Chapter 5780: Chapter 4803: The Beginning of the End (Part 1)

"What? You want me to play the game designed by Doctor Manhattan?" Greed looked at Doctor Arkham in shock, "Haven’t you already played it with Hunting? Why drag me into it?"

"As a designer of the Battleworld, don’t you want to see it for yourself?" asked Arkham Batman.

"Our memories are shared, so I can just look at his memory later," Greed said, "Plus, I’m not making excuses. The new season is going online soon, I’m really busy..."

"I still think you should go in person," Arkham Batman said, "Considering that many of his game designs and skills are hand-crafted on site, there’s a great variety and a lot to learn from. If you don’t experience it yourself, you really can’t understand it thoroughly."

"Hand-crafted?!" Greed said in surprise, "You mean he starts designing skills only after players enter the game? How is that possible?"

"After all, he doesn’t have the Universe administrators’ permissions, so it’s not easy for him to access everyone’s data. He can only read the player’s abilities after they enter the game and give him permissions. Those skills can only be crafted on site."

Greed furrowed his brows slightly. Arkham Batman said, "Aren’t you looking to transition to a platform? Such an excellent game designer will definitely create many well-received works. If you don’t go in person, how can you show your sincerity?"

Greed understood well that Doctor Manhattan had his skills. If he’s daring enough to independently develop a game while dominant in the Battleworld, and it seems like it’s done pretty well, it shows he must have some unique insights.

Currently, it’s not on a large scale, possibly because he doesn’t have enough resources. If he could secure a larger investment, he would definitely produce a Multiverse-level AAA title.

You must know, even if Battleworld transitions to a platform, it still needs first-party blockbusters to lead the way. After all, others can also build platforms and sell games, but without enough first-party games to attract players, it’s impossible to compete with other platforms.

Although they can continue making games themselves, maintaining a platform is also very energy-consuming, and it might be hard to do both well. It’s still necessary to recruit excellent game producers to release first-party and exclusive games for a healthier development.

Doctor Manhattan doesn’t seem to want vicious competition, and he’s really putting effort into the game quality, otherwise, he wouldn’t have Arkham Batman so fascinated. He can definitely be recruited, and by granting him some permissions to create games while Battleworld focuses only on platform maintenance, wouldn’t it be the best of both worlds?

In a moment, Greed had an idea and said, "Okay, I can go. But you said this game needs six people to start, how many do you have now?"

"I found another Mr. President," Arkham Batman said.

Greed raised an eyebrow but quickly remembered that besides Bat President, they also have a Super President, Henry Chao from the Movie Universe, who is also doing wonderfully in his universe, and the two presidents should have a lot in common.

Of course, Injustice Superman also became president and did quite well, but Arkham Batman has nothing to say to him and is very dissatisfied with his mind-controlling Batman behavior, so he probably wouldn’t actively seek him out; it should be Man of Steel’s Henry Chao.

This means there are already three people. Greed thought for a moment and said to him, "I think there’s someone else who’s quite suitable."

"How skilled are they?" Arkham Batman asked, "If they’re too weak, it won’t do, because this time you’re all my opponents, and if they’re too weak, the game will be boring."

Greed knew that something this captivating must be player versus player competition. Arkham Batman is the type who likes to jump straight into Heavenly Ladder Ranking in games, even in single-player games, he has to set a speedrun record, which fits his game’s protagonist identity.

Greed hadn’t had a chance to look at the memory yet, so he wasn’t sure how this player versus player works, but he guessed it was three against three; since Arkham Batman came to him, each must be finding two teammates, then each leading a team in opposition.

He thought about it, and there weren’t many teammates he could bring along. Besides the agent he initially locked on, he also wanted to bring another Universe administrator from the Battleworld, so if Doctor Manhattan decides to be difficult, he’d have to think twice before making a move.

In the comics, Doctor Manhattan, apart from being somewhat inhuman, isn’t an entirely malevolent character. Meanwhile, he holds Earth and cosmos safety in high regard; sometimes, he straightens out the timeline and can barely be considered an anti-hero, not really a character to engage in petty actions.

But the fear is, not only Doctor Manhattan is behind this so-called Manhattan Playground; there are other roles as well. Even just being part of the game design, it’s easy to give them a hard time, like slightly weakening some character stats which would be annoying.

"The remaining person..." Greed pretended to ponder and then said: "I’m planning to bring along Lucifer, what do you think?"

Arkham Batman was surprised, "Lucifer?"

"Yes, he hasn’t played the games he made himself before, and he found it quite good last time. However, all Battleworld’s game stories and program designs undergo his review, so every game he plays is spoiled and no fun. Going to another’s arena, there’s no fear of spoilers."

Arkham Batman nodded, guessing that Greed was being cautious, bringing Lucifer along to prevent the opponents from playing tricks. Though Arkham Batman didn’t think Doctor Manhattan could overpower Greed, still, as mentioned, making small moves on intensity would still be annoying. With Lucifer, there’s nothing to fear, as someone like Doctor Manhattan would surely know what Lucifer is capable of, and once he arrives, the others won’t dare to act rashly.

