Chapter 4: Subtask

Batman crouched on the edge of the rooftop terrace, overlooking the brightly lit modern building across the street.

It was a towering skyscraper. Chu Cheng didn't know what the building was for, nor did he care. He only noticed the prominent circular bat symbol projected onto the clouds above the building, resembling the Bat-Signal from the original works.

This was the same mechanism used in the traditional Batman series. The symbol served as a tribute to the original work, guiding the player and indicating that Batman was needed here.

Like many players, Chu Cheng didn't pay much attention to the storyline while playing the game. He only needed to know where to go, who to deal with, and how many were involved. That was enough for him.

However, after going through the tutorial, Chu Cheng no longer underestimated the intelligence of the game's NPCs. The experiments in the beginner's tutorial had taught him that being reckless would lead nowhere, rushing head-on against a gun would only make him a target, and being stealthy was the way to go.

Therefore, instead of rushing in, he controlled Batman from the outskirts, using detective mode to carefully observe the situation of the building.

Detective mode was still very useful. After scanning and analyzing with Batman's personal analysis, the game screen automatically marked the areas that could be used as entry points with different colors.

In detective mode, the background of the screen had a cold, icy blue tone, while the people or objects that were marked appeared in warm colors, making them highly visible in the player's field of view.

The first thing marked was the main entrance of the building. There were two security guards stationed at the door, and a camera was placed in the corner.

However, Chu Cheng barely considered this option, or rather, he instinctively regarded it as a last resort when there were no other routes available.

Just kidding, have you ever seen Batman knocking on the front door?

Uh, well, apparently he has. Chu Cheng remembered the recent "New Batman" movie he watched through time travel.

In the movie, the Batman was said to be a rookie with mediocre skills. He went to a bar owned by the crime boss, the Penguin, to gather information and actually knocked on the front door.

Batman: Anyone here? Have you eaten? If not, eat my fist!

And then he proceeded to beat up the Penguin's various bodyguards, barging in without any hesitation.

At that moment, Chu Cheng had a strange sense of déjà vu. It didn't feel like watching a Batman movie but rather playing Assassin's Creed.

The new Batman seemed to have completely removed the stealth skill tree and instead opted for a brute force approach, wearing heavy armor and relying on high-tech gadgets to withstand bullets and shotguns. He demonstrated the concept of "perfect infiltration" by simply eliminating anyone who saw him.

However, from the beginner's tutorial, Chu Cheng had already understood that the Batman controlled in this game was more of a traditional assassin, not a tank. Therefore, route planning was still important. Engaging in direct combat against firearms and overwhelming opponents was something to be experienced later, perhaps with a character like Superman unlocked.

Chu Cheng quickly realized that this game was different from the previous Batman series he had played, or rather, different from most games he had played, because the gameplay was highly open-ended.

It wasn't the kind of apparent freedom where you could only follow the predetermined path set by the game, but rather true freedom for the player to choose their own actions.

Using detective mode, he surveyed the building from all sides, and Batman marked at least seven potential infiltration routes.

Chu Cheng could freely choose from these seven routes or even choose none of them. He could also rush in through the main gate like in the new Batman movie, or break through any glass and crash inside—although that would definitely be more dangerous.

Considering the AI intelligence in the game, Chu Cheng eventually abandoned the tempting idea of being a berserker and chose a route marked by Batman's professional eye.

Batman pried open a window of a utility room on the outer side of the building and entered the skyscraper through that room.

Using detective mode to scan through the walls, Chu Cheng noticed a camera placed in the corner outside the door, which was also marked with a more noticeable color by Batman.

Then Chu Cheng used the numeric keys on the keyboard to access one of the gadgets carried by Batman's utility belt—the Universal Decrypter.

In the game screen, Batman crouched down and used the decrypter to lock onto the camera outside the door. With his hands clad in black leather gloves, he performed a series of operations on the holographic projection screen of the high-tech decrypter, leaving Chu Cheng impressed despite not fully understanding what was happening. Soon, the camera was invaded and disabled.

Of course, Batman's arsenal of absurd high-tech gadgets was no surprise to true fans, whether from previous games or animated movies.

Chu Cheng then controlled Batman to push open the door and confidently strode through the corridor under the disabled camera.

