Rust - Chapter 912



Only Krnovel

RUST-913

Maru told me to think about what to tear out, but no matter how much I thought about it, there wasn’t anything in particular to tear out.

[It was really a beggar. Asking for more semiconductor production is meaningless, and what is common in Korea is manpower. If you take away a million young workers from Korea, it means going bankrupt. That is also difficult.]

It was rejected to take away Koreans, but it was also not rejected to take away Japanese or Chinese people.

If you believe in Maru, you can take them regardless of nationality under the pretext of religion, but it’s out of the question since you wouldn’t say that the Korean government ripped off Japanese or Chinese refugees.

Ki-soon, who was hiding her embarrassment, answered shamelessly.

[So I was thinking, what about gold?]

“Gold? I don’t know how much you have in Korea, but it’s not enough to compensate me for what I’ve done.”

[No matter how much it is lacking, Korea doesn’t need gold because it uses digital currency. I think it would be better to ask for gold or silver, no matter how much. That’s what we need too.]

The Holy Kingdom used a currency based on gold, silver, and copper. Although the coins were made with new technology to prevent counterfeiting and damage, they were still a physical currency system based on precious metals.

By linking the coins to banknotes and digital payment systems, you could exchange banknotes for real coins at any time. Likewise, you could use banknotes and real coins at the same time.

High-value notes such as gold and platinum coins have tiny location tracking devices embedded in them, making it possible to detect tax evasion, money laundering, and concealment at any time.

“Are you already running low on gold?”

[We still have some spare time, but for people like us, the more the better.]

In fact, the reason it was based on gold and silver was closer to a desperate measure to increase the reliability of the currency in the early days of the founding of the Holy Kingdom.

To be honest, no one had predicted that the Holy Kingdom would grow this well in its early days. That’s why they created a currency based on gold, silver, and copper.

Even if the Holy Kingdom were to fall or the economy collapse, the precious metals would still be valuable. They would still provide a sense of security that they were real, even if they were to go to the Empire or another state that had become a total lawless zone.

If there was even a little more greed there, the attempt to create a currency that could respond to inflation a little bit also worked.

Whatever the reason, if the price of gold rises due to inflation, it will have the effect of counteracting the rise in prices.

Although it was extremely cumbersome, the Holy Kingdom currency was quickly established thanks to the promotion of physical gold and silver currencies.

“Okay. Then let’s ask the Korean government to give us gold and silver, and receive the remaining amount from Gangwon Province.”

[What? Gangwon-do?]

Ki-sun’s eyes widened slightly at Maru’s words, asking for Gangwon-do in a comfortable and natural way, as if asking for the candy he had kept in his pocket.

[Suddenly Gangwon-do? What are you doing in Gangwon-do? Gangwon-do is a place that was abandoned because of the mutant monsters. Gangneung, Yangyang, and Sokcho were all abandoned because of the tsunami and fire caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Chuncheon and Wonju were destroyed because of the mutant monsters. Oh, right, last year···.]

Thinking about it, I remembered that when we brought in the newborns last year, we recaptured Chuncheon and Wonju and used the two cities as bases to manage the soldiers and mothers who chose to emigrate.

Since the defense system and modular nuclear power plant that were built at that time would have been managed by artificial intelligence, it was not impossible to ask for Gangwon-do.

[Will the Korean government accept it?]

“In any case, the best thing to do for the Korean military right now is to defend Gangwon-do. If we could have reclaimed Gangwon-do, we would have already planted our eggs in Gangwon-do. We can’t even organize the Jirisan and Sobaeksan Mountains right now, so we don’t have the capacity to worry about Gangwon-do. We don’t have any.”

Ki-sun had no choice but to agree with Maru’s cool-headed analysis.

[Okay. Then, let’s first accept it in gold and silver, and negotiate the remainder by ceding Gangwon-do.]

“In the case of gold mines, even if it’s not in Gangwon-do, look for them. Even if it’s currently a closed mine, if you use mining robots, you can scrape up whatever’s left.”

Ki-soon let out a deep sigh.

[No, I said beggars. They are taking gold and silver from Gangwon-do, and if there are other gold mines there, it doesn’t matter if they are closed, so they are telling you to give up the mines as well?]

“I told you. Korea is using CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) and is not on the gold or silver standard. So it’s okay to scrape it.”

[Gold rings, gold necklaces, gold keys, gold toads, gold watches, and things like that sell well in Korea. Even if it weren’t for the gold or silver standard, demand would be overflowing. Oh, man. They really rip off abandoned mines? They rip off Gangwon-do too?

“Tear it down. Right now, we’ve prevented the immortal monster incident of the Japanese refugee movement, protected Siheung and Pyeongtaek, and opened the Bupyeong-Bucheon line. Right now, the places where Chinese refugees are gathered in large groups are the Taean Peninsula, Mokpo Port, and Incheon.”

