"When we pre-formed the team earlier, everyone had seen each other, so I won't say much more. Going forward, we need to establish our plan of action. We must enhance our strength as quickly as possible, or it will be difficult to defeat the superheroes from all realms, and thus difficult to secure benefits for our own universe."
"So now, we need..."
Just as the Primary Universe Batman was speaking, Bruce interrupted, "We need to rescue someone!"
All the Batmen turned their gazes towards him, and Bruce seemed to suddenly become timid, shrinking his neck back and clearing his throat, "I have some new information, do you want to hear it?"
All the Batmen focused their attention, and Bruce deliberately hid behind Night Owl, only poking his head out to say, "I know there's a Batman who had received an invitation and confirmed it, but he couldn't come."
"Couldn't come?" Batwoman pondered his choice of words, "You mean he can't make it? But that's not a big deal, right? Entering Battleworld is completely voluntary—if he had something come up..."
"It's not that he had something come up," Bruce said. "He doesn't lack the desire to come; he can't come, lady, can't you understand English?"
Batwoman was taken aback by his retort, but Night Owl turned and said to Bruce, "You'd better be polite to the only lady here."
"She's not the only one," Bruce persisted. "There should be another lady, just that she hasn't arrived yet."
"You seem to know a lot of different information," Arkham Batman said, with a murderous look fixed on Bruce.
"I'm a beta player. Is it strange that I know different information? Alright, let's get to the point. That guy doesn't lack the desire to come, but with his current situation, he simply can't make it."
"I'm not lying—just scroll down through the card pool of the limited dungeon, and you'll see it very soon."
The Primary Universe Batman opened the card pool. Since there was no such thing during the beta, he didn't know what was inside and hadn't had a chance to look closely yet.
He scrolled down and saw a somewhat unique cover, featuring an extremely pallid face, with high cheekbones and sunken eye sockets, looking almost like a hobgoblin.
The cover of this limited dungeon undoubtedly captured the attention of all the Batmen, but as soon as they read the synopsis, their hearts skipped a beat simultaneously.
"The most miserable Batman in history."
It was hard for the Primary Universe Batman to imagine who could fit this title, or to say, everyone was miserable, but who could be called the most miserable?
Bruce poked his head out again and said, "See, I wasn't lying to you. This guy did receive the invitation, but given his current state, he simply can't come. It would be best if we could draw this dungeon and go rescue him… You wouldn't turn a blind eye, would you? Would you?"
Murmurs started circulating through the cave, and the Primary Universe Batman narrowed his eyes, giving Bruce a warning look. Bruce had completely disrupted his initial setup; he had originally wanted to go to the Future Universe to gather materials and weapons.
Batman knew very well that with enough numbers, standard weapons were the only solution; otherwise, it was just loose soldiers fighting independently. Without being as strong as Superman, venturing out alone was synonymous with suicide.
So it was essential to equip uniform weapons and undergo uniform training, and since everyone was Batman, there was no need for a second set of equipment at the same technological level; it would definitely be better to go to the Future Universe for higher-tech weapons.
But Bruce had already spoken up to this point, and the other Batmen obviously couldn't say they wouldn't rescue him. In fact, the Primary Universe Batman was also somewhat moved; he wanted to know what had turned this universe's Batman into the most miserable Batman.
At that moment, a hand landed on his shoulder. Arkham Batman signaled him with a look in his eyes to agree. Seeing the murderous intent in his eyes, the Primary Universe Batman could only sigh inwardly.
It seems being a president doesn't temper one's temper or perhaps it's just that being president is frustrating?
"I think we can check it out," the Primary Universe Batman finally said. "The probability of other teams targeting this dungeon is not high, but..."
He intentionally dragged on, then turned to Bruce, "You can't go."
"Why not?"
"No reason."
"You're taking this personally," Bruce accused.
"I am," Batman admitted straightforwardly.
Bruce swiftly retracted his head back in, but Night Owl's gaze toward the Primary Universe Batman turned somewhat hostile.
The Primary Universe Batman sighed inwardly again. It wasn't that he was being unreasonable—this was simply the best way to deal with Bruce that he had figured out during their interactions.
From the Primary Universe Batman's perspective, Bruce was a man of three tricks—erratic responses, direct manipulation, and verbal lashings.
So when he tried to start a conversation, you had to be even more unreasonable than him to avoid getting entangled in his schemes.
The Primary Universe Batman snorted silently, "You are far inferior to your teacher, Shiller. His three-move combo is unavoidable—direct to the point, mind manipulation, and precise defense break.
"What do you plan to do?" Bruce asked again.
"You misunderstand, I'm not going either," Primary Universe Batman almost said outright that he would keep an eye on him.
