Chapter 9: Chapter 9: The Ultimate Greed—Seeking Fortune in Death!
What does it sound like when metal slowly saws through flesh?
The answer: it makes no sound.
Until the saw hits something truly solid, all that can be felt is the sensation of leather rubbing together—like two sheets of rawhide forcefully grinding against each other, one relentlessly tearing through the other.
Against the hellish red backdrop of the lava below, that leg instantly became even redder.
For a brief moment, the world seemed to freeze—like a black-and-white silent film, paused in mid-frame.
The only sound in the air was the sizzling noise, like steak searing on a scorching grill.
“AAAHHHHHH!!!”
A piercing scream rang out—but it wasn’t from Lu Ce.
It was from the woman dangling beside him.
“What are you doing?! Get away from me!”
She had come in with a gamer mindset, thinking this was just some game. How could she possibly have imagined witnessing something like this?
Could someone really just start sawing like it was nothing?!
Watching the masked man beside her, she started thrashing wildly in the air, her words becoming an incoherent mess.
Fear had completely devoured her sanity—her mind was on the brink of collapse.
【Chosen of Agony, +3 Pain Points!】
【Chosen of Agony, +2 Pain Points!】
The Pain Points kept rolling in, and Lu Ce was actually feeling quite pleased—until the woman’s ear-splitting howls completely ruined his mood.
Annoyed, he glanced at her and deadpanned:
"Seriously, why the hell are you screaming? It’s not even your leg I’m sawing."
"Besides, you’re gonna have to saw yours off too anyway. Consider this an early preview—it might actually help you get used to it."
“What? Or… do you want to go first?"
As he spoke, Lu Ce extended the saw toward her, as if offering it to her.
Seeing his blood-drenched hand gripping the saw, the woman immediately went silent—
She passed out cold from sheer terror.
Scared unconscious just from watching.
All she could hope for now was that when she woke up, all of this would turn out to be just a nightmare.
"Tch… seriously, you didn’t even mentally prepare before coming in?"
Casually scaring a spectator into fainting, Lu Ce continued sawing his leg.
Sawing off your own limb wasn’t just about enduring excruciating pain—it was also a mental torture beyond imagination.
But thanks to Greed Mode and the Original Sin Mask, Lu Ce felt no psychological burden at all.
As long as he saw his Pain Points increasing—as long as he was gaining something—then this completely negligible price meant nothing to him.
There’s a saying:
When profit reaches 50%, people will take risks.
When profit reaches 100%, people will trample over all human laws.
When profit reaches 300%, people will risk their very lives.
But for Lu Ce?
Even just a 1% gain—even just a chance at a benefit—was enough for him to risk it all.
Greed made him love the thrill of dancing on a knife’s edge.
Fortune favors the bold—and the insane.
That feeling alone was enough to drive someone mad.
By now, the saw blade had cut halfway through.
Aside from the unconscious woman, the other contestants were all deathly pale.
This scene was far beyond R-rated.
Who wouldn’t be horrified watching this?
Especially when the masked psycho in front of them was sawing through his own leg—without even making a single sound of pain.
He even chuckled from time to time.
It really felt like they had entered Hell.
"Bro… you’re insane. We really overestimated ourselves coming into this game…"
On the other side, a pale-faced man finally spoke up.
According to the Spectators, he was a Completion Player—someone who had played and cleared a beginner-level game before.
"If a leg must be cut, then cut it without hesitation. The first to make that decision—you’re incredible. Your first game must have gotten you a high rating and ranking, right?"
"But—look at what you’re doing! You’re cutting the wrong leg!"
"Oh?" Lu Ce glanced at his bloodied left leg. "And? What’s the problem?"
"The shackle is on your right ankle! Sawing off your left leg is pointless!"
"I wanna cut it. That’s a problem?"
Lu Ce swung back and forth, completely righteous and unapologetic, then shouted into the air:
"Where does it say I have to cut my right leg?"
"What if I want to saw off my left leg?! Is that not allowed?!"
【……】
This time, he was calling out to the Game Host—the same mechanical voice that had responded earlier.
But this time—
Silence.
The Host that had spoken multiple times did not answer.
Lu Ce didn’t care.
He was simply gambling.
Whether he won or lost, it didn’t matter—because at the very least, his Pain Points kept increasing, right?
The other contestants all turned away, their eyes filled with utter despair.
One of them had been scared unconscious.
The other was a lunatic with brain damage.
If they somehow survived this, they swore to never touch a game like this again.
And not just them—
Even the Spectators, the Chosen Players watching from the sidelines, were now fully convinced that they had made the right decision in staying out.
【: So this is what Hell Mode is like… Thank god I didn’t join.】
【: This is horrifying. Are all Perfect Completion Players this insane?】
【: Only a lunatic could stay this calm while sawing off their own leg in a game like this.】
【: But it’s pointless. He’s ruthless, sure—but he’s also a complete idiot.】
Most of the Spectators watching Lu Ce—this Perfect Completion Player—simply saw a madman with bravery but no brains.
But among them—
There were some who weren’t just watching for fun.
There were those who were gathering intel, preparing for what lay ahead.
One such Chosen Player, known as "Blank", typed out their thoughts in the livestream chat.
【Blank: You guys seriously think a Perfect Completion Player is dumb enough to saw off the wrong leg?】
【Blank: If I’m not mistaken, he’s playing a game of logic with the game’s rules. Remember what he said earlier?】
【Blank: He asked, ‘What if sawing off my leg doesn’t save me?’ and gave an example—what if he slipped and fell into the lava?】
【Blank: His real goal was to ask about all possible failures after cutting off a leg—but he deliberately made it sound unrelated.】
【Blank: And in the end, using that crazy attitude, he casually asked: ‘So as long as I saw off my leg, I’ll escape, right?’—That was the real trap.】
【Blank: There are many ways to saw off a leg—including not cutting the trapped one.】
【Blank: And the Game Host, having been misdirected, gave him a definitive ‘yes’.】
【Blank: That’s why he’s cutting his left leg.】
【Blank: It was just a word game—but he executed it without hesitation.All for a possible advantage.】
【Blank: Perfect Completion Players… they really are monsters of absolute optimization.Pain, their own bodies… none of it matters.】