He didn't blink. He didn't breathe.
The damn emoji kept glowing in front of him, as if it were slapping him every second.
He raised his trembling hand… and opened the "Arsenal" tab.
He already knew the answer, but hope—that cursed thing that refuses to die—made him search anyway.
The window expanded:
────────────────────────
Arsenal
• Amplification Bullet ×1
• Bronze-Level Bullet ×1
────────────────────────
…And nothing else.
No healing item.
No surgical thread.
No trace of the purchase he had staked every remaining fragment of his life on.
"Impossible… impossible…"
He opened his personal data again.
He focused on the wealth field, barely able to see it through the tears burning his eye.
■ Wealth: 0
Zero.
Nothing.
A black hole.
He said it in a voice no one but him could hear.
A small voice… the voice of someone whose entire world had collapsed at once.
"My God… I was robbed like an idiot."
Like a child.
Like a beginner who believes the first shiny thing placed in front of him.
He stood there, stunned—not because he was new to this world, but because the experience he had relied on his entire life—real-world games, black-market trading, complex exchanges… all of it had betrayed him here.
And that was what truly hurt: he didn't fail because he was inexperienced… but because he was confident. Too confident.
They scammed him because:
He relied on old instincts that used to save him in traditional games.
He hadn't yet accepted that the Network didn't follow the rules of a "game," but the rules of humans—who are far better at deception than at playing.
He forgot that any system without oversight… is a jungle.
He trusted faster than usual because he was under time pressure…
And because he was desperate… and desperation turns the smartest players into the dumbest victims.
He felt pressure building in his head… as if a nerve had burned out.
"What do I do now…?"
He searched randomly through the flashy screen filling his field of vision.
Colors, icons, ads, banners…
Then suddenly, something at the bottom caught his eye.
A timer.
It read:
38:30
And the time was steadily counting down.
"Damn… this is my personal network-time limit… I don't have much left…"
A slow sigh escaped him.
"I don't have anything left at all."
And yet…
He decided to return to the public channel. One last attempt… one last voice he could scream with before time kicked him out of this world.
He entered.
Messages began to flood in.
With difficulty, he typed:
[Rinji]: I was scammed. I need help… please.
Seconds passed…
Then the replies exploded:
[CapySlayer44]: Oh look who's back. Obviously a scam.
[xXDarkWolf]: You should've filtered your search. The system shows shady groups if you don't customize it.
[MamaBear]: Sadly… fake groups get deleted immediately after the scam.
[WizardDude]: He really is new.
[BladeOn]: Told you to play dead lol.
[Ghostling]: Calm down. But… yeah, this happens a lot.
[Ghostling]: Even major guilds get hit by similar scams… the system protects no one.
[CapySlayer44]: Go complain to the system.
[NewUser]: He's really complaining lol. You think the system cares? I was sold a water gun and lost half my face—no one cared.
[WizardDude]: Odds are you're the scammer crying now.
[AnotherUser]: Classic!
Renji felt something crack inside his head.
Anger… despair… the feeling of being naked among laughing monsters.
His fingers trembled.
His vision wavered.
The timer at the bottom became 36:02… 35:59… 35:58…
His breathing grew heavy.
The world narrowed.
Then a single comment appeared… different:
[Ghostling]: Go to the auction. Maybe you have something to trade.
He hesitated…
But… what more could he lose than he already had?
He raised his gaze toward the menus.
The auction… it was always there—
Just a tiny icon among a thousand others.
He clicked it.
And… entered.
He had never seen an interface this crowded in his life…
The digital hall resembled a legendary market inside a raging cyclone:
Platforms rising and falling,
Numbers bursting like sparks,
Users leaping between offers,
Prices doubling in the blink of an eye,
And voices…
So many voices, roaring as if every player wanted the whole world to hear them.
Bids on hunted animal remains.
Ridiculous weapons.
Luxurious clothing.
Strange masks.
And even… a singing goldfish?
He didn't know whether that was intentional or just a system joke.
Every platform had an aura, every aura a color, and every color screamed:
"You're poor… don't even think about it."
The smell of loss—even digital—was there.
And Renji knew instantly that he didn't belong in this place.
He began searching.
He typed into the search bar:
Silver Surgical Thread
No results.
Silver Thread
Nothing.
Surgical
Empty.
He even tried misspelling it… hoping the system might be as stupid as the users. No luck.
Time was slipping through his fingers.
He pressed his trembling fingers to his head…
Felt dizziness…
And pain climbing up his shoulder at a terrifying speed.
His body began losing sensation entirely on the left side.
His vision blurred.
Shock mixed with panic.
He knew he no longer had the luxury of thinking.
He decided to do it.
He opened the Create New Auction window…
And dragged out the Bronze-Level Bullet.
He typed the description quickly:
"Trade: Bronze Bullet in exchange for Silver-Level Surgical Thread."
When he pressed Publish…
He didn't even get a second of silence.
The insults exploded instantly:
[RedClown]: This… is the worst trade I've ever seen.
[SlapKing]: LMAOOOOOO! A bronze bullet isn't even worth ten coins!
[BoneCollector]: Man… you'll get kicked out of the auction for being poor.
[Mira7]: Silver thread? You're dreaming.
The laughter was worse than the pain.
Worse than the bleeding itself.
His face went pale.
His heartbeat stuttered.
Defeat gathered in his chest—heavy… suffocating…
He looked back at his nearly torn arm…
Exposed nerves…
Blood beginning to coagulate at the edges of the screen.
Literally… he was dying.
And yet…
He couldn't force himself to take the next step.
The Amplification Bullet.
The only truly valuable thing he owned.
The only thing that could change his entire fate… later.
Or now…
Save him from death.
He swallowed hard.
Pain made him see colors that didn't exist.
Digital noise turned into a roar inside his head.
Tension pulled at his soul.
He looked at the network timer at the bottom of the screen:
19:23
19:22
19:21
Time… was literally collapsing before his eyes.
And the biggest problem?
The auction wouldn't allow posting a new offer until fifteen minutes after the last attempt.
"Damn… damn it…"
He tried to stop the shaking.
Useless.
He had to decide fast…
Either cling to the bullet—
His future hope—
Or cling to his arm now.
He didn't know which mattered more…
The future?
Or the ability to carry the future?
He closed his eyes…
Drew a broken breath…
Then reopened the auction window…
And dragged the Amplification Bullet into the input slot.
He pressed Confirm.
…Nothing.
No confirmation window.
No sound.
No frame.
For a moment, he thought the system was mocking him too.
Until one player finally typed:
[xXDarkWolf]: …Is he joking?
[Mira7]: Definitely a trick.
Renji thought it was just more mockery.
He braced himself for another wave of laughter.
Then… suddenly…
[RichBastard22]: One million coins.
A detonation.
As if the entire market had exploded.
The auction—the small, pathetic one he had posted—
Turned into a storm within seconds.
Platforms ignited.
Prices leapt.
Bidders multiplied by dozens… then hundreds… then thousands.
Offers poured in like a waterfall:
1.2M
1.5M
1.6M
2M
2.4M
Messages…
Insults…
Panic…
Greed…
People entering and leaving…
Names flaring brightly… others vanishing.
His auction was turning into a miniature global event…
While he…
Stood there… alone…
Between death and desire…
Between loss and survival…
And in the heart of this madness…
In a single moment of clarity…
A ridiculous thought crossed his mind, turning into a heavy stone in his chest:
"Maybe… losing my arm… is better than losing this bullet."