nucmednet Chapter 1 First Steps into Gotham
Chapter 1 First Steps into Gotham
The cold rain hit my face, piercing my skin like fine needles.
When Li Wei opened his eyes, he found himself lying on his back in a puddle of sewage.
A mixture of engine oil, rust, and some indescribable putrid smell assaulted his nostrils, making him feel nauseous.
He sat up, feeling a splitting headache.
Although I had mentally prepared myself, starting the game in a puddle of sewage was, to say the least, a terrible start.
Welcome to Gotham City! Players are free to explore this instance.
[Note: Players will be immediately logged out of the game upon death, and all rewards earned will be forfeited.]
Looking at the game prompts, Li Wei couldn't help but marvel at how...simple and efficient the game introduction was.
Yesterday he transmigrated to a world called Blue Star, and today he entered Blue Star's top-tier game.
Unlike the world he came from, Blue Star's technology is more advanced, especially in the field of virtual reality.
For this reason, three years ago, Bluestar launched an immersive virtual reality game called "Second World".
With its 100% realistic experience and various novel dungeons, this game became an instant hit on Earth upon its release.
After three years of closed beta testing, the game has finally officially launched today.
Driven by curiosity, Li Wei immediately entered the game.
Once inside the game, Li Wei discovered that "Second World" was a multi-level virtual game.
However, players cannot choose which dungeon they want to enter; they can only be randomly selected by the system.
Fortunately, Li Wei was lucky and drew Batman on his first try.
Before entering the instance, he had imagined many different identities, but to his surprise, he seemed to be a weakling.
Smelling the chaotic smells in the air, thinking about the safety situation in Gotham, and feeling his somewhat weak body, Li Wei didn't feel so happy anymore.
After all, dying in a game means everything is wiped clean, and Gotham is notoriously unfriendly to ordinary people.
Of course, Gotham isn't friendly to the wealthy either, otherwise Bruce wouldn't have become an orphan.
Thinking about it that way, it doesn't seem so unacceptable.
Rain dripped down his forehead, and Li Wei looked around.
He was now in a narrow back alley, with a rusty fire escape ladder in front of him that looked like it could fall at any moment, and the words "Ace Chemicals" flashing on a neon sign in the distance.
A classic scene, authentic Gotham style—Lee quickly made his judgment.
Looking down at his reflection in the puddle, Li Wei couldn't help but marvel at the technology of Earth.
Although he knew he was playing a game, the graphics and the quality made him feel like he had entered another world.
A handsome young Asian man was reflected in the sewage, and it looked exactly like him.
He wore a cheap black jacket on top and a pair of washed denim jeans on the bottom.
A pair of fairly sturdy work boots were now stepping into somewhat blackened sewage.
"Levy Chen, Visiting Scholar at Gotham University."
Looking at the ID card he pulled out of his pocket, Li Wei understood immediately; it seemed this was the identity the system had assigned him.
The reputation system is now activated.
Current Reputation: 0
Reputation points affect mission evaluation, reward quality, and the attitudes of world figures.
[Improvement Method: Participate in key events, change the course of the plot, and gain the approval of key figures]
Seeing the reputation system suddenly activated, Li Wei was not surprised at all, and instead quickly grasped the key point.
"Key Events"
Li Wei muttered to himself as he began to recall the plot of the Batman trilogy.
However, he couldn't understand why he was able to gain the upper hand, given that many people had seen Batman.
Unable to figure it out, Li Wei simply stopped thinking about it and decided to see what others thought first.
He didn't get a beta test qualification, and this is his first time entering the game. However, there are many players in this game, and there should be veteran players in this dungeon.
With that in mind, Li Wei opened the chat window, hoping to see if anyone could share some useful information.
As soon as Li Wei opened the chat channel, he saw a player with the ID "Building Materials King" giving a long explanation:
"Haha, I didn't expect to be so lucky. I encountered the dungeon from the closed beta right away."
Friends, please note that Gotham City is dangerous; calling it the crime capital is no exaggeration.
