Chapter 55 – MetaCraft Cybernetics (2)

Black pupils on yellow eyes are quietly looking down at the ground.

Those eyes that traverse the land in search of prey repeat their pupils growing and shrinking like a camera lens.

A small road with two lanes going back and forth, watched by those eyes. The fields on both sides have been abandoned for a long time.

Even here, where dried straw and weeds are sparse, the ecosystem is alive, although it is small.

A commotion broke out somewhere in the field.

Two rats are in a chase, and the pursued side grabs the one, and the chaser grabs the other too.

However, if the mouse chased was a small and insignificant field mouse, the mouse chased was twice the size and reminiscent of a crocodile with a snout.

The gap between the two gradually narrows, and finally the moment when the gaping snout tries to bite the field mouse.

Beep-!

A black shadow descended from the sky with a graceful cry.

It was the ruler of the sky, the goshawk.

“Kikiiik-!”

The blade-like claws of birds of prey mercilessly dig into the monster rat’s head and chest.

It blocked the counterattack of the menacing muzzle and attacked the vital point at the same time.

The field mouse, which survived by death, ran away in an instant, and the monster mouse, whose head was ambushed, struggled for a while without any counterattack before stopping its movement.

The goshawk seems to be quite accustomed to hunting these monster rats.

After confirming that his breath had stopped, he grabbed the monster rat and flew up into the sky.

Appearing out of nowhere after the world turned upside down, this quirky mouse has a menacing snout, but is slow to respond and meaty, making it a favorite game of goshawks.

Newborn pups love it very much.

A drone staring at the back of a goshawk returning with satisfactory results.

Among the dozens of reconnaissance drones launched from the shelter, the 13th transmitted what it saw and heard to the headquarters.

* * *

[This is the best situation to start.]

Artemis said.

As a result of cross-verification of the data transmitted by the drones, there were no risk factors outside.

No infectants larger than 100 were found near the entrance to the shelter, along the route to the target lab, and around it.

This is because it was originally built here, in that laboratory, or in a remote location.

“I didn’t expect you to voluntarily open this.”

I am standing in front of the doorway outside the shelter.

Unlike the back door that was opened during the last rescue operation, this is the front door. This is usually referred to as an external entrance.

Its durability is such that it can withstand even a military unit.

No, in the first place, this door was produced with the assumption that it would hold out against the military base.

The high-ranking people who built this place considered various external threats that would occur in a disaster situation, because the first priority was the military.

They may try to requisition the shelter as a base for the military, or after the country disappears and becomes a lawless world, warlordized forces may try to occupy it with guns and bombs.

It wasn’t even secretly run. Rather, it was a place where they even advertised, recruited tenants, and attracted investment.

Of course, such a situation would never be accepted by those of higher rank.

Even though it is a city in preparation for a global disaster situation, look at the fact that it has built a separate VIP residence separate from the general public.

There is no way that noblemen full of such a sense of privilege would quietly hand over their achievements to robbers.

As a result, the huge superalloy doorway in front of you was even listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s most durable door. The National Geographic crew also came and went once.

Considering the design strength, only the 7th Mobile Corps, which has already been annihilated, can independently destroy this gate and enter the interior.

“Open.”

Beep-! Beep-!

An alarm sounded and a red alarm light near the doorway flashed.

[Warning. The outer entrance to the shelter opens.]

The manual conducted an announcement according to the opening procedure.

[Security and disaster prevention personnel, please move to the outer entrance.]

I’m in charge of both. Although Artemis handles most of the work itself.

[Warning. Outer Entrance Sentry Gun Offline.]

Looking up at the ceiling, the Sentry Gun seat, which should have been there, is empty. This is because it has been sent to the factory and is being reassembled into a version using 5.56mm live ammunition.

[External Radiation Level: Safe.]
[External Chemical Class: Safe.]
[External Combat Danger Rating: None.]

Reinforcement gates composed of three layers go up. Each piece is strong enough to block even tank shells.

Woo woo woo.

The opening sound was like thunder. It wasn’t the sound of a sharp slash in the wind and rain, but the sound of a beast roaring from beyond the dark clouds.

“It’s dazzling.”

I closed my eyes to the sunlight pouring in through the open door.

Although there was obviously enough light inside the shelter, the brilliant light coming from outside made it impossible to open my eyes for a moment.

