Chen Shi looked down at his crotch.
Then at the furious giantess.
Good Lord.
She really thinks it's a crowbar.
Or a hydraulic jack.
This is the greatest misunderstanding in the history of horror games.
He coughed awkwardly.
"Lady Cecilia..."
"This 'tool'..."
"It is... inconvenient to show in public."
"It's a bit... personal."
Lady Cecilia sneered.
Her red eyes glowing with contempt.
"Personal?"
"You have a guilty conscience."
"If you don't take it out..."
"I will crush you into a meat patty right here."
Chen Shi raised a hand.
"Fine."
"I will show you."
"But only you."
"The others are not worthy to see this... magnificent weapon."
"Please, set up a barrier."
Chen Shi's brain was spinning rapidly.
If I pull it out in front of the cameras...
I'm a pervert.
I'll get banned.
But more importantly...
If I expose myself to an S+ Ghost unprompted...
That's sexual harassment.
Instant death.
But if SHE demands to see it...
If SHE takes it out...
Then I am the victim.
I am just complying with the rules!
Genius.
Absolute genius.
Lady Cecilia let out a cold snort.
"Troublesome ant."
She waved her hand.
WOOSH.
A curtain of thick, velvet-black fog descended.
The world outside vanished.
No cameras. No screaming audience. No rules.
Inside, the air was heavy.
Thick with the suffocating, intoxicating scent of over-ripe peaches and female musk.
It was hot.
Humid.
Like the inside of a beast's mouth.
Lady Cecilia towered over him.
Her massive chest heaving with irritation.
Her shadow swallowing him whole.
Chen Shi stood still.
His hands raised in mock surrender.
His eyes innocent, but his blood was boiling.
"Lady Cecilia..."
His voice was a hush. Intimate.
"Since you insist this is a 'dangerous weapon'..."
"You should retrieve it yourself."
"I am afraid if I touch it..."
"I might trigger the... firing mechanism."
He licked his dry lips.
"But please... be gentle."
"It is connected to my deepest nerve endings."
"If you handle it too roughly..."
"It might... explode."
Lady Cecilia rolled her glowing red eyes.
Looking down at him like he was a stain on her carpet.
"Pathetic."
"Cheating trash."
"First you break my rules, now you act like a fragile virgin?"
She took a heavy step forward.
The heat radiating from her massive white body was overwhelming.
"You talk too much."
"I will see what kind of 'Divine Tool' gave a worm like you the confidence to challenge a God."
She reached out.
Her hand was a pale, marble claw.
RIP.
She didn't unbutton his jacket.
She shredded it.
Buttons popped off like bullets, pinging against the invisible barrier.
Fabric screamed and surrendered.
And there it was.
Under the thin, translucent white dress shirt.
Straining against the waistband of his cheap denim.
A monster.
It was pinned upward.
A thick, rigid ridge that stretched from his belt all the way to his navel.
The fabric of his shirt was pulled so tight it was almost transparent.
Revealing the angry, purple veins underneath.
Suddenly.
Twitch.
The "cylinder" jumped.
A violent, hungry spasm.
It slapped against his stomach with an audible thud.
Lady Cecilia froze.
Her arrogance wavered for a split second.
Her eyebrows knitted together in genuine, disgusted confusion.
"It... moves?"
She leaned in closer.
Her hot breath ghosting over his abdomen.
"Is it alive?"
"A bio-mechanical parasite?"
"Grafted onto your flesh?"
"Disgusting."
She reached for his belt buckle.
Her fingers were massive.
Thick. Powerful.
Built for crushing skulls, not handling delicate human clothing.
She tried to pinch the small metal clasp.
But her fingers were like marble pillars.
She fumbled.
Once.
Twice.
The metal clicked, but wouldn't release.
"Annoying!"
Her patience snapped.
Her eyes glowed a furious crimson.
"To hell with the button!"
She grabbed the waistband of his trousers with both hands.
Her grip was iron.
And she pulled.
RRRRRRRIP!
The sound was violent.
Erotic.
The denim didn't just tear.
It was obliterated.
Chen Shi's pants were torn completely in half.
Left hanging in tatters off his thighs.
Exposing the "hidden tool" to the red, hazy air.
Outside the barrier.
The atmosphere was suffocating.
Elena stared at the wall of swirling black fog.
