This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 476

Opening my mouth to offer additional advice, I hesitated for a moment.

The reason was simple.

I wasn’t sure if what I was about to say would actually be helpful to Yoonseo.

If it turned out to be more of a hindrance rather than assistance…

Despite this hesitation, I felt I still had to say something.

After all, if we encountered ‘that’ without knowing anything about it, it would be one of the worst possible situations.

Including the peculiar entity that seemed to appear before Dogun resembling ‘that’.

Fortunately, it seemed ‘that’ couldn’t stray too far from the horrifying tree for some reason, but the peculiar entity Dogun had witnessed appeared to have escaped such limitations.

So I definitely needed to say something.

“…Be careful of people.”

After a moment of hesitation, I added those words with a cautious tone, aiming to remind her of this crucial point.

“People?”

“Yeah.”

“Is there something wrong with the exploration team…?”

“Not exactly, but… Yoonseo, you’ve seen it too. People tend to show their true nature when pushed to extreme situations.”

“Well… that’s true.”

Of course, it wasn’t just for that reason, but there was also a pure meaning behind the warning to be cautious around people.

“Also, since you were there, you might remember… that peculiar entity that tried to kidnap Dogun might have shapeshifting abilities.”

If that peculiar entity had shapeshifting capabilities…

Taking down the exploration team from the inside would be a piece of cake.

Even the most apathetic person couldn’t remain indifferent in life-threatening situations.

And the Heogye was a place where Another Ones could emerge at any moment.

Thus, everyone would respond much more sharply to even the smallest events, and if that was exploited well, creating conflict within the exploration team would be a trivial matter.

“Or…”

There was also the possibility of annihilating the exploration team dispatched from another country, and then blending in as one of them to pose as the last survivor, launching an attack from within.

Now that they began to learn about humans, there were indeed plenty of methods that could be utilized.

And these methods would serve as a lethal dagger, especially with how most people, including the exploration team, viewed ‘Another’ as simply mindless monsters driven by pure hunger.

Knowing that this single remark could sow unnecessary doubts in Yoonseo’s mind, I still chose to say it.

“Oh, and you have that… defensive barrier, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Try to keep it on as much as possible.”

“Even at places like the base camp?”

“Yeah.”

Did she not quite understand why it needed to be?

She wore a puzzled expression for a moment until something akin to realization flashed across Yoonseo’s face.

“Is it because of those flies you mentioned earlier?”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“Considering how they fly differently than the others, it makes sense to stay alert rather than constantly sensing them.”

“Exactly. After all, Yoonseo, your talent doesn’t work efficiently in that regard…”

“But I’m doing pretty well now, you know?”

“Oh really?”

Maybe she was trying to ease her own tension.

As I engaged with Yoonseo’s grumbling, we began to draw closer to the problematic location.

And perhaps because of the changing scenery next to her, Yoonseo gradually started to notice it as well.

A small gulp echoed as she seemed to relax a bit, but her face tightened back up as if it had never relaxed at all.

Maybe she didn’t want anyone to see that she was tense.

In an instant, a playful look settled on her face, as if she hadn’t just been frowning.

Of course, having already seen her tense expression, this new one felt a bit awkward.

“By the way, didn’t you say you’d only say two things earlier?”

“Ugh… Even if I’m worried and trying to give you advice…”

As Yoonseo tried again to ease her tension, the car drove into the building guarded tightly by staff from the Security Team dispatched by the Association.

Officially, it was known as a place where people who had undergone Monsterization were isolated.

“Actually, that’s how it was supposed to be.”

Originally intended as a place to isolate those who had undergone Monsterization, but now it served a different purpose.

Today’s destination was none other than the underground of this facility.

“By the way, why underground?”

“Well…”

“Because it makes it easier to bury things if needed?”

“…Exactly.”

Just as Yoonseo had put it.

Due to certain circumstances, the Association had ultimately approved the exploration plan, but the higher-ups were still very worried.

If Another Ones poured out through the rift that led to the Heogye, it would be nothing short of a disaster.

To prevent such a scenario, the minimum safety measure was locating the opening of the rift underground.

This place was chosen as a checkpoint for reinforcing that measure, considering it was located in Seoul, making it easy to gather resources, yet still far enough to minimize the impact in case of an emergency.

The fact that it had ten underground levels from when it used to be a research facility meant that simply bringing the building down would allow easy control over the appearance of Another Ones.

Because of these points, this place had become the final checkpoint and the site to open the rift before transitioning to the Heogye. But…

Was it because I had realized how thoroughly the Association was considering every possible scenario?

Yoonseo’s expression, which had already been trying to hide tension, stiffened even further.

While I felt sorry for her, the more unfortunate truth was that there was nothing I could really do about it.

So what could I do?

I could only pray that Yoonseo would manage to overcome this herself.

*

With Chae-rim’s cautionary words still in mind, I moved forward slowly.

After walking along the corridor that seemed perfectly designed to block anything if the situation called for it, I encountered a massive iron door that looked as though even someone with enhanced physical abilities would struggle to open.

According to Chae-rim, this place was originally used as a research facility, so what kind of research must have taken place here for the door to be in this state?

That question crossed my mind but set it aside as I was already holding the access card distributed before entry and pressed it against the small access device next to the door.

With an automated voice confirming that authentication was complete, the iron door began to creak open right after.

Given the circumstances, everyone had no choice but to hurry, I realized.

I thought I was moving quickly, but it turned out I was the last over here.

That made me flinch a bit.

The funny thing was that even among the group, there were two distinct factions present.

On one side were the heroes who had provided assistance for various reasons in this exploration, and on the other… were the RK Guards I had seen before with Chae-rim during a field inspection.

Watching them separated into factions even before the exploration began was a bit amusing, prompting a small sigh, but I held it in.

If things continued like this, it would obviously become a problem, but they might just be feeling awkward.

Once we crossed over into the Heogye and began interacting, perhaps things would change.

And above all… there was simply too overwhelming a scene unfolding right in front of me.

A giant machine device I had never seen before was sending beams of light into the sky.

Every time those beams shot forth, the empty space slightly tore apart, and from those rifts, an ominous red gas began to seep into the atmosphere.