civilwarnovels Chapter 4764 The Next Stage Begins (Part 1)
Chapter 4764 The Next Stage Begins (Part 1)
Chapter 4764 The Next Stage Begins (Part 1)
"What? You want me to play a game designed by Dr. Manhattan?" Greed looked at Arkham Batman in shock. "Didn't you already play it with the Hunt? Why do you have to drag me along?"
"As the designer of the Battlegrounds, don't you want to see it for yourself?" Arkham Batman asked.
“Our memories are shared, so I can just look at his memories,” Greed said. “Besides, I’m not making excuses. The new season is launching soon, and I’m really busy…”
“I still think you should go there in person,” Arkham Batman said. “Considering that many of his game designs and skills are hand-crafted on the spot, they are very varied and there are many things you can learn from them. You really can’t understand them clearly unless you go there in person.”
"Hand-crafted?!" Greed said in surprise. "You mean, he only started designing skills after the players entered the game? How is that possible?"
"After all, he doesn't have the authority of a universe administrator, so it's impossible for him to obtain everyone's information so easily. Only when a player enters the game and grants him access can he read their abilities, and those skills could only be created on the spot."
Greed frowned slightly. Arkham Batman said, "Aren't you guys trying to transform into a platform? With such excellent game designers, you're bound to create many critically acclaimed works. How can you show your sincerity if you don't go there yourself?"
Greed knows perfectly well that Dr. Manhattan is quite capable. The fact that he dared to independently develop a game despite his dominance in the fighting world, and that it seems to be doing quite well, means he must have something unique about it.
The current scale of his work is probably small simply because he doesn't have enough resources. If he could attract larger investments, he would definitely be able to create a AAA masterpiece set in a multiverse.
It's important to understand that even if DouJie transforms into a platform, it will still need first-party AAA titles to support it. After all, others can also build platforms and sell games, but without a sufficient number of first-party games to attract players, it won't be able to compete with other platforms.
While they could continue making games themselves, maintaining the platform is also very time-consuming, and it's probably impossible to have both. It's better to attract top-tier game developers to produce first-party and exclusive games; this would be a healthier approach to development.
This Dr. Manhattan doesn't seem to be trying to engage in cutthroat competition; he's genuinely put effort into the game's quality. Otherwise, Arkham Batman wouldn't be so addicted. He could easily be recruited. Give him some authority to develop the game, while DouJie only handles platform maintenance—wouldn't that be a win-win situation?
In a flash, Greed had an idea. He said, "Okay, I can go. But you said this game needs six people to start. How many people are there now?"
“I found another president,” Arkham Batman said.
Greed raised an eyebrow, but he quickly remembered that besides President Bat, they also had a super president, namely Henry Cavill from the cinematic universe, who was also doing very well in his own universe. The two presidents should have a lot in common.
Of course, Injustice Superman also became president, and did a decent job, but Arkham Batman has nothing to say to him and is extremely dissatisfied with his mind-controlling behavior towards Batman, so he probably won't take the initiative to find him. That should be Henley, the Man of Steel.
That makes three people. Greed thought for a moment and said to him, "I think there's one more person who would be suitable."
"How's your skill level?" Batman Arkham asked. "You can't be too weak, because you're my opponents this time. If you're too weak, the game won't be fun."
Greed, it's clear, is what drives him so obsessed—player versus player combat. Arkham Batman is the kind of player who loves to jump straight into ranked matches, even in single-player games, aiming for speedrun records. But that's certainly in line with his role as the game's protagonist.
Greed hadn't had time to look at his memories, so he didn't know how the player-versus-player combat was supposed to work, but he assumed it was three against three. Since Arkham Batman had come looking for him, he must have found two teammates, and then each of them would lead a team to fight against him.
He thought about it and realized he didn't have many teammates he could bring. Besides the agents he had initially targeted, he also wanted to bring an administrator from the Fighting Realm. That way, if Dr. Manhattan decided to make things difficult for him, he would be hesitant and wouldn't dare to act rashly.
In the comics, Dr. Manhattan, aside from being somewhat inhuman, isn't exactly a completely evil character. He values the safety of Earth and the universe, and sometimes he corrects the timeline, making him a sort of anti-hero, though not one who resorts to underhanded tactics.
But the real fear is that Dr. Manhattan wasn't the only one behind this so-called Manhattan amusement park; there are other players involved. Even if they were just involved in the game design, it would be easy to give them a hard time, even just slightly weakening some character stats would be disgusting enough.
"The last one..." Greed pretended to hesitate, then said, "I'm thinking of bringing Lucifer along. What do you think?"
Arkham Batman was startled and said, "Lucifer?"
"Yes, he hadn't played any of the games he made before, but he played one last time and thought it was pretty good. However, he reviews the plot and programming of all the games in Doujie, so he gets spoiled in every game he plays, which isn't very interesting. If he plays a game from another company, he won't have to worry about spoilers."
Arkham Batman nodded. He guessed that Greed was probably hesitant and had brought Lucifer along to prevent any underhanded tactics. Although Arkham Batman didn't think Doctor Manhattan could defeat Greed, he still thought that even minor mishaps in terms of strength were quite annoying. With Lucifer on board, there was nothing to fear. A character like Doctor Manhattan would definitely know Lucifer's capabilities, and with him there, no one else would dare to act rashly.
