Rust - Chapter 767



Only Krnovel

RUST -767

The Bukhansan bunker was larger than the Namsan bunker.

Although the Namsan side had more power, the force occupying the Bukhansan bunker had stronger control over the military units guarding the Military Demarcation Line.

“It seems like there’s a problem on the Namsan side.”

“problem?”

“Regular contact with internal contacts has been lost. It has been confirmed that communication has been blocked internally.”

“Is this an internal crackdown?”

“It looks like a more serious situation than the internal crackdown. The entire area around Namsan has been blacked out, and the police and military are controlling the roads.”

“Which side did you touch?”

“That seems more likely.”

“Well, we were together for too long.”

“Wouldn’t that be so?”

“The fact that I’ve been able to get by without any problems until now is actually because I’ve been patient for a long time.”

Even though the world has changed, power is power. Power is something that cannot be shared. Even between a father and a son, power is something that cannot be shared, so it was funny that they tried to share it peacefully.

In any case, Namsan was centered around government officials, martial law command, and members of the National Assembly, while in contrast, the bunkers of Bukhansan and Gwanaksan were centered around those who wanted to break away from the game of seizing power and build up real power.

The Bukhansan bunker was where the soldiers and the 20-something group of businessmen who were alienated from the factions directly under the Martial Law Command gathered, and the Gwanaksan bunker was where the police special forces, airborne troops, and professors and experts from each field gathered.

Although Bukhansan and Gwanaksan were under the command of Namsan, conversely, Bukhansan and Gwanaksan also had a relationship of keeping Namsan in check.

Originally, it would have been a vertical relationship with Namsan at the top, but with the success of changing Korea’s political and economic structure into a vertical control structure, a system was created that provided an abundant supply of human flesh.

As a result, just as a top-level cannibal emerged from Namsan, top-level cannibals emerged from Bukhansan and Gwanaksan. As their dominance became similar, they could no longer enforce it.

The same goes for the lower and middle-level cannibals. They could eat until their throats were full, so a considerable number of them rose to the upper level, and some lower-level ones rose to the middle level in just a few months.

With their abundant flesh, even those without any combat experience became top-tier cannibals, and mid- and low-tier cannibals quickly rose from mid-tier to high-tier, and then to low-tier to mid-tier.

So the problem arises.

‘Who raises the cow?’

Namsan was immediately put into restrictions. There was nothing that could be done about the level that had already risen, but they immediately kicked the ladder away and began to control it.

When cannibalism was rampant, something similar happened in New York’s criminal organizations. They went in the direction of strengthening their power by creating cannibals, but as lower-ranking entities were promoted, they lost their control and fell away.

So, the vertical control structure centered around Namsan was partially dispersed to Bukhansan and Gwanaksan.

Although they were given the highest rating, Bukhansan and Gwanaksan were under Namsan’s control. This was because Namsan was more capable.

What if Namsan’s control is weakened due to internal division?

On the contrary, what if we completely eradicate the seeds of internal division and secure strong control?

“Let’s wait for the results.”

“Rather, isn’t the current situation an opportunity?”

“Are you saying we should actively participate in the power struggle?”

“If the two forces are fighting fiercely, the side we support will win.”

“It’s not a bad idea to raise one hand, but wouldn’t it be okay to try to take advantage of the fisherman’s fortune?

“It will be a disaster.”

If both sides were weak, it wasn’t impossible to get rid of them both.

“Let’s talk about what to do about Gwanak.”

“It’s obvious what the Gwanak Mountain people are like. If they had figured out the situation, they would have already taken action.”

“Would you miss an opportunity like this? Those bastards.”

The Gwanak Bunker was unexpected from the start.

No one expected that a group of professors, some media, and businesspeople would succeed in co-opting the police special forces, airborne troops, and air force. But they did. Now, they have become a proud force.

In that sense, Gwanak was not an opponent to be taken lightly. If they had moved first, it would have been too late. There was no need to go late and get into a mud fight.

“Let’s prioritize military control in case Namsan falls.”

Kuuuung!

A heavy impact shook the conference room. Flickering lights and falling cement dust. A bunker located 100 meters below the bedrock was hit?

“Is this North Korea?”

“That can’t be. You don’t have the power to stop the mutant monsters right now.”

“Then what is this shock now? If the shock reaches here, it is a bunker buster, and it is the latest bunker buster.”

Kuuuung!

Wheeeeeeeeing- Wheeeeeeeeing-

[The bunker is being bombed.]

[Main entrance destroyed]

[Three emergency exits were destroyed simultaneously.]

[The enemies know the bunker entrance.]

“Bombing? What about the birds?”

Just like Namsan, there were birds patrolling the sky in Gwanak. All of those birds have disappeared.

[No response.]

[The birds abandoned the facility and ran away.]

What’s going on?

Kuuuuung!

[It seems the enemies know the structure of the bunker.]

[The bunker buster is falling close to the central control room.]

