Starting With Batman

Standing downstairs, Charlie watched Ivan's car disappear into the distance, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Even if infection prevention and control are matters for the Prevention and Control Department, the investigation and clearance of the source of infection can't be delayed, right? Even if you're not enthusiastic enough to stay up all night, isn't it inappropriate to get off work early without a valid reason? 

But, then again, this is also good. This way, Charlie could move about more freely.

He returned to his apartment room, turned on the computer, and started the game directly. After a short time, his screen displayed Batman's third-person perspective. He appeared in the same place he had logged off from the night before.

Charlie stretched his fingers, adjusted to a comfortable sitting position, and prepared snacks and drinks. The night was just beginning.

---

Charlie, who memorized the address given by Diego to Ivan during their "friendly conversation," entered said address on the game map and quickly located the mentioned 'gang den'.

On the surface, it was a casino—a dark Gothic building with a signboard displaying the luminous characters "Gang's Get Away." It was unclear whether the sign was simply a lack of creativity or a blatant taunt to the official authorities.

---

Batman landed on a nearby building. 

Charlie turned on Detective Vision to scan the Casino's structure.

During the drive to Charlie's apartment, Ivan said that even if someone dies, it's just an unknown life, an additional number to the death toll statistic. As long as they're not directly related, nobody really cares. Not to mention, it's difficult to hold the culprit accountable. Especially if the culprit is, say, a toothbrush.

He was wrong, well, not entirely; Charlie would be lying if he said he cared... or at least cared enough to put 'his' life at risk. But he can certainly hold the cause accountable. If it is a person, beat them up and break their limbs; if it's a vector-type object, smash it to pieces. He can do that at least, after all...

...he's Batman

---

After two days of exploration, Charlie discovered another excellent use of detective vision.

Like traditional Batman games, the detective mode marks enemies and civilians. It succinctly and clearly tells the player which enemies must be defeated, which are innocent bystanders, and which are teammates.

Even when there is no main mission, allowing Batman to roam the streets, this feature helps players quickly scan for enemies and criminals in the nearby area. Players can easily control Batman to go to any street in the city to break a few bones at any time.

In this game, this feature helps players identify which targets can be used to earn hero points when defeated and which do not.

During the experience of operating Batman last night, Charlie saw with his own eyes that someone initially marked as a civilian in detective mode changed to an enemy while trying to steal a battery.

At that time, Charlie speculated that the game system judges the identification of an enemy's identity under detective vision by the illegal acts they have committed.

Charlie remembered he had controlled Batman to patrol near this "Gang's Get Away" Casino. During that time, while passing by this location, no enemies were marked; it seemed all the people inside were recognized as law-abiding civilians.

But today, when he came to the same address and turned on the detective vision to scan the building again, the entire area was dense with enemies.

Is it because he now knows this place is a criminal lair? Does that mean enemies aren't marked by the crimes they commit but by the crimes I'm aware they have committed?

But it stands to reason that the one with this information is Charlie, so, what does it have to do with Batman?

Or... can the game probe his thoughts for relevant knowledge?

Charlie's first reaction to this idea was that it's absurd. But then he remembered that manipulating game characters to act in reality seemed just as, if not, more absurd.

After surveying the outside of the building for a while, he quickly found a suitable entrance. Batman entered the interior through an open skylight, landing silently in a circular corridor of the building.

Charlie had never been to a real casino in either of his two lifetimes. He only had a little understanding of it from limited performances in film and television dramas.

His impression of such a location is simply champagne, roulette tables, a lot of chips, gamblers who spend a lot of money and lose their minds, and ragged croupiers dealing cards...

But today, none of the above was available. The beautifully decorated hall was quiet, with no gamblers or croupiers; only a large number of men in black sunglasses with guns scattered throughout.

There were faint shouting and cursing voices from further down the hall.

Charlie observed and memorized the scattered positions of all the men in the hall and quickly planned the attack route.

Batman fell silently against the wall behind the two on the high platform. These two had the best vision, and it was difficult to avoid their observation range for attacks on other positions, so they needed to be resolved first.

Originally, Charlie had already considered what to do if he was discovered or seen by other guards, but he realized that he was thinking too much. These two men stood guard on the surface, but they were actually chatting away happily, not paying attention at all. Not to mention a sneak attack from behind; they might not even see it if someone jumped across from them.

It took only a split second to settle the two. Before that, Charlie even hid in the shadows behind and eavesdropped on their conversation with the help of detective vision's auditory enhancement.

The content of the conversation was simple. The whole gang was frightened by the weird incident, the Casino was suspended for this reason.

At the moment, the boss was discussing countermeasures in the Casino with his top lieutenants. Judging from the current situation, they either had to collectively surrender and seek official asylum or run away, hoping to escape this curse.

From their conversation, Charlie learned that the gang leaders were in the Casino. He got the information he needed and was not interested in the gang member's plans, so he controlled Batman to step forward and instantly knocked out the two.

Charlie didn't come to find fault; he simply came because he wanted to punish evil, promote good, uphold justice, and, more importantly, gain experience along with hero points.

As they were marked as enemies in detective vision, these people changed from penniless gang members to walking experience packs. While beating them one by one, the hero points in the store skyrocketed.

Thinking back, Charlie felt more and more that the gangsters who fought in the tutorial were all elites, forming a sharp contrast with the real gangsters in front of him.

Although the enemies were inexperienced, there were quite a few in the hall. The detective mode marked twenty-two enemies, all armed with guns.

Avoiding everyone's vision and killing them all was unrealistic, but he could consider taking out a few by blocking their vision as much as possible. Once the numbers diminish to a certain extent, he can finally turn off the lights and use the cover of darkness to eliminate them all in one fell swoop.

After dealing with a few more men, Charlie was about to continue along the planned route when he suddenly froze.

In the detective's vision, a new guest appeared at the gate.

A cylindrical object was thrown into the room from nowhere, rolling to the feet of the two men patrolling the hall.

A grenade.

Boom!

Dazzling flames exploded under the bewildered expressions of the men in the hall. The two closer individuals were blown away, the shrapnel from the explosion hit several men, causing them to cry out in pain.

The door was then kicked open. From the screen on the computer, Charlie clearly saw... Ivan, who had just parted with him not long ago.

He appeared in the hall with a cigar in his mouth and a sub-machine gun in his hand.

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