Marvel: The Sole Player

As everyone knows, Gotham is a place of outstanding people and simple folk customs.

It rains on cloudy days year-round, and the air humidity is comparable to the dampest spring days, making it very unfriendly to patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Despite the city’s highly developed industrial economy, it has a severe wealth gap, which has bred many criminals. The citizens live in dire straits; they can be robbed several times just on the way to the supermarket.

Being robbed is considered lucky; if you encounter some psychopathic criminals, you’re in for a World of suffering.

However, Darian has only one deep impression of this city.

That is a certain bat weirdo who has so much money it burns and speaks like he has phlegm stuck in his throat.

Batman, Batman!

Combined with the familiar name Gordon, he can basically be certain that this is that Gotham.

But here’s the problem: isn’t Gotham a fictional city in DC Comics?

Darian was a bit dazed.

He had flipped through quite a few DC Comics recently, and there were still a dozen sets of unread comic books in his game warehouse.

But he was clearly playing a Marvel game, so how did he turn around and end up in DC territory?

Is this reasonable?

Darian suspected that this might be like those previous dungeons, just a feint.

So he quietly poked his head out and scanned the direction of the Police.

Quickly, a middle-aged man with glasses and a mustache entered his sight.

[NPC: James Gordon]

[Favorability: 50]

[Evaluation: Gotham’s King of One-on-One, Captain Gotham, Batman’s partner, legendary detective, Director of the Gotham City Police Department]

Alright, this time it’s definitely DC.

Darian withdrew his gaze and directly called the game system: "System, where the hell did you put me? Are you sure this is the Marvel Universe?"

[Yes]

Darian’s mouth twitched: "Gotham, Batman, Gordon—no matter how you look at these elements, it’s DC, right?"

[Marvel Company has engaged in crossover collaborations with many companies, including DC. Therefore, based on this setting, the game has specially generated a batch of Easter egg servers.]

[This server is still classified under the Marvel Universe system by setting, which is within a reasonable range and does not involve any copyright disputes.]

[There are many similar Easter egg servers; players are encouraged to explore them on their own during gameplay.]

Darian remembered that Wade had indeed mentioned that Marvel and DC often do crossovers.

In the comics, the Avengers and the Justice League even had a fight.

Wade also said back then that there were many teleportation channels between the two Worlds, allowing travel back and forth. If it weren’t for copyright barriers, he would have slipped into DC long ago to kick that Joker’s ass and cling to the leg of Batman, the ’Daddy of DC,’ to leech some traffic.

"How many things did you guys stitch into this game?"

Darian complained but didn’t dwell on it further.

He was just a gamer; he didn’t care about the background setting; clearing the game was the priority.

Anyway, the core of the dungeon is to complete tasks and get rewards. Whether the task is done in Marvel or DC doesn’t make much difference to him.

And to be honest, this actually made the game more playable.

The DC Universe is a World that is completely on par with the Marvel Universe.

Superheroes and supervillains are just as common, and all sorts of strange technologies and resources are everywhere. There’s so much content to explore.

If nothing else, Gotham City alone has many things Darian is interested in.

Darian immediately made up his mind to place a teleportation anchor here; he couldn’t let such a promising server go to waste.

Anyway, he had already saved up eleven Anchor Shard and only needed nine more to synthesize a complete anchor. It shouldn’t be hard to grind a few tasks in this dungeon to collect them.

But before that, he had to figure out the details of this server.

What if this wasn’t the DC Universe he was familiar with, but some obscure parallel World like the dungeons he had experienced before?

"Darian! What the hell are you dazing off for? Help me take out those cops!"

The bald thug’s loud voice reached Darian’s ears.

"Okay, okay."

Darian agreed repeatedly, shrinking behind a car. Without even looking, he raised his Golden Desert Eagle and pulled the trigger randomly, the bullets flying who-knows-where, leaving everything to fate.

Before figuring out the situation, it was better not to rush into picking a side.

The thugs’ firepower was very fierce, and the Officers on Gordon’s side were pinned down.

But the Police side was clearly not unprepared to make the arrest.

Darian noticed new Police cars converging at the intersection. The Officers getting out were fully armed and moved efficiently, clearly a crack force that had been called in.

