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As Darian expected, after inviting Charles to join the Brotherhood, Raven joined without a second thought.
She even suggested changing the Brotherhood to a Sisterhood, but Darian directly rejected it, stating that the guild does not engage in gender antagonism.
During their conversation, Charles inquired about Darian's identity.
Fortunately, Darian was not undocumented; just like at the beginning of the game, the game system had prepared a brand new identity for him.
A U.S. Central Intelligence Agency agent, or CIA for short!
Darian was all too familiar with this identity; after all, he had often used this title to shift blame to the CIA in the past.
Upon learning Darian's identity, Charles seemed a bit surprised, not expecting a Mutant to be able to work in such a government agency.
Charles asked in surprise, "Since you're with the CIA, why don't you have any money on you?"
Darian's expression remained unchanged, and he blurted out, "No choice, the higher-ups are inhuman, they keep delaying salary payments and refuse to issue them. To be honest, I was kicked out because I couldn't pay rent, and now I can only sleep on the streets."
The last part was not a lie; he found that the game system hadn't arranged any accommodation for him at all.
"Your higher-ups are really too inhuman."
Charles felt some sympathy for Darian and, after thinking for a moment, said, "If you don't mind, you can stay at my place for now; my house is quite large anyway."
"I don't mind!"
Darian was just worrying about where to stay and readily agreed.
Charles turned to Raven, "Raven, what do you think?"
"I don't care."
Raven didn't mind it and wasn't worried that having a strange man in their house would be inconvenient.
Even if a man harbored ill intentions towards her, she could always transform into a bearded man, pull out something larger than his, and then it would be uncertain who would stab whom.
Of course, this was also thanks to Darian's Mutant identity.
As the second Mutant Charles and Raven had encountered in many years, they had a good impression of Darian; otherwise, they wouldn't have been so enthusiastic.
After the three had eaten and drunk their fill, they prepared to leave the restaurant but were stopped, being told that the bill hadn't been settled.
Charles was puzzled; he had clearly paid for the meal and given a generous tip, so how could it not be enough?
After some inquiry, they finally understood: the table Darian had damaged with his magic sword was a custom-made, expensive solid wood piece, and the compensation amount was much higher than their entire meal.
Charles: "..."
Fortunately, Charles hadn't lied.
He was indeed rich, and not just ordinarily rich!
Charles easily paid the compensation, then drove a vintage luxury car, taking Darian to a vast, ancient estate.
According to Charles, the entire estate, including its buildings and woodlands, belonged to his family.
Darian gasped upon hearing this; he had underestimated Charles's financial power. It was a good thing Charles wasn't on his main server, otherwise, he would have broken the universal law that the poor rely on mutation and the rich rely on technology.
He had both financial power and superpowers, was an orphan, and had a stepsister, Raven.
This Charles was practically a cheat-code male protagonist from a novel!
"Wicked capitalism!"
Darian criticized righteously with his mouth, but his body was very honest as he lay on the luxurious large bed Charles had prepared for him, rolling around happily.
That old Charles, all he knew was to engage in such hedonistic corruption. When he saw him tomorrow, he absolutely had to have a good talk with him!
However, the next morning, as Darian sat at the dining table enjoying a sumptuous breakfast, he had long since cast yesterday's words to the winds.
He swirled the milk in his goblet and said with feigned profundity, "Old Charles, I've realized that our guild currently has too few members; we must recruit new people as soon as possible."
Are you just realizing that now?
Charles felt speechless inside.
He had initially thought he was just an ordinary new member, but unexpectedly, he had turned into a core member who joined with funds and technology.
"So how do we recruit new people?" Charles asked.
Mutants were usually very low-key; without using their abilities, they couldn't be distinguished by appearance, and high-profile ones like Darian were extremely rare.
"That's not hard, is it? Of course, we advertise in the newspaper!" Darian said with a matter-of-fact tone.
Charles: "..."
Do you think it's like a job advertisement in the newspaper, so blatant?
