Rust - Chapter 925



Only Krnovel

RUST [RUST]-925

The reason Maru wanted to clear the sinkhole and the monster first was for safety and survival.

My extremely personal goals were linked to the survival and safety of humanity, so I had no intention of receiving praise or gratitude from anyone.

“This is ridiculous.”

I didn’t know that the Philippine rebels, government forces, and even the Korean government would oppose Maru’s words about removing the sinkhole. They wouldn’t praise or thank him, but they would oppose him. Is this something to oppose?

The rebels feared that if the sinkhole was removed, the effect of the ash and dust would disappear, since they had been using the ash and dust as a fog to wage guerrilla warfare. They did not claim this outright, but opposed it on the pretext that civilians could be endangered.

The government forces focused on the monster in the sinkhole. They were surprised to see the pangolin alive and moving even after its head was cut off, but they argued that such monsters had never been seen outside before, and that if they tried to destroy the sinkhole, they would provoke it and cause the monsters to swarm.

The story of the Korean government supporting the Philippine government forces was simple. It was Philippine territory, so why bother bringing up the Philippine government’s opposition?

“The stories are all like that— so-so. So frustrating. So frustrating.”

Maru and Gisun’s expressions were equally rotten.

“What are you going to do?”

“We need to talk.”

Catching a Sinkhole Could there ever be a better environment and opportunity than now?

Even if the worst case scenario were to occur, even if the sinkhole exploded and the monsters inside spilled out, it would only be a problem that would end with the island of Mindanao.

If that was the case, Maru would just have to catch the monster that came out. It would take some time, but it would be resolved in the end.

Civilian evacuation issue?

It would not have been a problem to evacuate all civilians on Mindanao Island to nearby islands by mobilizing only a few large airships from the Holy Kingdom and container ships from Korea.

The same goes for food and supplies. Aren’t they already on the verge of starvation and barely able to survive? The Holy Kingdom’s production capacity was more than enough to provide enough to keep them from starving.

When the Holy Kingdom decided to deal with the sinkhole and monsters on its own, each faction strongly opposed it.

“I explained it so you could understand, so why are you against it?”

“Let’s talk face to face.”

“Write your feelings?”

“Yeah. Even if I don’t know what you’re thinking, I can tell what you’re feeling.”

The results of gathering representatives from each faction to discuss sinkholes and monster incidents were the same. They all began to oppose them for their own reasons.

“There will be no compromise unless Islam is officially recognized and the independence of the Free Islamic League is recognized. Also, we cannot tolerate sinkhole operations that may endanger Muslims.”

“Even if the rebels occupy Mindanao, it is clearly Philippine territory. The Philippine government cannot afford to risk the island becoming a wasteland by sinkholes bursting or monsters flooding.”

“Mindanao Island is Philippine territory. For the Holy Kingdom to operate unilaterally in the name of human safety is an act of insulting Philippine sovereignty. Above all, it is a sinkhole that has never been dangerous. I believe that touching a sinkhole without scientific and objective confirmation is an act that could threaten human safety.”

Ki-sun confirmed the feelings of each representative.

“Everyone’s emotions are weird. When you talk about sinkholes and monsters, a color close to greed comes out.”

“You’re after sinkholes and monsters.”

“Ha- That’s crazy. That’s crazy.”

“Was it counterproductive?”

They tried to raise awareness of the dangers by showing footage of a pangolin moving its limbs even after its neck was cut off and a video of a freak incident that occurred in Busan, but it backfired.

As a result of Ki-sun’s emotional analysis, precise surveillance, and wiretapping, the inner workings of each force were thoroughly revealed.

The rebels intended to make sinkholes and monsters into Allah’s punishment, Allah’s weapons.

The Philippine government judged that it was almost a done deal that the rebels would be driven out if the Korean military provided firepower support. They viewed the sinkhole and the monster as assets of the Philippine government.

The Korean government is supporting the Philippine government, so they are pushing forward with joint ownership and joint research on sinkholes and monsters.

In the meantime, when the Holy Kingdom single-handedly destroyed the sinkhole, all three were shocked.

“So what are you going to do?”

“Do you know that there is an abundance of nonsense?”

Maru intended to do the work alone.

“What about the civilians? The civilians there are on the rebel side. If you warn them to evacuate, the rebels might move first. You heard the rebels’ communications. It seems like they’re trying to weaponize sinkholes and monsters. They might make a fuss about you.”

“Or so.”

All I’m saying is to evacuate. After that, isn’t it a matter of each person’s judgment and choice?

“If you say you’ll do it, I’ll do it. Civilians don’t have a choice.”

Ki-soon said bitterly.

“It’s different from Canada. They had a higher level of education anyway. They had information to make decisions. But this place is different.”

The island of Mindanao has long been a place where rebels and government forces have been fighting each other. There were many people who did not even have smartphones, let alone proper education.

Just when wireless internet was starting to work and cheap smartphones were starting to make their way around, a major disaster struck. Not only was there no education, but there were not many people who knew how the outside of the island was changing.

“Even if we tell you to evacuate, you won’t believe us. And the rebels call you a devil. Who would believe a devil telling you to evacuate?”

Ignorance was not a matter of choice. It was a matter of environment, a matter of education, and ultimately a matter of morality and conscience.

“Even so, there’s nothing I can do. If you think that way, then it would be the same as cleaning up the illegal Chinese refugees.”

‘I wish you had warned me.’ ‘I wish you had said you would do it.’ That was all. Whether they didn’t believe it because they didn’t know, or they didn’t receive education, or they ignored it because it was the enemy’s words. Should we consider all of those?

Didn’t you want to get away from that? That’s why you exerted your power without hesitation in the illegal refugee crisis in China. So the principle is the same now.

