"Hey! Can you be a little more aware of your surroundings?!"
Lu Ce quickly pulled his leg back as Xie Antong’s eyes sparkled with mischief, her hands already taking liberties.
He had only wanted to test her reaction—after all, his condition in the ga had been terrifying, and his leg had been amputated.
But judging by her response, it seed like she hadn’t coincidentally witnessed his Initial Ga.
"People are best at projecting their own thoughts onto others," Lu Ce mused. "You're saying I was chosen but am just hiding it… Are you actually talking about yourself?"
Instead of denying it, he shifted the topic onto her.
To his surprise, Xie Antong stared at him for a mont… and then seriously nodded.
"Yeah."
Lu Ce: "?!?"
Wait. You’re just telling outright? Just like that?
Xie Antong glanced around. The other students were still chatting amongst themselves, completely unaware of their conversation. She turned away, avoiding his gaze, and lowered her voice.
"In an unfamiliar world, being part of the minority… It’s only natural to stay low-key and observe first."
Then, she suddenly changed the subject.
"So, in two days, for the second round of the ga—are you going to participate?"
Lu Ce’s mouth twitched.
Did you just assu I’m a Chosen Player? I never admitted anything!
Since he didn’t reply, Xie Antong spoke up again.
"Whatever you’re thinking, my advice is—don’t join yet. Wait."
"The temptation to change your fate is huge. I know. If you get the chance, you won’t want to miss it."
"But our country’s internet surveillance is extrely strict. During tis of upheaval, a lot of news and information gets censored to maintain stability."
"I was one of the first ‘spectators.’ Last night, after my initial shock, I started docunting everything."
"I watched over a hundred ga streams—players from all walks of life, facing different and sotis identical scenarios."
"So of the footage was brutal. You won’t find those clips online at all. The trials in that ga… There are no moral or legal rules—nothing modern society considers humane."
As she spoke, Xie Antong’s face paled slightly, as if recalling sothing deeply unsettling.
"I even saw a player die in the ga."
"If the ga is truly another world… If ti and space there are continuous with reality, aning players are physically transported—"
"Then… can they ever co back alive?"
Lu Ce: "..."
Xie Antong fixed her gaze on his profile, speaking with utmost seriousness.
And strangely, her words made him feel… a little guilty.
Because out of everyone, he knew the truth best.
He had been there.
He had experienced one of the cruelest and most horrifying trials. The bloodshed, the sheer life-or-death terror—he understood it far more deeply than anyone else.
"...Thanks."
Lu Ce could sowhat guess why this rich girl deskmate was interested in him.
It was simple, really.
A pampered young lady, used to having guys fawning over her, suddenly encounters a poor boy who neither flatters nor cares about her.
Of course, she’d be curious.
What else could it be? Teenage girls were all the sa.
Still, he appreciated the concern.
Judge a person by their actions, not their intentions.
"Sigh… Just think about it carefully." Xie Antong wasn’t sure if he had truly listened. She let out a soft sigh and turned back to her phone, scrolling through the latest videos and news.
Outside, students wandered the halls, so leaving class early. Lu Ce even spotted a few police officers.
Online, the chaos was even worse.
Misinformation was rampant, and as ti passed, it beca increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction.
Self-proclaid "news sources" were going crazy, saying anything for clicks. So people even claid that players had gained superpowers, and that the strongest ones could now crush nuclear warheads with their bare hands.
Lu Ce: Huh? Why don’t I know that I’m this overpowered?
His personal assessnt was more realistic.
Against unard ordinary people? He was already beyond human limits.
Against modern firearms? He was still a dead man walking.
He was too weak right now. Nowhere near strong enough to feel safe.
The first day of the world’s transformation passed just like that.
On his way ho, Lu Ce found a quiet, deserted spot and stared at a nearby brick wall.
He clenched his right fist and, using the knuckle ridge as a striking point, punched a corner of the wall with full force.
Boom!
A muffled thud echoed. A chunk of the brick crumbled off, small fragnts scattering onto the ground.
He had hit it hard—so hard that a red mark imdiately appeared on his fist.
His knuckles had even been scraped raw, with tiny beads of blood forming.
Frowning slightly, Lu Ce stared at his injured hand.
He felt no pain, of course. He had never felt pain.
But strangely… his Chosen of Agony ability didn’t activate.
"Is it because the pain level isn’t high enough? Or is there so other restriction?"
His Chosen of Agony trait—the pain-to-power system—was his greatest advantage.
It had allowed him to survive the Initial Ga.
It had even put him at world rank #1.
He needed to figure out how it worked.
After all… what kind of idiot has a cheat ability and doesn’t know how to use it?
He tried a few more punches against the wall.
Still nothing.
But then—
A familiar, irritating voice rang out behind him.
"What, feeling depressed? Taking it out on a wall now?"
Lu Ce’s expression darkened.
"You really insist on acting like every single brain-dead villain stereotype, huh?"
With another punch, he shattered more of the bricks and turned to face the speaker—Zhang Tao.
Zhang Tao had been thriving all day.
He had basked in his newfound status, imagining a future where he’d be a god among n. Now, he figured he’d take a mont to mock the guy who had humiliated him in the past.
But when he saw Lu Ce’s punch… his arrogance wavered.
Still, he forced himself to sneer.
"Heh, were you late on purpose this morning? Trying to make everyone think you were chosen?"
"Co on, man. How many people in the world actually got selected? The ga’s called Chosen’s Paradise, right? Even your own parents didn’t choose you—why the hell would God pick you?"
Lu Ce didn’t even bother responding.
Instead, he reached into the broken wall and pulled out a chunk of brick.
Then, with eerie calmness, he walked toward Zhang Tao.
"Did you forget," he said coldly, "what I told you the last ti I beat the sh*t out of you?"
Zhang Tao’s bravado crumbled instantly. He jumped back, grabbing a nearby bike lock as a makeshift weapon.
"W-What are you trying to do?! Listen, we’re in different leagues now! I could kill you and not even get in trouble!"
"Don’t co any closer, I’m warning you! My family has connections in the police departnt!"
Lu Ce raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? What, your dad got arrested for soliciting a prostitute?"
Zhang Tao: WHAT THE F**K?!
Their eyes t.
Zhang Tao’s usual arrogance evaporated, replaced by pure fear.
For the first ti, he truly saw it—
The gaze of soone who had killed before.
"I-I f**king swear—!" Zhang Tao panicked, cursing loudly to psych himself up. He swung the bike lock wildly.
Lu Ce barely reacted. With a casual motion, he deflected it with his wrist.
【Chosen of Agony! Pain Value 1!】
"...Oh?"
Lu Ce paused, surprised.
Hearing that long-missed notification, a slow, twisted grin spread across his face.
"I think I get it now… Thanks."
"And by the way—"
"You said your family has people in the police?"
"What about the hospital?"
"…No?"
"That’s fine. They will soon."
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