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After Erik and Hank joined, the Brotherhood's overall strength instantly surged.
Darian had a very clear understanding of the positioning of the guild members.
Charles served as support, responsible for reconnaissance and control. Raven was a spy, tasked with being a hidden threat. Hank, as a researcher, was primarily responsible for advancing the tech tree, only needing to personally enter the fray as a civilian official in critical moments.
As for Erik, he was an assassin. He would first use his clumsy stealth skills to make the target laugh to death, then, taking advantage of their relaxed guard, he would suddenly shoot a small Erik flying knife from his body to kill the target, completing the assassination!
Erik: "..."
As for Darian himself, he naturally held the position of the mage, hiding behind his teammates, ready to provide magic support with RPGs at any time.
Looking at the Brotherhood, which was now taking shape, Darian nodded with satisfaction.
He believed that under his wise leadership, the Brotherhood would surely become famous throughout the World and even reach the Moon!
Soon after, news came from Hank.
While researching Darian's pile of black technology, he incidentally modified a large radar device, originally used for signal detection, into a special emitter called a Cerebro.
This device could greatly expand Charles's telepathic range by enhancing brainwaves, thereby achieving large-scale searching for Mutant traces. Theoretically, it could even conduct a global search.
Darian exclaimed in amazement, "As expected of the smartest Mutant on Earth, he can even create such black technology."
Hank was a bit embarrassed, "Actually, it's nothing much. I just made a slight modification."
Darian was even more surprised, "Only one day has passed, and you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, have already learned to show off?"
Hank: "..."
It must be said that the Cerebro developed by Hank was indeed astonishingly effective.
After refusing Hank's suggestion to shave his head, Charles put on the Cerebro. Under the powerful enhancement of the device, his telepathic abilities received an immeasurable, exponential boost.
Now Charles felt incredibly powerful!
Originally, his telepathic ability could only cover a small area, but now it could directly extend globally. The thoughts of almost everyone were exposed before him.
With just a tiny thought, he could instantly change the minds of everyone on Earth, or even play a global game of 'match three'.
Fortunately, Charles had a naturally high moral compass and did not harbor any terrible thoughts. If it were someone else, the people of this World would not know what they would become.
For example, Darian and Erik, who watched with great envy. If they had that ability, they would have long since started a global custom mode.
During Charles's extensive search using the Cerebro, he quickly identified multiple eligible Mutant targets. Along with his neural signals, a recording device simultaneously printed out the geographical coordinates of these targets one by one.
Not long after, Charles took off the Cerebro and let out a long breath, saying, "These are all the eligible targets for now."
"Too powerful!"
Darian couldn't help but praise him.
Charles, wearing the Cerebro, was like a human task-tracking system.
As long as someone was alive and had no ability to resist telepathy, no matter where they hid in the World, they could not escape his tracking and locking.
It was a pity that this device was too bulky. If it could be made into a portable, miniaturized version, like helmet-sized, then Charles could expand his domain anytime, anywhere, and would no longer be limited to this place.
Darian decided to have Hank research this direction thoroughly later. After all, Charles was a core member of the guild, and the stronger Charles's power, the stronger the Brotherhood would be, and the more activities they could undertake.
It should be known that creating a Mutant guild and recruiting 12 members was only the minimum requirement for the main quest. The final rewards would ultimately depend on the guild's influence and its members.
Besides, there was an even more important reason.
That was Darian's plan to place a teleportation anchor on this server, allowing him to freely enter and exit this server in the future.
In his opinion, this server had considerable development prospects. There were all sorts of strange and wonderful Mutants here, and perhaps the ability of a certain Mutant could directly or indirectly enhance the strength of others.
Moreover, he had established the Brotherhood here.
If he were to leave just like that, wouldn't his guild have been built in vain!
Although Charles's telepathic ability covered the entire globe, the actual number of eligible Mutants found was very small.
After all, their primary goal in recruiting Mutants was to counter the Hellfire Club led by Sebastian.
Therefore, Mutants with weaker abilities or lacking combat power were excluded first. Those too young or geographically too distant were also not considered. After several rounds of screening, only a handful of suitable candidates remained.
To save time, the group decided to split up, forming two teams to invite these Mutants.
Charles and Erik formed one team, while Darian went alone.
