Chapter 4774: The Change in Doujie (Part 2)

"What exactly is going on?" Shiler looked at the Arkham Batman and asked.

"See for yourself." The Arkham Batman took a flyer from the printer beside him; it was clearly the paper version of the distributed advertisement, a promotional poster of sorts, but with quite a lot of text on it.

"Manhattan Playground — Multiverse Amusement Park! Tired of certain games' monotonous dungeon mechanics? Overly harsh economic systems? Want something fresh and exciting? Come to Manhattan Playground for a brand-new multiverse virtual gaming experience!"

Shiler's eyes widened: "The 'certain games' he mentions — could it be Doujie?"

"Precisely." The Arkham Batman said, "Although it doesn't name names, it's probably to avoid lawsuits. But this is clearly talking about Doujie; after all, before this, yours was the only multiverse gaming company."

Shiler shook his head somewhat helplessly. The Arkham Batman asked: "Aren't you angry?"

"If I say I knew competitors would appear eventually, would you be surprised?"

"That wouldn't surprise me," the Arkham Batman said, "Actually, I also felt it was inevitable. Powerhouses of the multiverse level and above would certainly have ways to pry into Doujie. They would also realize the profits this model brings and would surely rush to imitate it, and there are quite a few who can achieve it, or at least achieve some of its functions."

"Although you're currently the biggest monopoly, small companies have their advantages too. Even if they just cash in on the novelty, it's guaranteed profit. After all, everyone now understands how this virtual gaming works; they won't be so guarded and are willing to try it out. The predecessors plant the trees, the descendants enjoy the shade."

Shiler let out a long sigh: "So this Manhattan Playground is the multiverse gaming company Doctor Manhattan created?"

"That's right." The Arkham Batman nodded and said, "I'll also say this: if the ads I received weren't just this one, would you be surprised too?"

"Who else?" Shiler was genuinely a bit surprised.

The Arkham Batman took back the blue poster from Shiler's hand and handed him a green one. Shiler took one look — good grief — "Brainiac Multiverse Creative Studio." And their promotional slogan was "Super Artificial Intelligence Brings You the Best Gaming Experience."

And this guy isn't just making games. He claims he wants to build a "Multiverse Communication Network Software" based on Brainiac as a base station, covering communication, payment, gaming, and other social sharing functions — just short of changing his avatar to a certain Antarctic bird.

Games are just the first step, because acceptance of gaming is relatively high right now. However, because Brainiac's tier isn't too high, they also have a need to manufacture hardware. One is a brainwave access device, the other a holographic virtual reading pod. Although they're only promoting in a few universes right now, it's all click-to-get-free.

"Have you tried it?" Shiler asked.

"Don't joke. You want me to lie in a coffin made by an evil AI?" The Arkham Batman said, "I'm doing a pretty good job as President; haven't thought about dying yet."

Shiler thought about it; right, Batman would definitely not connect his brainwaves that way — it really isn't very safe. And they play games mostly for League building and self-tempering, not for entertainment. Doujie is enough for that.

But others are hard to say, especially young people. Many people, for the sake of gaming, disregard all personal privacy; whatever the game company tells them to agree to, they agree. The number of people going probably won't be small.

Two strong competitors popping up at once — saying there's no pressure is impossible. But Shiler was still thinking of countermeasures; he explained Doujie's planned transformation. The Arkham Batman strongly agreed, saying: "In my view, the allure of this model lies not only in others developing more and more creative games, but in the fact that we can use the Creation Simulation System. You know how practical that is."

Shiler certainly knew; for super-geniuses like Iron Man, Batman, or Mister Fantastic, getting direct access to the universe editor's backend system is practically the exam setter leaking the questions. Don't look at it as just a small-scale virtual simulation system; the principle is much the same. They can excavate the threads of universal truth from it — that's more important than anything.

Take the Stark of the Central Universe: his previous information-flow conversion technology was actually a simplified-and-simplified-again version of a minor function of the Creation System. Ordinary carbon-based lifeforms exploring this far is already remarkable, but if one could use information to create from nothing, wouldn't that truly make one a Creator?

Although the possibility of reaching that level is slim, for these people, the exploration itself is the joy. This virtual creation system alone is enough for them to research for a lifetime, not to mention the various derivative disciplines attached — they'd absolutely be roaming the ocean of knowledge, oblivious to heaven and earth.

Shiler realized this step of his was truly correct. Doujie's greatest advantage over these small private shops is its high enough tier, strong enough technical level, and being the orthodox choice personally endorsed by both big bosses — safety and stability are guaranteed.

These personally-run small outfits are prone to problems. You enter their virtual system; if the system crashes, the person is likely in danger too. Too few hands, dungeon selection won't be too varied either — at most just a taste of novelty.

