Chapter 21 The Bell Tolls for You, and You, "Friend," You Twelve...
The world's consciousness has gone to find a cheat for Wen Yue and is temporarily offline.
Today's daily night patrol mission is not yet complete, which means that players will have to do the mission alone and face the danger without any guarantee of their safety.
Given the player's cautious nature, it was impossible to confront the criminals unprepared as before. The first layer of protection was the Red Robin uniform worn close to the body, the second layer consisted of various technological gadgets, and finally, the decoy Batsuit was worn on the outside. Once fully equipped, Wen Yue's boots were half-tucked in, but then she took them off after a moment's thought.
Honestly, a player's poor skill is their own problem, not their equipment. No matter how good the equipment, it can't compensate for a player's own terrible skill; they usually only manage to survive by using cheats. Now that the cheats are gone, the player should immediately seek external help. After all, even fighting in court requires collaborators, so how can Batman be without a substitute? Becoming stronger isn't something that happens overnight. With their current pathetic strength, how can the player possibly fight Gotham's criminals? Besides, Batman is a masked vigilante; with a hood, a suit, and a cape concealing his figure, who knows who's really behind the suit?
Having figured this out, Wen Yue's gaze fell on the expensive suits in Wayne's wardrobe.
Deep within Arkham, the cell doors slowly opened with a loud bang.
"Hello, is anyone there? Mercenary? Mr. Deathstroke? Are you there?" In the empty darkness, Wen Yue peeked in, then quickly came back out. The player scratched his head in confusion, bringing up the game map, "What's going on? Did I go to the wrong place?"
Wearing an ordinary suit and carrying no weapons, Wen Yue, posing as an ordinary wealthy woman, came to find Deathstroke.
A figure swept past like a gust of wind, instantly pinning Wen Yue against the wall. "Bruce Wayne?"
The game map emitted a faint glow, obscuring Wen Yue's vision. The location searched on it overlapped with the player's location. "Yeah, yeah, it's me! Bro, you're really strong! Let go, I can't breathe!" The player appeared weak, behaving like an ordinary person in the face of the sudden attack, without any countermeasures.
"What are you doing here?" Deathstroke released his grip and helped Wayne, who was about to fall.
Wen Yue straightened her back and asked sincerely, "This is my family's property, why can't I come?" The player said in a friendly tone but without any emotional intelligence, "Arkham was acquired by Wayne many years ago, I thought everyone in the village knew that."
"I'm saying, why are you, a young master like you, here at Arkham Asylum?" Deathstroke clenched his fists, grinding his teeth to convince himself not to argue with Wayne.
“Didn’t we agree? I wanted to hire you for a while. That’s why I came here to find you,” Wen Yue said matter-of-factly. “You’re not taking any jobs right now, are you? Taking protection missions?”
"Who told you that?" Deathstroke frowned. "Do I look like someone who can take orders right now?" He's been in Arkham prison ever since Batman captured him.
"Why not? Is it that you don't want to?" Wen Yue asked, her words piercingly directing her suspicions. She had no doubt that Deathstroke would leave Arkham in a heartbeat at Wayne's command.
“Yes, who would turn down money?” Deathstroke squinted at the wealthy man.
"Great! The moment I saw you, I knew this protection mission was perfect for you." Wen Yue, acting like a close friend, affectionately put his arm around the mercenary's shoulder and introduced him, "This is a long-term contract, ranging from three days to a month. All you have to do is patrol every night and crack down on crime in Gotham!"
"Protection mission" and "night patrol"—how did these two terms come together? Deathstroke couldn't help but ask, "What does night patrol have to do with a protection mission?"
"How can it not be related? Protecting Gotham is also a protection mission." Wen Yue argued vehemently, using a series of fallacies to justify her position.
"Don't worry about these trivial details." The player handed over the bat suit, casually dropping the bombshell: "You'll just wear this uniform and patrol Gotham every night."
Deathstroke: "?" Something's wrong with you.
If I'm not mistaken, that's a Batsuit. Deathstroke looked on in astonishment: "You broke up with Batman?"
