I Just Like Blowing Bubbles into Cola

As the absolute protagonist of the current E+ difficulty instance, if Batman were placed in the same position as the enemy faction, Cheng Tian guessed he should at least be a Champion Template. And as a human, he should be someone with extremely strong overall strength, with all four dimensions far exceeding ordinary people, but each individual attribute wouldn't be too outrageous.

Unlike Cheng Tian, who was somewhat developing into a humanoid behemoth with a specialization in strength.

Cheng initially thought that a charge from him would send Batman flying, buying him time to escape. He didn't expect Wayne Enterprises' weapons division to be so impressive, reverse-engineering the Electrocutioner's equipment to create a device that could temporarily and significantly boost Batman's strength. Originally just surpassing ordinary people, he was now almost a teenage behemoth.

The strength of the two sides was evenly matched, so it triggered Phase Shift instead of being knocked away.

This, in turn, accelerated Cheng Tian's escape plan.

Cheng Tian passing through him also severely impacted Batman's values, which hadn't yet been tainted by superpowered heroes like Superman, Flash, and Wonder Woman.

After all, even the most outrageous gang leaders currently entrenched in Gotham were still within the realm of what science and technology could reasonably explain, but Cheng Tian's Martian Manhunter act completely exceeded the comprehension of this 89-movie version of Batman.

Although his mind was confused, his movements remained agile. Almost as a muscle reflex, after Cheng Tian passed through him, Batman backhanded a Batarang attached to a steel cable.

Unfortunately, the Batarang wrapped around Cheng Tian's ankle as he climbed the steps, failing to bind to any solid form.

It could only be said that if Batman had reacted just a little slower, he could have dragged out the 3-second duration of Phase Shift.

And Cheng Tian had already arrived in the secluded alley and immediately sprinted towards the more crowded and brightly lit main street.

Batman naturally chose to pursue immediately.

However, as he emerged from the stairwell, his years of training and combat instincts immediately prompted him to roll to the side.

The spot where he had been standing was instantly pierced by a completely emerald green arrow.

Delayed by this arrow, Cheng Tian had already darted out of reach, a distance that could actually be closed with a quick grapple from Batman. However, the appearance of this emerald green arrow made Batman decisively choose to retreat back into the bar's stairwell.

"So, they're working together..."

Batman's sharp gaze scanned every possible hiding spot in the high-rise crevices, but the shooter had vanished after firing the arrow.

He made this judgment because, according to Batman's intelligence, several identical emerald green arrows had been found near the Moth Hole in Gotham's eastern old industrial district.

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

Unaware that he had been "helped," Cheng Tian had arrived on a street still bustling with pedestrians. He had also deactivated the Captain America shield using the template's properties, but he clearly felt that he was attracting even more attention. Many pedestrians were secretly pointing at him and trying to move away from him without being noticed.

Cheng Tian was a little puzzled at first, but when he looked down at his newly changed clothes, he understood.

It seemed that the Moth Gang's uniform was widely recognized and, very unpopular.

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

However, Cheng Tian had thick skin. After confirming that Batman hadn't followed for unknown reasons, he decisively pulled out a map to check the gathering places of the other gang members, preparing to try to get his hands on the files of a few more minions.

Just then, a stranger's hand suddenly landed on Cheng Tian's shoulder, startling him so much that he jumped high into the air. After landing and turning around, Cheng finally saw the person's appearance.

It was someone dressed like Robin Hood in the movies, wearing a hat and covering half of their face with a scarf. Their features were so delicate that it was difficult to tell whether they were male or female.

Faced with Cheng Tian's "startled reaction," the person remained calm and asked directly.

"Friend, are you a Shield Guardian class?"

Gotham City's main district, Burger King.

Cheng Tian's mouth was wide open, biting off nearly a third of the triple-cheese beef burger, while the archer player "Erin" sitting across from Cheng Tian was sucking on a straw, blowing bubbles into a cup filled with Coca-Cola.

A whole table full of burgers, chicken nuggets, and large fries, all ordered for Cheng, and the one treating was naturally this beautiful player who had taken the initiative to strike up a conversation.

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

Players in combat would maintain an output equivalent to their panel stats for as long as possible, but the cost was a significant consumption of body energy. In other words, they would get hungry very quickly.

And these burgers and chicken nuggets were Cheng's fuel. Only when he was full could he have more energy to face the upcoming battles.

"Worthy of being a Shield Guardian class, you can really eat."

Erin watched Cheng Tian stuff one high-energy junk food after another into his mouth, and couldn't help but sigh sincerely.

"Is Shield Guardian your exclusive term for melee players with shields?"

After stuffing the third burger and the milk he had bribed someone to buy for him into his stomach, Cheng Tian tentatively asked.

"Huh? Are you a new player?"

Noticing the information conveyed in Cheng Tian's question, Erin raised her beautiful eyebrows and stared directly into Cheng Tian's eyes with a look of surprise.

"Yes."

"What trial is this for you?"

"If the newbie trial counts, once."

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

Hearing Cheng Tian's answer, Erin suddenly stood up from her seat. The scraping of the table and the movement of the chair legs, combined with her uncontrollable volume, instantly attracted the attention of almost everyone in the hall, making her even more conspicuous.

Noticing the gazes around her, Erin visibly flushed for a moment before obediently sitting down, pulling down the brim of her hat, and leaning her head towards Cheng Tian to ask 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 without changing his expression, and then saw the woman in front of him looking over with a very tangled and awkward expression, but one that clearly couldn't suppress the range of her facial features.

"...Um, it's not that I'm trying to pry into your secrets, I'm just curious which blueprint your newbie trial was."

Erin, perhaps realizing the question was a bit intrusive, quickly added an explanation.

"It's totally fine if you don't want to say! I really don't mean any harm!"

"Demon Village," Cheng Tian said.

"...Huh?" Erin was stunned.

"De~mon~ Vil~lage~" Cheng repeated, enunciating each syllable.

This time, Erin, certain she hadn't misheard, plopped back onto her stool, adopting a Ge You slouch, her eyes slightly glazed over.