Seeing Batman's expression, Shiller knew that he definitely hadn't abandoned his plan and was still intending to seriously do something. However, judged by the style of this world, it was unlikely to succeed and served only as fodder for laughter.
Now they really needed to consider a practical issue—whether this team could make it to the 13th floor, or else they might have to resort to some external help.
They had already been stuck in the rather simple fourth-floor maze for a long time, which was a bit of Shiller's own making. With Batman's intellect, navigating a maze shouldn't have been too difficult, even without a map or the ability to fly for an aerial view, yet here they were, still trapped.
But Shiller's social skills training had made Batman overly concerned about his teammates' opinions. Superman would suggest a direction, and Batman wouldn't directly contradict him, just letting them try it out. Wonder Woman would pick a path, and he wouldn't deny it, trying his best to accommodate his teammates' feelings.
While their feelings were taken care of, it didn't solve the problem at all. Instead, under their misdirection, they strayed further and further, twisting what had been a straightforward route into a tangled mess.
Although the world's grand will played a role in this, Shiller thought about it and felt that he had also contributed significantly, deciding that this team needed to add a strategic thinker.
Before long, an echo came through the sparsely filled maze, and everyone stopped to listen intently. The voice of Martian Manhunter rang in their ears, "I've come to find you. There's a door near me; where are you guys now?"
Superman was relieved, saying, "That's great, Ron, let's come find you. Which way should we go?"
"I'm not sure, but I think if those cultists have also passed through the maze, the places where people frequently move might have less moss on the floor; maybe you can use that clue."
Everyone suddenly understood, Batman led the way and said while walking, "So that's how it is; let's go."
At this moment, Superman also felt something was off and looked at Batman with some confusion, saying, "You had noticed it all along, hadn't you? Then why didn't you tell us?"
"I just thought your ideas made sense too." Batman gently shook his head and said, "How could I not give you the chance to try them?"
Wonder Woman, somewhat helplessly, spread her hands and said, "Come on, Batman, you could just speak straight; the problem would be solved and everyone would be happy."
"I hope so."
Superman and Wonder Woman exchanged glances, and Superman cleared his throat before saying, "I know we might have done some things wrong before, like not inviting you to some parties..."
"Some?"
"Just a few times," Superman admitted. "On one hand, in the past we always invite you, but you don't want to come, always saying you're busy. We didn't want to disturb you, and on the other hand, we indeed had some matters to discuss behind your back..."
Wonder Woman gently nudged Superman and said, "Choosing who to leave behind was a collective decision of the previous generation and us. It seems we have many options, but actually, we had none."
Batman just hummed softly, noncommittally, leaving Wonder Woman and Superman hoping to persuade him next time.
Soon, following the marks on the ground, they found Martian Manhunter, and the gate behind him was the door. They fumbled around it for a while and then discovered that the door had no traps; it could simply be pushed open.
They found the route to the fifth floor, opened the door, and in front of them appeared a wide, dark river with a suspension bridge across it, but with countless flying-knife traps on both sides, testing their agility on this level.
Back in the Batcave, Shiller and Tim were scrutinizing the manual, realizing that this floor was assembled most perfectly. Each mechanism was precisely placed, no parts were missing, and there were no issues caused by the tightness or looseness of the minifigure assembly.
Watching this group navigate the challenges was uninteresting, especially since Green Lantern's energy had run out and Superman's biological stance seemed unusable. Thus, they could only rely on their own skills, and no one could help Batman across.
Nevertheless, this level of physical dexterity was not difficult for Batman; it was just a bit thrilling.
Seizing this opportunity, the three of them began discussing what to do next. Before that, Batman asked Shiller, "What about that guy with the twin swords? What did you have him do?"
"He has important work to do." Shiller said, "If we want to transport a large amount of raw materials, we need a spacious area to open a teleportation portal. I sent him to scout the map."
Batman nodded, feeling that teaming up with Shiller had its benefits. Whether true or not, the other always provided an answer, not playing a game of leaving things half-said.
"Then let's seriously discuss the next plan," Batman said. "Logically, the Batman of this universe should also be on the invitation list to Battleworld. Why do you think he didn't go?"
"More likely, the invitation from Battleworld disappeared for various comic reasons," Shiller said soberly. "Maybe the postman fell into a ditch, or it was taken by a dog."