Maru, who had been collecting his thoughts for a moment, spoke.

“And they said they would hand over the weapons and supplies the armed forces had to the South Korean military.”

[Oh – then the story will be easy.]

Although the Korean army had more than 280 soldiers, including reserve forces, half of them were using rifles and equipment that were 30 to 40 years old.

Even if it was made in China, the latest equipment and supplies were enough to keep the military factories running until they could be rearmed.

“The Korean government will probably hand over Gangwon Province if it comes to that. Chuncheon and Wonju have been under our effective control since last year anyway. The East Sea area was swept away by a tsunami and burned down, and the other cities are under the control of mutant monsters. If you go and speak well, there will be no problem.”

[···Well, if the King asks me to give it to you, I can’t not give it to you.]

What can we do if we just turned 2 million Chinese armed groups and illegal occupiers into fertilizer?

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The Korean government was shocked to hear the demands of the Holy Kingdom. They thought they had to give what they asked for, but… they were in trouble in many ways.

First of all, it was like asking for precious metals. It was ambiguous to ask for exactly how much gold or silver there was, and to ask for everything that was there. If it was a gold mine, it was okay to close it, but it was also like asking for the entire mine.

‘He’s crazy about gold.’

‘You’re just crazy.’

‘If gold is that good, why don’t you just take an airship and go around collecting gold?’

Anyway, they’re all military powers.

I thought so because I didn’t know that Maru and Kim Yang had been collecting gold since the beginning of the incident and had even crossed the Atlantic Ocean to England and France.

In any case, the demands of the Holy Kingdom were bold.

Not only the gold and silver, but also the mines, and the entire Gangwon Province was handed over. The Korean government and parliament were thrown into chaos as if a bomb had exploded.

“You want to go beyond Gangwon-do?”

“The Holy Kingdom is blatantly targeting our country’s territory.”

“It’s Gangwon-do. Gangwon-do.”

“There is hardly any population there.”

“It is an area that is, frankly, impossible for us to manage.”

Gangwon-do was practically a place occupied by mutant monsters. It was a difficult reality to prevent the mutant monsters in the mountains from coming down to the surrounding cities and villages.

Even that was blocking the border cities and towns between Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gyeonggi-do, but Gangwon-do was already finished.

To begin with, Gangwon-do’s population was just under 2 million.

After the mutant virus incident and the tsunami from Japan hit, the number of people died was not even 300,000, let alone 600,000. After being robbed by the mutant monster, it was practically considered a place that had been taken over by the mutant monster.

“Rather, it would be better for the Holy Kingdom army to be stationed in Gangwon Province. Then, the mutant monsters would flock there, and other neighboring areas would be safe.”

“It’s nothing more than territory.”

“Is it so easy to say that we should hand over the land?”

“No. Is there anyone here who doesn’t know that Gangwon-do is part of our territory?”

“Didn’t you give up Chuncheon and Wonju last year?”

“It’s really true that we’ve handed over the central city of Gangwon-do and are only now looking for territory and land.”

“Last year. Last year. There’s no need to blame the last cannibal government or the previous regime.”

“Let’s all calm down and look at reality objectively.”

“Even if we do not cede Gangwon-do, the fact that the Holy Kingdom controls the key cities of Chuncheon and Wonju will not change.”

“Yes. Right now, we are pouring in human and material resources to block the mutant monsters that are coming out of Gangwon Province, but we have failed to control them.”

“Are you all crazy? It’s Gangwon-do. Gangwon-do. Can you say that it’s that easy to pass over the various mines and cement factories in Gangwon-do?”

“No. Let’s face it. Gangwon-do has fallen to a mutant monster.”

“It’s already been over three years, and you’re opposing a cement factory in a mine that hasn’t been dug for three or four years?”

“Very well. What will you do if we reject the demands of the Holy Kingdom and the King returns?”

“You are going back without resolving the Chinese refugee crisis? That is a violation of the treaty.”

“Have we entered into a mutual defense treaty with the Holy Kingdom?”

“So what did you conclude last year?”

“What do you mean by the agreement between Chuncheon and Wonju?”

“What is it? It’s something they gave us in return for overthrowing the cannibal regime and liberating us.”

“Let us not mistake the mutual trade treaty for some kind of blood alliance treaty.”

“Let’s stop.”

The South Korean president sorted out the situation.

“Without the Holy Kingdom, it is difficult to protect the production bases including Siheung-Pyeongtaek and the capital city of Seoul.”

It was wrong from the beginning. The previous government, the cannibal government, was the same, and the last government was the same. When refugees came from China, they should have responded strongly and pushed them to the islands on the west coast, or pushed them into North Korea.

The same goes for refugees coming from Japan. If they had been put on a southern island or sent to North Korea, this wouldn’t have happened.

