novelonline Chapter 3830 Batman's New York Trip (Part 2)
Chapter 3830 Batman's New York Trip (Part 2)
Chapter 3830 Batman's New York Trip (Part 2)
Schiller heard about the grand spectacle of the Batmen's visit to the lab from Natasha. It was precisely because these mad scientists became so engrossed, passionate, and reckless when it came to research that the originally planned three-day visit stretched into half a month. They not only went abroad but also to outer space, and were even taken on a trip to the Andromeda Galaxy by Magneto, where they provided many valuable suggestions for the construction of the capital, Sky Island.
In reality, half a month isn't much time; it's not enough to produce any real results, at most it can provide some ideas. However, the various factions are quite clever. Although Batman can't come often, he can still communicate through the Battleworld, so they can easily switch to online work.
They hired Batman to conduct some kind of research, agreed on the payment, and then Stark would exchange real-world resources for Battle Realm Points. They would pay a deposit upfront, and the balance would be paid after the research was completed.
In reality, currency can be exchanged for points, but it's very inefficient. The most cost-effective method is to use energy and resources, specifically cosmic mass. After all, building those Battle Realm dungeons requires consuming these resources; they are the means by which the founders of the Battle Realm raised funds.
Since humanity entered the interstellar age in this universe, resources have been plentiful. There are no significant advanced civilizations in the Milky Way, and the nine great realms are easily accessible. Humanity's current mining methods are not very advanced; even after hundreds of millions of years of digging, not a single corner would be mined.
In order to further expand interstellar colonization, and knowing that the three great empires might not remain silent and might retaliate later, humanity has recently been stockpiling resources, extracting a considerable amount from the solar system and surrounding star systems, which will be used to make a deal with Batman.
Schiller is trying to persuade the other founders of the Battle Realm to change the trading system to two-way, meaning that resources can be exchanged for points, and points can be exchanged for resources. This channel should be open soon.
Using points to exchange for resources is a huge loss for Schiller's universe. After all, they already have interstellar travel capabilities, and resources are everywhere. If they upgrade their mining equipment, they won't have to worry about anything.
However, this is extremely important to Batman and the Justice League. With Batman's ingenuity, what space facility can't he build? The reason he hasn't ventured into space is simply because he can't make bricks without straw.
Building a long-range space fleet capable of interstellar exploration requires not only technology but also materials. Or perhaps materials are more important. When materials science advances to a certain point, even a three-year-old can assemble a spaceship using building blocks.
However, many of the materials used for fuel and the ship's hull are not found on Earth. Given Gotham's environment, where people can't be left alone for even a day, Batman couldn't possibly spend a significant amount of time mining materials from outer space.
However, if it's possible to directly exchange Battle Realm Points, there's no need to exchange too many. As long as you can build a spaceship and some mining equipment, Batman has his own way of snowballing and building more and more.
With resources and a fleet, Batman would gain a greater voice among the Justice League and Earth's superheroes. He would have more power, instead of being constantly hampered. This would allow him to make decisions more arbitrarily.
It's not the stupid ideas that's scary, it's the lack of ideas altogether. In the era of the multiverse, each universe can only have one voice. In comparison, Batman is more likely to lead the universe.
Of course, not all Batmen come to New York on serious business. Quite a few are just tourists, like the Great Adventure Batman and the Lego Batman. Those two were really there for fun.
While the other Batmen were busy touring the lab, the two of them were busy shopping. From Times Square to Wall Street, from Central Park to Fifth Avenue, they explored all of New York's famous landmarks.
Many people might think that Gotham and the Metropolitan Area are simply New York's night and day, but in reality, the topography of these two cities has absolutely nothing to do with New York. On official maps, Gotham at least resembles New York somewhat, with a vague outline of Manhattan, while the Metropolitan Area is completely different, looking more like a West Coast city.
DC does have a New York City; the Justice Society, the predecessor to the Justice League, is based there. However, in this setting, New York is portrayed as a small city, probably similar to Brodhaven. Even without this setting, the East Coast simply can't accommodate a third megacity. Don't forget there's Imperial City above it; any further down the line and Baltimore would be gone.
So the Batmen, newly arrived in New York, felt quite excited. Many of them went to famous landmarks to take photos and share them in group chats. Although magic is no longer allowed after leaving school, the Lego Batman, taking advantage of his small size to avoid being spotted by security, climbed onto the torch of the Statue of Liberty and used a drone to take a picture of himself.
Many Batmen are interested in the superheroes of this universe. Coincidentally, the superhero culture in this universe is also very popular, with almost every well-known superhero having their own video accounts, web pages, and merchandise, making it a paradise for fans.
Captain America is the most popular superhero on Earth. This is because the commercial management of the Captain America character is the best, and he himself is considered quite upright, making him easily popular across all age groups. His posters and merchandise are practically everywhere.
Because most people were focused on Batman visiting the lab, the Lego Batman and the Great Adventure Batman, who were originally supposed to be on a free trip, caused a lot of trouble due to the Lego Batman's overly erratic thinking. Nick had to throw Schiller over to keep an eye on the two of them.