“It doesn’t matter whether the rebels touch the sinkhole first or whether the government and South Korean forces fight back.”

Announcements and leaflets began to be distributed urging people to evacuate the island of Mindanao.

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Na Ju-yeon looked down at the city surrounded by magnificent walls and vines that were green even in winter.

‘The more I think about it, the more I’m surprised they chose Detroit.’

It was unclear whether they had taken the shot knowingly, but from a survival perspective, Detroit was an excellent choice.

Although productivity was low, not only did coal and iron ore remain, but surprisingly, there were even salt mines, and considerable reserves at that.

Like coal and iron ore, the salt mines had closed due to rising mining costs, but as the Holy Kingdom revived several abandoned mines, the salt mines were also brought back into operation.

‘It was closed last winter, you know. That’s amazing.’

Although it was a rule to conduct experiments in the Vladiak Tower, experiments that might be dangerous were conducted in a secret laboratory built outside the city.

Woooooooooo-

As Na Ju-yeon got off the private airship and entered the impenetrable defense wall, the AI ​​confirmed her identity. Various lights and sounds scanned her, and then the floor began to move.

[Na Ju-yeon has been confirmed. We will move to the S1 Research Center.]

The floor sinks deep into the ground, giving the impression of a sudden plunge. It was a laboratory where research was being conducted, and it would have to be immediately closed down in case of a spill. It was located deep underground.

[Arrived at the research center.]

Only after further inspection and quarantine were we allowed to enter the research center.

“Are you here?”

“Let’s look at the data first.”

In the center of the lab, a severed pangolin’s head was writhing in a transparent special container, covered in white powder.

Next to him, a person with severe burns was floating with a gray cement scab all over his body, and then suddenly his limbs started shaking.

Even though red warning lights and loud warning sounds flashed intermittently, the researcher and Na Ju-yeon’s eyes were fixed on the tablet.

“Is there a difference between sea salt and rock salt?”

“Data shows that sea salt has a slightly more immediate effect.”

“The cause is unknown?”

“Yes. Objectively speaking, rock salt produced hundreds of thousands of years ago would be better than the recently produced sea salt. I don’t know why.”

The researcher answered as if he had a headache. Na Ju-yeon looked at the data and it was the same. Half of the sea salt currently secured for the experiment was from Korea, and the other half was hastily made on the west coast of the United States.

It was difficult to make it cleaner than Korean salt, Western salt, or rock salt created by geological changes hundreds of thousands of years or more old.

“And the country of origin as well?”

“Yes. There was no significant difference between Korean salt and western salt. Likewise, there was no difference between rock salt from other regions and rock salt from Detroit. The only difference was whether it was sea salt or rock salt.”

But modern sea salt is more effective against monsters than the cleaner salt of old.

Na Ju-yeon’s gaze turned to the trembling sample.

The appearance of a moving sample even though it was disassembled and decomposed. It was difficult to understand with the existing concept of life.

Can you really call that dead in the first place?

What does it mean to be alive?

Na Ju-yeon stopped before the scientific question turned metaphysical.

“His Majesty the King has asked us to find a way to eliminate it. All research should be directed towards finding a way to eliminate it.”

Research was conducted using virtual reality, quantum computers, supercomputers, and even artificial intelligence. Thousands and tens of thousands of simulations were run.

The research team, ignoring all causes and reasons and only looking for a way to eliminate the monster, eventually found a way to kill the monster.

The light collected by the giant solar reflector was condensed into a single point. The intense light emitted from the collected light collector was instantly burning the monster.

‘Why is that?’

It took a long time to burn it even with high-power lasers and ion particle cannons, so it’s surprising that it burned so easily under concentrated sunlight.

Na Ju-yeon wondered whether the floating city should also be equipped with solar power devices, like the legend of the giant solar weapon in ancient Alexandria.

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If it works, you should try it.

“Just ask for it.”

Maru, who had checked Na Ju-yeon’s report, said as if it was natural.

“But this doesn’t seem to be a coincidence.”

Ki-soon’s squinted eyes were glaring at the photo taken by the stratospheric airship.

“I think so too. If it’s a coincidence, it’s unlikely that Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia would be the same.”

Actually, if you look closely, there were more. The volcanic eruption in Sakhalin, Russia, and the eruption of Mt. Baekdu were the same.

The place that Kim Yang’s expedition team confirmed was clearly covered with volcanic ash and dust. It was confirmed that all volcanoes initially spread volcanic ash and dust in all directions like a normal volcanic eruption.

But as time went by, something strange happened: the volcanic ash and dust persisted without being blown away or washed away by typhoons and wind and rain.

“What is this? It seems like there is an unknown force that is holding the volcanic ash and dust together···.”

Power is a cause and effect thing. It’s hard to know the cause, but you can know the effect.

“It’s covering the sky.”

That means it will soon block out the sun.

“Didn’t the monsters move during the day?”

“They say that while sunlight may be fine, it’s weak against concentrated sunlight.”

Who would have thought that things that move around during the day would be vulnerable to sunlight? If you think about it that way, their movements might have been tactical or strategic.

“It’s definitely strange.”

“Right? I guess we have to clean up the sinkhole and those guys.”

This was even more so because the problem remained the same even though we knew their weaknesses.

Even if you try to attack them with concentrated sunlight, the area where they are is a space covered in volcanic ash and dust like a thick fog.

Not only was the environment not good enough to block solar attacks, but they were in a sinkhole. Should we call this a coincidence?

Maru didn’t know what their true identity was or what they wanted, but he didn’t want to know. He just wanted to erase it.

“Install the solar power device on the airship. Let’s start right away as soon as the installation is complete.”

First, the small sinkhole.