12 Chapter 12
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...
Chu Cheng stood by the window, gazing across the street at the caped Batman, whose cloak fluttered on the rooftop. He couldn't help but feel a sense of unreality.
By now, he had no doubts whatsoever. Somehow, the hero characters he controlled in this game seemed to manifest in reality. Those legendary superheroes became his proxies, his alter egos, capable of doing things he couldn't.
Currently, he could only control Batman, but there might be more unlocked hero characters in the future. Like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Green Lantern, Doctor Strange, and even top-tier heroes like Superman.
However, he immediately realized something important.
Unless necessary, it would be better to keep the hero he controlled as far away from himself as possible.
Similar situations occurred in both DC and Marvel comic books. For example, Spider-Man was always swinging around near the school he attended, which led people to suspect that he might be a student or teacher there.
Another example was the eccentric billionaire with advanced technology who obsessively tracked Superman's flight path on a map, only to discover that the Man of Steel frequently lingered around the Daily Planet.
Taking note of the lessons learned from these comic book predecessors, Chu Cheng immediately realized that he should keep the hero he controlled away from this place. In case someday a tycoon decided to follow superheroes around the world, drawing curves and being astonished to find all sorts of heroes wandering around this particular area, he would be at risk of exposure.
As long as he remained hidden behind the scenes, heroes from Marvel and DC would transform into his powerful henchmen, fundamental to establishing himself in this increasingly eerie world.
Perhaps he could even develop a super-powered criminal organization, with himself as the mastermind pulling the strings from behind.
With these thoughts in mind, he sat back at the computer and maneuvered Batman to turn away. As he navigated through the night, his mind continued to race.
Yesterday, he marveled at the freedom offered by this game, but now he felt it may have been too much freedom. Not only did the game lack any significant guidance, but it also lacked anything resembling a main quest, leaving players clueless about its intended purpose.
In fact, upon closer reflection, even the first task completed online yesterday couldn't accurately be described as a quest.
Upon careful consideration, even the first task completed online yesterday cannot accurately be referred to as a task.
In the game, there was no explicit concept of "tasks." It was merely a bat symbol placed on top of the Klein Corporation building, serving as a reminder to players that something might be happening there. However, Chu Cheng pondered that if he had ignored this symbol and controlled Batman to go shopping in the city, it would have been possible.
He felt as though he had truly opened a Batman simulator, where he could do whatever he wanted and go wherever he pleased, without any specific tasks or main storyline. The unfolding of the plot entirely relied on his own choices.
While he was considering what exactly needed to be done in the game, a small exclamation mark suddenly appeared on the screen, similar to a GPS updating the destination location, and it was near Batman.
Was this a new task?
With a thought, Chu Cheng controlled Batman and proceeded in the direction of the exclamation mark.
Xiao Fang believed that today was definitely her unlucky day.
In the morning, her alarm didn't go off, causing her to oversleep. She hastily rode her electric scooter, racing towards the company. She didn't even have breakfast and ended up being five minutes late.
She ended up being late and coincidentally bumped into her boss in the elevator. Without saying a word, the boss unleashed a torrent of scolding. As if that wasn't enough, during the meeting, she realized that in her rush to leave, she had forgotten the materials she had worked on overnight, which were left on her desk. The manager immediately berated her for it.
Originally, she had planned to go out with her two close friends in the evening, vent her frustrations, and change her mood. However, it seemed that bad luck followed her every step. She had a knack for stumbling on flat ground, getting food stuck in her teeth when drinking cold water, and even her attempts at being witty were met with failure. While walking on the street, a group of unruly troublemakers surrounded her and started making advances. Ignoring them and trying to walk away quickly, she was unexpectedly pulled back by one of them.
"Don't act ignorant."
"Let go." Xiao Fang swatted away the person's hand, but one of the rowdy men responded with a punch.
The punch made her see stars, and she was left feeling dazed.
"Showing disrespect, huh?" the rowdy man grumbled.
Although there weren't many people on the street, passersby were shocked by the audacity of this group. Many of them stopped and stared, but for a moment, no one dared to intervene.
Someone from the crowd attempted to call the police, but a blond accomplice of the man snatched the phone and smashed it on the pavement.
