Rust - Chapter 898



Only Krnovel

RUST -898

While the Empire was carrying out its punitive operations, the Holy Kingdom also continued to organize the surrounding area. Ki-sun asked while checking the status board.

“What about death?”

“I need to stay a little longer.”

I wasn’t able to fully digest the life I had absorbed in Kansas. If I ignored it and continued to harvest, the garden of death would grow bigger and my control would weaken. That had to be avoided.

In response to Maru’s answer, Ki-soon moved two icons on the status board. It was an icon of a two-headed Kim Yang holding a sniper rifle and a praying nurse.

“Then I guess I’ll have to send Miss Kim and the nurse along.”

Kim Yang was in charge. The nurse was in charge of gathering information and negotiating. The nurse was the best at handling the pheromone translator and the spider web vibration translator, so working together was effective for the operation.

“Naruz is still here.”

“I know.”

It was confirmed that the spirit body had disappeared, but it was better to move on with certainty. Since the entire territory of the Holy Kingdom needed to be cleared at once, it would have been helpful if Naruzu had been there, but Maru and Gisun prioritized safety.

“Wouldn’t it be better to skip the 49th day?”

“Okay then.”

After a moment of silence, Ki-sun said.

“Still, I’m glad I got to see you off without having to see any more bad things.”

“In many ways, it is.”

It was also discovered that the psychic countermeasure equipment could block psychics, and that psychics could exert some physical force, like a foldergeist.

Above all, it was a great experience to personally confirm that the spirit body can change bodies. Now, when fighting against spirit-type users or enemy clones, we have established a countermeasure doctrine that takes mind movement and body change into account.

In addition, it has been confirmed that equipment that responds to psychic abilities is also effective against psychic capture and possession defense, which will be of great help in establishing future response doctrines and operations.

As a result, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the Naru incident was a turning point for the mind, as it became an opportunity to reconsider the mental abilities and the mental body.

It was already mid-March. The lowest temperature was now hovering around minus 15 degrees Celsius.

By late April or early May, the lowest temperature will be below zero. By late May, the temperature will suddenly start to soar. If things are similar to last year, the highest temperature in summer will easily exceed 40 degrees.

“What happened to the floating city?”

“I think it will be completed around the end of April or early May.”

Thanks to the additional production of construction robots and artificial intelligence, the construction period could be shortened. In fact, the module production plant was operated 24 hours a day, so if it weren’t for that, it wouldn’t have been strange if the construction took 5 or 10 years.

“That old man is really great. He built a sea city several times larger than ours.”

“I guess it’s because there are so many people.”

“Even if the population was large, it’s unlikely that the old man would have mobilized them by force. I wonder how he was able to create it so quickly.”

“Is it hard to learn about the construction process? Is hacking difficult?”

“They say that hacking countermeasures have gotten stronger since the King declared non-intervention. It’s hard to get in and out without a trace.”

“Tsk- Was that too fast?”

Ki-sun shook her head at Maru’s words that she should have made the non-intervention declaration later.

“Your timing was good. If you hadn’t intervened then, you would have asked me to help you exterminate the spiders and ants now.”

“but.”

“If we had helped, New York would not have given up and would have been rebuilt. And when you consider the problem of the free Canadian refugees… it was a good thing we didn’t interfere and just stayed out of it.”

“The empire must endure. It would be better if it survives well.”

I hoped they would hold out at least until they could establish a foundation centered around a floating city, if not until they could create a stratospheric colony. Ki-soon was lost in thought at Maru’s words.

“······.”

“I would like to get from the floating city to the stratosphere colony as quickly as possible.”

Stratospheric colony. The plan to go up to 40 to 50 kilometers above the ground would not be easy. However, if they could go up, it would be incomparably safer than a floating city.

After applying and verifying new technologies in the floating city, the order was to go into the stratosphere and extract as many applicable technologies as possible from the stratosphere.

Ki-sun, who had been lost in thought, looked at the status board with her narrowed eyes. Kim Yang, who was two heads tall, was moving forward with a sniper rifle. Nurses and soldiers who looked like they were praying were following behind her.