So now there are already five people, just one more left. Arkham Batman saw that Greed had nothing more to say, so he began to ponder who the last person should be.

He really wanted to find opponents strong enough, but he also realized that Batman’s skills might focus more on solving puzzles, which wouldn’t allow for a satisfying fight. It would lower the strength on the Exorcist’s side, so in the end, they still needed to find someone who could fight.

Arkham Batman thought it over in his heart, considering the skills some of these people might have, then asked, "Do you have anyone on your side with strong sensing abilities?"

Arkham Batman felt they were lacking a person to scout the map. They had lost the last round precisely because of this. Although Scarlet Spider-Man had strong mobility and could crawl back and forth on exterior walls to scout, the risk was still too high; it was practically trading life for information. If only they had a skill like Hunting’s to see through walls and scout, that would be great.

"Isn’t Hunting coming anymore?" Greed asked.

Arkham Batman shook his head and said, "He’s already gone. It seems he doesn’t want to play anymore."

There was something else he didn’t say. Hunting had good tracking skills, but in this game, Ghost was obviously invincible. Even if you could see Ghost’s position in real-time, you couldn’t attack, making Hunting still not strong enough if he went as Exorcist.

"Then it’s Daredevil Matt," Greed said, "You’ve heard of him, right?"

"I’ve heard a bit," Arkham Batman said, "I heard he’s blind, but not only has a lawyer’s license, he can also fight crime. He must be quite impressive."

"Indeed, but what you might not know is he learned kung fu from Stick, and he’s quite skilled physically. He also has Heart Eye, an exceptional skill that enhances other senses without sight, allowing him to perceive things like a normal person."

"How strong is he?"

"The one from my cosmos is quite powerful," Greed praised without reservation, "I don’t know the exact range, but I know he can accurately hit a target at extreme distances with an anti-material sniper rifle."

Arkham Batman’s eyes immediately lit up, and he said, "Then it’s him. Let’s meet in front of the Presidential Palace. I’ll take you over."

After Arkham Batman left, Greed went to Clarkia, where Matt and his family were still on vacation.

When Greed arrived, Matt was sunbathing on the beach. In such a short time, the resort hotel had been built, and the sunniest stretch of beach in the south was crowded with sunbathers.

"I feel like I’m the errand boy sent by the boss who constantly gives James Bond trouble to invite you back to work." Greed brought a drink and placed it in front of Matt. Matt took off his sunglasses and looked up at him, although he couldn’t see. Wearing sunglasses was just to look cool.

"Then you should be saying, ’Emergency mission, James, the plane is ready.’" Matt took a sip and they both laughed.

"There’s no plane, but the teleportation portal is indeed open," Greed said, "Here’s the situation..."

Greed explained briefly, and Matt, unexpectedly interested, turned over on the lounge chair, laying sideways with his head propped up by his hand, and said, "Being teammates with that President Batman? That’s interesting. Do you think I could become his legal adviser?"

"You still have time to be his legal adviser? Have you finished your interstellar lawsuits?"

"It’s nothing, I just think he might need me to help replace the stars on the Stars and Stripes with bats," Matt said joyfully, "I am confident that within two assemblies and three drafts, I can finalize this plan. How much do you think I should ask for?"

Greed was somewhat helpless; Matt was really going further in the litigator profession. But it wasn’t easy to say whether Arkham Batman had any intention. However, things weren’t that simple; otherwise, Two-Face Harvey Dent would also help him.

"Dad, Dad!" Little Jack ran over across the sand, pulling Matt to see the sandcastle he built. Erica soon came over, greeted Greed, and took Little Jack to play elsewhere.

Matt stretched lazily, sat up from the lounge chair, and said, "I’ll go change clothes, then let’s go to meet my future client."

In terms of human interactions, Matt was impeccable, otherwise, he wouldn’t have smoothly graduated from law school as a blind person and managed to get cases. Being a lawyer is all about people and connections, and in America, it’s even more so. In any other field, you could have reclusive social misfits excelling, but not in law. Anyone practicing law in America and succeeding is a master of eloquence with a flair for diplomacy.

In a suit and tie, Matt warmly stepped forward to shake hands with Arkham Batman, and said, "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. President. I’ve been busy with interstellar court cases for members of the interstellar council, but I’ve also heard about your brilliant achievements in the Americas. You have to know, even in the Central Universe, the Federal Government is a mess. Anyone who can manage them deserves the utmost respect."

As they say, no compliment is unworthy. Arkham Batman wasn’t the type who was easily flattered, but Matt’s compliment hit the mark. The Central Universe was famous in both Great Worlds, everyone knew how rapidly and well they developed. But even so, their Federation was barely human-shaped, barely acceptable, with most of its function spreading dross in the Interstellar Society rather than serving any positive role.

But Arkham Batman truly transformed this country, setting it on the right path, which was indeed a miracle. Being further along in the universe made it even clearer how difficult it really was to reform and save such a nation.

Arkham Batman indeed warmed up a bit more: "I’ve heard of you too, Lawyer Murdoch. I heard you are undefeated in the Interstellar Court. Let’s meet at my residence another day. I’d love to hear your insights."