Charles immediately rejected the suggestion.
In his opinion, Mutant matters were sensitive after all, and it was better to be low-key and cautious when recruiting members.
The two thought long and hard but couldn't come up with a good solution.
Unless Charles personally took action, using his telepathic abilities to search for Mutants, but unfortunately, Charles was unwilling to do so; what was the difference between that and searching for a needle in a haystack?
Of course, Darian could also search for Mutants by checking his personal panel, but he had the same idea as Charles and would never do such a tedious task.
Darian simply left the problem for Charles to continue figuring out, while he himself planned to return to CIA headquarters, hoping that with the CIA's resources, he might find other ways to track Mutant whereabouts.
Following the game system's guidance, Darian randomly stole a luxury car parked outside, belonging to who knows whom, and drove all the way to CIA headquarters.
As soon as he walked into the lobby, he saw a capable-looking woman walking directly towards him.
"Agent Darian, you've come at a good time; we have a mission."
"[NPC: Moira MacTaggert]"
"[Affection: 0]"
"[Comment: CIA agent, Charles Xavier's old flame]"
Darian's mouth twitched slightly.
What kind of life winner setting did this Charles guy have? How could every well-modeled female NPC he randomly encountered be involved with him?
"What mission?"
Darian blurted out almost instinctively.
Only after speaking did he realize this was a dungeon, not S.H.I.E.L.D.
Moira didn't notice his strangeness and said, "We're going to Las Vegas to monitor a club called Hellfire."
"[NPC Moira MacTaggert has issued you a new mission]"
"[Mission: Hellfire Club]"
"[Objective: Investigate the Hellfire Club, assist Moira's actions]"
"[Reward: Experience +2000, Anchor Fragment * 1]"
Missions could actually be triggered in a dungeon?
Darian was a bit surprised.
But then he noticed something new and asked, "System, what is this Anchor Fragment?"
"[Collect enough Anchor Fragments to place a Teleport Anchor in a dungeon or other servers, allowing players to teleport between servers at any time]"
"There's such a good thing?"
Darian's eyes immediately lit up.
In that case, wouldn't he be able to freely teleport between various servers?
He immediately pressed on, "How many Anchor Fragments are needed to synthesize a Teleport Anchor?"
"[20 Anchor Fragments]"
"That many, it seems getting a Teleport Anchor won't be easy," Darian muttered to himself.
Even if a Teleport Anchor was synthesized, he would have to choose the most valuable server to place it, otherwise, it would be a waste.
Seeing such tempting rewards, Darian immediately accepted the mission and set off with Moira for Las Vegas.
As for the main quest, it wouldn't be too late to advance it when he returned.
Las Vegas!
This city, famous worldwide for its gambling industry, exuded an aura of debauchery everywhere.
The Hellfire Club Moira mentioned was ostensibly a high-end membership establishment, open only to wealthy merchants and celebrities.
But according to CIA intelligence, the club was very likely a stronghold for a secret organization, and the frequent mysterious gatherings held there had long attracted high-level attention.
Darian and Moira's mission this time was to uncover the Hellfire Club's hidden owner and the organization behind it.
A car stopped not far from the Hellfire Club.
Inside the car, Moira was intently observing the entrance with binoculars, while Darian was slacking off beside her; their division of labor was clear, and neither disturbed the other.
Suddenly, Moira spoke in a low voice, "Something's happening. That's Colonel Hendry. Why is he here?"
Darian cooperatively asked, "Who is he?"
"A high-ranking military officer from NATO."
"Oh! So it's him!"
Darian feigned surprise, though in reality, he didn't know the person at all; as long as he provided emotional value, it was fine.
Moira's tone was grave, "Even someone of his caliber is here; there's definitely something wrong inside this Hellfire Club!"
"Should we just charge in?"
Darian pulled out his golden desert eagle from behind his butt, his expression solemn.
Moira quickly held down his hand, "Of course not! We don't know the situation inside yet; rash action will only alert the enemy. I plan to infiltrate and investigate first."
