amaotonovel Chapter 4679 A Desperate Escape (The End)
Chapter 4679 A Desperate Escape (The End)
Chapter 4679 A Desperate Escape (The End)
Just minutes before, the instant Greed pulled the plug, Batman, like an arrow released from a bow, tackled Deathstroke to the ground with lightning speed.
Deathstroke had no idea that Batman would suddenly attack after the negotiations had succeeded. He instinctively tried to grab his weapon to fight back, but Superman had already hit him on the head with a crowbar.
"boom!"
Deathstroke was stunned by the blow and didn't react for a moment. Then he heard Batman, who was on top of him, say in his ear, "Cooperate with me, and I'll get you out of here."
Deathstroke was stunned, not quite understanding what he was talking about, but Greed understood.
The act of pulling the light switch was interpreted by Batman as an attack. Or rather, Batman thought the organizers were using the sudden darkness to provoke the mercenary into attacking. So Batman preemptively tackled him to the ground.
But in reality, greed was just a way to prevent them from causing any more trouble and damaging the power supply to the lights, so they simply pulled the switch on all at once.
His words were also intended to persuade the mercenaries to defect. In his understanding, mercenaries were bound to their companies and thus had no choice but to risk their lives. If given a chance to leave, he might seize it.
"Just agree to it." Greed had run out of options. If the others were merely engaging in exhaustive physical sabotage, Batman wouldn't overlook any possibility of plot development, going through every possible avenue to persuade him, just to see if there were any new developments.
"Let me go first." Deathstroke acted quite convincingly, saying, "I didn't mean to attack you; I still need to lead the way and open the door for you."
Batman took it as a yes, and the two of them took Deathstroke back to the atrium checkpoint. He was supposed to leave after opening the door, but since Deathstroke had agreed to cooperate with Batman, he followed him inside.
Superman pulled off another kidnapping. This time, Deathstroke was not surprised; he cooperated and put on a show, then had Greed open the door to the room where Pride and Bruce were.
The mechanism in their room was purely physical, requiring no power, so a power outage wouldn't allow them to pass the level directly. When the door was opened from the outside, the two who emerged were also surprised by the scene outside.
"What the hell?" Bruce asked. "Who is this guy?"
“The staff here,” Batman said calmly, “everyone head to the exit first, but don’t leave yet. I suspect they have another trap.”
The only thing no one doubted about Batman was his vigilance. They were also quite skeptical that the organizers would let them off so easily, and everyone carefully checked the keys and locks, fearing that the organizers might give them some parting gifts.
Everyone upstairs had left, leaving only those on the first floor. Superman, clutching Deathstroke, asked, "Where's the door on the first floor?"
“You have to go up,” said Deathstroke. “All I know is that the exit is up there.”
He pointed to the very top of the chain. Bruce and Schiller, who had already deduced the true nature of the obstacle, understood that it must be the exit designed by the company. The chain was stopped, and there was no electricity, but the blades were still there. How were they going to climb up?
“I’ll go take a look,” Bruce said. The ceiling wasn’t actually far from him, but he hadn’t been able to climb up because the blades had been moving. Now that it had stopped, he used a crowbar to hook onto the chain on the edge of the winch and slowly climbed up. Then he did a pull-up and stood on the side of the winch to inspect the blades. “This can be taken off,” he said. “You guys wait a bit.”
Bruce started disassembling the blades. Fortunately, this thing didn't need to be disassembled piece by piece; the central fixing device allowed him to remove the entire tray. However, the more difficult part was how to secure the blades to the rope for disassembly, something Bruce was clearly not very skilled at.
“This job should be done by Selena,” Bruce said. “Dick would be fine too; he can hang on this rope for hours, truly befitting…a traditional circus family…”
Although he said that, he only dismantled it slowly, but eventually finished. Bruce climbed to the top, grabbed the winch above, and said, "No problem, you guys come on up!"
“You guys step on my shoulders to get up,” Batman said. “Superman, wait for me, so you can pull me up.”
Schiller recognized Deathstroke, of course; he knew this was probably another new addition to the Greedy faction. He waved Deathstroke away, telling him to go first. Deathstroke didn't hesitate. If he had to choose between Batman and Schiller, he would definitely choose Batman, because at least Batman had some sense, while Schiller was nothing more than a land orca.
Deathstroke moved much more nimbly; he was clearly a rope climber, and he climbed up in no time. Then came Schiller, whose skill pool was now shared, and since the agent also knew rope climbing, Schiller quickly climbed up as well.
Batman and Superman brought up the rear. Actually, Batman was too tired to climb anymore, so Superman had to pull him up. It took the two of them about twenty minutes to climb up.
Above is a circular room with a door on each side. The light coming from the left door is clearly sunlight, not lamplight, which is likely the exit.