Once the reinforcements arrived, the Police firepower immediately pushed back.

In less than a minute, four or five people on the thugs’ side fell, and the rest began to panic.

The bald thug quickly ducked back behind the car, turned to look at Darian, and shouted in a low voice: "You hold them off while I go back to get reinforcements!"

Translated, this meant: You stay here as cannon fodder, I’m slipping away first.

Darian saw through the bald man’s thoughts at a glance and said, "I run fast, how about I go get reinforcements?"

The bald thug glared, revealing a fierce look: "Am I the boss or are you the boss? This is an order!"

"Alright."

Darian narrowed his eyes and slapped a ball of magic onto the other’s forehead, his expression dead serious: "Boss, go in peace. Just leave this place to me."

"That’s more like it! When I get back, I won’t treat you poorly!"

The bald robber grinned, patted Darian’s shoulder, and immediately turned to run.

But the moment he turned around, that bald head suddenly emitted a burst of strong light, like a high-power light bulb, suddenly lighting up in the dark gunfight scene and illuminating the surrounding streets.

The Officers present all squinted their eyes from the glare.

Who the hell turned on the high beams?

The bald thug instantly became the most eye-catching guy on the scene. That glowing head was exceptionally conspicuous in the darkness; the Officers couldn’t help but notice it.

Too arrogant! He simply didn’t respect the Police at all!

"A criminal is escaping!"

"Chase him!"

"Don’t let him get away!"

The bald robber looked back and saw a dozen Officers chasing after him like they were crazy. He was dumbfounded.

Wait, why are they all coming for me?

"As expected of the boss, using himself to lure the enemy. This level of awareness is something everyone should learn from."

Darian watched as the bald robber successfully drew the attention of most of the Officers. He was quite moved in his heart, then he put away the Golden Desert Eagle and retreated while crouching low.

The alley entrance was just ahead, less than ten meters away.

Just then, a figure suddenly blocked his path. It was Gordon.

This guy had somehow circled around from the flank, holding a pistol, his gaze locked firmly on Darian.

Darian’s footsteps paused.

Wait, are you Gordon or Batman? How are you so elusive?

Darian hadn’t forgotten that his current identity was a thug, and he was prepared to strike first and take down this Officer Gordon.

"Darian, you did well!"

Gordon suddenly spoke, holstering his pistol and stepping forward, his tone full of praise: "Fortunately, you secretly provided accurate intelligence, so we could intercept this transaction of the Penguin Gang. You’ve worked hard."

Darian: "..."

So it turns out I’m a double agent.

Darian coughed and immediately straightened his back: "It’s what I should do."

Gordon nodded with satisfaction: "When you first applied to transfer from Metropolis to the Gotham City Police Department, I felt you were someone special. Today, it seems I indeed didn’t misjudge you."

Aside from Gordon, any Officer in the Gotham City Police Department with even a bit of connection would be scrambling to transfer out.

Darian, on the other hand, chose not to stay in the safe place of Metropolis and actively jumped into the fiery pit of Gotham.

Is this something an ordinary person would do?

Gordon continued: "In less than half a year, you were able to infiltrate the inner circle of the Penguin Gang by yourself and provide us with so much useful intelligence. I’ve recorded all these merits in your file; none of the rewards you deserve will be missing."

"However, the Penguin Gang has likely started to become suspicious. It’s too risky for you to stay any longer. For your safety, I’ve decided to terminate your undercover mission and officially restore your status as an Officer. Report back to the department tomorrow."

An undercover cop—so that was his identity in this dungeon.

Darian felt secretly relieved.

Fortunately, he hadn’t acted rashly; otherwise, if he had unleashed his power only to find that all the names were green markers representing teammates, it would have been awkward.

"Understood, Officer."

Darian quickly entered his role and responded.

The subsequent cleanup work went without a hitch.

Within the Police cordons, the Penguin Gang’s group quickly couldn’t hold out.

Gotham Officers were more fierce than those in other regions; basically, every one of them was at the level of a sharpshooter. After all, those with less ability had long been eliminated and turned into black-and-white photos.

The Penguin Gang members were either dead or maimed. The rest couldn’t withstand the pressure, threw down their guns, and squatted with their hands behind their heads, their movements so practiced it was as if they had rehearsed countless times.

