This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 480

“Isn’t it true that the first time is always the hardest?”

Once I safely crossed what could be seen as the biggest hurdle in exploring Heogye, the next steps were smooth sailing.

While I was literally struggling to escape the sudden onset of nausea, were they preparing materials for the Forward Base on the other side of the Rift?

“Everyone, please step back from the Rift for now.”

At the command from the team leader of the RK Guard, we moved back to a safe distance, and soon after, construction materials that would be seen at a construction site began to pour through the Rift.

With each load of supplies needed for the establishment of the base, the Rift flickered ominously, but thankfully, it didn’t close again.

Although it was a bit precarious, it seemed like this amount of mass was manageable.

‘The problem lies ahead…’

Will we make it through that too?

Just then, in a moment of curiosity…

“Pl, please move aside!”

In a quavering voice, a woman sent specifically for smooth base construction shouted as she unintentionally got caught up in crossing the Rift.

At the moment she stepped back a bit more, cutting through the barely still quivering Rift was…

‘A Container Box?’

Yes, it was a Container Box.

And not just any empty one, but one filled with the supplies we were supposed to use.

“Let’s quickly pull out what’s inside!”

Was it a reaction to that shout, or perhaps a pre-arranged movement?

Regardless of the truth, all those from the RK Guard who had been silently observing up until now surged toward the Container Box.

Then they quickly began pulling out its contents.

That’s why I decided to sneak in and lend a hand.

It seemed like they were genuinely set on establishing a base, so if I helped a bit now, it might come in handy later when I needed to return the favor.

Given that this side isn’t particularly well-versed in physical strength, I won’t be much help, but what’s important is the ‘fact’ that I moved alongside them.

No more, no less, just that thought in mind led me to that decision while the remaining heroes chose between two paths.

Those who decided to help and those who opted to stand still.

Among those who chose to assist, they were quite proactive.

Perhaps they figured that if they were helping, they might as well do it properly so that there’d be no regret if they needed to brag later.

‘But being overly eager isn’t wise…’

As you know, using talent puts a burden on the Talent Organ.

If they end up exhausting themselves now, they might regret it later when it really matters.

Or could it be… that they’re intentionally trying to provoke such a situation?

I don’t know which one is the truth, but one thing’s for sure: when someone skilled enough to pass the qualifying exam in telekinesis rolled up their sleeves, the difference in efficiency was indeed significant.

They’re known to fail about nine out of ten attempts, yet this person managed to pass the exam. Maybe they specialized in the control aspect of telekinesis.

“Heh…”

“They say control is more important than output in telekinesis… did they focus entirely on just that?”

Sighs or sounds of admiration echoed from all around.

Well, that makes sense.

With a scene like that in front of them, who wouldn’t be impressed?

It felt as if dozens of invisible hands had been added to the mix.

The items floating around, avoiding the people, were just like that.

“Where should we place these?”

“Ah, w, wait a moment!”

Even the team leader, who had been providing close protection for high-ranking officials while witnessing all sorts of scenes, seemed stunned by this visual.

His eyes widened in surprise, and he looked a bit dazed as he sent one of the team members over to the telekinesis user.

And with only three out of five heroes rolling up their sleeves, things began taking shape much quicker than expected.

“Over this way!”

“What are you doing taking that there? Focus!”

It seemed that all the military training they had contributed to their knack for establishing strongholds, because their efforts at constructing a base were commendable.

So much so that after emptying out all the contents, the now empty Container Boxes weren’t left to waste.

“Tanker Team!”

“Yes!”

“Tanker Team, follow my lead and start setting up a barricade!”

The containers were indeed hollow now, but still incredibly sturdy, and the group known as the tanker team started stacking them up like Lego blocks.

Instead of returning them back through the Rift, they decided to utilize the boxes as materials for the barricade surrounding the base.

Of course, they weren’t just haphazardly stacking up the empty containers.

While it would suffice to block the general Another ones, this place was practically the stronghold of the Another ones.

Just because they were lower entities didn’t mean they were harmless; we had to watch out more for the higher entities.

Even the most common high-tier entities, like the Bruiser level, possessed strength capable of easily flipping an empty Container Box.

So, to prevent the incursion of the Another ones and avoid being crushed under our own barricade, we needed to take some preventive measures.

That was exactly the plan.

Judging by how they were gathering the wreckage scattered around and stuffing it tightly into the Container Boxes, it seemed to be part of the overall strategy.

As the containers stood robustly in line, various installations began to take shape on top of them.

“First, install the motion sensors and heat sensors!”

“What about electricity?!”

“Just connect it all at once, you idiot!”

Honestly, the biggest worry I’d had while coming over here was the flying entities that are known to trigger Monsterization, of which the specifics are still somewhat unclear.

Fortunately, it seemed it wasn’t easy for the Another ones to pull out such entities, as even though quite some time had passed since we entered Heogye, we hadn’t spotted a single one.

But perhaps it was just luck on our part.

All of us that entered at this hour were not the only ones.

Depending on the branch, there might be differences in scale, but they all would have entered Heogye around the same time.

So, it’s possible that among them, someone might be facing off against the Another ones who are deliberately getting aggressive.

In that regard, we needed to prepare countermeasures against the flying entities as quickly as possible.

It seemed the RK Guard wanted to combine motion sensors and heat sensors for that purpose.

‘Well…’

That’s only if the sensor performance backs it up. However, if it works, detecting the movements of flying entities should be a cinch.

While it might be difficult to capture their movements, once they are spotted, dealing with them would be a piece of cake.

That’s because the recently observed flying entity has been known to have a surprisingly weak exoskeletal defense, contrary to prior knowledge.

It’s no wonder that rumors suggested that even an ordinary person without any talents could bring one down as long as they could hit it.

Even though so many had undergone Monsterization, the Association had still failed to secure any samples related to flying entities, partly due to this weakness.

Basically, they were extremely small and had poor defense, making it tough to recover even a few fragments of the samples they managed to secure.

Given such vulnerability, if they were caught by an auto-turret combined with the sensors, they’d be shredded in no time.

‘Perhaps the doctor wanted to send me here for that reason…’

That must be why.

While having a living sample is the pinnacle, it’s absolutely insane to pass off an entity that triggers Monsterization alive to the other world, making it practically impossible to secure a living sample.

And if securing a living sample is impossible…

We need to at least get a hold of a decent corpse, so there’s something we could work with.

In such circumstances, there’s no better ability than one that can freeze something.

So now, what we must do is…

‘First, find that flying entity.’

The one that caused Dogun’s left arm to become like this and may potentially hold the key to a solution.