## Chapter 124 – Hero Alliance Countermeasures Committee
***
Inside the conference room of the Hero Alliance headquarters.
The conference room’s interior was structured like a parliament, with dozens of seats arranged in a circle, designed to focus attention on the center.
Each seat was equipped with a special communication device, allowing for accurate and rapid information exchange to facilitate smooth meetings.
– Creak…
As the time for the countermeasures meeting approached, numerous individuals began to arrive at the conference room.
“Haha! Long time no see. Has it been half a year?”
“Has it really been that long? We should meet up more often for drinks.”
“Sigh… Why do they even bother with these pointless meetings?”
“I have so much to do… Just wasting time sitting here.”
Some greeted each other with handshakes and inquiries about their well-being, while others displayed dissatisfaction, clearly unhappy about attending the meeting.
“We will now confirm the attendance of the Hero Alliance Countermeasures Committee members. Please take your assigned seats.”
The meeting attendees consisted of neatly dressed Alliance executives of various ages and veteran heroes still active in the field.
The chairman of the Hero Alliance Countermeasures Committee stepped forward to verify attendance.
“Attendance check complete. 23 out of 30 members are present. As more than two-thirds of the total committee members are in attendance, we will begin the committee meeting.”
The Hero Alliance Countermeasures Committee meeting was not convened unless the matter was truly urgent.
However, due to the increasing number of incidents caused by a mysterious organization hunting heroes, the Alliance convened an executive meeting to devise countermeasures.
“The agenda for the meeting is as follows:”
[ Regarding countermeasures to prevent the rapidly increasing hero hunting incidents ]
The presented agenda focused on identifying the causes of the escalating hero hunting incidents and establishing countermeasures.
In the past month alone, 10 heroes had died or gone missing, and over 30 had sustained severe injuries, resulting in the loss of their hero status.
This was more than triple the number from the previous quarter, and the biggest problem was the difficulty in identifying the exact cause.
“Currently, investigators of the hero hunting incidents have several suspected causes.”
[ 1. Overall decline in hero capabilities ]
[ 2. Alliance desertion due to discrimination among hero ranks ]
[ 3. Possibility of villain spies within the Alliance ]
[ 4. Possibility of the emergence of a new, large-scale villain organization ]
The suspected causes were transmitted to the monitors in front of the committee members’ seats.
In addition, statistical data on the heroes who had been victimized and data analyzing the trends of the locations and times of the incidents were also displayed.
“I’ve heard that hero hunting has increased significantly, but isn’t this something that field investigators should be handling?”
A middle-aged male executive, frowning deeply while looking at the data, raised his hand and expressed dissatisfaction with the meeting agenda, questioning whether it was something others should be doing.
“Due to the continuous occurrence of incidents… investigators are short on manpower even for field investigations. This means it is a critical issue that requires your attention.”
“Seriously… Then why not just bring in more people? Why bother calling busy people like us to a meeting like this?”
Heroes were the core personnel for protecting the city from villains, and their existence was crucial to the Hero Alliance.
The fact that these heroes were being hunted was a serious problem, but for some reason, the executives attending the meeting wore indifferent expressions and only grumbled.
“We’re already busy enough with the increased number of field deployments these days. Isn’t the solution to just recruit more people who can work in the field?”
The man suggested simply increasing the number of field personnel.
The active heroes attending the meeting frowned at the man’s irresponsible attitude, but the Alliance executives and office workers seemed unconcerned.
“Are you even listening to yourself? This isn’t an issue that can be resolved by simply increasing the number of investigators. The investigators have already presented the causes and various statistics.”
While the conference room buzzed with discontent over the middle-aged executive’s irresponsible remarks, a veteran hero raised his hand to facilitate the meeting and spoke.
“A threat to heroes is the same as a threat to the city and its citizens. Please listen attentively to the chairman’s words and actively offer your opinions.”
“To protect the city and its citizens… we must first support and protect the heroes.”