Everyone must be careful not to reveal their player identity, even when facing other players.
As for the reason, I won't go into details; you'll understand in time.
However, I've discovered that doing good deeds increases reputation, so I hope everyone will do more good deeds in Gotham. Changing Gotham depends on us!
As soon as Brother Wang from the building materials department finished speaking, someone immediately raised an objection:
"I also played this dungeon during the closed beta. I partially agree with what Brother Wang said; everyone really needs to keep their identities a secret."
However, I don't agree with what Brother Wang said about doing good deeds to gain reputation. Gotham is the city of sin, and this is just a game, so everyone shouldn't feel guilty. If you ask me, you should join a gang.
It sounds bad to bully men and women, but it's a quick way to gain reputation. During the closed beta, I became a minor leader and my reputation was close to 50 points.
As long as they don't get caught by Batman, everyone can keep grinding reputation.
"What good or bad, brothers? If you ask me, you're thinking wrong."
In my opinion, reputation is influence. Look at Wayne Enterprises, the most powerful company in Gotham, that's real influence.
In my opinion, the best path is to become a senior executive in a company or work in a relevant government department.
"..."
Looking at the speculations of various players in the chat channel, Li Wei felt a little confused.
The people in the channel spoke with such an air of entitlement that it seemed like they had never even seen "Batman."
Li Wei thinks it's normal for one or two people not to have seen it.
But what if no one has seen it...? A very bold idea popped into Li Wei's mind:
There is no Batman on Earth, and there may not even be a single American comic book.
After all, in his memory, there seemed to be only one country on Earth, the Dragon Kingdom, and no country like America.
This discovery made Livy's heart skip a beat.
If that's really the case, then his familiarity with and understanding of the plot is his greatest asset in this world.
Li Wei turned off the chat channel and pulled himself out of his thoughts.
The most urgent task is to determine the current timeline.
Only by knowing which stage the plot has reached can he determine his next course of action based on the plot's progression.
The sharp sound of a police siren came from afar, interrupting Li Wei's thoughts.
Two police cars, their red and blue lights flashing, turned into the alley, and Li Wei instinctively ducked into the shadows.
But to his surprise, the police car braked suddenly and came to a smooth stop beside him.
Even because the brakes were applied too hard, the air was filled with the unpleasant smell of rubber produced by the intense friction of the tires.
"You! Stay right there!"
The car window rolled down, and a middle-aged detective with a stubble beard leaned out and shouted at Li Wei.
Li Wei squatted down against the wall and slowly raised his hands—a standard, harmless posture.
In Gotham, if you don't have exceptional skills, going against the police is not a good choice.
"What are you doing in the chemical industrial zone so late? And what's your identification?"
The detective opened the door and got out of the car, his right hand cautiously resting on his holster, looking ready to give Li Wei a taste of American Iaijutsu at the slightest provocation.
Li Wei looked up at the detective, exchanged glances to get his consent, and then took out his passport from his pocket and handed it over.
The detective swept his flashlight over the passport in Li Wei's hand, and his brow furrowed involuntarily.
"Visiting scholar? Here?"
"I'm lost." Li Wei remained calm, but his tone was somewhat helpless. "I just got off the plane, and the taxi driver dropped me off here and drove off."
This is a fairly reasonable explanation; after all, the quality of Gotham taxi drivers is something that those who know, know.
The detective stared at him for a full five seconds before pulling out his walkie-talkie.
"Dispatch desk, I have an Asian male here who claims to be a visiting scholar at Gotham University... his name?"
The detective squinted and looked closely before continuing, "Li Wei Chen."
A few muffled responses came through the walkie-talkie, but Li Wei couldn't hear them clearly.
A few seconds later, the detective put away his walkie-talkie and said to his colleague beside him:
"Chief Gordon said to take him back. The Joker was just arrested, and it's a bit suspicious that this guy is here."
Li Wei was stunned when he heard the detective's words.
The moment the names Gordon and Joker popped into Levi's head, his heart skipped a beat.