Tim landed on the top floor of the tallest building at Gotham University in Burnley, having jumped from the Batplane.

The statue, which had suddenly appeared, was now located in the square in front of Gotham University.

This was a major intersection with roads branching out in all directions. Directly behind the statue was Gotham University, to the left was Gotham General Hospital, to the right were apartment complexes, and directly ahead, a few hundred meters away—

Was Crime Alley.

Separated by a few abandoned apartments and a river, one side was the university, and the other side was filled with people who had no chance of attending the university.

Crime Alley never slept, and the sudden appearance of the statue naturally caused a lot of surprise. Tim noticed that photos of the statue were already circulating online when he checked his phone.

The area where the statue now stood was originally a private market. Small vendors pushed their carts there to sell goods, but it quickly declined due to its proximity to the chaotic Crime Alley. Tim remembered that Black Mask had eventually taken over the market, and now that Black Mask was imprisoned, his assets should still legally belong to him.

A giant Batman statue appearing in Black Mask’s abandoned plaza, especially in that pose… Tim imagined how furious Black Mask would be.

As the rain poured down, Tim wiped the water from his forehead and looked in the direction the statue was facing—

The statue was nearly twenty meters tall, precisely 18.7 meters, but it was in a half-kneeling position.

The statue knelt on one knee, extending a hand forward with an open palm, as if waiting for a frail child to place their hand in his.

“Has Bruce ever been this tender?”

Of course, when Batman was Bruce Wayne, he could be gentle with the weak, visiting orphans funded by the Wayne Foundation and spending time with them, but as Batman, he closed himself off.

Tim scanned the people cautiously approaching the statue. Batman had left such a deep shadow in their minds that they feared even an immobile statue. And who knew if this giant statue had any hidden surprises?

Some might even believe if you told them the statue could turn into a giant Batman!

So, they only dared to watch from a distance.

But before anything else, Tim, sitting on the rooftop, made a call—he would need to find a way to buy this plaza from Black Mask.

A strange noise pierced through the barrier of rain, making Tim pause. He stood up just as the sound of hooves ceased.

He saw a white horse coming from the apartment area, clearly a race-grade horse, and on its back sat a person with a bundle of colorful balloons tied to their wrist, swaying in the rain.

She saw Tim.

But she quickly lowered her head, pulled the reins, and the white horse turned, its hoofbeats gradually fading away.

Tim shot his grappling hook and landed on Batman’s statue’s shoulder. He tapped the statue and suddenly looked up as the hoofbeats approached again. This time, they didn’t fade away. Turning his head, he saw the cute little horse circle around and leap onto the statue’s open hand, running up its arm to the shoulder.

Now Robin was crouched while Vivi sat on the horse’s back, making him have to look up at her.

——The girl was shielding a bag of burgers with her coat and winked at him.

【“Next time I see you, I’ll bring you a burger.”】

She kept her promise.

Vivi dismounted from the horse, her white mare, White, stood calmly even at such a height, waiting patiently.

“Here,” she handed the burger to Robin, “Can you do me a favor in exchange for the burger?”

Tim took the bag after a glance at her: “You want to go up?”

“Is it that obvious?” Vivi bounced in place, “White can’t take me to Batman’s head; that would be too much for a horse.”

Tim shrugged: “Unless you tell me why you want to go up there, I’m not helping.”

Vivi was shocked: “You just took my burger!”

“But I gave you three hundred dollars before,” he raised a finger, “Three hundred dollars for two burgers?”

Because it was Vivi, Tim didn’t notice that his attitude had relaxed considerably—he trusted Vivi, knowing she wouldn’t do anything bad. She had proven this with her actions over time.

He wasn’t going to refuse help, but Vivi gave him a sideways look, touching the bracelet on her left wrist tied with dozens of balloons. She grabbed another bunch of balloons with her right hand, took a step forward, and with the combined lift and wind—timed just right—Vivi floated up.

When her body was higher than Batman’s statue, she let go of the right-hand balloons, and countless balloons flew in all directions under the rain.

She didn’t need help; she could do it herself.

Tim tilted his head, smiling, and used his grappling hook to pull himself up.

Vivi was tying balloon strings around Batman’s ear when she saw Tim. She waved rudely: “Want to help?”

“Are you trying to move this statue with these balloons?” Tim crouched beside her, frowning, “I have to say, if it falls, at least half the street will be in ruins.”

“Why does there have to be a reason?” Vivi continued her work, “I just saw the statue and had balloons in hand, so I wanted to decorate Batman’s ear with them.”

“If you really need a reason,” Vivi turned, staring at him with pure confusion, “because it’s fun, ‘fun’ is the reason…”

She kept working, adding casually: “Why so serious?”

For Vivi, completing main quests and doing tasks was playing the game, and decorating Batman’s statue was also playing the game. Isn’t the point of playing a game to have fun?

