Chapter 118: Collaboration

Chu Cheng was surprised by what he found. He thought he was just searching for a single infected, but he stumbled upon what might be the infected's main hideout—or at least an important base.

"Honestly, I wouldn't advise rushing in without more information," Friday said. "We don't know much about this group yet. From what we've seen, they might have some pretty powerful members with unknown abilities. Going in blind could be dangerous."

This was true, and even Captain America would agree.

Rushing into a fight without knowing the enemy is reckless and usually ends badly. It's something Green Lantern might do, and it often leads to disaster.

"But our virtual characters don't face real danger," Chu Cheng argued. "If the game character dies, I just wait for a respawn. If they get caught, I can just log off. It might be worth the risk to explore and see what we're up against."

"Directly attacking is an option," Friday said, "but there's another approach. We could use our allies."

Chu Cheng was surprised. Allies? We have allies?

It quickly dawned on him that Friday was referring to Secret Service Nine.

Since the asylum appeared on his radar, he'd mostly been dealing with things solo or handling small tasks. He had nearly forgotten about his teammates.

After considering Friday's suggestion, Chu Cheng realized it made sense. No matter how skilled you are, you can't take on everything alone. Even if your teammates aren't perfect, they can help by drawing attention or creating opportunities, like in a game where you need support to win.

It's not that he thinks the asylum would just give up without a fight. They might not be great at taking on big challenges, but they could help manage smaller threats and create space for Chu Cheng to make a big move.

Chu Cheng had always felt his game characters were unbeatable and didn't want to rely on others. He was used to handling everything on his own and didn't think much about teamwork.

"You're a hero, but you don't have to go it alone," Friday said.

"I'm not a hero," Chu Cheng replied. "I'm just playing a game."

"You've stepped up when people needed help. You've made it safer for people to go out at night. You've become a symbol of hope and inspired confidence in the future."

"If this isn't being a hero, then what is? Do heroes have to take risks?" 

Chu Cheng was surprised. He looked back and saw the girl's face serious, her eyes sparkling with energy. 

For a moment, he even forgot she was just an AI.

"Sir, to me... you're a real hero," she said.

Chu Cheng wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt like he saw genuine admiration in her eyes.

"Okay," he said, turning his focus back to his computer screen.

It was clear that Stark had made an incredibly lifelike AI.

Chu Cheng took a deep breath. After countless hours of gaming, sitting in this familiar chair and in front of this familiar monitor felt special.

"Let's go check if Agent Luo is awake."

…

Agent Luo was lounging in his apartment's bedroom. He sat in a comfy chair, legs crossed, a cigarette in his mouth, and wearing a headset that looked like a VR device.

It seemed Agent Luo was playing a VR game, probably a first-person shooter.

Chu Cheng had heard about this at the Ninth Office. Many agents use VR games to practice tactics and train during their downtime. 

The Operations Department even recommended certain games, saying they help with tactical skills and agent training. Some say it's just because the Operations Minister is a big gamer.

Years ago, people thought of VR as just a gaming console. But now, it's more than that. Chu Cheng had considered using VR to control a character. An immersive first-person view could make combat training feel more real and could even give him a taste of Iron Man's perspective in action.

After trying out the game, he discovered that it didn't support virtual reality at the moment. So, he hoped it might be available once the system got an upgrade in the future.

"Going to bed early is good for your health, Agent Luo," Batman's voice came from the shadows.

Luo Yajun recognized the visitor before he even grabbed his gear. He grumbled, "Yeah, just waltz in like it's your own place... oh right, you probably do think of it as your own place."

He tossed the device aside and turned around.

"You caused quite a stir at Sloan Technology last night. The investigation team was all over the place," Luo Yajun said. "I'm guessing you found something?"

"There's a hidden room in the chairman's office at Sloan Technology. The clues found there point to a woman who looks like Agent Chen Meiyue. We tracked her footprints to this location."

Just then, Luo Yajun's phone buzzed. He checked the screen and saw a photo from an unknown number.

"Is this... the sewer?"

"In the sewer area, there are several infected people guarding an entrance to a stronghold of organized infected."

"Organized infected..." Luo Yajun looked surprised. "You found the lair of the 'dead man'!?"

He knew Batman was a top-notch detective, but this was impressive. The Ninth Office team was still scrambling around cluelessly. Batman had already pinpointed the human crystal's location. If Batman hadn't shared this, they might have been too late.

Since Batman chose to share the info...

"You want to team up with Secret Service Nine?" Luo Yajun asked.

Batman didn't answer directly. "You figured this out yourself, Agent Luo, not me."

"Well, that's nice of you," Luo Yajun said with a smile, lighting a cigarette.

"They might give me a promotion or a pay raise for this. I doubt anyone will thank you, though. But I guess you weren't looking for thanks."

Luo Yajun stubbed out his cigarette and looked at the shadow, finding it empty.

"Just as I thought."

He felt he was getting the hang of dealing with Batman.