Rust - Chapter 954



Only Krnovel

RUST -954

Kururururung—-

The sound of the earth.

The walls shake.

The collapse that followed.

Kugugugugu—–

The sight of the container that had been blocking the mutant monsters starting to crumble like a toy was like a scene from a movie. The welds that had been used to hold it together were breaking and the container walls were twisting.

The howling ground split open and the trembling buildings collapsed.

It was only in an instant that the small town that had withstood terrible weather, mutated monsters, marauders, and cannibals collapsed in vain.

“Get out!”

“Everyone, come out!”

In order to avoid attracting the attention of the mutant monster, I chose to sound the siren that had not been sounding before, but the powerful earthquake stopped before the siren even ended.

“Okay. Is it over?”

“I heard there are aftershocks. It would be best to camp outside for at least a day.”

“We need to rescue the people trapped under the rubble first.”

“And what if the building collapses? I can’t just go in.”

A small town was reduced to rubble by a massive earthquake that struck without warning in an area that had not experienced an earthquake in 200 years.

People were sitting there in a daze, their faces turned upside down as if they had been carpet bombed.

It took only a few minutes for the foundation that had been protected with blood and sweat for the past two to three years to collapse. Then, the ensuing fire began to burn the remains.

“Fire!”

“It’s fire!”

Fire trucks couldn’t come because of the damaged road. The pumps that pumped up the groundwater didn’t work because of the power outage.

It was only a matter of time before the flames that had started in one corner engulfed the parched fields and ruined cities of May.

Whoosh whoosh—

A huge fire started to scatter in all directions, triggered by the earthquake.

‧

Ki-sun opened her mouth as she watched footage of the destruction of a small town.

[I thought about what that old man wanted.]

“······.”

[If that earthquake had hit Detroit, would we have survived?]

“It will be difficult.”

Because there weren’t many buildings designed to be earthquake-resistant.

[When we started building floating cities, we immediately built floating cities… I think they must have realized that something dangerous might be coming when they saw us building floating cities.]

“······.”

The idea is to quickly build a floating city, then move key production facilities there and then head into space.

A plan that was pushed forward before Maru’s ability changed into the Garden of Death.

Why would I think that?

The most important thing is that I felt it was safe to do so.

The recent engagement with the Northern Ant Empire was also like that.

What would have happened if we had fought till the end?

The Northern Ant Empire would have fallen if it couldn’t hold out against the floor, but the Sacred Kingdom would have fallen along with it. If the billions of ants had attacked the Sacred Kingdom’s cities to avoid the floor, this side would not have been able to stop the ant colony either.

In the end, everyone except Maru will die.

Even if the ant empire was like that, it would be difficult for the Holy Kingdom to survive if mutated monsters and powerful spider colonies were also involved.

Maru could survive until the end if he were alone, but that would literally be just survival. What good would it do if all of the living infrastructure was destroyed?

Humans had to eat, drink, and sleep. Wouldn’t it be torture to live for years or decades, sleeping on makeshift beds, eating mutated monsters, and drinking water purified with Lysol?

So after the Holy Kingdom collapsed and all of its infrastructure was destroyed, it didn’t really matter if Maru was the only one left or if a few people survived.

[I think the core of the problem is building and protecting infrastructure. Our floating cities or the Dan Ajay sea cities are one way to solve the problem.]

The small town in the video was reduced to ashes in an instant.

What will be included at the end of the scene where the survivors scatter in twos and threes?

They had no prepared places like floating cities or sea cities.

The outcome will not be good, as the earthquake will hit the area and it will be difficult to settle there.

[Having a floating city doesn’t solve all your problems. Not even for us. That’s probably why you’re trying to take the next step after a floating city into space.]

“······.”

But the Empire had difficulty using methods such as space exploration. There were problems such as the size of the population, the limitations of science and technology, and most importantly, how many people to send into space.

In the Holy Kingdom, King Maru could set the conditions and make a decision, but the Empire was different. Negotiating the conditions was difficult, and even if that difficulty was overcome, what came after was the problem.

[It would have been necessary to unite the empire’s capabilities, if only to prepare for an uncertain future.]

Ki-sun’s eyes were slightly crinkled.

[The fact that they built a stratospheric airship to independently establish an information and communication network and preemptively responded to the military ant situation through it is a signal that they will continue to actively respond preemptively in the future.]

“It’s a preemptive response···.”

[So, even if the worst comes to pass, Mr. Den must have tried to create an opportunity to unite the empire’s power without disintegrating. The decision to use strategic nuclear weapons was probably an extension of that.]

“You’re a tired old man.”

Ki-soon, who was talking about Dan Brown’s choice, changed the subject slightly.

[Well. After talking to Joseph Meyer, I found out that the formation of the Southern Confederacy centered around cannibals was also a way of preparing for the end of the world. The emotions mixed with the psychic faction were real.]

Ki-soon revealed that her emotional abilities were mixed with her psychic abilities, allowing her to read the emotional lines embedded in psychic powers.

“Oh- You can read emotions too? And what Joseph Meyer said in the Imperial Council was true? And what he said about me being a king was true?”

[okay.]

Ki-soon’s story that the content that was overwritten in the Empul containing Joseph Meyer’s memories is the same as what was said before killing Joseph Meyer.

[In the current situation, there would be no reason for the brain-dead remnants of Joseph Meyer to lie. Especially now that there has been a truce with their forces.]

“so?”

Maru, who had unintentionally entered into a truce with them, frowned slightly.

[Get your bearings. Think of it as the same thing as the end of the war with the Northern Ant Empire. It wasn’t a fight that would end with the destruction of all their bases in Japan anyway. It would have actually gotten more dangerous.]

“Shit. So?”

