Rust - Chapter 987



Only Krnovel

Rust [RUST] – Episode 987

The wild dog extermination led by Maru and Kim Yang continued for about two weeks.

[It has been confirmed that a mutation has occurred that allows it to withstand temperatures of around -70 degrees Celsius.]

The wild dog’s fur had changed to resemble that of an Alaskan Malamute.

[Like the Alaskan Malamute and Chinook, it was analyzed that not only do they have excellent thermal insulation due to their multiple layers of fur, but their leather itself is also cold-resistant.]

While the fur of typical sled dogs was double-layered, the wild dogs caught by Maru and Kim had five layers of fur.

It even had a waterproof effect, so it didn’t easily get wet inside even in snow or rain. This was the reason why it was able to survive even in caves made of snow and ice.

[That would be awesome if you made a coat out of leather. Coyote leather was nice, too. Giant bear leather wasn’t bad either.]

Even now, Kim Yang, who is wearing bear and coyote skins on his core armor, has his eyes set on the wild dog skin.

[If you treat it so that the fur doesn’t fall out, it would be fine as winter gear.]

“Let’s do that… Have you confirmed why the dogs suddenly moved south?”

By analyzing the dog’s brain with an information extractor, the cause was discovered.

[Yes. It’s because the number of herds living in the deep forests of the northern region has increased. And they know that there is plenty of prey in the south.]

What the dogs that turned into wild dogs remembered were not memories of humans, but of the abundance of prey.

Even if a person turns into a cannibal, they still see humans as prey, so it wouldn’t be strange if a mutated wild dog remembered humans as prey.

[Eh-again- But if I meet my old owner, won’t I remember him?]

[Cannibals eat family and friends, so why would dogs be any different?]

[It’s already been 4~5 years since the mutant virus incident broke out. For wild dogs, that’s at least 2~3 generations.]

Kim Yang and Ki-sun talked about reality.

[Still. We get along well with our wolves. Can’t we become friends with the wild dogs again?]

[A person who is foolish is not foolish. Yeah.]

Kim Yang looked at the foolish-looking nurse’s bounce with sullen eyes and said a word.

[Oh, but. Since you’ve gotten smarter, you’ll probably have good memories of being with people.]

“That’s it. I know what you’re talking about, but there’s no need to force yourself to take on a pack of wild dogs. They attack using their pups. What do you believe? And you say they’re poisonous?”

[Yes. There was a paralyzing poison in the saliva.]

[If you bring a wild dog and it breeds wolf pups, it’s dangerous. If the pups are born that way and have poison, you never know what will happen to the wolf pack.]

Maru agreed with Gisun’s story.

“We will dispose of all the packs of wild dogs that have come down now.”

Maru did not let animals in freely. The same goes for ants. Mutant monsters that had a taste for eating humans and becoming stronger were difficult to control.

It was the same with the crow king in Pohang, and the religious rats who initially believed in Maru also changed over several generations.

Maru did not leave the rats that had turned traitor alone. He dealt with them decisively and killed them, so the survivors feared Maru as the god of death.

[Then shall we start working right away?]

“okay.”

I could leave it to Ms. Kim.

[···Are you going to kill all the pups too?]

[Haven’t you heard the story so far? And haven’t you seen the video? I heard the kids got chewed too?]

“There are no exceptions. Any pack of wild dogs that come near the city will be rounded up.”

[I agree that we should catch them all. Being smart means remembering.]

In nature, the weak and the young were in danger. This was because enemies targeted the weak and the young first. So it was natural for a pack of wild dogs to protect the young.

But the pack of wild dogs that attacked Maru and Kim Yang used their own pups. If a wolf or a bear had come, would they have sent their pups away first? I don’t think so.

It meant that they knew that humans loved their babies and were after them. The story was that the babies knew that too.

I took off my gloves and touched it to feel the fluffy texture, and then I got paralyzed after the pups said they liked it when I licked them with my tongue. The pups weren’t naive and ignorant of anything.

“What happened to the cats?”

As the dogs disappeared, so did the cats. In Japanese hospitals, cats as big as tigers would gather in packs and hunt humans, but it was rare to see them here.

[I remember fighting a pack of cats in my dog’s memory.]

“Really? Where?”

[It was a deep forest.]

[So you’ve become a wild cat. How’s the wild cat pack? Is it big?]

[It wasn’t a large group. Maybe 20 to 30.]

“A similar number to a small pack of wild dogs.”

As the size of the herd grew, more prey would be needed to maintain the herd, so a size of 20 to 30 animals was not small.

[How do you do it? While working on stray dogs, you also work on stray cats?]

“If you see it, make sure to clean it up.”

Now that the wild dogs have come close to the city, it is obvious that the feral cats will also move. It is only natural that they will compete with the pack of wild dogs for food.

[Okay.]

======

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Empire. Maritime city.

Leon Bonnard was impressed when he saw the report.

“That’s amazing. Even in this freezing cold, you’re mobilizing hunters to catch mutant monsters.”

They were even using hunters to boost the economy. As artificial intelligence and robots developed, many jobs disappeared, and those positions were filled with hunting and related businesses.

“Because we have core armor and new exosuits that perform well even in extreme cold.”

“You didn’t read the report properly. The ones the Holy Kingdom supplied to the civilians were old exosuits.”

“It’s an old model, how can it withstand -60 to -70 degrees Celsius? The battery probably can’t handle it.”

“They must have supplied only new batteries.”

“No. Our investigation revealed that the winter gear was made using the hide of a mutated monster.”

“Hmm – why don’t we just import them or make winter gear out of monster byproducts?”

“It’s still difficult to make it yourself.”

“Because the import quantity is limited, it is not enough to supply to the military.”