It was virtually impossible to control the remaining 23 million Chinese refugees, despite the number being reduced by nearly 2 million, or the 15 million Japanese refugees.

The Chinese refugees were endlessly pouring in weapons, supplies, special forces and spies from the four Chinese, while the Japanese refugees had a huge number of capable people. The Korean military was having a hard time just preventing them from leaving the refugee camp and spreading out.

This incident was also a case of a Chinese armed group leaving Incheon, breaking through the Bupyeong-Bucheon line, and advancing all the way to the capital city of Seoul to hurriedly request help.

Siheung and Pyeongtaek, where semiconductor-related factories are concentrated, were also on the verge of collapse, so they were in a state of crisis, like a fire on their buttocks.

If the Holy Kingdom were to leave right away? It would probably not last even a month and the capital city of Seoul and the Siheung-Pyeongtaek production base would surely fall into crisis again, just like before.

“At present, the only way for us to survive is to turn to cutting-edge equipment, including semiconductors, and the military industry. The only way is to export the materials the empire needs, receive resources and food, and build up our strength.”

The great disaster completely destroyed Japan’s industrial facilities, and the Sino-US war also caused large-scale destruction of China’s industrial facilities. The invasion of Taiwan by southern Chinese warlords ended Taiwan’s semiconductor complex and electronic component factories.

The same is true across the Pacific in the United States. China’s preemptive nuclear strike and a series of earthquakes in the western region have devastated high-tech industrial complexes in Washington, Oregon, and California.

Texas was devastated by the Holy Kingdom’s hydrogen bomb disinfection and cannibal purge, and New York was completely devastated by cannibals and rats, cockroaches and ants, and the hydrogen bomb explosion.

Now, there are only a few places left in the world that can produce semiconductors, electronic products, and military supplies. And even in Asia, Korea seems to be the only country that can mass produce them.

That is why the Korean president decided that he had to seize this opportunity. While controlling the Chinese and Japanese refugees with the Holy Kingdom, he had to do everything in his power to restore national power.

“We must take this opportunity to prevent China, which is in the midst of a civil war, from provoking Korea. At the same time, we need to diversify our import and export lines.”

The reason the four Chinese countries are each targeting Siheung-Pyeongtaek is probably because they want to take technology including semiconductors. If they can mass-produce it and consume it at a reasonable price, they will buy it and use it rather than continue to consume it.

If we succeed in resuming trade with the seven Chinese countries, we can restart the international trade that was cut off. And only by being able to engage in international trade can Korea become stronger.

“Therefore, I will accept the request of the Holy Kingdom.”

The President of the Republic of Korea passed the request of the Holy Kingdom by his own authority.

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Ki-sun, who was watching the live broadcast of the heated debate between the Korean government and the National Assembly with the Rat Intelligence Unit and the Crow Reconnaissance Unit, let out a small exclamation of admiration.

“But after listening to the discussion, I was wondering, why do you care so much about Korea?”

[I told you before. Oh, did you tell Ms. Kim that time? If Korea is there, even if the 7 Chinese are acting up, it will have the effect of filtering it out once, and if something strange happens in Japan, if Korea gets caught first, we will have time to prepare.]

Ki-sun was a bit taken aback by Maru’s answer.

“If it’s a situation analysis, I think that’s enough since they’ve laid down a blimp in the stratosphere. It’s good that they tore up Gangwon-do, but I think they had something in mind.”

[It doesn’t matter. And now the existing laws are being distorted. Can we detect the distortion of the laws just by monitoring the stratospheric airship?]

“That must be the twisted law.”

[Think of those who have awakened their abilities and absorbed their faith. Would it be better to abandon Korea? Or would it be better to help Korea and maintain it?]

If you think about it, Maru’s words made sense. Ki-soon nodded slightly.

‘At first glance, it may seem invincible, but it is not.’

If it had been unconditionally invincible, it would have swept away the Chinese and Japanese refugees and armed groups in one fell swoop.

There was one reason why they couldn’t just sweep them all away in one fell swoop into the Garden of Death. It was not easy to control the Garden of Death.

The more you harvest life, the more death grows. The reason why you can’t just positively see death growing and becoming stronger is along the same lines.

Regardless of the cause, if death were to lose control and spread in all directions, then hell would be in the cards. It had to be thoroughly managed and controlled so as not to be swayed by the garden of death.

[If we had not absorbed the faith sent by the Japanese refugees, we would not have been able to deal with the Siheung-Pyeongtaek battle so cleanly. It was really close.]

“······.”

[And since there’s a big event scheduled for spring, wouldn’t it be good to get as much experience with the Garden of Death as possible? Honestly, I’m going to go into the field while receiving what I can, so there’s no reason not to help.]

“······.”

Marushak-