“Five…”

After a few seconds my eyes calm down and I see a desolate wilderness.

Rocky hills and barren land visible everywhere. Because it is so desolate, even the horizon, which is difficult to see in Korea, comes into view.

Not a single car can be seen on the road in the distance.

Wheein-

The wind from the outside world brushed past me.

As I breathed in deeply, fresh outside air entered my lungs, which were accustomed to the underground air.

Unlike this place, which is kept constant, it is the cold air that gradually becomes chilly.

The smell of earth and the sea mixed with that pleasant coolness. It is the scent of life filled with organic blessings.

I got used to living in the underground city and thought it felt like my own home now, but my heart pounded when I faced the outside air.

“Smells good.”

In fact, the identity of the smell of the sea is the smell of dead plankton or rotting algae mixed with salt.

It’s not very romantic, but it’s a friendly smell that makes you feel alive just by smelling it.

“Whoa, haaaaa.”

When I closed my eyes and opened my arms to the wind, I wondered if infection or something hadn’t really happened. I felt the same way.

As if if I opened my eyes like this, I would return to the ordinary days of the past.

[Do you like the outside air that much? It’s like watching Andrew Dufresne.]

What is the name of the main character in Shawshank Redemption?

It was the first movie we watched together since Artemis was airlifted and placed in a shelter.

[Do you know how many microbes are in the air you breathe? And that the placenta is a bacterium?]

Cameras facing the outside of the entrance moved wildly as if representing her gaze.

[The air in my city has no taste or smell, but in other words it is just as pure and clean. Be more appreciative of familiar things.]

Her voice sounds kind of displeased.

“You’re right.”

No matter how small the observable danger is, there is nothing good about leaving the outer entrance open for long.

“It’s not bad to get outside, but thinking that the door is open makes me anxious. Because this is my house.”

[You are always one beat late.]

Unlike Daesarang, much of her displeasure has disappeared from her tone of voice.

While listening to Artemis explain the harmfulness and dangers of the outside air, she headed to the waiting car in front of the entrance.

Black paint on the exterior reminiscent of an armored vehicle, and thick wheels that won’t tear even if a crocodile bites them.

It is a troop transport vehicle used by the guards before the infection.

Very strong, reliable, powerful, and spacious interior luxury.

It was developed for the supply of police special forces, but it was so popular that it was also made for civilian use.

However, the performance is rather better for civilian use.

This is because, unlike the police version, which is inevitably sensitive to the delivery price, the best options can be selected without hesitation depending on who buys it.

As I said many times, the high-ranking people who built this place were nobles who did not spare money for their safety.

I sat in the passenger seat of the middle car among the three cars.

If you look behind you, you can see 10 security robots in the troop compartment.

Equipped with two K2 rifles and looking straight ahead without moving, it is inhumane, but on the other hand, the ideal squad that commanders want.

Rurrureung!

The vehicle started with a quiet noise compared to its size.

After driving for a while, there was nothing on the road.

It would have been annoying if the abandoned cars were blocking the road, but nothing was left, probably following the government’s evacuation operation to the south.

Surveillance images sent by drones flew into the monitor inside the vehicle.

On the way to our destination, we are monitoring the periphery of our moving vehicle.

However, no matter where you look, you can only see a desolate land, and no humanoid infectors at all.

However, wild animals that seemed to have undergone mutations were occasionally seen. A typical example is the monster rat seen in the sewer during the previous recapture operation.

Surprisingly, some birds of prey, including goshawks, even hunted mutated mice. It has already been discovered twice through drone footage alone.

“Can I eat that?”

[It’s not a skill I’ve hunted once or twice. Besides, there are no signs of infection in the sky, just like in the sea last time.]

Along with her words, a new video played on the monitor.

It was a nest

[This video was filmed 40 minutes ago.]

Three plump baby hawks look like white chicks.

However, the wide-eyed eyes and sharp beak with a black tip reminded us that a bird of prey is a bird of prey, even if it is a baby.

An adult in the process of trimming the fresh monster rat he just hunted in front of him to make it edible. When the skin is removed, there is a lot of flesh attached to it.

They tear it apart and feed it to their young.

An ordinary field mouse would run out of meat quickly, but this monstrous rat seems enough to feed an entire family with just one hunt.

