Chapter 11. A sharp claw, a discarded piece. ...
Wen Yue's hand cramped up as she wrote, and after signing all the documents she could, she didn't want to write anymore. She asked someone to take away the signed documents, leaving only a pile of rejected documents.
Wen Yue investigated the world consciousness's past practices. For these unacceptable proposals, He would usually send messages to the relevant personnel, explaining the problems with the documents and the targeted modification measures in writing—He was practically more AI-like than AI.
At first, Wen Yue wanted to follow His usual practice, but the "Work Assistant" provided too many reference answers for those documents that were not approved, which made her lose all desire to write anything.
The world consciousness has an excessive desire for control; it wants to grasp all power in its own hands, no matter how small. This is indeed conducive to centralization of power, but it is too tiring to be a person. A true ruler should make good use of his people—this is what the lazy player thinks with a clear conscience.
Wen Yue planned to be a hands-off manager, but that's not something that can be accomplished in a short time. Right now, she still has to honestly finish the remaining work.
Rubbing her temples, Wen Yue summoned her secretary to make arrangements, reading the reference answers one by one according to the document order, with the players completely reduced to tools of the world's consciousness.
Players are deeply resentful about this – why does the World Consciousness, as the chairman of the board, have such a heavy workload, even taking on the work of a president? If it's so capable, why doesn't it just let the [Work Assistant] get things done directly and give the answers to the person in charge? Why does it have to make the player act as the intermediary?
Wen Yue felt like an assembly line worker, and she hated herself for coming to the company to suffer like this today. Especially after the player finished all the work, she realized that she had exceeded her expectations. As the first time acting as the chairman, she was not familiar with the business. The player only needed to sign documents, and in theory, she should have finished her tasks by the end of the day.
At night, players fight crime like Batman, but during the day they still have to handle work at Wayne Enterprises. Players are treated like animals, and they can't live like this anymore!
The only happy thing was that Wen Yue had been working tirelessly to promote the fanfiction contest overnight. The underhanded tactics to heavily promote the Batman/Bruce pairing were in full swing, with all fanfiction featuring domineering CEOs and their sweet, spoiled wives receiving prizes. After all this, I can't believe anyone still thinks Bruce is Batman!
That's right, players want everyone to know: Bruce Wayne is sponsoring and funding Batman, so Batman is definitely not Bruce Wayne!
Then we'll design a few more scenes where Bruce Wayne and Batman share the stage, with the hero rescuing the damsel in distress, thus ending the trouble forever!
As she was about to leave work, Wen Yue received a message: Harley Quinn was coming to Arkham Asylum for a psychiatric interview.
Wen Yue had previously given a list to her Arkham staff (confidants) that included villains from DC who appeared in Gotham. She would be notified if anyone on the list appeared.
In DC Comics, Harley Quinn's real name is Harleen Quinzel. She is the Joker's psychiatrist, but later becomes his loyal follower under his torment and mental control. She transforms herself into a criminal like the Joker—Harley Quinn.
It's worth noting that Harley Quinn only changed her name to Harley Quinn after becoming Harley Quinn. From this perspective, there might be something wrong with this Harley.
Wen Yue immediately decided to work overtime that night and remotely control Batman to meet her.
Unfortunately, plans can't keep up with changes, and the sudden mission left players with no time to think about anything else.
[Urgent Mission: Rescue Tim Drake]
[Mission Description: Tim, a key figure, has gotten himself into big trouble. Players are tasked with protecting Tim and resolving the problem.]
Oh dear, who did Detective Duck offend? Looks like his life is in danger.
With time of the essence, Wen Yue immediately pulled up the map and sped off towards Tim.
Unable to return to the Batcave to remotely control her clone, the player decided to take matters into their own hands. Luckily, Wen Yue carried a nano-bat bracelet that allowed her to change outfits with a single click, so it seemed like today would be a real-life, live-action shootout.
The car sped off like an arrow, closing the distance between itself and Tim every second. Wen Yue finally caught up with Tim's car on a road near the wealthy district.
The player, using the skill of a seasoned driver who is one with the car, closely follows behind, remaining constantly vigilant. What was initially thought to be a meticulously planned traffic accident turns out perfectly fine, with the car traveling all the way to the entrance of Drake Manor.
This left players completely baffled. Isn't this how the story usually unfolds? Shouldn't there be a seemingly accidental but actually intentional car accident at this point?
The mastermind behind it all: You're the director, and I'm the director?
Wen Yue made a sharp turn and parked the car in a secluded corner. Since it was an emergency mission, it would definitely happen soon. She got out of the car and continued the pursuit.
The Bat-Bracelet transforms into a gauntlet, nanoparticles spreading along the body to form a bat armor, and a jet-black cape cascades smoothly to the ground, covering the entire body. Wen Yue, transformed into Batman, infiltrates Drake Manor from above.
"No……"
Tim's hoarse, desperate voice rang out. Wen Yue, no longer hiding, rushed into Drake Manor at top speed, only to be met with a bloody murder.
