This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 310

Dogun’s Perspective

‘No way…’

Is someone secretly keeping an eye on the Senior?

The first possibility that came to mind was exactly that.

But it’s not entirely speculative, as dealing with all these newcomers one by one could inevitably lead to ‘that’ happening.

The phenomenon where the Talent Organ is overloaded.

And as that phenomenon recurs periodically… inevitably, one day the Talent Organ will collapse under the burden placed on it.

Simply put, even heroes with overwhelming talents are not infinite in their abilities.

Of course, even if the Talent Organ breaks, it simply means the output will be weaker than before, but the talent itself won’t disappear…

However, the talent that made the Senior a hero is not just about control; above all, the output is crucial.

So what if someone noticed that and is trying to induce the Senior into a burnout state before she fully blossoms with her potential?

What are they aiming for with such actions?

Humans are creatures that can act on the most trivial of reasons.

‘Well…’

I could just recover as I consume my abilities, but…

Still, I don’t want to see the Senior suffering unnecessarily.

I must have been gradually sinking into those thoughts when…

“…Ah, Dogun?”

The Senior’s voice, coming through the headset I’d been wearing for a while, pulled me out of my reverie.

“Yes?”

“Uh, it seems the deployment request hasn’t been transmitted yet…”

“Oh, just a moment. I’ll send it right now.”

I quickly scanned through the requests that had piled up in front of the Senior, shaking off the haze of my earlier thoughts.

Then, I selected the one that was closest to her current location and transmitted it to her.

“I just sent it; did it arrive?”

“Yep, I’ll be heading out right now.”

Was that all it took to dispatch the hero to the site of the request?

Sadly, no, it wasn’t that simple.

Hadn’t I already mentioned?

This is a form of ‘traffic control.’

In plain terms, it’s also my role to find the optimal route to guide heroes to the scene as quickly as possible.

That’s why one side of this enormous operation center is filled with CCTV screens capturing the road conditions.

“Senior? Are you listening?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“There’s a stretch of road that’s heavily congested. Can we slightly alter the route?”

“Sure, please do.”

So I quickly checked the traffic situation on the route the Senior was currently taking and modified it right away.

Of course, that wasn’t the end of it.

I had to choose the next deployment location while the Senior moved to the scene.

‘Let’s see, this one seems too tight on time…’

After barely selecting one from the updated list, a notification chimed in my ear, indicating that the hero on duty had arrived at the scene.

Switching the console as per the manual in my mind, the screen switched to show the scene.

The camera capturing the scene was attached to the Senior’s body, so the image was a bit shaky.

Still, at the scene where the Senior had deployed—

Tsk tsk…

There was a person, clearly drunk, with a red face, rampaging and freely exerting their abilities.

Fortunately, although they were wreaking havoc, they seemed to be lacking in the ability to control their talent, perhaps due to their intoxicated state?

Thanks to that, there was little damage to lives.

The few injured were just bruises, really.

Of course, that wouldn’t excuse anything.

In a past life, one might have argued for diminished responsibility due to intoxication, but this world doesn’t forgive merely for being drunk.

‘In fact, they might hit even harder.’

Yet, a request for dispatch came in, and this person had rampaged to the point of causing injury while drunk?

‘So, realistically speaking, their life is pretty much over…’

When that intoxicated woman sobers up later, she will probably have to console herself with the thought that the casualties were minimal.

While I contemplated this, the Senior, who had left the motorcycle with the officer in charge of the scene, started approaching the rampaging woman.

“Be careful, Senior. Don’t get too close.”

Baeksulhwa’s Perspective

“Be careful, Senior. Don’t get too close.”

I felt a warm feeling blooming in my chest from those concerned words reaching me through the tiny earphones.

The fact that I immediately revised my plans for subduing her was precisely because of that.

It seemed like Dogun was keeping an eye on the situation, but I didn’t want to cause him unnecessary worry.

So instead of getting closer, I stopped right there.

I lightly drew the sword that I had strapped on since dispatch… and lightly flicked my finger against the sword’s edge that peeked out from the sheath.

Ting—!

The sound was so clear and pure that it was hard to believe it came from striking a chunk of metal.

And patiently collecting the echoes that resonated in my ears—

“You can now proceed with the arrest.”

I sent it flying toward the woman rampaging in the distance.

“…Huh?”

That was all.

Once her semicircular canals were shaken, she wouldn’t be able to maintain her balance for a while.

If she couldn’t control her body, there’s no way she could control her abilities.

As expected, whatever her grievances might be, that drunken woman’s movements abruptly halted and she collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.

And the association staff, who had belatedly noticed that sight, wiped the astonished looks from their faces before rushing over to the collapsed woman.

Confirming that much, I turned and approached the staff member who had taken care of my bike.

“Uh… Thank you for your hard work…?”

I let the staffer’s confused greeting wash over me as I climbed onto the bike.

Only after mounting the bike did I address Dogun, who must have watched all of that through the camera.

“How was it?”

I barely asked when the response I received was a laughter that sounded like air escaping a tire.

—How was it? Really… Senior, your talent is overpowered.

“It’s all thanks to you, Dogun.”

Maybe Dogun would think it was just flattery, but it was a hundred percent sincere.

If Dogun hadn’t been there? Would I have reached this level?

Honestly, I couldn’t be sure.

No, before even contemplating such things, I might not have even crossed the threshold of the eligibility test.

What if that had happened? What would I be doing now?

To be honest, I didn’t even want to imagine it.

So this was genuinely thanks to Dogun.

—Cough. Flattering me won’t get you more than lunch, you know.

“Is that so? Then I can expect lunch, right?”

—Uh…

“I’m just kidding; I’m just kidding. You’re the one helping me, so I should definitely be the one treating you.”

And if I’m going to treat Dogun to a meal anyway?

I hoped it would be something he made himself rather than something purchased outside.

If it was made just for me, I couldn’t ask for anything more.

‘After all, Dogun’s cooking is much tastier than food bought outside…’

Maybe I should suggest we cook together sometime…

Since I can cook quite a bit too…

—Ah, right, Senior.

While I was lost in imagining the cozy scene of us standing side by side in the kitchen, Dogun happened to call out to me.

“Huh…?”

I found myself a bit flustered.

—I just want to ask… Have you ever fought against other heroes?

And the follow-up question from Dogun threw me into even greater disarray.

It was understandable why…

Thinking of other heroes immediately reminded me of Chae-rim’s face.

How detestable it was, to be pretending to be uninterested while sneakily breaking through my defenses when I had briefly let my guard down.