“You really want to go all the way to the stratosphere? Even if a bunch of mutant monsters swarm the floating city, it won’t be a problem.”

The technology and equipment currently being applied to floating cities were absolutely defense-friendly. But was there any reason to go all the way to the stratosphere?

If we look at only the objective facts, even the current capital, Detroit, had a defense system that could be said to be impregnable.

Above all, once he was able to unleash the Garden of Death, it seemed likely that Maru would be able to blow up an entire city if he set his mind to it.

On the other hand, if Maru wanted to, he could easily protect a city on his own. But why is he so serious about the stratosphere colony? Ki-soon’s squinted eyes narrowed slightly.

“As I said last time, looking at the way the Empire is returning and the situation in Free Canada, I think that technological advancement does not necessarily lead to good results. The technology to enter a floating city is no joke, and if it goes all the way to a stratospheric colony, it may really be irreversible.”

“Hey. It’s a bit odd when you say things like that.”

“What did I say…. Ha- ha- I thought a lot when people started leaving, saying things like ‘Free Canadian Federation.’”

“······.”

“Is it because I did something wrong as governor? Of course, that may be part of it. It’s also true that I left my position as governor whenever something happened here and there.”

The status board flashed and the 2D Kim Yang icon raised a sniper rifle over its head. As a small speech bubble saying (Attack!) appeared, the nurse icon and troop icon following it also had speech bubbles saying (Prepare for attack!).

“But is that all? When I think about it, unfortunately, that’s not all. The Governor-General’s failure to devote himself to rebuilding Canada was just an excuse.”

“······.”

“It was because we built a stronghold in the North and stopped the mutant monsters from advancing south that the Canadians changed their minds. They remembered the past as we rebuilt the infrastructure and restored life and safety.”

“······.”

Maru didn’t stop talking about Gi-sun.

“In effect, they were providing free medical care and basic necessities.”

“······.”

Ki-soon let out a long sigh again and looked at the Kim Yang icon, who was fiercely advancing while floating the (Attack!) speech bubble.

Kim Yang and his unit icon advanced towards Mississauga and Toronto, Canada, and immediately entered into a street fight.

“It was inevitable that unemployment would skyrocket in the short term as AI replaced administrative and clerical jobs.”

It wasn’t just administrative and clerical work. The combination of robots and artificial intelligence also replaced a significant number of industrial workers. In fact, it was more realistic to use robots and artificial intelligence than to use people in all production activities.

“That must be why.”

In a capitalist society, freedom is something you enjoy in proportion to your income. So, it would be inevitable that you would be dissatisfied with welfare policies such as minimum income guarantee, free medical care, and support for daily necessities.

“Once safety and survival are secured and the infrastructure starts to function normally, what people will always need is money. The Holy Kingdom… No. I have overlooked the needs of people who have become tainted by capitalism.”

Ki-soon made a bitter expression.

It’s not that I didn’t know about the desire for capital attached to the word freedom and the desire for material attached to the word independence, but I thought people would be able to control it rationally given the circumstances.

“Don’t worry too much about the past. You gave those people the freedom they wanted.”

“They say that human desires are endless and that we repeat the same mistakes. As long as there is desire, problems will arise as the floating city develops a perfect defense system.”

Maru shrugged his shoulders at Ki-sun’s words.

“You’re saying that people like that emerge even after watching them being taught the truth? Like the story of Exodus?”

A story about people who betrayed God despite being given freedom and independence through the ten plagues. A story about people who betrayed God even though they experienced miracles firsthand while walking through the wilderness.

And perhaps the fact that the idol set up in betrayal of God was a golden cow symbolizing material abundance may be a symbolic story about human nature.

Just as the symbol of Wall Street is the bull.

“Yes. If we knew it would happen but still let it happen and educate it, is that the people’s fault? Or is it our problem for letting it happen even though we knew it would happen?”

“So? Let’s prevent people from doing stupid things in advance? How? Let’s control them using artificial intelligence?”

“······.”