Batman was somewhat at a loss for words.
"I must point out that even the universe in which Batman has already participated can also become a copy, and at that time, you will receive an invitation in an email," said Shiller.
"To keep your world from being messed about by these people, you must go back and act as the gatekeeper, deciding exactly what these strange visitors from another realm should do in your universe."
Shiller disclosed an unprecedented piece of news, which wasn't mentioned in any introduction, and the Batman of the Prime Universe hadn't seen any copies that had a situation similar to his own universe.
"But your case is rather special," Shiller changed his tone and continued, "Your universe shouldn't be tampered with, as it could easily lead to major problems, so they might not have added your universe to the card pool, and you and all the participants in your universe probably don't need to guard the gate."
Batman slightly furrowed his brow. It was a good thing to be cautious, but in reality, he felt at a loss, because if a group of powerful otherworldly guests appeared in his universe, he could have used them to do things he could not do by himself or accomplish.
"However, this isn't fair to you," Shiller said, clearly sharing Batman's view. He shook his head and continued, "So you might receive a compensation email."
"Is it just for me, or do all the participants in our universe get it?" Batman asked.
"It should be for everyone," Shiller answered. "The big world on the opposite side also has a universe that must not be tampered with. The compensation you receive will be the same."
Batman began to ponder the intelligence revealed by Shiller. If there was compensation, it could be acceptable, but it depended on what the compensation actually was. Batman didn't think it would be ordinary materials, otherwise Shiller wouldn't need to bring it up specifically. Since he mentioned it, he must have an ulterior motive.
"I don't know exactly what the compensation is right now. To avoid suspicion, it's decided by some people who don't participate in the game," Shiller said. "But I suspect it won't be ordinary materials, but rather some kind of authority."
"Authority?" Batman seemed very interested in this term.
"You might think that it's unfair for us, as game creators, to participate because we know the entire structure of the game and even many details of the copies—naturally, we have a much higher starting point than others," Shiller commented.
"But it's not that simple. Every copy is not just a game; it's a real universe. What they can acquire from a universe is much more than many people imagine, and the most important thing is authority."
"Suppose a Batman, who has never left Earth, comes into contact with a universe administrator in one of the copy games and obtains some universal authority from this administrator, wouldn't he then be able to be called a god in this universe?" Shiller posited.
Batman seemed to realize something immediately and said, "So, participants will soon realize this, and their goals might shift from initially acquiring resources to benefit their own universe, to competing for control and becoming gods of other universes."
"Yes, to prevent this situation, there are rules about guarding the gate. The gatekeeper needs to prevent the situation from escalating and uphold the order of their own universe," Shiller explained.
"That kind of situation won't happen in my universe, which should be a good thing, but I still received compensation, which means there must be advantages to being a gatekeeper," Batman said softly.
"Apart from not using them to do certain things, there is another most important point: they cannot become enemies of your universe—note, enemies of the entire universe."
Batman suddenly realized something, his expression becoming solemn. He thought, yes, otherworldly guests are almost the enemies of the entire universe; even Darkseid wouldn't allow these outsiders to mess around on his turf.
This meant one thing: all the other universes susceptible to invasion would at some point face a common enemy across the universe, and since these enemies came from various universes and possessed various magical powers, they were obviously very powerful and not something that one or two factions alone could handle.
This would inevitably force all types of beings in those universes to unite, whether it be Earth, Apocalypse Star, Mount Olympus, or those strange and bizarre planes of the Magical realm. Once they sensed the threat from these outsiders, willing or not, they would have to choose to ally.
This would prompt an internal reshuffling of forces within the universe, potentially leading to collaborations and technological upgrades, integration and changes in structures, and even shifts in levels of power.
Without such external enemies, the evolution of the universe could be much slower. At least Batman couldn't think of anything else that could make him and Darkseid choose to cooperate besides these outsiders.
From this perspective, he was at a great loss.
So the compensation had to be something as significant as universal authority. Batman thought that Shiller must be subtly hinting to him, suggesting that this authority should be quite useful, otherwise it wouldn't make up for such a big loss.
So he's mentioning it now because he wants to form an alliance?
Batman looked at Shiller and said, "What do you want me to do? Name your price."
"Don't rush; I still don't know what the authority is. I only have one request: as soon as you receive the compensation email, message me immediately," Shiller said.