“This almost gave me PTSD… just kidding,” hearing him mutter, Vivi turned confusedly. Tim changed the subject, “You know who placed this statue, right?”

“——Alright, no need to hesitate. You know, your expression already gave you away,” Tim laughed helplessly, “Mr. C?”

Vivi paused.

She pulled her scarf up with one hand to cover the lower half of her face, her eyes serious as she grabbed Tim’s arm: “What do you all think of Mr. C?”

Of course, she wasn’t interrogating!

It was more of an interview. Although she was using multiple identities, Vivi found that despite her consistent style, others perceived her differently—confirmed by system prompts.

And Vivi couldn’t pinpoint Mr. C’s identity since the system didn’t provide one—she had created “Mr. C” from scratch. So, she wanted to ask others to get some inspiration.

The NPCs in Gotham seemed pretty good at filling in the gaps.

“Hmm…” Tim met Vivi’s gaze, realizing this was a good opportunity to gather information. “What do you think? What kind of person is Mr. C?”

How could he bounce the question back?

Anyway, since C was just her, Vivi frowned and started describing herself from others’ perspectives: “Of course, he’s a good person.”

“He wants to save Gotham, though sometimes he may appear ruthless, his intentions have never changed, but he’s always misunderstood…”

She used tools to control NPCs, so what? She tricked them out of money, so what? Compared to other players, she was far more lawful and good, yet her reputation was still neutral-leaning evil. NPCs were too much!

“He… is actually someone you can’t understand, so his thinking is different, but everyone’s goal is to save Gotham. Why can’t we just talk it out?”

Players are indeed beyond NPC understanding, not even the same species!

Tim asked her one question: “So, is Mr. C willing to sit down and talk with us? I think Batman would be happy to share a burger with him.”

Vivi immediately showed a look of refusal.

She was worried that the skill-less, pretty but useless Mr. C would get his heart ripped out—especially since he wasn’t human, and Batman’s no-kill rule didn’t apply to non-humans.

Tim shrugged.

“So you don’t really understand him, Vivi,” he said. “You only see what he wants you to see. How many times have you died?”

Should she say more or less? Vivi hesitated, seeing Robin’s changing expression, she quickly said, “Not too many.”

“I’ll tell you what Mr. C is like in my eyes—” The burger in Tim’s hand had cooled. He brushed back his hair, staring seriously at the girl in front of him.

The girl’s eyes held an expectant look, as if she genuinely wanted Tim’s approval.

But Tim believed he would cruelly shatter the world in her mind.

“This world, to him, is just a game,” although he had some guesses, since Vivi used “he,” Tim didn’t refer to Mr. C as “they.” “And he thinks you are a game character he controls.”

The balloons swayed in the wind and rain, adding a splash of color to the gloomy Gotham.

But he saw the shock in the girl’s pupils, the rain tracing down her forehead and slowly flowing from the corners of her eyes.

Vivi: “…”

Tim continued: “When we play games, we grow fond of the characters we control. We find them cute, provide them with equipment, dress them up beautifully, let them overcome challenges like warriors, and cheer for their victories—but we eventually tire of the game, of the city, of you.”

Vivi instinctively retorted: “No, he loves Gotham…”

“Are you sure?” Tim asked.

Vivi wasn’t sure anymore. There was no Mr. C; every character was her. And Tim, clearly an NPC, was almost revealing her true identity, though “playing a game” was just a metaphor.

Vivi was sure she loved Gotham now. She was fully immersed in the game, but she couldn’t guarantee that after experiencing other games and lives, she would still remember this one.

So she couldn’t say “sure” because that was a future tense she couldn’t guarantee now.

Thus, Tim won.

But Vivi also won—she understood how others perceived Mr. C, achieving her goal.

“Your burger’s cold,” she said. “If you want to eat it, make sure to heat it up.”

Vivi waved, and her white horse, White, trotted over, nuzzling her palm. Tim sighed: “I suggest you consider it, Vivi. You can actually—”

His words were cut off by an explosion.

In the distance, intense flames almost illuminated the entire city, casting light on their faces.

【You have received a side quest: Arkham Asylum】

【Quest Description: Under the prisoners’ careful planning, Arkham Asylum has been blown up, allowing inmates to escape. Batman is injured… While capturing ordinary inmates is not difficult, the inmates of Arkham are anything but ordinary. Let’s see what challenges you will face—】

【Boss 1: Poison Ivy. Head to Robinson Park and beware of her traps.】

【Boss 2: Bane. Are you sure you can defeat him in your current state?】

【Boss 3: Joker. Why——so——serious?】

【The instance has begun, and the player has 10 minutes to recruit teammates. During this time, team achievements will be shared】

【Good luck!】

^[1]TN: I am so excited for this! (๑>ᴗ<๑)