Darian blinked, indicating that he thought the two were the same thing.
As she spoke, Moira suddenly took off her jacket, leaving only a very revealing black lace outfit.
"Agent Moira, we just met; isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
Darian was instantly shocked, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Moira said speechlessly, "What are you talking about? The Hellfire Club has a party where all female guests can only enter in their underwear. I was just preparing in advance."
"So you've been wearing that while on missions?"
Darian secretly marveled at Moira's professionalism, but also considered the differences between men and women. He claimed to only need one look, so he stared at Moira without blinking.
Soon, they saw a large group of scantily clad women walking towards the Hellfire Club.
Darian immediately became alert. Upholding the investigative spirit of not missing any clues, he snatched Moira's binoculars and observed carefully for a while, barely finding some fabric in the butt crack.
At a glance, they all seemed to be people with many stories, perhaps with gambling fathers, sick mothers, and a younger brother in college to support.
"I'll go in and investigate first. If there's a situation, come and assist me."
Moira left a sentence and opened the car door, ready to blend into the group.
However, Darian felt it was not safe for her to go in alone like that. If something went wrong, it could turn into a scenario of a female investigator being XX.
After all, the other party was Charles's old lover. With the thought of not letting Charles's head become heavy, Darian quickly and secretly installed a miniature listening device on the edge of her panties before Moira left.
This was black technology from S.H.I.E.L.D., highly concealed, and in this era, there was no need to worry about it being discovered.
As soon as the listening device was attached, Darian heard clear environmental sounds in his ear, watching Moira follow the group into the Hellfire Club.
He leaned back in the car seat, listening to Moira's movements while looking at the people outside the window, wondering if he could find a wild Mutant.
Unfortunately, Mutants were indeed rare. Darian looked for a long time but didn't find a single NPC with a codename.
Just then, an unusual commotion suddenly came from the listening device. It seemed something had happened with Moira.
Darian immediately got out of the car, and at the same time, a ladder appeared out of nowhere in his hand.
[Item: Ladder of Free Entry (Holding this ladder, you can enter all venues without any obstruction)]
Darian carried the ladder and walked directly to the entrance of the Hellfire Club.
The two burly doormen merely glanced at him and did not offer any resistance. Darian thus swaggered into the club.
Inside the Hellfire Club, it was a scene of extravagance, with the air filled with a mixture of smoke, alcohol, and perfume.
Expensively dressed dignitaries conversed in low voices, while scantily clad women wove through them, creating a picture of debauchery.
Darian put away the ladder and instantly changed into a charming suit.
This time, without Tony's humble-as-a-billionaire buff suppressing him, he quickly attracted several desperate women.
"Hey, you look new. What do you do?"
Several women pressed against Darian. Everyone in this club was a dignitary; just clinging to one would be enough to ensure their livelihoods for the rest of their lives.
Charming men like Darian were even more sought after, second only to old men with white hair and not many years left to live.
Darian chuckled, "I work for the IRS. By the way, have you paid taxes on this?"
The women: "....."
On the other side, Moira followed Colonel Hendry and found the secret passage of the Hellfire Club, entering a private study.
As she quietly searched for information, she unexpectedly discovered a hidden room behind a bookshelf, where several people were conversing in low voices.
Through the crack in the door, Moira heard them discussing the deployment of ballistic missiles within a certain country's borders. As a conservative who opposed radical strategies, Colonel Hendry immediately expressed his objection.
As a result, one of them summoned a small tornado in his hand, directly blowing Colonel Hendry away.
Then, another woman in White turned into a diamond and summoned a red man, like a devil. A group of strangely shaped figures surrounded Colonel Hendry, scaring him into a daze.
Under the threats of the Black-clothed man leading them, Colonel Hendry eventually caved in, stating that occasional radicalism might not be so bad after all.
Moira looked at the scene before her in disbelief; the abilities of these people completely exceeded her understanding.