"Enjoy playing tough, do you?" the blond accomplice sneered and gave the man a slap.
Xiao Fang lay sprawled on the ground, her cheek burning with pain, and her head filled with the buzzing of a thousand flies. She waved her hands aimlessly, trying to stand up, but was forcefully pushed back down.
The group of people formed a circle around her, and she caught a whiff of a strong alcoholic stench. The men continued to shout something incoherent, but her ringing ears prevented her from hearing anything clearly.
She gave up on the attempt to get up and could only protect her body as best she could. She fantasized that this was just a poorly orchestrated nightmare, and perhaps at some point, she would wake up drenched in cold sweat, realizing that she was still lying in the warm embrace of her blankets, and this wretched day had never begun.
The rowdy man continued to curse and raised his fist, preparing to strike.
Smack.
The lights went out.
Not only the streetlights but also the lights in the nearby buildings and the electronic advertising signs hanging on the street, as if an invisible hand had snuffed out all sources of light, plunging everything into eternal and silent darkness.
Everyone was startled by this sudden turn of events.
The man also halted his descending fist and furrowed his brow. "What the hell?"
A spherical object arced through the air and landed at their feet, exploding with a soft sound. Smoke screens quickly engulfed the entire area, blending with the darkness.
A figure spread its pitch-black wings, descending like a demon from above, landing amidst the swirling smoke.
The rowdy man couldn't make out anything clearly. He only vaguely saw a shadow flash before him, and the next moment, his nose bridge shattered with a cracking sound, accompanied by a mournful cry.
Pain surged like a tidal wave, and he let out a piercing scream akin to a slaughtered pig. The alcohol in his system was also partially sobered.
"Boss!"
His companion beside him waved his hand, dispersing the smoke, and attempted to approach by following the sound. But before he could take a couple of steps, his arm suddenly felt heavy, as if gripped by something. Before he could struggle, the agony, accompanied by the sound of bones dislocating, nearly made him faint.
The darkness and smoke rendered their vision useless. No one knew what had happened. They only heard the desperate cries of their companions echoing one after another within the smoke, like a symphony of despair.
The rowdy man, recovering from the intense pain of his broken nose, lifted his head while blood poured uncontrollably. In an instant, he froze in place.
He wasn't afraid of getting hurt, nor was he particularly afraid of death. In fact, getting beaten up, with a swollen face and bruises all over his body, was a common occurrence for someone like him.
He was the kind of person with a wretched existence, free from any attachments, and fear was a distant word for him.
After all, when a person doesn't care even about dying, what is there to fear?
Until today, he realized he was wrong.
He caught sight of the faint and elusive figure within the smoke, and his mind automatically completed it as a grotesque and terrifying image. Enormous black wings, bloodthirsty fangs, and claws that seemed to be born for slaughter—something you could only see in your darkest nightmares.
And then he saw that thing charging toward him.
He froze, standing there like a clueless elementary school student. With wide eyes filled with terror, he watched as the bat-like monster sliced through the smoke, rapidly closing in on him. His heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest, and the overwhelming sense of fear rendered him immobile.
A punch landed on his cheek, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood, perhaps with a few unfortunate teeth mixed in. The next punch made him feel like two or three ribs were broken.
The following strike was especially ruthless, as the intense pain surged through his entire body, starting from his lower regions—it was possible that something down there was irreparably damaged.
In the end, there was a kick that almost stopped his heart and lungs. The thug broke through the smoke, flying out and crashing onto the opposite sidewalk, causing passersby to exclaim in shock.
At that moment, he felt like a fragile piece of porcelain, shattered by that single blow. Blood surged into his throat, nearly choking him to death.
As the smoke dispersed, all the lights abruptly lit up again.
Breathing heavily, Xiao Fang sat up on the ground, looking around in confusion. She saw the group of street thugs lying in various positions on the ground. The leading thug had been sent flying to the other side of the street, his face covered in blood, his condition uncertain.
The onlookers kept their distance, filled with uncertainty. Besides herself, there was no one else on this half of the street.
She felt a bit dizzy, struggling to comprehend what she was seeing.
What had just happened?
