Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 612 The Blank World

"Can't explain it, can you?"

Ma Zhaodi sighed: "After discovering that I couldn't contact Clark Kent in this universe, I had a guess, so I called Metropolis, Wedge Rock, Central City, and Star City. This time I didn't call any superheroes, I just randomly picked a local citizen's phone number."

Barbara asked, "Did you get through?"

"No, just like Clark."

"Why is this happening?"

"Because the metropolis does not exist."

Ma Zhaodi replied, “This world is only the size of a city—perhaps slightly larger, but not by much.”

"impossible."

"Why isn't it possible?"

"How could my life, from childhood to adulthood, with so many people I've met and so many places I've been, possibly be fake?"

Barbara subconsciously looked at her legs. The phantom pain from the day a bullet pierced her spine had not yet faded from her memory. But it was precisely this painful memory that made it even harder for her to accept that her world was a void.

The reason she has come all the way in Gotham and continues to support Batman's operations as an oracle even after being paralyzed from the waist down is not because she is accepting of her own life, but because she firmly believes that what she is doing is right and that its significance to the world far outweighs all the suffering she has endured, and can help more people avoid a life more tragic than her own.

After living like this for more than 20 years, a stranger suddenly jumped out and told her that "the world is fake and sacrifice is meaningless," which she found completely unacceptable emotionally.

“I’m going to call Clark right now,” she said through gritted teeth. “If I get through—”

"Even if you get through, you still won't be able to remember the details you can't recall."

Ma Zhaodi explained, “I’m not saying your life is meaningless. On the contrary, only the people in Gotham City have meaning in your universe, and you are one of the most important characters in Gotham City. You have a story, you have screen time, and you are one of Batman’s indispensable allies and friends—you are the cornerstones that make up this universe.”

Batman Arkham finally snapped out of his reverie and reminiscence. After a moment of reflection, he realized that there were countless gaps in his memory, but he hadn't noticed them at all in the past thirty years of his life. It seemed as if the world had subconsciously filled in these blank details for him.

Before Ma Zhaodi reminded him, he was completely unaware that the world was "hypnotizing" him.

"The Arkham universe, in other words, is the story of Arkham, which is also the story of Gotham."

Ma Zhaodi explained, "In other words, since the focus is on Gotham, other cities will not appear in the story. They are all part of the background, like distant scenery textures in the game. They may look like a mountain or a castle, but you will find that they are just a thin layer when you get closer."

“I noticed a red shooting star on the Metropolitan City poster downstairs, the atomic symbol on the Palmer Industries advertisement, the news broadcast of Lex's presidential campaign, the storefront sign of the community office of the Wayne and Wonder Woman Foundation, and the long red strip of light on the billboard heading towards Keystone City—”

Ma Zhaodi paused.

"In short, I used hacking techniques to gather a considerable amount of information about this city, but did you glean anything from that information?"

"Nobody's here."

"What do you mean no one?"

Barbara instinctively asked another question.

“In all those images, texts, and even audio recordings, there is no image of any hero.” Ma Zhaodi answered directly: “You can’t see their figures, whether from the front or the back; you can’t read their statements, whether they are handwritten or ghostwritten; you can’t hear their voices, whether they are altered or their original voices.”

"The reason is simple: they are not real things yet. Even if this IP does have plans to expand into a sequel, the character design is not finished, so we cannot see their appearance; the lines are not written, so we cannot read their speech; the voice actors have not been decided, so we cannot hear their voices."

"Up until now, Gotham has been everything in this world, but you have always been a part of this world, so you have naturally taken this void as some kind of natural law. If it weren't for my arrival as the second Gotham, you still wouldn't have noticed these things, nor would you have needed to."

"Because the sequel will be completed sooner or later, and this world will be filled in sooner or later."

"I don't understand. So is my world real or fake?"

"Of course it's true, and it will become even more true starting today."

Ma Zhaodi sighed: "Listen to me, and remember this well—from now on, this universe has two directions of development. One direction is the established track of gradual improvement, which, according to my guess, will become a garbage game. You can take this as a metaphor, after all, Real Online is a garbage game to begin with."

"The second option is for us to work together. Bruce and I will help you resolve all the issues tonight—the cleaner the better. Don't worry about the lower limit; the upper limit is 100%."

He glanced at the system panel.

"Two hundred and forty percent—no, isn't 100% completion enough? Where did the extra 140 percent come from?!"

[Note: When the gig begins, Batman's abilities in this universe are at their peak. The system is connected to the underlying game structure of the Arkham universe, and the world difficulty is detected as "Nightmare." Therefore, the mission completion progress is doubled.]

"That's no different from 100%. Wait, then shouldn't the highest be 200%?"

[The remaining 20% ​​completion requires the activation of Speed ​​Force. This will be adjusted by the system. Your remaining Speed ​​Force reserves are sufficient to meet the activation requirements.]

"What if I don't want to use the Speed ​​Force?"

[Even 200% completion counts as completing the part-time job]

Ma Zhaodi breathed a sigh of relief. Although the system's voice sounded rather impersonal, there was still room for negotiation when arranging part-time jobs.

This is much more humane than many inhumane bosses when assigning tasks.

[Please note that if the completion rate reaches 240%, the underlying settings of the Arkham universe will provide a special reward.]

"Ok?"

Ma Zhaodi raised an eyebrow: "So, when threats didn't work, you resorted to bribery?"

[The reward is the Arkham Universe Bat Armor - Version 8.05]

"Never heard of him, is he handsome?"

The system has released a diagram (it's below, and you can see it using the latest version of the Qidian app on your phone).

"If you do not abandon me—" Ma Zhaodi once again used his traditional skill: "I am willing to become your godfather!"

(End of this chapter)