Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 773 - 771: Disciples
Sunset Gold Smelter's eye twitched, but he didn't delve deeper into that question.
Is this family-style restaurant taking the 'family' part a bit too literally? Are you going to make the last customer wash the dishes next?
He did want to ask if the other party was interested in joining the Whale Song Organization to represent them in the upcoming Doorway Struggle, mentioning that compensation was negotiable. However, Li Rising owned a store with ridiculously high profits, so he definitely wasn't short on money. The Whale Song Organization likely couldn't offer anything comparable. Even if they could, it wasn't a decision the four members of the Raging Fire group could make on their own. It was better to stop there and maintain a normal, friendly relationship to avoid causing annoyance.
Since the Sky Fighting Arena wasn't open yet, they chatted for a bit and then logged off to wait.
Over the next 24 hours, all factions would undoubtedly be bustling with preparations. Organizations would form alliances, negotiate terms, make compromises, and divide interests. Lone Wolf Players, meanwhile, would bide their time, waiting to prove their worth in the forthcoming matches to enhance their value in the eyes of other factions.
But none of this had anything to do with Li Ang.
After returning from the Game Square, he planned to visit the Yin City coast to collect high-quality biomass from the Hive in the sea trench, marine gene banks, and samples of newly-bred soldier insects.
「At the same time, in the Game Square, a bar named "True Names."」
This bar was located in a secluded corner on the eastern side of the Game Square. It wasn't very large, featuring dim, intimate lighting, simple and clean decor, and no special offerings. The shelves, made of Nanmu wood, displayed a range of common alcoholic beverages. Consequently, the bar usually had very few customers; occasionally, two or three would wander in—tired from walking around the Game Square—have a couple of drinks, and then leave.
Right now, an unknown, melodious song played from the golden-red jukebox in the corner. The female singer's voice was raspy and gentle; closing your eyes, you could almost see a woman with red hair and a red dress on stage, hands on the microphone, crooning softly.
Behind the wooden bar, the bartender, wearing a brown knitted Vest, was bent over, gently wiping a glass with a square silk cloth.
DING-DONG—
The wooden door of the bar creaked open, and a Witch in a pointed hat and cloak walked in.
She patted the small gray cat perched on her shoulder. The kitten, named Meow Meow Head, then jumped down onto the wooden round table. As the table was spotless, Meow Meow Head naturally lay down, curling into a ball and let out a comfortable PURR.
The Witch herself hopped over to the jukebox, flipped a coin from her palm, inserted it, and selected an electronic pop song. Nodding her head to the rhythm, she swayed towards the bar, rose on her tiptoes, hopped, and landed on a stool in front of it.
"A stout, please~"
The Witch tapped the bar, placing five coins on its surface.
The bartender looked up, revealing the ordinary, gentle face of a middle-aged man with no distinguishing features. It was none other than the founder of the Syndicate Association, known as Professor. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Although the Syndicate Association had its own independent office building in the Game Square, no one with real authority was ever there. Only core members knew that their teacher, the one who truly made decisions for the Syndicate Association, sometimes frequented this bar, "True Names," which he owned.
"Aren't you a bit young for beer?" Professor remarked coolly. He turned, took a can of cola from the shelf, and placed it gently on the table over a cotton coaster. Though there was no visible cooling equipment near the shelves, a chill emanated from the can's surface.
The Witch pursed her lips in annoyance but still popped the tab, grabbed a straw from a nearby holder, and began to slowly sip her cola.
DING-DONG—
The bar's wooden door chimed again. A tall, beautiful woman pushed it open and entered. She had waist-length, wavy red hair, a triangular hat adorned with a skull pattern, and wore a black coat with gold-embroidered, Flack-style cuffs over a white shirt. She had tall boots on her feet and a Long Knife at her waist—clearly the attire of a Pirate.
The female Pirate glanced at Professor, who was wiping glasses behind the bar, and grinned. She casually ruffled the fur of Meow Meow Head, who was sleeping on a wooden table near the entrance, ignoring the kitten's howls and scratches. Striding forward, she clapped the Witch heavily on the shoulder and said chummily, "Congratulations, congratulations! Heard you broke into the top sixty on the individual power rankings? Not bad, not bad at all! You didn't embarrass us."
"What do you think you're doing, you psycho?!"
The Witch rolled her eyes, trying to push away her senior fellow Disciple among the Twelve, Blood Sea Amber. "Don't you reek of alcohol? How much have you had? Get away from me, will you!"
"Do I?" Amber frowned, lifted her arm to sniff her clothes, and said, puzzled, "It's not that bad, is it? Doesn't smell too strong. Want to sniff again?"
"Get lost!"
Behind the bar, Professor chuckled, watching his endearing students interact, with no intention of intervening.
DING-DONG—
The bell on the door jingled repeatedly as several figures entered in succession.