[Even if they are cannibals. They did it to survive. They chose to be cannibals because they wanted to survive the apocalypse.]

“Let’s stop talking nonsense. Did you get Stockholm Syndrome after spending time with that Joseph cannibal scum? Choosing to be a cannibal means choosing to eat humans.”

Maru hated those who used dominance or aura. He himself was immune to mental power, so it didn’t matter, but other people were different.

Understand the people who can destroy human relationships and human society itself, and they are even the ones who chose to do so.

[······.]

“They chose to be the prey and the predator, so what can they do? There’s a lot to say. And the reason they became cannibals? Wasn’t it because of the cockroach extract?”

Ki-soon shook her head slightly as she looked at Maru’s expression on the monitor. Maru knew that once he made a decision, it wouldn’t change.

Since we’ve reached a temporary ceasefire with them anyway, even if there are parts where you think, ‘I wish we could just let this go,’ that’s absolutely not the case.

I warned them. If they came in front of Maru, they would cut them down without asking questions and run around threatening to kill them all again.

‘They said it was about safety and survival.’

Damn it.

Well, the fundamental reason Maru hates cannibalistic vampires is ‘safety and survival.’ If there is a relationship between prey and predator, safety and survival can be a problem at any time.

But if you think about it, wasn’t Maru in the absolute upper hand? Maru was the one who had been cutting everything up until now. But they couldn’t just leave it alone because of their predator-prey relationship.

‘Do they really care that much about the general public? Or…’

Ki-soon let out a small sigh and continued her story.

[If you think about it, the fact that they became like that was probably a side effect of a special factor created by the mutant virus. It wasn’t just because of the cockroach powder, but because of the cockroach powder infected with the mutant virus.]

Even before cannibalism, research into surpassing humans was ongoing.

Research on longevity.

Research on slowing down or rejuvenating aging.

Research on escaping from disease, etc.

Research to overcome human limitations has been ongoing for decades.

In the meantime, a cannibalism epidemic broke out, and it was discovered that many human weaknesses could be easily overcome if only the side effect of cannibalism was ignored.

It would be strange not to choose cannibalism.

Looking at human history, cannibalism is more common than you might think. Although there are side effects to cannibalism, if you can become stronger by eating cannibalism alone, and become resistant to various diseases and contaminated food and water, then why not choose cannibalism?

How can we be safe from disease and have an advantage in survival?

Not only will your physical abilities improve, but aging will also be delayed, even if it doesn’t rejuvenate you?

[Anyway, it would be correct to see the core of the problem as a special factor created by the mutant virus.]

The mutant virus incident is the same, and mutant monsters, insects, cannibals, and vampires are all due to the factors of the mutant virus.

[Let’s call it a mutant factor for convenience. According to what we’ve confirmed so far, what was being studied in the underground secret research lab in Tokyo, Japan, was related to a special factor.]

It wasn’t just the Japanese underground labs. There were also ones in China, several European countries, and the United States.

[The upper class knew that the Earth was headed toward its end. They were preparing for it. One of the ways to do so was through the mutant virus incident.]

“I know. That’s because they intentionally spread the mutant virus to make those infected with it into hosts that produce special factors. That’s why I hate those who did that and then calmly turned into cannibals.”

[Yeah. We went there. Anyway. Isn’t it true that the apocalypse was hastened by what they did, but it also spread the possibility of surviving the apocalypse?]

“What are you trying to say?”

[It is true that they spread the mutant virus, which resulted in mutant monsters and cannibals. However, it is also true that as a result of the spread of the mutant virus, people with awakened abilities emerged. If only they had become cannibals and gained power, the current situation would be different, but there was also a backlash. Since there are awakened people and a sacred kingdom, I think we can handle them.]

“Can you handle them?”

[Joseph Meyer’s dregs say that. The new order must be one that properly manages the majority of ordinary people. In an apocalyptic situation like the present, what is needed is not the majority opinion, but a decisive iron man who can rationally and efficiently judge and push forward the problem.]

“······.”

And so was Joseph Meyer, and so was the remnant who inherited his memories. A being who could overcome the side effects of the mutation, who could handle death, and who had a powerful drive. They believed that such a being should lead the new human race.

[They are called new humans, but they also know that they have their own problems. If there were no humans, they would have problems when their appetite exploded. So they need to protect humans for their own sake.]

The reason was that the new order had to preserve the common people, because if everyone became a new species, it would ultimately mean extinction.

[Because they have the property of becoming stronger the more they eat humans, they must be managed so that they do not eat humans recklessly. Not only that, if their rivals become stronger, they run the risk of being dominated by their opponents. That is why the so-called new humans are not in a situation where they can easily suck up to each other.]

Is that possible? They are selfish people? After the Confederacy was overthrown, they are fighting one after another to gain control and become kings and nobles?

“So I should become the king who rules over them?”

[Joseph Meyer and the Scraps, quite a few of you guys think that you alone can stop the pointless checks and fights. I think so too.]

“Wow- are you really suffering from Stockholm Syndrome? Didn’t you just naturally become dominated by the dregs of Joseph Meyer after having a mental exchange with them?

[That’s not it. Don’t get excited and think about it objectively. You becoming a king and controlling their power or choosing to go to war with them and continue to fight. Which of the two is more advantageous for ‘safety and survival.’]

Maru answered with a tired expression.

“Since we’ve reached a ceasefire, that’s fine. And I’ll have to tell them to do some serious psychological evaluations.”

[Please let me off easy since Na Ju-yeon is already squeezing me.]

“Hello- newbie. And if you can feel emotions mixed with mental waves? Does that mean you can read emotions without seeing them with your eyes, as long as you connect with mental waves?”

[I haven’t checked, but… it seems possible.]

“Okay. A special envoy is coming from the Empire. Go check the feelings from afar.”