"Thank you, Curator Zack. If not for you, I might have actually gone home empty-handed this time."
Gordon—no, Phantom Thief Kid—looked at the sleeping curator and quipped.
Indeed, back in the exhibition hall, not only was the Goddess's Tear in the glass case a fake, but the second one Kid had shown to Gordon and Zack was also a fake.
He had crafted that counterfeit long ago—before he even sent the notice to the museum.
It wasn't foresight. His original heist plan had simply required a decoy. But because Curator Zack had hidden the real gem, Kid was forced to alter his plan.
Plans never kept up with changes. Adaptability was a prerequisite for a phantom thief.
When Kid discovered the gem had been swapped, it was over an hour before the eclipse. Finding the hidden location in such a tight timeframe was nearly impossible. So, he had to trick Zack into leading him to it.
In the end, Kid succeeded.
The real Goddess's Tear was now in his hand.
"Item secured. Mission accomplished."
Putting away the gem, Kid grabbed his collar and yanked it downward. His outfit instantly transformed into a standard police uniform, identical to the guards frantically searching the museum.
Adjusting his cap, he calmly left the room, blending seamlessly into the search team. Taking advantage of a moment when no one was looking, he slipped out of the museum without a sound.
"Commissioner, we've turned the museum upside down and searched all the tourists. We didn't find Phantom Thief Kid or the Goddess's Tear."
Some time later, having failed to find any trace of Kid, the guards returned to report to Gordon.
"We checked the surveillance, too. But there's very little footage of Kid. We can't determine his escape direction."
The guard glanced cautiously at Gordon. "One more thing. We found footage of Curator Zack at the entrance of the Archives. The person next to him was..."
"Who?" Gordon frowned.
"You."
Gotham City Center. A rustic Clock Tower stood tall.
It was one of the oldest landmarks in Gotham, known only as a property of Wayne Enterprises. Few knew that at the top of the tower, behind the giant clock face, lay a secret room.
At this moment, inside the Clock Tower, a red-haired woman in a wheelchair was focused on a wall of computer screens.
The screens displayed the entire surveillance feed of the Gotham Art Museum.
"Interesting. My dad appeared in two places at the same time."
Barbara watched "Jim Gordon" enter the Archives with Zack, light reflecting off her glasses. Since her paralysis, she was no longer Batgirl, but she hadn't abandoned her crusade. Now, her code name was Oracle2, specializing in hacking and intelligence.
"It seems Kid possesses disguise or transformation technology."
Oracle had watched the entire process of the heist. Although Kid had deliberately avoided cameras, he inevitably left some traces.
She tried to find a clear shot of Kid's face but found nothing. Kid hadn't let a single camera capture his true appearance.
"Currently, this is the closest recording to Kid's identity."
Starting from the Archives footage, Oracle began calculating Kid's escape route.
"Two people entered the Archives, but a third person came out. Kid must have used the search team as cover to escape."
"There are three exits. Quite a few guards slipped out... I'll have to look outside the museum."
Oracle typed rapidly on her keyboard, switching the feed from interior to exterior cameras.
"Over a dozen guards slipped out during the search. Most went for a smoke, some were just slacking off."
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Oracle's gaze locked onto one specific recording.
A young guard jogged out of the museum. He didn't go for a smoke, nor did he join the slackers for a chat. instead, he ran straight toward a deserted area.
As he ran, he kept looking around, as if guarding against something. More notably, his left hand was pressed against his jacket pocket, concealing something.
"This person is suspicious. No, he's too suspicious. Suspicious enough that anyone would spot him instantly."
Oracle frowned. Based on Kid's performance inside, it was unlikely he would make such an amateur mistake under surveillance.
The next second, Oracle's eyes widened.
The young guard stopped halfway. Then, without warning, he turned his head toward the surveillance camera, revealed his face fully, and smiled.
For some reason, Oracle felt as if he were smiling directly at her.
It was as if he had known someone was watching him through the lens all along.
After that, the young guard vanished from the surveillance grid.
Just then, Oracle's communicator beeped.
"Hey, Oracle, you called? What's up?" A young, cheerful voice rang out.
"Robin, you already took down Penguin's armory? That was fast."
"Actually, I think I could have been faster. There are a few points I need to improve," Robin laughed.
"I'm contacting you about a case..."
Ding!
When Darren returned home, the System notification sounded in his ear.
[Host has completed the objective: Steal the Goddess's Tear.]
[Difficulty: Easy (Easy, Medium, Hard, Very Hard, Desperate, Hell, Mission Impossible)]
[Treasure Quality: Common (Common, Normal, Rare, Precious, Legendary, Artifact, Immeasurable)]
[Style Index: Showy! (Showy!, Explosive!!, Sensational!!!, Showtime!!!!, Cool & Crazy!!!!!, Absolutely Mad!!!!!!, Smoking Hot!!!!!!!)]
[Comprehensive Evaluation: E]
[Received Random Reward: Golden Finger.]
[Golden Finger: Drastically improves the flexibility and stability of the user's fingers.]
[Comment: Doing things will be much more convenient from now on.]