As the absolute protagonist of this E+-difficulty instance, Cheng Tian guessed that if Batman were placed in an equivalent enemy camp, he should at least have a Champion Template. As a human, he would probably be extremely well-rounded, with all four core attributes far beyond ordinary people, though no individual attribute would be outrageously high.
Unlike Cheng Tian, whose strength was somewhat skewed toward becoming a Humanoid Behemoth.
Cheng Tian had initially judged that a single charge could send Batman flying and buy him time to escape. He had not expected Wayne Group's weapons division to be so capable. Their reverse engineering of the Executioner Gear had directly produced a device that could temporarily and drastically boost Batman's strength. He had originally merely surpassed ordinary humans, but now he was practically a Juvenile Behemoth.
Their strength happened to be evenly matched, so it triggered Phase Shift instead of sending Batman flying.
This only accelerated Cheng Tian's escape plan.
Cheng Tian's act of passing straight through him also gave this Batman's worldview—which had yet to be contaminated by superpowered heroes like Superman, Flash, and Wonder Woman—a vicious blow.
After all, no matter how ridiculous the gang leaders currently entrenched in Gotham City were, they could still barely be explained through science and technology. But Cheng Tian's Martian Hunter behavior completely exceeded the understanding of this 89 Movie Version Batman.
Though his mind was confused, his movements remained swift. Almost by muscle memory, after Cheng Tian passed through him head-on, Batman flung a Bat Shuriken with a steel cable attached behind him.
Unfortunately, the Bat Shuriken wrapped around nothing at Cheng Tian's ankle as he took the stairs three at a time, completely failing to bind any solid entity.
All that could be said was that if Batman had reacted a little slower, he could have delayed the three-second Phase Shift until it ended.
Cheng Tian had already reached the secluded Tranquil Alley and immediately sprinted toward the main street, where there were more pedestrians and brighter lights.
Batman naturally chose to pursue him at once.
However, the moment he emerged from the stairwell, instincts honed through years of training and combat made him immediately perform a sideways roll.
The instant he rolled away, a completely emerald-green arrow embedded itself in the spot where he had been standing.
Delayed by that arrow, Cheng Tian had already darted beyond what looked like a greater distance, but one that could actually be closed with a single swing of the Bat Grapple. Yet the appearance of that emerald-green arrow made Batman decisively retreat into the bar's stairwell.
"So they really are in the same group..."
Batman's sharp gaze swept through every gap between the tall buildings where someone might be hiding, but after firing that arrow, the other party had vanished without a trace.
He had made that judgment because, according to Batman's intelligence, several identical emerald-green arrows had appeared near Moth Cave in Gotham City's eastern old industrial district.
Thinking of this, Batman took two steps back, and his entire figure disappeared into the bar.
Unaware that someone had "helped" him, Cheng Tian had already reached a street still packed with pedestrians. The Captain America's Shield in his hand had also been dismissed using the template's characteristics, but he clearly felt that he was drawing even more attention. Quite a few pedestrians were secretly pointing at him and trying to move away without making it obvious.
Cheng Tian was beginning to feel confused, but when he lowered his head and saw the clothes he had changed into, he roughly understood why.
It seemed the Moth Gang's member uniforms were already universally recognized, and they were not very well liked.
This was one drawback of gangs having standardized uniforms. The other gangs did not have that concern.
But Cheng Tian had thick skin. After confirming that Batman had not followed him for some unknown reason, he decisively took out the map and checked the gathering places of several gang members, preparing to try and obtain the other Grunt Unit files as well.
Just then, a stranger's hand suddenly landed on Cheng Tian's shoulder, making him leap absurdly high. Only after landing and turning around did Cheng Tian clearly see what the other person looked like.
This was someone dressed like Robin Hood from a movie, wearing a hat and a scarf that covered half their face. Yet their features were so delicate that it was impossible at a glance to tell whether they were male or female.
Facing the startled Cheng Tian, the newcomer remained calm and asked directly.
"Friend, are you a shield guard?"
Gotham City's central district, HanXKing.
Cheng Tian opened his mouth wide and took a bite that devoured nearly a third of a HanXKing Triple Cheese Beef Burger. Sitting across from him, the archer player "Eileen" held a straw between her lips and blew gurgling bubbles into a cup full of BaiX Cola.
The table was piled high with Burger Chicken Nuggets, burgers, and large fries, all ordered for Cheng Tian. Naturally, the one treating him was this beautiful player who had approached him first.
After becoming Chosen Players and having their bodies digitized, players generally experienced increased efficiency in their body's energy usage.
Players in battle tried to maintain output equivalent to their displayed stats for as long as possible, but the cost was a massive consumption of bodily energy. In plain terms, they got hungry very quickly.
These Burger Chicken Nuggets were Cheng Tian's gasoline. Only by eating and drinking his fill would he have the energy to face the battles ahead.
"No wonder you're a shield guard. You can really eat."
Watching Cheng Tian stuff one piece of high-calorie Junk Food after another into his mouth, Eileen could not help but sigh sincerely.
"Is shield guard your exclusive term for melee players who use shields?"
After stuffing his third burger and the milk he had paid someone a tip to run out and buy into his stomach, Cheng Tian finally asked tentatively.
"Huh? You're a Novice Player?"
Noticing the information conveyed by Cheng Tian's question, Eileen raised her beautiful brows and stared at him with surprise.
"Yeah."
"How many trials have you done?"
"If the Novice Trial counts, then one."
"Huh? A complete newbie!? You're not kidding me, are you!"
Hearing Cheng Tian's answer, Eileen abruptly stood up from her seat. The scrape of the tabletop, the shifting chair legs, and her uncontrollably loud voice instantly drew nearly everyone's attention in the hall toward her, already conspicuous as she was.
Noticing the gazes around her, Eileen visibly flushed for a moment. Then she obediently sat back down, pulled her hat brim lower, leaned toward Cheng Tian, and asked in a low voice.
"Friend, you really weren't lying to me?"
"No. There'd be no point."
Cheng Tian continued stuffing chicken nuggets into his mouth without changing expression. Then he saw the woman across from him staring directly at him with an extremely conflicted and awkward expression, though she was clearly struggling to suppress the movement of her features.
"Um, I don't mean to pry into your secrets. I'm just curious which scenario your Novice Trial was based on."
Perhaps realizing that her question might be inappropriate, Eileen hurriedly added an explanation.
"If you don't want to say, you absolutely don't have to! I really don't mean any harm!"
"Demon World Village," Cheng Tian said.
"...Huh?" Eileen froze.
"De~mon~World~Village~," Cheng Tian repeated, one word at a time.
This time, after confirming that she had heard correctly, Eileen dropped back into her chair. Maintaining a slouched posture, her eyes became slightly unfocused.
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