intelligence Diana was resolute.

Detroit is still the center of the Holy Kingdom, and if there is a problem here, I will be disqualified as an AI administrator. There must be no failure or mistake in the mission He entrusted to me.

Woohoo—-woo—

As power supplies became limited, the computational power of the quantum computer was adjusted, and something that had been reconstructing itself in the virtual reality began to slowly disperse.

Erica reads the residual thoughts of the pigeon that committed suicide.

And there was something that reconstructed what the pigeon saw based on Erica’s memories.

A figure coming down from the sky.

Something that cannot be perfectly reproduced by power control and gradually disperses.

‘People? Floor?’

From the perspective of a pigeon, it was something that had the appearance of a human being.

I recognized it, but I couldn’t figure it out.

I’m looking but I can’t see anything.

Black something.

There is no such thing as black, but something that makes us perceive it as black.

An entity that was unrecognizable but at the same time inescapable fell toward the flock of pigeons.

The momentary fragments of the pigeon’s residual thoughts.

Memories that were broken and disconnected here and there were patched up in tatters.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Na Ju-yeon, whose legs gave out, unconsciously closed her eyes and fell face down.

What did you see?

What am I doing now?

Shiver shiver.

As she turned her head, suffering from cognitive dissonance, the therapist who was connected with her was gouging out her own eyes.

[Connection stopped!]

[Simulation Ended!]

Na Ju-yeon’s scream echoed.

‧

A psychotherapist just sitting there blankly.

The doctor checked the patient’s reaction with a penlight and shook his head.

“Medically, this is impossible.”

“What do you mean?”

The ophthalmologist let out a small sigh.

“My eyes are fine, but I lost my vision. I have no idea what this symptom is.”

“You lost your eyesight?”

“Yes. The patient is now blind. He appears to be fine on the outside.”

“······.”

Na Ju-yeon somehow felt like she knew the reason. The last thing she saw in the virtual reality was the therapist who had gouged out her own eyes.

The pigeon recreated in virtual reality had no choice but to die. It had no choice but to choose death.

What about Erica?

Why didn’t Erica die after confirming the residual thoughts?

Why don’t people who come into contact with Maru’s life not commit suicide?

Is it because of the size?

Na Ju-yeon was reminded of the scene where Maru slaughtered small animals like rats.

Is it because of the brain structure? Or the heart?

I thought of Ms. Kim, who had suffered a heart attack after being hit by Maru’s bullet, but came back to life.

The guards and those who participated in the expedition came back from the brink of death. And they have remained fine ever since.

Why?

What is the difference?

Na Ju-yeon took a breath.

It was because a faint heat was gradually warming her.

anyway

If the pigeon’s residual thoughts were true, it would have been extremely dangerous.

Na Ju-yeon immediately contacted the expedition team.

‧

Even though Na Ju-yeon looked a little tired, Ms. Kim remained indifferent.

“Huh? So you’re saying that the highest dignity itself is in danger?”

[Yes. If you rely on stimulants and combat stimulants and stay nearby, something irreversible can happen.]

Who doesn’t know how scary ‘life’ is?

Na Ju-yeon gave a soft warning to Kim Yang’s indifferent response.

[I restored the residual thoughts of the pigeon in Erica’s memories with Mayenshiro. Even though I couldn’t completely restore it, it was enough to cause an accident.]

“······.”

[The therapist committed suicide. The pigeon confirmed with residual thoughts committed suicide. Even if he survives with cardiac stimulants and combat stimulants, we don’t know what will happen. There is a significant difference between the data recorded in virtual reality and the pigeon reconstruction. I hope you will be careful not to cause an irreversible accident.]

“Okay, I got it. Okay, I got it.”

If it’s that dangerous, I guess I should upgrade my cardiotonic and combat stimulant, right? Right?

When will you do it?

At Kim Yang’s reaction, small blood vessels appeared on Na Ju-yeon’s forehead.

[I clearly warned you.]

“I told you, I got it.”

The person who knew the most about the fear of the floor was Ms. Kim. And she was the one who almost got hurt the most and survived.

huh.

So, the highest dignity was the highest dignity.

Okay then.

Kim Yang’s gaze turned towards Namsan Mountain, which was shrouded in darkness.

=====

=====

Namsan. Secret bunker.

The lights went out simultaneously, plunging the bunker into darkness.

[Power supply has been cut off.]

[Switching to emergency power system.]

As the emergency generator started to turn on, the red emergency lights went out and the regular lights came on.

[Power supply restored.]

[Current situation report.]

[Power outage in all nearby areas.]

[Simultaneous power outages occur.]

[External sensor adjustment completed.]

[Return to the border troops.]

In the conference room where loud voices would normally be heard, a low tone of voice filled the room. The voices that burned like embers were filled with hostility that could not be hidden.

Since when did the burning feelings between them start? Greed.

The idea of ​​pressing the opponent once changed into the benefit that would be gained by eliminating the opponent. They did not feel any discomfort because it was a thought that they had hidden deep inside.

And the report that followed.

[The owls and owls on a night reconnaissance mission today were all wiped out.]

Reports came in that not only was there a 30% loss of power, but literally not a single bird survived and they all died. As if that wasn’t enough, other birds of prey on Namsan also began to flee.

We had signed agreements with the golden eagle, the hawk, and even the eagle, which are rarely seen in Seoul, but those damn birds of a feather are all running away, throwing away their contracts.

“Shoot them. Kill all the runaway bastards.”

“I don’t think I should react so emotionally.”

“What reason is there? Aren’t you getting kicked out because a flock of crazy pigeons is coming?”

“Then you should not attack any more.”

The argument that we must endure it for the sake of the future was immediately met with a rebuttal.

“No. If we attack now, they won’t be able to fight back.”

“Yes. We need to reduce their numbers now. They won’t be able to act so arrogantly.”

Opinions are subtly divided. It seems as if interest groups are somehow tied together.

“You’re rebuilding the Air Force using birds? You did everything you could to please the birds, but this is just a mess?”

“You say you’re going to train capable soldiers using clones, but you’re just wasting resources. Isn’t that what a person who has that budget and resources could have said?”

A greed that could no longer be hidden was now emerging in their eyes.

‘If only that guy weren’t here…’

‘If only I could just get rid of that kid…’

The moment we started to see each other as prey, the words we used to pass by indifferently became something we couldn’t laugh off anymore.

puck!

Starting with the sound of someone starting.

The smell of rusty iron slowly rose into the heavily sealed conference room.

‧

The heavily closed hatch began to open.

A pungent smell seeped out through the slightly open gap. It was the smell of blood.

“You crazy kids. Why are you acting like this all of a sudden!”

A cannibal, drenched in blood, emerged from the hatch, unable to hide his heavy breathing.

“We need to contact the unit that has secured command.”

“Now it’s a question of which side takes control of the unit first.”

The cannibals coming out in a row each had wounds big and small. They were all high-level cannibals, and their deep wounds were healing in real time.

“How about just ambush them?”

“It’s an ambush.”

Since all the radios and communication devices have been destroyed, they will have to come out to contact the military unit. Their senses will be disturbed now that the powers of control are intertwined and clashing.

Thud- thud-

There may never be another opportunity for an ambush or surprise attack like this one. It is not easy to clash with each other to the point where your senses become dull.

Thud- Thud-

The faction leader nodded after much thought.

“Okay. Since it’s come to this, let’s finish it this time.”

Even though I made a decision, there was no response.

“Are you against it?”

Raise your head.

What caught the representative’s eye were corpses standing there, headless.