Chapter 4635

"I think I probably know what's going on." Batman looked at the device in front of him and said, "We're a step late; we aren't the first ones here."

He turned his head to look at the somewhat bewildered Superman, then said, "This is a moral dilemma game, Clark. What I'm about to say might be very important, and you'll probably need to listen carefully to prevent you from thinking that what I do next is insane."

The last sentence made Superman shiver. Usually, when Batman said this, his subsequent actions would definitely seem insane, and not just ordinary insanity—it would look like he was seeking death.

"We arrived here very quickly, which proves that we have a tacit understanding and a considerable spirit of sacrifice. The key to this moral dilemma game lies in using moral kidnapping to extract enough blood from those who arrived first."

"For every immoral villain who lines up behind us, we need to give an extra portion of blood to bear a portion of the cost for them; otherwise, a chain collapse will occur, and the game will fail."

"As I see it, we should be second or third in line. Judging by the amount of blood in this basin, third is more likely, but this is still quite early. This means we must draw enough blood to let those behind us see the hope of victory."

"However, if we split it equally, the result will be that we both lose most of our mobility, and neither of us will be able to save the other. The level won't end here; there are many dangers ahead, so doing that is the most disadvantageous."

"The best method is for us to divide the labor and cooperate. Let one person fall into a weakened state while the other remains strong. Although the person who falls into a weakened state has reduced mobility, it doesn't affect their intelligence, and they can fully take on the work of command. The other person will be responsible for execution. This way, our speed won't be dragged down too much."

"Considering that one needs to maintain rational thinking while in a weakened state, the person who falls into a weakened state needs a very strong will. I assume you wouldn't want to compete with me in this regard, Clark. After all, I win against you almost every time, don't I?"

Superman smiled at him, but that smile looked somewhat desolate. He just looked at Batman silently like that and said, "Do you know? Every time this moment comes, I am in pain, Bruce. I know you can always convince me; your language and logic are almost flawless, and you can always convince everyone like this. My reason is telling me that I should trust you and listen to you."

"But no," Superman said, "another part of me is screaming crazily; it is opposing you, saying you are insane, and it even wants to attack you. I can't even tell if that is resentment or not; I cannot face such an evil version of myself."

"Overcome it," Batman said.

"Yes, I have done it almost every time," Superman looked at him and said, "Maybe I can do it this time too, but will there be a time when I can't? Batman? Have you thought about that?"

Batman's movements paused for a moment. He reached out a hand, seemingly somewhat hesitant, then lowered it and said, "Sorry, I have become accustomed to not having too much physical contact with super-aliens like you. Even though we are both ordinary people now, I still can't adapt. So I can only tell you with words that I intended to give you a hug."

"When a person decides to sacrifice themselves, it must be the person who is still alive who is in more pain," Batman said, looking into his eyes. "I fully understand this point, so every time I will guarantee that I will return. I have done it too many times, and this is enough for you to trust me, isn't it?"

Superman sniffled: "At least let me go first, Batman. That way, when you lose your strength, I will still be able to take care of you."

Batman nodded. The details of this game puzzle were still lingering in his mind; he sighed softly, feeling that there seemed to be some things he hadn't thought of, but in this situation, there was no better choice.

For others, the plot of a magnificent sacrifice is just a normal state for Batman; in a sense, this is also a kind of path dependency.

"Oh my god, what is this?" Harley and Pamela stared dumbfounded at this huge device, "Don't tell me we have to be thrown in and shredded..."

They walked around the machine a few times, and then they understood. Harley thought for a moment and said, "I originally thought our speed was fast enough, if not first then second, but I didn't expect there to be experts."

She lowered her head and took out a disposable needle, wanting to reach her hand in. Pamela hurriedly stopped her: "What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Harley said, "We must pour in enough blood to open the mechanism. Although we two don't belong to the front, we shouldn't be the last either. To ensure the puzzle can be completed, we must give a little more blood."

Pamela watched her skillfully connect the needle and prepare to stick it into her own arm. While sticking the needle in, she muttered: "It's a good thing I was a nurse before. What happened to Gotham back then? Gordon was so short-staffed he went crazy and insisted on pulling me in to help. I didn't know how to do it at all back then, but it's a good thing I learned quickly..."

Just as the needle was about to pierce her arm, a hand pressed down on her. Pamela looked up at her: "Are you really going to do this?"

"Didn't I explain it already?" Harley stared at Pamela's eyes somewhat helplessly and said, "This level is played like this; it's a very classic moral dilemma puzzle. You can understand it as testing people's game-theoretic thinking and the execution ability to turn assumptions into reality. If we don't give enough, we won't give those behind us the hope of victory..."

Harley chattered on for a long time, and Pamela just looked at her like that. Harley paused for a moment, then asked: "Did you understand?"