Leon Bonnard, sitting on the throne, had sparkling blue eyes.

“The large monsters have hibernated, but the small and medium-sized monsters have begun to appear near towns and cities. Unlike before, we can assume that the monsters have adapted to the cold. If everything goes as planned, they will become more dangerous as December passes and January and February arrive. So let’s subdue them before they cause any damage.”

The emperor’s order was given to prepare for a punitive operation.

‧

Den Brown’s men grumbled.

“Isn’t this useless?”

“There are a lot of empty seats in the maritime city, so wouldn’t it be better to evacuate them at least this winter?”

“If you’re worried about damage, that seems like the best way to go?”

“Yes. I already have a lot to do, and now I’m suddenly asked to make cold weather equipment.”

It was the first operation commanded by Leon Bonnard from the Emperor’s throne.

“This is the first order the Emperor has given. Like it or not, we have made a contract and must keep it.”

In a situation where absolute power could be sought, power was shared. That was not a decision that anyone could make. When such an emperor ordered preparations for a punitive expedition, they did it roughly or ignored it?

That would be like slapping someone in the face and telling them to go to the imperial palace.

Above all, since more than half of the newly elected Imperial Household members were from civic groups that supported the Emperor, the Parliament was also following the Emperor’s will.

“If all goes as planned, there’s a chance that the winter will be longer. We’ll need the gear anyway.”

“Wasn’t it expected that mutant monsters would become active?”

“They say there have been wild dogs appearing near the Holy Kingdom city. They say they’ve decided to get rid of the wild cats in advance.”

“Are you saying that all dogs and cats have become wild animals?”

“It is true that it is dangerous because they are in a group.”

“I’ve never seen a dog or cat before. Is it dangerous?”

“It’s dangerous, so the Holy Kingdom is trying to actively suppress it. And don’t we all recognize that our Emperor is excellent in military affairs, if not in other areas? But the Holy Kingdom and the Emperor have come to the same conclusion. It’s not something we can just let go of. So everyone, do your best.”

“All right.”

“yes-”

‧

Former President and opposition leader David White, who seemed to have somehow rejuvenated, glared.

“The Emperor has ordered preparations for an expedition.”

“In this weather?”

“Since they ordered mass production of cold-weather gear, it’s almost certain that they’ll mobilize the military.”

“What is the target?”

“He said he was going to subdue a group of mutant monsters.”

“Will a fully equipped army only be able to subdue mutant monsters and be done with it?”

Leon Bonnard probably didn’t order war preparations just because of that. The two men agreed.

“Once we’ve defeated the mutant monsters nearby, we’ll tackle the Philadelphia spiders.”

“If we take all those troops and occupy the Florida peninsula, we will have control of the entire eastern part of the United States.”

“He will be directing it himself. If so, there is a possibility that the operational area and scope will continue to expand in the field.”

“That’s highly likely. Once they’ve mobilized the military, they’ll want to make the most of it.”

If you want to take over the sea city, the time when the military and the guys are out is the time. The problem is that Den Brown, who is guarding the sea city, is not easy.

“How about trying to persuade her?”

“You must know very well that that man cannot be persuaded.”

David White said that since they were on the same side anyway, they shouldn’t even think about doing construction work. In any case, they had to take down the security system of the sea city to be able to exert power.

“I don’t know about anything else, but we have to destroy the psychic response equipment.”

In order to fully utilize the power of the new human race, it was necessary to be able to freely use psychic waves. As long as the psychic wave countermeasure equipment was functioning normally and the defense system and heavily armed defense force were intact, it was difficult to take over the sea city.

“We have to take down the central control room.”

“There is no way.”

The former chief of staff to the president offered his opinion.

“How about using a wild dog or a wild cat?”

“Dogs and cats?”

“They say the Holy Kingdom is going to eradicate wild dogs and cats. They’re going to kill them all, even their kittens.”

“What does that have to do with taking down the central control room?”

“The Empire still does not know that wild dogs and cats are dangerous. Especially not their young ones.”

“Hmm- so let’s bring a stray dog ​​puppy and a stray cat kitten?”

“The mutant monster pup will be smart. He will quickly figure out why we released him near the central control room and how to disable the sea city defense system. That way, he will know how to bring his horde to the sea city.”

‧

The central control room staff heard a familiar sound near the cleaning supplies cabinet.

Miyuuuuu-

It was clearly a cat’s sound.

‘cat?’

After the mutant virus outbreak and the disappearance of my cat, I couldn’t find any cats around me. All of those cats had disappeared somewhere.

Even if I wanted to raise a cat again, I couldn’t get one, and on TV, they recommended euthanasia, saying that dogs and cats could become monsters if infected with a mutant virus.

And now.

The staff’s steps quickened at the sound of a cat, which they hadn’t heard in years.

When he saw the two little kittens in the corner of the cleaning supplies cabinet, he unconsciously reached out his hand.

Miyu-

Mew-

The staff member took a deep breath at the sight of the kittens squirming and wriggling towards the palm of his hand.

“Ha- How did you guys get here?”

Who hid it?

If you’re going to hide it, you should at least have something to eat.

The employee carefully hugged the puppy, who was watching the puppy licking and sucking the employee’s hand as if it was hungry.

“Let’s go for now. I guess we can just ask the owner to come find us.”

All you have to do is broadcast from the central control room that you’re looking for the kitten’s owner.

Mew-

Miyaya-

“Oh my, what kind of cat is this?”

“catling?”

The central control room staff were thrilled to see the kitten, as it was the first kitten they had seen in years.

“First, let’s do a broadcast to find the owner.”

Miyaa-

Miyuyu-

So the two kittens became the mascots of the central control room.