"Who's Batman? I don't know him at all." Wen Yue shook her head vigorously. Players are players, and Batman is Batman; how can they be confused? She is Bruce Wayne now.
"Then what is this?" Deathstroke asked, pointing at the uniform.
"Cat ear set?" Wen Yue hesitated before giving an unexpected answer.
What the hell is this cat ear set?!
At that moment, the silence of the death knell was deafening. He was stunned: Where is morality? Where is the bottom line? Have you stopped acting altogether in your game?
"Oh, that's not the point." Wen Yue waved her hand to bring the conversation back on track: "The main thing is your salary. First of all, a million-dollar hourly wage is just the basic standard, a base salary with no performance targets. As long as you're willing to accept this short-term, fixed commission, a billion-dollar deposit will be immediately deposited into your account. You get paid first, then you start working, so you definitely won't be shortchanged. And if you actually do the work, you'll get extra pay. If nothing unexpected happens, you just need to sit in the car and pretend to be working."
The art of language has been mastered by the players, provided that "no accidents happen." But if no accidents really happen, why would there be a death knell? And would such a good opportunity even fall into the hands of this mercenary? All the good positions have been taken internally.
Deathstroke's heart skipped a beat: Did Batman himself receive this kind of treatment? No wonder he fought tooth and nail for Wayne; it wasn't his fault, it was just that this rich guy was paying too much. Although the other party's words were evasive, as long as the money was there, it was fine. Driven by mercenary pride, he wanted to refuse again, but his body defied his will and he resolutely accepted the Batsuit. By the time he came to his senses, he was already dressed in the Batman uniform.
Wen Yue clapped and exclaimed, "Perfect, perfect!" The bruises on Deathstroke's face, which had been beaten up by players a few days ago, had not yet completely healed. Now, with two panda eyes and a bat headgear, he looked exactly like Batman himself.
In some worlds, a fledgling Batman would blacken the area around his eyes to make the mask and eyes blend seamlessly, enhancing harmony and aesthetics, making the helmet and head appear more natural as one, creating the feeling of a strong, beast lurking in the darkness, and instilling fear in criminals.
Meanwhile, Deathstroke didn't even need to spend time applying dark circles to his eyes, saving time and effort. No one was more suited to wear the Batsuit than him. He was practically a chosen substitute! The unscrupulous player felt his earlier beating was absolutely right; it not only relieved his stress but also helped the mercenary integrate better into the job.
"Brother, compared to the previous Batman, you're simply incomparable. Look at this suit, you look much more like a bat-monster than that one. What kind of Batman was that?" Wen Yue treated her ex with disdain, her eyes shining as she stared at the current one. She patted Deathstroke on the shoulder and said with deep emotion and solemnity, "And you, my friend, you are the real Batman!"
"!"
Death Knell: It feels a little strange, but it's not a big deal.
Wen Yue stroked her chin and examined him for a moment, then started nitpicking: "But shouldn't you shave this beard? It's seriously lowering your looks, buddy?"
Deathstroke glanced at him indifferently.
"No need to say anything, I understand, I understand everything. Transfer the million tonight. After all, our bodies are a gift from our parents, so consider this million a consolation for losing your hair. It's not part of your salary." It's just a small token of my appreciation, a way to make friends. Wayne players have plenty of money!
Everything was ready except for the final push. At this point, even the smallest insurance arrangements were in place, and the entire plan was successfully completed.
Wen Yue began preparing for the attack on the Court of Owls, starting with the battle plan ABC, the backup plan DFG, the emergency response plan HIJ, and the follow-up arrangements KLM... There was also the crucial plan for equipping and using freezing weapons, and the plan to subdue teammates who suddenly betrayed them could not be forgotten... After being thoroughly beaten and crushed by the Court of Owls, this fragile player, this bootleg Batman, was unknowingly starting to resemble the real Batman.
With 108 countermeasures against teammates in place, the player can finally relax and feel relieved.
