Beatrix logged into the game and entered the main interface. He carefully studied the available options.
In addition to the usual "Start Game" function, there were also options for Store and Settings.
The Settings were nothing special-standard stuff like volume control, screen brightness, joystick sensitivity-just like any other game.
But the Store...
That was a different story.
Yesterday, when Beatrix first played the game, he had checked out the store, but it was completely empty.
Today, though-things had changed.
First of all, his "Acquired Characters" section was no longer empty. He now had access to multiple Batman variants.
Hovering over one with his mouse brought up a description:
"Batman. Real identity: Bruce Wayne. A billionaire from Gotham City. As a child, he witnessed his parents being murdered and vowed to prevent such tragedy from happening again. After years of training around the world, he returned to Gotham and became the city's dark knight: Batman."
In addition, a brand-new store function had been unlocked:
[C-Rank Summon
Consumes hero points to activate a summon.
Each summon randomly grants superhero equipment or even summons a hero from another universe.
One summon costs 50 hero points]
Beatrix instantly understood.
This was a gacha system.
In the upper-right corner of the store interface, his current Hero Points were displayed-over 500 of them, enough for ten pulls.
Apparently, this was the reward for clearing the mission last night.
A classic ten-pull freebie for new players.
No one knew exactly when the gacha craze took over gaming, but it had exploded across genres overnight. Everywhere you turned-anime girls, fantasy warriors, even cooking games-it was all loot boxes, character draws, and SSR rolls.
Game devs had discovered the secret formula:
You don't need great graphics or a deep story. Just give players a white-skinned, big-eyed waifu and you're set.
The fans would scream and fight and flame each other online, but in the end, everyone spent money.
Even The Flash would fall behind trying to keep up with the cash burn.
Beatrix didn't mind it. Honestly, he thought gacha in a superhero game was weird, but kind of entertaining.
He just didn't expect Marvel and DC to jump in together.
Still, even if the monetization model was copied, the content was clearly different.
Superhero themes meant you wouldn't get the same waifus or anime tropes.
Right?
FLASH!
A blinding white light flashed across the screen.
A loud mechanical rumble sounded as a teleportation array lit up.
A curvy, seductive figure materialized from the beam.
She wore a purple-black mask and high boots. Long, snow-white legs gleamed under the lights.
Her chest was overflowing-two massive peaks of white pressed together, forming a cleavage deeper than the Mariana Trench.
Beatrix: "..."
So much for no waifus.
Clearly, he had underestimated the shamelessness of two giant Western companies.
Turns out they had learned a lot from anime culture over the years-and needed no guidance.
Hero Introduction:
"Huntress. Real name: Helena Bertinelli. Daughter of a Gotham mafia boss. Skilled in martial arts and marksmanship. Rides a motorcycle. Signature weapons: crossbow and staff."
It was surprising to unlock a new hero so early. But that surprise wore off fast-just like the afterglow of finishing a great boss fight.
Beatrix quickly refocused.
He wasn't here to drool over sexy models. He started analyzing the combat potential of this new character.
After all, this was still an action-adventure game where you could only control one hero at a time.
And Huntress?
Kind of a meh pull.
Sure, she looked cool, but her power type overlapped completely with Batman.
Both were non-powered human heroes.
But Batman was the gold standard-the top-tier human vigilante.
Combat? Batman wins.
Tech? Batman wins.
Gear? Batman wins.
Outside of her... "physical design," Huntress had no real advantages.
From the panel description, it seemed like the only unique feature she had was... a motorcycle?
That's it?! What good is that?
Beatrix, being a focused and totally responsible gamer (he swears), wasn't moved by such details.
At least not much.
If this was just a basic single-player action game, a flashy new character might still be fun to mess around with.
But now?
He was starting to suspect this game might be more than just a game.
And that meant investing in a redundant, low-tier hero was just... a waste.
Nine summons remained.
Beatrix took a deep breath-
And kept going.
"Thank you for participating."
"Thank you for participating."
"Thank you..."
Over and over again.
Only then did he realize-the drop rate for new heroes might not be that great.
Maybe pulling Huntress on the first try was just luck.
Now? It felt like he had triggered the dreaded "bad luck streak."
He thought about whether this meant he had "unlucky protagonist" status. But no-that wasn't how luck worked in stories.
Truly lucky MCs get whatever they want.
Truly unlucky ones can't even pull SRs after a hundred rolls.
Beatrix didn't want to wear either crown.
Finally, on the tenth summon-
Something different dropped.
Green Arrow's mask.
Beatrix: "..."
What's this supposed to do?
The description was vague: "A mask made of specialized fiber. Conceals identity without affecting vision or performance."
Honestly? Beatrix doubted it could actually hide anything.
He still remembered the Green Lantern movie, where the hero put on a similar mask, then tried to flirt with a girl on a rooftop-only for her to immediately recognize him and roast him.
"Dude, even if you cover your face, I can still recognize your ass."
Still, Beatrix was curious.
Maybe, just maybe, it was more than cosmetic.
Even if it was just a basic item, maybe it had hidden attributes?
The item was free anyway. Might as well try it out.
He clicked the Summon button under the item icon.
A moment later, the small blue eye mask appeared in Batman's backpack in-game.
And then-
Beatrix's phone buzzed.
A text message from an unknown number:
> "Your parcel has been delivered to your doorstep. Please retrieve it as soon as possible."
Beatrix's eyes widened.
Package? What package?
His gaze dropped to the in-game eye mask.
Wait...
No way.
Was the game item... sent to the real world?
Ridiculous.
And yet, heart pounding, he got up from his desk.
He walked to the living room, opened the door-
And found a small package lying silently on the floor outside.