Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 723 - 721: Potential

The note appeared.

The clock showed 00:12.

The Mule took a deep breath as he watched the yellow piece of paper flutter down from mid-air and reached out to pinch it. The paper had only one line of writing.

"Don't be killed."

What did this mean?

The Mule's hair stood on end. He immediately activated his Detection Skill, releasing invisible fluctuations that filled room 0408.

The Catastrophe Golem standing beside him also seemed to sense its Summoner's fear, as its already imposing stature grew even taller.

Two smooth metallic arms ended in hollow indentations. Within those indentations, an intense Energy gathered, so fierce it could not be completely concealed even by the Invisibility Cloak.

"TEE HEE..." A childish laugh—crisp, ethereal, and pleasant—echoed inexplicably in the room.

The Mule turned his head abruptly toward the direction of the sound.

The last image etched in his retina was of a short, pale child on tiptoes, reaching for the light switch next to the door, while rotating its head 180 degrees to look at the Mule, silently cackling.

The lights in room 0408 went out.

***

No one could be trusted; no one could be believed.

In a room on the eighth floor, 13MARK flexed his fingers, a trace of gloom flashing across his dark face.

During the day, he had spoken through Yuyi Xinzhong, suggesting that Black Holy Son and Li Ang were suspects in Bob's murder, offending several companions in one fell swoop.

This was not because he lacked emotional intelligence; on the contrary, 13MARK's mind was far more intelligent than his appearance suggested.

He was loyal to an entity known as one of The Seven Warlords of Brazil: the "Ant King."

The "Ant King" was born into the Avaro Family, a highly prominent crime family in Rio de Janeiro.

This family had once dominated a quarter of Rio's underground illicit goods market. Through bribery, alliances through marriage, and graft, they had also managed to infiltrate the upper echelons of Rio de Janeiro society. The family's reputation among the populace even surpassed that of the local mayor.

However, the good times did not last long. Political instability in Brazil during the last century led to the rise of new gangs. These newcomers, who seized power during the turbulent times, did not follow the "rules" or care about "maintaining appearances" as the Avaro Family did. To eliminate obstacles, several local gangs, along with crime syndicates in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, devised assassination plots against all members of the Avaro Family. In a single day, they exterminated dozens of the Avaro Family's core members. The vast crime family collapsed overnight, like a house of cards.

The then-young Ant King, who happened to be touring abroad, narrowly escaped this fate. When he saw the news of his family's destruction in the newspapers, he immediately changed his name and altered his appearance. He also killed someone of a similar build, disfiguring and burning the body to stage it as an accident, thereby eradicating all traces of his own existence.

In the following years, the Ant King, relying on the massive wealth in the Avaro Family's overseas accounts, transformed into a wealthy industrialist in Europe. He also began to dabble in the underworld, recruiting followers and amassing power.

Having gathered enough power, the Ant King returned to Brazil under the guise of transnational criminal collaboration and met with the emerging crime syndicate leaders of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Representatives from both sides finalized a deal worth hundreds of millions on the top floor of a hotel. Just as the Ant King, smiling, embraced his counterpart, a cellphone rang.

Answering the call, he heard the pleas and screams of the crime lord's family members.

Just as the Avaro Family had once suffered, the Ant King eradicated all members of the rival families in a single night, leaving none behind.

And 13MARK was the Ant King's closest and most trusted confidant. His mother had been the Ant King's nanny and had died during the purge of the Avaro Family by opposing forces.

The two grew up under the same roof—as master and servant, as friends, and even more so, as brothers in arms.

For the past ten years, he had wandered abroad with the Ant King, devoting himself to assisting the latter. Step by step, they climbed to the peak, returned to their homeland, and re-established the glory of the Avaro Family.

If one were to measure achievements in the real world, 13MARK—a young man who was a prolific killer and had helped a crime lord build an underworld empire—would undoubtedly be among the most distinguished individuals.

However, the unique nature of the killing game lies in giving "ordinary people" a stage to unleash their potential. Most people are bound by life's pressures, social environments, circumstances, and their own knowledge structures, never having the opportunity to discover their potential.

A natural-born warrior with exceptionally fast reflexes and muscle fibers far exceeding the average person might be driving a taxi, having never touched a sword in their life.

A natural-born shooter—cool and composed, with steady hands, sharp Dynamic Vision, and remarkable calculating abilities—might be teaching with chalk at a lectern, never imagining they could become one of the top snipers on the planet.

The killing game does not randomly select human individuals. Those who become qualified must inherently possess some astonishing Trait; they are not truly good-for-nothings.

13MARK had no doubt about this, as his own potential was to see through the hearts of people.

It was not something blunt like the Mind Reading Technique, nor was it like micro-expression psychology, filled with rational analysis.

What 13MARK possessed was an intuition close to a biological instinct. He could vaguely sense certain thoughts deep within other beings.

Joy, anger, fear, panic, guilt, remorse, rage...

Even if someone stood motionless and expressionless before 13MARK, he could faintly feel some emotions "emitting" from their body.

This ability was known only to his closest friend, the Ant King, who jokingly referred to it as "the hound's sense of smell." This ability was indeed authenticated by the System, which confirmed its scope through a Title Skill.

During the day, 13MARK could feel the indifference in Black Holy Son's heart when he mentioned Bob's death.

This indifference wasn't aloofness born from detachment, but a true disregard for others' lives and a profound lack of concern.

Before this, Black Holy Son had shown emotional fluctuations upon hearing of the deaths of Kafei and Danfei. After the death of the Ghost of Hidden Eye, his heart had roiled even more with anger, unease, fear, and hesitation.

This was the complete opposite of the indifference he showed when mentioning Bob's death.

There are only two explanations.

Either something happened to Black Holy Son that caused a major change in his physiological and psychological state, making him suddenly indifferent and callous.

Or he knows some inside information; perhaps he already knew Bob would die, that Bob *had* to die, which is why his heart showed no fluctuation.

13MARK narrowed his eyes, pondering silently. Regardless of the situation, Black Holy Son's state is definitely not normal... Maybe I should strike first...