Chapter 4917

After the former Rodriguez manor became the base of the teenage avengers, they made a series of modifications to the place. Although the interior design and major structure remained unchanged, many modern facilities were added, and it was made more like an operational base.

First, a large war table was placed in the center of the hall and in front of the stairs. Although a carved solid wood design was adopted to maintain consistency with the decor, the Gotham City sand table on it is a finely crafted high-tech product, featuring not only an accurate physical model but also holographic projection.

The sofa area beside the fireplace remained untouched; they occasionally rest and eat snacks there. General non-critical war meetings are also held there.

The partition wall between the dining area and the other side was demolished, allowing better sunlight to enter the hall and making the manor slightly less like a vampire castle. The dining room's color scheme was slightly adjusted, changing from the original solid wood with dark green decorations to a younger, more vibrant deep orange.

Then, two windows were opened in the wall leading to the back door, making the entire hall more spacious and improving lighting conditions. On both walls, the oil paintings left by the viscount were taken down; the left side was replaced with a map, and the right side with a felt board. Additionally, the former servant's room, which had been used as a storage closet, was cleared out and a receiving device for enhancing the Brainiac signal was placed there.

Now, the atmosphere in the manor cannot be described as anything but solemn. Several members gathered around the war table, staring at the Gotham map. The few who had previously been unconscious still looked somewhat pale.

When the main universe's Robins carefully observed the place, they felt a bit dazed. Gotham rarely sees such retro architecture. Although Wayne Manor could also be considered as such, under Alfred's care, it exudes classical elegance rather than the pure dark gothic atmosphere of this manor.

Red Hood couldn't help but whisper: "Are they planning to play vampires here?"

"I'm afraid someone else is already playing the vampire." Nightwing said, "I remember this place was Professor Xilei's home..."

But they were still standing in front of the war table, about to say something, when the frost-covered Arkham Knight walked in—he differed from most of the Robins, his silver armor flashing with a cold, hard light, his entire person silent and stern, appearing very unapproachable—"What's going on?"

"He seems to have snatched Batman's cape." Red Robin said softly.

"Looks like he forcibly took it from Batman while he was still alive." Nightwing also whispered.

"That's not necessarily the case, don't forget who his Batman is." Red Hood chimed in.

Thinking of that Batman, the Robins instantly felt a chill down their backs. To be fair, because many disasters that should have occurred in the main universe were prevented due to multiversal intervention, their conflicts with Deathstroke have actually been few, far from reaching the level of "being beaten every day."

However, fate obviously won't let them off so easily. Because they constantly participate in the Battle Realm dungeons, and the Arkham Batman is a Battle Realm maniac, their collision count is very high. It's truly being chased and beaten by the Arkham Batman, unable to win one-on-one or in group fights.

The key is that Arkham Batman isn't the type who stops fighting when he realizes you can't beat him; he'll chase you and keep fighting. Even in non-PVP dungeons, if you get too close to him, you might get beaten alongside monsters. He constantly stirs things up in the Battle Realm, with one of the main dishes being Robin.

As a result, most Robins now startle at the sight of a metal-armored Batman—even if some aren't actually Arkham Batman, just having armor with a similar style—they've become jumpy.

In comparison, Arkham Knight is much lower-key; he's not very interested in the game. But the appeal of stacking boxes lies in the fact that when your opponent's strength increases, your own strength evaluation naturally rises as well. No Robin isn't curious about how he used to oppose Arkham Batman back then.

Regarding this, Arkham Knight rarely explains, and it's not solely because he's taciturn. He simply can't say that so-called opposition meant fighting a Batman who was slightly busy one evening, causing physical damage that amounted to only one ten-thousandth of the psychological damage he inflicted on Batman when his identity was exposed, and then both of them received a psychic critical hit from Xilei.

"I really don't know which bastard released that monster." Ted sighed, "It certainly won't be like in the movies, where real men don't look back at explosions, nor check if the monster is dead, and then get lucky to escape the monster's grasp."

"Xilei isn't that incompetent either." Harley said, "This monster might naturally respawn. It's just hard to imagine Xilei using such violent means as directly smashing it to solve the problem, rather than conducting a careful investigation to find a way to banish it."

"Indeed, it doesn't sound like the professor's style." Tim said, bracing his hands on the edge of the war table, "But if it were an agent, it would make sense—he doesn't have that patience for investigation."