"I said no," Pamela's tone was very flat. Although she no longer had superpowers, those green eyes still showed a bit of eeriness in the bright light. She usually put on a gentle, ordinary face, but when she didn't smile, a certain casual indifference emerged.

"I have some different views on your game-theoretic assumption."

"Uh-huh," Harley nodded, signaling her to continue.

"Why can't we be that bad person?"

"What?"

"Everyone in front is leaving space for that selfish bad person who is unwilling to sacrifice themselves; why can't we occupy this space?"

"Because there might be bad people behind."

"If there are so many bad people, then the task itself cannot be completed," Pamela said, "Miss Quinzel, I'm afraid you've gone stupid from acting like Batman. You should find a Joker to liberate yourself. Why should we accompany them in playing this saint game?"

"Because if we don't play, the whole game will be lost!" Harley explained very hard, "We came to participate in the dungeon, and we want to win. If we didn't want to win, there would be no need to play the game. Now, in order to win, making some appropriate sacrifices is normal; it's not entirely a saint game, right?"

Pamela crossed her arms and shook her head, saying: "If they gave us a chip and let us throw it onto the gambling table to bet, then I would fully agree with your view. But now?"

Harley looked at her, her eyes following her movements. Pamela turned around to look at Harley and said: "We have nothing, which means you cannot consider the problem entirely from the perspective of rational game theory. Because what needs to be sacrificed is not an external object like money, but your health and comfort; this is not something that can be used as a chip for gambling."

"You sound even more like Batman than I do," Harley couldn't help but say.

"Quite the opposite," Pamela said, "If it were Batman who had to sacrifice these things, he would probably do it, because he is actually a lunatic too. And I am the normal person who has neither been a superhero nor a supervillain."

"Utilize the moral values of good people and the competitive spirit of bad people, and let them sacrifice voluntarily," Pamela walked over and supported the countertop of the wooden passage with her hands, looking into Harley's eyes and saying, "But, victory? When have I ever wanted this?"

She raised her head slightly again: "You said we teamed up to play the game for victory, and that's not wrong. Because you want victory, and I hope you have fun playing, so of course I will help you win victory as much as possible."

"Then what's the difference now?"

"But if it's at the cost of your long-term pain afterward to exchange for the happiness of the two of us at the moment of victory, I would feel it's not worth it. If you think it's worth it, then you should get your brain checked."

Harley didn't know what to say. She lowered the needle somewhat helplessly, then said: "It's just a game."

"I really don't want to do this," Pamela walked over, cupped Harley's face with both hands—to be precise, she clamped her head so she couldn't move at all—"but, my dear lady, the era of lunatics playing games with lunatics has passed. I'm tired of accompanying lunatics in playing games of mutual harm, and I've been prepared for this for a long time—you should have learned a trick or two from my cabbages."

Bang! Pamela knocked Harley down with one punch.

"Thor, back off a bit," Loki picked up the needle and gestured on his own arm, "This little gadget designed by humans is really troublesome; can't they make a fully automatic one? How dare he assume I would use..."

"What are you doing?" Thor asked him.

Loki didn't say anything, just reached out and grabbed the tube, then glanced at the right-side scale which was already very heavy, his expression darkening slightly, but he still connected the needle and the tube.

Just as he was about to stick it into his own arm, Thor pressed his hand: "Loki, you can't pretend I'm blind. Perhaps I'm not as stupid as you think; at least I can probably tell that this device is meant to draw blood."

"Oh, how rare," Loki said, "This should be the peak of your intelligence in the last thousand years. Are you sure you want to use it here?"

"Loki, as long as you get scared, you will try to change the subject," Thor walked over and looked at him, "Look into my eyes and tell me what you are doing."

"Completing the task," Loki said, "Our progress is already far behind; perhaps we are second to last or last. Although there is an advantage to being behind this time, it might not be the case next time, so we'd better hurry up."

"How are you going to complete the task?"

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you," Loki flipped his other hand on the side of his head, "This is a very complex game-theory problem, but most of it has already been completed; there isn't much for us to do."

"Including?"

"Just need to draw some blood," Loki said, "The people in front have already given a lot; actually, it doesn't take much."

"Then I'll do it," Thor said, "My body is much healthier than yours."

"This... occasionally you have to let me do it once," Loki looked at Thor with his eyes and said, "At least let me prove that I don't rely on you completely, and I can complete something independently."

Thor sneered: "You saying that proves it's not just a little blood. Put this thing down, don't make me use force."

"I'm serious," Loki turned his head away and said, "Why should you stop me? We are both mortals now..."

Bang! Thor knocked Loki down with one punch, grabbed his neck and pressed him to the ground, then dragged him toward the exit: "You're right, but unfortunately, there are gaps even among mortals."