LightReader

Chapter 5279 - Chapter 4318: Heroes Strike Back (11)

Greed is talking about Lord Superman. One of his skills is summoning the Sun. Greed is sure that when writing this code, the programmer certainly couldn't create a new yellow Sun, so they just shrunk the Sun of the Solar System many times and handed it to Lord Superman.

Not creating it from scratch isn't entirely due to laziness. Mainly, the Kryptonians are made by God, and their program to get stronger by exposure to yellow Sun was written by God, without any comments. Even the administrators of Battleworld, including Lucifer, might not understand it.

What if they create a yellow Sun, but the frequency or something is wrong, and the Kryptonians' abilities can't be triggered? Then this skill would be useless! So they simply molded an identical Sun, and as long as the code runs, don't mess with it.

And the spaceship they built from blueprints downloaded online happened to be driven by stellar energy. Lord Superman directly summoned a small star from within, and you think the electricity wouldn't be enough?

Before attacking the monsters, Lord Superman charged the spaceship fully; Greed then brought out the security system and rebooted the spaceship's engine, successfully starting the spaceship that shouldn't have been able to start. And the only one to end up unlucky was Bruce.

That's right, sometimes bat wings, sometimes angel wings, but he's actually unable to fly. Chess games are like this; just having wings doesn't guarantee flight, and appearance doesn't increase combat power.

But this might be for balance, after all, nearly all his skills are area attacks, and he can switch forms back and forth, adept in offense and defense. If he had strong movement capabilities too, then nobody else would stand a chance.

Seeing the rising light pillar, Greed snapped his fingers and said, "See? Hard work pays off. Too bad we didn't squash Superman."

"It's fine. If they keep searching, they might find more equipment. This result is quite optimal. So what are we doing next?"

"Didn't you want me to unleash my ultimate move? Let's go find someone for a showdown!"

On the other side, Bruce, who got knocked out, appeared in the command room in frustration. He hammered the table and said, "It's definitely Shiller's doing! This guy never follows the rules when playing games!"

"Come on, if he can operate the spaceship to take off, that means the rules must allow it. If they don't, it's the programmer's fault," Selina shrugged and said, "And if he can break the rules, so can we..."

"Oh, my dear," Bruce said, "It seems that the Hundred Treasure Bag we just found is indeed your exclusive equipment."

"What? I used the Judgment Skill?"

"Yes, and it's quite interesting. You see, it's not really a combat skill per se; it's a skill for not fighting during battles."

"You're driving me crazy," Selina said, "What does 'skill for not fighting during battles' mean?"

"It means you enter the battle but don't fight."

"That's strange. Why enter a battle and not fight?"

"Because you can steal things," Bruce said, a bit slyly, "Your deck can steal items from others; otherwise, why would there be an extra item slot?"

Hearing she could steal things, Selina's eyes immediately lit up. She rubbed her hands together and said, "Really? I can steal items from others, but they won't let me, right?"

"Of course, if it's one-on-one, they wouldn't let you steal, but in a grand melee?"

"It still wouldn't be easy. I'm such a big person; wouldn't they sense me sneaking up?"

"They wouldn't sense you because you have Invisibility Skill," Bruce said, "Some of your skills can stack Stealth Value; when it reaches a certain level, you can become invisible and steal perfectly."

"That good?" Selina almost jumped up, saying, "Then why wait? Let's quickly find someone for a fight!"

"No way, we can't actively go looking for others. Your skill set isn't suited for direct combat. In one-on-one scenarios, it's not advantageous; we need to wait till they start fighting and then sneak up."

Selina nodded and then said, "So what's the deal with Judgment Skill?"

"Besides stacking Stealth Value, you also need to stack Skillful Hand Value. The higher the Skillful Hand Value, the greater the success rate, and we've already discovered your exclusive equipment, so the initial success rate is high, likely allowing you to steal, although the item quality might not be great."

"How can Skillful Hand Value be increased?"

"Through stealing; the more successful attempts, the more it increases. Stealth Value is a bit more bothersome, but I know how to handle it, don't worry."

"Great, hahaha!" Selina laughed heartily, and she said, "Ever since Gotham's security improved, I haven't been a Flying Thief for ages. I took a few spins around Hollywood, but it wasn't satisfying; people there are too lax, with none of Gotham's thrill and excitement."

"Oh Lord, you actually went to Hollywood..."

Selina realized she had let something slip and quickly covered her mouth. But soon she confidently said, "I was just looking around, didn't actually steal anything. Their security awareness and protection level over there aren't even worth my effort."

