Rust - Chapter 878



Only Krnovel

RUST [RUST]-878

Exploring the Quebec underground spider burrows has provided us with a wealth of information.

[In terms of mutation, it seemed to be at the stage just before the second mutation.]

Spiders were originally independent individuals. However, it is clearly not natural for them to live in groups like this.

[Researchers are currently analyzing the cause.]

There were many possibilities, including that he had been mutated, genetically modified, or had been exposed to the ability to take over and control spiders.

“Where else can you find spider holes like this?”

[It seems that the reason they took over Quebec was because of the food.]

If they attacked Quebec because of the food, it would mean that they had no choice but to attack because the spider colony under Quebec was at its limit.

If you look at it that way, it was in the same context as the ant empire attacking New York. If you’re starving, it would make sense to start a war, even if it’s just for population control.

This is especially true if we judge only by the facts that have been revealed so far.

The Ant Empire attacks New York.

Spider colonies take over Quebec.

What these two incidents have in common is that they attacked humans in massive numbers.

[···It seems that food and numbers are important.]

“So if you think about it the other way around, if the city is fine, there are no large clusters underground or nearby?]

[Yes, it would be reasonable to think that way.]

“······.”

Is that really true?

Is that really true?

There was something strange about the floor.

What suddenly came to mind was the behavior of the rats before they were incorporated into the Holy Kingdom.

Even in New York, rats were farming cockroaches and eating them. They were farming fungi (mushrooms). What if spiders and ants were doing the same?

Maru had entered the heart of the ant empire. There were clear signs of farming and livestock. Would spiders be any different?

If not, somewhere in the spider hole hiding quietly, they would be farming or raising livestock(?) like an ant empire.

Even if they weren’t attacking humans right now, the number of spiders would surely continue to increase. And what if their numbers increased beyond the limit?

Just as it swallowed up Quebec in one breath, it will swallow up nearby cities in an instant.

If it were a realistic prediction, this would be closer, but I did not criticize Na Ju-yeon’s analysis that they would not have attacked the city because there were no large groups.

The situation was such that the spider colonies in Quebec were over. All that was needed was to go underground in several cities to find a huge supply of rats to eat.

Whether there is a spider colony or not. If there is, it will be revealed whether it is a small colony as Na Ju-yeon predicted, or a huge colony that has production infrastructure and is gradually gathering numbers as Maru worried.

“I will give a ‘reward’ to the rat army that finished off the spider colony. The other rat armies will check the underground of the cities and towns in our area.”

[yes-.]

The best prizes for the field mice were jerky and rice cakes. The mice that ate the meat of the secondary mutated bears not only became more cold-resistant, but also had higher metabolic efficiency.

[That’s bear jerky and rice cakes. The effects are so certain, but wouldn’t it be dangerous if the mutated traits were inherited?]

Ki-soon was on guard.

“Still, it’s right to reward them.”

If you achieve something, you will be rewarded.

If you put in the effort, you will definitely be rewarded accordingly.

This was a principle Maru had established since he first brought the animals together.

In an apocalyptic world where you can become stronger by just eating, what would be the greatest reward for an animal? Wouldn’t it be to be able to eat something that they can’t hunt?

In that case, the best reward would be something like bear meat that they could not hunt on their own. Since the effect of the reward is intuitive, not only would other animals envy it, but they could also feel pride that their efforts and achievements were rewarded.

“When an army of field mice starts patrolling the underground, you’re bound to run into not only spiders, but ants as well.”

If the ants chose to submit to the Holy Kingdom, then war would break out again. And it could break out in dozens of places at the same time.

[Are you saying that the field mice need to become stronger?]

“At least we have to be strong enough to hold the line.”

The PD cautiously agreed with Ki-sun’s idea.

[Because rat-specific weapons have been distributed, they have greater destructive power than before.]

The problem was that the rat race itself had a characteristic that made it difficult for them to maintain consistent beliefs and faith as they prospered and grew.

With the extremely fast generational change rate and tremendous reproductive capacity, there was a high probability that individuals with diverse characteristics would emerge.

Wouldn’t it be strange to hope that none of them will be born with the characteristics of a rebel without a cause, an independent spirit in death, or a thirsty usurper for succession?

That’s why Ki-soon and the PD thought that it was dangerous for rats to become stronger. The PD was especially cautious because he had an experience where the rat he had managed had betrayed him once.

The number of rats left after the Quebec spiders were pushed out was in the tens of millions. It was expected to increase to three or four million before the ice melted. By the time the weather warmed up, it would be in the hundreds of millions.

Can we be sure that there won’t be any weirdos among that large number?

Maru nodded. But it was good to stick to the principles.

Rats were already off-limits in Detroit. There was no payment system for crows, wolves, magpies, or acid gulls.

Even the rewards are a mess here?

The crow that bombed got it, but the rat that made a huge sacrifice didn’t?

Are you saying that we should just brush aside this absurd situation with faith and belief?

For now, there are those who have directly verified the power of Maru, so they say they will move on, but will that be the case as time goes by? There is a limit to filling the stomach with death.

How long can the fear of death and the belief in an afterlife cover up the absurdity of reality?

I understand Ki-sun and PD’s worries, but Maru thought that this was a dangerous time. It was a situation right before they moved to the floating city. It was hard to guess what would happen when spring came.

“The Crow Bombardment Squadron got a reward, so the Rat Corps should get a reward too.”

Principles were only meaningful if they were followed.

Betrayal even after receiving a reward?

It would be difficult to make it all into manure at once, but if you could drink up to 100,000 a day, that would be enough.