Schiller took the two of them to Hell's Kitchen for a stroll. Hell's Kitchen is no longer a slum; it's more like a cultural district, filled with graffiti, parkour, racing, street art, cocktails and coffee, as well as superhero stores.
Schiller found a spot to park outside Hell's Kitchen. Before he could even get out of the car, the Lego Batman cheered and rushed out, because he saw a huge graffiti mural depicting dozens of Spider-Men.
He rushed up to take a picture, but because he was too short, he couldn't get a full shot. Batman from The Great Adventure walked up and lifted him up so they could finally capture the huge mural in the photo.
Behind this mural is a street lined with shops selling Spider-Man merchandise. Because it was a weekend, it was quite crowded. Spider-Man fans from all over the world come here to take photos, and there's a high chance of bumping into Spider-Man himself. It doesn't matter which Spider-Man you meet, they're all Spider-Man, so just grab them for a photo!
This street was basically full of small commodities, like Spider-Man web shooters, masks, and various red and blue themed clothes and shoes, as well as badges, necklaces, pencil cases, and the like. I bought them all, including the Lego Batman set.
Schiller picked up one of the small badges and flipped it over, unsurprisingly revealing the country of origin. He then used his phone to take a picture with a Chinese image recognition app and discovered that the price had not only been converted to US dollars, but the decimal point had also been moved one place to the right.
Seeing the price difference, Schiller quietly put down the cute Spider-Man badge. Sure enough, tourist attractions all over the world are the same.
But they were very happy with their LEGO Batman purchase and didn't care about being ripped off. After browsing the Spider-Man section, they went to the Captain America section. The merchandise there was even more diverse, including 1:1 scale replicas of metal shields.
The LEGO Batman insisted on buying the metal shield, regardless of its size, which was almost like a flying saucer to him. Schiller had no choice but to buy it for him, and then immediately quoted a price based on the weight of vibranium.
Iron Man's official stores are much more upscale. Since the copyright to Iron Man and Tony Stark belongs to Stark Industries, all the stores are exclusively operated by Stark Industries, so the decor is naturally much better than those contracted out. There are also two real Iron Man suits displayed at the entrance—retired Stark mechs—where many people take photos.
Here, LEGO Batman found his most desired gift—a complete set of LEGO Iron Man armor.
While there's no LEGO in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are indeed similar building block brands. However, these are quite expensive, so most companies wouldn't choose this product category. Stark, with his bold and daring approach, launched a series of brick mechs that not only fit miniature brick figures but also make sounds and light up.
I put on the LEGO Batman costume as soon as I bought it, but unfortunately the size was a bit wrong, and I couldn't fly like Iron Man. It just made some boring noises and lights.
"I'm going to modify it!" roared the LEGO Batman. "I'm going to turn it into a one-of-a-kind mech that's uniquely mine!"
Schiller and the Batman of Great Adventure nodded and applauded him.
To Schiller's surprise, there was a Moon Knight store here, and someone had even made a replica of the Moon Knight's outfit and staff, which looked quite convincing on the mannequin.
However, the most popular items in the Moon Knight store are figurines, and Kong Su's figurines sell even better than Moon Knight's. The skull and falcon head design definitely appeals more to younger consumers.
Then, we arrived at the Ilfamoni specialty store, which was full of postcards, wands, crystal balls, quills, and other items featuring various characters. Although they couldn't compare to the official merchandise at the magic school, they were still quite exquisite.
What Schiller found most unbearable was that one wall was covered with a row of his photos—or more accurately, a row of photos of the school doctor—all stills from movies. Below that was a row of the same medicines he brewed at the school, the same quill pens he used, and the same tableware he had. Quite a few people were crowding there, browsing and taking pictures.
Thankfully, Schiller wore a mask when he went out today, otherwise the three of them would have been stuck in the store. Even so, Schiller still felt like someone was watching him. He had no choice but to urge the other two to hurry up and leave.
Then they saw the Ghost Rider store. It was, of course, very popular, especially the fire motorcycle figurines and the fire horse. There was also a Johnny standee at the entrance.
All of these things require paying them royalties, and it's not a buyout; they get a cut for every item sold. So now Johnny and Danny's financial situation is much better. Although they still can't afford a house in New York, they can at least rent a decent place.
The store even had a large poster of Mephisto on it, and a bust of him over a meter tall placed in the center. Schiller didn't even need to look; he knew the cashier at the counter must be one of Mephisto's apostles.
“I think this model is pretty good,” said Batman the Adventurer. “I’m quite popular in our universe, so what do you think about opening a specialty store?”
“It’s not a new idea,” Schiller said. “Go to Bruce’s universe and you’ll see Bat Street, which is full of Batman merchandise. Headgear, capes, figurines, mechs, toys, badges, postcards. If you want to open a shop, you can go there and learn from them.”
“Sounds good,” said Batman the Adventurer. “I’ll go ask Bruce later. This should make a lot of money, right?”
"More than that, Bruce's fiscal deficit is almost turned around."
What followed was a major event, alas~