“Can I really eat it?”

[There is a lack of information on whether birds have resistance to infection, or whether the act of preying on a completely mutated individual does not cause secondary infection.]

Artemis always speaks of a lack of information, but this is by no means due to her incompetence.

“Because there were many restrictions on materials and environment to conduct experiments in our city. Besides, we are now taking care of many residents.”

I don’t want to imagine that the infection situation will happen again.

Artemis is conducting research with infected samples, but there are limits to experiments conducted while observing perfect quarantine procedures without a single lab rat.

What has now been discovered is that the source of infection is not a virus but rather a prokaryotic organism.

An unknown source of infection produces various types of mutated cells, each with a different function, turning the host into a monster.

“I think it’s right that the ability as a source of infection disappears after it completely mutates.”

It’s hard to imagine any other reason other than that.

In the video, the image of each family eating the mutated rat deliciously has a refreshing side to it. Even though they are just beasts, would it be a sense of solidarity as if they were looking at the same Earth resistance?

Before I knew it, my spouse and hawk joined in and were eating meat.

[It could be as you said, maybe humans are particularly vulnerable.]

“What are you talking about?”

[There are many hypotheses on the cause of human high intelligence, but many scientists talk about cooked meals. By cooking and eating food, the energy that goes into maintaining strong digestive abilities and immunity is diverted to brain development, making it the dominant species on Earth today. If the first outsourcing company hired in the process of evolution is mitochondria, then the second outsourcing company hired is fire?]

The mitochondrial story probably refers to the theory of mitochondrial symbiosis.

The theory is that the two cells, which were different from each other, merged into one at some point, but rather than one being absorbed by predation, they became symbiotic while maintaining their respective genes and performing separate tasks.

It is said that today’s advanced organisms were born as organisms that gained enormous energy with the addition of mitochondria, which are exclusively responsible for energy production, evolved into larger and more complex organisms.

[In other words, immunity is weak compared to wild animals. Many of the animals in the ecosystem are both hunters and scavengers. There are plenty of hardy animals that can eat nasty rodents, worms, tainted water and rotting carcasses. Of course, since the number of exposures is high, there is a high probability that most of them are carriers of this or that disease, but there is no problem with immediate survival and reproduction.]

She paused for a moment.

[If extraterrestrials exist outside the Earth, if they are equipped with advanced intelligence and are forming a civilization like humans, there is a high probability that they will also have immunity with a large gap with wild animals. Because it takes a price to develop the brain. What if the source of infection was created to target this exquisite gap in the immune system? What if it was designed to be lethal to a planet’s dominant species, but to preserve wildlife as much as possible?]

Then, in a sense, it is a weapon that is more terrifying than Dirty Bomb.

Inferring only from extremely limited information only raised more questions.

“And in the shelter? Didn’t everyone just wandering around become monsters there? The objects that roam the sea and those big rats are inexplicable.”

[Shelter is a closed-circulation city. It is different from open natural ecosystems. Even if the same disease spreads, the speed of spread and infectivity are bound to be different. You can’t judge them on the same level. In other circumstances, non-human infectious agents, well, there is too little experimental information to know everything.]

She paused for a while and said.

[…I hope you don’t keep repeating the words I hate?]

It seemed that she didn’t like having to repeat the word ‘I don’t know’ because of the lab environment or lack of materials, not because of her own incompetence.

Eventually most of her meat was stripped, leaving only the bones.

[You can come up with hundreds of hypotheses, but what’s the point if you don’t have the means to verify them? It’s just a corner simulation.]

Upon reaching the destination, operate the PDA to recheck the squad status.

As in the previous rescue operation, the number of personnel involved in this operation was one platoon.

However, the firepower that can be displayed is on a different level.

Originally, they are reliable guys, but since they are wearing a service rifle, they look even more reassuring.

[It’s all here. Inferences from limited information will only increase questions. For now, let’s focus on work.]

A bare mountain towering in a field where nothing can be seen in front of you. Laboratory built there.

As the vehicle stopped in front of him, he took a deep breath and checked the equipment. Power is applied to the heat shield of the tightly held rifle.

My feet stretched out of the car and landed on the hard ground.

The first step after the infection.

It’s been a long time since the recapture operation.