[Western Crossover] After Using My Secret Identity to Get Close to Superheroes

Aiyiluo Si had planned to spend her whole life slacking off, content to coast along at BA Company, until the company sent her to test a full-immersion open-world game, Justice League in Action. Bad news: She knew nothing about the plot. Good news: She could buy all kinds of amazing items. Bad news: There was no save function. Good news: She could create secret identities. Her first secret identity was an ordinary unemployed Gothamite named Edward Simpson. Pros: He had no social life, his whole family had died in a car crash, and he had a brain injury. Cons: His face attracted far too much attention, and he was broke. His peaceful life was ruined when he came home to find a corpse in his bedroom. He was arrested and branded “a clever, dangerous bastard who murdered his old lover,” with a pair of silver bracelets snapped around his wrists. “I’m not going to die, understand?” Her second secret identity was an unremarkable supervillain, Gotham’s Prince of Crime, codenamed Criminal. The bad news was that a System error had skipped her past all the opening chapters. She missed the Clown’s Round Table, had no faction or followers, and still had to stay in character, while her Arkham colleagues watched her like hawks. “Do you know why I don’t like to laugh?” “Because it really hurts…” … Aiyiluo Si had always believed that games were games and reality was reality, and that the two could never be confused. She put on one secret identity after another, going from obscurity to worldwide fame. In this grand performance, she was only a bit player who had stepped off the audience seats and onto the stage, destined in the end to return to her seat. Until she discovered that the game was real. - Under the watchful eye of the cameras, the clown Criminal fell from a skyscraper and burned to death. Yet the shadow she left over Gotham’s citizens lingered: long, dark-green curls, lips bright as blood, and eerie green eyes gleaming with a cold light. Criminal had come back to life. As torrential rain fell, countless insanities took root in the shadows. Just as light drives back darkness and justice defeats evil, the three Jokers eventually died. As the world’s second-best detective, he unmasked Criminal and pried open her coffin one dark and stormy night. The corpse inside had vanished. In its place was a strange game console. The game was set in Duotan City, a place much like Gotham, except it was a peaceful city where all was calm and well. But the detective soon discovered that: The Riddler was a third-rate mystery novelist, and the Penguin an ordinary birdwatcher; Catwoman was a famous jewelry designer, and Poison Ivy an obscure forest ranger; Clayface was an international superstar, and Scarecrow a mild-mannered university professor. There were no superheroes at all. The detective: ? The detective decided to approach the game’s protagonist and investigate further. Pairing: The world’s second-best detective Reader’s Guide: 1. This is an unconventional secret-identity story, and the identities develop slowly. The heroine may take on secret identities of any gender or age, good or evil, ordinary people, or even nonhumans. If that bothers you, please read with caution. All the identities are designed to bring her into contact with superheroes. Though the heroine has played a villain, that identity will die! Overall, the heroine is a good person. Secret-identity developments will be added to the blurb as the story progresses. Only a very small number of people will discover her secret identities. 2. The timeline is chaotic and the lore is a blend, drawing mainly on the comics, with some elements from games (the Arkham series), animation (the TAS series, and others), and the TV series Gotham. My abilities as an author are limited, so any out-of-character moments are on me. 3. Plot-focused, with a relatively small amount of romance. 4. The worldbuilding is geared toward uncovering mysteries, and I’ll try to keep it consistent. 5. The Joker will die. 6. Comments are welcome. Love and peace. 7. The original blurb was finalized on 2024.08.09, and the current version on 2024.11.01. I’ve kept a record of the inspirations, too. Theme: What is real?