13mArk, chosen several months later than the first batch of players, might not be that far behind Hei Shengzi in level.
However, the Ant King he serves is ranked high on the individual combat power list.
The Ant King entrusted several rare items and props to 13mArk, instructing him to leave the scripted mission alive at all costs.
This is one of the benefits of belonging to a large faction and having a network of connections.
Players can sign contracts to rent, gift, or transfer equipment and props (provided they are not personally bound items), using the power of equipment to increase their chances of survival.
"If you count those few 'things,' maybe I could directly kill Hei Shengzi in a surprise attack..."
13mArk narrowed his eyes and muttered, "But the commotion it would cause would definitely alert Bai Haozheng upstairs...
Tsk, what a pain."
As a player also participating in the survival mission at the Dolphin Hotel, 13mArk couldn't just brazenly kill another "companion" based on an unfounded guess.
Such behavior might not be a problem in scripted missions where everyone is a lone wolf and the power gap is significant.
But the players who entered the Dolphin Hotel this time were all above Lv15.
The act of preemptively backstabbing a teammate would inevitably lead to hostility and reckoning from others afterward.
13mArk was strong, but facing powerful enemies like Bai Haozheng and Liu Wudai, trying to fight multiple opponents alone was a bit of a stretch—as the Ant King's deputy, he had also collected information on high-level players from other continents.
He knew the strength level of senior Special Affairs Bureau officials like Bai Haozheng.
He had even vaguely heard of Liu Wudai, and knew that these two were definitely not weak.
As for the others...
The mule, as an information broker, was wealthy but lacked combat skills.
Ω, as a member of the Evil Demon Scientist Alliance, might be strong.
As for Wanli Fengdao, the Plague Doctor, Yu Yi Xinzong, and that Li Risheng, who was dressed in strange clothes...
If it really came down to a life-or-death struggle,
Heh,
They were insignificant.
"There are five who can be considered opponents."
The faces of Bai Haozheng and the others flashed before 13mArk's eyes, and he sighed slightly. "It's probably impossible to quietly eliminate Hei Shengzi.
Unless... I set up a trap to lure him out of the elevator..."
Ding-a-ling—
The alarm clock rang. 13mArk picked up the alarm clock on the table, which read 00:09.
Two more minutes.
"I wonder if there will be a bye tonight..."
13mArk lowered his eyes, pressed the alarm clock button to silence the ringing.
From within the body wrapped in a suit, there was a continuous clicking and clacking of mechanical assembly.
Zzzzzz!!!
An extremely sharp air raid siren suddenly sounded in 13mArk's mind.
His copper pupils suddenly contracted.
The shoulders of his suit abruptly tore, and the skin on his shoulder blades automatically flipped open. Underneath the skin, dense mechanical parts rapidly assembled, combining into two shoulder-mounted ion cannons with infrared aiming devices in a flash of electricity.
They rotated left and right, following the direction of 13mArk's gaze.
The air raid siren came from another skill, which was linked to his title skill.
When a sentient being within twenty meters of him thought about 13mArk's personal image and harbored hostility, the annoying sound would ring in his mind.
Although this skill couldn't pinpoint the enemy's location and number for 13mArk,
Its mystery level was very high.
It could ignore most of the enemy's stealth skills—this effect had helped 13mArk successfully survive many nightmare-level scripted missions and had never disappointed him.
There was a hostile entity near him.
"The skill's detection range is a spherical space with a diameter of twenty meters and a radius of ten meters."
Thoughts raced through 13mArk's mind. "The Dolphin Hotel's floor height is about three meters. Hei Shengzi lives on the thirteenth floor, and I live on the eighth floor, with a fifteen-meter gap in between. Theoretically, it shouldn't be him.
Besides, I've taken precautions.
Given my current location, other players on the floors above and below shouldn't be within the range of hostility detection..."
Could it be, the hallway?
13mArk kept his body still, and eight miniature rings extended from under the leather boots on his feet, releasing repulsion force.
This allowed him to hover about five centimeters above the ground, silently floating toward the door.
His hand pressed against the door frame.
The skin on his fingertips cracked and broke, revealing complex mechanical components underneath.
A miniature metal mechanical arm, the size of a needle tip, extended into the keyhole and probed outside the door.
Poof!
A large amount of silver metallic liquid suddenly burst out from the injection port at the end of the mechanical arm.