The veteran hero’s words, filled with sincerity, came just minutes after returning from a field deployment.
The executives who had expressed dissatisfaction shook their heads and clicked their tongues, but the heroes working in the field and some executives nodded in agreement.
“As I mentioned, the causes have already been identified to some extent, and we have also outlined some countermeasures, although they are not yet concrete.”
As the conference room quieted down, the chairman picked up the microphone again to proceed with the meeting, transmitting another piece of information to the monitors in front of the committee members’ seats.
[ 1. Relaxation of the hero ranking system and strengthening of the merit system ]
[ 2. Strengthening the security of hero devices ]
[ 3. Strengthening the standards for regular physical fitness tests ]
[ 4. Increasing the frequency of internal security inspections and audits within the Alliance ]
“I know that items 2 and 4 are already in progress… but relaxing the hero ranking system?”
“The investigation results showed that heroes who were not born with strong abilities or whose abilities were not highly versatile were dissatisfied, as the strength and utility of abilities are the most important factors in determining hero rank.”
“Hmm… That doesn’t seem very realistic.”
“I also disagree. This would make heroes with good abilities feel deprived, and it would be difficult to secure and utilize top-tier combat power.”
The proposed countermeasures were either already in progress or were deemed impractical.
“How about this? We could deploy hero personnel to each city district.”
“We could perform a kind of procedure to prevent heroes from betraying us…”
Some committee members offered new opinions, but they were even less realistic than the countermeasures previously suggested by the investigators.
Nearly an hour had passed since the meeting began, but all that had happened was the expression of dissatisfaction and criticism of new ideas.
“Well… it seems there are no further opinions on the agenda. As the scheduled end time of the meeting is approaching… we will conclude the meeting here for now.”
***
“Ugh… Why are they all so full of complaints? And they get paid so much.”
The chairman muttered as she walked out of the conference room after being the last to tidy up after the meeting.
She sighed, recalling the meeting where they failed to come up with a single proper countermeasure and only criticized the opinions of other members for over an hour.
“I don’t know how much longer I’ll have to keep dealing with this… I much preferred flying around in the field.”
Countermeasures Committee Chairman ‘Han Chaeri’ currently worked in the Alliance’s office, but just last year, she was a former hero saving citizens in the field.
However, she suffered a severe leg injury in an accident, making it difficult for her to continue her activities, and instead, she worked as an office worker with a prosthetic leg.
– Tringㅡ
“Yes, this is Han Chaeri. What’s the matter?”
“Ah, it’s me! How did the meeting go… did it go well?”
“Ah! I didn’t recognize you because you were calling from a different number. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s understandable since I called from a foreign number. How did the meeting go? Did any good ideas come up?”
“No… They just criticized each other’s opinions, and nothing of substance was said.”
“Sigh… I knew it would be like that. Those guys can’t do anything right. What’s the point of having experience in the field? They’re just old fogeys now.”
“It’s my fault for not being capable enough. I wasn’t capable enough to lead the committee as chairman.”
“Hey! I’m the one who picked you as my secretary. I’d be upset if you said that.”
“Hearing you say that… makes me feel a little better.”
“Haha! Don’t be so discouraged. You’re not inferior to those guys in any way.”
“Anyway… it seems like no proper countermeasures were decided at the meeting, and the other S-class guys aren’t moving yet, are they?”
“No. I haven’t heard from the other secretaries yet.”
“I see. Well, I’ll be returning to Korea next week… so I’ll have to start doing something in earnest then.”
“Thank you for your hard work today! I wish I could have been there to say something, but I couldn’t go with you because I’m the Countermeasures Committee Chairman.”
“I think it was a good experience. There are many stubborn and narrow-minded people… so I need to know how to deal with those kinds of people.”
“Good! That’s the attitude. Well, I’ll contact you again before I leave. Got it?”
“Yes, I understand. If there are any further instructions, I will contact you at this number. Have a good rest, ‘Iron Maiden’.”