Hank had to stay at the Base to continue researching black technology, and Raven's job was also very important: to provide Hank with mental 'nitrogen pump' to make him work harder.
Darian's first target was a Mutant named Darwin.
The name sounded quite impressive, but he wasn't a biologist; he was a taxi driver.
Darian didn't take much effort to find Darwin's taxi and flagged him down.
Darwin was a Black man. In an era when 'Black Lives Matter' didn't exist, being Black was purely a DEBUFF, with no beneficial effects. Coupled with his Mutant identity, it was even worse.
Therefore, when he heard Darian invite him to join the Brotherhood, Darwin agreed without hesitation.
For him, this might be an opportunity to completely change his fate.
Subsequently, Darwin revealed his Mutant ability, which was very fitting for his name: 'Adaptive Evolution'.
His body could actively adapt to any environment or sudden situation through rapid evolution. Faced with various emergencies, his body would automatically evolve without needing to think. It sounded like a quite powerful ability.
However, Darian felt this ability was still too limited.
If it were truly 'Adaptive Evolution,' he should have become White long ago, not struggling as much as he was now.
Perhaps it was finally meeting his own kind, but Darwin was exceptionally excited, chattering non-stop, his rhythm as fast as rap.
Finally, he declared spiritedly, "From now on, my destiny is in my own hands. No one can control me!"
Darian said, "Turn right ahead, pull over."
"Okay, sir!"
The taxi quickly stopped at the corner.
Darian told Darwin to wait there, then pushed open the door and got out, walking straight towards a bar on the street.
Soon, he locked onto his target in the crowd: a man with a full beard and a face etched with stories.
[NPC: James Howlett Logan]
[Codename: Wolverine]
[Affection: 0]
[Rating: Extremely strong self-healing ability, comparable to immortality. A honey badger, but without adamantium yet.]
An ability comparable to immortality?
Darian's eyes lit up. Wasn't this ability similar to that of Blood God Frost back then?
A proper tank, a true 'Holy Body'!
He immediately walked up to Logan and got straight to the point, "Hey, I see you have extraordinary bones. How about joining our Brotherhood?"
Logan was puffing on a cigar, glanced at Darian, and was about to reply with something refined and gentle, but then his nostrils twitched, and his eyes suddenly became wary.
"Who are you?"
As the saying goes, there are only wrong names, not wrong nicknames.
Logan, like a true wolf, possessed an extremely keen sense of smell.
At this moment, he smelled an extremely strong scent of blood from Darian, far more intense than any soldier he had encountered on the battlefield!
At the same time, his beastly intuition was screaming warnings.
This person in front of him was dangerous, extremely dangerous!
Looking at the suddenly bristling Logan, Darian chuckled, "Don't be nervous. I'm Darian, the spokesman for the Brotherhood. If I give you a chance to change the World, would you take it?"
"No!"
Logan answered without hesitation.
"What about beautiful women to share a bed? And superpowered beautiful women, too."
"Still no!"
Logan looked disdainful.
Did he look like someone who would be swayed by beauty?
Even if they had superpowers, he would say it right now: even if there were women with superpowers, he wouldn't even spare them a second glance!
Seeing Logan unmoved, Darian had no choice but to bring out his last resort.
"What if I give you money?"
Logan sneered, "Do you think mere money can bribe me? No—"
"We're in!"
A gruff voice suddenly interrupted Logan.
At the bar entrance, a man with an exceptionally burly build and a wild aura strode in.
[NPC: Victor Creed]
[Codename: Sabretooth]
[Affection: 5]
[Rating: Extremely strong self-healing ability, comparable to immortality. Wolverine's big brother, an emotionless killer.]
Another tank, a 'Holy Body'!
Darian hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise; it was like double happiness.
Victor bared his sharp teeth, his gaze fixed intently on Darian, "How much can you pay us? As long as you pay enough, I'll even tear down this bar right now."
Bar owner: "???"
"Victor, what the hell are you talking about, you idiot? I didn't say I'd do it!"
Logan was instantly displeased.
He had just said he wouldn't be bribed by money, and this guy immediately agreed. Wasn't that a slap in his face?
Darian waved his hand, "As long as you two join the Brotherhood and help us take down a BOSS, I can give each of you one million U.S. dollars."