This mercury-like metallic liquid rolled back and forth on the carpet without penetrating it or flowing along the carpet.
Instead, it gathered together.
In a few breaths, it solidified into a humanoid figure about one meter seventy-five in height. As time passed, its surface continued to harden, eventually turning into 13mArk's own likeness.
The perfect-grade item gifted by the Ant King, 【Mercury Bloodstone】.
Its essence was a liquid metal that could freely transform between solid and liquid states, like the T-1000 in the Terminator movies.
It had many advantages, such as ignoring most physical attacks, automatically healing, having a long controllable range, and being able to intelligently execute the user's commands.
Even pouring molten steel from a 3000°C steel furnace or -196°C liquid nitrogen directly on it,
Could only slightly limit the 【Mercury Bloodstone】's mobility.
As long as it was away from ultra-high or ultra-low temperatures for a period of time, it would immediately recover.
It was loyal, reliable, durable, and widely applicable.
It could be a mechanical tool, a modern firearm, a sword or halberd, or a cold weapon.
It could also be a killer assassin, a bodyguard,
And even, when necessary, it could transform into a nanny, a tutor,
Or even... a companion.
Due to the special nature of the Dolphin Hotel, even a perfect-grade 【Mercury Bloodstone】 couldn't stray too far from the user.
But a distance of ten meters was enough for the Mercury Bloodstone to leave the room and do perimeter reconnaissance work.
Where was the enemy?
The humanoid figure formed from liquid metal stood in the hallway and blinked its eyes nimbly.
It naturally stepped forward, like a normal hotel guest, passing through the hallway and walking towards the stairwell.
13mArk in the room was expressionless. A hair-thin strand of liquid metal extended from his fingertip, connecting all the way to the Mercury Bloodstone's boots. It was almost invisible unless one observed carefully.
Step, step, step.
Slightly muffled footsteps echoed in the hallway. The humanoid figure formed from liquid metal had already reached the door of the stairwell on the right side of the hallway.
The noise in his mind was still ringing.
The hostile entity was still within detection range.
13mArk's eyelashes trembled slightly.
The most powerful aspect of the 【Mercury Bloodstone】 wasn't its invulnerability or resistance to fire and water.
It was that as long as the user maintained a physical connection with the Mercury Bloodstone, the two could share bodies and consciousness.
Sight, hearing, smell, taste,
Personal attributes, combat experience, bodily instincts,
Even the effects of skills and equipment,
Could be shared with the Mercury Bloodstone, provided that the total amount remained unchanged.
As long as the connection remained, it could be withdrawn at any time.
Using this effect, 13mArk could "personally" leave the room and safely explore the hallway—the Mercury Bloodstone had no life. Theoretically, it was just an item and wasn't bound by the hotel's rules.
Transferring all the detection abilities to the 【Mercury Bloodstone】's body, and then reducing the sharing ratio,
Was equivalent to shrinking the size of the detection sphere on the 【Mercury Bloodstone】's side.
In this way, 13mArk could directly deduce the location of the hostile target.
The target is... upstairs?
No!
Ten meters, nine meters, ten meters, nine meters, eight meters...
The noise in his mind appeared and disappeared intermittently. 13mArk instantly realized that the primary target was advancing from the stairwell on the ninth floor towards his direction.
That's impossible!
It was 00:09 now. There were only two minutes left until curfew.
To prevent discrepancies in the room's clock from causing misjudgment,
13mArk had specifically prepared a rare-quality timing item that could accurately calculate time.
Even if Hei Shengzi had sensed his hostility and wanted to kill him, he wouldn't choose this time to act—13mArk wasn't some weakling to be slaughtered.
Even if the opponent was a player in the top fifty of the individual combat power rankings, it was impossible to kill him in two minutes and then return to Room 1308 on the thirteenth floor.
Or was the hostile target an Aberrant?
That wouldn't make sense either!
There were still two minutes until curfew. Aberrants shouldn't and couldn't suddenly appear... unless the hotel rules had completely failed.
The next moment,
Both 13mArk in the room on the eighth floor and the Mercury Bloodstone humanoid figure standing in the hallway widened their eyes and stared intently at the door of the stairwell on the right side of the hallway.
That door was pushed open.
A red, gaunt figure, like a maggot, clung tightly to the ceiling and slowly wriggled into the hallway.
It was... the old woman in red.