Her knuckles white as she gripped the edge of her skirt.
"He didn't cheat."
"I know he didn't cheat."
"But that's not the point."
She whispered, her voice trembling.
"Lady Cecilia..."
"She is unstable."
"A dual personality."
"One moment, she is a strict, elegant mother."
"The next, a bloodthirsty butcher."
"Chen Shi is just a rookie."
"A normal human."
"Even if he proves his innocence..."
"If he accidentally offends her... or if she just doesn't like him..."
"She will crush him like a bug."
Amy tugged at Elena's hand.
Her big eyes filled with tears.
"Sister Elena..."
"Is the Big Sister eating Brother Chen?"
"I heard ripping sounds..."
"Is she tearing him apart?"
In the shadows.
Viper and Fatty were already high-fiving.
"Did you hear that rip?"
Viper grinned, his face twisted with greed.
"That was the sound of justice."
"She found the prop."
"And now she is executing him."
Fatty rubbed his hands together.
Saliva practically dripping from his mouth.
"The bounty..."
"The Golden Emperor's reward..."
"We're rich!"
"We're going to be kings of the Safe Zone!"
"Who cares about the game?"
"Chen Shi is dead, and we get paid!"
The foreign live stream was a festival of hate.
Champagne emojis flooded the screen.
[RIP BOZO!]
[Hahahaha! Listen to that tear!]
[He got exposed!]
[Dragon Country is finished!]
[Get the land ready!]
[We are moving in!]
[This is what happens when you cheat against a God!]
[Deserved!]
Meanwhile.
The Dragon Country stream was a chaotic mix of anxiety and fury.
[OPEN THE FOG!]
[LET ME IN!]
[Why the black screen?!]
[I pay my internet bills!]
[I have unlimited data!]
[I don't care if it's gore or porn!]
[I am an adult! I can handle it!]
[Command Center! Hack the ghost!]
[We need to see the 'Tool'!]
[They are popping champagne...]
[But I think Brother Chen is popping something else inside there!]
[It's not fair!]
[I want to see Lady Cecilia's reaction when she realizes it's not metal!]
[Unleash the Dragon!]
[Remove the mosaic!]
Suddenly, A sound came out.
POP.
The wall of black fog vanished.
Like a bubble bursting.
The cameras zoomed in immediately.
The audience held their breath.
Ready to see either a corpse... or a miracle.
But there was nothing.
Empty air.
Chen Shi was gone.
Lady Cecilia was gone.
The only things left on the cracked obsidian floor were...
Chen Shi's tattered, shredded denim trousers.
And a few popped buttons spinning sadly on the ground.
The gym was silent.
Ding.
The cold, mechanical System Voice echoed through the hall.
[System Announcement]
[The 'Squat Challenge' is temporarily suspended.]
[Reason: The Gym Leader, Lady Cecilia, is currently conducting a Deep Inspection of a suspicious item.]
[The game will resume when the Lady returns.]
[Please wait patiently.]
Silence.
Then... chaos.
Elena stared at the torn pants on the floor.
Her face went pale, then flushed a deep crimson.
"They... they vanished?"
"Teleportation?"
She looked at the shredded denim.
"Violence..."
"She ripped his clothes off... and took him away?"
Amy tilted her head.
"Sister Elena..."
"Is Brother Chen in a 'Timeout'?"
"Why did he leave his pants behind?"
In the shadows.
Viper and Fatty let out a roar of laughter.
"HAHAHA!"
"I told you!"
Viper pointed at the empty spot.
"He's been taken to the Dungeon!"
"The Torture Chamber!"
"Lady Cecilia didn't want to dirty her sacred gym with his filth!"
"She took him somewhere private to extract the truth... and his organs!"
"Slowly!"
"Look at those pants! Ripped to shreds!"
"He probably has broken legs by now!"
The Foreign Live Stream exploded with vindictive joy.
[YES!]
[Justice Served!]
[He's in the torture room now!]
[Screaming for mercy!]
[Taking him away to a private location means only one thing for a Ghost: FEAST TIME!]
[He is literally being eaten right now!]
[Dragon Country, get your land ready!]
[Your hero is cat food!]
Meanwhile.
The Dragon Country chat was... conflicted.
[...]
[Wait a minute.]
[Torture?]
[I don't know about that...]