Even so, Shiler still planned to go try it out. He said: "Can I get in?"

"Of course. This thing is publicly sold; anyone can enter. And, they're targeting Doujie from the start, so they naturally anticipated you'd come and surely have countermeasures. What do you plan to do?"

"I didn't think to cause trouble," Shiler said, "just want to play the games they're selling. Do you know what type they are?"

"A Batman has already been to Manhattan Playground." The Arkham Batman recalled, "That Batman said it's pretty good; purely in terms of art and production polish, it's on par with Doujie. But they probably started very early, polished it many times over — high level is normal."

"What about game design?"

"He was afraid of spoilers for me, so didn't explain in detail. I called you over to go probe the reality together." The Arkham Batman showed a disdainful expression, "Doujie's dungeons are all too simple for me; if he can produce something decent, that works too."

Shiler stroked his chin, thinking: "If that Batman's feedback is good, it proves the basic quality is there — just don't know the gameplay. Does it allow duo queue?"

"Can queue as duo, but not necessarily as a team," the Arkham Batman said, "I'm more inclined to think it's solo battle."

"Alright. When do you have time?"

"Still have some work today; probably tomorrow afternoon."

"How to get to this place?"

"Come to the Presidential Palace; I'll take you there."

"Wait," Shiler suddenly said, "the new season starts in a week, and I'm swamped too. Can someone else go with you?"

"Who do you want to swap in?"

"You'll know when the time comes."

The next afternoon, the Arkham Batman was met by a Shiler wearing a black shirt. His skin looked even paler than Greed's, a bit like someone who hadn't seen sunlight year-round; those gray eyes were also lighter in color — the whole person looked like a sheet of paper, thin and brittle.

But the Arkham Batman wouldn't underestimate him; he knew this Shiler's renowned reputation, just hadn't interacted deeply. Greed said he doesn't stir trouble, yet sent this guy out — however you look at it, it seems like ill intent.

Still, the Arkham Batman isn't talkative, and this Shiler clearly isn't chatty either. The two didn't say much. The Arkham Batman took out that poster and stared at it for a while. Soon, many blue particles generated around the two of them; a quantum channel opened — this is precisely Doctor Manhattan's signature technique; he possesses the ability to manipulate quanta.

Walking along the quantum channel, they arrived at a deep blue space. It seemed vast yet not crude; everywhere the eye reached were futuristic furnishings. At the same time, because the space was vast and lofty enough, there was absolutely no oppressive feeling — full of sci-fi flair.

The Arkham Batman briefly observed this space. But soon, blue particles rose again, and what appeared before them was a gigantic city, with Doctor Manhattan's figure manifesting on the advertising screen of the tallest building.

"Welcome to Manhattan Playground." His voice rang in their ears, "Manhattan Playground will be part of the Multiverse Manhattan City; other parts of the city are still under construction and not yet open to the public. Please follow the arrow guidance into the playground interior."

The Arkham Batman understood; it seems Doctor Manhattan's ambition doesn't stop at gaming — he wants to build a city spanning the multiverse, possibly even grander.

Blue guide strips appeared on the ground; the two followed them through streets and alleys, arriving outside the playground's main gate. It looked like an ordinary playground, but the moment they stepped inside, particles surrounded them again, and they appeared in a grand hall.

Still all-white walls, futuristic furnishings, and many streamlined robots — only this time there was a massive pillar in the center, and a blue holographic screen floated on the pillar, displaying the game names.

Not many games — only three. But divided into Easy, Medium, and Hard by difficulty. The Arkham Batman directly asked: "Any Extreme or Nightmare?"

These two difficulties are both Doujie options; above Hard is Extreme, and above Extreme is Nightmare. Like the previous Desperate Escape dungeon, that belonged to Extreme. But the Arkham Batman felt even Nightmare above Extreme was a bit too simple for him.

"Hard mode is player-versus-player; difficulty mainly depends on player strength. If you want a more challenging game, I suggest you choose this mode."

The Arkham Batman looked closely and discovered these three games aren't actually three dungeons, but more like three modes. The easiest is Story, Medium is Monster-slaying, and Hardest is people fighting people.

"Any power restrictions?" The Arkham Batman asked. He was still applying Doujie's model, because Doujie divides into restricted or unrestricted.

"Won't be completely restricted, but will be modified." Doctor Manhattan answered quite patiently, "Your attributes will undergo balance adjustments. Simultaneously, your abilities will be categorized into skills — neither completely erasing your abilities nor preventing fair competition among players across dungeons."

"That's not bad," the Arkham Batman said, "I've wanted to try the middle mode for a long time."

Then he looked at Shiler: "Let's play this Hard mode then."

"Okay." Shiler nodded.