At the end of the corridor, there was a security guard casually walking in this direction, but he was already spotted in advance by the X-ray vision function of the detective mode.

So Chu Cheng controlled Batman to crouch and wait patiently at the corner for the security guard to approach.

In the instant the guard came closer, Batman suddenly dashed out from the corner, catching the guard off guard. The guard only saw a blurry shadow flash by, and the next second a powerful hand slammed his head against the nearby wall with a loud thud. The guard immediately slumped to the ground, motionless.

Of course, it was a non-lethal takedown.

As it is well known, Batman does not kill. So in the Batman game, players can go all out without any worries. You can control Batman to break the bones of thugs, press their heads into electrical boxes, or ram them around like a tank with the Batmobile, but in the end, you don't have to worry about them dying. Because Batman doesn't kill, at most they end up severely disabled or in a vegetative state. The important thing is that they don't die.

Having successfully infiltrated the building, several figures were marked by detective mode, concentrated in a room upstairs.

For the master of stealth, Batman, this was not a difficult task at all. Chu Cheng felt it was much easier than the beginner tutorial. He even had the impression that the NPCs in the first level were not as smart as the henchmen in the tutorial, perhaps because he had become more proficient himself.

Soon, Chu Cheng guided Batman to the top floor of the building.

The detective mode scan revealed multiple heat signatures in the executive office on the top floor. A group of people was gathered around a long conference table, seemingly engaged in a meeting.

Chu Cheng once again chose not to use the main entrance, opting instead for the classic friend of the Batman series—the ventilation ducts.

However, Chu Cheng hadn't anticipated that the game seemed determined to adhere strictly to the principle of high-fidelity recreation. Even the unnecessary details of the ventilation ducts were faithfully reproduced, making the environment incredibly lifelike.

For example, there was an exaggerated accumulation of dust, mold growing in the condensation water, rodents and various insects occasionally crawling across the screen from both sides. Even through the screen, the sight of it sent shivers down Chu Cheng's spine.

Indeed, assassins, spies, and superheroes were not as glamorous as they appeared in movies. In movie games, ventilation ducts often appeared clean and shiny. However, seeing the scene inside this particular duct, Chu Cheng imagined himself in there and thought, "As long as I don't vomit, I consider it a win."

Batman was truly not an ordinary person. He seemed unaffected by the irritating particles of dust or the crawling creatures.

Chu Cheng guided Batman to the end of the duct but didn't rush to exit. From this vantage point, he could clearly hear what those people in the conference room were saying. Perhaps it was relevant to the main storyline.

However, at that moment, the people in suits and ties stopped talking and appeared to be engaged in some kind of activity.

A man with a crew cut and a faint indifferent smile stood at the head of the conference table, with a small square box in front of him. One by one, each person at the table stood up, walked to the box, reached inside to take something, and then returned to their respective seats.

Chu Cheng activated the reconnaissance feature and entered Batman's first-person perspective. He zoomed in and observed closely before realizing that each person took out a piece of paper from the small box.

They were drawing lots.

The man with the crew cut glanced down at the paper in his hand, then lifted his head and scanned his gaze across everyone present.

"So, who is the lucky one today?"

Soon, a blond man stood up from the table. He was a bit short and chubby, with a typical Western face.

It was only then that Chu Cheng noticed that about two-thirds of the people in the meeting room had East Asian faces, while only one-third appeared to be Westerners. It seemed a bit strange for a superhero-themed game.

The man with the crew cut approached the blond man, took the paper from his hand, glanced at it, and then patted his back with a smile.

"Lucky guy, Ed." he said.

Ed smiled and followed the man with the crew cut to the front of the table.

The man with the crew cut pulled out a knife from under the table. Judging by the curvature and design of the blade, it appeared to be a samurai sword. He solemnly handed the knife to Ed.

Ed held the handle of the knife in his right hand, and all eyes were fixed on him.

What happened next in the game scene was something Chu Cheng felt he would probably not forget for at least a week.

He saw Ed, in a peculiar posture, without hesitation, swiftly swing the blade.

~Swish~

The sound of the razor-sharp blade cutting through flesh.

Ed's head immediately fell, landing perfectly in the open palm of his left hand.