Harley Quinn and her villainous squad arrived late, meeting at the agreed-upon location. The team included Poison Ivy, Mudface, and, unexpectedly, Killer Croc.
Wen Yue turned to Harley with a questioning look in her eyes.
“Boss, the extra one is Wellen Jones, codename Killer Croc. Don’t let his unassuming appearance fool you, the Gotham sewers are his comfort zone, and he’s incredibly strong, has amazing stamina, regenerative abilities, and is tough as nails.” Harley whispered in the player’s ear, “Most importantly, he’s not very bright and easy to fool, so we can use him as a meat shield.”
"How much money?" Wen Yue gave Harley a carload of initial funds for the operation, equivalent to about 30 million US dollars, with an additional 70 million after the mission was accomplished.
“Not expensive, 300,000.” Harley revealed the wicked smile of the unscrupulous real estate agent.
Good heavens, this price is a steal! They lured me in for 300,000? Killer Crocodile, you're a fool!
While Red Robin and Harley are talking about work, Killer Croc and Mudman are making loud noises over there.
"Is he the sucker?" Killer Croc sized up Red Robin across from him. His black cape swayed lightly in the wind, and his red and black uniform outlined smooth muscle lines. He thought the other man had good taste in clothing.
"It seems so." The Mudman stood next to the Killer Crocodile in his normal form, making him appear rather thin in comparison.
"Our boss looks like he could be killed with one punch," Killer Croc said with a disdainful laugh, waving his massive fist.
The player with keen ears instantly dispelled any lingering reluctance. A tank is good, a tank is wonderful, if a tank can't be killed, keep building more; the killer crocodile already has a way to kill it, 300,000 is just enough for medical treatment.
Wen Yue turned around and said to Harley in a warm tone, "You can spend the rest of the money as you like. Next, let's discuss the attack on the Court of Owls..."
The villainous squad's main role is demolition and destruction. Killer Croc acts as a tank, Mudman disguises himself as Batman to draw fire, Poison Ivy is the main damage dealer, Harley Quinn is responsible for surprise attacks, and the player is essentially just sitting back and giving verbal commands. The squad's primary objective is to rescue people…
"Wait, I have a question. Why is Mudman impersonating Batman?" Harley didn't understand. What did this have to do with Batman?
Wen Yue snapped her fingers with her hands on her hips, and a drone carrying a tablet flew over leisurely. "Please watch the video!"
The screen showed a surveillance video, the image so blurry it was completely out of step with modern technology. A black-cloaked figure with two pointed cat ears was fighting several clawed creatures. After a few breaths, the figure swiftly turned and knocked down all the clawed creatures. Standing in front of the fallen enemies, the figure struck a pose that seemed to say, "How lonely it is to be invincible."
"You're saying this black cat-eared thing is Batman? The pixels are so blurry I wouldn't even recognize him, and this looks like a game scene." Harley asked the fatal question, her intelligence on full display.
"Don't worry about such trivial details." Wen Yue waved her hand and put away the recording, calmly moving on from the topic. This was indeed a screenshot of the game footage that Wen Yue had captured later while controlling the Batman clone on the computer. The player had deliberately blurred the footage to hide the game character data.
"Ignore the unimportant things. The most important thing now is that we need to use Batman's influence to attract the attention of the Court of Owls, make them feel fear and tremble, and ultimately win without a fight." Wen Yue seemed to have a logical basis, but in reality, it was all nonsense. She smugly delivered a bunch of nonsensical explanations to her teammates.
"What if Batman finds out and comes over?" someone in the team questioned.
Wen Yue snorted and pointed at the villain team: "We're villains, how can we be afraid of that cat-eared monster Batman? If Batman dares to come, we'll take him down in court too!"
After boasting and making a bold statement, the player reassured his teammates, "Besides, I've gathered information that Batman is patrolling the city area tonight, far from here. There's nothing to worry about. By the time Batman gets here, we'll be long gone!"
The last sentence is the key point: the player, playing a minor villain, is also very dedicated to the role, showing the true nature of a Gotham villain by being able to bend and stretch.
A note from the author:
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