Victor immediately said, "No problem! You're our boss now!"
In an era when the average annual U.S. household income was only a little over three thousand U.S. dollars, one million U.S. dollars per person was undoubtedly an astonishing sum.
"F*ck you, Victor! I didn't agree!" Logan cursed.
"Excuse me, boss, my brother and I need to chat for a bit. We'll be right back."
Victor grinned at Darian, then grabbed Logan and forcibly dragged him towards the bar's back door, pushing him into the back alley.
An hour and a half later, the two returned to the bar.
They were both covered in blood, as if they had just crawled out of a blood pool, clearly having had a very pleasant conversation.
Victor said, "Boss, it's settled. Logan has agreed."
Logan's face was grim; he said nothing, tacitly agreeing.
Clearly, in that pleasant conversation, his debating skills were inferior, and he failed to gain the upper hand.
The younger brother is still the younger brother!
Darian nodded in satisfaction, "Very good. From now on, you two are members of the Brotherhood. The specific tasks will be explained in detail once we return to the Base."
"Okay."
Victor responded readily.
He only cared about the payment and paid no attention to other details.
As for Logan, he remained grim-faced, in a state of self-isolation, refusing any communication.
Darian took the two brothers back to the taxi.
Darwin was startled to see two blood-soaked men get into the car. "Mr. Darian, who are these two?"
Darian chuckled, "Don't be afraid. They're both new members of our guild, just like you."
Darwin swallowed hard, his mind churning.
It had taken so long for them to return, clearly, the conversation hadn't gone so smoothly.
Combined with the two men's blood-soaked appearance, it was quite possible that Darian had beaten them into this state because they initially disagreed, forcing them to join the guild out of necessity.
Was he accidentally joining some evil organization?
If he added a cult DEBUFF to that, his life would be completely over!
"Darwin, drive. Our Base is in Richmond."
"Yes, sir!"
Looking at the frightened Darwin, Darian felt that he seemed to have misunderstood something.
Richmond, Virginia.
When Darian returned to the CIA R&D Base with the three new members, he coincidentally met Charles and Erik, who had also just completed their recruitment. They were accompanied by three unfamiliar Mutants.
It was clear that the outing had significantly brought Charles and Erik closer.
Darian asked and learned that they had just gone to a strip club to recruit new members, and he suddenly understood.
No wonder their relationship had progressed by leaps and bounds; it turned out they had formed one of the 'four unbreakable bonds' between men.
Darian glanced at the new members they brought back.
Aside from the stripper, the abilities of the other two Mutants were quite good.
At this moment, Charles also looked at the people behind Darian.
When his gaze fell on Logan and Victor, his brows furrowed unconsciously.
Charles quietly pulled Darian aside and whispered, "Darian, weren't you going to recruit Logan? Why did you bring his brother too? That man is completely different from Logan; he's a madman, extremely dangerous!"
Although both Logan and Victor were soldiers who had participated in wars and killed countless people, Charles could sense a fundamental difference between them.
Logan still retained a shred of kindness and a bottom line deep within him.
But Victor was purely a villain who enjoyed killing. He killed for the sake of killing, with no bottom line whatsoever.
Charles added, "Moreover, his motive for agreeing to join isn't pure. He's currently plotting in his mind, wanting to first figure out our capabilities. Once he sees an opportunity, he'll move to kill us and steal our valuable possessions."
Darian patted Charles on the shoulder, "Old Charles, you trust your ability too much. You can't just look at what a person is thinking; you have to look at what they've done. We can't dismiss someone because of something they haven't done yet."
Charles was stunned, finding Darian's words somewhat philosophical.
As a telepath, he knew that everyone had a dark side deep down.
Just like some miserable workers who think about killing their boss every day, but they only dare to grumble in their minds. The next day, facing the boss's exploitation, they still smile and say 'understood'.
He thought for a moment and sighed, "You're right. I can't completely dismiss a person because of the malice in their heart."
"A teachable student."
Darian nodded with satisfaction, then said, "Old Charles, do me a favor. Modify the memories of these two brothers, make them completely forget about the one million. The atmosphere was so hyped up at the time, I just blurted it out and forgot the fact that I had no money."
Charles: "..."
So you're the real villain!