"Even if they have very beautiful gemstones?"

"Beautiful my foot, the ones they keep in the vault are all fake!" Selina said with a gossiping face, "You wouldn't believe it, I even saw someone steal from themselves, swapping out the gemstones from those rich folks for fakes, and the owner is still in the dark!"

"That ridiculous?" Bruce was somewhat incredulous, he said, "But those rich folks have some discerning eye, right? The gemstones are fake, can't they tell? Even if they can't, someone would inform them, right."

"No one would want to get involved. Even if someone noticed, they'd think it's intentional, at most mock them behind their backs. How could they possibly remind them face to face? Plus, most of those fooled are nouveau riche, unlike you with such keen insight."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"I am indeed complimenting you, darling. Although you're always too broke to buy gemstones, having that keen eye doesn't go to waste, does it?"

Bruce laughed in disbelief, he said, "Even at my poorest, I could afford gemstones! You didn't really believe those Hollywood tabloids about me going bankrupt, did you?"

"I'm truly complimenting you," Selina said, "Even at your poorest, you'd rather sell your car than sell the necklace you gave me, shows how desperately in love you are."

Bruce paused, then said doubtfully, "Sell the necklace I gave you? But the necklace I gave you is yours, how could I sell your stuff?"

"Uh, maybe we have different standards for good men," Selina touched her face and said, "Maggie's ex-boyfriend, after losing all his money, broke into her house and cleaned out her valuables. Her last boyfriend, after two months of dating, took back the half-burnt aroma candle he gave Maggie on Valentine's Day when they broke up."

"Are these even humans???"

"That's how it is at the bottom tier. Although Gotham's law and order have improved now, it's still the same people. These folks haven't received much moral education, or rather, their education taught them that greed and taking more are good, helping them survive in impoverished environments. Though not as impoverished now, habits are hard to change."

"God," Bruce said, "I'd never have imagined in a hundred years that when poor, one could sell a girlfriend's necklace. Putting morality aside, it's just impossible. If I asked you for it, wouldn't you scratch my face to bits?"

"It wouldn't come to that," Selina said, "I truly wouldn't directly give you the necklace, because you, the foolish trust fund kid, would only find those deceitful middlemen. If you sold it, you'd lose 80% of its value. But if it were me, if his depreciation price exceeded 15%, I'd ensure he couldn't get a single job in Gotham!"

Bruce seemed shocked by this earning method, thinking his moral bottom line was low enough, yet was surprised there were masters.

"Also, there's an advantage when I sell it," Selina lowered her voice, "I'll sell it during the day and steal it back that night. Of course, since you always give me good stuff, waiting a few more days to see who it ends up with might bring back a few more extra items."

"Isn't that risky?" Bruce also lowered his voice to say, "With Brainiac around, you can steal it back?"

"Heh, I've only retired, not died. While Brainiac manages strictly and breaking security has become harder, other aspects have become easier."

"What do you mean?"

"The hardest part about being a Flying Thief isn't stealing the item. Fencing the goods is one thing, for which I have my ways, but one also needs to know what can be stolen, what can't, whom to steal from, whom not, and after stealing from one, you must steal from another else chaos ensues."

"You accuse me of confusing you, but you're the one who has me all puzzled now. So, you're the real behind-the-scenes manipulator commanding Gotham?"

"You betcha, once I caused a clash between two big mafias using a gemstone. Don't forget about the swipe I gave Falcone! I'm not the kind of meek little thief struggling at the bottom of society that you imagined me to be."

"From the first time I met you, I felt you were no ordinary person. Truly, rising to the top is not easy in any industry."

"Honestly, from the news, Wayne Enterprises seems to be struggling more and more, do you really not need my support? Don't be shy, I earned quite a lot in Hollywood."

"That's not necessary, but there's something I do need help with. When I was developing farming equipment for Brainiac, I assembled a few machines with the leftover materials, do you have any channels to offload them?"

"My God, Bruce, you managed to pull a fast one under Brainiac's nose while working? How did you pull it off?"

"Of course, with my superior mechanical engineering skills, and I didn't skimp on materials either. Every material he provided had some excess, giving me room to work."

"I can't handle this," Selina said, "I mostly know black market dealers for luxury items. If you want to peddle tractors, go to Clark! He and his dad surely... Oh, wait, they're good folks and probably wouldn't want to do this. Once the game's over, I'll look around for you."

"There's a fight ahead," Bruce said, "Seems like Shiller and Natasha? They have good props, let's see if we can snag one or two."

More Chapters