So now there are five people, just one more to go. Seeing that Greed wasn't going to continue, Arkham Batman began to consider who the last person should be.
He genuinely wanted to find a worthy opponent, but he also realized that Batman's skills were likely focused on puzzle-solving, lacking the satisfying combat experience and potentially lowering the strength of the Exorcists' side. In the end, he still needed to find someone capable of fighting.
Arkham Batman mentally reviewed the skills these individuals might possess, then asked, "Are there any people in your world with strong sensory abilities?"
Batman from Arkham felt the opposing team lacked a scout. They lost their last game precisely because of this. While Scarlet Spider was highly mobile and could climb back and forth along the outer walls to scout, the risk was still too high—it was practically trading life for intelligence. If only he had wall-penetrating abilities like the Hunter.
"Has the hunt failed?" Greed asked.
Arkham Batman shook his head and said, "He's gone. Looks like he's done playing."
He didn't say the other thing. The Hunter's tracking skills are pretty good, but in this game, ghosts are obviously invincible. Even if you can see the ghost's location in real time, you can't attack it. So, he's not strong enough to be an exorcist.
“That’s Daredevil Matt,” Greed said. “You should have heard of him, right?”
“I’ve heard about him,” said Arkham Batman. “I heard he’s blind, but he’s a lawyer and a crime fighter. He must be a very capable person.”
"Indeed, but you may not know that he learned kung fu from the old man with the stick, and he is quite skilled. He also has the Mind's Eye, a unique skill that enhances other sensory abilities even when blind, allowing him to perceive objects like a normal person."
"How's the intensity?"
“My universe is amazing,” Greed praised without reservation. “I don’t know exactly how far it is, but I do know that he can use an anti-materiel sniper rifle to accurately hit targets at the extreme distance.”
Batman Arkham's eyes lit up immediately. He said, "Let's go with him. We'll meet at the Presidential Palace, and I'll take you there."
After Arkham Batman left, Greed went to Clarkia, where Matt and his family of three were still on vacation.
When the greed passed by, Matt was sunbathing on the beach. In such a short time, the resort hotel had been built, and the sunniest stretch of beach on the south side was full of sunbathing tourists.
"I feel like I'm some kind of errand boy sent by that boss who's always causing trouble for 007 to ask you to come out of retirement." Greedy picked up a drink and placed it in front of Matt. Matt took off his sunglasses and looked up at him, though of course Matt couldn't see him; he only wore sunglasses to look cool.
“Then you should say, ‘Emergency mission, James, the plane is ready.’” Matt took a sip of his drink, and the two of them laughed together.
“There’s no plane, but the portal has definitely opened,” Greed said. “Here’s what happened…”
Greed gave a brief explanation, and to his surprise, Matt was quite interested. He rolled over in the recliner, lay on his side, propped his head up with his hand, and said, "Me, teaming up with that president, Batman? That's interesting. Do you think I could become his legal counsel?"
"You still have time to be his legal counsel? Have you finished all your interstellar lawsuits?"
“It’s nothing, I just think he might need my help to change the stars on the Stars and Stripes to bats,” Matt said happily. “I’m confident I can finalize the plan within two conventions and three drafts. How much do you think I should ask for?”
Greed is somewhat frustrating; Matt is really going further and further down the path of being a lawyer. But it's hard to say whether Arkham Batman is interested. However, this matter is definitely not that simple, otherwise, Two-Face Harvey Dent would also help him.
"Daddy, Daddy!" Little Jack came running over, scrambling across the sand, wanting to pull Matt to see the sandcastle he'd built. Erica quickly came over, greeted Greed, and then took Little Jack to play elsewhere.
Matt stretched, sat up from the recliner, and said, "I'm going back to change my clothes. Let's go meet my future client."
Matt is impeccable in his social skills; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to graduate from law school despite being blind and still get cases. Lawyers thrive on connections and networks, especially in the US. While other professions might have socially awkward, reclusive geniuses, lawyers are a different story. Those who can become successful lawyers in the US are all eloquent and persuasive masters of diplomacy.
Matt, dressed in a suit, stepped forward warmly and shook hands with Arkham Batman, saying, "I've heard so much about you, Mr. President. I've been busy with a case commissioned by a member of the Interstellar Council, but I've also heard about your remarkable achievements in the Americas. You know, even in the Central Universe, the Federal Government is a mess, and anyone who can clean it up deserves the utmost respect."
As the saying goes, flattery will get you everywhere. Arkham Batman isn't the type to be easily flattered, but Matt's compliment certainly hit the mark. The Central Universe is renowned in both worlds; everyone knows how rapidly and successfully it has developed. But even so, their federal government is only in its nascent stages, barely passable, and its main function is spreading negativity throughout interstellar society, rather than playing a positive role.
But Batman in Arkham truly transformed the country, putting it on the right path, which is indeed a miracle. It's precisely because I've traveled further into the universe that I can better understand just how difficult it is to transform and save a nation like this.
Batman Arkham indeed became more enthusiastic: "I've heard of you too, Attorney Murdoch. I've heard you're invincible in the Interplanetary Court. Let's meet at your home sometime, and I'd like to hear your insights."