"That customer is actually the first person to order milk here."
After hearing Cheng Tian's order, the bartender really did fish a carton of skim milk out of the refrigerator and pour a full mug right in front of Cheng Tian. He looked like a man with a strong work ethic, but he was clearly not very enthusiastic.
After all, Cheng Tian's below-average Charisma was right there for everyone to see. It wasn't enough to make people hate him on sight, but he couldn't exactly expect them to be especially warm, either.
"Milk is great~ It replenishes calcium and strengthens the bones."
After saying that, Cheng Tian raised his head and downed the entire mug in one go. Under the bizarre gazes of those around him, he let out an exceedingly vulgar milk burp.
Since Cheng Tian had already completed the beginner trial, under normal circumstances, whenever he entered a brand-new instance, he would be given a relatively reasonable legal identity that fit the current world's overarching setting.
In secret, he was a bounty hunter. On the surface, he was a disguised gentlemanly foreign businessman.
The problem was that Cheng Tian himself, despite wearing the skin of a gentleman, was clearly unsuited to the image. Or rather, he had no idea how to maintain the persona of an outsider gentleman. He wouldn't change himself to accommodate the instance; he continued doing things his own way.
Perhaps the Space had merely wanted to make his vampire gentleman's cane look less conspicuous, which was why it had chosen such a strange disguise.
The bartender took back the mug, which still had a little milk left in it. But as soon as he moved the mug, he noticed that something had been placed underneath it—
A shiny little cutie~
The bartender immediately understood. Without changing expression, he curled his pinky around it as he moved the mug and slipped it into his sleeve.
"What can I do for you?"
The bartender's tone became noticeably more enthusiastic. That little cutie had probably provided a temporary +4 to Charisma.
Under normal circumstances, a tavern filled with all kinds of people also served as an information broker. What Cheng Tian wanted to ask about naturally concerned bounty missions—in other words, information related to the Moth Gang.
"I've just arrived, and I don't want to cause trouble or have trouble come looking for me. So I'd like to know how many gangs there are in Gotham City, and where their members usually gather."
That was Cheng Tian's excuse for asking around.
Based on the bounty mission's description and Cheng Tian's own judgment, obtaining information on gang units should fall into the category of something money alone couldn't buy, but which didn't necessarily require a campaign of mass slaughter, either.
If it could be bought outright, Batman would have acquired it himself long ago. There would be no need for players to do it. And the most extreme method—killing everyone—probably wasn't the only option, either.
Since it had explicitly stated that he could kill, steal, control, or rob, that proved the target units must possess some kind of token representing successful acquisition of detailed information. In game terms, it was a "quest item."
Cheng Tian had also asked how many gangs there were because that white-skinned man had indirectly reminded him earlier. In his previous words, he had mentioned the Firefly Gang.
Although someone dressed like Cheng Tian voluntarily coming to such a chaotic place was rather unusual, his reason was indeed quite convincing... and money really was sweet.
The bartender used a damp cloth to write a 10 on the counter. Cheng Tian double-tapped the bar, asking him to refill the milk, and tacitly agreed to the price.
Soon, the second mug of milk and a map of Gotham City marked with the various factions and gang gathering places were delivered to Cheng Tian. Cheng Tian also pushed over the stack of golden chips.
However, when Cheng Tian focused his attention on the map, he failed to notice the bartender accepting the golden chips and casting a glance behind him. Several people who met the bartender's gaze quietly rose from their seats, making as little unnecessary noise as possible. One of them went to the tavern entrance and hung up a "Closed" sign.
Cheng Tian might have looked as though he had come to gather intelligence in a perfectly practiced manner, but in reality, he had only imitated things he had seen in movies and games. He had no relevant experience whatsoever—he was completely inexperienced. He could even be said to be full of holes.
Cheng Tian had anticipated that something might happen here, but he hadn't considered who might be behind a place capable of obtaining intelligence in Gotham.
Wayne Enterprises? Or... the Gotham underworld?
Click!
The sound of the door locking made Cheng Tian's ears twitch. He immediately raised his head and saw the tightly shut entrance, along with the many ill-intentioned customers rising from their seats, all looking eager to make a move.
"Was I not generous enough?"
Cheng Tian's eyes shifted slightly. One hand rubbed his Polymorph cane, and then, at some point, the cane vanished from his hand.
"No. You're the most generous customer we've had these past few days."
The bartender was clearly surprised by Cheng Tian's composure.
"...I see. So this thing was just meant to fool me?"
Cheng Tian pointed at the map on the table.
"Not at all. We place great importance on our integrity in business. It's genuine, with no deception, whether for child or elder. It's just that our boss has been harassed by some outsiders these past two days and is in a foul mood. He needs some unlucky sap to vent his anger on. And you happen to be an outsider of unknown identity, as well as a very rare Asian face, so..."
"Oh, is that how it is~"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Tian decisively folded the map, tucked it inside his shirt, and casually began undoing his tie.
At this point, Cheng finally understood everything. Someone had made a move against the boss unit here, and judging by the situation, they seemed to have failed, putting the boss's subordinate faction on alert.
Under normal circumstances, players who accepted bounty missions would act around the mission itself. But players were the greatest variable of all, so encountering a main-quest-level boss, either actively or passively, during a bounty mission was nothing unusual.
The survival or death of powerful non-quest units and main-quest-level bosses encountered during bounty missions generally had no effect on the mission's evaluation, since its focus was different. Even if players chose to attack, they were merely gambling on whether the boss would drop a loot chest, and whether that chest would contain anything good.
The mission Cheng Tian had accepted could accommodate up to five players, and all five would be deployed into the same map. Their mission completions would not interfere with one another; each player's progress would be calculated separately.
However, the actions of those who arrived first would inevitably affect those who came later to some extent. Cheng Tian was clearly the one caught in the crossfire.
"Mr. Milk, if you give up resisting, I can at least guarantee that you won't suffer any unnecessary injuries during transport."
Seeing Cheng Tian undo his tie, the bartender kindly offered him a warning.
At the same time, seeing that the skinny Asian yellow monkey was actually putting on an act as though he wanted to resist, the formal gang members could only laugh.
The bearded man closest to Cheng Tian was tall and powerfully built. As a gang member serving as a fighter, he had already stepped forward twice, swung his fist, and smashed it toward Cheng's face.
Racial discrimination piled on top of resentment toward the rich, compounded by low Charisma—he only wanted to knock out several of the yellow monkey's teeth and teach him that Gotham wasn't a place where a weakling like him could wander around freely—
Then an intense pain shot back from the finger bones and ulnar styloid of his striking fist!
A shield bearing red-and-white concentric stripes, with a blue field and a white five-pointed star at its center, appeared in Cheng Tian's hand without warning and blocked the bearded fighter's punch.
In Cheng Tian's information log, there was a notification that had appeared as soon as he entered the instance.
Detected your first entry into a "Batman"-related instance— "Game Expert" activating— You have successfully loaded the native Protagonist Template from the "Captain's Mandate" world blueprint—"Captain America/Steve Rogers."
Before you continue