However, at this moment, the diamond-transformed White-clothed woman suddenly turned in her direction and chuckled, "It seems we have an extra guest."
Damn it, she's been discovered!
Moira's heart skipped a beat, and she decisively turned and fled.
But before she could run a few steps, a red light flashed before her eyes, and the crimson devil instantly moved in front of her, completely blocking her escape route.
Moira immediately fell into despair.
She had no place to carry weapons, no power to fight back, and her superiors hadn't mentioned investigating devils before this mission began.
If she had known, she should have at least brought a cross and holy Water, or at the very least, eaten some garlic before coming.
The bookshelf slowly moved aside, and the people from the secret room emerged one by one.
The Black-clothed man in the lead looked at Moira and smiled, "Madam, eavesdropping is not a good habit."
The White-clothed woman beside him added, "She's a CIA agent sent to investigate the club, and she has a colleague outside."
Moira was horrified.
Not only did the other party instantly see through her identity, but they also knew about Darian, who was lurking outside the club.
Upon hearing this, the Black-clothed man instructed the red devil beside him, "Go deal with the person outside. As for this human, eliminate her as well. She cannot be allowed to leak our plans."
"Understood."
The red devil nodded expressionlessly.
He turned and stared at Moira, a tail with a sharp arrow-like tip rising from behind him, aiming directly for Moira's throat.
"Hey, look here."
A voice sounded from not far away.
Everyone subconsciously turned their heads, then were enveloped by a blinding flash of light!
"Ah!!"
The red devil was closest and looked directly at it, immediately letting out a scream and covering his eyes tightly with both hands.
Seizing this opportunity, Darian kicked the red devil away with an arrow-like lunge. The red devil slammed heavily into the wall, creating a crater, then quickly picked up Moira, who was also blinded, and rapidly retreated through the large hole he had made with his diamond pickaxe.
He had just scanned the scene and found that most of the people present were Mutants, with the Black-clothed man being the most powerful.
[NPC: Sebastian Shaw]
[Codename: Black King]
[Affection: 10]
[Comment: An extremist Mutant supremacist, founder of the Hellfire Club, possesses the ability to absorb and release all forms of energy, including nuclear bombs]
Darian, having survived a nuclear explosion, naturally understood the immense power of a nuclear blast.
And Sebastian, before him, could even absorb the energy of a nuclear bomb!
Clearly, this person was also a lucky European with a golden legend, and a mechanism monster at that.
The ability to absorb all energy meant that most attacks were completely ineffective against him!
Unless a mechanism was used to defeat a mechanism, it would be almost impossible to defeat such an opponent, especially since he also had several Mutants with various abilities by his side.
Darian chose a tactical retreat without hesitation, prioritizing getting Moira out first.
Sebastian was not affected by the flash.
He looked in the direction Darian left with interest, chuckling softly, "I didn't expect to meet one of our own."
"My ability doesn't seem to work on that person."
The White-clothed woman in her diamond form was also unaffected by the strong light, a look of shock on her face.
The White-clothed woman was named White Queen. In addition to her full-body diamond transformation, she also possessed telepathic abilities similar to Charles's.
But unlike Charles, White Queen never restrained her abilities. The moment Darian appeared, she tried to control him with telepathy.
However, she found that her ability was like a stone sinking into the sea, having no effect whatsoever.
"Interesting."
Sebastian narrowed his eyes, indicating that this man had successfully caught his attention.
"Should we pursue them?"
The Mutant who could control tornadoes immediately asked for instructions.
Sebastian glanced at the other party, finding him incompetent.
Didn't he see that this was their territory?
If they started a fight, damaging things or scaring the dignitaries outside, they would be the ones to suffer the consequences.
But considering that Mutants were inherently scarce, being a bit foolish was acceptable; at least he could still serve as a facade.
"No need. Even if they leak the plan, no one will believe them."
Sebastian waved his hand and continued, "Also, send people to investigate that man's background thoroughly. I want all his information."