An ear-piercing high-frequency noise filled the entire space.

  Zzzzt—!

  Sixteenth Layer: Saw Hell.

  There was no ground here, only a massive metal grid composed of countless gears and conveyor belts. Standing atop this grid were tens of thousands of circular saw blades spinning at high speeds.

  Some blades were the size of plates, others as large as Ferris wheels.

  Guilty souls who had cut corners or trafficked women and children in life were tied naked to wooden stakes, then slowly fed into those blades by the conveyor belts.

  "AAAAAHHH—!"

  Screams were drowned out by the piercing sound of blades cutting through bone and flesh as soon as they left the mouth.

  Daoist Singularity felt his scalp tingle as soon as he landed.

  "This noise... decibels definitely over 200!" Singularity activated a silence barrier, but the vibration of metal grinding metal still shot straight up from the soles of his feet to his skull. "And the air here is full of rust and blood foam..."

  Slayer stood at the start of the conveyor belt.

  He looked at this layer.

  Compared to the Stone Press and Mortar Hells before, the industrialization level here was clearly higher. The entire hell layer was like a precise slaughter assembly line.

  At the end of the assembly line sat a bloated "Mecha-Slicer" demon, its back bristling with various models of saw blades. One of its hands was modified into a giant chainsaw, and the other controlled the console for the entire assembly line.

  Seeing Slayer appear, the Slicer let out a laugh as unpleasant as nails on a chalkboard.

  It slammed down the control lever.

  Click!

  The conveyor belt speed of the entire hell layer instantly tripled.

  All the saw blades began to idle wildly, and under the control of mechanical arms, they left their original tracks, whistling toward Slayer like a flock of frisbees hunting prey.

  Slayer didn't dodge.

  Because there was nowhere to dodge. Flying saw teeth were everywhere—front, back, left, right.

  He made a move that even Singularity found "Hardcore."

  Vrrrrm—!

  Slayer activated the chainsaw in his hand.

  Saw against Saw.

  When the first circular saw, one meter in diameter, cut toward his neck, Slayer swung his chainsaw, accurately striking the side bearing of the circular saw.

  Zzzzt—BOOM!

  Sparks flew. The circular saw jammed violently, then exploded into two halves.

  Slayer didn't stop. He activated Charge Mode.

  He weaved through the dense saw array, the chainsaw in his hand turning into a red whirlwind.

  Any blade blocking the way was sliced open like tofu.

  Any hidden weapon flying at him was punched away.

  He wasn't just destroying; he was... "Inspecting Goods."

  After cutting open dozens of saws, Slayer's gaze locked onto the giant chainsaw in the Slicer demon's hand.

  The teeth of that saw presented a dark black-gold color. While spinning at high speed, it made no noise, only visible ripples of air being cut.

  [Material Scan: Nether Tungsten.]

  [Traits: Extremely sharp, unwearable, inherent Armor Penetration.]

  Red light lit up on Slayer's visor.

  His Praetor Suit, having endured volcanic eruptions, stone mill crushing, and countless explosions, although structurally intact, was covered in scratches, and the shield generator was on the verge of overload.

  He needed Repair.

  And the best material was right in front of him.

  Slayer hooked his ordinary chainsaw back onto his waist (out of gas).

  He strode toward the Slicer demon.

  The Slicer panicked. Its proud saw array had been dismantled completely by this man. It raised the Black Gold Chainsaw on its right arm, roaring and charging at Slayer for a final desperate struggle.

  "DIE!!"

  Two chainsaws? No, it was a one-sided crush.

  Slayer didn't use a weapon.

  Just as the Slicer's saw was about to touch him, Slayer slammed his palms together.

  Clap!

  Catching a blade with bare hands!

  No, catching a chainsaw with bare hands!

  His pair of iron gauntlets, reinforced with Argent Energy, clamped dead onto the high-speed spinning Black Gold blade.

  ZZZZZZZZZZZZT!!!

  A terrifying friction sound erupted. Sparks spewed like a waterfall, illuminating Slayer's expressionless faceplate.

  The hand armor of the Praetor Suit was being worn down, alarms blaring wildly.

  But Slayer's arms didn't budge.

  His strength completely suppressed the mechanical torque.

  Break... for me. (Though unspoken, the aura conveyed it.)