A man in black wearing an owl mask raised a blade and stabbed at the man lying in a pool of blood. Wen Yue threw a batarang and flew forward. The batarang deflected the claw's trajectory, and the blade shifted and pierced Jack Drake's shoulder, leaving a non-fatal wound.
The moment Wen Yue's gaze first fell upon the murderer, she immediately recognized the mastermind behind it all—the Claw of the Court of Owls.
The Court of Owls is a mysterious organization hidden within Gotham City's nursery rhymes, composed of numerous prestigious families. Since the founding of Gotham, they have vied with the Wayne family for control of the city. They "adopt" orphans and train them into assassins, using metal imbued with Dionysian factors to resurrect corpses and create "Claws."
To players, the Court of Owls is essentially a cult-like organization in Gotham City comprised of individuals who believe themselves to be at the highest level, capable of manipulating the city's development from behind the scenes. These individuals share a common trait: they are all very wealthy, though individually they may not be as rich as Wayne Enterprises or Luthor Corporation. For those who disobey, obstruct the court, or attempt to spy on their secret group, the Court of Owls activates a specific sanction mechanism: dispatching professional assassins, designated "Claws," to carry out assassination missions.
—Perhaps this is why Drake was assassinated?
Wen Yue barely dodged the oncoming throwing knife and fought back against the claws using her unskilled techniques.
The first offline quick-fight battle was against this level of opponent. The player who was lazy all the time regretted it. This is the level of combat power she can fight against.
If you ask what percentage of the player's chances are left? At most, it's a 30/70 split between the two of them; the claws will strike three times, and the player will die seven days later.
The player is missing! Urgent call for world awareness!
A soft sound came from behind. Wen Yue turned her head and looked back at the figure that was suddenly attacking with sharp claws. Faced with the fatal attack that she could not avoid, she simply gave up and watched the world consciousness turn the tide and show off her unparalleled combat power.
[Synchronization and Dimensional Ascension: Aligning with global consciousness and sharing vision and capabilities]
When faced with mortal danger, the world's consciousness will forcibly take control of the player's body to help them overcome the crisis.
A sense of spirituality rose, and an ethereal feeling swept over her entire body. The world in Wen Yue's eyes had undergone a silent change.
A mechanical, cold universe, vast and profound, beyond the reach of human senses and reason, beyond the control of any so-called destiny. Consciousness becomes expansive and boundless, calm and indifferent amidst the sea of information—a testament to the universe's utter disregard for humanity's insignificance.
She seemed to have become Him.
As his vision descended, Wen Yue saw Gotham from His perspective: a free, savage, and dark force that transcended the boundaries of good and evil lurked deep underground, stirring restlessly. It was something as insane as hell, something that defied the laws, powers, and rules of this universe—Barbatos.
Information was crammed into her mind in an incomprehensible way: Barbatos originated from the Dark Multiverse, a pet dragon created by the World Forger. Its duty was to destroy unstable worlds, allowing their energy to return to the Forge for reuse. However, this dragon only saw destruction; it devoured its master and destroyed the World Forge, preserving the worlds that should have been destroyed, making them part of the Dark Multiverse.
Thus, Barbatos became the ruler of the Dark Multiverse, also known as the Bat God, the personification of destruction and darkness, and a synonym for despair.
Wen Yue finally understood the world crisis—Barbatos had his eye on this conventional universe, and he wanted to drag it into the Dark Multiverse.
As her vision rose, Wen Yue saw the dimensional barrier separating the realities of positive matter and dark matter, and further away stood the intact Origin Wall...
In DC Comics, there have been instances of Barbatos invading Earth, but it ultimately ended in failure. The Justice League not only defeated Barbatos but also turned the tide by using the tenth metal to save Earth from the Dark Multiverse—a process that directly led to the breaking of the Source Wall.
The intact Origin Wall of this universe is both a harbinger of impending crisis and a protective barrier for Earth...
Two flowers bloom, each representing a different branch.
After the World Consciousness possessed him, Batman's combat power soared. He effortlessly deflected attacks, disarmed his opponents with a few moves, and within a few rounds, Claw was lying on the ground, unable to move.
After subduing Claw, the World Consciousness did not immediately leave Wen Yue's body. It came to Claw and used its special power to remove Claw's mask, calling out in a cold tone: "Wake up, Dick Grayson."
As soon as he finished speaking, Claw's body stiffened. His world began to collapse at that moment, and the scene before him shattered like light and shadow.
Claw fell into a coma without a sound, his face a deathly pale, almost transparent color. His familiar face was none other than the long-lost Dick Grayson.
The world consciousness silently left the player's body, and Wen Yue's consciousness returned—
[Hidden Quest Completed: Awaken Dick Grayson (Richard John Grayson)]
A note from the author:
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All citations or annotations from previous articles:
1. Baidu Baike (Baidu Encyclopedia) 2. Catchy phrase 3. Panda 4. Batman: Arkham Knight 5. DC comics and anime, etc. I'll add more later if needed. I can't just work in isolation; I'll cook a meal while I'm eating. Hope you like it, hehe!
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