Batman walked to the door on the right, only to find a piece of paper stuck to it: "If you stay, we will pardon a newcomer."
Batman sighed; so the organizers were waiting for them here. It was yet another moral choice, but still not mandatory, only incredibly tempting.
This game requires six groups of twelve people to play. Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for everyone to complete the game. At least three or four people will be harmed, and in the end, only three or four people may be able to complete the game. Many people will be sacrificed every time the game is played.
However, if veteran players choose to stay and continue participating in the company's games, they will not recruit new players, which may prevent more people from being harmed.
Those who have managed to overcome so many incredibly difficult challenges to get here are either strong individuals with a strong sense of sacrifice or fearless madmen. Regardless of their type, they are unlikely to rush out the moment they see the exit; the probability that they will choose to stay is not small.
And this was exactly what the company wanted. Those who could clear the game were all skilled players. Adding them to the game would greatly increase the unpredictability, and they might even become star players, increasing the odds. It would also save them the trouble of going out to catch people. No matter how you looked at it, it was a sure win.
"It seems this choice determines the ending," Superman said after looking around. "Which will have a better ending: staying or leaving?"
“Neither,” Batman said. “If you leave, you’ll live in the shadows for the rest of your life, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder because of the terrible experience, and worry about being brought back by the company; if you choose to stay, you’ll have to deal with endless, brutal trials until you die a horrible death.”
"So what should we do?" Superman asked.
“Wait,” Batman said. “I don’t know if the agent who helped us earlier managed to escape. If he finds the bodies we’ve piled up in the central power room, we’ll have enough evidence. If he leaves with that evidence, backup might arrive soon.”
Superman immediately understood. If it were the players who died, it might not have attracted much attention, but it was a different story when the organizers died. Those organizers were all prominent and wealthy individuals, and it wasn't just one of them who died; they had almost all of them killed.
After these people disappear, the FBI will face immense pressure. Therefore, if that agent really did smuggle the evidence out, the federal government and the FBI will definitely launch a full-scale attack on the company. If they can't wipe out the company, then they'll have to take the blame.
Moreover, the government and police will need these victims because only by speaking out can the company be held accountable. Press conferences and support will come at the same time; they need to be prepared.
Greed, who was in the monitoring room, wiped his face and turned to the detective, saying, "What are you still doing here? Go play the savior!"
Ten minutes later, the deafening roar of helicopter rotors echoed from afar. With a bang, the door was kicked open, and countless police officers poured in, their flashes brighter than the desert sun.
Everyone was draped in life jackets and led outside, surrounded by police and reporters. As they reached the ambulance, a sharp siren blared amidst the flashing red and blue lights of the police vehicle. Through the ambulance windows, the police officers, like fish in water, moved through the heat. Among them, a blurry face smiled at them.
"DT CEO Richard Bodman was arrested at his home today. He claims to know nothing about the company's horrific 'battle royale reality show' in New Mexico, but police found files containing victims' personal information at his residence. Here is our detailed report..."
The host played a clip of the arrest, showing the police body camera shakily searching Bodorman's home and successfully apprehending him in his bedroom while he was still in his pajamas. Batman, watching this animated scene, noticed that Bodorman only had four fingers on his left hand.
He reached out and dragged the progress bar, watching all the details of the previous videos. Finally, at 2 minutes and 15 seconds, he saw that in Bodman's study, there was an illustration that looked like a plant pattern, but when he zoomed in, he could see that it was not a plant, but a tree made of human fingers.
"Is he a cultist..." Batman muttered to himself.
At this moment, Greed was already slumped in his chair. This happy ending was something he had just forcibly created in ten minutes; originally, there were only bad endings and even worse endings.
Just as Batman predicted, if you choose to leave, the ending animation will show the protagonist becoming an alcoholic and entering a mental hospital, triggering the "Soul Remains Forever" ending; if you choose to stay, you will open your eyes and find yourself in a new secret room, triggering the "Endless Tribulations" ending.
The only ending that can be considered good in the entire game is actually the hidden ending, or the true ending. The condition for achieving this is that you must first learn that the Thousand Hands are one god. This can be discovered through your own investigation or by being told by someone else; in any case, you must know that such a thing exists. Choosing to leave at this point has a certain chance of triggering the "I saw you" ending.
After leaving, the protagonist chooses to investigate the "One God with Ten Thousand Hands" organization, then uses the findings to blackmail Bodman, forcing him to reveal the list of investors and survivors. Finally, the protagonist gathers the survivors they can find, continuously fighting against the company and assassinating investors, ultimately nearly wiping out the entire organization.
The only ones who could truly understand this final ending were Schiller and Anatoly, because it was a replica of Schiller's past life experiences.
“Just consider this a ‘memorial’ for me.” Greed said this when Pride asked Greed why he wrote this ending, emphasizing the word “memorial.” Pride seemed to understand something as well.