  Slayer shouted (silently), his hands exerting force violently, making a "Snap" motion.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  SNAP!!!

  A crisp sound.

  That Nether Tungsten chainsaw, reputed to be unwearable, was actually snapped in half by him with brute force!

  The Slicer stared at its broken right arm, completely dumbfounded.

  In the next second.

  Slayer grabbed the half-broken saw still spinning and stabbed it backhanded into the Slicer's chest.

  Splurt.

  The Slicer fell.

  Battle over.

  Slayer didn't look at the corpse on the ground. Holding the two broken pieces of Black Gold blade still emitting cold air, he walked up to Singularity.

  Daoist Singularity was preparing to activate "Repair Mode" as usual, leaning close to Slayer's chest plate to find battle scars.

  "Big Hero, that saw was fierce just now, let me check your armor..."

  Singularity activated the "Analysis Glasses," carefully scanning the surface of Slayer's power armor.

  However, the scan result made Singularity suck in a cold breath.

  [Armor Integrity: 100%.]

  [Surface Scratches: 0.]

  "This..." Singularity knocked on the dark green metal in disbelief. "This isn't scientific! That saw just now was Nether Tungsten! It can cut a rift in space, yet it didn't even scratch your paint?!"

  Slayer ignored Singularity's shock. He certainly knew the hardness of this armor. This was the technological crystallization of the Maykr race, an artifact that even the Hell Forge couldn't melt. These scraps of copper and iron in the Underworld weren't even enough to tickle him.

  But he still held up the two pieces of Black Gold blade.

  He pointed at the eerie black flowing light on the blade, then at the Doomblade on his left arm.

  The meaning was clear: This material is interesting. Add it.

  Although this armor was hard, it was maxed out on "Physical Defense." This Nether Tungsten had a special attribute—"Severing Karma." In an environment like the Underworld where spirit bodies ran rampant, this was an excellent offensive attribute.

  He didn't want repair; he wanted Enchantment.

  "Understood!" Singularity realized. "You think the current blade isn't 'sinister'... uh, isn't 'targeted' enough, right?"

  Singularity immediately took out the refining furnace.

  "The biggest feature of Nether Tungsten is 'Evil-Breaking.' Although your arm blade is sharp, that's on a physical level. If plated with this gold..."

  "Heaven and Earth Furnace, Creation of All Things! Refine!"

  Under the scorching of high-temperature flames, the two pieces of Black Gold blade began to soften, turning into a ball of flowing liquid resembling black mercury.

  Singularity carefully manipulated this liquid, guiding it onto Slayer's extended arm blade.

  It didn't change the original structure of the arm blade (that was divine metal, unchangeable), but like a coating, it covered the surface of the serrated blade with a layer as thin as a cicada's wing.

  Hiss—

  As white smoke rose, cooling was complete.

  The originally silver-white arm blade now turned a deep, dark black, with eerie red light faintly flowing at the edge.

  [Weapon Upgrade: Karmic Doomblade.]

  [New Trait: Spirit Severance (Deals True Damage to incorporeal ghosts), Wounds Unhealable.]

  [Slayer's Evaluation: Excellent.]

  Slayer retracted the arm blade, then popped it out again.

  Shing!

  This time, the moment the blade popped out, the surrounding air let out a wail like tearing fabric.

  Even Singularity's protective aura was forced to activate automatically by this sharpness.

  Slayer nodded in satisfaction.

  Now, cutting ghosts would be like cutting butter.

  He turned around, looking at the gate at the end of this layer leading to the deepest underground.

  There was the end.

  And also a new beginning.

  Singularity packed up his tools, looking at this man who was unharmed and even had his weapon upgraded, his original "Logistics Repair" mindset completely collapsed.

  "Repair my ass..." Singularity crossed out the [Repair Budget] column in his notebook. "This is fundamentally an 'Indestructible Unit'. I just need to be responsible for buffing him from now on."

  "Invulnerable vs Adaptation."

  Slayer didn't need repair. He only needed to become deadlier.

  Slayer strode toward the gate.

  With every step he took, the gate leading to the bottom of the Eighteenth Layer of Hell seemed to sense that unmatched oppression and actually slowly opened a crack without needing to be cracked.

  Like it was trembling in fear.

  "Next chapter, Phase 3 Settlement. The Eighteen Layers of Hell have been punched through. Welcome to... The Blood Sea."