I Just Like Blowing Bubbles into Amusing Drinks (Revised)

As the absolute protagonist of this E+ difficulty dungeon, if Batman were placed in an enemy faction of equivalent standing, Cheng Tian guessed he would at least be a Champion Template. As a human, he would possess extremely strong overall combat power, with all four core stats far exceeding ordinary people, but no single stat would be outrageously high.

Unlike Cheng Tian, whose strength was somewhat skewed towards the Humanoid Behemoth direction.

Cheng Tian's initial judgment was that a single charge could send Batman flying, buying himself time to escape. He hadn't expected the Wayne Group's weapons division to be so formidable, directly reverse-engineering the Electric Executioner's equipment to create a device that could temporarily boost Batman's strength significantly. What was originally just surpassing ordinary humans had now become almost Juvenile Behemoth level.

The two sides' strength was perfectly matched, triggering Phase Shift instead of a collision.

This, however, accelerated Cheng Tian's escape plan.

Cheng Tian passing right through him severely impacted Batman's worldview, which had not yet been corrupted by super-powered heroes like Superman, Flash, or Wonder Woman.

After all, even the most outlandish gang leaders currently plaguing Gotham were still within the realm of reasonable scientific explanation. But Cheng Tian's Martian Hunter-like actions were completely beyond the comprehension of this Batman from the 89 Movie Version.

Though his mind was confused, his movements remained agile, almost like muscle memory. After being passed through by Cheng Tian head-on, Batman retaliated by throwing a Bat Shuriken attached to a steel wire.

Unfortunately, the Bat Shuriken merely wrapped around Cheng Tian's ankles as he ascended the stairs, taking three steps at a time, completely failing to ensnare anything solid.

It could only be said that if Batman had reacted even a fraction of a second slower, he could have dragged out the Phase Shift, which only lasted for 3 seconds.

Meanwhile, Cheng Tian had already reached the secluded Tranquil Alley and immediately sprinted towards the busier, brighter street.

Batman naturally chose to pursue him immediately.

However, as soon as he emerged from the stairs, his years of training and combat instincts made him instinctively perform a sideways roll.

The moment he rolled away, an arrow of pure Emerald Green was embedded in the spot where he had been standing.

Delayed by this arrow, Cheng Tian had already dashed further than it seemed, a distance that could actually be closed with a single swing of the Bat Grapple. However, the appearance of this Emerald Green arrow made Batman decisively retreat back into the bar's staircase.

"They're working together, aren't they..."

Batman's sharp gaze scanned every gap between the tall buildings where someone might be hiding. However, after firing the arrow, the assailant had vanished.

This conclusion was drawn because, according to Batman's intelligence, several identical Emerald Green arrows had appeared at the scene near the Moth Cave in Gotham's old eastern industrial district.

With this thought, Batman took two steps back, his entire figure disappearing completely into the bar.

Unaware that he had been "helped," Cheng Tian had arrived on the still-crowded street. The Captain America's Shield in his hand had also been deactivated using the template's properties, but he clearly felt he was attracting even more attention. Many pedestrians were secretly pointing at him and trying to distance themselves subtly.

Cheng Tian began to feel puzzled, but when he looked down at his newly changed clothes, he understood.

It seemed the Moth Gang's uniform was common knowledge and highly unpopular.

This was actually a drawback of having a unified gang uniform. The other gangs didn't have this concern.

But Cheng Tian was thick-skinned. After confirming that Batman hadn't followed for some Unknown reason, he decisively pulled out his map to check the gathering places of several gang members, intending to obtain the other Grunt Unit files.

Just then, a stranger's hand suddenly landed on Cheng Tian's shoulder, causing him to jump high. After landing and turning around, Cheng Tian finally saw the other person's appearance clearly.

This was a guy dressed like Robin Hood from the movies, wearing a hat and with half his face covered by a scarf, but his features were so delicate it was hard to tell if he was male or female.

Facing Cheng Tian, who was "startled," the newcomer maintained his composure and asked directly.

"Friend, are you a Shield Guard?"

Gotham City Main District, HanXKing.

Cheng Tian's mouth was wide open as he took a bite, devouring nearly a third of a HanXKing Triple Cheese Beef Burger. Across from him, the Archer player "Eileen" was holding a straw, blowing bubbles into a cup filled with BaiX Cola.

A table full of Burger Chicken Nuggets and large fries, all ordered for Cheng Tian. The one treating him was naturally this beautiful player who had approached him.

After becoming a Chosen Player and having their bodies digitized, players generally experienced an increase in the efficiency of their bodily energy utilization.

Players in combat would maintain output equivalent to their stat panel values for as long as possible, but the price was a significant consumption of bodily energy. In plain terms, they would get hungry very quickly.

These burgers and chicken nuggets were Cheng Tian's gasoline; only after eating his fill could he have more energy to face the upcoming battles.

"As expected of a Shield Guard, you really can eat."

Eileen watched Cheng Tian stuff high-energy junk food into his mouth one after another, sighing with genuine admiration.

"Is 'Shield Guard' the exclusive term you use for melee players who wield shields?"

After stuffing the third burger and some milk, which he'd gotten the errand runner to buy with a tip, into his stomach, Cheng Tian tentatively asked.

"Huh? Are you a Novice Player?"

Noticing the information conveyed by Cheng Tian's question, Eileen raised her beautiful eyebrows and stared directly into Cheng Tian's eyes in surprise.

"Yeah."

"What trial is this for you?"

"If the Novice Trial counts, then this is my first time."

"Huh? A complete newbie!? You're not kidding me, are you!"

Hearing Cheng Tian's answer, Eileen suddenly stood up from her seat. The scraping of the table, the movement of the chair legs, and her unrestrained volume instantly drew the attention of almost everyone in the hall.

Noticing the surrounding gazes, Eileen's face visibly flushed for a moment. Then, she obediently sat back down, pulled down her hat brim, and leaned towards Cheng Tian, asking in a low voice.

"Friend, you're really not lying to me?"

"No, and there's no need to."

Cheng Tian continued to stuff chicken nuggets into his mouth with a poker face. He then saw the woman in front of him staring intently with a very conflicted and awkward, yet clearly barely suppressed, expression.

"Um, I'm not trying to pry into your secrets, I'm just purely curious, what was the template for your Novice Trial."

Realizing her question might have been inappropriate, Eileen quickly added a new explanation.

"If you don't want to say it, you absolutely don't have to! I really mean no harm!"

"Demon World Village," Cheng Tian replied.

"...Huh?" Eileen froze.

"De-mon~ World~ Vil-lage~" Cheng Tian repeated, word by word.

This time, Eileen, certain she hadn't misheard, plopped back onto her stool, maintaining a 'Ge You slump', her eyes slightly dazed.