NABC Chapter 4770 The Royal Casino (4)
Chapter 4770 The Royal Casino (4)
Chapter 4770 The Royal Casino (Part 4)
For a fleeting moment, Greed felt a little disoriented, wondering if he had returned to the real world. How could someone so casually say, "I'm going to take this call," in a virtual, asymmetrical game?
You know, this is a holographic simulation game, not one of those video games where you sit in front of a computer and type on a keyboard. And it's a player-versus-player game, not one of those single-player games you can pause, go to the bathroom, and come back to continue. You're telling me you're going to answer a phone call?
Where did the phone call come from? Who would call you? Why do you have to go out to answer it at this time?
However, Greed quickly gave up on thinking about these things, because he figured the agent probably just didn't want to carry out the original plan and made up an excuse to run away. So he could only shake his head helplessly and go find Matt himself.
But the agent really was just there to answer the phone. He followed the directions and came to the internal telephone hanging on the wall in the storage room.
"Hello? What can I do for you?"
Even Batman from Arkham was taken aback. For a moment, he didn't feel like he was in a dangerous killing game, but rather that the agent had simply received a strange sales call on a Monday morning. He seemed completely unconcerned about who was calling or why.
“It’s me,” Arkham Batman said. He knew the agent would recognize his voice, so he continued, “I used a skill on you, changing your victory conditions. You should be able to see it. I just want to hear your thoughts.”
The agent did see it. He said, "So you're recruiting me now? To make me work for you, take them all out, and then let me leave?"
"That's right, are you willing?"
"it is good."
All of Arkham Batman's subsequent attempts at persuasion were met with a rebuff. The agent's agreement was so readily accepted that even Arkham Batman had to wonder if there was a trap involved.
"Are you confident you can take them down?" Arkham Batman asked.
“Taking them out is your job,” the agent said. “All I can do is not cause you any trouble. But I can’t cause any trouble anyway. Because with my luck, I can’t win at gambling. My main skill is running away. If you don’t chase me, this game has nothing to do with me.”
“You have a gun,” Arkham Batman reminded him.
“Yes, but bullets aren’t unlimited, and we’re less than half full now,” the agent said. “If you expect me to shoot someone at a crucial moment or stop their operation, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
"why?"
“They are very united,” the agent said. “If I openly defect, even to attack Greed who has no offensive capabilities, his teammates, like Matt, will definitely come after me. I can’t beat him. I will definitely be eliminated by them.”
"Let's not even talk about how we can't win if I die in front of them. Your skill is supposed to be one-time use. If I'm easily defeated by them, then you've wasted your ultimate skill, haven't you?"
Batman Arkham pondered for a moment, realizing the agent's point was valid. His ultimate ability could indeed only be used once throughout the entire battle; otherwise, it would be far too powerful. However, it was impossible to completely turn all five people against him given enough time.
In a situation where you can only have one inside player, that person is definitely very valuable. If they die easily, this ultimate move is wasted.
Unlike the house, gamblers, though controlled, cannot be killed; they have a limited health pool. If they are killed, they enter a near-death state, and if their teammates don't revive them, they can only lie on the ground, serving no purpose.
Instead of letting them charge into battle, it's better to have them provide intelligence from the rear. After all, there's an internal phone line for communication, and information is always valuable to Batman.
Batman Arkham adjusted his strategy, saying, "I originally wanted you to fire the crucial shot and take out the most troublesome guy. But like you said, even if you knock him down, they might just get him up and then turn around and gang up on you, and you can't beat them."
“So I think you might as well try to gather some intelligence,” Arkham Batman said. “Tell me about your team’s finances and operational plans. You could also withhold some important information and cause them a little trouble, but be careful not to expose yourself.”
"I'll do my best," the agent said.
He left after saying that, and Arkham Batman watched his retreating figure. But soon his attention was drawn to something else—Superman had found a very important safe in his upstairs office.
Arkham Batman knew this because his vision suddenly turned red for a short time when the safe was opened and something was taken. Arkham Batman immediately realized that the safes were like the seals from the previous game, and the gamblers' ultimate goal was to open all five safes and take the important items inside.
Although the plot of this scene is even more ambiguous than the previous one, it can be roughly guessed that five desperate criminals deliberately went to the casino to participate in some kind of chase game, with the ultimate goal of obtaining funds. The items in the safe are likely the key to their escape.
As the casino's owner and dealer, Arkham Batman certainly wouldn't allow these thieves to steal his belongings, hence his pursuit of them within the casino. Now that the first safe has been opened, Arkham Batman sees that opening another safe will unlock another suit; opening three safes will evolve the Batman suit; and opening four safes will further enhance it.
