Game Over

Arthur reminded Peter that he should be worried about the game and not his girlfriend.

It turned out that after the video ended, the screen displayed the word 'game over,' indicating the end of this quiz game.

As the words slowly faded away, the final score list appeared on the screen. Arthur took the lead with 28 points, followed by Bruce Wayne with 22 points.

In third place was Peter Parker, just one point behind Bruce Wayne, with 21 points. On the other hand, Gordon trailed with only 5 points, placing him in the elimination group.

According to the game rules, only the top two on the score list could win. Before the players could speak, a loud voice echoed above them.

[Congratulations to player Arthur Fleck for winning first place in this round and receiving a mysterious grand prize.]

[Congratulations to player Bruce Wayne for winning.]

[Player Peter Parker is eliminated, deducting all his points, totaling 794 points, and stripping two abilities. Player Jim Gordon is also eliminated, deducting all his points, totaling 5 points, and stripping two abilities]

Gordon was mentally prepared, but he couldn't help widening his eyes, "Peter, how did you accumulate so many points?"

Peter lost over 700 points, a vast difference compared to Gordon's mere 5 points. Gordon felt a strange sense of relief knowing he wasn't the worst off.

Peter twitched his mouth a few times. His over 700 points came from continuous mission completion, thanks to the player data panel and mission system providing more ways to earn points.

Even though Peter was considered wealthy among the player community, losing so many points still made him feel distressed. He lamented, "I was foolish. Mr. Steve had advised me to cash in my points, but I didn't do it in time before being selected for this game. Now, it's a big loss.

Captain America had faced similar setbacks in the past, accumulating points and then losing them all in a quiz game. He learned his lesson and converted points into various mysterious items from the point store to avoid losing everything.

Before participating in this quiz game, Peter also planned to cash in his points. However, he got selected before he could exchange them, resulting in this unfortunate loss.

Arthur expressed regret, "Just one point, Peter, and you could have won this game. It's a pity."

Peter waved his hand, "No, I'm fine. I've won rewards from previous quiz games, so the two abilities being stripped will come from those rewards, not my inherent abilities. For new players like you, it would be more severe."

He sensed the loss of two abilities, clearly recorded on the player data panel. His physical and agility values had dropped by over twenty points.

The player data panel quantified all of Spider-Man's abilities, allowing him to enhance them through point accumulation. This was where Peter spent most of his points.

Enhancing these abilities consumed a considerable number of points, especially as the values increased. Peter calculated that the drop in these two abilities translated to at least 500 points.

In other words, he lost over a thousand points directly or indirectly in this quiz game—a significant setback!

Even Peter was surprised, thinking about the reactions of predecessors like Captain America, Iron Man, and Batman, who put a lot of effort into accumulating points. If they knew he had lost over a thousand points in one go, what would they think?

"Oh, there's this rule too?"

Gordon anxiously checked himself, frowning, "I don't know which two abilities were stripped..."

Compared to the deducted 5 points, Gordon was more concerned about losing specific abilities. For now, he hadn't noticed any issues with his body – no missing limbs, no difficulty speaking or hearing.

Peter reminded him, "Commissioner Gordon, you need to go back and check carefully. Everyone possesses various abilities, if slang is considered a skill, there have been cases where people were deprived of the ability to speak their hometown language. They completely forgot how to use local slang and couldn't understand it anymore, no matter how hard they tried to learn!"

"In the quiz game, the abilities stripped away are permanent, unless you win the next game, giving you a chance to regain them."

Gordon's eyebrows furrowed at the words, then relaxed as he smiled. "When I think about it, even if I lose, it's not a loss, considering not everyone gets a chance to see the future."

Peter nodded, understanding as an experienced player. The rewards from the quiz game were substantial, but beyond the rewards, just being shown glimpses of the future was already a great opportunity.

He reminded Gordon that being chosen as a player in the quiz game was a reward and an opportunity. Losing this time wasn't a big deal, as long as you could win next time and recover what was lost.

The losers huddled together for warmth, while the winners like Bruce and Arthur, didn't seem as harmonious.

Arthur was pleased since he was the first, overshadowing Bruce. He grinned, saying, "Ha, the Joker defeated Batman once again."

Bruce, with a deep gaze, looked at him. "Arthur, you don't have to be the Joker."

"Oh really?" Arthur's face showed a half-smile. He glanced at Peter nearby and lowered his voice, "When everyone thinks you're Batman, you are Batman. It's the same for the Joker."

At this point in time, Arthur hadn't transformed into the Joker yet; he was still a pitiful and tragic mental patient. However, after the quiz game revealed everything about him, even without thinking, one could guess how the outside world and those people would perceive him.

Regardless of whether Arthur admitted it or not, at this moment, in the eyes of others, he had already been labeled as the Joker.

Bruce raised an eyebrow, wanting to say something more, but Arthur smiled and asked him, "Batman, you hope that I should be Arthur instead of the Joker, right? But do you believe me?"

Facing Arthur's calm yet crazily intense gaze, Bruce fell silent. He could lie, but Arthur wasn't a fool; he would surely see through it.