This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 462

“What brings you here?”

I figured they’d make a big deal about this opportunity, but they didn’t.

Why are they so compliant all of a sudden?

I had sensed this before, but that woman has always been hard to read.

Well, anyway, I thought I had passed the final hurdle without any issues, so there was no longer any reason to hesitate. I immediately got up and left the Meeting Room.

Did my actions appear to someone as if I were just waiting for this moment?

I could hear sounds filled with disbelief from behind me, but that was all.

Maybe it was a bit too much to act against the Association Chairman’s permission, but no one stopped me until I left the Meeting Room and even the area around it.

“By the way…”

What on earth is Yoonseo up to?

Perhaps it was because I finally escaped the complicated atmosphere of the Meeting Room, but the tangled thoughts that had twisted like a pretzel began to organize themselves neatly, as if it had never been that way.

And as my mind regained its composure, curiosity resurfaced.

It seems this is no ordinary matter.

At some point, I desperately wanted to call Yoonseo and ask what she was doing, but… I held back for now.

Curiosity or not, I had no choice but to wait since I still didn’t know what Yoonseo wanted.

In other words, this could be a very secretive conversation.

So if I was going to call her… it would be best to do so from a place where we could talk privately.

That’s why I was making haste towards a specific destination.

After all, when I thought about it, the only place inside this building that would allow for a discreet conversation would be the Vice Chairman’s Office, where we usually worked.

Even though it was a temporary setup, it had excellent soundproofing, and they checked for eavesdropping every day, so I could speak freely without worry.

With that thought in mind, as I entered the room, the silence within welcomed its owner with open arms.

“First, let me lock the door…”

Just in case, I closed all the blinds.

I didn’t forget to lightly create some waves to check for eavesdropping risks.

Of course, I had checked everything thoroughly when I arrived in the morning, but… it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious since I couldn’t predict what kind of conversation might take place.

Once I had finished safeguarding against potential risks, I pulled out my Mobile Phone.

I selected Yoonseo’s number and pressed the button with my finger… and a familiar tune began to play in my ears.

I had heard this song a few times because Dogun said he was a long-time fan of the singer.

“Yoonseo, you really are…”

Way too obvious about this.

As I smiled wryly at the blatant choice of song, just before the intro finished… with a click, a familiar voice flowed into my ear.

“Alright, let me hear you out. Why are you behaving like this?”

The call that began as a casual inquiry ended up lasting a full 10 minutes.

Despite my extreme effort to hold back my words, it continued.

And boy, was it shocking.

“Ah…”

No wonder… that girl is acting surprisingly composed even when she’s gone completely nuts.

I thought she’d given up, but she was secretly plotting something from behind.

According to Yoonseo, she had apparently been painting for quite a while…

“Did she seize this opportunity to make her move?”

No, that wasn’t it.

That wasn’t her style at all.

She wasn’t the type to wait patiently for a ripe opportunity; she was more the type to grab it with her own hands as soon as it appeared.

So perhaps… some of the unnatural aspects I felt during this situation reflected her trickery.

Honestly, I had more connections to people in high positions than just the Association Chairman; Dr. Go was someone who could save my life.

Knowing this, if she decided to pull some strings, messing with the Association wouldn’t be hard for her.

Thinking about that made me realize she was genuinely one-of-a-kind crazy.

After all, she had to be aware that messing with the Association Chairman wouldn’t go unnoticed, yet she still went ahead and did it.

What kind of person would do something like that if they weren’t a lunatic?

“Anyway…”

The key point here is that Dr. Go is trying to involve Yoonseo in the exploration team…

But for what reason?

There are plenty of heroes she could easily enlist, so why is she trying to lure Yoonseo in specifically?

“Is it because none of the other heroes measure up to her standards?”

As I pondered further, a thought crossed my mind.

That possibility was worth considering. After all, Dr. Go was a genius, even if her talents didn’t directly relate to combat.

She wasn’t just any genius; she had incredible experience to back her up.

“Frankly, very few people even know how old she really is.”

Setting aside everything else, on the surface, she looked to be in her late twenties to early thirties, but that couldn’t possibly be accurate.

There was no way, given that she had that same appearance when I debuted as a hero.

It was likely a result of her healing abilities… Regardless, this led people to be unaware of Dr. Go’s true age.

Among the Association… only someone like the Association Chairman probably knew.

And even that information could be skewed.

Given this, she might have dismissed ordinary heroes because they didn’t catch her eye.

Of course, considering that everyone who carries the title of hero is, in their way, a genius, the level of their abilities varies widely.

For instance, Yoonseo had the same innate talent as the major villain Frozen, making her someone who stood out even among the most exceptional candidates.

So if she could use Yoonseo like a pawn…

Provided the exploration was successful, she could certainly raise her voice when it comes to the rewards that follow.

For example, she might claim some results from the exploration ‘first.’

“And the likelihood of success in the exploration itself would increase…”

To be honest, just a moment ago, I had a very low outlook on the chances of success for this exploration.

I wasn’t underestimating the abilities of the subcontractors involved.

Just… it was my opinion, as someone who had experienced the Heogye before.

“I could manage against Bruiser-level foes, but…”

What if some previously unseen, higher-tier monsters had emerged in the three years since then, or villains allied with the Another Ones had turned into monsters and were now appearing?

Would we still manage?

No matter how hard I thought about it, I could only envision a negative outcome.

Setting aside whether new high-ranking entities existed, there were no insignificant monsters among the presumed villainous ones that had been monsterized.

Sure, I could consider that those like Bruisers have very simplified behavior patterns once they are monsterized, so perhaps if we targeted their weaknesses, a few could be dealt with…

“The real problem is…”

That there is ‘that thing’ waiting for us.

The monster that had been studying ‘humans’ during our fights, becoming more cunning and meticulous in the process…