Considering the intensity of the final chase in the last game, Batman Arkham even started to hope they would open the safe soon.
Greed found Matt just as the first safe was opened. Matt gave him a huge pile of chips, all of which Greed had collected over the past few days.
Then Matt said, "I saw Lucifer open a box. There should be a lot of good stuff in there. I need to get it back before he finishes gambling. You stay here and don't wander off. I'll be right back."
Greed nodded. He wasn't actually that worried. His decision to stay at the gambling table and stall Arkham Batman wasn't entirely driven by greed. In fact, he possessed a near-invincible survival skill called "Resurrection Coin."
"Resurrection Coin: When you enter a near-death state, you can spend all your chips to revive, immediately returning to a standing state. The more chips you spend, the more health you will have while standing, up to a maximum of 50% of your total health. (Once this skill is used, all chips will be cleared. Cooldown time: 20 minutes.)"
This skill has a cooldown, but no limit to the number of times it can be used. In other words, as long as Greed isn't camped or repeatedly attacked, he can keep reviving and escaping using resurrection coins.
Furthermore, while there is an upper limit to the number of resurrection coins required, there is no lower limit. In other words, you can activate this skill even if you only have one coin, although you will only have a little health left after standing up.
This is clearly due to his lack of offensive and escape methods, a balance skill given to him by the system. But if used properly, he can still move freely. Because after a ghost kills someone, it needs to be carried to a certain location, not executed on the spot, thus providing an opportunity to escape halfway. He can simply take advantage of Arkham Batman's momentary lapse in attention, suddenly resurrect, stand up, and run away.
However, now, Greed values his other two skills more, because he is about to begin the initial accumulation of capital.
Greed's first skill is manipulating win rates. Just as Arkham Batman predicted, this skill increases the win rate of gambling establishments currently in use. The numerical value is also quite generous, higher than Arkham Batman's win rate manipulation, since it's a single-target skill after all.
The other skill is quite interesting. It's called "A Keen Investor," and its effect is to choose a teammate to invest in. However, the way to gain benefits isn't by having that teammate make money, but rather by the closer that teammate is to the ghost and the longer they stay there, the higher Schiller's multiplier becomes, and the multiplier accumulates infinitely.
When the same investor is injured—that is, slashed by a ghost—the profit is settled. If the slash leaves the investor near death, the profit can be doubled.
However, if the teammate is far from the ghost, the investment will decrease over time, meaning there is no guaranteed profit and there is a possibility of loss.
The best approach is to find a teammate you've worked with, invest in them, and then have them kite the hunter, taking a hit to survive before running back, resting briefly, and then fighting again. This way, you can earn money indefinitely.
But in practice, things aren't always so ideal. First, he has to find the ghost; if he's unlucky and can't find it, he'll lose all his money. Then he has to outwit and outmaneuver the ghost. The area required to make contact with the ghost is actually quite close, at least enough to trigger the background music. Finally, he has to take a hit to trigger the settlement. If he's careless in any of these steps, he'll lose everything.
Greed initially chose the agent; after all, he was a professional and had a gun for self-defense. Even if he took a knife, he could turn around, subdue Batman Arkham, and escape. Investing in him was a sure thing.
But the agent had run away for some reason and no one knew where he'd gone. Greed couldn't wait for him to return, but he was also a little worried about Matt. Although Matt was very good at map exploration, he lacked control and escape methods; if he went up there and took a hit, he might not be able to escape.
Greed found a gambling table and began manipulating the odds to win chips while simultaneously devising a strategy.
Instead of tying someone down forever, it's better to try several people. Anyone who invests knows about risk hedging. While it's possible to send strong individuals like Agent Lucifer to sacrifice themselves, wouldn't it be even more natural for someone like Lucifer, who doesn't know how to play the game, to get slaughtered?
However, greed didn't immediately invest in Lucifer, precisely because Lucifer hadn't even quite figured out how to play the game. He completely disregarded the rules, turning the game into a gambling simulator. He was currently just wandering around the casino, collecting chips, and then gambling.
Since he himself didn't know where he was going, Arkham Batman couldn't predict his movements. And because he was indeed not a threat, Arkham Batman wouldn't choose to deal with him first.
Agent and Matt are both caught in a dilemma: one is on the run, and the other is searching the map and is difficult to catch. They're always focused on Greed, making Greed difficult to capture as well. So, after all this trouble, we'll have to go after Superman.