If that didn’t work, there was also a way to catch the rats that had betrayed the Holy Kingdom by using the ant kingdom that had defected to the Holy Kingdom.

With the betrayal, supplies are cut off, and attacks from the loyal religious rats and ant kingdoms on the floor. And even a spider colony. Betrayal will soon mean death.

“And it’s not bad if there are cases where someone dies even if I don’t do anything about it.”

Ki-soon and PD understood Maru’s explanation.

“Proceed with the rewards as scheduled, and divide the area into groups and search them.”

[Uh- oh.]

The nurse came out of the video conference room to deliver the news that the troop of field mice would be rewarded for their meritorious deeds.

“wait a minute.”

“Huh? Yes?”

I looked back and saw a hooded figure wearing a half-mask.

“Wh. What’s going on?”

“Now let’s talk about rewards.”

Hood, who had been thinking about his words for a moment, offered his opinion.

“How about we tell the rats what happened at this meeting?”

“What kind of story?”

“There was opposition, but he gave the reward.”

“to?”

It’s not like I’m lying, it’s true, so there’s no problem. But wasn’t it okay to express your opinion in the conference room earlier? The nurse blinked.

“As you know, he is a bit reluctant to be praised openly…”

“Ah- yes. That’s true.”

The nurse nodded.

‧

‧

‧

Maru decided to reward not only the rat legions that had distinguished themselves in this war, but also the exemplary rats, including the Faith Rats, the Mountain Rats, the Flame Rats, and the Heretic Inquisition Rats, who had silently distinguished themselves while defending the borders of the Holy Kingdom.

“The existing rats might feel relatively deprived. So, let’s take this opportunity to reward all the rats who have contributed at once.”

[I will check.]

Without the artificial intelligence Diana, it would have been impossible to calculate the individual achievements of the over 30 million newly recruited and existing rats.

[If you add together the army of rats that contributed the most to the subjugation of spiders and the rats that contributed to the defense of the Holy Kingdom, it is more than expected.]

Despite strict criteria for rewards, over 500,000 rats exceeded the public standard.

“There are a lot.”

[There are not enough items to give as rewards.]

Maru, who had a momentary look of disappointment at the report of a shortage of bear jerky and rice cakes, stood up holding Nuclipse.

“Over 500 thousand?”

Then how many should I catch?

There was an incident where we had to rush down to Montreal and kill six at once, but the award ceremony was prepared without any problems.

[The number of mice that can attend the ceremony is about 13 million.]

[We recommend opening the ceremony on a frozen river.]

To create a space to accommodate a swarm of 13 million rats, ice was the answer.

“Let’s push it that way.”

And so the award ceremony took place. A swarm of rats numbering thirteen million turned the white snow-covered river into a gray field.

Mid-March. Even though the daytime temperature was still below -30 to -40 degrees Celsius, the rats were still hot. It was the first time so many of their kind had gathered in one place. There were also ten million rats who were seeing Maru’s face for the first time.

There was a rumor that added fuel to the excitement, that He had ‘special’ regard for the rat’s wishes.

He said that rewards should be fair despite the opposition of other beings. The rats also knew that they were many. So they did not think about rewards.

How could they reward such a huge number? They felt that they couldn’t stand it if they were given a reward that could be a catalyst for evolution while other animals were given something ordinary.

But when he said that he had prepared a reward himself, the rats began to beat as if their little hearts were going to burst.

The excitement of the rats gradually began to build. When Maru finally climbed onto the ice platform and raised his hand, the swarm of over 13 million rats roared in unison.

■■■■■!

■■■■■!

Loyalty to God!!

Glory be to God!!

The intense consciousness of one race united and emitted – shook the space.

And that cry turned into praise.

▭▭▭▭▭▭▭▭▭▭

▭▭▭▭▭▭▭▭▭▭

He gave hope to the lowly and humble.

He gave hope to the flesh rotting in the gutter and the field.

Boom- Boom- Puff-

Pachijik- Pachijijik-

The relay drone that was floating far away to avoid the biological EMP exploded, and the electronic control equipment of the airship filming the scene at an altitude of 4 km was damaged, causing the airship to drift.

Even the new communication equipment that could respond to a moderate EMP was shut down, and even the audio equipment on the stage was turned into scrap metal all at once.

The waves were so huge that they had to hurriedly use a stratospheric airship to resume live broadcasting.

Maru was momentarily taken aback by the unexpected reaction, but the award ceremony continued. Small pieces of jerky and rice cakes were given to the swarm of over 500,000 rats.

These were rats who believed that the small pieces of meat contained the approval, blessings, and grace of God. That is why the rats who ate the jerky and rice cakes on that very spot immediately mutated.

It was just bear jerky and rice cakes. It made my body feel a little better, and I became more tolerant of cold and heat, and stuff like that. But what is it now?

“What the fuck- what is that?”

“Huh? Huh?”

“What is it? Why is it like that?”

“······.”

“Praise him.”

From Ki-sun to the PD, we were speechless at the overwhelming sight.

As soon as they received their reward, the 13 million rats raised their voices even louder when they saw their fellow rats starting to change color.

◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯

◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯

It seems to be endlessly circulating and intertwined-

Something was repeated beyond the audible range.

That intense desire. That burning faith———

Na Ju-yeon spoke absentmindedly.

“The embodiment of the concept—”

No. Should we call it the embodiment of faith now?

Something that was impossible, scientific or otherwise, was happening.

How on earth do you analyze a swarm of half a million rats changing in real time?

At that moment, Na Ju-yeon’s eyes shook.

then···.

“The object of faith is—”

What happens?

Everyone’s eyes turned to the floor on the stage as Na Ju-yeon muttered to herself.