There was the 7th Disciple, Thunder Wolf Wang Hu: a robust young man with bushy eyebrows, wide eyes, and an air of righteousness, dressed in a simple white Fighting suit.
The 5th Disciple, Asynchronous Call LAN: a pale youth with a skinny figure, bulging fish-like eyes, heavy, dark bags beneath them, and a wobbly walk, an exhausted look on his face.
The 10th Disciple, Supercritical: a mysterious person in a black leather outfit, wearing an opaque motorcycle helmet.
The 6th Disciple, Innate Theory-Nether: a lizard-headed creature in a grayish-brown hooded robe, whose feet seemed to float above the ground as it moved, occasionally flicking out its forked tongue to sniff the air.
The 1st Disciple, Tai Hao: an ordinary-looking young man in white, squinting his eyes with a gentle smile.
The 2nd Disciple, Lose Control: an indifferent-looking handsome young man with black hair.
The 3rd Disciple, Theory of Combustion Raging Fire: a short blonde girl whistling lazily with her hands clasped behind her head, an indifferent attitude about her.
The 4th Disciple, Pulsating Thorn Pulse: a skeletal figure in a dapper overcoat, cradling its head in its hands.
The 11th Disciple, Action at a Distance Perch: a bespectacled, portly otaku in an anime-themed T-shirt, looking notably out of place.
Counting the Witch (ranked eighth) and Meow Meow Head (ranked ninth), eleven of Professor's twelve Disciples had arrived.
"Oh, everyone's here." Amber put down the rum Professor had poured for her, raising an eyebrow. "Rare to see such a full house."
"If everyone's here, let's get on with it," Raging Fire, who looked no older than eleven, said with a world-weary pout. "Why are we just standing around?"
"Patience," Professor said, shaking his head with a gentle smile. "There's still one more to come."
As soon as he finished speaking, DING-DONG, the bell rang again.
A handsome young man with short golden hair walked in, nodding to everyone with a somewhat reserved and respectful air.
"This is your junior brother," Professor introduced him briefly. Above the blond young man's head, the player nickname [Stonemason] appeared—the very Syndicate member Li Ang had encountered.
"Greetings, senior brothers and sisters," Stonemason said, rubbing his hands together with a slightly awkward smile.
A new member? The Witch raised an eyebrow. All of them were Disciples personally chosen by Professor. Some had been discovered after the killing game began; others, like Tai Hao, Lose Control, and LAN, had been with Professor even before that. Events that had shifted global or local landscapes in the real world—stock market crashes, company bankruptcies, natural disasters—had often involved Professor and his Disciples. However, the Witch and Meow Meow Head had joined later and weren't very familiar with these matters.
The previous twelfth-ranked Disciple had been an arrogant youth, exceptionally gifted in Spiritual Energy but haughty and dismissive of others. They had expected great things from him, but he had died in a script mission over a month ago, before even reaching Lv10. Anyway, that former junior brother had a foul temper and wasn't close to anyone, so his death hadn't mattered much. As for this new one... we'll see if he even survives the upcoming Doorway Struggle.
Most of the eleven Disciples didn't give Stonemason a warm welcome. Only Tai Hao, Perch, and Wang Hu offered friendly smiles.
Stonemason returned a grateful smile. He knew that among the Disciples present, except for the combat-inept Perch, Meow Meow Head, and LAN, the other eight were all ranked on the individual leaderboard. The black-haired young man, Lose Control, was ranked second. The squinty-eyed young man, Tai Hao, was ranked fifteenth. The petite girl, Raging Fire, was ranked thirty-second... Just the Syndicate alone held eight positions in the top hundred; if this fact were to spread, it would completely overturn the perceptions of other organizations.
However, it was odd that Professor, their mentor, wasn't on the leaderboard. Stonemason was certain Professor was a player, given he could freely enter and exit the Game Square. Very strange...
Stonemason kept his doubts to himself. He had been with the Syndicate for a long time but had only been promoted to Disciple that morning to fill the vacancy. He didn't think he could surpass the other Disciples; even the seemingly weakest, like Meow Meow Head or Perch, exuded an intimidating aura. Best to keep quiet and observe...
The others didn't notice Stonemason's inner turmoil. Professor finally put down the glass he had been polishing for so long. He looked up at his Disciples and said with a gentle smile, "You must already know why I've called you here today."
"This time, for the Doorway Struggle, we need as many of you as possible to reach the final round..."
"Don't worry, Teacher," Wang Hu said solemnly, striking his fists together. "We won't disappoint you."
"It's not a matter of disappointment," Professor said softly, shaking his head. "The emergence of the Doorway Struggle means the fusion of the killing game with the real world has advanced another step. The dormant will awaken. The dead will be resurrected. The crucial point isn't who obtains a Doorway, but who must *not* be allowed to obtain one. This concerns the very survival of ordinary people in the real world and is far more important than you can imagine..."