“I told you that wasn’t the case. So what else are we going to do besides controlling AI? If you can think of any other good methods, please tell me.”

“······.”

“Surely you’re not talking about using religion to control people like the PD guy said?”

I was thinking about Kisun secretly talking about free Canada and reproaching herself. Was it a build-up?

“I said it last time, but it’s difficult because my current abilities are different from the image of the Holy Church.”

“If you can gain faith by changing your image, you should gain it. Now, you know from experience that faith is not just belief. You have to make sure that people don’t betray and believe in something else.”

Ki-sun, who had been silent, spoke seriously.

“What would people think if you went to the floating city and became safe? If they thought they were safe without you? They would believe in science and technology. Or they would believe in money, or at least in a person with visible abilities…”

Even if they are atheists, humans tend to believe in something.

“Even if you’re an atheist, this is a world where you have no choice but to believe in something. Whether it’s an ideology, money, ability, or whatever.”

And now, the world was influenced by that belief. Although there may be differences in degree, faith was a kind of resource, and it could be said to be a reinforcement stack.

Are we going to let the wrong guys take those faith resources? Are we going to let the other guys build up their ability enhancement stacks?

If the empire falls, 35 million people won’t die all at once. People will try to rely on something to survive and believe in something. Whatever it is, it will be faith.

As their faith becomes more desperate for survival, the object of their faith will become more and more powerful. In the end, it is…

Ki-sun’s squinted eyes, which had been lost in thought, became even narrower.

‘Maru guy. Did you think that far before you started talking about the stratosphere?’

“Are you sure you don’t want to get involved in a stratospheric colony, no matter what happens on the ground?”

“······.”

Beep! Pfft!

The two people’s eyes turned to the status board at the sound of the popping sound effect. Cute sparks and smoke began to rise from within the miniature of the collapsed city.

Forward, only Kim Yang’s icon, which had been advancing, finally took control of the central area. The image of 2D crows flying around and dropping round bombs over a miniature city came to mind.

“The power that takes over people’s faith will grow in an instant. Won’t that power, which has grown in this way, turn its eyes to heaven? Will those who know that we have ascended to heaven just watch us?”

Man was a creature of desire. Those who learned that faith was a source of strength could not help but use it to fulfill their desires.

A world where science, technology, and faith can merge, is not strange. Should we just leave the sacred kingdom that floats in the sky and stands tall? Should humans?

Maru let out a deep breath at Ki-sun’s story.

“I should organize as much as possible before I go up.”

12 Counts. Now that the two are dead, the vampire power of the 10 Counts had to be cleaned up. This was because the highest-ranking vampires had begun to develop abilities close to authority.

The guy who tried to eat up all of Free Canada had a temptation to rule by blood, and a woman with strong control. If people start believing in such vampires as gods, they will gain tremendous power.

Maru planned to clean up before that happened. The same goes for the Virginia remnants who survived and operated in secret as a guerrilla organization.

Joseph Meyer was dead, but it was difficult to predict how many memory erosion ampoules he left behind. Considering the Naru incident, it was difficult to say that there was no possibility that the real Joseph Meyer would emerge from among those who had been eroded by Joseph Meyer’s memory residue.

Lastly, there were also the pseudo-resorts that started sprouting up here and there. Before moving to the floating city, I planned to get rid of these three groups.

“Even so, the fact that you have to make a decision doesn’t change. As I said last time, I don’t care if you’re a king, a god, or a god, but people won’t. The longer you delay, the more people’s faith will scatter, and it will be difficult to bring back those who have experienced the miracle of fulfilling their desires.”

“······.”

That’s why PD said he would tear down the Holy Church.

Beep- beep- beep-

Pappabam—–

Fireworks flashed above the miniature city on the bulletin board with cute sound effects. It meant that the unit led by Kim Yang and the nurse had taken control of Mississauga.

“You’re really fast, Miss Kim.”

“I know.”

As the two people took a moment to collect their thoughts, the artificial intelligence Diana submitted an emergency report.

[An emergency request for assistance has been received from Korea.]