This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 610

Drrrrr—

The signal tone instantly took over my ears.

Unable to endure the strange unease that started creeping up my body at some point, I eventually caved in and called Yoonseo.

And as the signal tone echoed in my ears… I became anxious this time.

The longer the signal tone persisted, the more my impatience grew.

In that moment, when I was feeling an indescribable nervousness as it endlessly droned on, I heard a click from the phone speaker, followed by a familiar voice.

—“Uh, why?”

Just slightly curt, that voice muddled through my ear, allowing me to finally let out a sigh of relief once I heard it.

I was secretly hoping the signal would go through, and now that I was successfully on the call, it seemed my ominous imaginings were merely my own delusions.

As I took a moment to feel relieved, I suddenly found myself at a loss for words.

After all, I had made the call out of a mere sense of curiosity, so I didn’t really have a solid reason to discuss.

Maybe that’s why it happened.

When Yoonseo asked me why I called, the answer that slipped out of my mouth was pitifully insufficient.

“Uh, I was just… curious about what you’re up to.”

—“…I’m working.”

“Have you eaten? Did you?”

—“I did eat, but…”

While I was engaged in this boring conversation, noise began to filter into Yoonseo’s end.

Then, when she said to hang on for a moment and fell silent, it seemed someone nearby must have called her.

—“Hey, I should probably get going soon.”

“Sounds like you’re busy.”

—“Uh… yeah, something like that.”

Her voice carried a hint of untrustworthiness.

Yet, I wasn’t really anxious about it.

It was likely just her being busy.

So—

“Alright, take care.”

With my anxiety easing compared to before, I set my mobile phone back down on the desk.

I felt quite relieved that the worries I had held were not coming true.

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【Yoonseo’s Perspective】

As Dogun let out a sigh of relief and took the phone away from his ear, there was someone else feeling differently, sensing a weight in their chest—it was none other than Yoonseo.

Thump-thump—

Her heart, positioned just above her solar plexus, was thumping wildly.

It couldn’t be helped.

At least at this moment, it couldn’t be helped… If she had messed up, she almost would have been caught before they even started.

Fortunately, the person who received her phone hadn’t left the scene yet; otherwise?

Dogun’s call would have turned into a missed call, and that would have likely resulted in being found out for lying.

Sure, who could be certain about things that hadn’t even happened, but if nothing else, she was sure about this one thing.

After all, the “I Do Gun” she knew became eerily perceptive during times like this.

In fact, if only he could exercise that sixth sense even a little more in daily life, she wouldn’t have had to suffer so much stress.

Thinking about it, even if her mind wandered off momentarily, the operation hadn’t even begun, so she thought it was better to be cautious.

Maintaining an air of casualness while talking to Dogun was genuinely an effort in that regard.

While in the midst of this, when someone arrived from the World Hero Association staff to say they should get going soon, her heart plummeted.

What if any nearby sounds overlapped and caused trouble? She was talking on the phone with it pressed to her ear instead of using speaker mode, so thankfully it worked out; otherwise, she would have been caught red-handed.

Was that the reason?

Despite successfully ending her call with Dogun, the beating of her heart showed no signs of settling.

So as she placed her hand on her chest and took deep breaths…

“Miss Oh?”

The comment about needing to depart soon wasn’t just a simple nudge to hurry her along, was it?

Had everything really been prepared? A person came to her once more.

Understanding it as an indication of comprehension, she nodded once and followed the staff member.

As for returning the phone… she decided to give up on that.

Of course, she was heading to a place lacking proper communication facilities and the internet, so even if she took it, there wouldn’t be much use… But still, this way seemed to provide a more reassuring feeling.

While internet usage or phone calls were obviously impossible, she could at least send texts within the Forward Base, and even if that wasn’t the case, having the phone on her would mean she could take a peek at Dogun’s photos if needed.

She didn’t know how long it would take until this operation, now right on her doorstep, would come to an end, but every time it became painfully hard to endure, perhaps taking a look would give her strength.

She thought certainly that could happen, and suddenly feeling like it might be the last chance, she felt rather foolish for having even thought of giving up the phone.

How could a phone be that important?

What mattered more was the memories held within it, right?

Of course, if the phone broke, those memories would be lost too… But just in case such a situation occurred, she had set up cloud backup for all the pictures stored in that phone.

So even if by some chance she ended up breaking her phone in the Heogye while on a mission, the photos she took with Dogun wouldn’t just disappear.

If need be, she could simply buy a new phone and download the data from her existing cloud.

‘It wouldn’t matter if it broke; I hope that’s the case.’

Perhaps… it would be alright.

After all, they were all extraordinary people.

Despite maintaining an air of coolness, the very fact that the responsibility to cross into the Heogye through the Rift was placed on her made her belief waver just a bit… Still, unlike those people, she had crossed between the realms of Heogye and reality multiple times, and for them, this Heogye was a completely uncharted territory they had never experienced before.

And the unknown always invoked fear.

‘Besides, it’s unlikely to pose any actual threat…’

After all, the expedition teams would have already tidied everything up in advance.

For those who had been effectively hired by the Korean Hero Association in the form of collaboration, the existence of the expedition team composed of heroes representing various countries likely felt like the company president or chairman where they worked.

Perhaps because of that certainty, while others were fixedly staring at the massive Rift in front of them with tense expressions, even though she was standing right at the edge of the rift, she felt no sense of fear at all.

She merely thought… it would be really nice if the operation planned to proceed smoothly and she could return safely to Dogun without any injuries.

“Once you’re ready, you may proceed in.”

With that, in time with the signal from the World Hero Association staff sent from the United States, she threw herself toward the Rift.

As she did, an overwhelming sensation of being sucked into somewhere began, and the unique sticky air that one could only feel in the Heogye began to gently swirl around her nose.

Taking in the Heogye’s peculiar air, reminiscent of standing in a desert with winds whipping violently, she slowly opened her eyes.

What awaited her were the voices calling out—

“Block them!”

“Are you out of your mind?! Do you want to die?!”

The chaos of dozens of uninvited guests, stirred up by the appearance of those guests in the Forward Base.