This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 484

Before passing through the Rift, I had already shown some degree of Talent, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to demonstrate just how far I could go one more time. So, drawn by the noise, I decided to go all out against the swarm that had come rushing in after a long time.

Who would have guessed that my actions to avoid being dismissed would come back to me like this?

Maybe it was because I had never once wanted to be in such a situation.

If someone had a thirst for honor, they might have welcomed this scenario subconsciously, but someone like me, who had no such aspirations, only felt a rush of warmth at the back of my head.

Had I known things would turn out this way, I would have cleverly adjusted my strength…

It’s a pity that while it’s possible to pour spilled water back into a cup, one can’t turn back time to erase things that have already happened.

I must have been feeling troubled by the unexpected weight of the crown that had been thrust upon me.

Earlier in the meeting, they said they would try to finish as quickly as possible, but later I discovered it was just an excuse to buy themselves some time to work leisurely.

At that moment, there was a commotion among the people involved in installing the communication device connecting reality and Heogye, and soon those who caught wind of the commotion started flocking over.

As I followed along, I witnessed the setup team trying to establish communication between reality and Heogye.

“Is this really going to work?”

“Judging by the signal, it seems so.”

“In that case… should we give it a go?”

Perhaps being considerate of the crowd gathered around, the first attempt at communication between Heogye and reality—something that could be seen as a monumental event—was conducted via a speakerphone.

“Hmm…”

While I understood the desire to let everyone hear, still, it was a mobile phone.

Normally, wouldn’t something like this be conducted with walkie-talkies?

That’s how it typically goes in movies.

Was it because of the sudden gap I felt between reality and cinema?

That bizarre thought popped into my mind, but it didn’t linger long.

It couldn’t help but be that way… as the sound everyone had been eagerly waiting for began to emanate from the phone speaker.

It sounded like a ringing.

Perhaps it was because of that sound.

Even if everyone kept quiet, I could practically feel their tension in the air.

At that moment, everyone held their breath, just waiting for the call to connect.

With a click, the expected and much more stable sounding signal abruptly cut off, and a voice that was utterly unfamiliar came flowing from the phone speaker.

“Hello, you’ve reached us.”

The atmosphere’s tension that had dominated the surroundings immediately shifted to a sense of relief right after that.

Everyone thought it was unavoidable to say, but was it because they felt an immense anxiety being in a place completely detached from reality?

Whatever it was, it felt like the voice that just came from the phone had somewhat alleviated those lingering worries.

“Well…”

From the RK Guard’s perspective, of course, it made sense.

While we had our reasons for being here, they were probably coerced into coming, driven by orders from above while grumbling about it.

Of course, the company promised substantial compensation, but… can human lives truly be measured like that?

Yet, simply with that one voice, the possibility of contacting reality from Heogye had been proven, so everyone must have begun to think that it was worth a shot.

Thus, with that thought, I could understand completely why they exhibited such overt signs of relief upon the call connecting.

After all, anyone present would know just how mercilessly the Association could be in desperate situations.

So they probably had considered the possibility of being abandoned here if things went awry…

“It means the chance of being discarded just decreased significantly.”

Unless it was a situation that could be wrapped up neatly, giving up personnel in a circumstance where contact with reality was possible wouldn’t be an easy decision for the Association.

“That said…”

Now we could communicate with reality…

Gratefully, that was indeed a relief.

I had been worried about that aspect, so this meant I wouldn’t have to fabricate an excuse for why I had gone nearly a week without contact.

If things got dire, I had even planned to break my mobile phone and say it broke during the mission.

The data inside could easily be transferred to a new phone, but I had sentimental value attached to this one, so breaking it had been something I was reluctant to do, but now that didn’t seem necessary.

Well, however, I probably needed to restrain myself from calling Dogun.

I could cover up poor call quality by saying it’s because we were in a valley, but once weird noises start mixing in during a call, I would find myself in an unavoidable mess.

So while I’m here, it makes sense to communicate mostly via texts or similar methods.

As I was formulating a plan for my actions going forward, the Forward Base was slowly changing its appearance.

The most noticeable change was, of course, the floor.

Honestly, when we discussed covering the floor with steel plates, I wondered if it would even be possible given the uneven, jumbled mess of flesh that made up the ground, but perhaps they had thought of a method after all.

The transformation began with the cement poured over the uneven ground.

And it was the Awakened with the relevant Talent who were responsible for solidifying that poured cement.

Maybe they all empathized with the fact that they wouldn’t get a break until the job was done.

Once the Awakened rolled up their sleeves, it didn’t take long for the once mushy ground to become as solid as stone.

Thanks to that, shortly after, the steel plates we brought along for reinforcing the walls began to lay in orderly lines over the now flat ground.

If flattening the ground was the goal, cement alone would suffice, but perhaps they were preparing for potential assaults from below by adding steel plates on top?

Personally, I thought it was a wise decision.

Unless they were discussing flying entities, there hadn’t been any observed entities that burrowed underground, but given this was the home ground of the Another Ones, it wouldn’t be strange for a new entity to emerge that hadn’t been observed yet.

So even if it was a slim chance, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared.

After all, there’s a saying, “Be prepared for the worst”.

In that sense, those steel plates laid atop the cement floor would serve as a considerable support when things go awry.

That thought crossed my mind until the person overseeing the base construction took a step further.

They simply covered the steel plates with an additional layer of cement.

“No way, with this level…”

Even an elder of a superior entity wouldn’t break through this…

With a design that almost felt obsessive, I managed a wry smile as the floor work finally came to an end.

In the words of the RK Guard folks, it felt like we had just completed an introductory lesson…

Once the floor construction was finished, we moved along swiftly and seamlessly.

When there was just bare ground, the unique ruggedness made moving difficult, but with the floor now flat, people got around more easily, and it even made it possible to use heavy machinery if the need arose.

Thanks to that, a hurried contact was made to the Association.

Of course, while one could look rather dull when crossing the Rift and suffering from severe motion sickness, whether the sophisticated equipment, one of the marvels of modern science, would operate normally post-Rift was uncertain, but it wouldn’t hurt to try, would it?

And if such heavy machinery worked fine in Heogye… other equipment might also be deployable.

“Like armored vehicles, perhaps… or tanks.”

Could that really be feasible?

I sure hope so…

That would at least slightly increase the chances of a successful expedition.