The central control room fell silent immediately after the heavy shaking.

“Let’s avoid it.”

“I have to get out right now.”

“I don’t know who the enemies are, but if they know the entrance, they will be buried alive.”

“There are people who should be here. I’m going out.”

Some of them left, leading their men.

The cement dust fell like corn as the vibrations continued to ring again. The blinking lights went out and the red emergency lights came on.

‧

‧

‧

The bunker buster strategy worked. As Maru circled around Mt. Bukhan, the sleeping birds were startled and abandoned their nests, scattering in all directions.

Even the owls and night owls on night surveillance flights fled without looking back, saying, “Wings, save me.” We were able to surround and search the area around Mt. Bukhan with a drone.

The cannibals hiding in the bunkers on Mt. Bukhan came out due to the bunker buster bombing that followed, and while the expedition team confirmed their location and formed a siege, Maru and Kim Yang went into an individual attack.

In a transparent container.

A small bubble rose from the floating brain.

Pogurruruk—

Below them, cannibals with information extractors embedded in their heads were writhing with their limbs missing.

“These five are a waste. They have no useful information.”

I searched for who, where, how, and for what purpose the stilettos were given, but there was no clear answer. And there was no information about the bunker where the cannibals were coiled.

In one detective’s memory, Namsan and Bukhansan were all there was, but Gwanaksan was also there.

“What a headache. I was tired from Namsan and Bukhansan, but there’s a large bunker on Gwanaksan too.”

It wasn’t just Gwanaksan. Small-scale bunkers were laid out in the metropolitan area and near major cities. There were so many bunkers hidden that it was called the country of underground bunkers.

There were many different types of bunkers, including bunkers connected to subways, bunkers connected to high-rise buildings, and bunkers connected to large single-family homes.

According to information gathered from the cannibals in Namsan and Bukhansan, most of these small bunkers were also controlled by cannibals.

[Multiple movements were captured in the direction of the Gwanaksan bunker.]

[The cannibals are scattering in all directions.]

The Gwanaksan cannibals, who noticed that Namsan and Bukhansan exploded overnight, began to flee. Drones were useless due to the biological EMP emitted by the high-level cannibals.

We had no choice but to wake up the crows and hastily catch them, but we could not continue the chase due to the attacks of the birds of prey that dominated Mt. Gwanak.

They continued their long-distance pursuit using airships including the Black Drake, but even that had its limits.

[Group 4 enters between high-rise buildings. Out of surveillance angle.]

[Group 2 missed the subway entrance.]

[Board the Group 9 bus. Track the bus.]

······

······

The cannibals, who had been pursuing them in various ways, infiltrated Seoul and the surrounding areas. This complicated matters.

I remembered the time when we attacked the headquarters in Langley, Virginia. We failed to root them out at that time, and the scattered ones in the form of sects are still causing trouble.

It was the same even now. If we left it like this, it was obvious that there would be long-lasting troubles. Even if we were to reorganize the provincial cities later, we had to reorganize Seoul and the metropolitan area as quickly as possible before we could decide what to do.

“What are you going to do?”

“It is difficult for the Holy Kingdom to directly control Korea. Let’s talk about that after we catch those who ran away.”

The more time we spend here, the more the traces they leave behind will disappear, and that will eventually become a burden to us.

“I’m checking to see if there’s any useful information. I’ll call you right away if I need to report the situation.”

“Okay.”

Maru turned to Ki-sun, who was being interviewed by a detective.

‧

“So. If you don’t believe it because it’s a serial killer’s claim, why don’t you check it out yourself?”

“Isn’t it the same if you check it yourself? The premise is that you’re asking me to help catch and kill people with cannibalism, but I have no intention of doing that.”

“Are you saying that cannibals turn women into pregnancy factories and eat children?”

“Isn’t that speculation? Is there any evidence that they ate children in large numbers? That it must have happened? How can you be sure of that?”

“Cannibals become stronger by eating people. They are the ones who will do anything to become stronger.”

“That’s right. That’s the story of America, Japan, and China. When our country was in crisis, our people always came together and overcame it.”

“Why is that story coming up?”

“You can see it the same way now. Women can’t give up their consumption behavior, so they get pregnant for their own benefit? Yes, you can see it that way. But should you think that the reason they got pregnant for 10 months was because of money? Are women willing to do anything as long as they have money?”

A detective thought so. He thought that the increase in pregnant women was certainly due to economic reasons, but he also thought that it was because people were choosing to get pregnant for the sake of the community in the face of the threat of national extinction.

Ki-soon was just dying. As Ki-soon’s ability confirmed, the detective’s feelings clearly told him that he was only telling the truth.

“From a Western perspective, where liberalism and selfishness prevail, it may seem like the state is forcing pregnancy and childbirth. But if you think about it, is it really something that can be forced?”

“Isn’t that so?”