"Let's think about what to do." Pamela said, resting her chin on her hand, "I tend to go investigate the place where this monster first appeared; there should still be some undiscovered clues. Besides, didn't Xilei say there was a treasure chest there?"

"Yes." Charles nodded, "But we still don't have a key..."

"I do." Arkham Knight said, "During the previous raid, a silver key dropped, and Brainiac said it's used to open chests."

"Then it's easy." Harley snapped her fingers, "Let's organize an investigation team to go to that Blackwater Tail Alley, check for any missed clues, and open the chest by the way."

"But investigation alone won't suffice." Tim said, "We need to restrict the monster's movements; otherwise, it will contaminate more and more other monsters, making the next raid impossible."

As they spoke on this topic, the atmosphere grew heavier. Because they had already discovered that this monster, composed of black sludge, can transform other monsters into a zombie-like state and then dispatch them to contaminate even more monsters.

All contaminated monsters gain the outer god's mental attack attribute—it's truly unbearable to even look at, let alone shoot them with firearms as before. If he continues to spread like this, the next raid will only be possible by closing our eyes and waiting to die.

"Let's go." Nightwing said.

"You guys have no superpowers." Ted slammed the table, "Then I'll go."

"What go, what go." Harley said, frowning impatiently, "This is a strike team, not a suicide squad. Can you guys restrict him? You just go?"

Tim coughed once, reminding Harley to speak less harshly, after all, they are teammates now. He lightly sighed and said: "Harley's words are rough but reasonable. Warfare is always result-oriented, not about brute courage. We must first work out a feasible combat plan, then decide who goes based on the plan's content, rather than turning it into a bravery contest where the more impulsive and reckless wins. Such team atmosphere only brings more unnecessary sacrifices."

The main universe's Robins looked at him somewhat surprised; this speech had no problem, just sounded a bit too much like Batman. Batman often says such things to them.

"I feel the cape is on him." Nightwing nudged Red Robin with his elbow, "What do you think?"

"Still need to look." Red Robin tilted his head.

"Perhaps the holographic projection will help." Ted thought for a moment, "The Blue Beetle is a technological construct, itself unaffected by outer gods, and also has independent intelligence. It might be able to release a projection to trap the monster..."

"Not that simple. The material converted by your holographic projection lacks magical properties, so it cannot shield against mental contamination. We cannot trap an outer god with just a few walls. If it were really that simple, it would be better."

"Then let's first use walls to block the line of sight, then I'll use magical plants to trap him." Pamela thought for a moment, "The power of the Verdant Green should be able to achieve a certain purifying effect."

"We can't assume he won't fight back." Lilith said, "Outer gods aren't all mindless. Even if he doesn't understand what the Blue Beetle and holographic projection are, he at least knows someone is attacking him and will surely retaliate."

"Makes sense." Dick nodded, "Although most outer gods are blindly foolish and unresponsive to external changes, this is, after all, a game created by Brainiac, which must incorporate his monster design. He wouldn't design a monster that just stands there stupidly; this monster must have basic programming, such as retaliating when hit or fleeing when encountering abnormal situations."

"Our opportunities are few; we cannot act rashly." Dick said, "Once the initial encirclement plan fails and the monster becomes wary, it will be even harder to trap."

Cassandra sighed softly. Lilith glanced at her, then said: "Perhaps we can use the forest fire suppression method."

"Explain in detail." Dick said.

"This monster is a regional boss, unlikely to personally participate in raids. So we're only worried he might wander nearby and contaminate the monsters meant to join the raid. In fact, we can kill all monsters near his activity zone, creating a blank isolation belt, so no monsters will get contaminated."

"But this monster moves." Nightwing said, "We can't just chase and kill him all the way, clearing the entire area. Even if fixed, carving out an isolation belt would probably be very difficult."

"His movement speed isn't fast, so this could still work." Pamela thought for a moment, "If I and Polaris alternate attacks, it might also be feasible, though the energy consumption would be too high, likely requiring a long rest afterward."

"This can only be a backup plan." Tim said, "I'm thinking, can't we snipe it from ultra-long range? As long as we scatter it, it must go find another place to respawn, so it shouldn't have time to contaminate too many monsters."

This is indeed a good idea, and everyone agreed. Don't forget, the main universe's Robins have dealt with big guys before; they immediately realized their current main problem is insufficient firepower.

In the game world, there are no civilians, only monsters roaming everywhere, so what's there to talk about martial virtue? Firepower coverage is the best solution. All fear comes from insufficient firepower, but if we could even build nuclear bombs, would we still fear an outer god?