Pain Immunity: Worried the Villains Aren’t Twisted Enough-Chapter 29: One of Us? Which Department Are You From?

Show-Off Guy's mouth twitched continuously, and the other three players all turned to look at Lu Ce, their faces full of speechless disbelief.
Dude, your whole existence is out of sync with the atmosphere here, okay?!
A grim and oppressive mood, a Hell Mode game where death could come at any moment… and here you are, acting like a commentator.
Everyone had been immersed in that intense atmosphere, but after listening to your monologue, they completely lost their emotional rhythm.
Show-Off Guy sighed softly and looked Lu Ce up and down, feeling too drained to even complain.
You even went as far as evaluating us?!
Everyone else looks normal, but you’re the only one wearing a mask—and not just any mask, but a bright red one with shifting patterns glowing across it.
This is the kind of reward you got from the game?
Honestly… just as abstract as you are.
“Huh? Did I say that out loud? No way. Do you have mind-reading powers or something?”
Lu Ce touched his lips in surprise, feeling the cold surface of his mask.
“You definitely said it...” Show-Off Guy replied helplessly. But as soon as he did, he regretted it.
Why the hell am I taking this lunatic seriously?!
WTF, is this some kind of brain-draining aura?!
Seeing everyone's expressions, Lu Ce realized it was probably true.
So the mental instability side effect of the Gluttony Mask was always active. If he didn’t consciously suppress it, it could become a problem.
“Ah, well, if I said it, I said it. Every game needs a narrator, right? Helps you all understand how others see you.”
Who the hell asked for your perspective?!
“Heh, I’ve heard that old people can’t hold in their piss and sh*t, but I never knew there were people who couldn’t hold in their words.”
Big Guy couldn’t hold back his jab. It suited his persona well, and after that, silence fell over the group again.
Everyone was sizing each other up—but no one was as unhinged as Lu Ce.
“Ahem.”
A light cough broke the silence. Show-Off Guy took the initiative to speak:
“I’m not called Show-Off Guy. My name is Jiu Tian. That’s my real name, not a nickname.”
“I think, since we’re already in a Hell Mode game, we should eliminate unnecessary barriers as soon as possible.”
“On a broader scale, relative to this game, we’re all humans. We’re on the same side.”
“Looking at it from a practical standpoint, we probably need to understand each other. I believe that will be beneficial for this game.”
“Most of us here are from Hua Nation, right? I’m from an official organization, so you can trust me.”
Jiu Tian spoke calmly, trying to unite everyone.
It was related to his background—in times of crisis, one should unite as much power as possible, especially when there was no existing grudge among them.
“I don’t think so.”
The foreign player finally spoke.
“We are not sure what the purpose of the game is yet.”
“But you can call me Kirk, that’s my name.”
The woman, who had been silent until now, also spoke. She looked at Jiu Tian and said:
“Hello, I appreciate your sincerity.”
“But the metal robot just said it—we’re both cooperating and competing in this game. Trust is hard to build right now.”
“Hah, official?” Big Guy scoffed. “The game just started a few days ago, and there’s already an official faction?”
“You guys just love sticking your noses into everything. Honestly, the best thing you could do is stay the hell out of it. Always messing around…”
Big Guy’s temper was clearly not great, and he wasn’t polite to anyone.
But Lu Ce knew—this was probably his way of coping with fear and stress. The pressure of a Hell Mode game needed an outlet, and acting aggressive was his method.
Seeing that the conversation wasn’t going well, Jiu Tian sighed. He had expected this kind of resistance.
He slowly turned his head and looked at Lu Ce, waiting for his response.
He had watched his own livestream earlier. Since he was part of an organization, his external team was constantly monitoring him and had already given him Lu Ce’s information.
By all accounts, this guy should be a top player…
Lu Ce noticed his gaze and, after a brief moment of thought, replied:
“Are you really sure I can’t call you Show-Off Guy?”
Jiu Tian: ?
At that moment, he felt a headache coming on.
“If you don’t know what to call me, just make up a random nickname.”
Who asked you that?! Is that the point here?!
Just as the situation started to stagnate, a voice echoed through the room again.
It was the same mechanical voice, but this time, the metal robot did not appear—only text lit up on the wall.
【Chosen’s Paradise, Hell Mode, Demon Asylum.】
【Basic Player Task: Survive!】
【As long as you stay alive until the Completion Task is finished, you will pass.】
【Player Objective Task: Find the source of the disease, locate the most severely infected individual, and eliminate the crisis they bring.】
【Players who complete the objective will receive additional rewards, graded based on performance and contribution.】
【Demon Asylum welcomes all patients.】
【Countdown: 5 minutes. Game will begin shortly.】
【00:05:00】
The brief announcement ended.
No extra dialogue—probably because the metal robot had already handled the introductory explanations.
Seeing this task description, everyone’s expressions became serious.
Hell Mode—and the basic task is just to survive?!
That meant even among the five of them, nobody was an easy target.
Jiu Tian realized that cooperation was unlikely.
The task description was vague.
What disease?
How do we determine who is the most infected?
If surviving until the end counts as completion, what’s stopping someone from just doing nothing while others handle the mission?
How was this designed…?
Everyone fell silent, checking their backpacks and healing potions, preparing for the unknown five minutes ahead.
“…Oh, right.”
Lu Ce muttered softly.
But in this tense atmosphere, even a small sound immediately drew everyone’s attention.
They watched as the guy wearing the red mask reached into his pants.
The location he reached for was… quite inappropriate.
Dude, what the hell?! In front of everyone?!
Are you finally revealing your true nature now that your face is hidden? Do you think wearing a mask means nothing matters anymore?!
Jiu Tian facepalmed, then turned to his livestream, asking the external team:
“Is his info accurate? Is this guy really a top player?”
Before he could finish his sentence, his expression completely changed.
His eyes locked onto the object Lu Ce pulled from his pants—
—A golden name card.
That custom-designed name card… Jiu Tian knew it all too well!
His expression immediately relaxed, as if he had just found an ally.
With large strides, he walked toward Lu Ce and whispered near his ear:
“You’re one of us? Damn, your disguise is good.”
“Which department are you from?”