Just as Bruce was about to speak, Primary Universe Batman interjected, "From this description, this universe is undoubtedly perilous. We need to send out some strong figures, and I think this Batman is not bad."
Primary Universe Batman looked at Arkham Batman. Bruce seemed to be quite good at distinguishing the significant from the minor, rarely speaking out of line in front of Arkham Batman. Seeing him step forward, Bruce said no more.
He exchanged a few words with the Cruel Knight Batman at his side, and finally, this gun-toting Batman stepped forward. He and Arkham Batman exchanged glances, confirming through their looks that they were both not to be messed with.
At that moment, God of War Batman, also known as Merciless Iron Fist, stepped forward, volunteering, "I fear the situation in this universe isn't good, I have the power of a helmet and can go with you.
Primary Universe Batman turned to look at Batwoman, who slightly furrowed her brow and said, "Alright, I'll go too."
The two were quite staunch allies because Batwoman suspected that Mad Laugh had killed Catman. She was seeking revenge for her fiancé and was naturally a die-hard supporter of the Bat Squad.
She might even go to extremes to destroy the world for her boyfriend, so naturally, she was at the disposal of others at this time.
The Primary Universe Batman thought to himself, not that he didn't trust Arkham Batman's intelligence or doubt the martial prowess of God of War Batman, but it was because of the tragic state of that Universe Batman that he had to find someone who could keep these people in check to prevent them from really going mad and causing chaos.
Batwoman could be quite extreme, but from his recent interactions in the Primary Universe, Batman realized that Female Batman indeed had some advantages—her risk aversion was higher than that of males, which was another kind of conservative extreme, making her good at being a brake for some impulsive individuals.
Primary Universe Batman also had a deep understanding of Arkham Batman, who was good at everything, even better than himself by a notch, and his main problem was being too cold-hearted and impartial, with an execution force so strong that he could not afford to stay even a second longer, as if he was always racing against time.
He and Batwoman complemented each other, and together with Cruel Knight Batman who could kill and God of War Batman powered by a helmet, saving a Batman in bad shape wasn't a big problem.
Once it was decided, Primary Universe Batman cast his gaze on Heart Hunter.
Batman was inevitably different from Superman; they were not the type to amicably negotiate to resolve issues. Voting was even more nominal for them. The timing of the vote, the order of speaking, and the results of the vote could all be manipulated by them in millions of cunning ways, and still, they might not settle on a result, which was just a waste of time for Batman.
Among the Batmen, the magic formula for standing out seemed to be proactivity—the more proactive one was in stepping forward, the more likely they were to emerge victorious. The majority of Batmen preferred to remain hidden and observe from behind the scenes, so those who stepped closer to the forefront were more likely to take the lead.
Primary Universe Batman didn't hesitate any longer. He spoke, "Because I am a beta tester, I have some experience, so before coming here, I equipped a Mind Reading Technique Protection Device, and as soon as I entered, the device alarmed."
This statement instantly ignited the tense atmosphere in the cave.
Mind Reading Technique ranked at the top of Batman's most disliked abilities, of course, unless he could harness it for himself, in which case it would be his favorite ability.
In the current situation, the entire cave was like a giant Dark Forest for all the Batmen, with whoever spoke first exposing themselves. So when Primary Universe Batman stepped forward to take charge, they didn't speak but instead chose to watch first, to gather as much information and advantage as possible.
Now you're telling us that a mind reader has already infiltrated, exposing our minds potentially defenselessly before him, is that reasonable?
The other Batmen weren't without Mind Protection Devices, after all, many Batmen had encountered mind readers, but they also knew that there were many types of mind reading, and blocking one type of brain wave invasion didn't mean all were blocked.
The atmosphere in the cave cooled down, but Bruce's voice then rose, "Rather than worry about mind reading, we should worry about contamination by the Evil God. There are quite a few non-humans here."
"Damn troublemaker," Primary Universe Batman cursed to himself. "Lighting a match can be seen as making an example, but setting fires everywhere is just terrorism."
In an instant, numerous Batmen's gazes converged on those who looked distinctly less than human, as Magic was always something Batmen avoided.
Suddenly, countless black tentacles flashed from the ceiling, and numerous indescribable whispers resounded in people's ears as a figure emerged from the crowd.
"I am the Evil God, what do you plan to do about me?"
"Just kidding," Bruce's head zipped back as he said, "I only said they're here, not that I was going to do anything to you. I don't have any weapons on me."
He was just stirring the old fires again.
Looking at Little Bruce holding the Necronomicon, with over six thousand tentacles dancing windlessly behind him, almost transforming into an indistinct mass of darkness, Primary Universe Batman decided to call him "Evil God Batman."