The Officers handcuffed them one by one and stuffed them into the back of the Police cars; the whole process took less than a few minutes.

This was the efficiency of the Gotham City Police Department.

After handling the scene, Gordon walked over and instructed: "I’m heading back to the department first. Go back and rest well tonight, get your spirits up, and report to the department tomorrow."

Darian nodded: "Understood."

After Gordon gave a few more instructions, he turned and got into the Police car.

The convoy started up one after another, their taillights pulling a string of red light through the dark street before disappearing around the corner.

Darian didn’t stay in place for long.

He strolled around the streets of Gotham, looking around, and finally ducked into a pitch-black alley.

No one.

Not giving up, he ducked into another alley.

Still no one.

It wasn’t until he ducked into the fifth alley that, after a while, Darian walked out satisfied, with a stack of cash in his hand. Several figures lay scattered haphazardly in the alley.

"This is Gotham’s level? The mob spawn rate and drop rate are far worse than New York’s."

Almost all works involving Gotham emphasize how dangerous the city is and how high the crime rate is.

But after actually taking a walk, it felt just like that.

Compared to New York’s terrifying crime rate, Gotham could at most be considered a ’Little New York’.

With the selfless assistance of several enthusiastic passers-by, Darian successfully obtained the startup funds for this dungeon World and picked up quite a bit of useful information along the way.

Although this was the DC Universe, in this timeline, not many Superheroes had truly emerged.

Famous DC Superheroes like Superman, The Flash, and Aquaman were completely unheard of.

Darian estimated that either this was a parallel World or these Superheroes hadn’t debuted yet and were all huddling in their starter villages to level up.

On the contrary, Batman had debuted in Gotham many years ago.

He was already the top influencer in this city, with a large group of fanatical fans whose mental states were... very ’energetic’. The head of the fan club was from a circus and spent every day in a love-hate relationship with Batman.

Darian thought to himself: "I’ll look for that bat weirdo another day; maybe the dungeon mission is on him."

He counted the cash in his hand, then found a grand-looking luxury hotel. He used the money he just got to open a room, took a hot bath, and lay directly on the bed.

The dungeon mission hadn’t popped up yet, but he wasn’t in a hurry.

According to the game system’s usual routine, the mission trigger was likely tied to the plot progress. When the time came, things would naturally happen.

The next day, Darian reported to the Gotham City Police Department on time.

Under the guidance of an Officer, he came to the door of the Director’s office and knocked.

"Come in."

Darian pushed open the door to find Gordon sitting at his desk, processing documents.

Seeing Darian, Gordon put down the documents in his hand and smiled: "You’re here, Darian. How did you rest last night?"

"Not bad."

"That’s good."

Gordon stood up and patted Darian’s shoulder, his attitude very friendly: "From now on, you are no longer an undercover; you are a formal member of the Gotham City Police Department. I welcome your return on behalf of the department."

As he spoke, his expression became serious: "However, as the Director, there are two rules I must remind you of. Please keep them firmly in mind."

"First, our department strictly forbids accepting bribes, especially from gang members. Once you start, you will fall into a place of no return, and the department will no longer have a place for you."

"Second, being a cop in Gotham, the most important thing is to know how to adapt. This city is different from other places; rules and regulations sometimes can’t save you and might even put you in danger."

"Under the premise of not violating major principles, save your own life first, then think about how to solve the problem."

These words of Gordon’s were heartfelt and were also the laws of survival in the city of Gotham.

Darian heard the sincerity in Gordon’s voice and nodded heavily: "I’ve remembered it. I will definitely adapt to the situation."

Gordon glanced at him, seemingly satisfied with this attitude.

He pulled open a drawer, took out a document, and handed it over: "This is your badge and service weapon requisition form. Go to the equipment room and pick up the standard gear first. If you have your own money and want to buy other guns, I won’t stop you, but I suggest you don’t choose anything too flashy; focus on practicality."

"Also, although you’ve been in Gotham for a while, you haven’t spent much time truly being part of our Gotham City Police Department. I’ll arrange for a veteran Officer to take you under his wing and help you get familiar with the environment and daily operations."

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