Chapter 6: The Bat

The task was completed.

Chu Cheng had to admit that when he saw these words appear on the screen, he did feel a sense of relief.

The immersion in this game was truly extraordinary, completely different from any game he had played before. It wasn't just because of the incredibly realistic modeling and rendering that could easily pass for reality, nor was it solely because of the players' high degree of freedom during the mission execution, or even the music, visuals, and special effects.

No, there were other reasons too. Some inexplicable factors that made him feel as if he were truly experiencing something firsthand.

But regardless, the level had now come to an end. The game screen transitioned from that eerie conference room to the settlement interface, where Chu Cheng's performance in terms of enemies defeated, combo fluidity, mission efficiency, and time taken were comprehensively assessed.

Chu Cheng felt his tense nerves finally relax. It was only now that he realized how much more nervous he had been during the game than he had imagined.

But now, looking back on it, the game was quite interesting. Batman's moves were clearly more varied than ever before, and Chu Cheng couldn't even figure out a pattern in his fighting style.

There were also more diverse auxiliary items than in the past, allowing for a high degree of freedom in completing missions. Many details made him feel that this game was particularly fresh and enjoyable.

Adaptations of comic books into games are quite abstract. Out of ten comic book adaptations, nine are usually considered mediocre, which has been the norm in the gaming industry for many years.

There's a saying that people are made of iron, but rice is made of steel. Nostalgia doesn't satisfy hunger. Some comic book adaptations are created simply because the companies don't want to see their valuable intellectual property gathering dust in a warehouse. However, they are hesitant to invest the money required to develop a proper adaptation.

As a result, we get those shameless games with minimalistic scenes and poorly crafted models that seem like they were made by someone who only studied animation for three years. They ruthlessly slap players in the face, as if force-feeding them a pile of so-called "artistic" actions wrapped in nostalgia, arrogantly claiming that you should appreciate it whether you like it or not.

However, with the emergence of representative high-quality works like the Batman series from DC and the Spider-Man series from Marvel, the biases against comic book adaptations in games are slowly being eliminated. It seems that the adaptation of IPs in the gaming industry is moving towards a healthier direction.

However, even with such a well-crafted comic book adaptation, Chu Cheng had never seen anything like it before. Even in his previous life, within the entire gaming industry he was familiar with, this game would have been considered a groundbreaking achievement.

It was the main storyline that left him feeling a bit disjointed. After completing the first level, he still couldn't figure out the significance of the towering building or why Batman had to infiltrate it. The events unfolding were driving his curiosity to the brink of insanity.

Chu Cheng did have some expectations for the upcoming plot and levels, but when he glanced at his phone and saw the time, he immediately dismissed the thought.

Tomorrow was Monday, and he had to attend classes at 8:20 in the morning. He really couldn't continue playing.

He was currently a sophomore, no longer a naive and innocent newcomer, nor had he evolved into the type who would stay locked in his dorm room all the time. He was in a state of being somewhat familiar yet not fully integrated.

Overall, throughout his four years of undergraduate studies, he found himself in that delicate state of being partially involved but not completely immersed.

Most of the time, he would dutifully attend classes, only occasionally skipping one or two when he felt particularly impulsive.

If it were any other class, occasionally skipping wouldn't be a big problem. But the issue was that the first class tomorrow morning was Linear Algebra, and the Linear Algebra professor was one of those typical "you'll die if you're not called on" kind of people. If he didn't take attendance during a class, he would be extremely upset.

The art style of the game was different from what Chu Cheng had anticipated. He instinctively felt that it might not be as simple as it seemed, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly why. Plus, after playing for so long, he felt exhausted. His brain felt stuck, unable to process thoughts smoothly.

So Chu Cheng packed up his mood, exited the game, shut down his computer, and crawled back into bed.

For some reason, even though he had only been playing games all day, he felt unexpectedly fatigued. He closed his eyelids, sinking his head into the soft, snowy-white pillow, and quickly fell asleep.

On the other side of the city.

A raised police cordon separated the towering skyscraper from the rest of the city, and soldiers in uniform were dispersed around it.

A black car parked outside the cordon, and a woman stepped out of the car. She briskly walked past the police cordon, and the soldiers on guard saluted as she passed by.

From an unbiased perspective, she had a face of remarkably high attractiveness—fair skin, beautiful features, and a distinct aura. If she were dressed in a refined suit or dress, she would likely exude an image of a sophisticated businesswoman.

However, that wasn't the case. Instead, she was clad in an oversized black trench coat, with long legs and the flowing coat resembling a black cape. Underneath the coat, she wore a black combat outfit that accentuated her curves, particularly the tightly fitted chest area, emphasizing an unmistakable figure.

Honestly, it was unfair for her face to play second fiddle to her body. If it were someone else with such a beautiful face, it would have left a deep impression. But even so, her face paled in comparison to her outstanding physique. It was her curvaceous and well-proportioned figure that truly stood out and remained unforgettable.

The woman with long legs crossed the police cordon, and the soldiers saluted her. She entered the elevator in the lobby and headed straight to the conference room on the top floor of the building.

As she entered the conference room, she furrowed her brows slightly, realizing that there might not be a worse place in the world than this. Dead bodies were sprawled across the room's floor, their blood, tainted with impurities, forming rivers that had partially dried and coagulated.

There was a pool of vomit on the corridor near the entrance, reportedly left behind by the janitor who discovered the crime scene.

"All the members of the board were in the conference room at the time of the incident, and none of them survived," said a bald man, taking a drag from his cigarette as he walked up to her. He blew out a smoke ring before speaking again.

"But they were all infected."

"Were they killed?" the woman asked.

"No. They were attacked by someone, but the attacker didn't finish them off," the man said. "They likely reached a level of infection beyond their tolerance and self-detonated."

The woman pondered for a moment. Her gaze swept across the chaotic room and quickly landed on the open hidden door in the room, surrounded by shattered stones.

"The forensics team believes that the statue there might be the source of the infection," the man said. "The attacker probably destroyed the statue as well."

The woman pondered for a moment and said, "So, someone else did our job, and they did it thoroughly."

"That seems to be the case," the bald man replied.

"Do we have any leads on this mysterious friend of ours?" she asked.

The bald man blew out another smoke ring and looked helpless.

"The surveillance footage was disabled, so we couldn't capture their movements. We questioned the company employees, and there was only one eyewitness. However, the clues he provided are quite vague," he explained.

"I want to meet him," the woman said.

A few minutes later, the woman stood before a hapless security guard.

The guard seemed to have been knocked unconscious earlier, as he had an ice pack on his head. Without waiting for any questions, he eagerly began recounting his experience from tonight, unable to contain his desire to share it.

"When I was on my regular patrol, that thing suddenly leaped out—really fast. I let my guard down, and the next thing I knew, I passed out. It was Xiao Li, one of our security team members, who found me in the corridor."

"I woke up to find out something big had happened."

"You mentioned 'that thing'," the woman interrupted his account, "Wasn't it a human?"

The security guard shook his head firmly, his face displaying a hint of fear.

"It all happened so fast that I didn't get a clear look, but it was definitely not human. It had sharp ears, large black wings, and pointed claws. Oh, and it seemed to have fangs, like those of a vampire in movies, very menacing."

"And it was big, I felt like it was over two meters tall. When it pounced, it looked just like... like a bat! Honestly, I was really scared. I've never seen such a terrifying creature in my life."

As the woman finished questioning, a troubled expression appeared on her face.

The bald man, still holding a cigarette in his mouth, asked, "What's your take on this?"

The woman pondered for a moment.

"I... I'm not sure," she replied.