The world suddenly returned to darkness.
The screen vanished.
The notification evaporated.
And the silence… a kind of silence that crushed the chest instead of soothing it.
Renji was sitting on the wide bed in his treetop camp, his back resting against the trunk, his breathing ragged as if he had just finished a race underwater.
His eyes were half-closed… yet unfocused—so unfocused it looked as though he were about to fall off the bed and fall out of life itself.
He knew what the disappearance of the network meant.
Time was up.
The deal hadn't gone through.
His luck had returned to normal: zero.
A minute passed… two… maybe ten.
He lost all sense of time, just as he had lost all sensation in his broken arm, which hung down like a dead branch.
Then—
"Ding."
He slowly raised his head, like someone hearing a sound from inside a dream.
Ding…?
It seemed the system had come either to mock him or to say: the game is over, now just die.
He opened the system with a trembling hand.
And a window appeared:
[Received: Golden Surgical Thread ×1]
[Received: Weapon – NeedleEdge MK-II]
He blinked.
Blink.
A second time.
Then a third.
"…Whaaaat?"
He opened the arsenal so fast he nearly broke his finger.
And there it was.
The new rifle… actually there.
The golden thread… there.
The bullet… the damn bullet was there too!
"Impossible… impossible… what is this? How… how…?"
Then the realization fell on him like a stone:
The trade had reached him… before the bullet reached the seller.
The system network had vanished before the transfer was completed on the other side…
But the first party—Renji himself?
He had received the entire package.
A reversal of luck.
A mad reversal.
Like winning a lottery ticket he didn't even know how he had bought.
He laughed.
He actually laughed.
A long, exhausted, strained laugh… but real.
"Alright… alright… finally… something goes Renji's way. Just one thing."
He took a deep breath… then looked at his mangled arm.
It was swollen, bluish, deformed, twisted at an illogical angle—
Like shattered bamboo trampled by an elephant, then trampled again just to make sure.
He opened the golden thread's window.
──────────────────────
Item: Golden Surgical Thread
──────────────────────
■ Function: Restores the damaged part to the maximum extent of the body's natural capabilities.
■ Side Effect: Enhances the treated limb by 100% of its natural value.
■ Note: Requires a medical operator (System Assistant).
──────────────────────
At the bottom of the window:
[Do you want to use it?]
He sighed.
"Is that even a question…? Yes."
He pressed it.
The virtual assistant appeared before him—activating suddenly, her light stabilizing, her form becoming more realistic, almost tangible.
She approached lightly… and took his broken arm between her hands.
This was the first time he could actually touch her.
Her fingers were slightly cold… but steady, reassuring, without hesitation.
"Alright… this is weird."
He smiled faintly.
"I'll call you… Misa. You look like her."
She lifted her head toward him.
A small smile appeared on her lips.
Maybe because she understood…
Or maybe it was just a programmed motion.
It didn't matter.
He muttered sarcastically:
"Damn it… I really fell in love with an AI."
She didn't respond.
Instead, she immediately began her work.
Golden light flowed from the thread as it slid between her fingers, piercing the skin, drawing the bones together, weaving nerves like silk threads, reshaping muscles, hardening tendons.
The pain was unbearable—
And yet… watching his arm return to its normal color, regaining its form instead of being a mass of mangled flesh… made him smile.
But… he couldn't keep watching for long.
Before the golden light finished—
Exhaustion overtook him.
...….
Renji woke up late.
The sun had already crawled halfway over the forest, and the dew on the tree's leaves was beginning to dry…
It had been a long night—very long—but it ended safely. That alone was an achievement.
He immediately checked his left arm.
…
…
Fine.
No—better than fine.
It was perfect. Strong, light, flexible… as if it hadn't been literally torn apart yesterday.
A confused half-smile spread across his face from sheer relief.
And suddenly—
[Notice. Treatment with Golden Surgical Thread completed.
The treated part's abilities have been raised to their maximum natural limit.]
His eyes froze.
"Maximum… limit?!"
[Yes.
However—] the virtual girl's voice dropped into a precise warning tone,
[this will create an imbalance between your left and right arms.
This will cause complications… especially during sniping.
A muscle-balancing exercise has been added to your daily task schedule.]
Renji let out a long sigh.
"Heh… of course. Nothing's free here…"
As he moved his arm with a bit of pride… he remembered something important.
His first rifle.
The Remington 783.
Or as he now called it:
"That feral jaguar's chew toy."
Most likely, nothing remained of it except bent pieces of metal somewhere in the forest.
That was fine… he knew it would be gone one day.
What mattered now was his new weapon.
That "gift" he had torn from the network through luck… or fraud… call it whatever you want.
But should he feel guilty?
Hah… and for whom?
Players? Animals? The system?
The only ones worth thinking about were the animals—and only so he wouldn't be eaten before leveling up.
He opened the arsenal.
Selected the new weapon.
A glowing purple frame appeared, with a cold gleam beneath the title:
──────────────────────
Weapon: NeedleEdge MK-II
──────────────────────
■ Condition: 96%
■ Accuracy: +28%
■ Stability: High
■ Recoil: Very Low
■ Customization: Medium (Supports standard attachments from workshop or tools)
■ Trait:
[Nerve Sever] — The first shot after entering aiming mode gains +35% additional penetration and doubles the chance to inflict severe bleeding for two seconds.
■ Base Capacity:
9 rounds
■ Currently Available Ammunition:
7 / 9
────────────────────────
Renji paused at the last line.
"Only seven…? Why not nine?"
A short notification appeared:
[Notice: The player's daily ammunition quota is fixed.
(7 rounds / day)
It is not affected by weapon type, upgrades, or player level.]
He stared at it coldly.
Renji took a deep breath, then slapped his cheeks with his palms as if reviving himself.
"Alright… time to finish the exercises."
He waved his hand and ordered:
"Transfer me to the training zone."
But the screen didn't open.
A small red window flashed—slow… heavy… as if the system were choosing its words with deliberate humiliation:
──────────────────────
You cannot enter the training or hunting zone.
Reason: Daily penalty not received.
──────────────────────
Renji blinked.
Penalty…?
Then his eyes widened slightly.
Ah… right.
He hadn't completed his daily tasks yesterday.
Another window appeared, this time in a sharp yellow color:
──────────────────────
Do you want to activate the penalty now?
[ Yes ] — [ No ]
──────────────────────
________
Author's Explanation:
NeedleEdge MK-II
"Needle Edge" literally means the edge of a needle, referring to something like a fine surgical needle used in operations—thin, sharp, and made for absolute precision.
The mark "MK" stands for Mark, meaning the model or version, and the number II indicates the second, upgraded version.
And of course… don't worry, this is not a real weapon and has no existence outside the novel—just a fictional creation from the author's silly imagination, who likes giving things names that sound far more dangerous than they really are.