“No. Let’s think about the time before the mutant virus outbreak. The budget spent on birth rate-related issues was over 300 trillion won over 10 years. Even after spending that much money, the birth rate didn’t increase. But now that the situation is worse than then, the birth rate is increasing….”

A detective who had been engaged in a heated debate with Ki-soon shut his mouth tightly at Maru’s appearance. Then he turned his head and sat down. His whole body was expressing that he had no intention of talking to Maru.

Before Maru’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, Ki-soon dragged Maru outside first and started whining.

“Ah- That guy is really really blocked up.”

“So you’re not going to help me track it down?”

At Maru’s direct question, Ki-sun opened her eyes slightly and made a troubled expression.

“When I talk to him, I think his ability is definitely there. But. You know, that type.”

The strength of the Korean people who grew up after overcoming the damage of the Korean War. The power of the Korean people who overthrew the military dictatorship with a thirst for democracy. A type with strong faith and pride in the Korean people who worked together to overcome the IMF and foreign exchange crisis.

A person who believes that even if the government and martial law command were truly cannibals and treated the people like livestock, the Korean people would eventually drive out such a government and martial law command and rise again.

After examining the feelings, Maru was dumbfounded by Ki-sun’s story that one detective really thought that way.

“I thought you were tainted by the power of a high-ranking cannibal, but it seems you are either mentally ill or have believed it yourself.”

“···You believed me? What do you mean? It’s not what I think, is it?”

“That’s right. Where would a detective’s tracking ability be used? Wouldn’t it be used to catch anti-government figures? Wouldn’t it be used to beat up people who opposed martial law?”

“······.”

“Keep talking, they’ll be listening. If there’s no other way, we’ll have to break it.”

“······.”

Ki-soon didn’t ask what Maru would break. She just hoped that the detective would change his mind.

“···In a situation where the population is suddenly decreasing like now, is there another way to secure future growth momentum?”

That was one detective’s argument.

Are you saying that we should track down and eliminate cannibals who haven’t actually eaten newborns and are predicting the future? I can’t do that.

“The fact that they increased the number of pregnant women by providing economic benefits is proof that they are not simple cannibals. If they were real cannibals, they would have locked them up and run pregnancy factories.”

“······.”

“Just as the global human trafficking ring imprisons women, impregnates them, and sells their newborns, if that’s what you’re saying, wouldn’t the Korean government and martial law command have done the same?”

“······.”

“Wouldn’t it have been more economical to mobilize the military to arrest women of childbearing age, take them away, force them to get pregnant, and manage them? But they didn’t do that. How do you explain that?”

“······.”

Ki-soon felt like his insides were going to burst. Beyond confirmation bias, this detective was so incoherent that it seemed like he was being brainwashed. And Maru, who was watching from the other side, felt the same way.

Tsk-

I didn’t want to use this method. Maru, who had suddenly gone inside, looked at a detective and said.

“Kisun, do you have any heart stimulants?”

“uh-”

Even if I took a heart stimulant, I might die. I wasn’t a cannibal, and it wasn’t my style to drive people this way.

“Write to the old man and you go out.”

“···I get it.”

Ki-soon administered a stimulant to a detective and went outside.

“Then that’s right. Since it can’t be explained with words, is it a drug?”

Instead of answering, Maru turned on the monitor and briefly showed the situation.

“There is a bunker in Gwanak, and there are smaller bunkers all over the country. However, I can’t find the exact location.”

“······.”

One detective kept his mouth shut and refused to talk.

“Really? Then let me ask you something. If you were to die right now, would you have any regrets?”

“After all. A threat? Just a threat···.”

The atmosphere changed in an instant.

No, it’s not the atmosphere that has changed, it’s the air.

A feeling of being crushed, as if the air had been turned into lead.

A detective stared at the floor in front of him, his breathing ragged and choked.

Something rippling.

There was an entity before him that could not be expressed in words.

The moment you meet eyes whose depth is unknown.

One detective forgot what he had been talking about and what he had been thinking.

There is only one thing left.

death.

Die.

Death is returning to nothingness.

The outcome of death became increasingly clear.

A heart-wrenching sense of death.

The slowly approaching apocalypse shook the soul of a detective.

If he had died in one breath, his last words would have been brief.

slowly.

It was painful, if not terrifying, to see someone die with their whole body frozen while still being conscious.

All the things I regretted came back vividly to me.

I realized that it was true that London and Paris were blown up with nukes.

That wasn’t CG or anything.

It was also true that Seoul and the metropolitan area were being purified with hydrogen bombs.

Because death has no reason to speak empty words.

What is sitting in front of you right now.

A detective, the criminal he was chasing was not a murderer or anything like that.

It is death in human form, the end.

If he can’t get what he wants, if he can’t find it,

Death and apocalypse will cover the Korean peninsula.

It wasn’t a threat, it was a definite future and an ending.

Huh-huh-

Huuuuuuuuuuu-

A detective fell to the ground with his face turning blue.

“Tea. I’ll find it. Please. Please···.”

Please have mercy.